That Time Around 4
That Time Around
Chapter 4
December 16th- 1952
They had been sitting still for nearly two hours and Andy could not fathom that NO one had found them yet. She had Alison breathing and gripping her hand when she needed it; she was rethinking that, and was softly speaking to her that everything would be alright. The contractions were getting closer and Andy was losing feeling in her hand.
“GOD, MAKE IT STOP!”
It was all she could do to not panic when she went to look, even with her lack of medical know how she just knew that if someone didn’t come along soon, she would be bringing this new life into the world.
“Hold on, ok, I’m going to try the phone again” and when she picked up the receiver and put it to her ear all she heard was… nothing. With a frustrated huff she slammed the phone down and the car shuttered violently causing Andy to lose her footing and hit her head on the open metal door of the phone box.
The car gave a screech as Andy fell to the ground with dizziness and had almost passed out if Alison had not screamed. With a grunt she righted herself and crawled back to the very soon to be mother. She grabbed the woman’s hand again and they breathed through another contraction.
Ten minutes later Alison screamed again.
“IT’S COMING!”
It was time to panic now as Andy shifted to place herself at Alison’s feet and another wave of dizziness hit her. When it cleared Andy lifted Alison’s dress and took off her own over shirt so she could have something to clean and wrap the baby in.
And for the next half hour Alison pushed when she need to and Andy breathed. Then finally, Andy glanced at her watch, nine minutes to 5:00pm, a screaming baby landed in her arms and shirt. Wrapping up the kid she cleaned it off as best she could and placed the baby in the now happy, glowing mother’s hands.
“Hi there” was the last thing Andy was able to make out before she passed out.
-
December 16th - 1952- 7:00pm
The first thing she saw when she woke up was white, lots and lots of white, then the smell drifted in, she was in a hospital. For a moment she thought she had been found at the park and everything was a dream. But the fates were not with her this day, when the gentle face of Lou came into view.
“I hear you had quite the day today” Andy was not in the mood for that overly joyous voice.
Andy sat up with a groan, clutching her head when it started throbbing. When she felt the bandages she was confused, what had happened?
“You hit your head dear, the doctor said that the stitches could come out in a week or two, you had a rather nasty cut over your eye.”
The soft spoken words did nothing to sooth the pounding in her head. A fuzzy thought slipped to the front of her mind.
“How is Alison and the baby?” she didn’t remember much, she also never got to see the gender of the kid.
“Both Mother and son are doing just fine. Be proud girl you just brought a life into the world!” the pride in Lou’s eyes was hard to miss.
The only thing she cared about was the mother and son.
“Alison has asked was your name was and I told her that it was Andrea and she could call him Andy.”
The smile that had burst forth could put ten thousands suns to shame. To say she felt good would be a gross understatement.
“That is so neat, but if I don’t get up and to the bathroom there is going to be a mess that I would really not like to make.”
Lou laughed and helped her up.
“So when can I get out of here?”
With a nod Lou turns around and walks out to the nurses’ station. While she is out there Andy checks to see if she is hooked to anything, when she doesn’t see anything she then looks around for her clothes and finds them packed away in a plastic garment bag. With an exasperated sigh Andy throws the covers off her and gets out of bed. She takes a few steps and then immediately grabs for the bed rail when a dizzy spell hits her. The door handles shacks and Andy lets go to try and appear like she is fine. “Andy dear it would appear that they can’t let you go yet, you still have a mild concussion and they want to keep you here another day.”
For a moment Andy just stares at Lou but then gives a huff of defeat and gets back into bead.
“You suck.”
-
December 17th- 1952
They had finally said that she was well enough to leave, so Andy was leaving with on two day old clothes that were stained with god knows what and her own blood. To say that Andy was upset would be slightly under adequate.
As Andy was tying her shoes, Lou and a nurse with a wheel chair came in.
“All right lets bust out of this joint!”
“Oh thank god!”
Lou just laughed at Andy’s joy. She could understand why she was so happy. Hospitals had not been the best of friends to her.
Once finished with her shoes, Andy sat down in the uncomfortable chair. They made their way out and down the hall to the elevators.
“Hey, how is little Andy doing?”
“Last I heard he was happy, healthy, and already charming every nurse in the ward.”
Andy was thrilled! To have brought a small person into this world was something she would never forget, the head wound excluded.
They step or in Andy’s case roll on to the elevators then Lou pressed a button and the elevator starts to move. They don’t say anything to each other, there really is no need.
The elevator stops and Andy thinks it’s time to roll off but when she looks up she sees a woman being rolled on to the lift with them. She looked to be holding a baby in her arms.
The woman had they deepest red hair that flowed down to her shoulders and tied back with a hair tie and the bass of her head. She had a pale completion and she couldn’t make out her face for she was looking down at the little life wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms.
Andy was curious and strangely pulled, had to ask.
“Hi, what’s your little girls’ name?”
The woman looked up and Andy was pinned with a pair of the bluest eyes she had ever only seen once in her life.
“I don’t know yet I was hoping it would come to me and I have been asking my husband for some suggestions but Mr. Priestly here.”
And she nods her head back at the man pushing her chair
“He does not seem to have any.”
Andy was floored, after nearly a week and here she is sharing an elevator with Miranda’s parents.
It was so surreal, never in all the world’s history had anything like this ever happened and here she was living it.
She snapped out of her mystified funk when the girl in Mrs. Priestly arms started to whine. Her mother tried to sooth her but it seemed even at an early age Miranda never raised her voice.
“Can I try” the question came out of nowhere.
The woman looked up and saw a look of wonder and for almost a moment saw a spark of something on this strangers face that for some reason set her at ease to let her hold her daughter. So with a nod she carefully handed over her fussing girl to Andy.
Then, once little Miranda was settled in Andy’s arms she stopped fussing and blinked up at this new person holding her.
When their eyes found each other’s they studied the other. It was then that Andy fell even more in love with this soon to be marvel of the fashion world.
“Miranda” the name just slipped out.
Here she was holding her infant love in her arms, with a dusting of red hair and freckles and the softest skin, with the same blue eyes that would one day be the bane of every heel wearing clacker in all of New York.
“What?”
Andy’s head shot up, realizing she was overheard and blushes.
“Miranda, I am sorry it’s not my place but, I don’t know it fits her somehow I guess” and hands the baby back.
Little Miranda’s parents look at each other then the baby, nod and turn and smile at her.
“You know you’re right, it dose suit her somehow. Thank you”
The elevator dings signaling they had reached the ground floor and both Miranda and her parents get off closely followed by Andy and Lou.
Andy’s eyes never strayed from the family; it was yet another moment that she would never forget.
“LOU..!” Andy hissed when the chair came to a stop and she lost sight of them.
“Sorry Andy but I have to sign you out.”
“But…”
“Yes Andy I know… This is why you’re here, and now that it’s done I can take you forward now.”
Then the room starts to fade out as Lou starts to push her towards the door.