As much death as we see in this business, when we can
witness new life it’s especially sweet.
Some medics can spend a career and never assist in a delivery; I however
have helped bring five babies into the world and last shift that number went to
six.
We were dispatched to the Prynne residence for a lady in
labor. When we got there it was clear;
this baby was coming and it was coming now!
The mom, a lady named Hester, seemed unusually calm for someone about to
deliver a baby on a kitchen table. The dad
was a different story. He was a
wreck. Nevertheless, he dutifully stood
there holding Hester’s hand the whole time.
The delivery went really smoothly and after the baby was out I asked the
dad if he wanted to cut the cord. The
look on his face was one I’d never seen before.
Hester piped up and said, “Oh, no.
He’s not the father! This..this
is Rev. Dimmesdale, my church pastor.
Cheese and I looked at each other.
This guy must be the most saintly person in the world to stay by the
side of a congregant through such an intimate time. Or, there’s something going on they’re not
telling us. After working the gutters
for a few years you gain a sixth sense and I got the sense that this guy wasn’t
her pastor, and if he was he had more involvement with Hester than he probably
should have. But that was none of my
business, and besides I have seen much more twisted and perverted things in my
time.
I got the new, beautiful baby girl all cleaned up and handed
her to Hester. I asked her if she had a
name picked out, and she had. Hester
said, “Her name’s Pearl, because she came a great price” all while looking at
the good Reverend. If I hadn’t had any
doubts that there was more to the story than that, they were now gone! We eventually got Hester and Pearl delivered
to hospital. Afterwards, as I’m filling
out the paperwork, I see in Hester’s chart that her marital status is listed as
married. I wondered to myself where her
husband was. Then I thought again, I
really, really don’t want to know.
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