Garrett dropped his suitcase and had me in his arms before I even knew what was happening. “Emma, I’d never leave you—ever. Our love is forever. Don’t you know that?”
I frantically began kissing him. “Yes! God, yes, I know that. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
I quickly began trying to pull Garrett’s shirt up and over his head. Then, he began taking off his pants.
He pulled me against his body. “Emma, I only have eyes for you. I only love you,” he whispered against my lips.
I reached under my skirt and pulled off my knickers. I kicked them off to the side as I said, “I know. Oh God, Garrett, I know. Please…I need you.”
The instant he slipped inside me, I let out a moan. We’d never had such raw, passionate sex as we did that afternoon. Garrett took me hard and fast against our kitchen counter, and then he carried me into our bedroom where we made love two more times.
We lay in bed, wrapped around each other, for the longest time before either one of us spoke.
“I promise you, Garrett, I will never let jealousy into my heart like that again. I just don’t know what happened. It was so weird how upset I was.”
He rolled over onto his side and pulled me closer to him, so we were facing each other. “Emma, I want to have a baby. It’s been a few years since we got married, and I really want to have a baby.”
I let out a sigh and smiled so big. “I do, too, Garrett. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you, but I was so scared that you weren’t ready, and well…maybe that is where my behavior came from today. I don’t know.”
Garrett smiled. “A woman has the right to have her moods, just like a man does. Let’s not ever let it go that far again though, okay, Em? I never want to see that look on your face again—ever.”
I leaned in and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. I gently bit down on it, and he let out a moan.
I let it go and said, “I promise. Never again.”
He gently pushed me onto my back and crawled onto me as he smiled. “I think we should start practicing for that baby.”
I let out a giggle and nodded my head quickly. “I like that plan.”
I let out a sigh when he slipped inside me and began moving oh-so slowly. I was quickly swept away by his lovemaking. Deep in my heart, I knew that we were making something amazing.
As I closed my eyes and snuggled up against my husband, I whispered, “Garrett, you should probably start looking for that charm.”
October 1965
I paced back and forth in the waiting room.
“Garrett, please stop pacing,” Margie said.
I looked at my best friend and his wife sitting there, smiling at me. I couldn’t help but smile when I glanced down and saw Billy’s hand on Margie’s swollen stomach. They were expecting their third child in a few weeks.
I let out a sigh and sat down. “I don’t understand. They said they would let me in the delivery room with her, and no one is telling me a thing. I’m about to punch a hole in the damn wall if they don’t let me see my wife.”
Billy laughed. “Garrett, with our first two, I wasn’t allowed in until after Margie gave birth, so just take some deep breaths. The nurse will let you know. Y’all just got here thirty minutes ago.”
I nodded my head and then dropped it down into my hands as I tried to calm down.
“Mr. Mathews?”
I jumped up and looked around. When I saw the nurse standing there, I practically ran up to her. “Yes! That’s me!”
She chuckled. “I know. I checked your wife in. Are you ready to head into the delivery room?”
I instantly felt sick and turned back to look at Margie and Billy. They both smiled.
“Go on, Mathews. Don’t miss the chance to see your child being born,” Billy said.
I spun back around to face the nurse. “Yes, I’m more than ready.”
As we walked into the delivery room, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Emma looked. When our eyes met and she smiled, I had to remind myself to breathe.
I walked up to her and leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips. “You take my breath away. You’re so beautiful.”
The nurse walked up to the other side of Emma. I looked up at her, and she smiled at Emma and then at me. “Now, Emma, I want you to breathe through the contractions, okay? Just like what we went over.”
Emma nodded her head and took my hand in hers. “Okay. As long as I have my husband by my side, everything is good.”
Then, she squeezed my hand and began breathing quickly. “Oh my…oh…this one is…”
The nurse said, “Breathe, Emma. Breathe through the pain.”
Emma smiled and nodded her head. She looked at me and winked.
Three hours later, I was ready to hurt someone. Emma was in so much pain, and I felt helpless that I couldn’t do anything.
“Mrs. Mathews, just a few more pushes, and your baby will be here,” the doctor said.
“Damn it!” Emma called out as another contraction hit her.
When Kathy, the sweet nurse who had been here the whole time, started in with her breathing reminder again, I knew she was in trouble.
Emma snapped her head and gave her a look. “I swear to God, if you tell me one more time to breathe through the pain, I’m going to punch you!”
I tried not to, but I laughed. Then, I quickly said, “I’m so sorry, Kathy. She doesn’t mean what she is saying.”
Kathy smiled and said, “I know, Mr. Mathews. I take it all with a grain of salt.”
I nodded my head, and I was about to say something else when Emma grabbed my shirt.
“If you think for one minute that I’m going to let you do this to me again, you have another thing coming. Never. Again.”
I swallowed hard and looked at Kathy.
She mouthed, Grain of salt, to me and smiled.
I looked back down at Emma and said, “I’m so sorry, Em. If I could—”
Then, the doctor said, “Emma, push with the contraction. We just need one more good one.”
I helped Emma to sit up a bit as she pushed as hard as she could. She never once screamed out in pain. I was pretty sure that was because she was slowly and painfully breaking each of my fingers. She was on her way to breaking my hand.
Then, I heard our baby’s cries as Emma fell back onto the bed.
As the doctor held up our child, he said, “It’s a boy, Mr. and Mrs. Mathews.”
I couldn’t help the flood of tears falling from my eyes as I looked at our child for the first time.