10.
We moved into the private section of the guesthouse immediately but always had our meals with Estaban. At first he was resistant, us being the newlyweds, but we won the debate in the end. Married life was truly blissful even when Markl was away for the long hours required of fishermen. My love for Markl grew daily if that were at all possible, so much so that there were times I felt my heart and lungs would explode. I even got blessed with the occasional guests and as the peak tourist season arrived my bookings increased until the B&B got fully booked for an entire month. I had made good friends with the other girlfriends and wives of the fishermen as well as with the people in our congregation.
One morning I awoke to feel awfully sick and after a week or so it got increasingly worse. Markl was concerned and went to tell his father about it. Before I knew it, they both burst into the room.
'You're pregnant!' Markl yelled and laughed at the same time.
My eyes grew enormously round.
'What?'
'You have morning sickness. It must be,' Estaban said sending Markl to the store to buy a pregnancy test.
He must’ve run all the way there and back because he returned panting and wheezing.
He handed the little box to me, and Estaban told me, 'Pee on the stick.'
I blushed and disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the footsteps of the two men pacing up and down in the bedroom. Then I heard them stop as I flushed the toilet and I had to giggle to myself. I sat on the seat of the toilet and waited as per the instructions on the package. If I saw two little blue stripes, I was pregnant. The minute I had to wait seemed like hours.
'Jade honey, everything okay?'
I sensed Markl's anticipation. I opened the bathroom door, and the two men stood dead still curiously looking at the plastic stick in my hand. I wish I could have filmed them both at that moment so that I would never forget the looks on their faces. I shook the plastic stick and tried as hard as possible to keep a straight face.
'Pregnant,' I said.
Markl screamed and danced his little jiggle and by the time he was holding me he was so happy his eyes were overflowing with tears. Estaban sat down on the armchair in the corner of the room and bowed his head. I was dizzy from the idea, trying to comprehend that another human being was developing inside of me. After a visit to the doctor, it was officially confirmed that we were indeed going to have a baby. The close community in which we lived rejoiced at the news that Markl spread like wildfire. I became petrified at the prospect of being a mother and the responsibility that went with it, but Estaban always eased my mind with his wisdom and knowledge. Knowing he would be close by was certainly a reassuring thought. Leah, Merwyn and Molly were as thrilled as we were and promised to visit once the baby was born. I had reserved their accommodation at the guesthouse before they changed their minds.
The morning sickness was just too terrible. It went on for months, forcing me to employ someone at the guesthouse because I was simply too ill most of the day to attend to the guests. Markl and I moved back into Estaban's house and renovated the spare room into the nursery. Nine months was way too long but, at least, the last three months I was free from nausea and gratefully not too large, especially in the Mauritian summer heat. I was extremely tired, though. The doctor did mention that the extra weight I was carrying it did put a lot more strain on my weak lungs, but he assured us that it was not anything to concern ourselves over.
For the last two weeks of the pregnancy, Markl and Estaban stayed home. Estaban had arranged with a friend to take their trawler out to sea so that they would be at home when I went into labour. Every evening we sat on the porch discussing names and things we would do with our child. Estaban related many stories of when Markl's mother was expecting him, and the sadness in his voice echoed his heart's longing for his late wife, especially at this time in our lives. I promised to name the child after her if it was a girl. The boy's name was still not agreed on; there were just too many names we both liked.
A Saturday like any other Markl moved to get out of bed but suddenly jumped up and yelled my name. I opened my eyes and felt the sheets soaking wet beneath me, then felt the most excruciating pain in my abdomen and cried aloud.
'The baby is coming!' Markl yelped and ran calling out to Estaban to get the car in a hurry.
We arrived at the hospital an hour later with the contractions ten minutes apart. After hours of intense pain, the doctor finally informed us that it was time to push as the baby was ready to make its appearance. At this stage, I was ready for a cesarean, an epidural, anything to take this pain away. Markl held my hand while I wrenched the life from it as I squeezed it so hard, pushing until it felt as if every blood vessel in my body would burst. There was a brief moment of silence and then a tiny wail echoed throughout the room.
'Welcome to your baby boy,' the doctor said as he handed me the tiniest little thing I had ever seen.
Markl burst into tears with me, and we gazed upon this perfect treasure that was our own.
'I love you,' he repeated over and over choking on his emotions.
When they took our baby to get cleaned, Markl went to give Estaban the great news that he was now a grandfather. I had an image of the two men embracing each other, too emotional to speak and too overjoyed to care who saw their tears. The nursing staff wheeled me into the ward, and my greatest blessing got handed to me. I kissed his forehead and thanked God once more for giving me a second chance in this life. And what a second chance it was! Markl sat in the chair next to me with our child lying content and peaceful between us, after his ordeal called birth. We were unable to tear our eyes and hearts away from him as we were in complete awe of our miracle. We finally agreed on a name that suited him – Kylar.