Pictures are really kind of thin here as I have
no hospital stuff or anything, so...enjoy none-the-less please!
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Those five months are a blur. All I can really remember is visiting Jahre and Zwei every day, sometimes taking Myles along with me so we could get some practice. School let out soon enough and the visits got longer after that, from sun-up to sundown sometimes. I didn’t tell my parents until a few days before the supposed due-date. Mom wasn’t thrilled as to be expected, but dad was more upset.
The fight wasn’t as huge as the ones with mom, but it was worse. I don’t want to tell about it, but I will say that afterwards I fled to Jahre’s house and hid out there for a while. His stomach was big. Not huge like mom’s had been, so I took that as a sign that hopefully it was only one. The phone rang and we heard Zwei answer it. A few moments later a muffled shout came from through the door and the phone slammed down. Peaking out I watched as the older man rushed around the living room, gathering up socks, shoes and a coat.
“Helene’s in the hospital,” he explained so quickly I almost didn’t catch it. “She’s having a baby.”
That did it! We piled into that car and headed off. I didn't even have time to get properly dressed! The hospital Helene was admitted to was at least and hour away and halfway there a sharp pain began to shoot across Jahre’s abdomen. At least that’s what he described it as.
So instead of instantly asking after his daughter, Zwei had to get his son into the hospital before we could do anything. It’s not anything serious just yet, but the doctor just told us they’re both having their kids at the same time.
You thought that ‘things can only get better from here’ was talking about the things before? Oh no…I mean they can only get better from here. I’m so nervous my hands are shaking over the keyboard. I’m going to stop now and keep going when this is all over.
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Well now…where did I leave off? Oh yeah. I had a pair of half-siblings in the hospital about ready to have kids. And one of them I knew was mine!
Not to say anything bad about Helene of course, but who knows if that’s when she actually got pregnant, you know? It could’ve been anyone else, if there was anyone else.
So there I was…waiting…waiting…until finally some news came. A doctor came calmly from the room and announced that Helene was finished. Jahre was just starting to get serious and requested that one of us be in there with him. I was scared to know how this would work, but wanted to let Zwei see his daughter before I did. I was more worried about Jahre anyway.
I won’t relate all the gory details, just that my hand felt like it was going to break he was holding so hard! It was a dark red before everything was over and bruised for at least a week after.
But, maybe half an hour of torturing my hand, thankfully it was a quick delivery, there she was. I could feel my eyes softening after they brought her back in after the cleanup. A perfectly healthy little girl, dark skinned with the red hair and pink eyes that before were unique to me.
Jahre looked up at me and I could tell he was exhausted. I would be too if I’d done all that work! I started laughing quietly and he returned it with a smile. The nurse handed the girl over to me, showing me where to put my hands just in case.
By the time I looked back up from her face Jahre was asleep, his lips still showing that smile. I’m not sure how long I sat and stared between the two of them, but finally Zwei came in holding a blue wrapped bundle. Did I forget to mention? Besides the pink hair and eyes, my daughter was wrapped in a small pink blanket.
Anyway, the older man walked up beside me and showed me Helene’s son. I knew right away he was mine. Almost the same skin tone as his mother, but the face that looked up at me had the same hair and eyes as the baby I held in my arms.
I sadly relinquished my new daughter in favour of letting his grandfather hold him and instead took the little boy. “Does he have a name?” I couldn’t help but ask. Jahre and I hadn’t talked about it, and I hadn’t seen Helene to be able to.
He nodded and, not taking his eyes off the little girl he now held in his arms, told me Tobias. I nodded and went back to waving my finger before the boy’s face.
Zwei and I sat there for at least an hour before Jahre woke back up. He was still tired, his voice showed that, but now was the best time to talk about a name.
“Something common or not-so-much?” I asked first, trying to narrow the field in my mind.
“Something a little more common, but not one that twenty other kids will have.” We sat and exchanged named back and forth, ranging from Antonia to Vanna. “Rayen,” he said suddenly when it was his turn in the exchange.
I smiled instantly and looked down at the child, still in Zwei’s arms. “I like it,” I responded.
And I meant it. We realized later that it might not be as common as we were looking for, but at least it was different. Due to Jahre’s age, Rayen wasn’t the biggest baby, so it took a few days more than usual to leave the hospital. Tobias and Helene got to home after the normal waiting period though. I never liked hospitals in the first place, but I can say now that I hope I never have to go back to one.
Though Jahre and Zwei were ecstatic about the baby and her health, Helene already had an apartment where she lived with Tobias, it wasn’t all fun and games, let me tell you. Mom, as you can guess, didn’t want me in the house and even Dad was different around me. It got to the point where I finally picked up my bags in the middle of the night and left.
Midnight a few weeks after Rayen and Jahre got to come home I got up’n’out. My only concern was Myles. He didn’t tell me if it was true, but it seemed as though Mom had begun to ignore him just like she had me. But if I could go back I’d still make the same decision.
But anyway, let’s get away from the depressing bits. Rayen was gaining weight and growing wonderfully. When she could smile it rarely stopped and her eyes were barely ever closed unless she was asleep. She learned to walk and talk early, but potty training was a bit of a let down. It took forever to have her let go of the old ways.
Jahre took care of her during the day once school started back up (senior year thankfully) while I handled all the night cries. Amazing as it may seem, it wasn’t all that awkward sharing a room with him and on more than one occasion we went back to old slumber party routine and even shared his bed.
We hardly got to see Helene, but she did send us, or Zwei rather, pictures and videos of Tobias as he grew up. She even got him eating his first Oreo on tape!
Don’t think it’s just the ramblings of a parent, these two kids mean more than anything to me. Sure, Tobe might not have known me for the longest time; Helene finally gave into Zwei and brought the boy over for his first birthday, but still.
There was one interruption to those happy times that sticks out in my mind though. One day, Saturday if I remember right, the phone rang. I was doing my big senior English project, but I left the desk once Zwei called for me.
