My Life After You: A Sequel to Deal With The Devil

Chapter 1

The air was icy, but even so my skin was beaded with sweat. The lights were dimmed and the sun had just began to rise. I'd been up all night.

"Okay, it's time to push Celeste, you're doing great." One of the nurses encouraged me.

Cesar rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up from the chair he'd been sitting in. He stood up and came up to stand by my side, grabbing a washcloth from the bedside table and cleaning the sweat from my forehead.

"Come on, hermanita, you can do this." He said as rubbed my back.

Pain radiated through my body as another contraction came. I pushed as hard as I could, but it felt like nothing was happening.

"I can't do this." I cried, "I just can't."

"Como que no puedes? You have to. Celeste, you've been through much worse than this, this is nothing for you. It's just a few more minutes of pain for a lifetime of happiness." He encouraged me.

"You got that last thing from a tv show." I gasped as the contraction finally ended, giving me a minute or two to rest.

He laughed, "but it's true. Next push I want you to push as hard as possible, I wanna meet my nephew."

"Javier should be here, Cesar, I feel like I can't do this without him. He should be here." I cried.

"Hermanita, you know he's here. He's always with you. I'm sure he's looking after you from wherever he is." Cesar assured me.

"Celeste, here comes the next contraction. I need you to push honey, nothing happened before. Whoever he is that should be here probably wants to see this little guy too. He's here with you, be strong for him." The nurse said, her almost clear blue eyes looking up at me.

I nodded, grabbing Cesar's hand as I felt the next contraction. I pushed as hard as I could, tears started running down my cheeks. I cried for Javier, I cried for the immense pain of bring our son into the world without him.

"You're doing great, I can see his head, he's got beautiful hair, honey." The nurse smiled.

The hospital mask hid her smile but I could see it in the corners of her eyes. Between contractions she called the doctor through a white device clipped by her shoulder. She told her I was close and it was time for a doctor to be present. Cesar dabbed the cloth across my forehead again and rubbed my back. I winced as the stabbing pain of another contraction raged through my body. I started to push again as the doctor walked in, stopping to sanitize her hands and put on a pair of gloves. The nurse stepped back as the doctor took over. She was a skinny woman in her 30s or so with brown eyes and sleek black hair she kept in a tight ponytail. Her name was Dr. Yang and she was the one who had been monitoring my pregnancy since we got to Minneapolis.

"Looking great, Celeste, let's make this push your last." Dr. Yang said.

I nodded and continued to push as hard as I could.

"I can see him, Celeste, I see his face, keep going. He's almost out, almost, keep going." Cesar said with tears in his eyes.

He stayed by my head, but stood up so he could see the baby without seeing everything. A tiny baby's cry cut through the room and a smile spread across everyone's face.

"You did it, he's here." Cesar said breathlessly with a tear running down his cheek.

"Who's cutting the cord?" Dr. Yang asked.