Page 43 of The Un-Apparent Heir

He hung up.

“Why are you ringing Natalie while I’m here in hell? Time for a fun family chat?”

“Sanne, she is on the tarmac in Wales. Mum rang her and they were putting in the coordinates to come here, but she'll grab your mums and bring them down.”

“Oh,” Sanne burst into tears. “I’m such a bitch.”

“You aren’t, sweetheart. You’re just in a lot of pain and very stressed out. This is scary, baby. You have a baby inside you trying to burst out.”

“Hopefully not burst out. Jesus, Paul!”

“Deep breaths,” Paul said. “You are doing such a good job.”

He was trying, at least. Sanne was all over the place. When the doctor showed up for the epidural, she said she would have kissed her if it wasn’t harassment. It got everyone laughing. It wasn’t long past that point that Sanne was staring down the nose of pushing.

Sanne believed a push or two would bring the baby into the world. She was already sweating and miserable. Had she not done enough already? Clearly not. She pushed, grunted, and swore. She shouted and flagged.

“Has it been ten hours?” Sanne asked.

“It’s been fifteen minutes. You’re doing a lovely job, darling,” a nurse encouraged.

“Why isn’t the fucking baby here yet?”

“I can feel their head but you’ still must push harder, ma’am,” the consultant said. “With everything you have. Everything all at once.”

Sanne attempted what she thought was sufficient, but it wasn’t. She flagged again.

“Sanne, you’re one tough cookie, as you’d say. Be relentless,” Paul said. “Go for broke and just… get him here.”

“We don’t know if it’s?—”

“I’m certain this is a boy,” Paul said. “But now is not the time to argue with you.”

A nurse holding Sanne’s other leg nodded. Paul tried to stay out of the doghouse with everyone.

And, with that, Sanne pushed a few more times as if she might fall to pieces. And boom, she felt relief! A screaming baby appeared, held up high by the consultant attending the birth. Its little face was red and angry.

Someone declared, “Baby is a boy! He’s a big, healthy boy!”

Paul was right but didn’t gloat.

“You must break it to Nat that she must train a male pilot. Oh, the indignity,” Sanne joked, catching her breath.

Paul kissed her forehead. “Well, he’ll be just fine with that. Everyone is going to love this baby to bits.”

“We will,” Sanne said. “He’s perfect.”

“The best. That’s me being impartial,” Paul joked.

And with that, their lives changed. Sanne’s momentary disappointment that her baby wasn’t the girl she’d imagined faded to black as she held his tiny body close to her chest. Now, they’d give him a name and bring him home. Sanne had no idea what to do with a baby boy, but she’d figure it out. He was theirs. All theirs.

11

EMERGENCY OPERATION

For Immediate Release -

At 4:35 PM, the Duchess of Inverness was delivered a son weighing nine pounds, four ounces and measuring 54 centimetres in length at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London. Both the Duchess and her son are doing well.

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