Chapter 20
As a powerful winter storm drummed the roof of the little cabin, Ella woke up from a sharp contraction. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only 2:30. With the onset of another contraption, she shook John’s shoulder saying, "John, I think I'm in labor!"
He grunted several times but remained asleep. She shook him again, harder, shouting, “John, Wake up! I’m having a baby!"
He woke up and jumped from the bed with his eyes gone wild, saying, “Hurry up Ella. We've got to get you to the hospital in a hurry!"
"Calm down John. It's only a baby. My suitcase is already packed. I just hope we can Get through this storm," she replied as he feverishly pulled on his pants.
Five minutes later, the Nash was splashing sheets of water from the rain drenched roads with its headlights barely penetrating the night. Ella had a brief glimpse of the churning river in a flash of lightening. She groaned, "Oh my God, John, that river looks like it’s going to flood!”
As the old car sped through the night, swaying in the wind, John suddenly slammed on the brakes, shouting, “Jesus, now water is covering the road!"
"John, what are we going to do?"
"I’m going to make sure it's safe to drive through it."
He ran to the flooded area and picked up a stick to test the depth of the water. He was satisfied it was safe enough and ran back to the car, gasping, “It’s not too deep and there’s no current so we can make it!"
Carefully, he drove ahead with water slapping the undercarriage, but the engine began to sputter. When Ella felt cold water on her feet, she cried out, "Goddamn it, John. The river is coming in the car, and we're getting stuck!"
"No, we can make it," he insisted as the engine balked. Slowly, the car moved through the swirling water until it finally reached high ground. John pointed back at the river. "Look, Ella, there's a house being swept along in the current. It's a good thing we got through when we did."
"John, please hurry. I think the baby’s coming."
John continued the race with the stork, but he stopped abruptly as he rounded a curve with the headlights shining on a mud-slide with an up-rooted tree blocking their way. Ella cried out, "John, we're trapped and the baby's coming. What are we going to do?"
He grabbed an ax from the back, saying, "I’m going to chop that tree in half."
She watched as he chopped with powerful strokes, sending chips flying in all directions. After he severed the tree, he shoved the remaining half over the edge. He ran back to the car, shouting over the roar of the river, "Ella, come with me. I want you to wait at the other side of that slide. The shoulder's soft, and it might not hold the car."
"John, you can't do that. If the car falls, you could drown."
"Don't worry. I'll hold the door open and jump if I have to. Now hurry, we don't have much time."
He took her arm and walked her past the mud and left her on the opposite side of the slide. He returned to the car and began to drive through the narrow gap between the mud and the river. As the right front tire came dangerously close to the edge, the rear tire began to spin in the mud.
Ella was standing in the rain, holding her abdomen with both hands, when a warm gush of water suddenly ran down her legs. She moaned, "Oh God! The baby's coming! I’m glad Tommy is safe with Violet and not in this nightmare."
John jumped from the car and put a blanket under the tire. After he gunned the engine, the car leaped forward. He stopped by Ella, yelling, “Quick, get in!"
As she was climbing into the car, she glanced back and saw a massive mud slide spilling across the road and into the river. "Thank God we made it," she breathlessly said. "I’m glad you used to be a lumberjack. You were wonderful."
"Hell, never mind that. How are you feeling?"
"I think I'm OK, but it's going to be close."
John raced through the night, but encountered no further delays. Finally, they arrived at Santa Rosa County Hospital where he slid to a stop. He disappeared through the emergency door, but returned with two white-clad attendants. They gently placed Ella on a gurney. As they wheeled her away, Joey Leroy Nelson drew his first breath, howling at the outrage of his birth.
When Ella returned home with the baby, she worried Tommy would feel replaced, but he enjoyed watching Joey, especially after his bath. Whenever she gave Joey to John, Tommy watched expectantly. She would ask, "Here John, wouldn't you like to hold your son before I put him to bed?"
He reluctantly held Joey, but after several minutes, He would jump up and give Joey back to Ella, yelling, “Goddamn it! He did it again!"
As he dashed to the bathroom holding his wet pants away from his lap, Tommy giggle, remembering when he and Kenny had pissed on John’s shoe.
Tommy also was fascinated watching Joey nurse, sucking on his mother’s full breast.
When the village women came to look at the new baby, Tommy listened to their remarks and felt proud.
"Just look at him; he's such a little doll."
"He's certainly a healthy baby."
"Why, he's the spitting image of his father with those big blue eyes and those big ears!"
However, one old woman annoyed Ella by asking personal questions. "How much money does your husband make?" "How many times have you been married?" "When will you have sex again?"
Ella gave vague answers, suspecting the woman was gathering information for gossip.
The old woman also enjoyed teasing Tommy, amused at his distress. She taunted, "I’m going to take your little brother home with me. What do you think of that?"
"No, you can't have him!"
The old crone gave a toothless cackle. "Oh, is that so? Why can't I have him?"
"Because you don't have tits to feed him."
The old woman sputtered, shaking her finger. "What impudence!" She turned to Ella. "This child has not been taught very good manners. You're a very poor mother."
Ella laughed, realizing Tommy was concerned about Joey’s nutrition, but before she could explain his remark, the old woman shouted, "It’s not funny. You should be ashamed of yourself for letting him talk to me like that. Don't expect to see me again, ever!"
She whirled around and grabbed her umbrella, flouncing out of the house. Tommy ran to the door and shouted, "Hey, Lady, if you want to see Joey, you can, but we’re going to keep him."