>>> Wednesday, March 18th
Lois carefully parked beside the hospital entrance and blew out a breath. She hoped she wasn’t late.
She walked through the doorway and smiled as she saw Cath being wheeled down the hallway. The woman in the lab coat looked up and returned her smile. “Lois! You’re right on time. Catharine is ready to go home and see her baby.”
Cath leaned forward and whipped her head around so that her hair flew out and then settled stylishly over one shoulder. “My dear doctor,” she intoned, “I have been ready to go home since before I arrived.”
“Yes, I know, and I’m glad you’re finally leaving.”
Lois stopped short. “What? What’s wrong? Why are you so glad that Cath is leaving?”
“Are you kidding? This new mother has all the female nurses jealous of her and all the male nurses drooling over her. We can’t get any work done with her around! Six days of Catharine Grant-Mooney is about five too many for this hospital.”
Lois joined in their laughter as she realized that they were only teasing each other. “Thanks, Dr. Amundsen. You want me to take over now?”
The doctor shook her head. “I have to take her all the way to her transportation. Hospital policy. And I thought I told you to call me Cindy!”
Cath flashed a grin at Lois. “You did, Doc, but Lois rarely does what she’s told. Just ask her husband.”
Lois narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You’d better be nice to me or I won’t tell you about the coming-home party Clay’s waiting to throw for you.”
Cath laughed again. “I already knew about it. Clark spilled the beans when you two were here yesterday.”
“Then let’s get to it. Can’t have a party without the guest of honor. Dr. Amundsen – “
“It’s Cindy!”
“Okay, Cindy. Is there anything I need to know before I take her home?”
“I don’t think so. Just make sure she doesn’t strain herself when she goes back to work.”
“She won’t.” Lois gave Cath a friendly glare. “I’ll see to it.”
Lois pushed the outside door open and then trotted ahead of the wheelchair to open her Jeep’s passenger door. Cath groaned. “Not the Jeep, Lois! I gave you the keys to my Porsche!”
“You did. And I traded it in for a Chevy mini-van.”
“WHAT?”
“Clay was very helpful. He signed all the papers and everything.”
“You’d better be kidding or I’ll – “
“Hey! You two stop that! Doctor’s orders! Cath, you can’t drive Melinda around in a Porsche convertible and you know it.”
Cath’s face fell as she clambered up into the Jeep. “Oh, all right! I suppose it’s time for me to grow up.”
“Yes, it is. Now you and Lois go have your party. I’ll see you and that beautiful baby in another five weeks.”
“Yes, Doctor. Of course, Doctor. May I go now, Doctor?”
“Please do. Drive safely, Lois!”
The doctor closed the door as Lois started the Jeep and slowly pulled away from the curb. “Do you need to pick up anything before you go home, Cath, or do you just want to see your husband and daughter?”
Cath pointed forward. “Family first. Anything else can wait.”
Lois chuckled. “Those are words I never thought I’d hear coming out of your mouth.”
“Me neither. But I’m so thankful that I found Clay.” She sniffed. “And I’m so glad we have Melinda. She’s really a miracle baby.”
“That she is.”
They drove in silence for several blocks, then Lois said, “Do you mind if I ask you some – some personal questions?”
“No, of course not. What do you want to know?”
“I was wondering – I mean, how do you feel – knowing that you won’t have any more children?”
Cath sighed. “I’m not sure how I feel. One the one hand, I’m glad I won’t ever again spend a week in the hospital after giving birth. I almost died.”
“I know. You had us really worried for about twelve hours, girlfriend. Clay was so scared, and he didn’t want us to know how scared he was. You lost a ton of blood.”
“I’m sorry you were all worried. But I’m better now. And now that my tubes are tied, I won’t go through that again.”
“Oh, I don’t know. The Whisper ran a story last week about a couple who had a baby despite the husband’s vasectomy and the wife’s tied-off tubes. Who knows? Maybe you’ll beat the odds too.”
“Bite your tongue, girl. No, bite it harder. Make it bleed.”
Lois laughed. “Okay, okay! I get the message.”
“Good.”
They rode in silence for another minute. “Uh, Cath?”
“Yes?”
“You said ‘on the one hand.’ What about the other hand?”
Cath relaxed and smiled. “When I held Melinda for the first time, it was like being part of a miracle. And in more ways than just the one. I’d almost be willing to risk it all one more time just to hold another baby in my arms.”
Lois nodded. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For explaining that to me. I think that’s how I feel, but I’m not sure yet.”
“About having babies?”
“About babies, about a lot of things. My life certainly isn’t what I envisioned it would be when I was in college.”
Cath smiled. “You know, I’ve learned something over the past three years.”
“What’s that?”
“That whatever you’re doing, whatever thing you’re going through for the first time, it’s not like you thought it would be.”
Lois frowned for a moment. “I don’t think I understand.”
“When Clay and I got married, it wasn’t like I thought it would be. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, in fact it was great, but it was just different from what I expected. I didn’t expect him to be as much a morning person as he is. I didn’t expect to argue about who does what household chores, and I sure didn’t expect him to insist on doing the dishes! He has this particular way he loads the dishwasher that I can’t watch because it drives me nuts, so I just let him do it.”
“Okay. What else?”
“Well, I expected him to be loving and attentive, but I didn’t expect him to be so tender. You know how strong he is, right? Well, he has the softest touch of any man I’ve ever met. His fingers are so – “
Lois’s eyes bulged. “Hold it! I think you’re about to give me too much information here.”
Cath laughed. “Okay, okay! But you get the idea. And Clay told me he loves holding me when I sleep, but he can’t stand it when my hair tickles his nose and mouth.”
Lois nodded. “I think I get what you’re talking about.”
“And when I was pregnant, it wasn’t like I thought it would be. Sometimes I almost forgot about the baby for a little while, and other times I couldn’t think of anything else. I was lucky that I didn’t have much morning sickness, but I didn’t expect the constipation in the last trimester. Believe me, that’s no fun at any time, but especially not when you’re pregnant.”
“I’d give you a high five on that, but I’m driving.”
“And I got to talk to several other women who’ve just had babies this last week. Most of them are repeat customers, and they all told me that being a mother was great, that they wouldn’t stop being mothers for all the tea in China, but that it wasn’t like they thought it would be.”
“How so?”
“One woman told me that her oldest daughter is almost seventeen and already has a police record for burglary and misdemeanor drug possession, but her fourteen-year-old girl is an honor student and student council president and a volunteer in a nursing home and she couldn’t be prouder of her. Yet she loves both of them. She doesn’t like what the older one is doing, but she loves the girl anyway.”
“So, you’re saying you don’t know what the future holds but you’re going to live through it anyway?”
“That’s part of it. But the other part is that even if it isn’t like you thought it would be, there are plenty of good things about it.”
Lois nodded but didn’t speak again.
Cath waited until they stopped at a traffic light. “So, how’s the newlywed thing working out for you? Still late for work at least once a week, even after almost five months?”
Lois blushed slightly. “Yes! And it’s Clark’s fault. If he wasn’t so dratted good-looking I’d be able to keep my hands off him when he gets out of the shower in the morning.”
Cath laughed. “Now who’s giving out too much information?”
Lois blushed a little more deeply. “Sorry. I guess I’m enjoying married life.”
“But it’s not quite what you expected, is it?”
Lois hesitated, then sighed. “No, it’s not. It’s not bad, not at all, just not what I expected.”
“Uh-huh. So what did you and Clark argue over?”
“Why do you assume we argued over anything?”
“Every couple does. Clay and I argued over chores. His parents argued over which wall to put the couch against in their living room.” Cath turned to face Lois. “So, give! What was it about?”
“You won’t believe it.”
“Sure I will.”
“We – we argued over – oh, this is embarrassing!”
“So tell me! I’m sitting on pins and needles!”
“We – the argument was over whose account would be the master account on our home computer.”
Cath waited for a long moment, then said, “That’s it? You argued over that?”
“I told you it was embarrassing!”
Cath laughed. “Oh, Lois, that’s great! If the little things are all that bother the two of you, it means the big things aren’t giving you too much trouble!”
“Yeah, but I thought we’d be able to settle stuff like that without any problems at all! I still don’t understand why it was so important to me for my account to be the master.”
Cath nodded. “Because you like to be on top.”
Lois snorted and blushed again. “Cath! What – what did Clark tell you yesterday?”
“I’m not talking about that! I mean that you’re the editor, you make the decisions, you’re in charge at work, but at home you’re married to a man who’s also Superman, and there’s not many ways you can help him do that job. And there’s absolutely no way you can do it at all, much less do it as well as he does.”
“So – you’re saying it’s a power issue with me?”
“No. I’m saying that you have a hard time not being in control.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Does it bother you that Clark has to leave sometimes to be Superman?”
“Well – no, not like you mean it. I mean, I don’t ever want to be at home without him, but I don’t resent Superman intruding on our lives.”
“I didn’t think you did. You know you can’t be Superman so you don’t fight about that. But you want to be in charge everywhere else. The computer represents a place where you two are equal, but you want to be in charge there, too, so there’s the argument.”
Lois pondered that as she drove. “Huh. Never thought of it that way.”
“Amateur therapy. I might be way off.”
“No, I don’t think so. Thanks. I’ll think about it some more.”
Cath took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How’s Clark doing?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean, how’s he doing? The trial wasn’t that long ago. Is he okay?”
“Well – mostly he’s doing fine.”
“Mostly?”
“Yes.” Lois waited for Cath to respond, but she didn’t. Lois sighed. “He has these dreams sometimes.”
“Bad ones?”
“Yes. Last week he sat straight up in bed and yelled something like ‘No, no, I won’t, I won’t!’ Then he woke up. He was coated with sweat and breathing hard. When I asked him what he was dreaming about, he didn’t want to tell me but I finally wormed it out of him. He said that Bill Church was standing in front of him with his shirt pulled open, daring him to rip his heart out again.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Neither one of us got much sleep that night.”
“So, Clark still has some issues to deal with?”
“Yes. I think he’ll have to deal with them for the rest of his life.”
“Might be. But you won’t hear about me grieving over Bill Church.” They fell silent again for a few minutes, then Cath asked, “Is there anything else you’re thinking about?”
“Like what?”
“Like babies. It would be natural, what with me being a new mom and you being a new bride and all.”
“Uh. Yeah, I’ve thought about it. And Clark and I have talked about it.”
“But you haven’t made any decisions yet, have you?”
Lois grinned and blushed yet again. “Well, as it turns out, the decision has already been made for us.”
“What? You mean – wait! No! You’re not – Lois, are you – “
“The term you’re searching for is ‘in the family way’ if you want to be extremely polite about it.”
“Actually, I was thinking ‘knocked up.’”
Lois laughed so hard she almost swerved out of the lane. “Easy, Lois! Tell you what, let’s just talk when you stop at traffic lights.”
“Okay. Hey! Don’t say anything to anyone! I haven’t told Clark yet.”
“What? You haven’t told him? How long have you known?”
“For about, oh, forty minutes now. I just came from my OB-GYN. I’m definitely pregnant. That’s why it took me as long as it did to pick you up.”
“Wow.” Cath leaned back. “Superman’s gonna have a baby.”
“No. Clark Kent’s wife is going to have a baby. Superman’s not even going to be on the birth announcement.”
“Right, right. Hey! K. C. Jerome is going to have a baby!”
They both laughed again until Cath put her hand on her stomach and flinched slightly.
“Hey! Cath, you okay?”
“Yes. Just a twinge. Cindy said I’d have to be careful for the next few days and not strain any of my stomach muscles.”
“Well, then, you just sit there and behave yourself! You’ll be home in ten minutes or less.”
“We’d be home already if I was driving my Porsche,” grumbled Cath.
“We’re in my Jeep because it’s safer. Now hush up so I can get you home safely.”
“Okay, okay.”
They were silent until Lois stopped at the curb in front of Cath’s house. Cath slowly climbed out, pointed at a vehicle in the driveway, and almost wailed, “Is that it? I’m driving a light blue minivan now?”
Lois picked up the overnight bag and took Cath’s elbow. “It’s better than the pink one Clay wanted to get, believe me.”
Cath only whimpered in response. When they opened the front door, ten or twelve people jumped up from various couches and chairs and in unison whispered, “Surprise!”
Clay quickly stepped close and gently embraced his wife. “Melinda’s asleep. You want to go see her?”
“Yes! I mean, if we can delay the party for a few minutes.”
Lois leaned in. “I think the party can wait until you see your daughter.”
Clay and Cath made their way past their guests towards the baby’s room. “She lifted her head today!”
“Already? No!”
“Yes! And she smiled at me!”
“That was just gas, Clay. All babies do that.”
“No, she really smiled! And she told me she wants to be a famous writer, just like her mother.”
“Oh, you darling man!”
They passed out of hearing before Clay could gripe about being called a ‘darling man’ in front of his police colleagues again. Lois smiled as Clark put his arm around her and squeezed lightly, then tugged her towards a corner away from the other guests. “They’re going to be great parents, Lois.”
“I know. Oh, is her Porsche in the garage?”
“Yes. Clay and I managed to rearrange everything so that there’s still a path to the lawnmower and weed trimmer. And he’s not going to let her drive it until after her six-week checkup, if then.”
Lois giggled. “I told her Clay traded it in for a minivan.”
Clark smiled. “And I suppose she thought the one in the driveway was hers now?”
“She seemed to. That belongs to one of Clay’s friends from the precinct, doesn’t it?”
“Officer Janet Owens drove it here. She brought most of the other guests with her. I’m glad they came.”
“Me too. Did you get the galley proofs on the spy novel sent back to the publisher?”
“Wow. That was random.”
She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “Once an editor, always an editor. Have you send them back yet?”
“Mailed them this morning, before I came over. Say, where did you go before you picked up Cath? You never did say.”
“Didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t, you not so innocent little minx. Where were you?”
She smiled a private smile. “I’ll tell you all about it after the party, I promise.”
# # #
