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ANYONE FOR DINNER Chapter 8
Howie and I settled into life together again. He had told his record company that he was not going on anymore tours until the baby was born. So I had him to myself for a while. It was great. He helped me with my schoolwork, drove me to school every day and made sure that dinner was ready whenever I wanted it. Since the guys weren't touring, they were in talks about a new album. That was how he spent his days while I was in school. Howie made sure that he was there for me whenever I needed him. A few weeks before my due date, I went to the Dean of the University and told him that I couldn't continue with my classes. It was just getting too hard. So we worked on my schedule for the following year and how I would make up the lost time. I couldn't wait to get back into it, but I wanted to be around for my baby first. Howie and I were getting excited about the birth. We had taken the Lamaze class and hoped that we were ready. We didn't do much the last couple of weeks, I had a hard time getting around. The guys would come over and make sure that I was okay. One day we were all sitting around watching a movie when I felt a sharp pain go across my stomach. "Woah." I said clutching my stomach. All the guys turned to me, "What?" Howie asked. The last couple of days, whenever I moved he was right there with the car keys ready to take me to the hospital. "I think that was a contraction. Wow, that was weird." I said as I caught my breath. "A contraction? Do you want to go to the hospital?" Howie wondered as he got off the couch. I shook my head, "No, it's okay. Let's just note the time. It may have been a false one." I pulled him back down on the couch and looked at his watch. We focused back on the movie, twenty minutes later another one came. "Okay, there was another. So they are about twenty minutes apart." I looked up at Howie, who had stood up again to get the car. "Relax honey, we have lots of time." We finished watching the movie and started another one. Howie tried to get me to go to the hospital, but I told him that they weren't coming close enough and that I would just be sent home anyway. Halfway through the second movie I stood up to go to the washroom that was when my water broke. "Oh shit." I moaned. Six hours later Howie was standing beside me as I tried to breathe and not kill him. If I'd had any idea that having a baby was going to hurt this much, I would have told Howie to forget it. I was only eight centimeters dilated and couldn't start pushing until ten. It had been a long haul. When I arrived at the hospital, the contractions were closer together, but nothing was happening. We had the choice of staying at the hospital or going home. I didn't care, I just wanted to get the baby out. Howie decided it would be best if we stayed at the hospital. Howie was looking at the monitor that was strapped to my stomach, "Here comes another one honey." I snapped my head in his direction, "I know that. I can feel it." I growled. I knew that I was going to owe him big after this. He was just trying to be helpful, but the pain was so strong, I had to lash out at someone and he was the closest to me. Another hour later and I was ready to
push. Those last two centimeters were hard, but I got them. Howie was
great, he had really paid attention in Lamaze class and he knew exactly
how to keep my mind on what I was doing and not wanting to give up. It
was so hard, but I finally pushed our baby into the world. Out of the
corner of my eye I saw that Howie was crying. I had tears streaming down
my own face, but most of that was from the pain. I looked around to see
what we had, but the baby was whisked away to be checked out. "You do. What are we going to name him?" Howie wondered. I thought for only a second, "Alexander Riley." I said. "That's perfect. AJ will be thrilled." Howie laughed. A few minutes later the nurse brought me my son. I cuddled with him while they took us to our room. The rest of the guys were waiting for us. They all stood up as we entered the room. "So Howie, what's the verdict?" AJ asked with excitement. I allowed Howie to take Alexander from my arms, he carefully cradled him to his chest and walked over to his best friends. "Guys, I would like to introduce you to my son, Alexander Riley Dorough." He announced. They all oohed and aahed over Alexander and took their turns holding him. I fell asleep. Alexander and I were released from the hospital two days later. There had been thousands of things sent to the hospital and to the house from fans of the guys. Howie's family had all come to see us, my mom and sister were on their way. The day that we were sent home I couldn't have been happier. Howie arrived at around nine in the morning to take us home. He had bought me a Nissan Pathfinder two months before and we were going home in that. When he walked into the hospital room, I was just finished packing and was talking with Alexander. "Hey," he said peeking his head around the corner. "I hear that my son wants to go home." I turned around and smiled when I saw him, "He does. So does his mother. I can't wait to eat some real food." I laughed. Howie walked in the door, "Well that can be arranged. The guys have been planning a party for you since they left last night. Our kitchen looks like a disaster. But they promised that they would clean up." Howie crossed the room and picked up Alexander, "Your Grandma Tingle called this morning. Her and your aunt are just about here. They are so excited to meet you." Alexander waived his arms in response. "Howie can we go home now?" I asked. "Yes we can." Howie said. We walked through the corridors of the hospital, saying goodbye to the nurses that had helped us. All the guys had made a stop in the children's ward, making some very happy. We briefly stopped there so that Howie could say hello to one little girl that he had seen the day before. On our way out of the hospital, I paused just before we hit the doors. "What's the matter?" Howie asked. "This is it. It's not just me anymore, it's not just you. We have a little person to take care of. Someone that we created." I said. Howie looked at me and then at Alexander, "We are a family. You, me and Alexander. One perfect family." He replied. I glanced over at Howie and then smiled at my son, "I couldn't be happier to be a part of this family." I leaned over to kiss Howie and then we both kissed our baby. We walked out of the hospital beginning our life as a family. the END
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