derek

Looking through the clear glass windows of the nursery the father saw his newborn son stirring under his blankets, obviously uncomfortable with the intravenous tubes attached to his tiny foot. For the past three days he had taken that post, watching his child, wondering when he would finally be able to hold him and welcome him into the world.

A glance at the clock on the wall of the nursery told him that he should probably be getting some sleep already. He stifled a yawn and wiped his eyes as the baby began to cry, hungry. Worried about the baby’s crying, the father started looking around inside the nursery through the windows for any sign of the nurse. As sigh of relief left him as he saw movement in one corner inside the tiny room, but he could not see what it was. She came into view a moment later, his son’s baby bottle in hand, as she walked calmly to where his child was sleeping. She lifted up the baby and laid him on her lap, the back of his neck resting on her arm as she carefully put the nipple to the baby’s mouth. Instinctively the baby opened its mouth and moved its head around urgently, trying to catch the nipple. The father heaved another sigh, not one of relief but of awe, fogging the window and momentarily hiding the suckling infant inside from his view. Wiping the mist off the glass, he saw that his son was fast asleep as the nurse returned him to his bed, careful of the dextrose tubes as she tucked him in. Walking away from the window, he whispered goodnight to his son, then started towards the stairs leading to their room in the hospital.

His wife was fast asleep as he gingerly opened the door to let himself into the dimly lit room. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside his sleeping wife, this time finishing a yawn. He felt a shiver run down his spine and decided that the air-conditioner was set too high, but went on to lay down on the bed, too sleepy to care about the cold. Pulling gently on his wife’s blanket, he covered up part of his leg and drifted off to sleep amid thoughts of carrying his son in his arms.