Group Writing Project #2
The Delivery
by Jennifer
Seventeen-year-old Trixie Belden closed the kitchen door and leaning back against it she closed her eyes and sighed. She jumped forward as she heard a voice in the room echoing her thoughts.
"Have they finally left?" the young voice asked.
Trixie looked over at her nine-year-old brother. "Yes, Bobby, Brian and Honey have left for the movies."
"Good, I was afraid they were going to stay here, it is bad enough that Moms and Dad grounded me and I can’t go to Steve’s house with Larry and Terry but if they stayed here all they would do is stare at each other and hold hands. Yuck!"
"Tell me about it, they were convinced that they should stay here and keep me company. Just because it was my birthday yesterday and Jim has a final tonight and won’t be home for the summer until tomorrow our oldest brother and my best friend think that I will pine away. I mean I miss Jim but believe me being a third on their date is not my idea of fun. Besides I told Moms I would stay here with you while she and Dad are in the city seeing the play with the Lynches and Wheelers."
"I still don’t see why I couldn’t go to Steve’s house tonight. I’m going to miss all the fun."
"Bobby, you know that Moms said you could only go if you did your chores and your room was clean. Now I think you may have gotten away with the clothes that ended up in the general vicinity of the hamper, but really Bobby, a muddy boot in your bed? Come on, not even our Mother could overlook that, especially since she had just put fresh clean sheets on the day before. You are lucky they only grounded you for the weekend, Moms was not amused this morning while she was changing the sheets one more time."
Booby looked sheepishly at his sister. "I know, I guess it is my own fault. You know Trixie, I don’t even remember how the boot got there. Not only that, I have no idea where the other one is. I guess I just wasn’t thinking."
"I know how you feel, little brother, that is usually how I get into trouble." Sharing a conspiratorial grin with her brother, Trixie continued, "Listen, since we are both stuck here this evening how about you pick out a movie and I’ll get us some snacks."
As Bobby ran into the living room to get the VCR set up, Trixie began microwaving some popcorn for herself and filling up a bowl with Bobby’s favorite, Cheez-Its. While she was waiting for the popcorn to finish she thought about what the rest of the gang was up to. Brian and Honey had gone to the movies, while Mart and Diana were at a party at the Sleepyside Art Museum. Diana was going to be working there as a volunteer over the summer so she had asked Mart to go with her to the opening for a new exhibit.
Trixie smiled thinking about how her brother had protested the fact that he had to wear a suit and tie on a Friday night. She had a feeling though that he didn’t mind so much now since Di had been so impressed with the way he looked. She had told him that since he looked so good she was going to have to get a big stick so she could beat off the other women at the party. Mart had looked embarrassed but Trixie could tell that he was pleased at the compliment.
Dan was working tonight; he had gotten a job at of all places the Sleepyside Police Department. St. Molinson had told Dan that he was doing this only in self-defense because now maybe he would know what the Bob-Whites were up to. Trixie was so happy for Dan, he had been through so much these past few months, and it was great to see him enjoying his work, plus he was also really looking forward to Hallie coming out at the end of the month in order to attend the Senior Prom with him. Just remembering what Dan had been through made Trixie shudder, however as the microwave pinged that it was done she thought to herself, No, I am not thinking about that tonight, and adding a couple of sodas to the tray she went into the living room to join her brother for some comic relief.
Two hours later Trixie and Bobby were laughing at the end of their movie when the ringing of the phone interrupted them.
"I’ll get the phone Bobby, you rewind the tape," Trixie said as she went into the kitchen. She put the empty tray on the table and grabbed the phone from the wall. "Hello, Belden residence." After a few seconds with no reply Trixie repeated her greeting, "Hello, is anyone there?"
Bobby came into the kitchen just as Trixie was hanging up the phone. "Who was it, Trix? Hey what’s up? You look kind of funny."
"No one answered but I could have sworn that I heard someone breathing on the other end. Well, if it was just a bad connection, they will call back."
While Trixie was talking Bobby had moved over to the backdoor. "Hey, Trixie, come here and look outside, it is really foggy out there."
"Wow, you are right," Trixie said as she peered over her brother’s shoulder to see that everything was covered in a thick misty fog. "You can barely see in front of your face out there. I just hope Brian and Mart are careful coming home. I would not want to be driving in this. At least Mart and Di were picking up Dan, I hate the thought of him driving all alone in this pea soup."
Just then Reddy roused himself from where he had been sleeping under the kitchen table and began to growl.
"Reddy, what’s wrong? Do you hear something?" Trixie began to get a funny feeling, first the strange phone call, then the fog and now their normally easy-going dog was growling at the backdoor. All of a sudden a form began to emerge from the fog-shrouded driveway. Trixie immediately put a protective hand on Bobby and yelled out through the closed door, "Who’s there?" What she saw as the figure got closer and suddenly bend over made her wrench open the door and go running out, calling to her brother to stay put.
"Ma’am, are you all right?" she gasped out as she reached the side of the very obviously pregnant woman.
"Please, I need help. My car broke down just down the road and my cell phone isn’t working. I was coming back from White Plains when the fog hit and I think I made a wrong turn somewhere. I wasn’t even sure there was a house here but I saw the mailbox and figured I had better take a chance." She grabbed for Trixie’s hand and doubled over once more. After a minute she straightened up with a very scared look on her face. "I think I may be in labor!"
Trixie’s blue eyes widened at the woman’s words and she quickly ushered her into the kitchen.
"Bobby, try the phone and see if you can get Dr. Ferris," she turned back to the woman."I’m Trixie Belden and this is my brother Bobby. That’s our dog Reddy over there in the corner, don’t worry about him, he’s harmless."
"Thank you so much, I was so relieved to see your house lights. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been home. My name is Sarah McJohnson by the way. I’ve just moved to Tarrytown to stay with my mother-in-law until the baby is born. My husband is in the army and has just been stationed overseas. We didn’t think I should travel so close to my due date so I am staying here until after the baby comes." She broke off her words as another contraction hit. "Oh dear, they are getting pretty close, the baby isn’t due for another three weeks, I can’t believe this is happening!"
Trixie fought off her panic as she heard her brother call over to her, "Trixie, the phone is working just fine and I have Dr. Ferris on the line."
Trixie stepped over to take the phone, saying as she did, "Bobby, you take Mrs. McJohnson into the guestroom and show her where she can lie down while I talk to the doctor."
"Oh please, call me Sarah, I think, given the circumstances, formality is a bit ridiculous."
Trixie quickly relayed to Dr. Ferris what was happening and was soon joining Bobby and Sarah in the downstairs’ guestroom. "Sarah, Dr. Ferris is going to drive out here as quickly as he can in this weather. There have been several accidents due to the weather and all the ambulances are out on calls. In fact one of the accidents damaged the cell phone tower which explains why your cell phone wasn’t working. He said to make you comfortable and time your contractions. Bobby, you go and get Mart’s stopwatch while I get Sarah something more comfortable to wear."
Bobby ran upstairs to search for the watch while Trixie got one of the nightgowns her mother always had on hand for unexpected guests. "Moms always buys them in several sizes so we should have one to fit you. Here", she said holding one up, "try this one." Trixie showed Sarah to the bathroom where she could change and while she was waiting she turned down the bed. As soon as Sarah stepped back into the room Trixie hustled her into the bed.
"Relax, Trixie, I have told the baby that he has to wait for the doctor and since I am his mother he has to listen to me, doesn’t he?" Sarah finished her statement with an obvious question in her voice.
"Absolutely, my parents will tell you that you are safe until the baby starts to talk. That is when they say all their problems started!"
Sarah chuckled at Trixie’s answer. "I guess they would know with the two of you."
"Actually there are two more of us Beldens around. I have two older brothers, Brian and Mart. In fact I really wish Brian were here, he is pre-med. in college and so would probably know what to do to help you. Instead, I am afraid you are stuck with me."
"Trixie, believe me you have been a big help. I can’t tell you how scared I was earlier when the pains started and I was all alone out there. I am so glad that I found you and Bobby home, oops," she said as Bobby came running into the room holding up the stopwatch, "here comes another one."
Bobby quickly hit the button and waited until the pain subsided. "What should I do now Trixie?" he asked.
Trixie explained to him how to time the pains and then watched proudly as he sat down by the bed with the watch and paper and pencil so he could do his job correctly. He began to chat with Sarah, "I had trouble finding the watch, usually Mart keeps it in his top desk drawer but it wasn’t there. I finally found it in his sock drawer. Hey, Trixie, guess what else I found hidden in his room? Your Faith Hill CD."
"So that’s what happened to it, I thought he looked too innocent when I was looking for it earlier." Trixie explained to Sarah, "Mart has been complaining that I have been playing it too much lately. My boyfriend Jim gave it to me for Christmas since he knows she is my favorite and I do tend to play it more when I am missing him. Since this is finals time I haven’t seen Jim in two weeks so I guess I have been overplaying it a bit. However, that is still no excuse for that rat of a brother. I can see that I need to have a little chat with Mart later on."
Sarah smiled at the story and at the look of determination on Trixie’s face for revenge, "I may need to borrow that CD, my husband only left last week but I already miss him terribly. However, it looks like I will be joining him a lot sooner than I originally thought. Oh boy, here we go again."
Trixie winced as Sarah grabbed for her hand and squeezed to help with the pain. She looked over a Bobby’s paper; the pains were now less than four minutes apart! Just then she heard the sound of a car coming carefully up the driveway.
"That must be the doctor, hang on, Sarah, I’ll go let him in." Trixie rushed to the backdoor and threw it open and standing on the step his hand poised to knock was not Dr. Ferris but Jim! "Jim, what are you doing here? You’re not Dr. Ferris!"
Jim stared at Trixie perplexed by her strange greeting. "Trixie, what in the world? What’s wrong, why were you expecting to see the doctor?"
"Jim, you won’t believe this but there is a pregnant woman in labor in our guest room!"
"What!!" Jim exclaimed as Trixie grabbed him by one hand and dragged him towards the guestroom. He stopped in amazement in the doorway where he saw a pretty brown-haired, pregnant woman chatting with Bobby who was holding a stopwatch.
"Don’t tell me this is Dr. Ferris!" Sarah said as she caught sight of Jim.
"No, Sarah, this is my boyfriend Jim Frayne. I thought he had a final tonight but when I opened the door there he was. Jim, this is Sarah McJohnson, she’s having a baby!"
Jim stood there looking dazed and shook his head as if to clear it and said, "I had a chance to take the test in an earlier section at the last minute so I thought I would drive home this evening instead of waiting until tomorrow. I tried calling a while ago and I heard you answer and then the line went dead. I knew you were home so I came here first before going home. I wanted to give you your birthday present now since it is already a day late and I couldn’t really send this in the mail."
Trixie noticed for the first time that Jim was holding a basket in one hand. He held it out to her and as she took it she heard a funny sound coming from the inside. She opened the top and caught her breath at what she saw. "Oh Jim, a kitten, how adorable. What a cute little yellow ball of fur, is it a boy or a girl?"
Jim grinned at the look on her face. "A girl, of course, and before you ask, I checked with your parents first and they said it is OK. They didn’t think Reddy would have a problem with a new addition to the family. I thought of you as soon as I saw her, your hair is almost the exact same color as her fur. I wanted to surprise you, but I think your surprise is a bit bigger than mine."
Sarah and Bobby laughed along with Jim as Trixie smiled and cuddled her new pet.
"I love her, we will have to come up with a name for her tomorrow. However, for now, I think I hear another car and as much as I am glad to see you, Jim, this time I really hope that is Dr. Ferris." As she saw Sarah begin to have another contraction she thrust the kitten and basket back at Jim. "Jim, you go and see if that is the doctor and also put the kitten in the laundry room with the door closed. That way she will be safe until we can introduce her to Reddy."
Jim was only gone a few minutes when to Trixie’s relief he came back escorting Dr. Ferris carrying his customary black bag.
"OK, young lady, let’s have a look at you. Jim, you take Bobby into the kitchen and Trixie, I think you had better stay. I will need your help." Dr. Ferris efficiently took over the situation shooing Jim and Bobby out of the room and closing the door behind them.
Jim and Bobby had only been in the kitchen a few minutes when Trixie rushed in and headed straight for the laundry room where she grabbed some clean sheets and towels. On her way back she stopped for a moment and with her blue eyes wide with wonder and fear she said, "Dr. Ferris says the baby will arrive any minute now. There is no time to get Sarah to the hospital, she is going to have the baby right here and Dr. Ferris needs me to help! Jim, I am so scared, what if I do something wrong?"
Jim stood up and gave her a quick hug of encouragement. "Don’t worry, Trixie, you will do just fine. I know you and you can do this, besides Dr. Ferris knows what he is doing. I am sure you being there will be a really big help to Sarah. Is there anything we can do here?"
Trixie smiled at Jim and taking a deep breath she turned to head back to where Dr. Ferris and Sarah were waiting for her. She called back over her shoulder to Jim, "Right now, some prayers would be helpful."
Jim and Bobby both nodded and watched as the door closed behind her and sat down again, awed at the miracle that was taking place just a few feet from them. Not more than fifteen minutes passed before they suddenly heard the sound of a slap immediately followed by the sound of a baby’s cry. They both jumped to their feet and stood there, not sure what they were supposed to do. Just then the door opened and a radiant Trixie stepped out and called them over.
"Jim, Bobby, Sarah would like you to come in and meet her son, Matthew Jacob McJohnson Jr."
"Wow," said Bobby as he stepped into the room where Sarah lay on the bed looking exhausted but beautiful as she held her newborn son for them to see.
"Wow is right, Bobby. Sarah he is beautiful," Jim seconded.
"Thank you, Jim and Bobby. I just wish my husband were here to see this. Oh no, the camera, I left it in the car. I promised Matt that I would get plenty of pictures right away so he wouldn’t miss it completely."
"Don’t worry, Sarah, my brother has a camera, we will get all the pictures you want. Bobby go and get Mart’s camera." Trixie sent her brother off to Mart’s room once more. "Mart will be mad he missed this but at least his stopwatch and camera didn’t."
Sarah insisted on getting pictures with everyone, not just her and the baby. "I know my husband will want to see all of you, plus I want little Jake to see all the people who helped him into the world."
By the time the pictures had all been taken, the ambulance finally arrived to transport Sarah and the baby to the hospital. As the attendants loaded them both into the back Trixie promised Sarah she would call her mother-in-law to let her know what had happened and that they would all be in to visit her tomorrow.
"Please bring the rest of the family, I want to be sure to thank your parents for the use of their home. I also want to be sure to tell them how helpful you and Bobby were. They should be very proud of you both. Thank you again so much, Trixie and Bobby, and you too, Jim." Sarah waved goodbye as the ambulance pulled away from the house with Dr. Ferris following behind. The fog was lifting so the trip to the hospital should be uneventful which would be a first in little Jake’s life.
Trixie, Jim and Bobby walked quietly back into the house and sat down still stunned by the events they had just witnessed.
"Do you two realize what happened here during the past hour? A baby was born right here in this house! I still can’t believe it!" Trixie said.
"I am sure glad I was able to come home early, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this for anything. I tell you the rest of the gang won’t be able to believe this one," Jim replied. "Just think, Trixie, you actually got to be present at a real birth before Brian and he is the one who wants to be the doctor!"
Trixie laughed. "I know, it just doesn’t seem real. I have to say, Jim, that I am so glad you were here to share this with me, it makes it even that much more special." Jim reached over for Trixie’s hand and smiled his agreement of her words.
"Hey you guys, none of that mushy stuff" Bobby’s laughing voice broke up their tender moment.
Jim got up and ruffled Bobby’s hair. "You just wait, someday your turn will come and you will actually find that you like this mushy stuff."
"Gross, never," Bobby said with all the assurance of a nine-year boy. "Hey, Trixie, I know I am grounded but I can call Steve’s house and tell him and the twins what happened here?"
At Trixie’s nod he raced for the phone saying as he went, "You know, I am glad I was grounded. All they were going to do at Steve’s house was look at some dumb old cursed shrunken head that Steve’s uncle brought him. We had a baby, that is even better!"
Jim laughed as he pulled Trixie up out of her chair and gave her a big hug. "I can see that little Jake really rates--he even beat out a shrunken head.
Trixie laughed along with Jim. "I will be sure to tell Sarah tomorrow, I am sure she will be properly impressed. What a night, do you think we can ever top this?"
"Knowing you, Trixie, I have a feeling that you will."
Trixie smiled, she had the same feeling as Jim that the next adventure was waiting for then just around the next corner!
The End