Page 28 of One More Time

‘Amazing, aren’t they?’ Charlie’s voice was a sigh against her cheek.

‘Yes, Charlie, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.’ She slowly shook her head in disbelief. ‘They’re absolutely magical.’

‘Moonflowers are nocturnal plants, so they’ll only stay open until the sun rises.’ He looked to her, his nose to the air. ‘Can you smell their perfume?’

She sniffed the air. ‘Oh yes!’ She grinned. ‘They smell like Mum’s homemade lemonade.’

‘Aha, they most certainly do.’ He tipped his head. ‘But don’t let their prettiness deceive you. Moonflowers are extremely poisonous, which is why they’re planted so far from the house, to keep any little ones and pets safe.’

‘Wow, I never would have thought something so magnificent could be dangerous.’ She nestled further against him, her head going to his shoulder. ‘How long have the flowers been here?’

‘My great-great-grandfather planted them for his wife, as a sign of his love.’

‘I think that’s very romantic.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Now I know where you get your romantic heart from, Charlie Wilson.’

‘I don’t think my heart’s romantic, Grace, but I’m glad you do.’ His chest moved with his gentle sigh. ‘I just love you is all, and I want to make you happy, every single day. So I do what I have to, to make sure of that.’

Grace was about to respond when a gush of heat rushed between her legs. ‘Charlie … I think my water just broke.’ Wide-eyed, she glanced down.

Charlie followed her gaze to her now sodden dress. ‘Holy moly! We better hurry and get you to the hospital.’ He helped her to her feet and back to the ute as quickly as they could manage.

In the flurry of activity, Grace’s mind went into overdrive as she ticked off her mental list. Her first sign of pain came half an hour later, as they were making their way through the hospital doors. It stopped her cold and had her crying out. Gripping the wall with one hand and Charlie’s hand with the other, she gritted her teeth and groaned through it, just like she’d learned in her antenatal classes.

‘Wait here, I’ll grab that wheelchair.’ Charlie dashed away and was back with the wheelchair. Grace settled into it as best she could before he raced her down the hallway. ‘Don’t you worry, I’ve got you, Grace.’ He jabbed the elevator button repeatedly.

Grace couldn’t help but giggle a little at his urgency. Trust her husband to keep her heart light through an intense time. Within two hours, though, mirth was the farthest thing from her mind. She was squinting at Charlie through sweat-stung eyes, silently vowing that they were never having sex again.

The midwife told her the contractions were now four minutes apart and ninety seconds long. Forever felt more accurate to Grace, with each one becoming more extreme. Gripping the sheets, warm tears sprang once again as she felt their baby inching its way into the world. Propped up by pillows with her legs astride, she tried not to think about the view from where the midwife and doctor were standing. The pain ebbed and flowed as the rhythm of labour took over her body. The next contraction started almost as soon the last one ended. Groaning through each one, she did her best to breathe, wondering how on earth humanity had survived with women having to go through such excruciating agony.

‘Your cervix is dilated ten centimetres now, Mrs Wilson, so it’s time to push through those contractions, okay?’ The midwife’s voice carried from the end of the bed.

‘Here we go, Grace,’ Charlie said with an eager squeeze of her hand.

‘What do you mean, here we goooooooo?’ she cried out as a contraction had her straining every muscle.

And the next hour went on like this – pushing, stopping, breathing, gritting, groaning, crying and panting. Never had Grace felt so primal.

‘You’re doing so well, Mrs Wilson.’ The midwife’s soothing voice lulled Grace into a false sense of it almost being over. ‘Now let that one go and breathe through the next. You’re over the hill and on the downward slope.’

Nodding, Grace bit down on her lip as she gripped Charlie’s hand. ‘Ooohhh god.’ She writhed beneath another wave of discomfort as she pushed and pushed until she just couldn’t anymore and fell back against the bed.

Charlie mopped her head with a cool cloth. A little off-colour, he looked so out of his comfort zone she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Somehow, she managed a tiny, appreciative smile before another contraction hit, stronger this time, and she panted through it until the need to expel the baby from her body became uncontrollable.

‘The baby is crowning now, so with your next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can, okay?’

Push harder? Was this woman serious?

Completely overwhelmed and exhausted beyond anything she’d ever experienced before, Grace shook her head. ‘I can’t. I can’t do this anymore.’ She wanted to forget this whole thing, go home, and sleep for weeks. ‘Please don’t make me do this anymore.’ She was sobbing now. ‘Make the pain stop, please.’

‘You have to do this, and you will, my darling Grace.’ Charlie squeezed her hand. ‘You’re the bravest, strongest woman I know, you’ve got this.’

Looking into his kind eyes, his belief and gentle strength helped her to face the impossible. With one last primal grunt, she pushed with every fibre of her being, and then some.

There was a swift gush and then utter relief as their baby came into the world.

‘Oh my gosh, it’s a girl, Grace.’ Charlie’s voice was filled with elation.