Chapter 144: Their Son Came Out
There was the pain of tearing in her private, but it was bearable since she knew the procedure was finally going to start.
Throughout the whole day, Keith never left her side, which gave her an unspoken strength.
The doctor gave her local anesthesia and then made a sidecut. A skilled birth attendant took care of her and instructed her breathing rhythm. After more than half an hour, Cathryn felt something slipping out of her body, soon followed by a loud, sharp cry.
Her lips trembled, her hair shattered, damp and stuck on her cheeks, and hot tears flowed down.
As her tears were bursting out, a big hand covered her cheeks, a cold palm all sweaty but wiped out the tears on her cheeks.
Keith bowed his back and watched Cathryn closely as she was finally free from pain, leaning over to kiss her forehead, the tip of her nose, and her lips. His lips were shivering as he muttered.
“It’s finished.”
It’s not congratulations or thank-you, nor any commendation that Cathryn had given birth to his child.
Just a simple relief that she was no longer suffering.
Compared to the baby, Keith was more concerned about her.
Cathryn closed her hand on his, on the back of his were rows of deep-cut teeth marks with bruises and even a couple of wounds. She suddenly realized how, when she was in pain, Keith must have suffered greatly from this psychological torture.
The doctor brought the newborn, who was just wiped clean, to them with a big smile.
“Congratulations, it’s a boy.” Victoria and Clement, who had been waiting outside, had already received a notice from the nurse and had run in. Seeing their daughter was fine, their hearts were relieved too, and they happily went to see the grandson.
“Look at this little guy, he already has long legs!” The newly born boy was crumpled in his face and couldn’t take a compliment yet. But seeing from these long legs, he was indeed Keith’s.
The little boy couldn’t open his eyes yet, his little hands were in tight fists, and his skin was bright pink.
After Cathryn settled in the ward to sleep, Keith finally stepped out of the corridor and called his family about the news. John had informed them already when Cathryn was on her way to the hospital, and his parents had kept their calls from the other side of the world since then.
It was 8 in the evening, and it should be 4 o’clock in the early morning in Germany. They had a poetry tea party on a coming afternoon and were supposed to be sleeping at this hour, but they stayed up until now.
Keith’s father was half German from his mother’s side.
While Keith also had half of the English temperament from his mother, Helen.
Keith’s father, Richard Clarkson, a well-known painter who often traveled around the world, met Helen, the daughter of a local Baron in England, at a cocktail party.
At first sight, they fell in love, and Helen moved to Germany to marry him.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
In a sense, Keith’s deep philosophy of love was influenced by his father’s.
The way Keith treated Cathryn, to some extent, was the way Richard had towards Helen. Only Keith’s way was more solid than his father’s, and the latter was more romantic.
But both of them would do whatever Cathryn or Helen wanted.
Helen studied English literature and later became an expert in poetry. She has published two books of poems that were popular in Europe. Her interest soon expanded to the New World, and she later became an enthusiast of American pop lyrics.
Helen was organizing this poetry tea party, and they had invited poetry research experts/friends both from local and other countries to their house on Friday.
In the middle of the night, however, they received the news of the birth of their first grandson. Both of the couples wanted to rush to the US but were afraid of pressure on Cathryn. Keith also disapproved of their visit. It was unnecessary to worry, and the poetry friends couldn’t be let down. So everyone agreed to stick to the original plan, preparing for the poetry party, still at the Clarkson’s.
When receiving the call from Keith, Helen was asking the housemaid Lily to prepare for the morning tea, as their housekeeper Jim jogged to bring her mobile phone and said, “Keith is calling.”
“Thank you,” She took the call and tried her best to flatten her tone. After a deep breath, she started with her son in Germany.
“Wie geht’s?”
“He was born, mother and child were safe and sound,” Keith said.
“Oh my god! I’m a grandma now!” Helen cried and added, “Your father and I are leaving tomorrow.”
“No!” Keith laughed. “We’ll go to see you when she’s recovered.”
The two families would have completely different ways of caring for the patient who just had been delivered. Keith understood that his mother really wanted to come and help, but Helen had been somewhat spoiled by his father and actually could do nothing to help but to make Cathryn nervous. It would be better to wait until everything was in order, and he could go back and introduce them to each other.
Helen had expressed several times how she wanted to take a good look at her daughter-in-law.
“Alright.” She sighed.
“Is there poetry today? Is Sophia going to read?”
Sophia Clarkson was his cousin to his father’s brother. She spoke fluent German, English, and Latin and always helped with reading in their salon.
“Sophia can’t come. But Miss Elaine said she’d brought a lady that would read poetry for us.”
“Oh!” Keith laughed. “Would that be another poor lady that teaches her Chinese?”
Elaine was a university professor Helen met when she went to the University to give a workshop. She was very interested in languages and cultures too, and the two mid-aged ladies had become friends since, and Elaine became a regular participant in the poetry parties.
Elaine was learning Chinese recently, and her progress was poor. She studies twice a week with a personal tutor. Perhaps she was a strict teacher or persistent student, she had been very picky with her tutors. She had changed four or five tutors in the past six months.
“Yes.” Helen replied, “And also an acquaintance of yours.”
Keith asked, “Which one?”
Helen answered enthusiastically, “Miss Ada Clinton.”