When both girls were in college, and before that, when one was and the other had the little Echo to drive to high school and didn’t need one of them to pick her up anymore, Gwen and he would teach and hold office hours at the same time on the same days in the same building on campus. After school, they liked to stop off at a bagel shop on the way home to buy a half-dozen bagels. Then, as one of them drove, they’d each eat a bagel with nothing on it, he usually an everything bagel and she a sesame. Then she went on a gluten-free diet — he forgets why, but she stuck to it — and they’d stop off at the same store after school and he’d eat a bagel as they drove and she’d finger around the bottom of the bag for the seeds of the poppy and sesame bagels and the garlic and onion bits from the everything bagels and eat those. “We should ask the people at Sam’s Bagels if they could make a gluten-free bagel,” he said once when they were driving home. “There’s got to be a market for it, just as there seems to be for banana and blueberry and chocolate and Old Bay seasoning bagels and, around St. Patrick’s Day, green bagels, all of which we hate. It isn’t fair that I get to eat a whole bagel, when we’re so hungry, and you only get what’s fallen off in the bag.” She said “I doubt I’d want to eat a gluten-free bagel. Amaranth? Millet? Brown rice or quinoa? I’m sure they’d all be tasteless and difficult to chew. These dregs will hold me till we get home.”
How could he have not thought of this one till now? The examining nurse, if that’s what she’s called, sent them back home from the hospital, which they’d gone to that morning, because Gwen hadn’t dilated near enough to think she was going to give birth anytime soon. “Your baby’s coming, don’t worry about that, but probably not till late this afternoon or tonight. You don’t want to hang around here, do you? We have no place for you to lie down.” At home, about two hours later, while she was resting in bed and he was in the kitchen reading because he couldn’t stand the music the radio was playing in the bedroom — an entire morning devoted to Dvorak, they said — she started screaming. He ran in. “It’s the contractions,” she said. “I think the baby’s coming out. Check.” He lifted her nightgown; didn’t see anything. Spread her labia wide and saw the baby’s head two to three inches in and for a moment slowly moving forward. “Oh, shit,” he said. “What are we going to do? We’ll never make it to the hospital in time.” She yelled “The baby’s going to die. She’s going to die. The cord will strangle her.” “Shhh,” he said, “let me think. Worse comes to worst, I’ll pull her out myself and cut the cord with scissors, so don’t worry. Of course!” He dialed 911. The dispatcher took his name and address and asked a lot of medical questions. He said “But when will they be here?” and she said “An emergency team is already in the truck and on the way. Keep your front door open; also the door leading into the building.” “I can’t. The cats will run out. Tell the team both doors will be unlocked and just walk in.” “They’re on the way,” he told Gwen. “Feeling any better?” “Feeling better. Not as much pain. Thank you about the cats.” “Just stay calm. It’ll be all right. The damn Dvorak. It’s making me crazy,” and he shut it off. “Leave it on,” she said. It’s one of the Slavonic Dances, or Rhapsodies—I suddenly don’t remember — but the one I love most,” and she laid her head back on the pillows and closed her eyes and hummed the rhapsody or dance. He turned on the radio, unlocked the front door, went downstairs one flight with a plant and put it up against the building’s entrance door to keep it open, ran back and said “I won’t leave you again,” and stroked her forehead, which was wet, and kissed her fingers. “Thanks,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re my husband. Could you wipe my face?” and he wiped it with his handkerchief. “It’s clean; never used.” “And the baby’s alive?” and he said “I’m sure it is. Don’t worry.” Five minutes after he dialed 911, a woman yelled “We’re here. EMU. Which way do we go?” and he yelled “Through the kitchen and then to the right. The woman and two men came in with what seemed like valises and a duffel bag and folded-up gurney. They quickly examined her, plugged something into the wall and attached some wires to her. The vagina was dilated all the way and the baby’s skull was almost sticking out of it. “This’ll be easy,” the woman said. They delivered her on the bed, Gwen gritting her teeth and he holding her hand through it. The radio was still on and he shut it off. “Fastest delivery we ever had,” the woman who pulled out the baby and now held her said. “It’s a girl,” and he said “We know.” “Most parents don’t with the first one,” and he said “They told us earlier by accident at the obstetrician’s office. The baby looks healthy. Be honest; is she?” and she said “She looks good to me. Lots of color; breathing’s okay. Nothing clogging her and strong healthy cry. But they’ll give her a full exam in the hospital and tell you. How do you feel, Gwen? And congratulations,” and the other two, detaching wires from her and the wall and putting things back in the valises and duffel bag, said “Yeah, congratulations, ma’am.” “I hurt and I’m tired and I know I don’t look ecstatic, but I am,” Gwen said. “Thank you all so much. Are you going to cut the umbilical cord?” and the woman, cleaning the baby with what looked like Handi Wipes, said “We’ve been advised, since it isn’t necessary to do it right away, to let the doctors cut it in the hospital. Less chance of infection. Now we got to get you there,” and they opened the gurney. “What’s that?” Gwen said. “Something else feels like it’s about to come out of me,” and the woman said “I was hoping we could avoid this. Probably the placenta. Most times it takes longer to come out. Now we have to cut the cord, but it won’t hurt you or the baby,” and she cut it and pinned or tied it up and said “Do you have a clean bucket or big bowl you wouldn’t mind it being in?” Some more liquid came out and then the placenta in one piece. She picked it up and put it into the salad bowl he’d rushed into the kitchen to get. “If you don’t mind, we’ll have to take the bowl with us in case they want to look at it for anything — that part of it I’m not too knowledgeable about. You know about the fontanel?” and he said “I’ve been warned.” She handed him the baby wrapped in a towel. Then she and the men lifted Gwen onto the gurney, put a blanket over her and strapped her in. She took the baby from him and set her beside Gwen and covered them with a sheet she took out of a sealed plastic bag. One of the men said to Gwen “Keep your arm around her but not too tight. We’ll go very slow and careful.” They carried the gurney downstairs to the first floor and wheeled it to the street. Some tenants from the building were on the sidewalk and waved to Gwen and said “Good luck.” She said “See my baby?” and pulled the sheet down to the baby’s chin. He kissed Gwen and said “See you in the hospital,” and the gurney was slid into the back of the truck. “Can I come along?” he said, and the woman said “You don’t have a car? By city law you should ride up front and it’ll be crowded back there with two of us and your wife.” “I’d rather not leave them.” He sat in the seat next to the driver’s. The driver turned the siren on and they drove to the hospital he and Gwen were at a few hours before. “Siren on because you think something might be wrong with the baby?” and the driver said “No; just gets us there faster and we don’t have to stop for lights.” “It was a close one, though, wasn’t it?” and the driver said “Your baby? No, they usually turn out all right. Those little things are tougher than you think. You got a name for it?” “Rosalind. My wife’s choice. Sort of a family name.” “Everyone will call her Roz,” and he said “I hope not, but if they do, we’ll still call her Rosalind at home.” “And if it was a boy?” and he said “We knew it wasn’t, so never chose one.” “And sorry about the mess we made at your place. Couldn’t be helped. You’re going to have a lot to clean up when you get home.” “Doesn’t bother me. Right now everything’s just fine.” He looked through the little window behind him to the back. The woman and man were seated and Gwen and they had their eyes closed. He couldn’t see the baby. “Is there enough air back there? They all seem to be sleeping,” and the driver said “Probably everyone’s tired. Been a long day for all of us. It also shows there’s no problem with your wife and kid. If there was, the monitor alarm would be sounding and my co-workers would be up and working on them. You should get some sleep too. You look exhausted.” “I’ve got a long wait till then. I want to make sure everything’s okay with them first.” “They’ll be all right. Go home early. Take advantage of the hospital. We’re lucky, living in this city. It’s got a rating for being the best medical center in the country, maybe the world. I don’t know about obstetrics, but I know for just about everything else, so obstetrics has to be right up there on top too.” “Good; good. I’m still worried — that’s my nature — but I’ll be okay.”