Her first sound was more bleat than wail, but she had ten fingers and ten toes, and that was all Decker cared about. Wrinkled and red, her skin covered with something akin to cold cream, she seemed perturbed by the world rather than scared by it. Decker watched as Georgina, the labor nurse, scooped his daughter from the obstetricianâs arms into her own. After rubbing the infant with a towel and giving her a quick exam, the nurse swaddled her in a blanket. The baby was finally presented to Papa for inspection.
She had a mottled face, her nose scrunching as she beeped rather than cried. Her eyes were closed, lids as thin as onion-skin. Downy fuzz covered her scalp. Decker took a gloved index finger and placed it on a tiny palm. Slowly, soft pink digits encircled his finger. It brought tears to his eyes.
âIs she okay?â Rinaâs voice was anxious.
âSheâs perfect, darlinâ,â Decker answered. âJust ⦠perfect.â
âOf course sheâs perfect!â Georgina folded thick arms across her bosom. âWe only deliver perfect babies here.â
Decker shifted his attention from his daughter to his wife. Rinaâs eyes were red-rimmed, her lips moving in silent prayer. Damp black tresses lay across her forehead. Never had she looked so beautiful.
âSheâs perfect, Rina.â Deckerâs throat was clogged. âJust like you.â
Rina gave him a weak smile, and Decker suddenly became aware of her exhaustion. But he knew such fatigue was normal after childbirth.
âYou did great, Madame Decker!â Georginaâs stubby finger stroked Rinaâs arm. âJust hang in a little bit more, and then you take that much deserved nap.â
âClose your eyes, Rina,â Decker said.
She nodded as her lids fell shut. Then she jerked them open and started breathing rapidly.
âEverything okay, Dr. Hendricks?â Decker asked.
âSo far,â the obstetrician answered. âSheâs expelling the afterbirth now. The contractions wonât go away until she does.â
Then Rina stopped panting as suddenly as sheâd started. Decker watched Hendricks as he tended to Rina. Most of the doctorâs face was hidden behind the surgical mask, but his eyes were visible and clouded with concentration. He placed his palms on her abdomen and pushed down. âRina, do you feel strong enough to nurse the baby?â
Rina whispered yes. So frail.
âThatâs great, doll,â Hendricks said. âLet Nature help us along.â
âHelp with what?â Decker asked.
The doctor didnât answer. Georgina took the baby from Deckerâs arms and placed her on Rinaâs chest. Cradling the infant, Rina watched a little wet mouth bob along her breast until it found the nipple. With a little encouragement, the baby pursed her lips and began to suckle.
Rina closed her eyes again, beads of sweat dotting her brow. At the bedside, Decker dabbed her face with a washcloth. He glanced around the labor room, taking in the surroundings for the first time. The place was papered in a chintz printâsome sort of small vining flower. A handloomed rug had been thrown over an institutional tiled floor. The hospital bed was framed in wood, stained to match the wicker of a Sydney Greenstreet chair planted across the room. The homey decor was supposed to give the illusion that the woman was giving birth in her bedroom. But Decker couldnât block out all the medical machinery standing idle against the wall, the I.V. stand tucked into the left-hand corner.
Definitely a hospital.
He had been there for nineteen hours that had somehow been compressed into minutes. Now time was moving in slomo. The hands of the wall clock showed him only ten minutes had passed since his daughter had been born. The baby was still sucking on Rinaâs breast, but her eyes were closedânursing in her sleep. Pink heart-shaped lips working Mamaâs nipple as thread-sized veins pulsed in her temple. Decker knew he was biased, but she was a beautiful baby.
His eyes drifted to Rinaâs face. Her lips were pale and parched.
âCan Rina have something to drink?â he asked.
âNot quite yet,â Hendricks said, talking under his mask. Once more he pressed on Rinaâs stomach.
âCan she at least suck on some ice?â
This time the doctor didnât answer. Decker felt a headache coming on. Maybe he was just hungryâten hours since heâd last eaten. Again Rina went into her Lamaze breathing. Decker held her hand, offered words of encouragement. Before the arrival of the doctor, heâd felt particularly needed. Now he was an appendageâuseful but not indispensable. Rina stopped her labored breathing and wearily closed her eyes. Her voice was a whisper.