A Fast Ride - Jethro's Version

First, go read Zelda's post. I'll fill in the rest.

Anyways, we were flying down the freeway in the middle of the night/early morning. We called my parents and sisters to tell them we were on our way to the hospital. Then, we called Zelda's parents to tell them we were on the way. Both of them told us that they'd be there in the morning because Zelda had several hours of labor to endure. When we got to the hospital, we were led to the elevators that took us up to the labor and delivery floor. The staff gave Zelda papers to fill out and told me that I had to wait in the waiting room. I told Zelda that I had to move the car to a parking garage because we left it at the front door of the hospital.

I went down, moved the car to the parking garage and walked back to the waiting room. Since it was the middle of the night, there was only one other guy in the waiting room. I walked in and he asked me if this was our first child. I said, "yes". He told me to go ahead and lie down and take a nap because I was going to be in the waiting room for a long time. So, I sat down, positioned the overnight bag at the edge of one of the couches to use as a pillow, sprawled my legs out and started to lie down. Before my head touched the cushion, I heard a faint, "Jeth! Jeth!" I thought that we had been assigned a room where Zelda could undergo labor for a few hours in private. I picked up the overnight bag and walked out of the waiting room.

I saw Zelda. She was pale. The nurses were rushing her to the O.R.

Me: "What's going on?"

Dr.: "She's dilated."

Me: "How much?"

Dr.: "Ten centimeters. We're ready now!"

Zelda: "I don't have time for an epidural."

Me: "It's okay, hon. You're going to do just fine." I was actually in full panic at the time. I just couldn't let Zelda know it.

Zelda screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed. Did I mentioned that she screamed? One of the biggest things that helped her during the whole ordeal was when I told her that I could see the baby's head. Then, she knew that all of the pushing was working.

A few minutes later and there was this new little person crying and screaming. They put her in my arms and I'll never forget that overwhelming feeling.

After everything settled down, I called my mom and told her that her granddaughter was born.

Mom: "Already?!"

Me: "yep."

Mom: "Is that her crying in the background?" My mom's voice was trembling. I knew she was crying.

Me: "yep."

I then called Zelda's parents. Her stepdad answered the phone.

Dad: (half asleep) "Hello?"

Me: "Hi Grandpa. say 'hello' to your granddaughter."

Dad: (wide awake) "Already?!"

Me: "yep."

After I handed Gwendolyn to Zelda and we had our little "family moment." I went outside to clear my head. I ran into the guy in the waiting room. He asked me how our room was. I told him they were still getting one ready. He asked me why I was being called previously. I told him that we had a baby girl.

Man in the waiting room: "Already?!"

Me: "yep."

MITWR: "That is so not fair. I've been here 8 hours and nothing. You come here and 15 minutes later and you're done?"

Me: "I guess so. Sorry man."

MITWR: "Holy Shit. Well, congratulations, man."

Me: "Thanks."

Happy Birthday Pumpkin. Today is your special day. Daddy loves you and always will.