Exceptional A chance encounter. Love and Babies by Tyler Withrow Romance Writing Contest contest entry

7:18 AM Kelly Pearson sips stale coffee out of a small paper cup in the waiting room adjacent to the maternity ward of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Hospital in Baltimore. Her sister Kate is down the hall screaming obscenities. Kelly smiles at hearing her normally kind hearted sister threaten to choke the obstetrician to death with his stethoscope if he doesn’t break out the morphine. A handsome man of about six feet enters the room. Black hair, strong chin, and broad shouldered, the man would be called a hottie back in the late 2000’s when Kelly was young enough to use such a word. Dreamy became groovy became hot stuff. All that and a bag of chips. Kelly once heard Carol, Kate’s oldest daughter, call something fire, but Kelly wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She would text Carol and ask, but they don’t allow cell phones in this part of the hospital. Must not want the babies absorbing the data directly into their little baby brains. “Oh, my God.” Kelly thought, realizing that the entire time she was trying to come up with the modern adjective for a cute guy she had been staring at the man with black hair and now he was staring back. He gave her a reluctant smile to say that it was understandable to be lost in thought this early in the morning. “Baby brains.” Kelly said before she could stop herself. “Excuse me?” The man said with a confused expression. “We can’t use our cell phones because they would affect the little baby brains. I’ll bet if I could Google in here it would back me up.” She smiled in an attempt to show she was joking, but since he had not been in on the baby brain train of thought he politely tried to correct her. “Actually, I think it affects the medical equipment.” “That and the baby brains. I’m Kelly.” She shifted the paper cup to her left hand and extended her right to shake. “I’m Richard.” His smile was disarming as he shook her hand. It also looked very weary. She held the hand a little too long as she took stock of the man it was attached to. No wedding ring, he had slept in his clothes and had a five o’clock shadow. “I will get you another cup of coffee if you give me my hand back.” He said. “Right. Sorry.” She let go of the hand and took a step back. Then she did a little curtsy. It was way too early in the morning to meet an attractive man. “So…do you come here often?” The second the words left her mouth she wanted to run screaming out of the room and petition congress for a research grant to create a time machine and start this entire conversation again. He was too tired to acknowledge how bizarre the statement sounded. “Actually, I have been here quite a bit. My sister is delivering down the hall and I have been her coach or midwife or Au Pair or whatever since my brother-in-law passed away.” “That’s great. I mean sad. It is sad that you had to do that, but it is amazing that you would. Good on you.” Kelly literally bit down on her tongue to stop. “Well, I love my sister and I love my soon to be here niece, so a night in a waiting room talking to a beautiful woman is a small price to pay.” She looked around to see this beautiful woman and turned red when she realized he meant her. “Sorry, that was way more forward than I usually am. I blame sleeping in the corner and using People Magazine as a pillow. So,” he sipped coffee from his own paper cup, “are you expecting?” The look of horror that washed across her face made him recoil. “Do I look pregnant?” She pinched at her stomach and cupped her buttocks and did the best inspection she could without a mirror. “No, I mean, no that isn’t, no. I didn’t…what I meant was, are you trying? With a guy. Or gal. That is a thing. I mean. No. You don’t look pregnant. I was thinking that when you were staring at me a second ago. What is she doing here? Not pregnant, that girl. Woman. Madam. Do you swim? You have the physique of a swimmer. Or long distance runner. Can we start again?” He put his hands up in supplication. “What brings you here, Kelly? Certainly not pregnancy.” She smiled at how awkward he became. Who is thinking about baby brains now? “My sister Kate is having her third. Her bastard of a husband left with the nanny of the first two so I said I would be there when my nephew was born. I am clocking in at three hours. How about you?” Richard looked at his watch. “I have been here for a little over five. How long does this usually last?” “I wasn’t here for my niece Carol’s birth, but when she does something wrong my sister tells her that she was in labor for 28 hours.” “Wow. I think we might be here for awhile. Do you want to hang out?” “Sure. As long as you stammer, turn red and speculate what cardio intensive hobbies I engage in.” “Fine with me, smart ass. You can regale me with insightful commentary about the hazardous effects of cellular phones on the prefrontal cortexes of newborns.” “I said baby brains, Richard. That is the entire brain, not just the prefrontal cortex.” “Well, if your sister’s first experience is any indication we have 25 hours to debate the semantics.” “Does your girlfriend object to you debating beautiful women that you give complexes to by calling them fat?” “A) I never called you fat. If you were pregnant you wouldn’t be showing yet. B) I haven’t had time to be in a relationship since I started my small business two years ago, and even less since I had to take care of my sister. Finally, you can’t tease me for thinking you are beautiful when you started doing this when you saw me.” He started to make the best approximation that he could of a child staring at a plate of cookies. She punched him in the arm and he laughed. “Well, you don’t need to worry about a boyfriend storming in here and beating you up.” “Would I have ever had to worry about that?” “No. I don’t date violent men. What I mean is that you are extra safe because there is no one to get jealous. You have a beautiful waiting room date that has the figure of a swimmer and the crack mind of a baby brain surgeon.” Kelly’s sister erupted in obscenities down the hall. “I think I fear her more than a jealous boyfriend.” “Be nice and I will forget the fact that what you think an Au Pair is isn’t even close to what it actually is.” 9:35am The waiting room was half full. The soon to be aunt and uncle were sitting on the floor rolling a tennis ball back and forth. Richard had asked to see the lost in found to distract the nurse so Kelly could try to check her e-mails. There was something blocking cell service, but at least they got the ball. Richard was wearing a dress shirt, un-tucked, with dress slacks and dress shoes. Kelly was wearing jeans, a pink sweater and her red hair was tied back in a pony tail. To the casual observer it was a therapist rolling a ball to his college aged client, not two thirty somethings going out of their way to avoid the screaming, sweating miracle of life happening down the hall. “Favorite movie?” Kelly asked, rolling the ball. “Serenity.” “The one based on the show Firefly or the one with Mathew McConaughey?” “The one based on the show. It was smart, funny and it killed main characters. I always liked that growing up.” He rolled the ball back. “It’s so final. What’s yours?” “Age of Ultron.” She rolled the ball. “You’re kidding me.” “No, I’m not. It’s my favorite movie. I have seen it like ten times.” “What are the odds that we would both be Joss Whedon fans?” He rolled the ball. “I assume your favorite show is Firefly.” “Firefly, Angel, Buffy and Agents of Shield are all in my top five, but my favorite show is actually House.” A passing nurse bent down and gave him a fist bump. “What’s your favorite show?”Richard asked as the ball rolled back to him. “All time? I actually like BBC. It’s kind of childish, but their accents make me feel sophisticated.” “They make you feel sophisticated, or it makes them sound sophisticated?” “Both, you tosser.” “Okay, that doesn’t make anyone sound sophisticated.” He rolled the ball to her. “I really liked that show Sherlock, but they only made 13 episodes for the entire series.” “A series there is a season here.” “Thanks, your Majesty. The point is that they make great television, but after like 8 episodes the show is over.” Richard said as she rolled the ball back. “That’s crazy. I didn’t think I would ever meet another BBC-aniac.” “That’s not a thing. When we get out of here we will have to go to my place and watch the show Accused. American TV made a version of it, but it pales. I have the original BBC version on DVD.” He rolled the ball to her. “We have been dating for two hours and you think I am going to go to your place already?” She rolled the ball back. “Your mind is in the gutter, you sod. I am just a waiting room dweller asking a BBC-aniac to enjoy the telly and a proper cup of tea with me.” “Alright, but no funny stuff.” She rolled the ball to him. “You cheeky git.” 11:47 am Richard had moved a bench in front of a row of chairs lined up against the back wall. Richard and Kelly sat in the two outside chairs with an empty one between them and had their feet up. “Have you ever been in love?” Kelly asked earnestly. “Like Jane Austin kind of love?” “Jane Austin was more a comedy of manners. I think you are thinking of Bronte.” “Thanks, Professor. Now answer the question. Have you ever felt the kind of love that someone would write about?” “I had a dog that I loved, but I don’t think that is what you are asking. I have been infatuated and cared deeply, but no, I don’t think I have ever had what you are asking for. I have seen it in my sister, who I do love in a way that only a protective big brother could, in what she felt for my brother in law Douglas.” “What happened to Douglas?” Kelly put her hand on Richard’s in the middle of the center seat. “His car was crushed when a tractor trailer jackknifed. My sister Eve was a mess. I moved my home office over to her place so I could be right there when she could pull it together long enough to eat breakfast or shower or anything other than cry and lay there. As her pregnancy progressed she got her appetite back and I went ahead and moved in with her so I could prepare her food.” “That is very kind of you, Richard.” Kelly squeezed his hand. “Wait a minute. So when you asked me to come over to watch BBC you were talking about your sister’s?” “Mine and my sister’s. It is my place too. There is beer in the fridge and everything. But I am not allowed to have girls over after 8, so you will have to hide under the bed.” She playfully punched him in the shoulder. “What about you? Have you ever had love that could only be written in the stars using Cupid’s arrow as a quill?” “I think what I have had in the past would be considered a school girl crush compared to what Douglas and Eve had. I don’t know. I have never really looked. I always thought that when lightning struck I would know it.” “How?” “How what?” “How would you know if lightning struck?” Kelly and Richard sat and stared into each other’s eyes. He wanted to lean over to kiss her and she wanted him to do just that. He probably would have if they had been ten years younger and this conversation was taking place in a college dorm and not a maternity ward. Age brings wisdom, but with it comes restraint that borders on cowardice. “I think clouds are gathering.” Kelly said timidly. “Stop smothering me.” He joked. She punched his shoulder, stood up, moved to the chair next to him and sat down. He put his arm around her and she relaxed, laying her head on his shoulder. 11:45 pm “Ms. Pearson?” A nurse was gently pushing Kelly’s shoulder to wake her. Kelly snorted loudly, opened her eyes and it took a moment to recognize her surroundings. She had fallen asleep with her head on Richard’s shoulder. She was holding his hand. She looked up at him and he had a bemused expression, implying she was doing something comical in her sleep. She let go of his hand, looked at her watch and tried to calculate. She knew she was awake at 7pm because Richard ordered pizza, which was very appreciated by the night nurses. If it was immediately after that when she fell asleep, that meant she had talked to this man for nearly 12 straight hours. Most guys she dated couldn’t carry on a conversation for 12 minutes and this was just some man in the waiting area of the maternity ward. And why the Cheshire Grin? “You snore.” Richard smirked, answering her unasked question. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” “You were snoring peacefully. Also, you talk in your sleep. I wanted to know more about your cat and its relationship with potatoes. It sounded very scientific from how you were describing it.” She punched him on the arm. “Ms. Pearson, your sister is asking for you.” The nurse interrupted. “The delivery went fine and you have an 8 pound nephew named James.” Kelly thanked her and stood up. “How’s Eve doing?” She asked Richard. “Eve delivered her baby five hours ago. She has been waiting somewhat impatiently for me to take her home for the last three.” He stood up and walked over to her. “Why didn’t you go? She is the most important person in your life. You need to take care of her.” “Fifteen hours ago she was the most important person in my life. Now it’s a tie.” His expression was so serious it was nearly unreadable. In his mind, it had to be said and he had no fear of overwhelming her. In her mind, it was overwhelming because she felt something that she had never felt before and it was hard to reconcile with the reality that this had all happened in one day. A tear rolled down her cheek unbidden. He wiped it away with his thumb, moved his hand behind her head and brought her in for a kiss. Lightning struck and the passion and tenderness of the moment would make Shakespeare proud. “Let’s take Eve and James back to your place.” Kelly said between kisses. “We can watch BBC. It will be great.” She kissed him again. “What about Kate?” Richard asked. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “She’s had babies before and she will have them again. Very fertile soil, that.” “Sounds good to me. But if you do sleep over, it will be in the garage. You sound like someone vacuuming marbles.” She punched him on the arm and then kissed him again. They continued to kiss until the nurse, (who apparently wasn’t new to this phenomena), broke them apart and made Kelly say goodbye to her sister. 1 year 14 days later. Kate and Eve are sitting with their toddlers in the waiting room adjacent to the maternity ward of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Hospital. “It was right down there,” Kate said in baby talk to James, “that mommy spent an excruciating 42 hours bringing you into this world.” James, unable to understand her, simply smiled and began to suck his thumb. “The number of hours is a moving target, Kate.” Eve said, changing her daughter’s diaper on a nearby table. “Isn’t it sweetie?” She says to little Denise. “Mommy was here that night to. So was Uncle Richie and Aunt Kelly and they were sooo in love that they wouldn’t take us home.” She nuzzled her daughter’s belly. “Do you remember that? Do you remember waiting so Unkie could flirt with Auntie?” “Do you remember Auntie abandoning mommy to go home with Unkie?” Kate said, rubbing James’s belly. “You two are never going to let that go, are you?” Richard said from a hallway. “And you don’t need to ask your children if they remember our inexcusable behavior. Just wait until they are old enough and they can stream the footage of your respective speeches from our wedding. If you are done mocking us to the next generation, our son would like to meet his cousins.” The five of them walked or were carried to Kelly’s room where she was holding her newborn baby boy. “Eve, Kate, James and Denise,” Kelly said, leaning this way and that so the baby could see his new family, “this is little Dougie.” The children smiled at seeing something so small that was still technically a human and Eve burst into tears when she heard the name. She handed James to an understanding Kate and Kelly handed Eve Dougie. “You did good, mom.” Richard kissed Kelly’s forehead. “You too, dad.” Kelly squeezed his hand. “The only thing I love more than you is him.” “I was going to say I love the two of you equally, but if there is a tier system…” She punched him in the arm. “I’ll just say I love you both very much. When we get home I will do some research about WiFi and baby brains.” “I told you!” Author Notes If you like this please share. And thanks to those that have reviewed thus far.

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