it was positive. It all became clear to her now—why she’d been feeling weepy and tired and, come to think of it, more nauseous than usual over Randy’s greasy beef barbecue lately.
A baby! She couldn’t believe it. It was the only time they…well, she wasn’t so sure about him…she had made love—ever! It’s impossible, I’m too young. She looked in the mirror and hardly recognized the thin young woman staring back at her with well-defined cheekbones, a slim, long neck, and slight circles under her huge brown eyes.
She suddenly noticed how she had lost a lot of weight. But she couldn’t think about that now. She had a whole lot more to worry about. Oh my gosh, what will Alex say, what will we do?
Fortunately, she didn’t have much time to fret about how to tell him the news. He burst in the door two minutes later, whistling “You Are My Sunshine.” “Hey sweetheart, where are you, I have some news!” he shouted good-naturedly from the living room.
Boy, so do I. Eliza wrapped the pregnancy stick in some tissue and tucked it into the pocket of her black skirt, noting absent-mindedly that she hadn’t even changed from her work uniform. She looked in the mirror again, forced a big smile, and came out to give him a hug.
“How’s my girl?” he asked, kissing her neck, tickling her.
“Fine and dandy.” It was a saying her mom used to use. Sometimes she couldn’t help herself, she realized, putting her parents out of her mind. “Why don’t you sit down? I have some news for you too.” She took his hand to lead him to sit down but he broke free and stood, looking triumphant.
“I bet my news is bigger than yours!”
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Eliza said, slightly annoyed and tickled at the same time over the irony of his statement.
“Okay, then, you go first, smarty-pants.” Alex finally followed Eliza’s prompting for him to be seated during her news.
She sat next to him on the couch, nervously running her hands over her skirt. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you it was big. Um, I’m not sure how to say this, so I’ll just say it. I’m pregnant.”
Eliza watched as the huge smile beaming across Alex’s face slowly faded, the color left his face, and his eyes grew wide with shock.
“You’re…preg…pregnant?” Eliza could only nod, worried that Alex was upset. “I can’t believe…well…okay then…”
“I know, I can’t believe that it only took that one time, with me being a virgin…”
“I was a virgin too.”
Eliza’s mouth hung open and then she felt her heart sing with the news.
Alex sat on the couch, still looking incredulous, his thick, black eyebrows knit in concentration for a minute. And then he unexpectedly smiled at her.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked, still nervous.
“Because I love you, Eliza, and this means there’s only one thing left for us to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Get married!” He suddenly was kneeling on the threadbare living room carpet in front of her. “Eliza Smith, will you marry me? I’m sorry I don’t have a ring and all but––”
“Yes!” Eliza’s heart soared, and she threw both arms around her best friend’s neck, breathing in his earthy smell. She looked teary-eyed at him, making sure he was of sound mind, but all she saw was love in his eyes. “I don’t need a ring. All I need is you.”
LIFE GOT EVEN HARDER for the newlyweds. They were married the following Friday by a justice of the peace in the courthouse in downtown Phoenix, each asking a co-worker to stand in as a witness. That way they could at least have Saturday and Sunday off to celebrate, even though it was in their tiny apartment. Eliza had found a tea-length white dress in the Goodwill store, and Alex, dressed in the only pair of khaki slacks he owned with a white polo shirt he had found on sale at Walmart, told her she looked beautiful as she took his hand and they said their vows.
Soon after the wedding, both Eliza and Alex picked up more hours at work whenever they could to save a few extra dollars to put toward the baby fund, both coming home every night exhausted.
Eliza was fortunate not to have morning sickness, at least during the third trimester of her pregnancy.
But Cameron’s birth was not easy.
“THIS REALLY, REALLY HURTS!” Eliza gasped between labor pains, lying in the delivery room hospital bed, her head swimming with fear.
“Isn’t there something you can give her for the pain?” Alex asked the attending obstetrician, an intern at Saint Joseph Hospital. Eliza’s regular doctor was involved in a complicated surgery at the moment.
“No, not yet, she’s not far enough along,” the young doctor said, checking a clipboard.
I’d like to take that clipboard and whack him over the head, Eliza thought, clenching her teeth as the next wave of pain slammed her abdomen and lower back simultaneously, nearly rendering her unable to catch her breath. I don’t know if I can take this. Eliza panicked. She had only been in labor for an hour. Sweat dripped from her forehead, but she felt like she was freezing.
“Alex, you’ve got to do something,” Eliza said, gripping her husband’s hand until it was nearly white. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Doc, no offense, but can we get a real…I mean, you know, a doctor in here?” Alex flinched as Eliza groaned in agony. “How long is it gonna be until she gets something for the pain?”
The young Hispanic doctor, who looked to be only a few years older than they were, finally took his eyes from the chart and glanced at Eliza as if she were a peculiar animal under observation, not hiding the fact that he was offended by Alex’s question. “Is this your first child?” he inquired with authority, his tone tinged with disdain.
“Yes, but…this just…doesn’t feel normal.” Eliza said the words in between deep breaths.
“Well, I assure you it is. But let me tell you what, I’ll be back in an hour to check on you, and we’ll see if your cervix has dilated any further. Then perhaps we can give you a little something for the pain.” The young doctor hurriedly jotted something on the clipboard chart and, without saying anything further, turned and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
An hour! Eliza seethed with anger. But then another labor pain took so much energy from her that her words tumbled out in a hoarse whisper between ragged breaths. “Alex, I just don’t think I can do this.” She started to cry, feeling like a helpless, small child being bullied. Only her enemy, the one who kept kicking and punching her in the gut, was unseen, making it impossible to fight back. She could see the helplessness on her husband’s face too, as he wrung his hands, pacing back and forth across the little room.
Another pain cramped her midsection, knifing its way into her back, and Eliza screamed out loud this time, writhing on the bed until the crashing wave subsided, leaving her limp, lifeless form in its wake. She shut her eyes, talking softly. “I feel like I just want to die,” she said and started to weep.
But the next pain,
