by Victoria Huggins Peurifoy

I still recall the white clouds against a blue sky.  The windows in this room are very high.  I could only  view  whatever was happening in that sky,  because I was lying on a table – flat on my back.   

“Your contractions are five minutes apart.  You’re doing great,” my husband is rejoicing over  this news.  I wanted to say, “Be quiet  already, I don’t want a pre-announcement before each contraction. Could you leave me alone?”  Instead I said, with staggered  breathing, “this-ought-to-be-you.” With that he quipped, “Naaw, Victoria, you got this.” 

“The worst thing the nurse could have done was to teach him how to read the monitor.  He was armed and dangerous. ”

The doctor  finally confirms, “Mrs. Peurifoy, I believe we are ready to deliver your babies.”  I knew at seven weeks that I was having twins.  Didn’t want to know whether they were boys or girls or a boy and a girl.  We only wondered if the babies would have light gray, hazel, or some other odd shade of eyes.  My father-in-law was a very tall, fair complexion of a man with light gray eyes.  So,  in our minds,  all kinds of possibilities existed for our children.   

“As I am rolled into the delivery room, I am becoming nervous and my husband could tell.  I was squeezing his hand to the point of non-circulation.”

As he tried to escape my grip, he said, “everything will be okay, just look at the sky, on this beautiful day.”  This one moment in time has stayed with me even after 36 years.  My heart began speaking to God, “Bring them here safe Lord, healthy, with all their fingers and  toes, I  don’t care what they are.” The clouds in the sky continue to rotate around the dome and I focus.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Huggins Peurifoy is a Christian, author, poet, spoken-word artist, storyteller, ghost writer, narrator, facilitator, and voice actor to name a view of her talents. She is a member of White Rock Baptist Church. Victoria is a contributing author/poet to Drexel University’s Writer’s Room. Her work can be found in their Anthology from years 2015–2020.  Her latest book, Triumph in Crisis can be found on http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/vhp.