The Un-tragic Story of Romeo and Juliet

Chapter 9

Juliet

Our families stayed for many months, but Nurse and Friar left after three days because they had duties to attend to. My family stayed with us every other week and switched with Romeo's parents. We rarely got visitors but when we did it was just someone to deliver letters. I am now 8 months in my pregnancy and there is only one more moh left and I can't be any happier. I was with my beloved, his family, and mine. Occasionally, our fathers had to go back to Verona on business, but our mothers stayed and made sure I was okay. With only a month left, nobody wanted to leave just in case the baby was early. And any mail they got, they would turn it away and save it for after the baby was born. Soon, it was time to set up the baby's room and our parents would both be staying in the inn. My mother and Lady Montague often went out in search for some of the baby's things. We found a white crib with hand-carved railings, a brown wooden rocking chair with flowers painted on it, and a beautifully hand-crafted wardrobe for his or her clothes. We come back to the men trying to build a mobile, but it wasn't going so well. Paper covered the ground like a snow white eve, wood shavings and wood blocks waiting to be carved covered the crumbled paper, and of course there they were, all three men sitting with their legs crossed with carving knives in their hands, and a block of wood in another. Romeo's side of the foyer had paper with designs drawn on them, and by far the most shavings on the ground below him. Lord Montague had very little paper on the floor, but many shavings. He obviously didn't know what he was doing and just winged it most of the time. My father's side was very unorganized as well. Under him were various colors of wood, ashy looking papers, and plenty of broken knives flooding the floor. We walked in the door and they all look at us in shock. Quickly, they try to clean up the huge mess they made while running into each other. The three of us just looked at them, back at each other, and back at them. We couldn't hold it in much longer and we burst out laughing. They stopped and looked at us laughing at them and dropped everything in their hands. They joined in on our laughter and Romeo tried to hide the little bit of the mobile he had actually made. He gently placed it behind our sofa and came back, his face full of joy from what he had accomplished. He came over to me and kissed me.

Romeo

I was making a mobile, with my father and father-in-law, to surprise Juliet. The foyer was so messy with shards of wood and paper everywhere. The door unlocked, creaked open, and Juliet and our mothers walked in to see the three of us on the floor carving a wood mobile for my future child. We stood up and ran to try and pick everything up. We crashed into each other many times. I grabbed what I had done of the mobile and hid it behind our now dusted and dirty sofa. All I could hear was the scrambling of feet and our wives start laughing. I stood up and joined in the laughter. Both of my father's dropped everything and laughed along with us. I walked over and kissed Juliet. To see her smile in this situation, especially with the baby so close, made me smile. I was the happiest and luckiest man in the world. I am so grateful for my family.

~3 weeks later~

I was asleep but Juliet couldn't sleep. I wake up to Juliet shaking me vigorously. She told me that we had to get to the doctor right away. She was frantic and was holding her belly. She was screaming in pain. I rushed to her side and she dug her nails in my arm, leaving marks. She took a deep breath and felt better. We rushed to the doctor before she could have another contraction. Luckily, we found a doctor that specialized in pregnancy and he was an all night doctor, and the best part, he was just two blocks from us. We hurried to the doctor and Juliet told me to hurry and go get our parents at the inn. I left her alone reluctantly and ran to the inn. I slammed on the door of the Capulet's and told them. They left for the doctor as I went to my parents door. They opened it and the sleep still lingered on their faces just as the Capulet's did. I told them Juliet was in labor and you could no longer see tiredness on their faces. They rushed out of their room and ran with me to the hospital. The Capulet's were already there and Lady Capulet was holding Juliet's hand. She was in so much pain and it made me very upset to see her hurting and in so much pain. I couldn't sit here and do nothing, so I went to her side and held her other hand. Just as I did, she had another contraction.

Juliet

Romeo left to get our parents and only minutes later, my parents rushed to my side. "Are you alright Juliet? How are you feeling? How much pain are you in? Are the contractions bad? Are they getting worse?" "Mother, It's okay. I have only had a few contractions. Two exactly. Romeo will be back with his parents soon and we will all be here and everything will be-" I grabbed my mother's hand and screamed in pain. The doctor had told me that I would have many more contractions, but I never knew how painful they would be. The contraction ended after a minute or two. I looked down at my mother's hand and saw that I had dug my nails into her hand so hard she was bleeding. "Mother, I'm so sorry. I didn't meant to-" "Juliet, don't apologize. I did the same thing to my mother when I was giving birth to you." I looked at her and laughed. I felt really bad for what I had done, to her now and to Romeo at home. Before I could say anything, Romeo and his parents showed up bursting through the door. Romeo looked at me and hurried to my side. He grabbed my other hand and asked me how I was. "I'm okay. I had a contraction while you were gone but I'm fine. I am just glad you are here now. That's all I ask for, is for you to be here with me." His face suddenly went blank. "I missed it. I can't believe I wasn't there for you." I looked at him. "You didn't miss anything. Look, you were getting our parents and that's all I asked for. You are going to be here for me... for us when I give birth to our child." I was rubbing my belly and he put his hand on mine. We looked at each other and he smiled at me. I felt his love for me and our child. The doctor came to talk to us and he told me it was about time to have the baby. I looked at Romeo and he whispered in my ear, "you can do this. I love you and you will be the best mother a woman could be." Those words were enough to bring tears to my eyes. It could have been the hormones or it could have been the words he told me. The words made me feel whole and appreciated. "It's time," the doctor told me. "Okay," I replied, the lump in my throat grew and I was terrified. "Don't be afraid, my love. Everything will be alright." Those words calmed me and I began to breathe. "It's time to start pushing." I was terrified and before I knew it I was giving birth to our child.