Page 73 of Totally Shipped
“Daisy babe, let's get you down on the ground. Get clothes under her knees and hands…pad the floor for her.”
"I can’t move," she groans.
"Sure you can, it’ll feel better, and I can see how far along you are." Looking over my shoulder, I tell Rex to start heating some coconut to turn to oil—I can use it to clean my hands.
“Remember to add water to the coconut, then scrape the oil that comes to the surface.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I’m going to feel for Daisy’s cervix.
“Down we go…” Leander and I lower her down.
"OW! OW! OW!"
As soon as she is on all fours, Gray starts to rub her back. I wish there was more light, but I guess measuring the cervix is a touch thing anyway.
“Clean oil,” Leander says, pouring it over my hands. As I rub it all over my fingers, another scream comes from Daisy. Leander gets low on the floor and murmurs encouragement as I kneel behind her.
“OK, babe, I’m putting my hand on you.”
Feck, am I really doing this?
In the flickering light, Daisy's skin is slick with sweat and her spine rocks and arches.
Holy mother and all your angels, help us through this.
“Here we go.”
Her body keeps moving, rocking, under my hands, and I can hear her moans all the way through her core to my fingers. Edging in carefully, I try not to freak out. My fingers reach the end of her vaginal canal, and come to a flat round donut shape. Right, this is where I measure.
Wait, I feel something round, plugging the donut. Oh my mother fucking christ, that’s the baby’s head. I just touched our baby.
Focus.
Good thing I learned the metric system at school. The diameter of the opening feels pretty fecking big. I try to estimate. At least seven centimeters, if not more. I try not to react as Daisy cries. I know this must just be adding to her misery, but we have to know.
Eight or nine. That’s my best guess. Which means we are close.
“I’ll check again when you get the urge to push,” I tell Daisy. “And, macushla? I felt the baby’s head. It’s right there, and they are waiting patiently to meet us.”
“You felt her?”
“I did, and real soon, so will you when she’s curled up at your breast. Not long now.”
DAISY
Not long now?
Another minute is too long, another second is too long.
I count my breaths.
“Daisy, what’s seven times six?” says a little voice.
Huh? I can’t answer, I can’t speak. I can listen.
“What do you mean, Key?” someone asks.
