My Sweet Canadian Girl Ch. 16

"Rick," Cassie called out to me from the main floor bathroom. It was Saturday December 22nd, just a few days before Christmas.

"What is it?" I asked rushing to her side.

"She's coming," Cassie said with a beautiful smile.

"Okay I'll get your bag from upstairs and be right back," I said.

"I'll tell mom and dad," she said as I rushed from the room.

"He's not nervous at all," Kathleen said when I returned. My heart was racing but it didn't show I guess. "What name did you finally settle on for her?" she asked.

"We didn't decide yet," I said glancing to Cassie who smiled at me.

"I almost got you," her mom said.

"We'll let you know as soon as we decide," Cassie said.

"It's fine if you want her name to be a surprise," her mom said. "She'll be the best Christmas present there could be for the whole family."

"Thank you for watching the kids," Cassie said. "I love you mom," she said hugging her mom.

"I love you sweetheart," Kathleen. "And you too Rick," she added letting me join their hug.

It was then that Marcel emerged from downstairs carrying Lindsey in his arms with the boys following behind. We needed to go to the hospital but it wasn't a pressing urgency. There was time for Cassie to say goodbye to each of our children with a hug and kiss and her father too. They promised to behave for nanny and poppy who would be looking after them for the next day or two. Jack presented his mom with a card that the kids had made for her and their new baby sister. Cameron had printed some of his own name with Jack finishing the rest and he had printed Lindsey's name too next to her part of her part of the drawings. It was the type of gift that Cassie treasured far more than anything money could buy and she kept it close by while we were at the hospital.

The hospital procedures had become familiar and routine with four previous children but the anticipation of a new baby arriving never got old. It was mid afternoon when Violet made her first check up on Cassie and estimated that the baby would be born late that night or sometime in the early morning hours the following day. It meant that there would be at least a few days between Deirdre's birthday and Christmas to allow for separate celebrations in our home. The timing of her birth was the topic of discussion between us as we played cards to pass the time. As dinner time drew near Marcel arrived to make what had become his traditional food delivery.

"About time you got here I'm famished," I said making Cassie giggle. Marcel's smirk would have looked dangerous had we not grown close over the years.

"Come in dad, " Cassie said. "And you be good," she added turning to me.

"Oh I don't mind," Marcel said. "Everything is okay?" he asked as he set the food delivery on the table next to the card our kids had made for Cassie.

"Yes no problems at all," Cassie said.

"Violet was here earlier and said it should be late tonight or early on Sunday," I added.

"If she's born before midnight you should be home by Christmas Eve to spend it with Lindsey and the boys," Marcel said.

"As long as there are no complications we'll be home by then for sure," Cassie said.

"Your mother says you still haven't decided on a name for her yet," Marcel said clearly fishing for clues.

"You'll be the first ones to know once we decide," Cassie said.

"Your wife is a terrible liar," Marcel said to me and we all shared a laugh.

"We want it to be a surprise but if you want a hint it starts with an S," I said. Thankfully he didn't notice Cassie's puzzled look as I fed her father misinformation.

"I'm not sure if I should tell Kathleen or not. She'll be up all night trying to figure it out if I do," Marcel said.

"My husband is a much better liar than me it seems," Cassie said to prevent that from happening. Her father joking shook a clenched fist at me.

"It's still a valuable clue," he said. "Only 25 possible first letters left now."

Marcel stayed for just a few more minutes with his wife at our home caring for four young children on her own. He hugged his daughter leaving her glassy eyed and gave me one too with several pats on the back. Shortly after he left Violet checked in on Cassie and based on the latest evaluation she said her prediction remained the same for the time of birth. I did notice that Cassie's contractions were more frequent at that stage than what I could remember with any of our previous children and Cassie agreed. On her next visit, Violent confirmed what we suspected and after leaving briefly to change into scrubs for the delivery she was there to stay.

I was amazed with how quickly the delivery was compared to any of our other children. The gaps between contractions and hard pushes rapidly shrank as I helped her control her breathing throughout. Violet as always remain unflappable as she directed her assistants and coached Cassie with encouraging words. Just before 11 pm Cassie exhaled and sagged to the bed with a content smile on her face. I knew a split second before I heard Deirdre's first cries that she was here at last. She was handed to Cassie after a quick wipe and a lifelong post birth bond between mother and child began.

The first thing I noticed was the thin blonde hair Deirdre had been born with. Cassie was lovingly stroking our newborn's cheek as tears of joy trickled from her eyes. I was sitting close to the bed and leaned close with my arm across Cassie's shoulders. It left me in perfect position to stare at Deirdre with my face pressed against my wife's. She didn't even mind that I hadn't shaved that morning and sported coarse itchy stubble that usually made her scrunch her nose and playfully pull away from me. A nurse carried Deirdre away to be weighed and properly cleaned but she was soon back in her mother's loving arms. When they told us her weight and length she was our smallest child at birth by both measures. There was no concern as she was well within the typical ranges, she just happened to be smaller than her older brothers and sister.

"Are you hungry Deirdre?" Cassie asked in a soft soothing voice. "I bet you are my love," she said. After a few tries she latched on to nurse at her mother's breast.

"She has hair like her mommy," I said having seen photo albums of Cassie as a baby with fine blonde hair much lighter than it's current honey-blonde shade.

"Finally," Cassie said as if it was a huge relief. She waited until I turned to look at her in stunned disbelief before she giggled. "It doesn't matter but I bet it's what you wanted."

"I wanted her to inherit at least some features from her mother," I admitted. Right after she was born her eyes were closed as she cried from the strangeness of it all and now as she nursed they remained closed so I still hadn't seen them. I had a sudden feeling of deja vu and thought they would be brown whenever she opened her eyes. "I bet she has brown eyes though," I said.

"We can't have you looking too much like a Dumont girl can we my love?" Cassie whispered to Deirdre but she was only teasing me again. "Not when you're a Kellogg."

"Just a feeling that I'd already seen them before," I explained.

"We'll know soon enough," Cassie said. "I need to pee. Can you hold her for a bit?" she asked.

"Can I?" I said grinning from ear to ear as I took hold of baby Deirdre for the first time. "Here," I said letting Cassie hold my arm as she got up from the bed. I spoke to Deirdre in a soft voice babbling on about her brothers and sister at home and all the other family that she'd soon meet. "None of them even know your name yet but they all love you," I said as Cassie returned. It was then that Deirdre's eyes fluttered open and I saw they were a deep brown with irises so big that barely any white showed at all.

"Oh wow look at those beautiful big brown eyes," Cassie said leaning down with her face next to mine. "You were right," she added kissing me on the cheek.

"Are you ready to take her again?" I asked.

"No not yet. Let me take some pictures of you holding her. Look up and smile," Cassie said taking a few photos of us with her phone.

"We better get one of you with her too before we send anything," I said.

"Yes but there's no rush," Cassie said easing herself back into bed. She was hungry after the rigors of childbirth and ate some of the food her father had brought before I handed Deirdre back to her. I took a few pictures of mother and child then I let Cassie go through them to pick the ones we should send. "Come here let me see something," Cassie said.

"See what?" I asked.

"Turn your head to the right," she said.

"Okay," I said playing a long.

"Oh there it is," she said.

"There's what?" I wondered.

"You're first gray hair," she said and when I turned back she was grinning at me.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Yes seriously. I noticed it in your picture and had to make sure," she said.

"Well it runs in the family," I said with a shrug. It didn't bother me at all and while Cassie might tease me about it I knew she didn't really care about it either.

"Yes but already? You'll look like an old man in a few years," she said.

"I think it the girls' fault. We have two daughters now and if they go like this," I said touching my index fingers and then moving them in opposite directions, "I won't be able to watch both of them at the same time."

"We'll manage," Cassie said reaching over to squeeze my hand.

I held Deirdre again while Cassie sent the email with her pictures attached. There was no text in the message just the photos and a title that said: Deirdre Noelle Kellogg. We'd had long since privately decided on that name for her. It was late so I didn't expect a reply but I was certain both sets of grandparents were still awake and waiting for the news. Deirdre finally fell asleep in my arms and I set her in the provided crib. We watched her for a few minutes until Cassie yawned and I convinced her to get some rest. I promised to join her soon enough but I sat up for a while watching two of my sweet Canadian girls sleep.

Newborn Deirdre woke up a few times through the night crying in the darkness. Cassie was tireless in soothing her back to sleep, letting her nurse and checking her diaper. I offered whatever help I could and even managed to change her diaper once to give Cassie a break but she never asked it of me. From our first child to the last, I couldn't recall a single moment where Cassie utter a word of complaint when it came to caring for our children. All I could do was continue to offer my support whenever possible to take some of the burden from her.

The following morning I was awake before either Cassie or Deirdre and browsing through email on my phone. Cassie's original email to both sets of grandparents had been forwarded to other family members on both sides. Nearly all of the replies sent to me were from friends and family on the Kellogg side which meant Cassie's email would be full of messages from the Dumonts. I sent a quick reply to each message thanking them for their well wishes and kind remarks. Deirdre received glowing compliments for her big brown eyes and not a single comment on her name that wasn't positive.

Once Deirdre was awake, fed, and changed, I held her while Cassie ate breakfast and replied to her own email responses to Deirdre's first pictures. Our newest child was quiet that morning, content to rest with her eyes closed as I talked to her softly. A few times she glanced up at me as if wondering who I was but she seemed to instinctively know that she was safe in my arms. Much like my wife, I was an old pro at soothing a newborn now. I found myself thinking of all the things I'd do with her in the coming years from putting her toys together to teaching her to ride a bike or taking her for swimming lessons. They were just activities to share with a young daughter in the coming years that came to mind, but we would end up doing whatever she was interested in of course.

"Mom, dad?" Cassie said when her parents arrived to meet their granddaughter together. 'Where are the kids?"

"We left J.R. in charge," her father said.

"Marc and Julie came over to watch them for a bit," her mom Kathleen said.

"Look who's here Deirdre? Your nanny and poppy Dumont came to see you," Cassie said.

"Oh my goodness she's absolutely precious," Kathleen beamed at her grandchild.

"You can sit here," I said vacating the lone chair in the room to let Kathleen sit.

"Hello my love," Kathleen cooed at Deirdre as she held her for the first time. "Deirdre Noelle Kellogg. Such a beautiful name that I can't imagine why your mommy and daddy wanted to keep it a secret."

"I was worried," Cassie admitted.

"About what?" he mother asked.

"She thought someone would make fun of her middle name," I explained.

"Who did that?" Marcel asked with just a touch of anger in his voice, ready to explode if there was a culprit who had mocked his granddaughter.

"No one did dad," Cassie said. "Rick convinced me it was needless anxiety on my part but by then it had become second nature to keep her name a secret."

"You should listen to him more," Kathleen said.

"Say that once more into the microphone for the record," I said making my wife and in-laws laugh.

Marcel took a turn in the chair holding Deirdre after his wife. He marveled how our first daughter Lindsey had been born with blue eyes just like Cassie's and now Deirdre had been blessed with her mother's blonde hair. Not that he needed any reason to love our girls unconditionally, the fact that each was born with features that reminded him of Cassie as a baby filled him with cherished memories. That morning he shared dozens of those memories, some of which I hadn't even heard before. It left Cassie smiling at her father and I quickly wiping away tears when I thought no one was looking. Before the Dumonts left they hugged each of us and offered well wishes for Deirdre. They also hoped we would be home by tomorrow, which was Christmas Eve, at the latest.

It was mid afternoon before Violet arrived to check on Deirdre and Cassie. She had planned to arrive earlier but last minute holiday preparations had taken longer than expected. Baby and mother both showed no signs of complications during the examination and there were no red flags in the notes taken by the staff. Violet's lone concern was Deirdre's lower birthrate compared to her siblings. Her recommendation was for one more night in the hospital just to be safe. Cassie was anxious to take Deirdre home but took the advice of Violet very seriously so another night in the hospital it was. We enjoyed the rest of the day with our newborn knowing a chaotic Christmas with a house full of children was just a few days away.

"They're here," Kathleen called greeting us at the front door in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve.

"J.R., Nathan slow down," Marcel said trailing them. He had Cameron hand in his and was carrying Lindsey in the other arm. All the kids were eager to meet their baby sister.

"Let mommy take her shoes off and sit down," I said holding Deirdre in her baby car seat.

"We want to see her," Jack said impatiently speaking for the group.

"Of course you do," Cassie smiled as she carefully lifted Deirdre from her car seat. The rest of the family followed Cassie to the main floor sofa while I took my own shoes off.

"She has yellow hair," I heard Nathan say as I entered the room. Cassie had taken Deirdre's little winter hat off and was smoothing her hair down.

"You can say hello to baby Deirdre boys but be careful," Cassie said as they took turns greeting their baby sister.

"Hi Deirdre," Jack said stumbling a bit over he name which wasn't easy for kids to pronounce without practice. Nathan echoed his greeting and Cameron just gave her a wide eyed little hug.

"It's your baby sister," I said to Lindsey after taking her from Marcel and sitting next to Cassie. "Can you say Deirdre?" I asked.

"Dolly?" Lindsey said as if wondering if her sister was a new toy.

"No Deirdre, Deirdre," I said sounding the name out for her.

"Dee Dee, Dee Dee" Lindsey said with a cute giggle and we all started to laugh too. In choosing a name that wasn't easy for the kids to pronounce we had inadvertently created a situation where she'd be given a nickname. From the moment we heard Lindsey call her Dee Dee, Cassie and I fell in love with the informal moniker for Deirdre and took to calling her Dee Dee almost immediately.

Kathleen offered to make Christmas Eve dinner for the family but Cassie convinced her to save her energy for the following day when the whole family would join us. Instead we ordered the kids favorite pizza for a treat to celebrate the arrival of the newest member of the family. Everyone, but Deirdre of course, ate pizza for dinner though little Lindsey couldn't even finish a full piece. The day full of excitement and the anticipation of Santa's delivery of gifts tired the kids out. With the Dumonts' help, I got them ready for bed and read stories to them while Cassie cared for Deirdre.

"There's a present for you to open," I said to Cassie after her relaxing soak in the bath.

"A present the night before Christmas?" she said.

"Just a small one. The rest will have to wait," I said handing her the small box with Deirdre's charm inside.

"I know exactly what this is and I'm still excited to open it," she smiled. I watched as she unwrapped it and lifted out the little heart shaped charm with Deirdre's name engraved on it and a turquoise birthstone for December. "It's beautiful," she said adding it to her bracelet with practiced ease.

"Do you think we're done?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "What about you?"

"I think our family is complete," I said.

"You've given me everything I've ever wanted. I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too," I said sharing a soft kiss with her.

"Tomorrow is a busy day and Deirdre will wake up a few times through the night," she said.

"It is and she sure will," I said.

"We should sleep while we can," she said yawning as she crawled into bed.

"Yes we should," I agreed turning out the light and getting in bed on my side of the bed.

I couldn't get to sleep right away though. Restlessly I watched my sweet Canadian girl sleep and thought about the five wonderful children she'd blessed us with. I loved them with every fiber of my being. Neither of us could ask for more and yet we had a lifetime with them to look forward to. When sleep finally took me I dreamed of my sweet Canadian family and the years that lay before us. There were endless possibilities and with Cassie as my co-author, the only certainty was that the Kellogg household would always be a happy one.

***

That's it for this story for now. This final chapter may feel a bit rushed to some readers. The birth of each child could have been it's own chapter but it would have become too repetitive.

I hope to eventually return with an epilogue chapter of five mini stories, one for each of the Kellogg children that tells their stories into adulthood. The point of view for the final chapter is still something I'm thinking about. Mostly likely it will be a modified first person telling where Rick's tells the story of each of his children growing up but switching to their perspectives once they reach adult age. I have a number of half written stories I want to finish first.

A funny coincidence I'll leave you with for now: I had half a dozen chapters written before I realized that Cassandra means "she who entangles men" and Dumont translates to "from the mountain". Completely unintentional but it made me smile. I've always liked the name Cassandra and when trying to think for a French last name I came across Dumont and went with it.