{"id":2271,"date":"2013-12-02T06:26:48","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T06:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=2271"},"modified":"2013-12-02T06:26:58","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T06:26:58","slug":"a-christmas-gift-by-vanessa-horn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/a-christmas-gift-by-vanessa-horn\/","title":{"rendered":"A Christmas Gift by Vanessa Horn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dec<\/a>
December Cover of Every Writer, Art by Richard DeWolfe. His work will be featured in our magazine on our site this month.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Christmas Gift<\/h1>\n

by Vanessa Horn<\/p>\n

\u201cOoohh,\u201d Marie moaned as she pushed open the entrance doors. She slowly bent over, grimacing simultaneously.<\/p>\n

Joe downed his carrier bags and placed his hand gently on her back. \u201cIs it that Braxton Hicks thingy again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure. Maybe. Though it feels a bit different this time… more painful.\u201d She winced but then forced herself to straighten up again. \u201cJust need to get indoors for a cup of tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded then stabbed at the lift button. Nothing happened. \u201cBloody out of order again! Do you reckon you can make it up to the flat, hon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie sighed. \u201cWhat choice is there? I\u2019m not staying here all night, especially not on Christmas Eve!\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, with considerable puffing and swearing, Joe and Marie reached their flat and let themselves in. Entering the lounge, Marie sank onto her deck chair with considerable relief, but then suddenly gasped as a warm, wet stain spread through her worn leggings. \u201cOMG \u2013 my waters!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe paled as he watched the unfamiliar liquid travel down his girlfriend\u2019s legs, culminating in a sizeable puddle on the floor. He snatched his mobile from the nearby table, only to throw it down again in exasperation as he remembered it was dead: they \u2018d obviously made the wrong choice in choosing to buy food rather than renew the contract! \u201cI\u2019ll have to go out to ring for an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abruptly, Marie stopped screaming. Grabbed his hand. \u201cDon\u2019t leave me!\u201d she begged, her eyes wide and frightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut…\u201d Frowning, Joe glanced around the small room for inspiration. There was none. He bit his lip,<\/p>\n

Without warning, the lights flickered and then went out, plunging the flat into a gloomy grey. Now all they could discern was the twinkling of city lights through the thin curtains.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh for pity\u2019s sake!\u201d Joe yanked the fabric across with his free hand. The extra light now gave him a clear view of Marie\u2019s horror-stricken face as she gurned then screamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAaaagggghhhhh! It\u2019s coming \u2013 it\u2019s coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

His response remained unspoken, coinciding \u2013 as it did – with a sharp knock on the front door. Marie snapped her mouth shut and looked at Joe warily before she eventually releasing his hand. She gave him a push. \u201cAnswer it; things can\u2019t get any worse!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe eased the door open to find three surly-looking teenagers lurking in the shadows. The largest of them pushed forward and smirked. \u201cAwright mate? I\u2019m Gas, from the flat below and this is Balt and Mel. When we heard the screaming, me mum told us to see if we could help. She\u2019d have come herself only, like, Eastenders is on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet them in,\u201d called Marie, \u201cthey might have a phone we can borrow or something!\u201d<\/p>\n

Reluctantly, Joe led the boys into the lounge where, he noticed with alarm, Marie had lowered herself onto the floor, where she was panting heavily.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, youse having a baby!\u201d commented Balt. \u201cWell, we know all about that, don\u2019t we lads?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mel nodded vigorously. \u201cWe \u2018elped deliver our Shaznay,\u201d he confirmed. \u201cBreech birth she was, but we still got \u2018er out afore the medics arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie gulped. \u201cPerhaps you could just ring the ambulance please; it\u2019s my first, you see, and I want to give birth in hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as Gas dug in his pockets for the phone, he was running a practised eye over Marie\u2019s straining figure. \u201cDon\u2019t think you\u2019re gonna get a choice!\u201d Finally retrieving his mobile, he chucked it to Balt with a \u201cRing \u2018em anyway!\u201d Then he proceeded to roll up his sweatshirt sleeves before turning to Joe. \u201cGet some water and towels, will you mate!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hurriedly felt his way out of the room, thankful that someone else – however improbable \u2013 was there to take charge.<\/p>\n

Mel moved to Marie\u2019s side and held his hand out to her. \u201cJust squeeze when the pain gets bad,\u201d he offered. \u201cIt dunt matter if you hurt me \u2013 I can take it!\u201dAfter only a second\u2019s hesitation, Marie grabbed hold of the smaller boy\u2019s hand, grateful for any comfort she could get in this surreal situation.<\/p>\n

Balt frowned, obviously wondering what his contribution could be, but soon brightened, offering Marie a small orange ball from his hoodie pouch. \u201cIt\u2019s a stress ball,\u201d he explained. \u201cSchool gave it me to help with me anger management issues. You can throw it or squash it \u2013 whatever you want, really.\u201d Appeased, he sat by Marie\u2019s side watching as she tentatively pressed the rubber in and out.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gas, who had expertly whipped off Marie\u2019s leggings while she was distracted, instructed her to \u201cWait til the next contraction then push as hard as you can!\u201d<\/p>\n

Resigned to her fate, Marie nodded and then, as she felt the pain escalating, let out an \u201cAaaaaggghhhh!\u201d and bore down at the same time.<\/p>\n

Gas grinned. \u201cWell done! Nearly there now!\u201d He gently wiped Marie\u2019s brow with the corner of his sweatshirt and she smiled back at him, inexplicably trusting this confident stranger.<\/p>\n

On returning to the room with a multitude of towels, Joe gasped, pointing down at Marie\u2019s nether regions. \u201cL-look \u2013 it\u2019s coming out!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u201d Gas carefully took hold of the baby\u2019s head and requested \u201cOne more push!\u201d There was a squelchy swoosh as Marie obliged, and the baby slithered smoothly into his grasp. After a quick wipe on Gas\u2019s sweatshirt \u2013 the towels forgotten – a tiny wriggling baby was placed into Marie\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like the Christmas story,\u201d whispered Joe reverently. \u201cHey \u2013 we could call him Jesus!\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie tutted. \u201cI don\u2019t think she would appreciate that, hon!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took a closer look at the baby\u2019s lower quarters. \u201cAh yes; Jesusa then, maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

From Marie\u2019s side, Gas shook his head and snorted loudly. \u201cNah, man \u2013 she\u2019s gotta be Jaycee innit!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the wailing of the superfluous ambulance grew louder and closer, Joe and Marie glanced at each other and laughed. Then Marie shrugged and gazed round at the three teenagers, her grateful face shining in the indistinct half-light. \u201cYes, why not? Jaycee she is, then!\u201d<\/p>\n

###
\nVanessa Horn started writing during a sabbatical year away from teaching in
\n2012. She has had successes in several short story competitions such as The
\nWord Hut, Cazart, Erewash Writers, and Berkhamsted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOoohh,\u201d Marie moaned as she pushed open the entrance doors. She slowly bent over, grimacing simultaneously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literary-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2272,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271\/revisions\/2272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}