Chapter 6

Vancouver, Canada - August 17, 1981

"Any news yet?" Daniel asked, breaching the line into the waiting area.

"No, not yet," responded Danny, finally breaking circuit of his pacing to shake his dad's hand and give his mom a one-armed hug.

Margo hated hospitals. They made her uncomfortable. The smell of turpentine and bed pans, the disgust of death masked with a euphoria of birth. She smiled at Danny and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"How is Leah feeling?" she asked to no one.

"I've gone in the room twice, and both times she was doing okay."

"Did they make you leave?"

"No, I could have stayed. Leah asked me to leave for a while. She said that my pacing was making it difficult for her to concentrate."

"What are you so nervous about?" pestered Margo. "I've done this twice myself and I've concluded that if you can do it once, you can do it again."

"I'm sure you're right, Mom. I guess I'm just excited to find out if I finally got my boy. You know that I've always wanted a boy. I can't truly relate with a daughter. Cindy and I could never really be as close as my son and I are going to be."

"I can understand that," agreed Daniel. "If either you or your brother were a girl, I'm not sure I would have been able to be much of a father to you kids. It's the mom's job to bring up a girl. Teach her about being a lady and a wife and a mother."

Margo wasn't in complete agreement, but kept quiet.

"Mr. Stolars?"

"Yes?" Daniel and Danny responded in overlapping discord.

"Um, the father to be," clarified the nurse.

"Oh, right," responded Daniel. "Sorry.”

“What is it, nurse?” asked Danny.

"Your wife is nearly fully dilated. If you'd like to be there for the birth, you should come now."

"Thank you very much. I'm on my way. Dad, mom, wait here. I'll come and get you when he's born."

"Or she." Margo raised an eyebrow.

"Right, of course. Okay, talk to you soon."

Danny passed through the doorway to the birthing room right as Leah was screaming through her last few pushes.

"This hurts so badly!"

"I know it does, love. But you can do it. You've made it this far. Just one more push,” urged the doctor.

"I don't want to."

"You have to. Come on. You can do it."

"No, I don't want to."

"They're crowning!"

"I don't want to!"

"Okay, here they come!"

"I do not want to!"

"Congratulations, Mrs. Stolars. You have a healthy baby boy!"

"Yes, I got my boy," exhaled Danny. "I knew it!"

Leah had ceased her temporary denial and embraced the boy after he was cleaned and wrapped by the nurses. She held him at her bosom and opened the buttons of her cotton top so that he could feed. The baby immediately latched onto her nipple and inhaled a torrent of breast milk. Danny turned to run back to the waiting room to tell his parents the news when Leah called to him.

"Danny, make sure you call my parents, please have them come to the hospital and bring Cindy with them."

"Of course."

Danny found his father lying on the floor of the waiting room with his head underneath one of the vending machines. He was in the way you would envision a mechanic rolled underneath a broken-down automobile. Two of the three people sharing the waiting area had helped him to prop the heavy machine so that it was tilted enough for him to safely get underneath.

"I think I found the problem." Daniel slid from out of the hulking shadow of the machine and motioned for Danny to help him re-stabilize the machine on all four of its legs. He put a coin in and tested its viability by pulling one of the levers. A pack of Du Maurier cigarettes fell to the metal flap at the mouth of the machine.

"Dad, you quit smoking years ago."

"Oh, I know. It's for my new friends Brian and Mike here."

"Thanks, Daniel. Nice work."

"Don't mention it."

"Dad, can you please listen? He's here. My son. I told you it was a boy."

"Well done, Danny. Well done."

"Well, are you going to take us to go and see him or what?" snapped Margo.

"Yes, yes, of course. Sorry. Just give me one minute. I need to use the pay phone to call Jack and Miriam."

"Oh, right." Margo rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Jack. Can you please put Miriam on the phone?"

"Hi, Miriam. He's here. We had a son. What’s that? Yes, Leah's doing fine…I'm not sure. I actually didn't ask. Leah has asked for you to bring Cindy and come to the hospital now…Yes, I will. Okay, thank you… You, too. See you soon."

As Danny excitedly placed the receiver back into its cradle, the reverberating ring of the bell from the phone faded away as he led his parents to the room where his newborn son lay.

"Mom, Dad, I'm very proud to introduce you to my son, Wilson."

"Wilson? That's not the name we discussed," said Leah bitterly.

"I know, Leah, but I just had an inkling."

"I see. I'm feeling fine, by the way, in spite of the fact I just pushed a spaghetti squash out of my vagina."

"Oh, honey, of course you are. You did such a great job,” Danny patted her bare shoulder sincerely but Leah interpreted his gesture as patronizing.

“I do not want to,” was all that Leah could think of as Danny lifted baby Wilson from her and handed him to his mother.

"Can you believe it, Mom? You're a grandma."

"Danny? I became a grandma over 3 years ago when Cindy was born."

"Right. Of course, you did. I just meant grandma of a baby boy."