Page 31 of Owning the Prez’s Ol' Lady

“You got this,” I encouraged. “Breathe, Ramona.” I repeated the breaths the birthing classes told her to make, but her tears wouldn’t stop, especially when the doctor asked her to push again.

“Come on, Ramona, one more big push. The baby is almost here.”

She practically broke my hand as she bore down again, screaming so loud it hurt my ears. Sweat dripped down her tomato-red face, and she gave it everything she had, almost passing out when the baby’s head finally was pushed out.

Seeing the crowning of thick red hair brought tears to my eyes. This was Axl’s baby for sure.

“That’s it, Ramona, one more push. We got the head out, now we just need to get these shoulders through.”

She was so weak, her grip lessening as she tried to stay conscious.

“Stay with me, Ramona. You got this!” I told her, holding her hand even tighter. With all the strength she had left, Ramona pushed one final time, and the baby slid out of her and into the doctor’s arms.

It was the most gruesome, beautiful sight I’d ever bared witness to.

You could hear a pin drop as we anxiously waited for that first cry. Then it happened, and the baby’s cry filled the room, bringing us all to tears.

“You did it, baby!” Josie exclaimed, wiping Ramona’s forehead with a cold towel before bending in to kiss her.

Ramona looked at the doctor. “Doc, is he or she okay?”

The doctor smiled, nodding as the nurses worked to clear the baby’s nose of junk and wrap them in a blanket.

“Your baby is just fine. Would one of you like to cut the umbilical cord?”

Josie looked at me and smiled. “Go ahead, Shasta, you’ve been here longer than me.”

I carefully stepped forward as the doctor handed me the scissors. She showed me where to cut, and I did, my heart beating a million times inside my chest as I made the cut.

“Congratulations, Ramona,” the doctor exclaimed. “You have one very beautiful little girl.”

“Girl?” More tears appeared in her eyes, falling down her face in small rivers. “How did I know she’d be a girl?”

“Because a mother always knows,” a nurse said, placing the baby in Ramona’s awaiting arms. “Do you have a name for her?”

Ramona silently nodded, a look of true love flashed in her eyes as she silently cooed and fussed over her beautiful baby girl. “Summer,” she said without hesitation. “Summer Rayne.”

“That’s beautiful,” I exclaimed. “What made you come up with that name?”

She shrugged. “Because I think I know when she was conceived. It was during a summer storm, and it was one of the few times I actually didn’t mind being with a man. It was romantic, and I truly felt like Axl actually gave a fuck about me.”

“You know he never fucked anyone else, right? You were the only girl he ever slept with.”

She nodded her head. “Yeah, I know. He honestly is a really good guy.”

“So, why didn’t you stay with him?” Josie asked, suddenly looking very out of place.

“Because I’ve always been attracted to women. But if there was one man who sort of changed all that. It was Axl.”

Josie gave a sad nod.

Ramona squeezed her hand. “Hey, don’t worry. I never loved him, Josie. Not like I love you. You’re everything to me.”

Josie smiled just a tad, then shot me a look. “Can you go tell my brother that the baby is here? I can hear him wearing a hole in the floor outside the door.”

“You can hear him?” I questioned.

Josie nodded. “Years of living with him have given me supersonic hearing. I’d know those heavy footsteps anywhere.”

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