Page 46 of There I Find Rest

Chapter 18

Kim lay in her hospitalbed, groggy and trying to contain her desperate need to see her baby. They would let her see her as soon as she was ready, she was sure. Fussing or throwing a fit wasn’t going to make things go faster and was only going to be an annoyance to everyone.

“Dad is out in the waiting room. If you’re ready, we can tell him he can come in.” The nurse, who had been cleaning her up, tucked her sheets in around her and put a hand on her arm as she spoke.

She nodded immediately. “Please.”

She wanted to see Davis, was suddenly desperate to talk to him. Maybe he had seen their baby. She didn’t even have a name. She thought she had months to think about it, but it turned out she had been wrong.

The nurse left, and just a few minutes later, Davis showed up at the door, looking rather haggard and a bit like a desperado with the stubble on his face and the way his hair stuck up in all directions.

It made her smile.

“So I’m out there all worried, and you’re in here grinning,” he said as his steps slowed once he hit her doorway and walked into her room.

“I’m just happy to see you,” she said, thinking that was a complete understatement. If she had been on her feet, she would be throwing her arms around him. It was so nice to see a familiar face.

“How are you doing?” he asked, coming over and putting his hand on hers. She moved her fingers just a little and they threaded with his, and she held on tight.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and put his other hand over them both, clasping hers between his and making her feel cared for, like a hug with their hands.

“Good, I guess. Groggy. I don’t remember anything. Not since shortly after we got to the hospital. But they told me she weighed about two pounds fourteen ounces, and they needed to get her set up in the NICU.”

“It’s a good thing this hospital has an NICU, or she’d be in a helicopter bound for Chicago right now.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. And here I was so impatient to see her, but I guess I should be grateful that she’s still here, and I will get to see her.”

“Exactly. I suppose the doctors will let you out early, if they needed to. But from what I understand, they want to keep you for a while.”

“I haven’t heard too much, but they haven’t figured out what made her come early and just want to keep an eye on me.” She felt a little sleepy, the effects of the anesthesia, or whatever they used to put her out, and maybe blood loss, she didn’t know. No one told her. She didn’t care. She wanted everyone’s attention to be on the baby.

“Are you in any pain?” he asked gently.

She shook her head. “Not yet. They said it would probably come, but they wanted to try to stay ahead of it. I hope they do, but I just really want to get up and go see her.”

“I’ll stay on them, but I’m sure they’ll let us back as soon as they can. I suppose I would rather they get her stable, make sure she’s breathing and everything’s going well, rather than making us seeing her a priority.”

“Yeah. Thanks for your rational thought. I guess as a mom, all I can think is that I want to be with her, but I probably would just be in the way right now. Even though, it feels like a mom’s arms is the best place for a baby.”

“I agree with you there in normal circumstances.” They exchanged a serious look, and then Kim closed her eyes.

“I haven’t named her, but I remember from the night we met, the night we... Anyway, you mentioned that your mother’s name was Kathleen. I thought that was such a pretty name. What do you think?”

She opened her eyes just in time to see the surprise on his face.

“You want to name her after my mom?” he asked, like he couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah. That’s her grandmother.”

He nodded. Thoughtfully. Maybe thinking about some memories. She wanted to ask, but she was a little tired and a little afraid that maybe she had suggested the wrong thing. She couldn’t remember all the details of what he had said, just that his mom had died of some kind of infection when he was young and that he missed her. He’d mentioned her name, and at the time, it had struck her as a pretty name, although she hadn’t really been thinking about his mom, she’d been thinking more about her problems and how she just wanted to get away from them for a while.

One thing had led to another, and their baby had been conceived.

Unexpected evening all around, at least for Kim. And from what she understood from Davis, it wasn’t exactly a normal evening for him either. She had to hand it to him, he certainly had been there for her. He was here now. He hadn’t left, and he wasn’t on the phone, wasn’t taking care of his own things, but was totally focused on her.

Not that she thought he should be, but it definitely made her feel cherished in a way she never had before. Definitely not with her first husband.

“Your mother was Iva May, but that doesn’t make a very good middle name. What if we name her Iva May Kathleen and call her Kathleen?”

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