A Merry Little Christmas (39 page)

Donnie knew true panic as he looked at her face. “Angel, won’t you accept this from me?” he asked again.

Angelique finally spoke. “No.”

Everyone gasped, which made her wave her hand impatiently. “Oh, no, of course I mean yes, yes, of course yes, just not right this second, if you don’t mind. We have something to do right now, honey. My water just broke.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Come on, baby,” Donnie said encouragingly. “We’re almost there, Angel. You’re doing so well, sweetheart, you can do this.”

He was at the head of the narrow delivery-room bed, holding both of Angelique’s hands. It had been a long and difficult labor, and he was trying not to let his anxiety show. Angelique wanted to have a natural childbirth, but he was read
y to tell them to do a cesarean or
whatever it took to have it over with.
Her hair was covered in one of those horrid paper caps and she was bathed in sweat, her face red from exertion but to Donnie
’s eyes
she’d never looked lovelier. He kissed her temple and put his forehead against hers. “You can do this, my Angel.
Just one more push, baby,
just
one more.”

Suddenly her face contorted into a mask of determination and a shout was heard from the doctor. “Beautiful! Here she is ... oh, Mom and Dad, you have a beautiful little girl!”

Lusty cries filled the delivery room and a huge sigh of relief issued from Angelique. Donnie’s eyes flooded with tears and he kissed Angelique’s forehead and cheeks, thanking her over and over again.

“Dad, would you like to cut the cord?”

That task completed, the baby was whisked away for a moment to make sure her breathing passages were clear and to quickly weigh her and wipe some of the mucus from her tiny face. Then she was placed into Angelique’s trembling arms.

“Adonis, look!
Look at her, isn’t she wonderful? Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen? Hello, sweetheart. I’m your mommy,” she crooned. The baby opened her eyes and stared into Angelique’s face for a long moment. “That’s right, darling. I’m your mommy. I’m going to take good care of you, sweetie. And this is your daddy. Oh, Adonis, isn’t she amazing?”

Donnie could barely speak through his tears of sheer gratitude and love. “She’s perfect, Angel.
Just perfect.
Thank you, baby,
thank
you so, so much.”

The delivery-room staff allowed Angelique a few more moments to bond with her daughter, who continued to look into her mother’s face. Then they had to take her away to make her pretty for her public. They also had to get Angelique into recovery and then to her room.

“Daddy, you can go to the waiting room now and make the big announcement. She’ll be in her room in about an hour,” a nurse said.

Donnie could hardly stand to let Angelique out of his sight, but he kissed her forehead and her hands and said he would see her soon. “I love you, my Angel. You made me so happy, I can’t express it. I love you.”

He left the birthing area and stripped off the paper gown, the hat and the shoe covers and threw them away. He was still shaking and all he had to do was watch. It was incredible what women had to go through to give birth. He was awed, humbled and very, very grateful that she had trusted him and loved him enough to give him a child. He leaned back against the cool, hard wall and said several prayers of thanksgiving. Finally he went through the automatic doors to the waiting area, where their family was anxiously awaiting word of the delivery.

“She’s here. Our baby is a beautiful, absolutely adorable little girl. She’s fine and her mommy is the most wonderful woman in the world,” Donnie said proudly. His father was there, and Martha, Lillian and Bump, Lisette and Warren, Paris, Renee and Andrew; almost everyone who loved Angelique was there. Donnie was overwhelmed with love and support. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t care. He was so grateful, so thrilled and so very thankful, he couldn’t have cared less that he was crying in front of everyone. After hugs and kisses and congratulations all around, he made an announcement.

“The baby will be in the nursery soon for everyone who wants to see the prettiest little girl in the world. In the meantime, I’m going to go see her mother and tell her again how much I love her.”

***

Angelique was sitting up in bed, looking tired but radiant. As exhausting as her labor had been, nothing could compare to at last being a real mother. The nurse handed the baby to Donnie, who stared down at the little girl who’d already won his heart. Angelique held out her arms and Donnie placed the baby into them.

“Here she is, my Angel. I know I’m a little biased here, but this is the most beautiful child I’ve ever seen in my life. Look at her, Angel, look at what we made.”

Angelique sighed with joy as she looked at their baby. “Adonis, she really is pretty, isn’t she? It’s not just because we love her so much, she’s really adorable,” she said in awe. And they had indeed produced a captivating little girl with a
headful
of silky black hair and long eyelashes. When she made little faces, a tiny set of dimples could be seen, as well as the prettiest little rosebud mouth. It was time for her first feeding and Angelique eagerly prepared to breast-feed her. With the nurse’s assistance, the baby was soon sucking away contentedly and Angelique was the picture of maternal bliss.
 
Her hair was caught up in a ponytail, she wore not a speck of makeup or a hint of jewelry, yet his wife was incandescent in her beauty.

“Adonis, get that little camera out of my bag,” Angelique instructed.
“
We have to have a picture of this.”
 
She never took her eyes off the baby as she spoke. In a few minutes, when the baby had taken her fill, she was about to fall asleep when Angelique deftly placed her on her shoulder and stroked her tiny back until a nice burp was heard.

“My goodness, you’re a clever girl, aren’t you?” Angelique praised her. She was reluctant to relinquish the baby to the nurse, but she did.

“We have to put this little beauty in the nursery so your family can see her. And you need some sleep, Mommy— having a baby is no small thing,” the nurse said with a smile. “I should know
,
I have four of them.”

Angelique smiled tiredly at her husband. “You need to go home and get some sleep, too, sweetheart. This was a big day for both of us,” she said sleepily.

“I know, but I don’t want to leave you,” he admitted. “I want to stay here with you. I never want to leave you again.” He nuzzled her neck.

Suddenly she paled and her face became covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. “Adonis... I don’t feel so well.”

***

It was like a scene from a medical-emergency show on television. Donnie rang for the nurse. When the charge nurse saw Angelique’s pallor and labored breathing, she quickly flipped back the blanket and sheet that covered Angelique and revealed a pool of blood on the pad underneath her. She pulled the emergency cord that would place a STAT page.

“Mr. Cochran, I need to ask you to leave, we’ve got to get your wife back into surgery,” she said urgently.

He had no time to react as the highly skilled personnel rushed Angelique from the room. He followed the cart out the door and was again rebuffed by a capable nurse.

“Mr. Cochran, it will be fine. They’re trained to give your wife the best possible care and they’ll have her fixed up and in recovery in no time. Have faith, Mr. Cochran, it will be fine.”

Donnie collapsed in the only chair in the room and leaned forward with his hands covering his face. Adam entered the room to find him that way.

“Donnie, what happened? Where’s Angelique?”

“She’s in surgery. She started bleeding and they had to take her in. Adam, if she doesn’t make it, I don’t know what I’ll do. This is wrong, Adam, it’s just wrong. She wanted our baby so much and she worked so hard, this can’t be happening, it can’t be.”

Adam grasped his brother’s shoulder and told him not to worry. “It’s going to be fine, Donnie, she’s young and healthy, she’s got to be fine. Come on, let’s find the family, they’re down at the nursery drooling over my niece. Let’s go, Donnie,” he urged, “you need to be with family right now.”

In a relatively short time, Donnie was in the surgical waiting area surrounded by his family. They had all prayed together and were just waiting to hear about Angelique’s condition. Finally, die doctor came to speak to Donnie. He took him into a private area to give him the news.

“You wife is going to be just fine, Mr. Cochran. We were able to stop the bleeding, which was a result of the toxemia. She
should
be able to have more children, too
;
I don’t want you to think this means she’ll be barren, or that’s she’s too delicate for more babies. She’ll probably be better off with cesareans from now on, but we can talk about that at length once she’s fully recovered. In the meantime, you look like you could use a hot shower and a shave. Why don’t you go home for a while, she’ll be in recovery for another hour or so before she comes back to her room,” he said.

“Besides, I don’t think you need to worry about her being alone
;
you have the most devoted family I’ve ever seen and I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ll be in to see her later today.”

Donnie shook the doctor’s hand and returned gratefully to the family.

“She’s going to be fine,” he said with a shaky smile, “just fine.”

***

Lisette entered the bedroom, looking fantastic as she always did to her husba
nd. She was wearing a red silk
cha
r
meuse
chemise and a matching robe and she was carrying a carafe of wine and one wineglass. Humming softly, she set the carafe and the glass on the round table on her side of the bed and smiled at Warren as she removed the robe and laid it neatly across her vanity chair. He returned the smile, although he questioned the single glass.

“Don’t I get any? Or are you going to make me drink out of the bottle?” he asked

She didn’t answer him at first;
she merely sat on the edge of the bed and removed her little red backless slippers. Then she slid under the covers and nestled closed to his side.

“We’re going to share a glass, darling. That’s much more romantic, don’t you think? So much has gone on lately, I
think
we need to relax and be grateful for all our good fortune. Angel has had her beautiful baby and she and Donnie have straightened out all their difficulties. And we have each other, which is to me the most wonderful
thing
in
th
e world
.
”

“I think you’re right, honey.” He reached for her and for a few moments there was nothing but the sounds two passionate lovers make when kissing.

Lisette sighed with satisfaction as she stroked Warren’s big, broad chest, covered with silky black hair. “You are so sexy it drives me mad” she whispered “I
think
about you all day. When we’re together like this it makes me so very happy, my love. I’m so glad you’re mine.”

“When you talk like that it drives me crazy, Lisette,” he growled as he deftly removed the slinky gown from her pliant body. “You ca
n get anything you want from me.  Y
ou know that, don’t you?”

She purred with satisfaction as she turned in his arms to straddle his powerful thighs. “Anything I want? That’s good to know, darling, because there is something I want. I’ll tell you what I want next Christmas, Warren. I want to give
you
something precious, because I love you. I want to have your baby, a strong sturdy little boy with your beautiful smile, your strength and your spirit. May I have that gift?”

Just before he consumed her with passion, Warren managed to say, “If that’s what you want, honey, that’s what I want to give you. I love you, Lisette.”

***

Like everything else that involved Donnie and Angelique, the baby’s homecoming was unique.
Donnie had procured another limousine to bring the two most important people in his life home without incident. He carried them into the house as though they were made of the finest crystal. While Lillian held her newest grandchild, Donnie got Angelique settled on her chaise. Angelique smiled at her handsome, devoted husband and stroked his cheek.

“You’ve got to stop doing this, Adonis. I can walk, you know, and I’m not on any kind of restriction. I just have to take it easy for a couple of days and then I’m good to go,” she said fondly.

Donnie took her hand in his and kissed her fingers while he looked deeply into her eyes. “Just so you understand
,
I’m going to be taking care of you and Lily Rose for the rest of my life, so get used to it. I’m not going to smother you, but you have to allow me to indulge you. You must grant me this, my Angel.”

Lillian still couldn’t get over the thrill of holding her daughter’s child. When Donnie and Angelique had finally revealed the baby’s name, there were tears from both sides of the family. They named her Lillian Rose Bennett Cochran, after both their mothers. Angelique’s mother and Donnie’s late mother shared the same first name, and Bennett was Lillian Cochran’s maiden name. They called her Lily Rose, and it was a perfectly appropriate name, for she was a true beauty.