Do you remember how a girl gave birth in our department during the last shift? She wasn’t just screaming, she was swearing like a sailor — such behaviour was completely unacceptable! Not every man could do that, it was even unpleasant to hear such words from a woman.
‘I remember. What happened to her?’
‘She signed a waiver and abandoned her baby, and left! What a loser!’
The bus shook violently, and Nadia’s phone almost slipped out of her hands.
She remembered that girl. Her labour wasn’t too difficult, but she screamed as if the world was coming to an end. When she found out she had a son, she expressed her dissatisfaction, saying that it was good that it wasn’t a girl, because it would be easier for her, since men always have it easier.
Nadia looked thoughtfully in front of her and noticed a plump woman with a boy who was holding tightly to her coat.
Their clothes were modest but clean. The woman was wearing an old-fashioned wide coat.
At first, Nadia did not notice that she was pregnant, but as soon as she realised, she jumped up and offered her a seat. The boy immediately pulled his mother by the hand, showed her something, and then counted on his fingers: his mother could not hear, and he thanked Nadia.
Nadia felt truly sorry for him.
Perhaps they were living in poverty, so she took a chocolate bar out of her bag. She usually bought one for herself after her shift when she felt a little tired — chocolate always helped.
‘Thank you very much!’ said the boy, stretching out his words, carefully taking the sweet and smiling his thanks. ‘Don’t get the wrong idea, we have a dad, he’s deaf and mute too, but I can hear! We live well. Soon I’ll have a little sister,’ he said proudly, happy for his mother.
‘You have a very beautiful mother, she’s just lovely! You’ll have a little sister and a dad, you’re a very lucky boy indeed,’ Nadia replied sincerely.
She was delighted by the natural happiness of these people!
When the bus stopped, Nadia almost missed her stop.
The boy shouted something to her as he said goodbye, but she was already jumping out of the bus when the door almost caught her.
Nadia arrived at work on time.
“Can you believe it, this girl has a husband! Although, a few weeks before giving birth, she filed for divorce. It’s incomprehensible,” said midwife Zinaida Petrovna, greeting Nadia in the prenatal ward. She was very upset.
She was the one who had called Nadia earlier, unable to calm down from her irritation.
“And her baby scored nine on the Apgar test!
‘Let’s go see the new arrival,’ Nadia tried to distract her.
Why are some people blessed with children, while others dream of a family and children, remaining alone?
Zinaida Petrovna fell silent and patted Nadia on the shoulder. She shouldn’t have been so worried, because she knew that Nadia had already been married, but they had separated: her husband dreamed of having children, but for some reason she couldn’t give birth. They said that her childhood illness had left complications. Or maybe her husband just didn’t love her. This topic was painful for Nadezhda.
After that, she met the baby’s father.
He came to find out when he could take his son home. The man was overweight and clumsy, his eyes were confused, like those of a big child.
“Listen, this dad turns out to be different, not like that girl, he’s normal. You can see he’s no eagle, but he came for his son. He asked how to care for the child and tried not to show that he was scared,” said Zinaida Petrovna, nudging Nadia in the side and pointing to the large man who was in his forties.
Nadia couldn’t help herself and approached him. “If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Here’s my phone number, I’m Nadezhda, a paediatrician, if you need anything, give me a call.
‘Thank you, my name is Nikolai!’ said the man with a smile, but at that moment they brought him a blue pram, and he didn’t know how to take it.
Nadezhda felt sorry for him and asked, ‘Do you have anyone else who can help you?’
‘No, my parents are in the village. They didn’t approve of Oksana and told me not to marry her. I realised everything myself later, and I don’t even want to tell them. I’ll manage on my own!’ I took leave and saved money for the baby. Oksana didn’t know about it.
‘You’re doing great, but don’t worry. Tomorrow a nurse from the clinic will come to you and explain everything,’ Nadia reassured him.
‘I’m not afraid!’ Nikolai said confidently, gently hugging the baby.
Although his words sounded bold, his eyes betrayed his fear. This was not surprising, because even young mothers sometimes did not know how to deal with a newborn, and he was an adult.
Nadia spent the rest of the day thinking about Nikolai and his child. How were they coping? He was going to raise the baby on his own, which was a huge responsibility.