12When Lucy woke up, her first thought was that her back hurt. Her second thought was that she had to pee. And her third thought was she had no idea where her husband was. Releasing her tight grip on the body pillow that she had her arms and legs wrapped around, she slowly moved her body to a seated position. As the extra weight in her stomach bore down on her bladder, the urge to relieve herself increased. Lucy swung her legs over the side of the bed. With one hand on her lower back and one to her side pressing against the mattress, she hoisted herself up. Waddling to the bathroom, Lucy relieved herself and brushed her teeth. She grabbed her robe from behind the bathroom door, put it on, and walked into the living room. Tim was asleep on the couch. His long body looked uncomfortably scrunched up. Lucy made her way over to him and perched herself on the coffee table in front of the couch. She ran her finger down his arm. Tim's eyes fluttered open.
"Good morning," Lucy said.
"Hey," Tim mumbled back. He stretched out his limbs with a small grunt.
"What time did you get in last night?"
"Oneish," Tim answered. He sat up and ran his hands over his face.
"You know you don't have to work all of this overtime."
"Overtime now means more time off that I get to spend with you when the baby's born."
"Why didn't you come to bed?" Lucy asked.
"I tried. You were sort of sleeping in the middle and there wasn't enough room for me. I didn't want to wake you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's more important that you're comfortable. How are my two girls feeling this morning?"
"Well, she is kicking up a storm and I'm hungry."
Tim laughed. He reached towards her, putting his hand on her protruding stomach. He could feel his daughter kicking and it brought a tear to his eye. The fact that they were about to become parents in about a month felt unreal to him.
"I'll make us some breakfast," Tim offered. "What are you in the mood for? Pancakes? French Toast? Eggs?"
"Peanut butter and sliced banana on toast with raisins," Lucy answered.
"Raisins? Really?"
"It's what the baby wants."
"Well, then the baby shall get what she wants."
As Tim stood to go into the kitchen, Lucy noticed an unmarked, white envelope on the coffee table she was sitting on. She held it up.
"What's this?" She asked, flashing the envelope at Tim. He could still see her from where he stood in the kitchen.
"Oh, those are tickets to the Dodgers game," Tim answered as he popped two slices of bread into the toaster. "Sergeant Healy, the one whose hours I've been taking, gave them to me as a thank you for helping her by taking her shifts these last few weeks. Her mom hasn't been well and she has needed the time off."
"I hope her mom's ok."
While the bread toasted, Tim peeled a banana and began slicing it.
"Yeah, me too. Anyway, she and her partner are season ticket holders to the Dodgers and she said she couldn't use the tickets because she had to take her mom to an appointment or something so she gave them to me."
"That was nice of her. When's the game?"
"This afternoon," Tim answered. "But I'm not going to use them."
"Why not?" Lucy asked.
"Because I told you today I would finish putting the crib together and seeing as how I've been working so much, I thought it would be nice for us to spend some time together."
"Well, first of all, the baby isn't going to need the crib for a while. She'll be sleeping in the bassinet in our room so we have time. And we can spend time together at the game."
"You want to go to a baseball game?"
"Sure. Were you planning on taking someone else?"
"I wasn't planning on going at all," Tim answered. "You don't even like baseball."
"I like that you like baseball."
"You're eight months pregnant."
"So? I'm not invalid," Lucy countered. "I'm still going into work everyday."
"Working at a desk in an air conditioned building with a bathroom down the hall is a lot different than sitting in a hard plastic seat in the heat where you have to climb over people just to start getting to the bathroom."
"Do you not want me to go?"
The toast popped and Tim put it on a plate. He unscrewed the top to the peanut butter jar and began to spread it over the toast.
"Of course I'd love for you to go. I just don't want you to be miserable."
"You love the Dodgers," Lucy pointed out.
"I know. But I also love you. And I worry about you and our baby," Tim said, placing the slices of banana on the toast.
"There's nothing to be worried about. I can feel fat and uncomfortable here or I can feel fat and uncomfortable watching you watch baseball."
"You watch me watch baseball?"
"Yeah. You're kind of cute when you get all riled up."
"Only kind of cute?" Tim teased as he brought the plate of toast over to Lucy.
"You forgot the raisins."
"I was hoping you'd forget about them."
"Not a chance," Lucy said.
Smiling, Tim went back into the kitchen and grabbed a box of raisins. He brought it to Lucy and she sprinkled some on top of her toast. When she took a bite, she closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure.
"Are you sure you want to go to his game?" Tim asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. We can think of it as a nice little date before we can't ever go out again."
"Ok. But if you're uncomfortable or don't feel well, we'll leave. Deal?"
"Deal. Do you think the vendors will put ice cream on my hot dog?"
"Now you're just messing with me," Tim said.
Lucy laughed. "Am I?"
A few hours later, Lucy had just finished climbing the steps to their seats and she needed a breather. Although they had decent seats in the first tier behind first base, the walk from the car to the stadium plus the walk to their section was a lot.
"You ok?" Tim asked, holding two bottles of water in his hand.
"I just need a second," Lucy answered, her hand instinctively going to her stomach as her breathing returned to normal. She slowly lowered herself into the hard, plastic seat, shifting her weight this way and that until she was in a somewhat comfortable position. Tim had been watching her the whole time.
"If you're uncomfortable, we can…"
"We're not leaving," Lucy insisted. "I'm fine."
"Well, if you start not feeling well or if you want to go home, just say the word and we'll…"
"I got it," Lucy said, cutting him off. She loved that he cared so much about her, but she also wanted to be treated like her normal self.
As the two teams began to take the field and the crowds cheered around them, Lucy felt the baby kick. She put her hand on the left side of her bulging stomach where she felt the sensation. She could feel the baby's hard food through her own skin. It felt strangely and yet incredible all at the same time.
The game began and Lucy glanced over at Tim sporadically to watch him watch the game. It was, after all, her favorite part. She loved watching his face change with the highs and lows of the game. She loved how enthusiastic and passionate he was. When she wasn't watching him, she wasn't really focused on the game itself. Not only did baseball slightly bore her, but she also had a cramp in her legs and a continuous pain in her lower back. But she didn't want to ruin the game for Tim.
"I'm going to use the restroom," she told Tim after the second inning was complete.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"To the bathroom? I think you'd get kicked out of the women's room."
"You know what I mean."
"I'm fine."
Lucy tried to stand up from her seat, but quickly realized that the task was harder than she had anticipated. She was off balance and couldn't get enough momentum to get up. Without saying anything to her, Tim stood up and offered his hands to her. She took them and he helped gently pull her to her feet. Neither of them said a word. It's as if Tim knew that saying something would only wound Lucy's pride.
Lucy hit the bathroom first and then sauntered into the gift shop. She was in no desire to go back and sit in her seat again. The pain in her back was growing stronger and she wondered if maybe Tim had been right. Maybe coming to the game hadn't been the best idea. Lucy meandered around the store, wondering if she should get something for Tim to put away for his birthday when she spotted the baby section. She saw Dodgers themed onesies, baseball hats, and even tiny socks. The tiny size of the items made her tear up. Damn hormones, Lucy thought. Unable to resist, she grabbed a few items and brought them to the counter. As she paid, she felt a pain rip from her lower body up her back. Lucy had to bite back a shout.
Although the pain subsided quickly, Lucy was not feeling great. She paid for her items and made her way back to her seat. Tim was on his feet, cheering after one of the players scored a homeroom, bringing in two other team members.
"Did you see that?" Tim was shouting. "Lucy, did you…"
Tim looked over at Lucy. She was staring down at her feet. She was standing in a puddle.
"Lucy?"
She met his eyes.
"I think my water just broke," she said.
Tim's eyes widened. "Ok, ok…um…are ok? Can you walk? Can you make it to the car? Are you having contractions? How far apart are the contractions?"
"I'm…ok," Lucy finally answered, looking up from the puddle.
"It's too early," Tim said, flustered. "The baby isn't due for another few weeks."
"I don't think she cares about that," Lucy replied. "But remember when you said we could leave if I wanted to? I think we need to leave now. Now."
Tim didn't need to be told twice. Suddenly the Dodgers game was the least important thing going on in Tim's world.
It took nearly seven hours from the time Lucy and Tim left the baseball game for their daughter to make her first appearance in the world. Lucy had been a champion through all of it. She pushed until every ounce of energy she had drained out of her. Tim had been impressed and terrified all at the same time. He had also never been so in love with his wife. When he heard his daughter's cries for the very first time, Tim openly wept. When the doctor placed the bloodied, slimy baby on Lucy's chest and Tim got to cut the umbilical cord, he and Lucy both cried, not realizing that you could fall in love with someone you had only known for a milisecond. The baby was perfectly healthy at seven pounds, four ounces. It took some time for Lucy and the baby to be cleaned up and for the doctors and nurses to do all of the procedural things that needed to be done. But when Lucy and Tim were finally left alone with their daughter, Lucy sat up in bed, holding the swaddled baby while Tim sat beside her, his arm around his incredible wife. Eventually Lucy was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. Tim took the baby while she slept. The nurses had assured him that it was perfectly fine to put the baby down in the plastic bassinet provided to them, but Tim did not want to put her down. He walked around the room with her, watching her sleep. It astounded him that he was now a dad, in charge of caring for such a tiny thing. He stopped at the window, overlooking the parking lot.
"Welcome to the world, little one," he whispered softly. "You are so loved. You may be tiny now, but one day you are going to grow up and I hope you have your mother's heart and her strength. She is amazing, you know. More amazing than she'll ever know. But I hope you get my taste in music. Hers is awful."
"I heard that," Lucy said from her bed.
Tim turned slowly. Lucy was pushing herself up into a seated position. She was still a little pale. Her hair was frizzy and she still looked exhausted despite her nap. But to Tim, she was exquisite.
"Did you hear the part where I talked about how strong and beautiful you are?" Tim asked, walking closer to Lucy. Her heart seemed to grow as she saw Tim with their baby safely in his arms. Even though the baby looked tiny compared to his muscular arms, Tim looked like a natural.
"I don't remember hearing the beautiful part," Lucy said.
"You are beautiful."
"I must be a mess."
Tim approached the side of the bed. He looked into her eyes, making sure she really heard him.
"You are beautiful," he repeated.
"How's our baby girl?" Lucy asked.
"She's perfect. How's mom doing?"
"Tired and sore. But it was worth it."
Tim sat down on the edge of the bed. Lucy trailed a finger down her daughter's soft cheek.
"In case I didn't tell you before, you amaze me," Tim stated.
Lucy smiled. "We still haven't decided on a name."
"I guess we do have to officially name her eventually," Tim agreed.
They had had plenty of conversations about baby names since finding out they were having a girl, but nothing seemed right. They finally agreed to table the conversation until they saw their baby's face for the first time.
"We could name her Dodger. You know, seeing as how we were at Dodgers stadium when you went into labor."
"I really hope you're joking," Lucy said.
Tim smiled. "Maybe just a little."
"What about Cassandra?" Lucy asked.
"Cassandra, huh?" Tim responding, mulling it over. It did sound good rolling off his tongue.
"It's Greek. It means excelling over men," Lucy said with a smirk.
"Oh, does it?" Tim replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Sounds perfect for a daughter of mine."
Tim nodded. "Sounds perfect for a daughter of ours. A strong name for a strong little girl who will grow into a strong woman."
"Besides," Lucy added. "Cassie is a pretty cute nickname."
"It is," Tim agreed as he looked down at the baby in his arms. She squirmed a little before settling down once more.
"We're your mom and dad, Cassandra," Lucy whispered. "And we are going to spend our whole lives loving you and taking care of you."
"I love you," Tim said to Lucy.
"I love you, too."
Tim leaned over and kissed Lucy before their attention quickly turned to their daughter.