Page 74 of The Virgin's Baby

Before we could get moving again, the rain began to fall in sheets. “Shit!” I hurried her along even though the contraction hadn’t subsided.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she moaned as she waddled toward the door.

Once we stepped through the sliding doors, they closed behind us. Another crash of thunder immediately followed lightning, and the electricity went out.

We stood there, frozen. “What the hell?” I shouted. “Well ain’t that some shit?”

“I cannot believe this,” Aspen moaned.

“Don’t worry, baby.” I hurried to get a wheelchair and helped her sit down in it. “Come on, we’ll go up to labor and delivery.”

There were people everywhere. No one knew what to do. Not even the staff. Chaos ensued. Thankfully our everyday lives were chaotic with the kids. I headed to the same place we’d had the triplets.

As we got to the bank of elevators, I suddenly realized that we had to get up three flights of stairs since there wasn’t any electricity to take us up any other way. Aspen realized it too.

“Oh, Lord. I’ve gotta get my big body up all those stairs.”

I had to be her hero. “Not to worry, baby.” I wheeled her all the way to the stairwell. “Come on, little momma.” I helped her get up, then I picked her up, bridal style. “Hang on; I’ll get you to where you need to go.”

“I’m so heavy,” she whimpered.

“Nah, not to me.” Step by step, I got her all the way to the third floor. As I walked with my wife in my arms to the nurses’ station, I felt warm wetness flow all over my stomach and legs.

“Oh, no,” Aspen wailed. “My water just broke!”

“Wow” was all I could say. I’d never felt more uncomfortable in my life. I knew I had to put a spin on it for her or she’d start bawling. “It won’t be long now. I can’t wait to see our girls, honey.”

Her eyes drooped, her lips quivered. “I’m so sorry!”

“No, no. No reason to be sorry.” I kissed her on the cheek. “Come on, Aspen. Stay with me here, baby.”

One of the nurses started to pay attention to us and asked, “Is she in active labor?”

“Well, her water just broke,” I answered. “She’s been having contractions for five hours. You tell me what kind of labor she’s in.”

“Yep,” the woman nodded. “She’s active. But we can’t do a lot up here without electricity.”

Aspen looked to be in shock as she asked, “What does that even mean?”

“Not to worry,” the nurse said a little too calmly. “All you’ve got to do is go down to the first floor across the hospital to the emergency department. They’ve got a generator that keeps things going down there, and those doctors are more than capable of delivering that baby.”

I felt the wind leaving my sails. “There are two babies. We’re having twins. And what about them? Will they be okay?”

She shrugged. “Sure.” I felt the gesture didn’t match her word.

Aspen made another low moan as I felt her body tense up. “No time,” was all she said.

The nurse looked puzzled. “What do you mean by that?”

I felt another gush, and this time it wasn’t just warm, it was hot. “Oh, shit! She means the babies are coming. Get us to a room right now!”

Aspen’s eyes went to the ceiling. “Daddy, help us!”

I had no idea what the hell she was doing as I followed the nurse to the closest empty labor and delivery room.

“I don’t know how this is going to work,” she mumbled.

Just as we got into the room, another lightning bolt flashed through the window and thunder rattled the glass—and by some miracle, the lights came back on.

“Thanks, Dad,” Aspen whispered then turned her eyes away from the ceiling and back to me. “Okay, let’s have our girls now, babe. Everything is going to be okay from here on out.”

And she was right too. Our twin girls, Abby and Ashley, were born healthy and happy. It wasn’t nearly as hard to have them this time, and when we brought them home, it wasn’t anywhere near as hard to care for them as it was with the triplets.

The whole bunch of little monsters settled down in a way I never knew possible. Having those girls somehow rounded us all out.

And then we really had our happily ever after.

The End