Prologue
Carlos, slow down! You’re driving is terrifying me, I might pee my pants!”
Carlos looked over at his wife. “ We’re half-way there, just hold on.”
“If we’re half-way there, we’ll make it on time. I really want to see our girls again but we won’t get there alive at this rate.”
Morgan held onto the car tightly—one hand on the seat the other on the car door. Carlos sped downhill. He missed stop signs, and swerved fiercely around the bends. She saw her life flash before her and had to close her eyes to keep from fainting.
Carlos glanced at her, “Babe, we’ve got to get to the hospital, you cannot give birth in el Diablo.
“I told you to take the SUV!” she groaned.
“Morgan, this is an emergency, one that calls for the ability to accelerate from zero to sixty-two in four point five seconds. Just keep the baby inside until we arrive.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said sarcastically.
Carlos started to relax a bit. Seconds ago Morgan was moaning and grabbing his arm so tightly, it was surprisingly sore now. But the contraction had stopped and she was as calm as if she had already given birth to the baby. Then with little warning,it started again.
“Ahhhhhh!” She reached over, this time her nails dug into his sleeveless arm. Pregnancy had been good to Morgan. Her long black hair grew even faster. Now it reached past her hips. Her olive-colored skin was softer, and the thing that she had bragged about the most—her nails— were strong and healthy. They were so strong that she had been able to grow them out longer than she ever had before. In fact most people mistook them for artificial nails. But by the force in which they dug into his skin, Carlos could testify that these nails were NOT artificial.
“Ohhh, are we—-there yet? Ahhhhhh. I can’t wait...Carlos, hurry!” Morgan’s head rested against the headrest. Her right leg was stretched out against the door and her left was slightly lifted up on the seat.
“Babe, what are you doing? Put your legs down.” Carlos started to panic again.
Morgan gritted her teeth and grunted a long drawn out “uuuuuhhhhhhh.” Then another, and another.
Carlos pressed his foot against the excelerator.The Diablo, his beloved 1997 Lamborghini, handled curves effortlessly. If he weren’t so nervous about the possibility of Morgan giving birth in the car, he would be enjoying this fast-paced ride now.
“No, no, no, not now!” He looked in the rear view mirror to see the flash of the red and blue siren.He had to stop.
“No, you can’t stop!” Morgan cried.
“Babe, It’s the police, I can’t NOT stop!”
“Yes, Yes, ahhhhhhh! Yes, you——-uhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmahhhhhhh...you can. Wave him on, he’lll foaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh-l-ooooooooo-youooooooooooo!” Morgan moaned, baring down again.
It was too late to signal the police to follow him now, the officer was already out of his vehicle and headed towards them. Carlos rolled down his tinted window.
“Officer, it’s an emergency—”
“License and registration.”
“Officer my wife—”
“License and registration, now!”
Carlos’ face was tense with worry. He reached for his wallet and pulled out his license. He handed it to the officer who looked it over.
“Oh, Carlos Abello. I know you from the sitcom Making Friends.” The officer smiled.
Carlos put on a smile too, hoping it would help them get on their way quicker.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Big star, aren’t you?”
“Well, just an average star really,” Carlos smiled modestly, flashing his dimples.
“No, Making Friends is syndicated, I see your reruns,your face is on billboards for your new show, and you’ve done tons of interviews on T.V.and radio. You’re unmistakably a big star,” the officer said, still smiling.
“Well,okay, I do have a lot of fans.”
Then the officer frowned. “Yep, you young celebrities are all the same. You have no regard for traffic laws! The speed limit doesn’t apply to you guys, you’re above the law.” The officer’s tone was unforgiving.
“No, officer Sir, it’s not like that—”
“Registration please!” The officer said exasperatedly.
Carlos turned to get the registration. Morgan had taken off her shorts and underwear. That was not a good sign! He grabbed the registration out of the compartment and handed it to the offer hurriedly.
“Officer, my wife—”
The officer had already returned to his car to check Carlos’ information.
Carlos looked again at Morgan. She took a breath and pushed.
“Baby, don’t push.”
“I have to!” Morgan snapped. Then she pushed long and hard once more. She stopped and looked down between her legs. Her hands gripped a rosy blob. Carlos’ eyes grew wide. The moment felt surreal. He looked around. There was no blanket, no piece of clothing in the car whatsoever. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around the baby and helped Morgan put the newborn on her chest.
“She’s not crying, shouldn’t she be crying?” Carlos asked worriedly.
Morgan looked at the baby’s face. The mouth was open, and just when Morgan began to worry, the baby let out a cry. The cry continued, and both Carlos and Morgan were relieved. Carlos was so relieved in fact, that the baby was okay, that he paid no mind to the mess and the warm earthy smell of after-birth left behind by the birth.
Morgan looked around trying to see where the officer went. “Babe, the placenta still needs to come out, We need to get to the hospital. Tell the officer please.”
“I’m trying, he’s not listening,” Carlos said anxiously.
The officer returned a few minutes later and handed Carlos’ his license and registration.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
“Fifty-five,” Carlos said honestly.
“In a twenty-five limit zone,” The officer said sternly.
Then, the officer gave Carlos a curious look when he noticed Carlos no longer wore a shirt.
“Is there a reason you don’t have a shirt on?” The officer asked, annoyed.
“Yes,” Carlos looked at the officer’s badge and saw his name. “Officer Burns, my wife just gave birth to our baby and I used my shirt to wrap our child in it.”
The officer looked at Carlos suspiciously, then leaned down to peer into the car. When he saw Morgan holding the newborn he gasped. He tore up the ticket and said, “Follow me.”
Officer Burns led them the rest of the way to the hospital and rushed in himself to alert the emergency department of the situation.
Soon Morgan and the baby were being rushed into the hospital on a gurney. Officer Burns apologized to Carlos and asked him for his autograph— saying that his daughters were both big fans. Carlos was irritated at the request. He now realized the terrible mess in his car and how it could have been avoided if the officer hadn’t stopped him. Yet, his wife and the baby were okay. He signed the paper the officer held out for him. Officer Burns thanked and congratulated him.
Carlos was relieved to see him leave. He couldn’t believe how much time the officer had wasted. Morgan was long gone in the hospital and he hadn’t even parked his car yet. A further delay was finding parking. He had never seen the hospital parking lot so full and ended up parking in another lot—a block from the hospital. Nearly an hour had passed before he could join Morgan. When he entered her hospital room she was placenta free, the umbilical cord had been cut, and she had already been changed into a hospital gown.
“Carlos! Where have you been?” Morgan said, lifting her head slightly from the bed as he entered the room.
“Sorry, that darn officer couldn’t stop talking.”
“Really? I was beginning to think you went home and left me here alone,” Morgan smiled.
“Leave you again, never,” he went to her bedside and put his arm around his wife. He leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. “You did it Babe.”
Morgan smiled. “I had no idea she’d come so fast.” She looked down at the baby bundled in a blanket.
“She? It’s a girl?” Carlos asked, noticing the pink color of the cap and blanket for the first time.
Morgan smiled and nodded happily.
“All that work for another girl?” he asked.
Morgan gave him a look of disapproval.
“First of all Carlos, you did nothing! I was the one who did all the work to give birth to your daughter. Second of all, I told you that in all the dreams I had in this pregnancy—in each one, I gave birth to a girl.”
“Those were just dreams. I really thought we were going to have a boy this time.”
“Maybe God’s trying to tell you something,” Morgan raised her eyebrows. “Now that you’re a father of two girls and stepdad to one, perhaps you’ll have a new appreciation and respect for females.”
“Babe, you know I’ve changed. God as my whiteness, I haven’t even thought of another woman since we got married.”
“Well, I never thought it would happen but I can see you’re different. You used to live for evenings out and your head would turn every time a woman walked by...now your evenings are monopolized by story time, picking up toys, and changing diapers,” she said.
“And I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said, patting the baby’s back gently.
“Nor would I…maybe in a few years we can try for a boy.”
“A few years, I’m ready now!”
Morgan laughed. “Maybe change is an understatement. You are not the same Carlos Abello who nearly two years ago was terrified of becoming a father.”
“I wouldn’t have been so scared if I had known how great our children would be and how happy I would be when I married you.” Carlos grinned and kissed Morgan again.
“I love you Carlos. I love our family.”
“Me too babe...me too.”
