Page 107 of Cruel Embers
And then it's time, and she’s ready to push. I can barely breathe. I don’t know how she’s fucking doing it.
Ethan keeps moving from Charlotte's side to the end of the bed.
“Fuck, I can see a head,” he says, looking over Mary, the midwife's shoulder.
I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God.”
“I want to see,” Char says on an exhale.
Ethan pulls out his phone, snaps a pic, and holds it to her.
“Wow,” she says, and then she’s panting again.
“Okay, Lottie, stop pushing,” says Mary. “Take some short breaths.”
I can’t look away, scared to blink as the baby’s head is born, and then after another two contractions the body follows.
“It’s Max,” Ethan says, tears falling from his eyes as Mary places Max on Charlotte's chest. He has a dark head of hair, just like his daddy.
“Oh my God,” I say, as Ethan places a soft kiss on her lips.
“You’re incredible,” he says, cupping her cheek before looking back to Max.
Charlotte holds out her hand, and I take it, squeezing the life out of it.
Mary clamps the umbilical cord and then looks up to Ethan. “Does daddy want to do the honours and cut the cord?”
He shakes his head and looks at me. “No, we want Violet to do the honours.”
“What?” I look at Char, tears cascading down my cheeks, and she nods.
With shaking hands, I step closer to Mary, who has two clamps on the cord. She shows me where to hold them, and then I cut the cord.
I can’t stop crying now, and neither can Max. They quickly dry Max and wrap him in a towel so Ethan can hold him.
“Fuck, contraction,” Charlotte says through her teeth. “I don’t think I can do it again,” she says, her voice hoarse and exhausted.
Ethan, calm as a cucumber, places Max in a crib and then moves back to Char's side.
“Yes, you can. You’re fucking amazing.”
She looks at me, and I nod. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
It’s barely fifteen minutes since she gave birth to Max, and it's the final push, and then Holly is born, with the lightest dusting of strawberry blonde hair you’ve ever seen.
“She looks just like her mumma,” Ethan says after he cuts the cord.
And then he asks if I want to hold Max. I shake my head. “No, he’s so little I don’t want to hurt him.” Ethan is already walking over to me.
“Sit in the chair, Vi.” He tilts his head towards the high armchair beside Char's bed.
“You won’t hurt him,” Char says, her finger tracing Holly’s cheek.
I swallow and do as I’m told, as Ethan gently places Max into my arms. Smitten, that is what I am, and completely in love. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him or his sister.
“Charlotte, they’re amazing,” I say as more tears fall. I knew I’d get emotional, but never imagined it would evoke feelings to this extent.
* * *
