Why I Hated The Guy From The FBI Ch. 15

Antonia's eyes moved up towards her mother's and she said, "Mom, the baby moved, and I think my water just broke."

Frank sprang to his feet and said, "Out of the away folks, here we go." He picked up Antonia in his arms, kissed her, and said, "We are doing this just like we practiced, with no deviations at all, okay?"

Antonia replied, "Don't you dare leave me, Frank!"

"Baby, they would have to send the entire police force to get me away from you today."

Antonia knew Frank was serious.

By the time they reached the hospital, the contractions were down to seven minutes apart. Word had gone out to the family, that Antonia was in labor, and by the time she was in the hospital for three hours, almost 150 relatives, friends, and classmates, were either in or surrounding the hospital. This was an amazing number considering it was now 3:30 in the morning.

At 5 A.M., Antonia's doctor arrived to take charge of the situation. After examining her he said, "Aren't you in pain?"

Antonia said, "Of course, I am in pain."

Doctor Della Pietra said, "You are not acting, like you are in pain."

Antonia replied, "How would you like me to act, doctor. I am in terrible pain; however, I am trying to focus on other things, rather than the pain itself. My husband has taught me some techniques he learned while he was recovering from his wounds, from the war. They are helping. If you are asking me if I could use some medication, the answer is yes. Could I do without pain medication for a little while longer? Yes. However, I am at the very edge of my pain management, and I do not know how much more I can take."

"Antonia, I have told you, since you came to me, to tell me everything that is going on, because your baby is my responsibility. What you are doing is good for you, but maybe not so good for the baby. I'm going to give you something to take the edge off the pain, and I am going to put some monitors on you, for the health of our baby."

As soon as Antonia was medicated, and Frank, Gloria, and Rose were alone with her, another doctor walked into the room. While he was looking at her chart, he bumped into Frank, and whispered something to him. Frank moved to block the door.

This doctor went to look at the patient and said, "I did not know they made mothers' this small."

Although she was in a drug-induced haze, Antonia still reacted. Her eyes popped open, and she turned her head to look at the person, who insulted her. She saw her father smiling at her.

"Daddy!"

"Hello baby; I would not miss this for the world."

Anthony kissed his daughter, and hugged her tightly. He told her to rest, because he was not going anywhere, until after his grandchild was born.

"Daddy, someone might see you."

"Baby, we have more than 100 people, inside and outside the hospital. A lot of people have seen me, and no one is going to say a word. Rest now, because I'm going to kiss your mother."

Tony turned, said hello to Gloria, and looked at his Rose. He said to her, "What do I have to do to get you into a bed like this?"

Rose glowed. "The same thing you were doing, before I went to Charlie and Ann's wedding."

He kissed her passionately, and said, "Okay, let's kick our daughter out of that bed, so we can make better use of it."

At that moment, they both heard Antonia moan in pain. It was the first time she had audibly let them know she was suffering.

Antonia called for Frank, and he was by her side, in a flash.

She said, "Frank, time the contractions, because they are getting closer together. Mom, call the nurse, please.

Frank said, "Dad, you had better get rid of the greens, because they are going to wonder who you are."

Antonia squeezed Frank's hand hard, arched her back and Frank clicked the stopwatch on his wrist. He told her it was 45 seconds.

The nurse entered the room, and asked Antonia what she could do for her.

Antonia told her she needed something more for the pain, and the spread of the last set of contractions.

The nurse said, "I will get the doctor, now.

Gloria, Rose and Anthony were like flies on the wall; standing in the corner, watching everything that was going on in the room. Antonia was handling this like a professional. Rose remembered her first time; and how frightened she was. The difference between her memory of bringing Antonia into the world, and watching Antonia bringing her first born into the world, was like day and night. She was screaming in pain, and Antonia was quietly bearing the pain, while holding on to Frank's hand. Rose was extremely proud of her.

Gloria was remembering bringing Frank into this world; all 11 lbs. 10 oz. of him.

Her doctor told her she might need a cesarean section, because her baby was so large. She did not want one, but she was prepared, just in case it was needed. Frank decided to come into this world the natural way. Gloria suffered through 22 hours of labor. Even with all the pain medicine they had given her, the pain was intense. When Frank was finally in the doctor's hands, he remarked, "This is the largest baby I have ever delivered."

The doctor walked into the room in his greens, with a plastic over-layer protecting them. He raised the sheet over Antonia's knees and inspected her vagina to see how far she had dilated. He said, "It is time."

The nurse hit a call button. Several seconds later, three other nurses and aides came into the room, to assist in the delivery.

Doctor Della Pietra looked at Frank and said, "Okay coach, it is first and 10, as you Americans say, let's run this one in for a field goal."

Frank laughed, and wanted to correct the doctor, but decided this was not time. His eyes smiled into Antonia's eyes and said, "Just like we practiced baby, no deviations at all." He proceeded with the breathing exercises and they did them together, as if their lungs and diaphragms were connected. For the next 15 minutes, they went through the series of Lamaze exercises, over and over, in perfect order, until the doctor said, "PUSH HARD!"

Seconds later Frank felt Antonia's hand relax. For a short time nothing happened; then, they heard a baby cry softly. The doctor, in a monotone voice said, "It is a boy."

Antonia's eyes lit up, like beacons in the night. Frank kissed her, while the doctor called for him to cut the umbilical.

The nurse quickly cleaned the baby, took a few drops of blood from his feet, weighed him, took his footprint, and photograph. She gave the baby to Antonia, told them all the initial tests came out perfect. Their baby was healthy.

Antonia placed Philip Anthony Gennaro to her small breast to see if he would start to suckle and feed. He went at her nipple, as his father did. Once he started to nurse, he did not want to stop. Cell phones and cameras snapped pictures, as rapidly as they could. Her husband and the grandparents smiled behind them.

Antonia did not care that her breasts were exposed. As far as she was concerned, if Philip was included in the pictures, they could show them on every website, around the world.

Antonia had given birth to a 6 pound 2 ounce baby boy. She had gained a total of 11 pounds over nine months of pregnancy. After spending two days in the hospital, she arrived home and weighed herself. She weighed 102 pounds. Celeste would be pissed. Antonia could not wait to call her in New York, and tell her. She calculated the time difference between the two cities; and it was 4:35a.m., in the 'Big Apple'. She smiled and thought, "Time for a wake-up call!"

Frank was carrying 'PA' (Philip Anthony) in his arms, when he saw Antonia pick up her cell phone. He asked who she was calling.

She said, innocently, "I am calling my counselor about breast-feeding."

Frank thought she was up to no good, but there was nothing he could do about it, when she came up with that answer.

Antonia hit the speed dial button. She smiled as she waited for the sound of Celeste's, groggy, voice.

Unfortunately, for her, a very chipper Celeste said, "Hello midget; congratulations on your baby boy. What did you name him?"

"Good morning gorgeous; his name is Philip Anthony. We call him 'PA' for short. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 2 oz., and was 18 ½ inches long."

"Where did you put him, little one, he was almost as big as you!"

"You are very funny, fatty. The reason I called was to tell you that I weighed myself, when I got home from the hospital."

"You little bitch; I do not want to hear what you weigh. I will throw up all over Philip."

"102 pounds will upset you that much?"

"I hate you, you little turd. No one has a baby and comes out of it weighing less than she did, before she was pregnant."

"Celeste, it is only 1 pound. I should be able to put that back on, in a year or two."

"When I get back to Milan, I am personally going to stuff gelato down your throat. I am going to make it my mission in life to get you up to 110 pounds, again."

"How much do you weigh now, Celeste?"

"That is a classified number. It is only given out on a need to know basis; and you do not need to know."

"It is that high already. My aunts are going to have to put an extra panel into your wedding dress to accommodate your tummy."

"The wedding is only twelve days away, snowflake. You had better be nice, or I will melt you, with a flamethrower."

"Speaking of your wedding, why are you still in New York?"

"We are suing the makers of the birth control pill I was on. I had to take some tests, while I was here, to make my lawyers happy. I will be leaving sometime tomorrow, or the day after, at the latest

"Now that I have my figure back, I could always stand in for you, at your wedding."

"Wise ass; you may have your figure back, however, you never had my tits. There are not enough tissues, in all of Europe, to fill out the top of my wedding dress with you in it."

"That was a mean spirited thing to say to a new mother, who is breast-feeding."

"The poor baby is going to die of malnutrition. Those 'A' minuses of yours do not have enough milk in them to feed a hamster."

"Frank is drooling now, because my 'A' minuses have grown into little 'B's and he cannot play with them! However, PA is enjoying the hell out of them. Speaking of tits, have you gone to Michelin and had yours retreaded, yet?"

"Be nice you little troll, or I will have Philip plant you in his garden, with the petunias."

"Petunias do not grow in Italy."

"Do you realize how smart you are getting, little one?"

"Bitch."

"Elf"

"Whore."

"Troll."

"I love you too, Celeste. I will see you Saturday. Wake Philip up so you can get laid. It will help you fall back to sleep."

"The heck with sleep, I want an egg cream and corned beef and pastrami sandwich."

"Lady, you are in New York City. You can get those at any time of day, or night. Call the front desk and tell them what you want. You will have it in less than an hour."

"Really, are you sure?"

"I would never lie to a pregnant woman."

"I will see you in a few days, dwarf; I have to make a phone call. Goodbye."

Antonia hung up the phone, turned around and saw Frank glaring at her.

"She loved the phone call, Frank. She was hungry and wanted some good kosher food. She did not know she could get some, at this hour of the morning. I told her she could, and she was thrilled."

"That is two, Antonia." Frank turned around, with his son's arms, and walked away.

Antonia yelled, "Why do you always skip number one, Frank?"

"Do you really want me to answer the question, or do you want to answer it yourself?"

"No, Frank, you tell me because I did not do anything wrong."

"That is three Antonia."

"Fuck!"

"Four."

"Stop it Frank or I will rip your eyes out."

"Five."

"Shit!"

"Six."

Antonia ran into the bathroom, closed the door, and stripped. She turned on the cold water for the shower, and got in. She stood under the icy spray and said every vile word she had in mind for her husband. She was slipping. She felt it in her soul. She had to get herself back under control, and she did not know how to do it. Something was bothering her, and she had to speak to someone about it. Frank was definitely not that person. She would see if the Bishop had time to speak with her, again. If he did, maybe he could put her back on course, again.

She got out of the shower, went to her room, and dressed. She packed PA's diaper bag, walked into the living room and took PA from his father's arms. Angrily, she said, "I will be back later," turned on her heel, and left the house.

Frank had been sitting on the couch, playing with his son. He was stunned. His brain did not even have time to react; either to her words, or her attitude. He knew she was pissed off with him, but he did not realize that he had caused her this type of emotional break. He was going to have to take it easy on her for a while. Even though she seemed to take giving birth to their son, 'easy'; apparently, inside she had been hurt very deeply. His nagging was not helping her. He got up and set about cleaning the villa, so when she got home, it would be spotless. He hoped this would help. He, also, wanted to speak to his mom to get a woman's perspective of what might be going on with Antonia.

Gloria yelled at her son. "Frank, are you totally clueless? Have you ever heard of 'Post-partum Depression?' It might be that or she might be angry with herself and the baby. She may not feel right. She may be all twisted up inside."

"Mom, after I picked on her, because she lied, she took Philip, from my arms, and said, 'I'll be back later?'"

"Frank, think of where she might have gone, and look for her. I will call Rose and tell her what happened. She needs to stay home, just in case Antonia goes to her for support. I am going to send your father to a sporting goods store; to buy a baseball bat. Someone has got to knock some sense into you. You may know how to take care of things, between a woman's thighs, but you have no idea how to take care of a woman's mind, when she needs help."

"Thanks mom, I needed that right now."

"You are welcome, Frank. You needed that and a whole bunch more."

Rose and Gloria spoke for a short time, but it was long enough for each of them to know Antonia was in trouble. P.A. was 7 days old; and Antonia's hormones would be totally out of balance now. Any woman can become depressed, paranoid, or psychotic over this short period of time, after giving birth. If not treated promptly, it could last for weeks, or a lifetime.

Rose thought back to Antonia's recent past, and how she had changed from a hellion to an angel, seemingly overnight. Something like this could reverse her progress, with little or no effort at all. Someone had to find her little girl, and soon. She spoke to Anthony and he made a phone call.

Antonia was sitting in the back of Milan's Cathedral, with PA in her arms. She did not know what to do. They were very few people in the massive building, and those who were there, seemed to take very little notice of the young woman and her child. When PA got hungry Antonia started breast-feeding him, modestly, but as she did this, she began to cry, and her tears brought her some unwanted attention.

A worker came over to her, and asked if he could be of any help? She said, "No." She was fine and that she was just feeling a little sad today. The man nodded his head and seemed to disappear.

A short while later a voice from behind her said, "I told you it was a boy."

Antonia turned her head and said "Good morning Eminence; how did know I was here."

"The word is out, all over Milan; about a young mother, who has run away from home, after giving birth to a beautiful baby boy. They said she might not be feeling like herself, and could use a little divine inspiration. When I was told there was a beautiful young woman, crying in the back of my Cathedral, with a baby in her arms, it had to be you. Would you like me to take your confession; or would you like to talk as friends?"

Antonia did not answer his question, she just started talking. "I am falling backwards eminence, and I do not know how to stop myself from continuing in that direction. I am losing my temper and I cannot control the words that come out of my mouth, as I did before. I had control over myself and now I have lost it. I do not know what to do. I don't want to go back to what I was. I was a hateful person and when people laughed, they were laughing at me. Now, when they laugh, they are laughing with me. I don't want to be the person I was. I don't want my son to know that person. I pray so hard for guidance and I wind up doing the wrong thing anyway. I do not want to fail at my marriage. I do not want to fail as a mother. Please eminence, help me."

Bishop Delphini sat down beside her and asked her question after question; each more probing then the last one. His questions put her on the defensive, every time, and Antonia became tenser, having to answer each one.

The Bishop's voice became terse, with her, as he peeled away each layer of her defenses. When he had stripped her soul bare and she was ready to hear the truth the Bishop eased up on her. He asked, "Antonia, I want you to tell me the worst thing that you have done, since you have given birth to Philip."

"I got into an argument with Frank, and even though we were both wrong, I would not back down. I kept arguing and fighting with him for hours, and I would not talk to him for the remainder of the day."

"Did you take the name of your Lord God in vain?"

"No."

"Did you use foul and abusive language?"

"Sometimes."

"Yes or no, Antonia?"

"Yes I did, your Eminence

"You attacked your husband and drew blood?"

"I did not."

"You picked up Philip, and threw him against a wall?"

"Eminence, I would never do that to any child."

"Antonia, my child, excuse my use of the vernacular, but you need to get laid."

Reflexively, Antonia put her hands over PA's ears, so he would not hear what had already said. "What did you say, Eminence?"

"Child, you are so tied up inside, with your self-imposed responsibilities, you have forgotten how to be 19 years old and how to have fun. Since our last talk, you have decided to go from a devil to a saint. That was not what our discussion was about. I asked you to become 'pleasing in the eyes of Our Lord God.' I did not ask you to 'Become Our Lord God.' I admire the way you have handled yourself, and changed to the person you are today. However, you have let the pendulum swing too far. It is now time for you to let your body heal from the extraordinary experience it just went through. When it has, you must learn how to become a happy, 19-year-old, young woman again. We are all sinners; some are worse than others. We have confessionals for that reason. You must find the happy medium, between what you were before, and what you have made yourself now. You are allowed to beat Frank up, as long as you do not kill him. When he is wrong, you can argue with him as much as you want. When you are wrong, you can be obstinate, but remember, you are still wrong and you should admit it. You go to college every day. There are young women there your age. They may not be married, or have a baby, but they do know how to have fun. Go out with them and have some fun. If they ask you to double date with them, explain what Frank looks like, before you accept their invitation. If their boyfriends see Frank, they will start running away, and will not stop, until they hit the Adriatic. Bring Philip to class with you one day, and watch how the young women react to him. You will find out who may want to be your friends, and who wants no part of you."

Bishop Delphini took PA, from Antonia, and said to him, "Young man, has anything interesting happened in your life lately? Have you changed your living arrangements? Little one, have your eating habits changed? Have you severed one attachment to your mother; and formed another one?"