New Frontier

Marlena was instructing me most of the time, encouraging me and telling me to push as much as I could every time I had a contraction. It didn't feel like I was making any progress, though they assured me that the baby was making normal time.

The agony continued into the night, and I felt like I was in hell. But every time I wanted to just give up, I'd look at Val. He'd always have something uplifting to say to me. He told me that he loved me and how proud he was of me. It really helped.

At least until we got to the active labor and the stretch started.

Nothing I've ever done could have prepared me for the stretch. I've been fisted before and that felt like nothing compared to this. Unlike the contractions, which came in waves, the stretch only kept getting worse and worse as time went on. I constantly kept hoping that there's no way it could keep going. I was giving birth, not shoving a piano out of my body. That never happened. It took about thirty minutes until I caved in and asked for the epidural.

The epidural definitely felt weird. Once I was positioned Carter stuck a needle into my lower back, like he was doing a spinal tap. Then my entire body from the waist down slowly went numb. It was like when your foot is so asleep that you can't move it. I felt like a ghost or a sock puppet or something, like I never even had legs in the first place.

Marlena looked me right in the eye when I was back into position.

"We're at the ninth inning, Shannon. All the pain of the past nine months is building up to this moment. We're going to take this one contraction at a time. Stay focused. You can do this."

I reached out to grab Val's hand again before I turned back to her and nodded.

We fell into a bit of a rhythm. She would tell me when a contraction was starting and I would push like my life depended on it. Even though I was completely numb down there, I could still sense the incredible strain my body was under. But that didn't matter anymore. Soon I stopped thinking about it and it was like pushing out a baby was something I'd been doing my whole life.

Breath in deep. Push out. Keep pushing until you physically can't anymore. Take a few breaths and calm down. Squeeze Val's hand a little. Repeat.

Time eventually lost meaning. I stopped thinking about when it would end and just kept focusing on the next push. After what could have been six hours or ten minutes for all I knew I heard Grant's voice.

"You're fully dilated! I can see your baby's head!"

I heard a horrible sound, one I could only guess was my flesh ripping, but I was too close to the end to care anymore. I just kept pushing.

Then it happened. Even though I was without sensation and couldn't even see what was happening I just knew that my child had been born. It was a relief so great and earth-shattering that I can't even describe it. It was so incredible that it almost made me forget about all the pain I had been put through.

All I could do was lay my head back, completely prostrated. I heard noises, my friends talking and a baby crying, but it all sounded like I was underwater.

After some time had passed I was straightened up and saw something absolutely amazing.

I saw Val holding our child.

"You did it, Shannon," he told me, tears making his eyes shiny. "It's a beautiful little baby girl."

I've heard jokes about how when babies are newly born, they're not cute. They're lumpy and awkward and crying their eyes out. That was true. My new daughter looked like a hairless monkey throwing a temper tantrum.

I didn't care. Nothing I have ever seen or will ever see will be as beautiful as she was in that moment.

I took her in my arms and she slowly calmed down. I began crying.

It was the greatest moment of my life.

*****

It was 11:36 PM on Thursday, February 27^th, 2025. Twenty minutes after my daughter was born.

That thought was still so surreal. My husband just gave birth to a child. Our child.

As exhausted as we all were, Shannon was the only one who slept that night. The rest of us were wired, buzzing over what had just happened. Grant had us all toast champagne for the occasion.

"To making history!"

We clinked and drank, my first drink in nine months without guilt.

The four of us took care of Shannon and the baby until morning. Shannon eventually woke up and he held our sleeping daughter. It was beautiful to watch.

"Val?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I have an idea for a name. It's a little corny, though."

"I don't care. What's your idea?"

He looked at our baby girl.

"When I see her, all I can think of is how amazing it is she even exists. It's a miracle, so...I was thinking we could name her Mira."

I smiled. "Mira sounds perfect."

He cupped our daughter's cheek.

"Does that sound good to you?"

She mewled a little bit, still fast asleep.

"I think that settles it, then. Your name is Mira Brooker-Thompson."

I felt myself tear up again. We both kept our last names when we got married, but it made sense that she would have both of them.

I looked a little closer at Mira. There really was no mistaking it, she was a mix of Shannon and I. She was light skinned black and I saw features from both of us in her

Our baby was beautiful. She was perfect.

"Val?" Shannon asked again.

"Yeah?"

"I've decided that I'm getting the hysterectomy. This is perfect the way it is."

"That's your call. I'll let Carter know."

Shannon leaned in and gave Mira a little kiss.

"This is just the beginning, Mira. The three of us have a whole life to live. We're going to love and support you. We won't be perfect, we'll make mistakes, but we'll always be there for each other. Right?" He looked up at me.

"Absolutely."

The next few weeks were a blur. We brought Mira home and took care of her. Shannon got the hysterectomy and started working to lose the baby weight. Grant and the team published their findings to a shocked scientific community. We got Mira her birth certificate.

One after another we hit milestones and formed memories. Naturally there were struggles. Mira was a handful, just like any other baby. But it was beyond worth it. It gave us a new purpose in life.

We eventually moved out of the city and got a house in the suburbs. I got a full-time job and Shannon became a stay-at-home mom. We settled into our new lifestyles without much effort.

In most ways, the relationship Shannon and I had together didn't change much. We'd still date, make love, confide in each other. But now we had another person linking us together in a whole new way. We weren't just husbands. We were a mother and father.

We weren't just a couple. We were a family.

*****

After some effort I was eventually able to calm Mira down and get her to drink her formula. I swear, even after eighteen months she knew how to keep us on our toes.

Val had left for work already, so it was just the two of us.

I looked at my daughter and for the umpteenth time thanked God for blessing me with her. I loved her more than I knew possible.

Once she was done she looked at me and smiled.

"Mommy!"

I smiled back and kissed her on the cheek.

I thought about the call Grant had given me yesterday, about how a gay couple had finally signed up to get the same stem cell surgery I had. Whoever they were, I knew they were in good hands.

This concept had so much potential. Not just gay couples, but infertile women could give birth too. The world would never be the same.

It is gratifying to think about how I was central to this scientific breakthrough, but in the end the only thing that mattered was that it brought Mira into my life.

I looked at her beautiful face. Her nose was like mine, but her lips were like Val's. Her eye color was right in between the bright brown of her mother's and rich dark of her father's.

I just sat there for a few minutes, relaxing with Mira.

It felt good.

It felt right.