Taxi Delivery (3 page)

            The ambulance ride went by in a flash.  Sadie’s main concern was for her baby.  She kept asking if she was okay and how she was doing.  The medical technicians were busy taking Sadie’s blood pressure and other vitals, but one of them held the baby tightly wrapped in the blanket they brought along with them.  Sadie was certain the little girl was okay or they would have been doing more to care for her as well.

            Once they arrived at the hospital, just minutes later, Sadie realized how close she had been to making it.  Had she allowed the cab driver to keep going, they might have at least gotten to the emergency room doors.  They would have had medical personnel on hand to help.  Not that it mattered now.  It had happened the way it had happened and it seemed as if everyone was going to be okay.  It was certainly going to make for a good story later in the little girl’s life.

            The EMTs took Sadie out on the stretcher and then placed the new little girl on Sadie’s chest to ride in.  Sadie gasped and everything around her fell away.  The baby was perfect.  Her scrunched up face looked as if it was concentrating on something as she slept.  Sadie had heard her cry when she was first born and she knew that she had a healthy set of lungs.  One of the baby’s hands was curled around the blanket at the top and Sadie could see that all of her fingers were there.

            She smiled.  God had provided her with a perfect little miracle.  She didn’t know what she was going to do about her living situation or how she was going to afford a baby at all.  But she did know that she would do anything in this world to protect the little child that God had entrusted to her care.

            Sadie got situated in her room and was seen by a doctor and a sleuth of nurses.  She began to wonder if the nurses were really coming to care for her, or just to see the woman who had had her baby in the backseat of a cab.  Given all of the cabs running around the city, Sadie didn’t think it should be all that unusual.

            Hours later, when things finally seemed to calm down, Sadie began to think about the day’s events.  She had started out the day exploring the city around her tiny apartment, which she shared with two other women.  She simply wanted to see what was close by so she would know where to go for various supplies when she needed them.  By mid-morning, she had had a baby in the back of a cab.

            Sadie smiled.  She couldn’t believe, after all of her planning, that she really gave birth to her daughter in a parking garage.  At least the labor and delivery had gone easier than she had ever expected.  It was as if her body knew that she had no real help so it took over and did what was needed.

            As Sadie nursed her daughter and watched as her little eyes closed once again, she remembered the cab driver.  His brown eyes had panic written all over them and yet Sadie had been calmed by the way he had prayed.  He hadn’t even asked if it was okay to pray for her.  He had just boldly done it.  Sadie had taken that prayer and echoed it in her own mind as she labored.  The fact that he was obviously a believer had carried her through the situation.  She had always believed that where two or more were gathered in God’s name, God was there.  With God on their side, she felt like nothing was going to go wrong.

            And she and her little girl had come out on the other side safe and sound.  With a good story to tell, no less.  But she had someone she needed to thank for that.  She prayed her thanksgiving to God right then and there with her little girl cradled tightly in her arms.  While praying always made her feel better, she knew that she would not feel totally settled into her new life as a mom until she spoke with the driver who had been there for her in her hour of need.  She needed to thank him in person for everything that he had done for her.

            Another nurse popped into Sadie’s room, interrupting her thoughts.  “Need anything?” she asked.

            Sadie shook her head and looked down at her little girl who let out a big sigh in her sleep.  “Everything is perfect,” she replied.

            The nurse smiled.  “You’re the talk of the town, you know.”

            “Really?” Sadie asked.

            “It’s not everyday someone has a baby in the back of a cab, you know,” the nurse said, taking a step into the room.  “Just every other day,” she said with a chuckle.  “And it must be a slow news day because you’re all over channel 3.”

            “I’m on TV?” Sadie asked incredulously.

            “Well,” the nurse continued, “not you.  But your driver is.  The man who helped deliver the baby.  And the story is out there.  But no one has yet caught on to your name and the hospital has a strict privacy policy so it won’t be released through us.  Unless you want the world to know it was you in that parking garage today, I’d say you’re pretty safe.”

            Sadie gave a slight nod.  “When is the next newscast?” she asked.  She had no idea what time it was.

            The nurse checked her watch.  “There should be one coming on now.  And I’m sure, unless something else has happened in this crazy city, you’ll be the lead story.”

            She moved across the room and clicked the TV on using the remote on the side of Sadie’s bed.  She flashed by a couple of channels until she got to channel 3.  “Here you go,” she said.  “Just push the call button if you need anything and we’ll be back in about an hour to take the baby for her hearing test.”

            “Okay,” Sadie agreed, already transfixed on the TV, which was hanging high on the wall across from her bed.

            There were a few commercials to get through before the news started, but Sadie couldn’t take her eyes from the screen.  She was anxious to see what they were saying about her and how much information they were going to have.  She didn’t know if something like this was going to make the national news or not, but if it did, she wanted to ensure that no one would know that it was her.  She knew she was going to have to let her daughter’s father know about the birth at some point, but she wanted that to be on her own time.  She didn’t want to be rushed because of the sensational way the girl had been born.  And she wanted him to hear it from her and not from some random TV news reporter.

            The music for the news began and Sadie sat up a little straighter, moving slowly so as not to disturb her sleeping bundle.  “Breaking news from Channel 3,” the anchor reported as they immediately went to a tape of the ambulance pulling out of the parking garage.  “A woman gave birth in the World Bank parking garage just hours ago,” the reporter continued.  “Channel 3 was first on the scene to get the full story.”

            The shot broke and flashed to a reporter in the parking garage standing in front of the cab in which Sadie had been riding.  “Witnesses say that a woman in her late 20s or early 30s had a little girl in the back of this cab just hours earlier,” she said as she looked over her shoulder at the cab and then back to the camera.  “We spoke with the driver at the scene immediately after it happened.”

            Sadie took a deep breath as the show cut to the driver, standing beside his cab with a befuddled look on his face.  Sadie could tell that he was looking off into the distance as if he was searching for something.

            “Can you tell us what happened here?” the reporter asked off camera as the microphone was jabbed into the man’s face.

            “Uh, a lady, she, uh, had a baby,” the driver said, staring past the camera.

            “A woman gave birth in the backseat of a cab, is that correct?” the reporter asked.

            “Yeah, yeah, she had a little girl,” the driver answered, his spaced off look remaining.

            So they knew she had a little girl.  But so far, the rest of the news was pretty vague, Sadie thought.

            “Did you deliver the baby?  What’s your name, sir?” the reporter continued, hardly giving the poor guy a break.

            “Jed.  Jed Leida,” the man stuttered, glancing at the camera for the first time.

            “Did you deliver the child?” the woman asked, digging for more information as quickly as possible.

            “I think she pretty much did that on her own,” the man answered with a slight smile.

            “But you were there, weren’t you?”

            “Oh yes, I was most certainly there.”

            The station went back to the reporter in front of the cab, which looked as if it were being towed.  “Jed Leida, a cab driver for over two years, delivered the little girl in the back of his cab.  The mother in question has not yet been named but sources say she was a young blonde and she was in the cab alone.  The hospital has not yet revealed her name but reports say that mom and baby are doing just fine.”

            The anchor took it from there, thanked the reporter, and went on to the news story of the day.

            Sadie turned the TV off.  She got to see what she needed to see.  The news didn’t have much information on her other than her vague age and the fact that she had been alone and had birthed a little girl.  The fact that she had not been named was a relief.  And now, Sadie had even more of the information she wanted.  She knew the name of the cab driver who had been there for her through it all.  Jed Leida.  A name she would not soon forget.

            When Jed finally got home, he was exhausted.  It was the weekend so he didn’t have any classes to attend, but he always had plenty of reading and studying to do.  Unfortunately for his grades, Jed could not concentrate on anything at all.  The feel of the baby in his arms haunted him and he could not get the look of joy on the woman’s face as he proclaimed that it was a girl out of his mind.

            Jed had literally gone through a life changing experience with her and he didn’t even know her name.  What concerned him even more was that he did not know how she and the baby were doing.  They only met for one brief cab ride, but Jed felt connected to the woman and her story.  He wanted to make sure her husband made it to her side and that she was okay.  He had been responsible for getting her to the hospital in time and he hadn’t exactly done a stellar job at that task.  The least he could do was check up on her and make sure everything was okay now that she had finally arrived.

            Jed searched the computer for the hospital that had been closest to the parking garage and dialed the number listed under their patient information tab.

            “Patient information, this is Deb,” the voice on the other line answered after three rings.

            Jed cleared his throat.  “Um, yes, I was wanting to get some information on a patient of yours.”  Jed closed his eyes, realizing that his statement was rather dumb and generic.  After all, it was why the number existed.

            “Okay,” the forgiving voice on the other end said, “what is the patient’s name?”

            Jed heard a few key strokes clang through the phone as the woman pulled up a new screen on her computer.

            “That’s the problem,” Jed continued.  “I don’t really know.”

            The silence over the line felt like eternity as Jed waited for Deb to instruct him on what he was to do next.  “So…” Deb continued, finally breaking up the pause.  “I take it you’re not a member of the patient’s family?”

            “No,” Jed confirmed.  “Not exactly.”  Not at all was more like it, though he felt as though he should be at least an extended family member after what he had gone through with the woman in the back of his cab.

            “I’m sorry,” Deb began, sounding sincerely apologetic.  Jed was pretty sure that she had been chosen for her position for just this reason.  She was obviously very good at what she did.  “We can’t disclose information to anyone about any patient unless they are immediate family AND have been cleared by the patient.”

            “I see,” Jed said, unable to say much more.

            “Can I have your name, please?” Deb asked.

            “My name?”

            “Yes, sir.  What is your name?”

            When Jed didn’t answer, Deb continued with an explanation.

            “I can run your name through our database to see if anyone has cleared you for visits or to receive information about them.  That way, in case whoever you are calling about wants you to know more about them, we could work the system that way.”

            “I see,” Jed said without any hope at all.  He hadn’t exchanged names with the patient in question.  She no more knew his name than he knew hers.  But he decided it would be rude to end the conversation with Deb so early.  She was doing her best to be helpful.  “I’m Jed.  Jed Leida.”

            Jed listened as the woman typed away on her computer on the other end.  He rubbed his hand across his chin, feeling the stubble the day had brought.

            “Ah, yes,” Deb said, “you have a visitor clearance after all.”

            “I do?” Jed said, sitting up in his chair.

            “You are not cleared to receive patient information over the phone, but you ARE cleared to visit one of the patients we have in residence here.”

            Jed could almost hear the smile in her voice.  She had succeeded for him and she was just as happy about that as he was.  “Could you tell me one more thing?” Jed asked, hope inching its way back into his voice.  “What is her name?”

            “The patient’s?” Deb asked.

            “Yes,” Jed replied, realizing how strange this whole conversation had to be for Deb.  How often did someone call to ask about a patient whose name he did not even know only to find out he had been cleared to visit her?

            “I know it’s none of my business,” Deb said as Jed heard more keystrokes sounding through the phone.  “But you wouldn’t happen to be the cab driver I’ve been hearing so much about, would you?”

            “I do drive a cab…” Jed said, trying not to give away more than the woman already knew.

            “I’m sorry,” she said as the typing stopped.  “It’s just that the patient you’re cleared to see is the very same one who…” Deb paused.       

            “I understand,” Jed interrupted.  “You can’t give out information.  But it’s okay.  Yes, I was the cab driver.  I was with the woman who gave birth to her baby in the parking garage…in the back of a cab…my cab.”

            “I just knew it was you.  Oh, she’ll be so delighted.  She just called down to patient information half an hour ago.  She saw you on the news and learned your name and wanted to give you clearance right away on the off chance that you would check in on her.  I think she really wants to see you.  Visiting hours start first thing tomorrow at 9.”

            Jed shook his head.  Things had lined up way better than he had hoped.  He didn’t dream that he’d get to see the woman again.  He just assumed that he would hear that she and the baby were fine and then they would all move on with their prospective lives.

            “I’ll be there,” he said with certainty.  “Are you able to tell me her name?”

            “Now that I know who you are,” Deb answered, “and that she wants to see you, yes, I can do that.  I can’t give you any of her medical information, of course.”

            “Of course,” Jed responded.  By then, all he really wanted to know was her name.  The rest would come later when he visited the next morning.  Though he assumed she must have been doing okay if she made a phone call to patient information just half an hour before.

            “Her name is Sadie.  Sadie Walker.”

            Sadie.  “Thank you very much,” Jed said with enthusiasm.  “You’ve been so very helpful.”

            “Not a problem at all,” Deb responded.  “See you tomorrow Mr. Leida.”

            Jed hung up the phone.  It had been quite a day.  He planned on driving the cab until the dinner rush was through and then spending the evening studying until his brain hurt.  Instead, he picked up a fare first thing this morning, delivered a baby, got interviewed by a news station, and headed home.  It certainly had been far from what he expected out of his day.  And he felt as if the craziness of the day was only the beginning somehow. 

            Sadie Walker had needed him in the backseat of that cab.  She needed him to ensure her baby’s safe entry into the world.  And now, for whatever odd reason, Jed felt like she needed him still.