Our strategy worked. Me-Me finds me downstairs several hours later, as I’m finishing up my homework for school, to tell me that she’s in labor.
At first, I don’t hear her because my head is full of Biomes and everything I need to know for today’s final exam. But, eventually, it clicks, and I feel the blood rushing from my head. In labor, I jump up as soon as I realize what that means. The baby is coming!
I’m in full panic mode while Me-Me calmly pulls out her phone and texts her parents.
I rush over to her.
Kai: Me-Me, what can I do? What do you need me to do? Should we go to the hospital?
Melisa: I’m okay. I think we can do this.
I give her a big hug, appreciating her reassurance. If she’s okay, then I’m okay.
Melisa: This could take several hours. Let’s try to get some more sleep.
She’s the one going through this, so I follow her lead. We go upstairs and crawl back into bed. I thought I’d be up tossing and turning, but sleep comes easy. We get a few hours of rest before stronger contractions wake Me-Me once again.
Melisa: It’s time, Kai. The baby is coming.
I can feel that familiar sense of panic creeping up, but Me-Me’s calmness keeps it at bay. If I freak out, she’ll freak out. We walk into the baby’s room, and Me-Me begins to push.
Several minutes later, Me-Me gives birth to a healthy baby boy. I almost can’t believe my eyes. One minute, it’s just the two of us, and now we have an infant son to raise. Then I remember something –
Kai: But we still don’t have a name.
Me-Me holds him close and responds so quietly that I would have missed it if I wasn’t listening closely.
Melisa: Let’s call him Wade.
Wade? Why does that sound so familiar? It takes me a moment or two to realize why I’d heard it before. It was my Pop-Pop’s last name.
Kai: Wade? After my grandfather.
Melisa: Yes. It’s fitting, don’t you think?
I do. And it’s perfect because with us taking on the Banks name, Pop-Pop’s name would otherwise not carry on.
Kai: I love it, Me-Me. It’s perfect.
I couldn’t be more thrilled that our son will carry such a significant name for the rest of his life. Welcome to the world, Wade Banks.
Everything is all good until Me-Me places Wade into his crib. Then the tears begin. Me-Me changes him into warmer clothes and then turns to me slowly.
Melisa: I need to go to the bathroom.
Uh oh! I’m going to be alone with our new baby for the first time.
Nothing tells you that you don’t know what you’re doing more than being thrown into a situation. But instinct kicks in, and I slowly lift Wade from the crib. He feels so tiny, so wobbly – so fragile. One wrong move, and I could hurt him. But I’d never do that. Protecting him with all I have is my new mission in life. I place my arm behind his head to keep it from falling backward. My arms form a perfect Wade-size cradle as if they were made specifically for this. But, unfortunately, he’s still crying.
Kai: Are you hungry, little Dub?
And just like that, he has a nickname. Something that I never had. But I still need to figure out why he’s crying. So I pull out a bottle and place it in his mouth. Sure enough, he begins to suck ferociously.
Kai: Calm down, Dub. There’s plenty where that came from.
Wade is calm and back in his crib by the time Me-Me returns.
Melisa: You have your final exam today.
Kai: I can’t just leave you and Wade here alone.
Melisa: You can, and you will! You have to finish what you started. It’s your last class. Plus, I just spoke with my parents, and they’re on their way over. So we won’t be alone.
Me-Me is right. I’ve come this far; It wouldn’t be wise to miss my final exam now. I rush out of the room to get ready.
I rush out the door, hoping that the last few hours’ events haven’t completely erased everything that I thought I knew about Biomes. I guess I won’t know until my exam is there in front of me. Reluctantly, I head out the door, hoping to make it to class on time.
Me-Me sits down for breakfast after Kai has left. The congrats texts are rolling, the last one being from her brother, Jay. Finally, her parents call to tell her that they’re pulling up in front of the house.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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