“Who is it?” Black asked and handed Bobby the car keys.
Bobby leaned close to him. “CeCe.”
Black took the phone. “Hello.”
“My water broke.”
“What? When?”
“About ten minutes ago,” CeCe answered.
“I thought we had another month.”
“Well, I guess our son has other ideas.”
“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Me and Michelle are leaving for the hospital now.”
“You got somebody to drive you?”
“Bernadette is going to take us and your mother is here.”
“My mother? When did she get there?”
“This morning. She said when she woke up this morning something told her that she needed to be here,” CeCe said.
“That sounds like her. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t have that baby without me,” Black said and looked at Carmen.
“I don’t think it’s up to me,” CeCe said. “But I’ll try.”
Bobby pulled up and honked the horn.
“I guess now I know why I haven’t heard from you,” Carmen said. “Go on. Get outta here. Go be with your woman.”
“Carmen, I promise.”
Carmen put her finger on his lips. “Don’t you ever promise me anyt
hing ever again in life. You’ll see me when you see me. ’Cause if you don’t, I’m coming to Nassau.” Carmen kissed him on the cheek. “What are you having?”
“We think it’s a boy.”
“Oh well now I’m definitely coming down there. I gotta meet Mike Black Jr.”
“Thanks for understanding,” Black said as Bobby honked the horn again. Black kissed Carmen on the cheek and rushed to the car.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Bobby drove as fast as New York City traffic would allow him to take Black to the airport. On the way, Black called and asked them to have the plane ready to take him to Nassau. He hoped that he would get there in time to witness the birth of his second child.
During the long flight back to Nassau, Black looked out the window. He was comforted by the fact that when Cassandra gave birth to Michelle, she was in labor for hours. He looked over and was glad that Bobby was with him. When he was about to get on the plane, he turned to say goodbye. “Mike, you were sitting right next to me when all four of my kids were born. I missed being there for Michelle, I ain’t about to miss this one. Now get on the plane, I’m comin’ with you and we’re wastin’ time.”
“Thanks, Bobby.”
“You can thank me later with a Cuban cigar.”
After what seemed like a very long time, the plane touched down in Nassau. Black thanked the pilot and he and Bobby rushed to catch a cab to take them to the hospital. When he arrived, CeCe had already had an epidural inserted in the area around her spine and had been given a small dose of medicine to be sure the epidural was placed correctly. Since there are no problems she was receiving a full dose. Two transducers had been placed on her abdomen and attached to an electronic fetal monitor. One to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and the other to track her contractions. Her cervix had dilated to 5 centimeters and her contractions were ten minutes apart.