Word of Honor, Book 2 (45 page)

Locked in position, still coming down from her high, she heard a sound as if he’d hit the floor. Peering over her shoulder, she cracked a grin. Aaron was slumped on the floor wearing the biggest smile she’d ever seen on the man. And then, he burst out laughing as he reached upward and caressed her ankle. He winked at her.

“How many men can say that they are married to, living with, and get to sleep with their hero?”

She smiled down at the man as she tucked her leg under her behind and rested her arms on the back of the chair.

“Not many… not many at all. Yeah, you’re my Mia. Love from my life was once
M
issing
I
n
A
ction, but now, you are just like my new tattoo says: ‘my idol always’…”

Chapter Twenty

…Three months later

“A
HHH!”
T
HE PRESSURE
and pain merged, stirring in her womb, creating a melee of agony that she’d never encountered in her entire life and wasn’t sure she’d survive. Mia reached for the hospital bed rail to grasp it tight. The coldness from the metal hit her nerve endings and streams of hot sweat and lukewarm, salty tears raced down her face. “Ahhhh!” She huffed, but nothing was helping. “Lamaze ain’t
shit
! Make it stop!”

“Mia!” Aaron called out as he turned her towards him, tried to make her focus on his eyes with the touch of a gentle hand along her chin. “You’re doin’ real good, baby; he’s almost out.” Her abdomen burned, and she now regretted forgoing the epidural, being a brave heart. Aaron Jr. was bursting into the world in a way she’d never forget. The infant was making an appearance a week early, impatient and demanding like his father, and giving her the kind of contractions earlier that morning that shook her out of a fairly sound sleep. Since then, they had not ceased, only increased in frequency and intensity.

“Ahhhh! I’m pushing!”

“Wait!” the doctor screamed out.

“No! I gotta push! I gotta push!” She released the rail and grabbed Aaron’s arm, no longer caring if she ripped the damn thing off him. After all, this was all his fault!

“Ahhhh!”

Her husband didn’t seem to mind her twisting his limb almost into a knot, and his eyes rested now on the mirror that showcased her progress as the baby’s head came in full view. “Uhhhh!” she grunted, her body feeling another burst of pressure.

“Mia, honey, he’s half out now!” Aaron exclaimed with exhilaration, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “I see him. I see our baby!”

“Mia, you’re doing great,” one of the many nurses in the room assured.

“Now go ahead and give us another good push,” the doctor requested. Without a second to lose, she did as ordered. Another wave of pain encompassed her, this one unbelievably worse than the previous.

“AHHHHHHH!” And then… the pressure was suddenly gone. The room grew quiet for a moment or two, a state soon shattered by the abrupt shrillness of a newborn baby’s cries.

“Oh my God…” she blubbered, her body shaking as she fell to pieces from the melodic sound. “My baby…he’s
here
!”

Aaron moved away from her side and quickly rounded the hospital bed, standing right beside the sitting doctor and towering over everyone, like a giant amongst elves. Like the bully that he was, he demanded entry, pushing himself to the forefront.

“Let me cut the cord… I want to hold my son. Come on, hurry up.” He stared down between her legs, undoubtedly focused on his newborn son as his lower lip slightly quivered with emotion. He waved his hand impatiently towards the doctor, nonverbally asking for the stainless steel surgical scissors. “Don’t just sit there… come on. I don’t have all day.” This caused a room full of chuckles.

“Mr. Pike, I’m moving as fast as I can. I was examining your wife, making sure she and the baby are okay. We need to stitch her up.” He handed Aaron the scissors, annoyance all over his face, but her husband didn’t notice or seem to care. “Okay…right there…” the doctor instructed. Aaron did as told, his eyes glossy with unspent tears.

“I, uh, got a little ahead of myself. Let Mia see him first.”

“Oh… how kind of you,” one of the nurses joked, causing everyone to laugh, including Aaron.

“I’m sorry, everybody… just a little excited.” He blushed as the nurse picked up the baby and began to clean his eyes.

“First child?” another nurse asked Aaron while she helped the doctor prepare for stitching.

“No. I have a beautiful eight-year old daughter. Her birthday just passed not that long ago, actually. But this is my first child with my wife, and my first son, too.”

She smiled and nodded, then handed Mia her baby. She tenderly cradled the sweetheart, drawing him close, taking him in.

“Ohhhh, Aaron,” she cooed, her eyes filling with joyous tears.

“He looks like
both
of you.” The nurse smiled as Aaron drew close and hovered above Mia. “Some say all newborns look alike, but no, you can see distinct features.”

Mia heard her husband’s nervous swallow as he looped his arm over the metal rail of the bed, his long, thick fingers dangling close to the side of her face.

“He does…” he responded. “He’s got Mia’s eyes and ears. He has my nose and lips… and a cowlick, just like I had as a little boy… And look, Mia, he’s got my chin, too.” He pointed to the slight dimple in the boy’s chin, just like his own.

Mia swiped a tear away as she stared at the perfect blessing. He had a head full of jet-black hair, and looked so serene, so peaceful. He was puffy and pale, with a slightly rosy hue. Finally, she reluctantly handed him to the nurse, who soon whisked him away to clean him down, causing another roll of cries from the poor infant.

“I’m so proud of you. You did good.” He pointed across the room, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Look what we made.” Aaron watched the nurse tending to their son as he leaned over the hospital bed, then turned back towards her.

“I know… I love him so much already!” She wiped a tear of joy from the corner of her eye with her knuckle.

“He’s…he’s…” His voice trembling, he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He’s perfect, baby! Just perfect!”

“Perfect and
huge
!” the nurse yelled out as she continued to tend to him. “He weighs 9.18 lbs. and is 21.6 inches long! My goodness. You’ve got you a future wrestler here!” The room erupted in laughter.

“How are you doin’, baby?” he asked her, stepping away from his euphoria for a second or two.

“I’m…in a little pain.” She winced as she readjusted herself. “But, I’ll be okay.”

“You need anything? Some water, Advil or something?” he whispered before placing a delicate kiss on her forehead and stroked her hair.

“I’m okay for right now.”

“Alright, let me know if that changes.”

She nodded and smiled at him.

The doctor worked diligently, sewing her up until he finally looked up at her and said, “All done. These sutures will dissolve, come out on their own, but in a couple of weeks, I want you to come back in so we can take a look at you.”

Mia shook her head in agreement. The hospital room was abuzz with movement, laughter, and discussions. In the blurs of colors and excitement, she caught tiny glimpses of her baby boy.

…They’re doing his footprints…

Aaron slicked his phone out of his pocket and began to type. “I’m sending text messages to all of our family and friends to let them know he’s here. My email has been blowin’ up with questions about your progress since I’d posted that we were on our way to the hospital. I already called your folks to tell them what was going on. They’ll be flyin’ up tonight. Trudy is comin’ with ’em.”

Mia smiled and nodded in appreciation.

“My sisters and one of my brothers said they’d be coming, too. I’m sure my parents have called them by now.” She peered through the crowd of people once again and cracked a huge grin when she caught the nurse floating towards her, their son wrapped in a blue and white striped swaddling blanket. She reached for the baby, but then Aaron jumped in front of her and took the child from the nurse’s hands, turning his back on the world, as if he believed he were suddenly invisible.

“Mr. Pike!” she angrily chastised. Mia burst out laughing so hard, tears rolled down her cheeks from the humor of it all.

“It’s okay, Janet. My husband has been looking forward to this moment for so long. I already got to hold him; I suppose I can spare another minute or two.”

Aaron faced her now. He held his son in the football cradle position and bounced him lightly as he smiled down at the blessing, his cheeks tight from grinning so hard.

“Oh my God, I just can’t believe it. Look at this little guy!” he cooed “Hiiii, Aaron,” he ran the side of his thumb against the delicate cheek of the bundle of joy. “I’m your daddy…yeah… Happy birthday, son.” He gently kissed the boy’s tiny, tulip shaped lips.

That was one of the most precious things she’d ever witnessed. Reluctantly, Aaron passed the baby back to her and pulled his phone out his pocket once again.

“Hi Marie, it’s Aaron. Thanks for keeping Laura for us. We didn’t know how long Mia’s labor would be obviously, and I didn’t want her to miss school.” He glanced at the clock in the room. “She should be out of school in about half an hour. Can you bring her by the hospital? Okay, thanks a lot. … Oh, did she?” Aaron flashed a wide grin. “Hey Mia,” he said. “Marie said Laura said she wanted to meet her baby brother as soon as he is born and not a second later. She said it was really important, so she could teach him how to color and his A,B,Cs and addition because it is really important that we start early so he can meet all of his milestones! Where did she hear this mess?!”

Mia burst out laughing as he went on with his conversation. The room appeared to grow soft around the edges, disappear and fade. It felt like, for a moment or two, it was just her and Aaron Jr., cocooned from the rest of the world. With a slow and easy hand, she brushed his hair away from his face and filled up with another wave of gratitude as their eyes met. The little baby looked at her with wonder, as if trying to find all the answers to the world, right then and there…

And she’d teach him. She’d teach him all that she could and give him abundant love. Their son was a blessing, a salvation, a testament of beating the odds. He was proof of their love for one another – proof that love and forgiveness could not only conquer all, but were the key to a beautiful life…

A
ARON PAUSED FROM
his texting and calls, and looked over his shoulder at his wife. He could see she was lost in her own world, falling in love. For a split second, he felt a pang of jealousy. Not because she loved someone else other than him, but because he wished to know what it felt like to have a mother feel that way about her child. He could see it in her eyes; she was gone, smitten, head over heels. He knew his seed was in good hands, and his soul cried with joy that his dream had finally come true.

He had a family.

This boy would not be like him; he’d make sure of that. The Devil was inside of him, roaming around, angry that he’d escaped. Lucifer wanted to try and find a way to take another piece of his soul and drag it down to Hell. He no longer harbored hatred for other people based on their skin color. He could say that with confidence, and mean it. People were people. Simple as that. He at times couldn’t even believe that he’d been so warped, so profoundly lost. For his son and daughter, he’d keep fighting that internal demon, the one that left him as a carcass and treated him like some zombie to take care of his dirty work. No, he had bigger dreams, better plans, and there was simply no room or time for such notions.