Michele was exhausted. Five hours had gone by, the last three spent coaching Christina through hard labor. But the baby was born strong and healthy—a little girl, weighing seven pounds, four ounces. The nurse had just taken her out of the room for some reason. Michele had forgotten why. But the baby was okay. Everyone was saying she was just fine.
Christina looked totally spent. She had done a marvelous job. As hard as the labor was, God was kind to allow the baby to come so soon. Two hours ago, when she learned this was Christina’s first child, one of the nurses said they should be prepared for this to go all night. Michele didn’t see how either one of them could have made it that long.
She patted Christina’s hand, and she opened her eyes. “Will you be okay in here for a little bit, if I go out and see Mom and Jean?” Both of them had been in the birthing room right up until the actual delivery began. Then they had to go to the waiting room.
“I’ll be fine. You go ahead. And thank them for coming.” Her eyes closed as she was talking
“You just rest now.” Michele slipped out.
The waiting room was just down the hall. When she walked through the doorway, her mom and Jean stood. Michele had already texted them right after the baby’s first cry.
“How’s she doing?” Jean asked.
“She’s resting. I wouldn’t be surprised if she falls asleep.”
“Where’s the baby?”
“Down the hall in the other direction. The nurse told me what she was doing, but I forgot. Mind if I sit down? I feel like I’m going to fall over.”
“You look awful,” her mother said. “Not awful. You know what I mean. Wiped out.”
“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” Michele said. “And I wasn’t even the one in pain.”
“When your time comes,” Jean said, “I think that’ll become the new hardest thing you’ve ever experienced. After Tommy was born, I remember telling Tom that I would never go through that again. After a while, you forget about the pain and you’ve got to have another one. I said the same thing right after Carly was born. Right there in the delivery room. ‘Tell me we’re done, Tom,’ I said. ‘Promise me we’re done.’”
They all laughed. Then something Jean said repeated in Michele’s mind. When your time comes. Would her time come? When? In a month? In a year? Two years? Five? No, she had to stop this. It was just the exhaustion talking.
“Do you know what the plan is?” Jean asked. “I mean . . . with the baby? Is Christina going to see her, or will they take her right away? That’s an awful thing to say, but . . . do you know?”
“I don’t know,” Michele said. “We didn’t really talk about it.”
“I know,” Marilyn said. “I don’t think Christina would mind me telling you. She doesn’t have any other family here.”
“Speaking of family, did you call her mom in New York?” Jean said.
“I asked her if she wanted me to,” Marilyn said. “She said no. I don’t think she’s bitter. It’s just that her mom is totally out of the picture. It’s hard for me to fathom a mom writing off her child like that. But it doesn’t sound like they’ve had any contact since Christina moved to Florida. Christina said she sent her a bunch of letters in the first few months, but her mom never got back with her. It’s a really rough situation. She mentioned once she had an older brother. He moved out to California, but she hasn’t seen him in years. She’s not even sure he’s out there anymore.”
Michele couldn’t imagine what Christina’s childhood must have been like. Not to mention going through the ordeal she just experienced without any family to support her. “Well, she’s got us now.”
Just then, their pastor, Ray, walked in. “How’s Christina doing? Allan texted me a little while ago that she just had the baby.”
“She’s doing fine,” Michele said. “So’s the baby. I’d take you in to see Christina, but she’s sleeping. She had a pretty rough time.”
“I’m sure she did,” he said. “Poor thing. I don’t want to disturb her. I just wanted to stop by, see if there’s anything I could do. Besides pray, I mean. We’re already doing that.”
“I think we’re okay for now,” Marilyn said. “We’ll tell her you stopped by.”
“Do you know what will happen with the baby? Will Christina be able to see her? I’ve never been involved on this side of an adoption before.”
“I was just about to tell Jean and Michele. Christina asked to see her just one time after the dust settles, alone. Of course, that’s allowed. She could see the baby much more than that, if she wanted to. But she thought it would be too hard to see her more than once. She asked that the adopting couple be allowed to take the baby home with them as soon as the doctors give the okay.”
“Can they do that?” Ray said.
“In Florida they can. Different states have different laws on this. But from what I understand, the adopting couple is here in the hospital, in another room. I’m pretty sure they know the baby’s been born. If the doctors approve, they’ll probably get to hold her very soon. Christina can’t sign the consent forms until she’s ready to be discharged. They want to make sure she’s free of any medication. But she’s told me, she wants to do it as soon as they say she can.”
Jean sighed. “I can’t even imagine the pressure she’s going to feel when they give her that form.”
“I’m not sure she will,” Michele said. “Every conversation we’ve had about this, she’s been totally settled about it.”
“I agree,” her mom said. “She’s shown amazing resolve. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be incredibly difficult to say good-bye to her baby.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Ray said. “We’ll really need to keep her in prayer and give her lots of encouragement, especially over the next few weeks. Well, I guess I’ll go then. Please give her our love and tell her if she’d like to get with us, with Julie and me, we’d be happy to meet with her.”
“I will, Ray,” Marilyn said. “Thanks again for coming.”
Ray was barely out the door when they heard a commotion in the hall. Ray was talking with someone in a loud but friendly tone. After a few moments, Michele heard him say, “Well, it’s good to see you again. Let me get out of your way.”
A moment later, her little brother Doug walked into the waiting room.