"There is probably some trace element in the watermelon your body wants," Avery said. "Have you talked to your doctor? You might need an additional supplement."
"No, but I will. That's a good idea. Do you have any kids?"
"Oh, no. Colby was my first."
"That's so sweet! That's something you don't see every day. You've got a good man, Avery."
"And I've got a great woman," Colby said, wanting to take the focus of the conversation off himself.
"Yes, you do," Cecile agreed. "If you'll all excuse me, I think I'd better go lie down. I'm suddenly very tired. My back has been killing me all day."
"Need a hand?" Jonas asked her.
"Please. I can't even get up by myself these days," she said with a sigh.
Jonas gave her a hand up and her water broke. Colby got towels while Jonas helped her change. Colby and Avery cleaned the floor and couch as best they could, washing their hands extremely well afterward.
"Need help getting to the hospital?" Colby offered. "I can drive you over and Avery can follow us."
"Would you? I'm already shaking," Jonas said. "We lost a couple," he explained to Avery. "This is our first full term baby."
"Absolutely. Let's get a couple towels for the seat," Avery suggested.
They got Cecile settled in the car with Colby at the wheel. Jonas rode with his wife in the back.
Avery followed them as they drove to the birthing clinic where Cecile was expected. Colby let her and Jonas out at the door, then found a place to park.
"You call as soon as that baby is born," Avery said. "And I expect pictures!"
"Oh, Colby, I'm taking the week off. Maybe two," Jonas said. "Twila was going to be in charge, but since she's gone...."
"I'm the boss?" he yelped.
"No worries. You can do it standing on your head. Remember, you have the best team in the city. They all know their stuff. You'll mostly be training Xuan."
"Okay. Yeah. No problem." He muttered as he walked back to the car. "Now he tells me. Bastard!" Laughing sharply, he got in the car. With Avery still at the wheel, they headed home. "I didn't even know she was pregnant," Colby said. "I've never been the boss before."
"You'll do great. You have the best people in the world. Like Jonas said, they all know their jobs, and work hard. It will be all right. But you do need to send them an e-mail to let them know."
"Yeah. That's a boss thing to do. Jonas would."
"Just ask yourself that during the week: WWJD?"
"I know you don't mean Jesus."
"What Would Jonas Do?"
"Say okay, run his hand through his hair and delegate."
"Exactly. You're capable of that, aren't you?"
Colby laughed. "Yeah. Since I'm most often the person delegated to."
"See, you already know his job. Just trust someone else to know what to do. You do that anyway. You know those people so well, you can delegate in your sleep."
They got a call around 11:00 when they were playing Call of Duty.
"It's a boy!" Jonas crowed. "Eight pounds, five ounces and twenty-one inches long."
"That's a good sized kid," Colby said. "Not quite as big as a bag of potatoes—thank God! I'm very happy for you. What did you name him?"
"After our dads—Anthony James Barber."
"That's a great name, Jonas. Congratulations to you and Cecile. She did good."
"Yep, she's a trooper. Welp, gotta go. Need to let the troops know."
"I already e-mailed them about next week. I'll send it around. You enjoy your family. I'm really happy for you both. Congratz, Dad."
"Dad," Jonas murmured. "Shit.... I'm a dad!" He hung up.
"He's gonna go hurl," Colby predicted. He sent another e-mail around to his co-workers.
Colby wasn't sure what to expect when he walked into the office on Monday. He arrived early, started the coffee and got everything set up. He had also bought a box of donuts on the way, getting everyone's favorites. How he remembered, he had no idea. Probably, he'd unconsciously absorbed that detail. With his own coffee and donuts, he went to Jonas' office and settled in, getting himself organized for the day.
Xuan was the first to arrive. He got her squared away at her desk and gave her some manuals to read through. There were also some awful training videos that they were all expected to watch and sign off for, from HR. After watching two on racism and sexual harassment, Xuan walked into his office and sat down, looking disgruntled.
"Problem?"
"Can we redo those videos? They're horrible! I notice that they have Indian people and African Americans, they even have a Latina. Is there an Asian face in the bunch? No."
"You watched them all? There' six of them. You only had to watch two."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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