Page 120 of Best Man
She stared at him as if he were mad—she knew how important hockey was to him, how hard he’d worked, how much blood, sweat and tears he’d shed to get to this point—and now he was going to throw it all away?
“Unbelievable,” she said. “You’re crazy, you know that?” But she couldn’t help but smile, even as her abdomen began to tighten and cramp with the next wave of contractions.
“Da,I know,” he said with a spreading grin. “I told you that when I met you, remember?”
“Hold my hand, okay?”
“Always,” he said, taking her hand into his.
***
One thing Paulina had learned over the past nine months was that time was fluid. Pregnancy seemed so easy at first! Days flew by and weeks turned into months. But then time slowed to a crawl, and months turned into years. Now that she was in the thick of it, time was measured in something else entirely: contractions. She wasn’t sure how long they lasted, all she knew was that they brought radiating, excruciating pain, and were constantly worsening.
“You’re so close!” the doctor said. “Push that baby out, Paulina!”
“I can’t,” she whimpered. She thought she’d hit rock bottom before—but that, as it turned out, had only been the beginning. After hours of torture, there was simply no strength left in her body. “I can’t.”
Sasha, who had held her hand through it all, gently encouraged her. “Yes you can, baby. Youcando it. You’re almost there, just a little more, okay? Please don’t give up …”
Paulina squeezed Sasha’s big hand and bore down one last time.
“Push, push, push,” the doctor chanted. “We’re almost there!”
She let out a long, guttural yowl as her vagina stretched wider. It felt like she was squatting over a fire, the flames reaching higher and higher. The stretch widened, a burning ring of fire passing through her—and then, in the blink of an eye, the pain passed and it was all over.
Sasha gasped and the nurses made happy noises. Then Paulina heard something else—the sound of a crying baby. It was the sweetest music she’d ever heard in her life.
“Congratulations!” the doctor said as she gently thrust Paulina’s baby into her chest. “It’s a baby girl.”
Her baby was a goopy mess and covered with slimy birth fluids, but Paulina had never held such a warm, tiny bundle of perfection in her arms. She held her amazing little baby tight and softly cried.
“Hello, Yana,” she cooed, her voice a frail whisper. The nurses worked around mother and daughter, swiftly toweling Yana dry and suctioning her nostrils. “Nice to meet you, baby girl. Look at you—oh, you’re so beautiful.”
“Wow. Wow, wow, wow,” was all Sasha could say. “My lovely little girl.” He beamed, instantly falling in love with his daughter as he shook her tiny little hand. “Welcome to the world, Yana Alexandra.”
Sasha had wanted their child to have a Russian name, which Paulina was happy to agree to; she liked Russian names, especially for girls. Traditionally, the child’s middle name is derived from its father’s first name. Thus, if she were born in Russia, Yana’s name would’ve been Yana Aleksandrovna Nikolaeva, but that was just aliiittletoo Russian for Paulina to be on board with. Thankfully, Sasha was more than happy to compromise with an Americanized version of the same name. Her full name was Yana Alexandra Nikolaeva, which Paulina thought struck a happy balance between her Russian and American heritage.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Sasha asked. “Wow.”
“She’sadorable,” Piper chimed in.
“Man!” Sasha said. “Look at her tiny little mouth and nose! She looks just like you. It’s incredible.”
Paulina gave Sasha her eyes. “You were right. You knew it was a girl all along.”
He cocked his head, confused. “I did?”
“Yes. You always called her a ‘her.’ Youknew.”
That was news to Sasha. “Huh. I had no idea.”
She’d barely just met her little girl, and yet the nurses took baby Yana away to weigh her and clean her up and whatever else they had to do. Paulina knew theyhadto, but after going through all of that incredible struggle and pain, the only thing in the world she wanted was her baby in her arms. Having it snatched away so quickly triggered a surge of emotions, and she began to weep.
“I know, I know,” Sasha said, comforting her. “Hey. You did it, baby,” he said, gently wiping the tears away from her weary face. “I’m so proud of you right now.”
“Thank you,” she sniffled. “And thank you for being here.”
“I wish I could’ve been more help,” he said, shaking his head.
