Chapter 23: Long Nights, Warm Hearts

Captain's Log -

Labor pains started in the middle of the night.
 With a disarmingly gentle touch, Cordelia squeezed my shoulder gently to wake me.  I was surprised that the lamp was already on.  When I looked at her with sleep-blurred eyes, I could see the beaded sweat on her brow and above her lip.
"They're coming," she whispered to me.

We both got out of the bed, Cordelia taking her time between contractions.

 She was so brave.  Hardly crying out when the pain came, but she made the oddest faces while concentrating on her breathing.

 We grabbed our bag for the hospital and headed into town together.

 Once situated in the hospital, nurses attended Cordelia while I encouraged her with gentle words and praise. Strangely, once in the hospital, time passed quickly and it felt like mere heartbeats later, our daughters came.
We named them Mairin, Ursula and Muriel.
After a few days in the hospital, the doctor deemed Delia and the babies healthy to go home.

Once home, we laid the girls in their cribs.

That first night home was the beginning of lost sleep, long nights, dirty clothes, messy home, warm hearts, and a happy home.
The past was truly forgotten and the future worth living for.

~Tom Calico