Page 67 of Karma Kitty Christmas
They were still there, on the couch, Isaac leaning on Luca, Luca leaning on the arm of the couch, the cat asleep between them, three hours later when Allegra came down the hallway, leaning on the wall.
“Hey, guys?” she said, and Luca choked on his own snore and tried to focus.
“’Llegra?” he slurred, while Isaac grunted and rubbed his eyes. Painfully, Luca tried to twist his body so he could see his sister.
“Those back pains… they’re… they’re getting really strong. They’re waking me up, like, every eight minutes or so. Is that… is that bad?”
“No,” Isaac said on a yawn. “But itisgetting close. You got any other signs of labor?”
“Labor?” Allegra repeated, sounding stunned. “Is this… is thislabor?”
Luca untangled himself from the cat and his boyfriend, stood up, and balanced one hand on the arm of the couch so he could collect himself. “Yeah. Sorry, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it. We packed your bags and everything. When you get to, like, five, six minutes apart, we’ll go to the hospital.”
“But….” To his horror, he watched her lower lip wobble. “But tomorrow’sThanksgiving! Weplanned! You and Isaac cooked, and we’ve got company, and—”
“Shh, shh, shh….” Luca hugged her close, standing a little to the side to make room for her tummy. Even as he held her, he felt her stiffen, watched in fascination as her stomach, pushing tight against her sleepshirt, rippled in hard, dramatic waves. When it was done, he saw a tiny little “pop” of an agitated foot against a home that had gotten far too small.
“Whoa,” he said, voice hushed in awe. They’dallseen the baby moving under her skin, but that was the first time he’d seen it done with that sort of controlled violence. “This kid is gettingpissed. Yeah, I think it’s definitely coming today.”
“But I’m not ready!” Allegra wailed, and Luca had to hold her some more, trying to calm her down, until the next contraction—seven and a half minutes, Isaac told them—rippled over her where she stood and almost brought her to her knees.
“Isaac!” she cried, after Luca helped her to her chair. “Isaac, make it stop! You can do anything—make it stop! Make the contractions stop! I’m not ready!”
“Allegra!” Isaac said sternly, in what Luca had come to recognize was his teacher voice. “Allegra, stop this. No—no, don’t argue. Stop this. You are grown, sweetheart. You are strong. You knew this was coming. You’ve got—” He checked his Fitbit. “You’ve gotfive minutesto prepare for the next contraction. You need to breathe, just like the class taught you, and find that calm space inside yourself. You remember that space?”
“Isaac…,” she whimpered.
“You know we love you, honey,” he said, still stern, “but you are going to help nobody if you freak the fuck out. Now look at you. You’ve decorated your room and the nursery. You’ve trained someone at work so you don’t have to go back for three months. You’ve already gone out and found day care for when you need it. That was a lot of grown-up shit you did to get ready for this baby, and you know we’re here to help. But the next part of this isall you. Luca and I can hold your hand and tell you you’re pretty, but you need to look in your heart and remember who you’re doing this for.”
“My baby,” she whispered, her breathing much quieter.
“Who?” Isaac demanded.
“My baby!” she said, and she sounded stronger this time.
“That’s right. Now breathe. Get all the oxygen you can. Calm yourself down. Wait for the next one. Okay?”
“Okay.” They locked eyes, and she nodded with Isaac, and for a few minutes, there was only the sound of them breathing.
All too soon, her breathing quickened, and Isaac was checking his Fitbit, and the next contraction was on.
BY EIGHTin the morning, it was time to call the hospital and take their show on the road.
By eleven, with Luca on one side and Isaac on the other, Allegra grabbed her thighs, spread her legs andheaved, and the new baby emerged into the world, squalling and healthy and red and wrinkled and perfect.
Allegra wept, giving her hands to Luca and Isaac, and whispered, “How is she?”
“How’d you know it was a she?” Luca asked, smoothing her hair from her brow.
“Don’t know,” she laughed tiredly. “Maybe it was ’cause I thought Brian deserved the foot rub.”
Luca chuckled and kissed his sister’s cheek. “I promised Roxy I’d lie. First person on the phone wins.”
“Later,” Isaac said, watching the baby’s progress from the cleanup station to the eyedrop station to the swaddling station. “Let’s meet her first.”
For a moment there was more pain and more panting as Allegra finished the messiness of delivering a child, and then she was washed up and blanketed, and the swaddled little creature was placed in her arms.
Allegra held the baby to her chest, and the tiny thing scowled back, and Luca was enchanted.
