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“I thought you’d forgotten me. Anyway, the baby’s not coming for a long time yet, so we’ve got time to have a cup of tea.”
“There’s no time, Cate. The drive to the hospital takes exactly 27 minutes and 16 seconds. What if we don’t make it to the hospital in time?”
I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Then you would have to deliver the baby in the car. You can cope with a little blood and gore, surely? My bag is by the door—you can make yourself useful by putting it in the car.” I sat drinking my tea, ignoring Alessio glaring at me.
After finishing my drink, we said goodbye to Marco, Juliana and Maximo, and I let Alessio help me into the car.
He drove way too fast to the hospital and there were two SUVs full of soldiers right behind us. “Slow down. We’ve got plenty of time. We don’t want to get stopped by the police—that would delay us even more.”
“The cops wouldn’t dare to stop us.” He was right. The only time we tended to get stopped was by new cops who didn’t recognize the Marchiano family or our cars yet. The family had the local police in their back pockets, which helped when there were situations like killings or drug shipments going on, but it also came in use for more minor situations like traffic violations.
During the journey, Alessio rang the hospital six times with an updated ETA.
“Alessio, please calm down. The hospital has women coming in to give birth every day. They know what they’re doing.”
“They need to be prepared for when we arrive. I’m not leaving anything to chance.”
When we got there, we were met by the doctor and nurse with a wheelchair. However, Alessio ignored the wheelchair, scooped me up in his arms and ran with me into the hospital. “Which way?” he demanded.
The doctor suppressed her smile and led the way to the delivery room. Dr. Karen Testa delivered most of the babies in the Fratellanza, and she had told me that she was used to dealing with Made Men, their demands, and the threats they made when they were concerned about their wife and baby.
I had chosen to have a natural birth, and the nurse set up the room with the candles I had brought along, and I also had soothing music playing in the background. The hours ticked by as the labor progressed in its own time.
“Will someone switch that damn music off?” demanded Alessio. “I can’t think straight with it on.”
“No, leave it,” I said calmly to the nurse. “It’s to help me relax, and I’m the important one.”
“Dr. Testa, you’ve got to give us some pain relief,” Alessio pleaded.
Us? Anyone would think that he was going through the labor, I thought.
“Mr. Marchiano, your wife has asked for a natural birth. I’m more than happy to give her pain relief if she requests it, but she is the patient and I have to respect her wishes.”
“Her wishes, are you serious? I’m the Consigliere of the Fratellanza and I’m in charge here. Give her the pain relief. Right now, that’s an order!”
“No.” The doctor kept her voice firm.
I decided to intervene. “Why don’t you go get yourself some coffee, Alessio? It might help you relax. You don’t need to worry. Everything is going just fine so far. This is all what’s supposed to happen. The pain is just part of my body preparing to give birth. It’s natural, and it’s what a woman’s body is supposed to do. You rarely take pain relief even after you’ve taken a bullet. If men can tolerate pain, so can women.”
“But I’m a man. Pain is part of my job.”
“And I’m a woman and it’s part of my role to give birth.”
After some more persuasion, Alessio finally agreed to go to the coffee shop after I told him that I wanted a hot chocolate to keep my energy up. Once he had left, I apologized to Dr. Testa.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Marchiano. A lot of Made Men are like this. They’re so used to being in control and having their orders followed that the uncertainty of labor wreaks havoc with their emotions.”
“Alessio is a control freak in every aspect of his life. At least once the baby is born, things can go back to normal.”
The doctor laughed. “Well, maybe if it’s a boy. If it’s a girl, my experience tells me that the men get even more irrational and overprotective.”
“I don’t mind if it’s a boy or a girl but whatever we have, Alessio definitely is going to have to learn to be a bit less uptight.”
ALESSIO
I grabbed a hot chocolate for Cate and a coffee for myself. I paced up and down the hospital corridor, trying to calm myself down. I knew I was being irrational and demanding and overbearing. But this was my baby, and I would do whatever I needed to protect it and Cate.
After gulping down my coffee, I went back into the delivery room. Before entering, I took a deep breath and tried to tell myself to remain calm.
