Parker's Island (52 page)

“I don’t understand you
,
Delaney.  Do you want to end up back in the hospital?”
h
e ranted, pacing the floor.

“No.”

“Then
,
what was so important that you had to go to town
for
today
?” h
e asked, accusingly.

“This
,
” I said, pulling
the
box out of my purse.

“What is th
at
?”
h
e asked
, still irritated
.

“Open it
,
”
I said, handing it to him.

He opened the box and I saw immediate remorse on his face.  “Delaney,
it’
s beautiful.  Thank you.  But you didn’t have to do this now.  We can’t have our wedding until later
,
anyway
.”

“I had my wedding.  It was everything I wanted, with one exception.”

“What’s that?”
             
“I didn’t have a ring for you.  Now it’s perfect
,
” I said, and put the ring on his finger and kissed him.

His anger melted and all was forgiven
.  A
lthough he refused to leave my side for
even
a second from that moment on…
not that I minded.

I was blissfully happy being Mrs. Barnett and we spent our days talking, watching movies and sometimes he’d read to me. 
Family and friends visited frequently.  It was a perfect life. 
The only complaint I had was that although I was on bed rest, we weren’t allowed to make love.  Not that I didn’t try to persuade him. 

“Delaney, we have the rest of our l
ives.  It’s only a while longer.  W
e can wait
,
”
h
e said, during one of my many attempts to entice him.

I was completely frustrated and wanted my husband, but he refused all of my advances.  “Logan, can we just ignore doctors’ orders for one night?  This, by all
rights should be our honeymoon,
”
I said one night
,
weeks after we were married.

“You know the answer
to that question,
”
h
e said, and turned on the TV.

I turned the television off and said, “Don’t you want
me
?  I know I’m not very attractive right now, but I really need you.”

“You think I don’t want you?  Oh God
,
Delaney
,
y
ou are beautiful
and
I always want you.  I’m only staying away because you’re much too tempting and
I just don’t want to hurt you…
or the baby.”

“
The baby is due
now
,
Logan
.  W
hat’s the worst that could happen?
”

“I don’t
even
want think about the worst that could happen.  We’re waiting
!
” h
e said
emphatically
.

“I
was only
on bed rest to prevent
early l
abor, but I’m
due
now.  There’s no more risk of
early
labor.  Please, for me?”
I sa
id, snuggling up to him in bed.

“You’re making me crazy.  Dr. Branson said no, and we need to listen to him
,
”
h
e said, but I could see his resolve diminishing, so I took advantage of the situation.

I straddled him, which in my condition was no easy task.  “That was weeks ago.  We’ve been good.  Don’t you think we should be rewarded?  The baby is due
in three days;
and then
it’s going to be weeks before we can be together.  It’s now or never.
  I want my husband
,
” I said, pulling off my
nightshirt
.

He was breathing hard,
and
I thought I had him, but he said, “NO
!
” and then he gently rolled me off of him and got out of bed.

“Where are you going?” I asked, stung by his rejection.

“I’m going to the couch…or jogging, I’m not sure yet
,” h
e said
angrily while
grabbing a pillow.

“Don’t leave, please.  I’m sorry
,
” I said, pulling back the blankets.

“Delaney, I love you and I don’t want to hurt you.  If it’s going to be too difficult for us to share a bed, then I better go to the other room.  You decide
,
”
h
e said, standing next to the bed, breathing hard.

I looked up at him, knowing he only wanted what was best for me and the baby.  I gave in, “I’ll be good
.  I promise.
 
Don’t leave, I need you.”

“I’ll never leave you.  Do you honestly think this isn’t killing me
,
too?  It’s even worse than before, because now I
know
what I’m missing.  But I can’t risk hurting either of you. 
We have the rest of our lives to be together.  Please understand.
  We’re waiting!
”

“I don’t want to wait anymore.  We’ve been married for weeks now.  Please?” I asked, with one more attempt at persuading him, but knowing I was pushing him.

He
sat down next to me and said,
“Delaney, I love you.  But, I can’t.
  My mom died in childbirth, remember?  Please understand…I can’t risk hurting you.”

“I do
.  I understand
.  I’m sorry,
”
I said and snuggled into his side.  I laid my head on his chest and breathed in his scent.  This did nothing to quell my desire.  I knew I wasn’t going to win, but I had such an o
ver-whelming need for him.  I
lay
there, holding onto him and the tears streamed silently down my cheek.  I never made a sound, but whether he felt the tears on his chest or just sensed my need, he sighed and pulled my face up to his and kissed me.

He pulled me into his arms
then,
against his better judgment,
and although I was hugely pregnant at thi
s point, we managed just fine.  He was so tender and gentle with me and we fell asleep in
each other’s
arms, finally content. 

I woke up sometime later with the beginnings of what
felt like
menstrual cramps and a horrible backache.  I refused to wake Logan for fear he’d never touch me again, so I ignored it, waiting for the pain to go away.  I
laid there, willing the pain
away when I
felt a sudden gush of fluid
.  I
panicked, thinking I was bleeding again.  I made it to the bathroom and realized there wasn’t any blood,
but
that
my water had broken.  The next pain hit me hard and I
cried out. 

“Delaney, what is it?”
Logan
aske
d, instantly at my side.

“Um, give me a minute
,”
I said,
bent over,
breathing through my contraction
.  W
hen it subsided I said, “My water broke
.
I’m in labor.
  I think we better go.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have…
” 

He stopped when I looked up at him with eyes that said
‘
this is really not the right time for a lecture.
’

“I think
I better call your
mom
,
”
h
e
said, as another pain hit me.

“I don’t
…
think
…we have time…
”

Logan drove me to the hospital in record time, while I focused on breathing through each contraction.  “You’re doing great, Delaney
.  J
ust keep breathing,” he said, nervously.

“I am…
breathing!  I’m scared.  This really hurts.  Oh, no, not again…” I said as another pain hit me hard.

Logan stopped the car at the entrance to the hospital, took my hand and said, “Delaney, you’re the strongest, bravest young woman I’ve ever met.  You can do this, I know you can.
I’ll be with you every second
,” Logan said with such love and sincerity, I instantly started to relax.

“Okay, okay…
I’m ready,” I said, breathing through another contraction.

True to his word, Logan didn’t leave my side for a second.  He breathed through every contraction with me, rubbed my back, held my hand, wiped my brow and held my hair back while I vomited.

“I really should call your mom,” Logan said, just as another contraction hit me.

“Nooooo, don’t leave me,” I screamed, squeezing his hand with a vise-like grip.

“I’m not going anywhere!”
Logan said, kissing my tight
ly
gripp
ed
hand.

A few minutes later I was pushing and
before I knew it, I was holding our daughter.

“She’s as beautiful as her mother
,
” Logan said, touching her tiny cheek with his finger.

“Thank you…
for everything
,
” I said, reaching up to kiss him.

“I guess we better think
of a name for her
,
”
h
e said.

“She has
one
.
I already filled out the birth certificate.  I hope you don’t mind?
”
I said.

“Oh?
  No, it’s fine, I guess
,
”
h
e said, looking
more than
a little hurt that he didn’t have any say in the choice of our daughter’s name.

I started to hand her to him, and he looked a little nervous, so I said, “Elizabeth, tell your Daddy that he’s not going to break you.”

“Elizabeth?”
h
e
aske
d
,
quietly.

“Elizabeth Christine Barnett, if that’s okay with you
?
” I said, happy to be finally giving him a gift for a change.

“I
know
my mother would love that
,
it’s perfect,
”
h
e said, taking his daughter from me.  He kissed the top of her head and said, “
Thank you.”

That was our last quiet moment together, as our friends and family descended to shower us with gifts and
to
fight over who was going to hold the baby next.  The party continued at
our
house and as happy as I was to have my family and friends share
in our joy, I couldn’t wait for everyone to leave. 
My mother took one look at her granddaughter and instantly forgave me for not being at the delivery, even though we told her time and time again that
she would have never made it in
time. 

My mom stayed for a few weeks and I was grateful for the help, but a
s we finally said our last goodbye to my
mother,
I closed the door and leaned against it, breathing a sigh of relief.

I nursed Elizabeth and then laid her down
in
her
beautiful pink crib
. 
Duchess had now taken up residence at Elizabeth’s side, obviously smitten with the baby. 
I turned to my husband, the man I had loved since the first day I saw him and said, “
I always thought that going to the grad party was the biggest mistake of my life
.  B
ut right now, I realize it was the best thing that ever happened to me
.
”
I knew
with absolute certainty that love at first sight was possible
.  I
t had happened twice for me,
once with Logan and again with our daughter.

Logan
kissed me, and as we stared down at our sleeping
baby
, he said, “
You know, m
aybe
Brian and
I shouldn’t have been so hard on Chad
,
after all
,
”
w
e laughed and then
L
ogan
chased me into our bedroom…