They sat in companionable silence until Dr. Sandusky came back out to talk to them. "Olivia's decidedly in labor, doing great, and so is the baby. We're going to let her progress naturally for a time, monitoring everything carefully. If we need to, we'll do the C section. Right now I've every hope she'll have this little one by herself."
"Fantastic!" Mara was so excited, she kissed the doctor on the cheek.
Blushing, he ducked his head and looked at his shoes. His eyes wandered to Cissy and he smiled shyly. Kirk Sandusky was about six one and slight of build. He tended to be a little stoop shouldered as if trying to hide inside his lab coat. His hair was dark, wavy, and almost too long. His eyes were jasper colored and glittered with humor and intelligence. Mara caught Cissy's blush, although Kirk didn't see it. She smiled secretively.
"So, Doc, are you busy later?" Mara couldn't believe she was saying the words. "We were thinking about a celebratory dinner and drinks, after Olivia has the baby. Interested?"
Puzzled, Dr. Sandusky blinked at her as if he couldn't focus on her face.
"Are you," Mara repeated, "interested in going to dinner with us?" She pointed to herself and Cissy. "I mean if your wife wouldn't mind."
"I'm not—uh, not married," he stammered.
"Oh, well your girlfriend then?" She smiled sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes.
"Um, uh don't have one of those either," he admitted, blushing deep red.
"Great, are you free? You aren't on call, I hope?"
"I am free, as a matter of fact. I had plans, but I've just canceled them. Olivia needs me here." He smiled shyly.
"Excellent!"
"It's a date then, ladies." Smiling, he left the room and walked to the nurse's station.
Cissy leaped up, grabbing Mara by the sleeve. "What are you doing? He was looking at me!"
"I know! That's why I invited him to dinner. He's sweet, he's adorable and he's got a good job. I'll make some excuse and leave early. Badabing!"
"Mara, you're positively evil!" She hugged her sister, giggling happily. "Thank you." She looked ready to cry.
"If I can see you even half as happy as I am with Cole, then I'll do whatever I can to help out. I want the best for you."
Cissy began to sniffle. "I'm sorry for all the awful things I said."
"Me too. Now stop crying or your eyes will get puffy." She hugged her sister.
"Here you are!" Their mother sounded happily breathless. She was walking with Jeff's support. "Stuart gave me permission to come down here while Olivia's in labor. He'll bring the paperwork for me to sign, so I can check out of this dump." She sat heavily on the nearest chair, gasping slightly, but smiling. "My first grandbaby!" Her eyes sparkled as she thought about the impending event.
Paul arrived shortly after their mother came down. He was breathless, but excited. "I had company," he said with a grin and a slight blush in front of his mother. "Fortunately, she understood. Her sister just had a baby." He became very interested in his shoes.
"Awesome, dude!" Jeff gave him a high five.
The time passed pleasantly for the family. They took turns with Olivia and Toby. When the time came for the baby to be born, Toby called them all in. He was dressed in scrubs and a mask, but they could tell he was grinning.
A few hard pushes later and a beautiful, perfect baby girl was born. She had dark ringlets and mocha colored skin like her mother. The doctor and nurses talked Toby through the cord cutting as Olivia cuddled her newborn.
"Welcome, Amalia Louise," she said quietly.
"I thought we'd agreed on Mary Elizabeth," Toby looked a little disappointed.
"I was thinking," Olivia told him, "as I lay in the bed the last two days. We should name her after our maternal grandmothers. It just seemed appropriate. Amalia for mine and Louise for yours."
"It's a beautiful name," Toby told her, kissing her on the head as the nurse took the baby and weighed and measured her.
"She's twenty-one inches, eight pounds and six ounces," the nurse told them.
The family said their goodbyes and left the new parents alone. Toby would be spending the night and refused to leave.
"I'll bring your things over later," Mara told them. "I have to feed the beasts anyway."
"Thanks, Mara, for everything." Toby hugged and kissed her.
Olivia grabbed her in a hug that nearly broke her neck. "Thank you, Mara."
"Love ya, kid. Thanks for making me an aunt."
She and Cissy walked quietly down to the parking lot, each lost in her own thoughts of motherhood and childbirth. Mara couldn't help thinking of Cole, wondering what their children would look like. With a secret smile, she got in Toby's car and drove to the restaurant to meet Cissy and Dr. Kirk.
Cole slept poorly. The sounds of the airport, though muted, kept him awake. He was used to the sounds of surf and wind, not jet engines. To make matters worse, he had Mara on his mind and her face kept floating in front of him when he drifted off to sleep. He could smell her fragrance and hear the sounds of her moans and gasps when they made love.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
To Buy Dellani's Books https://www.amazon.com/Dellani-Oakes/e/B007ZQCW3A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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