It was May fifteenth, little Mason's due date, and he hadn't shown up yet. He was making me wait and it was making me cry. A lot. Poor Bonner, too. He had to deal with a wife that was as big as a house, put on my shoes, help me with all the little things, and on top of that, I was emotional.
He was a trooper, though. I was proud of him. He still had a smile on his face every single time he looked at me. I was blessed, and I knew it. And I told Bonner that every time he did something for me.
I think what made this wait so hard for me, was that Peta and Maks were already blessed with little Vera a week ago. She was beautiful and blonde, like her mommy, and she stole both mine and Bonner's hearts already. And she never cried. Never.
Shai loved her. Well, he was only one and just ran around laughing, or sitting on the floor with his daddy playing with giant Lego, but we all took that to mean that he loved his baby sister.
We had celebrated Shai's first birthday was three weeks ago. And the kid was spoiled. Bonner was responsible for his godson's new Lego obsession, having bought him every set he could find at the toy store.
Bonner patiently sat on the floor and showed Shai how to play with it, and now, he played all day, building little castles and zoos. It was cute and, of course, I cried, watching Uncle Bonner play with Shai. They were so priceless, together.
And now our best friends, the Chmerkovskiy's had two perfect babies and I was still pregnant.
"It's not fair," I whined, as Bonner sat on the end on the couch and rubbed my feet and swollen ankles.
Bonner smiled at me, like he always did, and it made me stop pouting a little. Just a little. "What's not fair, sunshine?"
"Peta has her baby, two actually. She gets to snuggle and love them and rock them to sleep. And ours is still stuck in here," I said, rubbing my way too huge belly.
"Aw, love. I know. I want to meet him, too," he said, reaching over to rub the bottom of my belly. "But, he's just getting bigger and better in there. Nice and healthy."
"Bigger isn't a good thing to the mom, Bonner," I said, winking at him, and making him laugh.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he said, rubbing the arch of my foot and making me groan. "Mm. You sound so sexy when you do that."
I laughed. "Cowboy, there is nothing sexy about me, right now."
"Oh, Mrs. Bolton. Quite the contrary. You are absolutely glowing. You're beautiful."
I smiled. "I'm not glowing. I'm sweating and clammy." Bonner laughed. "I love you so much, sunshine."
"Even though I'm not very pleasant to be around?"
"Honey, I cherish every second I'm with you. You are mine, Sharna. There was a time that I wasn't sure you would want to stay out here with me. That I thought you wouldn't give up everything in your life to come out here with me. That I wasn't worth it."
I felt more tears roll down my cheeks as he spoke to me.
"Sharna. You are my life. And when we decided that we wanted a baby-"
"Babies," I said, correcting him, and making him chuckle.
"When we decided that we wanted a family, a houseful of babies," he smiled at me, "I knew there were going to tough days, emotional days. But, sunshine, this baby, our son, is going to be so worth it. He's going to be perfect. And he'll be here any minute, now. I just know it."
Bonner was wrong. Mason didn't show any sign of joining our amazing family for three more days. Three whole days. Which were complete torture. I just lied on the couch like a bump on a log, and my poor husband brought me food every couple of hours, and helped me up the stairs to the bathroom in between.
Thank goodness he had already planted his crop this year. With the farm taken care of, I had my hubby all to myself. I knew Peta felt bad she couldn't come over and dote on me, but she had two babies of her own to worry about right now, and she'd just given birth a week and a half ago. I never would have let her wait on me, anyway.
But, on a Wednesday afternoon in the middle of May, my baby made his first attempt at getting out of me. I was sitting in the bathtub, and Bonner was washing my hair. "My arms aren't broken," I said, when he insisted on doing it for me.
"I know that, Sharna. But, this might be my last chance to spoil my pregnant wife," he said, kissing my cheek. "There's going to be another man in your life, very soon."
I smiled at that thought. "A little man," I said, rubbing my tummy. "Well, you can still spoil me once Mason's here."
"Of course I will," he said. "Close your eyes." He poured a pitcher of water over my hair to rinse the shampoo out.
"Bonner," I whispered.
"Yeah, sunshine."
"I think my water just broke," I said, quietly. I felt a little pop inside, and I knew something was happening. Peta and I talked about this stuff enough for me to know what was going on.
"Okay, uh, shit, um. Just relax, Sharna." I wanted to laugh at the irony of a very nervous Bonner telling me to relax, but I was suddenly terrified, too.
"Bonner, I'm scared," I admitted. "I can't do this."
And my fear seemed to snap Bonner out of his panic, and he was instantly in control of the situation. "Sharna May Bolton. You are the bravest woman I know. And I'm going to be right beside you the entire time, okay. I'm not leaving your side, sunshine. We can do this."
"Okay," I said in a tiny voice that, honestly, wasn't very believable.
"Honey, we get to meet our son. You're going to be a mommy," Bonner said, a tear running down his smiling face.
"I love you, daddy," I whispered. I reached up to touch his cheek and he leaned down to kiss my lips.
Bonner helped me out of the tub, and helped me get dressed. I sat on the bed, and Bonner called the doctor. I didn't feel anything, yet. No contractions, and I was panicking, thinking something was wrong. Bonner was pacing, and saying 'uh huh' over and over again.
He finally hung up and then came to kneel in front of me. "Sharna. We're going to go into the hospital. The doctor said because we think your water broke, you should be admitted."
"But, why can't I feel the contractions? Is something wrong?"
"No, sunshine. That's normal. The doctor might have to induce labour. But, Mason's okay. He's coming," Bonner said. He sounded so calm, but he was sweating, and I could see his pulse in his neck. He was nervous as hell.
But, I shouldn't have worried. My contractions started in the truck on the way to the hospital. And they weren't pleasant. At all. I was squeezing Bonner's hand, and he was rubbing the back of of fingers, likely trying to get me to let go.
Bonner got us checked into the hospital and me tucked in bed. He was worried about me, but I was worried about him. He was pale, and I knew the smell of the hospital was getting to him. Just being in here was hard on him. He hated hospitals, and he was nervous. Plus, I was terrified.
I was at four centimeters dilated when the doctor came to check on me. She seemed pleased with the progress. That made me relax. Bonner, not so much. "Cowboy, get a drink of water, okay?" I asked, smiling at him. "I can't have you passing out on me. I need you."
He did as he was told and then pulled up a chair to sit beside me. He took my hand and kissed the back of it. "You are doing so good, Sharna. I'm so proud of you."
I felt tears pool in my eyes at his sweet words. "Thank you. I love you, Bonner."
"I love you, too, my sweet, beautiful sunshine." And then he surprised me with a joke. "Let the six week countdown to sex begin."
I burst out laughing and he smiled. Last year, before I was even pregnant, I had told Bonner that we couldn't have sex after the baby was born for six weeks. Apparently, he remembered that little piece of trivia.
"Well, you're the happiest pregnant lady I've ever seen," the doctor said, when she came in to check on me.
"I guess the other girls aren't married to sexy cowboys, huh?" I asked, smiling. The doctor laughed and Bonner blushed. It was good to see colour in his cheeks.
The baby was coming quickly. It had only been four hours since my water broke and I was all ready to start pushing. My parents, Peta and Maks were all outside the door, waiting for our son. I was happy for the support, but I was thankful that it was just me and Bonner in here with the doctor and nurses.
This was our moment. Our relationship had been like that from the beginning, though. We were there for each other always. And so, it seemed like the right way to welcome our son into our family. Just me and Bonner.
Delivering Mason was an amazing experience. It hurt like hell, but it went by so quickly. One minute, I was a chubby pregnant lady in the tub, and just four hours later, I was giving my final push, bringing our son into the world.
"That's it, Sharna. You did it. You have a healthy baby boy," the doctor said. I looked at Bonner and he was looking at me, smiling. His eyes were red and he had tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Here he is." I let out a sound that was half laugh, half cry, as I saw my son in the doctor's hands. She set him on my chest, and I started bawling. He was so tiny and so perfect, and I was mad at myself for crying because I couldn't stare at my baby through my tears.
"Hi, Mason," I whispered, through my tears, reaching up to set my hand on the back of his little head.
I felt Bonner press a kiss to my temple. "You're beautiful, Sharna. You did so good, sunshine." He reached out and set his hand on Mason's back. "Isn't your mommy amazing?"
Mason gurgled a little, and Bonner laughed. I was absolutely beaming as I looked at my two boys. I was so blessed to have them both. It was official. Today was the happiest day of my life.
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