Letters from Owen by T. L. Haddix

Author:T. L. Haddix
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Streetlight Graphics Publishing
Published: 2017-11-26T05:00:00+00:00

Rachel

October 15, 1967

Owen recognized the nurse who came to fetch him from the waiting room as the one Sarah had butted heads with each time she was in the maternity ward. If the sour look on the nurse’s face was any indication, she remembered him as well. Regardless of her antagonism, he followed her down the hall, unable to speak even if he tried. Aside from knowing that Sarah and the baby were all right and that she’d had a girl this time, he’d been languishing in the waiting room without news for what felt like hours. The nurse’s not-so-sunny disposition didn’t interest him in the least. Getting to his wife did.

She stopped in front of a closed door. “She’s already talking about going home. I’ve called Dr. Boggs. You either need to quit getting her pregnant or get her to show some common sense, Mr. Campbell. It’s a pure miracle she hasn’t had complications from being so stubborn.”

Owen didn’t dignify her statements with a response before he went past her and closed the door in her face. The curtain was drawn, blocking the view of the bed from the door.

“Sarah?” he asked softly.

“Here. Oh, Owen, come meet her. She’s so beautiful.”

He stopped to wash his hands, a move that would have no doubt surprised the nurse in its caution. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Sore, tired, and groggy, but fine.”

When he finally got around the curtain, her radiant smile punched him in the heart. “I love you so much.”

She laughed, then winced, and extended her arms to hand him the baby. “She’s here! You’re in trouble now, Papa.”

Wrapped in a pink blanket printed with tiny elephants, the baby felt too light to be real.

“Is she okay? Tell me about her,” he said in a hushed voice as he sank into the chair beside the bed, not taking his eyes from his daughter. “Hello, angel.”

Sarah sniffled, and when he glanced up, he saw that her eyes were damp. Before he could ask, she waved off his concern. She cautiously repositioned herself in the bed. “My heart’s full, that’s all. As to how she’s doing, she’s our second heaviest baby at an even seven pounds. Twenty inches long, so she matched her brothers on that but is shorter than Emma by an inch. You’ll see all her fingers and toes are as they should be,” she said as he carefully unwrapped the baby. “She’s perfect.”

Owen sat back to look her over, inspecting her tiny feet and hands with awe and pure joy. He laughed around a tight throat as she kicked her legs vigorously and waved her arms, looking quite mad at having been uncovered.

“There, there. I’ll tuck you in again. She’s feisty. She looks like you.” He locked eyes with Sarah, and for the first time in several hours, he felt as though he could breathe freely. “Thank you.”

She took the hand he held out, grasping it tightly as she winced. “It’s just a cramp, not unusual,” she said through gritted teeth.

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