FIVE AND ONE HALF - Chapter 25

"It's Time"

 

A few days later, at two in the morning Lesley woke me and said, “Its time.”

I leaped out of bed and got dressed. I woke Ester and told her we were leaving and to keep an eye on Lottie for she has a habit of sometimes getting up early.

I dialed her mother and just said two words; “Its time.” She would know what I meant and would call my mother. I called the doctor who alerted the hospital.

When we got there they were waiting with a wheel chair and wheeled her into the labor room. The nurse came out and said I could go in for a while.

As I started to go in the folks all showed up and I told them I would talk to them later.

I sat with Lesley and held her hand until the contractions got close together and they took her into the delivery room.

Both mothers had put on gowns and went into the delivery room for they wanted to be there with her for support.

They came out an hour and a half later and said everything went well and they were cleaning the baby up.

My mother said, “Well it seems you have a son and he is a big boy.”

The two grandfathers were asleep in the waiting room and we decided to let them sleep on.

After a half hour the nurse came out and said I should go in and see my new son.

Lesley had him in the bed with her and was trying to get him to suckle. He didn’t exactly do it right but the nurse said, “He’ll soon figure it out.”

As best I could tell he was bigger than Lottie was, and wasn’t as noisy so far.

I asked Lesley how she felt and she said, “Just tired. I feel like I could sleep for twelve hours.”

I had to kiss her and her response was a little weak. Usually she was very responsive to my kissing her so I knew she needed her rest.

I told the grandparents to make the visit short because she was weak.

They had taken the baby to the nursery so they could watch over day him and night.

We all went home after our visit with her and they were going to wait until she came home with the baby to visit again.

The next couple of days I spent most of them with Lesley just sitting with her between her cat naps.

On the second day she said, “What shall we call this boy of ours?”

I told her I didn’t want to name him after either of the grandpas even though they might have wanted us to. I said, “How about Robert Levi.  We can call him one several nick names like Rob or Lee.”

She said, “I like the ring of that and I agree on not naming him after the grandpas.”

The doctors wanted Lesley to spend three days at the hospital before going home to make sure her organs were settling back into place. Her main doctor said he wanted to sure she could have another child if she chooses to.

I wanted her to come home but didn’t want to rush things.

On the second day I was in the waiting room by myself and all four of the grandparents came in and wanted to talk with me. As I stood alongside my father I was reminded again how much larger and taller he was than I. At least a foot taller and it made me have the same feelings I lived with growing up.

They all apologized for how everything came about and how I was used. I thought I was doing them a favor allowing them to live with me in France and paying all the expenses while they had another agenda all the time.

They were getting by all the social mores and sorting out all their feelings while keeping all this from me. They went into more details than I needed to know but I let them get it out in the open. I reasoned it would make them feel better and relieve some of their guilt while my feelings were unchangeable.

One thing was different they had told a story about switching keys by mistake when in fact they had been sleeping around for a year and going to France made it easier where they didn’t know anyone.

If they thought telling me some of this stuff helped the situation they were wrong.

After their confession and begging forgiveness I went through the motions of saying it was okay and we could move on as a family and so on.

Apparently it made them feel better about the situation and after some hugging with tears they went to see Levi.

I thought what a mess. If they had just came out and said what they wanted to do and did it I could have accepted it but all the deception turned me off.

All the time in Paris they were going to hotels and then coming home as if they were still in love with each other’s mate was a little hard to take.

It had been a bit tiresome listening to their story but I was glad it was over.

I had already made up my mind to accept the situation as it was and move on. I will be cordial and considerate when around them for some semblance of harmony within the circle.

Perhaps if I hadn’t been held to such a strict code of ethics while growing up I would feel different. 

 

But it is what it is and this is the last of it as far as I’m concerned.

 

To Be Continued