Page 142 of Everything After

“Someone?” I asked incredulously when the only person in the room, doing all the work was Lily.

“Are you ready to be a father, Alfie?”

“Is she okay?” I asked when I became anxious with the grunts Lily had begun to make. The palms of my hands and arms ached from rubbing her back for hours on end, but the discomfort I felt was nothing to what she’d endured.

“You’re doing great. Try to keep breathing through the contractions, Lily,” he advised, sounding calm.

“How much longer is this going to go?—”

A long, guttural grunt came from Lily, and she rocked back on her heels. “I need to push,” she grumbled around the mouthpiece.

“Not long,” Dr. Geoffry replied, smiling.

“Aren’t you going to do something?” I asked. The desperation in my tone would have alerted the dead that I was one sentence away from losing my shit.

“What would you suggest? I think Lily has this handled. Don’t you, Carlie?” he replied with a note of sarcasm in his tone. Babies being born might have been an everyday occurrence to him, but becoming a parent daily wasn’t the norm for us.

Carlie nodded. “She’s doing great.”

“I don’t feel like I’m doing great,” Lily muttered.

“Baby, you’re incredible. You’ve been so dignified throughout. I’m in awe,” I said, encouraging her to keep going.

She looked tired, and I had begun to feel concerned about the amount of time she’d been doing the same thing without much apparent progress.

“With the money OBGYNs make, I would have thought you’d be more… hands on,” I argued, thinking he’d spring into action once I’d called him out.

He flashed me a smug smile. “We are… whenever necessary. Lily’s pregnancy and labor have been textbook so far. Your wife is a fit and healthy young woman. Her body is working through a natural, physiological process quite efficiently without my intervention. I’m here to facilitate ‘the catch’.” I frowned and he explained. “Just ensuring a safe delivery of your child.”

Once Lily’s contraction stopped, she shifted into a semi-recumbent position with her back against her pillows. “Something’s happening down there,” she said while she did this.

“Would you prep me the tray please?” Dr. Geoffry asked Carlie.

Carlie wheeled a small metal trolley forward with a wrapped package on top.

Dr. Geoffry washed his hands, put on some sterile gloves and examined Lily in between contractions. “Look, your baby’s head’s sitting right here. Try to keep your pushes going a little longer,” he suggested.

I growled when I saw him speak to Lily with two fingers still inside her entrance. “We get the idea,” I snapped, never taking my eyes off of what he was doing.

The doctor removed his fingers and sat back as soon as Lily began to contract and push again. A small dark patch about the size of a dime appeared in her entrance. “See, look here, Alfie,” the doctor said.

I looked but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “Not long now, Lily, you’re doing great,” he encouraged.

“Did you hear the doctor, baby? You’re doing great… no you’re amazing. The baby’s coming, he wasn’t lying, I saw something,” I babbled, excitedly. I wiped her brow with a cold, wet, washcloth, ran an ice chip across her lips and pressed a kiss to her forehead, just like I’d been doing whenever I’d gotten the chance.

During the next few pushes more of our baby’s head peeped at us and slid back until eventually it stayed visible.

“Fuck that hurts,” Lily muttered. It was at that point her whole body began to shake. I had gulped some deep breaths to stop me losing my shit.

“Breathe, baby,” I said, noticing she’d stopped using the gas equipment altogether but still gripped the mouthpiece like it was a crutch.

“Lily, the baby’s head has crowned, and the baby will keep coming forward with each contraction now. I want you to pant through the next contraction if you can. Try not to push. We don’t want you to tear,” the doctor instructed.

The pack on the trolley was now open, it’s contents of long scissors, forceps and stitch holders, among other things, freaked me out, but before I could ask what he was going to do with all that, Lily began panting hard.

“Excellent, Lily,” Dr Geoffry encouraged. “Alfie, can you see your baby’s head?”

“Oh, My. God,” Lily ground out before her head flopped back on the pillow. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” she grumbled.