Meyers

April 28th 2004 - Our Son

It was a calm evening, just a normal Wednesday evening. The North Las Vegas area was as quiet as it ever got. Most people are indoors, doing homework, eating dinner, maybe even hanging out with a friend or two. Not for Mikaya Meyers, she was in hospital. At 8:39pm, the screams of childbirth that filled the hospital corridors were replaced by the screams of a new-born.

"It's a boy!" the midwife said, smiling as she handed the baby boy to his teenage mother.

Mikaya's mother, Amitola was called over from the other side of the room as Mikaya had requested that her mother was to cut the umbilical cord. Her father, Anatoly Meyers was waiting outside, letting himself in after he heard his wife talking to their daughter.

"Do you know what you're going to call him?" the midwife asked, checking Mikaya's blood pressure.

"Yes, yes I do." she said, looking at the top of her son's head, he'd stopped crying now and was just looking around, looking at his new world, "His name is going to be Joshua, Joshua Meyers."

She looked around, smiling. Her exhausted but still very pretty face looking at her parents as if for approval, they smiled back at her. That was all the approval she needed.

"Any middle names?" the midwife asked again, now checking Joshua's heart rate.

"Yeah he'll have some, but I'm letting his father choose them. Oh actually dad, can you call Peuro and tell him his son has been born and I want him to come and visit?" Mikaya asked, the teenage energy coming back to her for a second before Joshua was taken away for some routine health checks.

"Of course," her father said, a forced smile plastered on his face but his daughter was too tired to notice. It had been a 13hr labour simply because Mikaya was so small and young.

"Ah shit," a Spanish-American voice said, a fake anger in his voice as he pushed all his money over to his friend on the other side of the blackjack table.

"Don't tell me, de Armos, bad hand again?" another spanish voice said.

"Yeah, another bad hand, this shit rigged against me man." Peuro de Armos said, placing another bet and stubbing out his cigarette. He was at the Silver Nugget Casino in North Las Vegas. It's where this underage teen spent most of his evenings.

"Ah fuck my phone," he said, pulling out his outdated phone, "Hello?"

"Hi Peuro, it's Anatoly. Your son has been born, Mikaya wants you to see him and choose middle names."

Peuro almost dropped the phone. He knew this was coming, but he actually was a dad now, there was no escape.

"I'm coming right now Mr Meyers," he said, trying to sound as formal as possible.

Peuro and Anatoly finished the call and all his friends were just staring at him the whole time. They knew the news their friend had just heard. Some of them already were fathers.

"You're going to be a Dad?" said his best friend, Fernando. He was already a dad to a six month old.

"I am a dad now, to a little baby boy." Peuro said, smiling and quickly slinking out the casino, forgetting all about his winnings.

He felt sick with nerves but also excitement. He had a son now, a little human who he had to look after. Despite being only 16, Peuro got into his car, shut the door and vowed silently to himself, perhaps even to a God, that he would try his hardest to give his son the best opportunities he could so he wouldn't end up like him.

He started his car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the hospital that he too was born at and smiled to himself.

"I'm a father," he said aloud. He put his foot down and accelerated into the darkness, ready to meet his son.

He arrived at the hospital about fifteen minutes later. Mikaya's father was waiting for him in the lobby.

"Hi Peuro, she's just through here." Anatoly said, opening the door to the maternity ward she was now on. Peuro was guided to the end of the row of beds. Amitola was already there with her daughter, telling her stories about what she was like as a new-born baby.

"Peuro!" Mikaya exclaimed. She clearly wanted to go up to him but couldn't for obvious reasons.

"Mikaya," Peuro said, his eyes focused on the baby in her arms, a content little baby, "He's perfect."

He began to make his way over to the head of the bed.

"We'll give you two a little time alone." her mother said, going over to join Anatoly and shutting the curtain behind her, giving the two teens some privacy.

"What's his name?" Peuro asked, stroking Josh's abnormally full head of hair.

"Joshua." Mikaya said, smiling at him then her son.

"Joshua," he repeated back, looking at Mikaya in admiration. He held his arms out to hold his son for the first time, which also gave Mikaya's arms a much needed break.

"Alright," she said, "You know how he's taking my surname so you don't get put on the sex offenders registry, despite us both being in the same year at school." she rolled her eyes. Both of them were 16 but the consenting age in Nevada is 18, therefore meaning if Peuro was found out to be the father, he'd be put on the special list.

"Yeah don't worry I know. How many middle names can I give him?" Peuro asked her, rocking his son back and forth as he fell asleep.

"I'm restricting you to three," she giggled, "Oh and can you write them down on this piece of paper so I can remember them."

"Sure, ok. First I'm going with Pedro, after my dad, Miguel just because I like it and Juan because that's one of my middle names." Peuro said, his smile was contagious and Mikaya just smiled at her son and his father.

"Well there he is. Joshua Pedro Miguel Juan Meyers. Our son." Mikaya said, leaning back into her pillow but still looking at them both.

"Our son." Peuro repeated, looking into his son's dark blue eyes and exhaling deeply.

And that starts the story. No one in that room knew the fate of that innocent baby. My mother, Joshua's wife, always believed in fate. I think it helped her cope with what happened. "There was no one to blame," is what she used to say. My grandma often told me about that night, that's how I have such a detailed recount. It must hurt her to remember him as a baby. Anyway reader, as you read along, maybe your opinion on fate will change. Some of you may start believing, some of you may stop believing. So, was he born for one purpose? Was his fate sealed from the moment he was born? Anyway, that doesn't matter now. All that mattered to Mikaya Meyers and Peuro de Armos that night was their son, they didn't know what they were doing, they weren't even together, they never had been. All they knew was that they had to protect this little boy they'd named Josh, as best they could.