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Engine · 02-07-2013, 06:01 PM

Chapter One Point Two: The Giving and the Taking Away

When, finally, the moment of Erik’s birth arrived, Gabrielle insistently gained the attention of the military hospital staff and forcefully suggested that they retrieve her husband immediately, which they did by phoning the nearby bar.

Once he was reached and informed of the situation, Gabrielle’s husband slammed the phone back onto its receiver, dropped whatever he was smoking and ran out the door without so much as a nod to his friends. Presumably they knew what was up. He rushed to the military hospital, confirmed that what he was told on the phone was true and proceeded to the Waiting Room where, customarily, husbands waited for their children to be born, away from all of the potentially nasty particulars of the birth. He nervously lit another smoke wondering whether the child would be called Erik or Alisha. He really had no preference. Foremost on his mind was that his first offspring was on its way into the harsh light of the world outside of Gabrielle’s womb. He had no idea what happens after a birth and at this point he did not care. He was both afraid and elated. Also kind of drunk.

The birth was not an easy one, which was normal. Gabrielle screamed in pain while the military hospital staff, ignoring her completely, managed to wrest Erik from Gabrielle’s womb headfirst. When the pain ceased, and the baby had clearly been expelled from her body, Gabrielle’s mind allowed her a moment of respite. But it was a short moment because she quickly realized that once her own screaming had stopped, all she heard was silence. She became worried and angry. She was a member of the US military herself and she knew that the only way to get the attention of the brass was to scream. The military doctors had huddled together out of her view and she cried out,

“Give me my baby!”

But her cries were ignored as Erik was rushed out of the room and remained so until a military nurse came back and blankly assured her that the child had begun breathing pretty quickly after it exited the womb and was going to be alright. It was a boy.

Gabrielle lay back into the military hospital bed and cried tears that simultaneously expressed joy, relief, anger, and frustration as she stared up at the pale green paint of the military hospital room ceiling wondering why her newborn baby was not in her arms and where the fuck was her husband.

02-07-2013, 06:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
Engine air quote Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: pollen & mold Posts: 3,108	Chapter One Point Two: The Giving and the Taking Away When, finally, the moment of Erik’s birth arrived, Gabrielle insistently gained the attention of the military hospital staff and forcefully suggested that they retrieve her husband immediately, which they did by phoning the nearby bar. Once he was reached and informed of the situation, Gabrielle’s husband slammed the phone back onto its receiver, dropped whatever he was smoking and ran out the door without so much as a nod to his friends. Presumably they knew what was up. He rushed to the military hospital, confirmed that what he was told on the phone was true and proceeded to the Waiting Room where, customarily, husbands waited for their children to be born, away from all of the potentially nasty particulars of the birth. He nervously lit another smoke wondering whether the child would be called Erik or Alisha. He really had no preference. Foremost on his mind was that his first offspring was on its way into the harsh light of the world outside of Gabrielle’s womb. He had no idea what happens after a birth and at this point he did not care. He was both afraid and elated. Also kind of drunk. The birth was not an easy one, which was normal. Gabrielle screamed in pain while the military hospital staff, ignoring her completely, managed to wrest Erik from Gabrielle’s womb headfirst. When the pain ceased, and the baby had clearly been expelled from her body, Gabrielle’s mind allowed her a moment of respite. But it was a short moment because she quickly realized that once her own screaming had stopped, all she heard was silence. She became worried and angry. She was a member of the US military herself and she knew that the only way to get the attention of the brass was to scream. The military doctors had huddled together out of her view and she cried out, “Give me my baby!” But her cries were ignored as Erik was rushed out of the room and remained so until a military nurse came back and blankly assured her that the child had begun breathing pretty quickly after it exited the womb and was going to be alright. It was a boy. Gabrielle lay back into the military hospital bed and cried tears that simultaneously expressed joy, relief, anger, and frustration as she stared up at the pale green paint of the military hospital room ceiling wondering why her newborn baby was not in her arms and where the fuck was her husband. __________________ Like an arrow, I was only passing through.