Cold Feet (COMPLETED)

Oregano

Photo : dailyswaddle.kathrynkefauver.com/tag/both

Happy weekend beshies. I am a mess of feels right now, mixed emotions over the final episode of DTBY. I am relieved at the same time sad for it to end. But my love for Alden and Maine strengthened, seeing their raw state of emotions bared on snippets of the episode tonight. 

This chapter shows a love that transcends even romantic love, and it is the love a mother feels for her child/children. I believe a mother's love is the strongest of all kinds of love, and it is the most selfless too. From the time a baby is born, the mother lays her life on the line to bring her baby into this world, and if only for that, we should honor all  mommies.

This is the last chapter of this story, but tune in for the Epilogue tomorrow. I'd like to thank all of you for being on this journey with me, for respecting the flow of the story, and for reaching this point with me. Hope to see you on my next journey, coming soon in June :)

Dei surveyed the nursery for one last time, looking through the blinds, the painted walls and furniture. The room looked picture pretty but homey, not so polished as though it were styled for a magazine. She liked the natural finish of the wooden cribs, the sheets in blue and green. The roman blinds were likewise the same shades of blue and green.

She sat on rocking chair, feeling tired but accomplished. Her due date was in three weeks, and she had a feeling she would be giving birth earlier than her due date. It was already painful to get up and walk, she could feek the weights of her boys pressing down on her whenever she gets up. It was a challenge to fall asleep at night, what with her frequent trips to the bathroom, and the moving going on inside her tummy.

On certain nights when it really gets bad, Richard sings to her in his soothing voice, wrapping her in his arms. The vibration of his body resulting from his singing lulls her to sleep. She smiled at the thought of Richard crossing her mind. He was close to perfect, with the way he cared for her through weeks of monitoring her blood sugar, blood pressure and weight.

He was patient when she was testy, he wisely kept quiet when she needed to be alone. He was firm whenever she insisted on eating things not good for the baby, but he made up for it with his sweetness that melts her anger everytime. He suffered through her nauseous phase, getting puked on thrice, but always exercising calm and patience, even on days when he was tired.

As her tummy got bigger, they opted to sleep in the den to avoid having to go up the stairs, temporarily converting it into another bedroom. She still cooked meals and baked pastries for Richard, making sure to always have extras she could send to his parents. Once or twice, Shayne visited her with her baby girl, and they would excitedly discuss her upcoming wedding to Calvin.

She fell asleep on the rocker, her exhaustion getting the better of her. She woke up to Richard's lips on her cheek, his hand caressing her jaw.

"Baby you overdid it this time," He chided her gently, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I got excited, Jay, so sorry."

"Are you done here?"

"Yes, babe." She stood up to stretch, feeling slight pain in her lower back. She grimaced slightly and collapsed back into the rocker.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing babe, my back hurts. You're right, I think I overdid it this time."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, the food is ready, we just need to heat it. Ooohhhh...."

She held the lower part of her stomach, standing still. She felt her stomach contracting, and it scared her a bit.

"Jay, my tummy contracted....my back pain is also getting worse."

"Can you walk sweetie?"

"I can but please hold me, the pain comes and goes. Maybe we should go to the hospital."

"Yes, I was going to suggest that."

He guided her out of the house and into the car, reclining the seat to make her lie down comfortably. He checked the trunk for her hospital bag, then locked up, buckled up to take Dei to the hospital. The drive was thankfully quick, Dei was quickly examined and found that she was already in labor and was thus prepped for normal delivery.

Dei was in a cold sweat, her contractions now in shorter intervals. The back pain now intensified, and water gushed out from her. Her blood pressure increased slightly, but it was still within the normal range.

"Dei......I'm here with you ok? We're in this together, baby, hang in there."

For the next hour, Dei labored through her contractions, the ripping pain of her pelvis. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength, feeling exhausted and drained. Richard's hands massaged hers, as though trying to transmit his life force into her.

"She's crowning, Dei push some more, one long push, come on!"

She took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could, until the white hot pain of her lower body ripping apart made her scream. She heard a soft slap and the loud cry of an infant, clear and strong. She weakly faced Richard and felt his kiss on her forehead, his tears mingling with hers. The small squirming body of her son was laid on her chest, as she held her baby for the first time. Her lips brushed against the soft cheek, their picture taken by Richard despite his tears. All too soon the baby is taken from her arms, as Richard was given a few seconds to old him.

Another contraction makes her shudder, and she groans as she pushes ones again. Wanting to get it over with, she gasps and catches her breath and pushes with all her might. Again, she hears a soft slap, and another until the baby finally cries, loud and strong. Dazed, she waits for the baby to be given to her, and she holds him close as well, kissing his cheek. Exhausted, she closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep, happy to survive the birthing.

-----

She wakes up in her hospital room already cleaned up, her body still feeling tender from her earlier labor. Richard is dozing with his head leaning by her side, a hand holding hers. She runs a hand through his hair, wondering if he already had a meal. He was tired from work last night, took her to the hospital even before he had a chance to eat dinner. He stirred, looking up and met her gaze with a smile.

"Good morning.......mommy."

She smiled at his greeting, thrilled to be called that and to be one, for real.

"Good morning to you too daddy. Have you eaten?"

"No......later, I will."

"Babe, can we visit the twins? I want to see them, I was so dazed in the birthing room to remember what they looked like."

"Ok....I'll ask for a wheelchair."

"No need, babe. It's just a fdw steps from here."

"No way, we have to be careful. It won't take too much time to get one."

They got to the nursery and asked for their babies to be shown. For the first time, she sees her twin boys clearly, noting the dark brown hair, the pointed chins with a cleft, the rounded rosy cheeks. They looked more like Richard than her, and she was crying happily to watch her boys sleeping contentedly, their mouths puckered.

She looked up to see Richard in tears, biting his lip, his chin trembling. This was a different kind of love, a nurturing of innocence. Her hands itched to hold them, wanting to feed them from her bosom. They headed back to her room to wait for her doctor's advise on feeding the babies.

There was a knock on the door and slowly the knob turned. A familiar face peeked from outside the door, a face she sorely missed.

"Mama," Dei said with a smile.