Chapter 29

Delilah had three doctor’s appointments before they found out that she was, indeed, going to have a girl.  When they got home from the doctor that afternoon, Jake was all smiles.  “So, what are we having?” Brie asked when they walked in the door.  It was one of the few days that she didn’t have any appointments.

“We’re having a girl!” Delilah said excitedly.

“Like you two didn’t already know that from the dreams you’ve both been having”, David said with a laugh.  “So, what were you planning on naming her?”

Delilah and Jake had discussed Jake’s idea to name his first daughter after his grandmothers and she loved the idea.  She thought it was great to honor the women that raised his parents by naming their great granddaughter after them.  “Actually, we wanted to talk to you two about that.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re planning on naming her after me”, Brie joked.

“Um… NO.  Actually, I was wondering what your mother’s names were.”

Brie smiled.  “My mother’s name was Sarah, but she went by her middle name which was Rebekah.”

“Rebekah.  I like that”, Delilah said.

“Me too”, Jake said, then turned to his father.  “What was your mother’s name, Dad?”

“Miriam”, David said after swallowing past his pulse.  “My mother’s name was Miriam.”

“Miriam”, Jake said softly.  “That’s where I got Miri from in my dreams.  Miriam.”

“We could name her Miriam Rebekah”, Delilah said softly in return.

Jake looked at his parents.  “Would that be ok with you?  Us naming our daughter after your mothers?”

They didn’t need to look at each other to make the decision.  They were both ok with the idea so they nodded in unison.  “We’d be honored son, and so would your grandmothers”, was David’s simple reply.  “We have no doubt that she’ll live up to the names.”

Jake and Delilah hugged his parents before heading out to their little house to set up the crib and swing that they’d bought not long before.  Jake was using a whole different set of tools than he was used to, but he was glad to do so.  Wrenches, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, the works.  They were even going to repaint the nursery room in a nice shade of pink for their daughter.  Delilah would stand and watch him working in the nursery in awe.  He was so happy to have a little girl on the way.  She knew he’d love that little girl as much as he love her.

There were times when he’d catch her staring at him, watching in wonder as he worked.  He’d set whatever tool he was working with on the floor and move across the room to press his ear to her stomach to listen for his little girl moving in her mother’s womb.  It fascinated him.  He understood the physiology of it all, but there was still something about watching as a child developed in its mother’s uterus that he knew science would never be able to explain.  There was a miracle there that no one could understand, not even him and he was a doctor.

Every time she would feel the baby move or kick and Jake was around, she would be sure to let him know about it.  It was important to them both for him to be as big a part of the pregnancy as he could.  He went to every appointment with her, and if there was a class that she wanted to take, he made it happen and would be there to do it with her.  He loved being involved with the pregnancy like that.

Every day that passed was a blessing to the both of them.  The cherished the time they could spend together; the time that he research didn’t take from them.

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Jordan came not too very long after that with news of her own.  “Sammi’s giving me a little BOY!” she squealed.

“Congrats!” Brie said, hugging her daughter.

“Way to go, baby girl”, David said when Jordan pulled him into the hug as well.  “Wow, you’re going to have a little boy, Jake’s having a little girl.  I don’t think it could get any better at this point.”

“Jake’s having a little girl?” Jordan said.

“Yeah.  They’re naming her Miriam Rebekah after your grandmothers.”

“You mean the grandmothers you always wanted to introduce us to but never could.”

“Yeah, those grandmothers”, Brie said.

“That’s awfully sweet.”

“Do you have a name in mind for your son?” David asked.

“Joseph.  Joseph Michael.  I’m gonna call him Jo Jo.”

“Jo Jo?  Really?”

“Yeah.  It’s a cute little nickname that may or may not stick with him past childhood.”

David chuckled.  “You’re going to mess that poor little boy up calling him Jo Jo, Jordan.  I almost feel sorry for my future grandson.”

“You’re so MEAN, Dad”, she laughed.

“Hey, I’m just speaking the truth.”

“So, what the due date?” Brie asked.

“Mid July.”

“I believe that’s the same time as Delilah.”

“No, she’s end of July”, Jake said when he came from work that afternoon.

“So, you’re having a girl, bro?” Jordan asked him.

“Yeah.  You having a boy or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice.”  He sighed.  “I’ll be back in a few.  I’m going to go change out of these scrubs and go check on my wife.”

“I thought you had to work a double today, Jake”, his mother said.

“I talked to the chief of medicine there at the hospital.  I’ve been promoted to Chief of Neurology due to the inquiries and subsequent firing of the former chief and his supporters because of the whole mess with my TBI patient that was having strokes.  Being Chief of Neurology means I set my own schedule.”

“It sounds like congratulations are in order”, David smiled.

“Thanks, Dad.  Now, I’m going to go give the good news to my wife.”

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“That’s great news!” Delilah said in excitement as she folded the clothes her in laws had just purchased.   “That means you get a raise, right?”

“What part of ‘promotion’ didn’t you understand?” Jake laughed.

“So, you’re the new Chief of Neurology, you’re researching traumatic brain injury, you’re going to be a father in about three or four months; what’s going through your mind right now?”

“I want to get out of these clothes, get some dinner, and hang out with me wife.  That’s what’s going through my mind right this moment.”

“The new title and pay mean nothing to you, do they?”

“Not particularly.  I can worry about my work and interns another time.  The only things I want to focus on are you and that little girl we’re expecting.  I don’t want to be ‘Dr. Draiman’ right now.  I want to be your husband and an expectant father.”

She stretched up and pressed a kiss to his lips.  “Then get out of those stinky scrubs and come into the main house with me so that I can get a snack.”

Jake had started taking his work clothes off after finding something to wear.  “So, what are you craving today?” he asked as changed his clothes.

“I want ice cream and chicken nuggets with ranch dressing.”

“So, the same thing as every other day?” he asked, pulling a clean shirt on over his head.

“Yeah, and tomorrow will be like yesterday, all cheese, fried potatoes, and smoked sausage.”

“Are you not eating enough of something?”

She sighed as he asked her the same question he asked her every day.  “I’m eating everything I’m supposed to and I’m taking all of my vitamins like I’m supposed to.  I’m just craving those things.  It’s completely normal from what your Mom tells me.”

“Did she tell you what she craved during her pregnancies?”

“With Malachai she craved Caesar Salad and bread and butter pickles; with you and Jordan she craved a lot of fruit; and with Maddie she wanted beef jerky all of the time, teriyaki flavored beef jerky.”

Jake laughed.  “WOW, you’ve really talked this over with my Mom, haven’t you?”

“I pick her brain every chance I get.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“You shouldn’t be.”

He finished tying his sneakers as he sat on the edge of their bed, then reached out and pulled her against him.  His arms wound around her waist and he pressed an ear to her swollen abdomen.  “I’m not.  If anyone can give you advice on caring for children and for yourself while you’re pregnant, it’s my mother.  She’s just amazing.”

“She is”, Delilah said with a smile as she rubbed her finger tips over his deep brown curls.  “Honestly, I pray every day that I can be just half the woman she is.”

“That’s a pretty steep goal there, honey, but I think you’re up to the challenge”, he said with a grin.  As he finished the sentence, her felt pressure against his cheek.  He gasped as his eyes widened and a smile spread across his face.  “I just felt her kick, baby”, he laughed.

“She likes to hear the sound of Daddy’s voice.  She was just saying, ‘Hi, Daddy!  I hear you!’”

“Hey there, little Miss Miri”, he said, his ear still pressed to her stomach.  “We can’t wait to get to finally meet you.  I think you’re going to like it out here.  You have a bunch of aunties and uncles that can’t wait to hold you for the first time and Gramma and Grampa are excited too.  But, you need to get nice and big first.  Don’t be in too big of a hurry to arrive.  We can keep waiting until you’re ready.”  As he sat there with his ear pressed to his wife’s stomach, and listened and felt the movement of his little girl in her Mama’s tummy, something in the back of his mind nagged at him.  Be careful of your words, Jacob.  It just might happen.

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After getting his wife a snack, Jake went out and finished painting the baby’s room the soft pink hue that his wife and mother had picked out.  Delilah helped where she could, but for the most part painting and decorating the nursery was his project.  Once the paint was dry the furniture was moved into the room.  He was actually grateful that his father had had the square footage of the little house expanded of there would have been issues.

Dinner time rolled around and Delilah started to get hungry again.  When they went into the house to join his parents, they found that it was only going to be the two of them that night.  Delilah went to search the house when Jake found the note telling them what was going on written in his father’s hand.

“Jake and Delilah,
As you can tell, we’re not home.  Jessi has a game tonight and you know your mother and I never miss a home game.  Enjoy an evening alone for a change.  Mom made a roast for dinner and there’s some sort of pie in the fridge for dessert.  Please save your mother and me a piece.

Dad.”

Jake laughed at the note.  “Seriously, Dad?  You want us to save you a piece of pie?  I don’t really see that happening.  You know what Delilah’s sweet tooth is like these days.”

“Baby, there’s no one here but us”, said the pregnant woman in question when she came back into the room.

“I know.  Everyone’s at Jessi’s softball game.  Jess plays varsity catcher and she’s damn good too.”

“Doesn’t Marc play baseball?”

“Yeah, center field I believe.  The boy’s got a hell of an arm.”

“Then why doesn’t he play football?”

“That’s James’s thing.  He’s a hell of a quarterback and a damn good captain.”

“That’s good.  Maybe since you’re Chief of Neurology we can go watch him play this fall.”

“I’ll see what I can do about that.  I am the one that makes the schedules now.”

She wrapped her arms around him and tried to lay her head on his chest.  She pouted slightly.  “DAMN IT!  I miss being able to put my head on your chest.”

He chuckled a little at the effort.  “You’ll be there again soon.”

She huffed and stomped her foot.  “But, I wanna do it NOW!” she laughingly pouted.  “I can’t hug you the way I want to, I can’t lay on my right side because my blood pressure will drop and I’ll get all fidgety and shit; and I’m HUGE!  I feel like a fucking blimp.”

He spun her around gracefully and wrapped his arms around her waist.  “But, you’re beautiful and glowing.   Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever found you more attractive than I do right now.  Not that I don’t find you attractive all the time, mind you.”

She giggled.  “Nice save.”

“Thank you.  I’ve heard my Dad use that line with my Mom a time or two.  I hoped it might work.  Now, what do you say we get some dinner and enjoy an evening in an empty house?” He placed a kiss over the pulse in her neck.

She smiled and turned in his arms, her upper body toward him; her lower body away from him.  She kissed him back, placing a hand on his neck.  “That sounds delightful honey.  But, first, I have to pee.”

“I’ll get the table set while you do that”, he chuckled and let her go.  When she walked out of the kitchen, he set the table so that they could enjoy a quiet dinner alone.