Forever Yours
PART V
"Finally, our new brain needs a purpose. A purpose is expressed as a series of goals. In the case of our biological brains, our goals are established by the pleasure and fear centers that we have inherited from the old brain. These primitive drives were initially set by biological evolution to foster the survival of species, but the neocortex has enabled us to sublimate them. Watson’s goal was to respond to Jeopardy! queries. Another simply stated goal could be to pass the Turing test. To do so, a digital brain would need a human narrative of its own fictional story so that it can pretend to be a biological human. It would also have to dumb itself down considerably, for any system that displayed the knowledge of, say, Watson would be quickly unmasked as nonbiological."
— Ray Kurzweil, How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed
58
Hey, Dad
HENRY BARELY MADE IT to the birth center in time. As soon as he got the message, he stood and ran out of the room. Luke explained to the meeting that this was good news.
Henry got scrubbed and Jackie pushed him into the birth room where Chastity was with his wife, coaching her with the breathing they’d learned. Henry rushed to Lisa’s side and she immediately gripped his hand, nearly crushing it as another contraction hit.
“That’s good. We’re ready to push,” the midwife said. “When the next one hits, let’s go with it. Ready?”
It was only a few seconds when the contraction hit again and Lisa groaned as she pushed.
“That’s good. We’re making steady progress. Your little one wants out of there!”
The next contraction was a minute later and Lisa screamed out as she pushed, clutching Henry’s hand even harder. He winced in pain but wisely didn’t say anything. Chastity was breathing with Lisa.
“Puff, puff, puff. Now deep breath. Another deep breath. Ready?”
“And push,” the midwife said with the next contraction. “I see her head. Come on, Dad. It’s time to catch your baby.”
Lisa gave Henry a push and he moved between her legs where he could see the head of his child emerging. It was all a blur from that point for both Henry and Lisa. Chastity was lost in encouraging her lover as Henry held the baby emerging from the birth canal.
“She’s beautiful!” he gasped as he felt her weight fully in his hands.
The midwife quickly checked to be sure her nose and mouth were open and that the little one was breathing, then pointed Henry to Lisa. He carried the baby to Lisa who pulled the sheet down and he laid the infant on her chest.
“She’s so wonderful!” Lisa cried. “Look! She’s got blue eyes and curly hair.”
“She’s perfect,” Chastity said.
The baby already had a grip on one of Chastity’s fingers as she searched around for something to suck on.
“You’re not going to get much out of there yet,” Lisa said as the baby started sucking on her nipple.
“I need one more big push and then we can cut the cord. Ready? Here comes the last of it.”
Lisa didn’t even moan as she pushed out the afterbirth. She was too caught up in the miracle that was her daughter. The midwife handed Chastity the scissors and held the cord in the correct place for the cut.
“Oh, my!” Chastity cried. “I get to free you, little one. There! You’re no longer tethered to the inside.”
“Mommy and Mommy and Daddy are right here with you, sweetheart,” Lisa said. She was still panting a little. Everything had been such a rush job. It had only been three hours since labor started!
“Do we have a name for this little girl?” the midwife asked.
The three looked at each other. Lisa and Henry nodded. Chastity broke out in a broad grin.
“Her name is Cassie Benoit Pascal,” Henry announced to the room.
The door to the room was opened and Jackie and Sylvia were allowed into the room, just in time to hear the announcement.
“My maiden name!” Jackie exclaimed, rushing to the side of her daughter.
Lisa showed the baby to her grandmothers, but didn’t let go of her.
“Where does the name Cassie come from?” Sylvia asked. “It’s so pretty.”
“Castitas is the Latin root of Chastity. We decided Cassie was the nicest variant,” Henry said. “After all, Chastity is her other mommy.”
“A little bit from everyone,” Sylvia smiled.
“Okay. If little Cassie has had enough of Mommy One’s tit, it’s time for Mommy Two to learn to bathe a baby,” the midwife said after measuring the six pound-nine-ounce baby and clearing the birthing things away.
The family had enough time to admire the new addition and Lisa had only given up possession long enough to let the midwife record the baby’s weight and nineteen-inch length. Chastity gave Lisa a loving kiss and took Cassie from her. The birth room included a bathing station, so no one had to go far. The grandmas followed Chastity and Cassie to the bath and gave ‘helpful’ hints as she was shown how to cleanse the vernix from the newborn.
Henry took the time to hold his wife and kiss her gently.
“Hey, Dad,” Lisa said softly. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
“As long as you and Chastity are with me, I can face anything,” he said. “Almost. I’m still not sure I can handle the IPO next week. I think I’ll just stay home with you and our girls.”
“Proposition accepted,” Lisa sighed.
Once Cassie had been bathed and swaddled, the grandmothers were allowed to hold her for a few minutes, but pretty soon, Lisa wanted her daughter back. Colostrum had begun leaking from her breasts and she immediately let Cassie suck until she went to sleep.
The midwife left and told them the room was theirs until morning when their pediatrician would be in to check on the baby and approve her release. It was a major handoff from the obstetrician to the pediatrician.
While they chatted quietly, Henry took over the job of texting everyone about the birth. The first to receive word were Ryan, Bill, Beau, and Solange. He didn’t neglect calling the Hartmans in Cincinnati, Lisa’s other grandparents. Then he sent texts to Luke and Isobel before sending a general email to all the office.
Eventually, Ryan showed up and Henry realized Germaine was still in the lobby. He ran down the hall to invite them in to meet the baby. They were quietly monitoring traffic in and out of the birth center, maintaining their watchfulness.
Finally, people began leaving until only Chastity, Henry, and Lisa were left with their new daughter. Free of all the people, the three held each other and Cassie and quietly let the tears flow from their eyes. They were so pleased with their family.
Of course, the staff at the birth center didn’t let them just lie in bed. Lisa needed to get up and walk around. She’d had a natural birth, so there were no tubes or wires attached to either her or Cassie. They walked to a small dining room where they were served a good meal and were then allowed to return to the room, which had been changed and made up for the night instead of for the birth. There was a cradle next to the bed. They’d need to decide later whether they slept with the baby in their bed or if she would be in the cradle.
Chastity intended to leave and go home, so she wouldn’t wake up in the same bed or room. Eventually, though, she couldn’t bring herself to go.
“I might have to… um… slip out early in the morning, but I can’t bring myself to leave my beautiful family,” she said.
“You know you are always welcome for as long as you can stand it,” Lisa whispered, kissing her girlfriend.
“I’m getting better,” Chastity said. “I don’t wake up in a panic most mornings. Just… if I go off the deep end in my sleep, push me out of bed.”
“We love you, Chas,” Henry said. “I’m so glad you are part of our family.”
All three new parents stripped off their clothes and pushed into the small but comfortable bed. The birthing rooms were set up like residential bedrooms and most fathers stayed with new mothers overnight. Cassie was in the cradle next to Henry’s side of the bed and he would be the one to get up in the night if Cassie cried.
After the pediatrician visited on Friday morning, the family checked out of the birth center. Germaine was there with the larger van from the company to take the family and all the items they’d brought with them home.
Once at the row house, Sylvia and Jackie took charge of the family and made sure they were all settled in their suite. They made lunch and got to hold little Cassie while the three ate.
“How are you feeling, baby girl?” Jackie asked her daughter.
“Oh, Mom. Your baby has a baby!” Lisa responded. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Yes, she is. But now I’m more concerned about my baby. Your delivery was fast, but sometimes that can be more exhausting for a mother than a birth that takes days.”
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Lisa said. “I’m tired, I guess, but still filled with a kind of euphoria. Cassie drank her fill from me this morning. I can’t believe I’m feeding a human being from my breasts!”
“Do you have a pump?” Sylvia asked.
“A pump?”
“If she’s eating heartily, you’ll increase your production. Then you’ll end up having to pump any time she doesn’t finish things up. It’s also handy to put in bottle bags for emergencies and times when you aren’t available to nurse her. You know, you might want to take Chas to a movie and leave Cassie with Henry,” Sylvia concluded.
“You mean she won’t be attached to a nipple 24/7 for the next eighteen years?” Lisa laughed. “Henry, love, I think we need more things from Baby Landing. And have we asked them to start the diaper service?”
“I called about diapers this morning before we left the birth center,” Chastity said. “First delivery should be here about three o’clock.”
“I think she’ll do okay with the disposables until then,” Lisa said.
“You’ll be glad to throw that first poop outside in the trash bin after it’s been triple bagged!” Sylvia said. “Meconium stinks.”
“No! My baby will produce something that doesn’t smell like roses?” Henry said in feigned shock.
They chatted and drew up a list of things they simply hadn’t thought of before the birth. Henry headed out to the baby store to do some shopping, knowing in advance he would buy twice the number of things that were on the list.
Late Friday afternoon, Ryan picked Bill up from the airport and the two drove to the row house so Lisa’s father could meet his granddaughter. Jackie and Sylvia had worked together to fix a healthy family dinner for seven people. Lisa provided the food for Cassie.
They were all tired early on in the evening. Sylvia and Ryan went home. Jackie and Bill went to the second bedroom in Chastity’s suite and the three parents settled in the third-floor master suite with a bassinet next to the bed. This time, Chastity didn’t make it through the night and slipped down to her own bedroom before midnight.
Henry got up about two in the morning to bring a fussy Cassie to Lisa to be fed. Lisa hardly woke up as the baby sucked greedily on her breast. When she was finished, Henry collected her and bounced her gently in his arms until she had a most unladylike burp. He’d remembered to throw a colorful burp cloth over his shoulder, so he didn’t feel he needed to take a shower. He changed her diaper and gently laid her back in her cradle where she slept until about six. Then she alerted the family that she was hungry again.
Having Bill and Jackie staying for the weekend was a good choice. Bill was up early and had breakfast made when the family came downstairs around eight. They had started out and then retreated to put clothes on. Chastity had almost been caught by Bill when she left her bedroom to rejoin the family. She quickly pulled on a robe.
“Hey, Boss-dad,” Lisa said to her father. “How much leave do I get to be with my baby? I never thought to ask before we launched.”
“Leave?” Bill asked. “You mean time off?”
“Leave. Not time off. Don’t employees usually get some kind of leave to bond with their babies?”
“Hmm. Did you ever respond to that last request Thursday morning?” Bill asked severely. “We have developers waiting for that status report.”
“Um… I started it. It’s probably still open on my computer upstairs. Are you serious? I just had a baby!”
“And you didn’t take a minute of maternity leave before she arrived,” Bill said. “I think, according to the FMLA, that qualifies you for up to twelve weeks of family leave. I think that comes out to sometime in mid-October. I suppose about a month after your twenty-third birthday. You should be more mature by then.”
“Three months? Wow! That’s great! I really didn’t want to video conference while I was breast feeding. I know some of those guys would be distracted,” Lisa laughed.
“Yes. Well, it’s really a means for employers to maintain productivity and eliminate such distractions. Of course, if you want to come back to work earlier than that, it’s your option. You might get sick of sitting around the house with your husband, wife, and daughter,” Bill laughed.
“Husband?” Henry said perking up. “Chastity, do we have a parental leave policy?”
“Oh. Yeah. You get the same thing if you want it. I don’t. According to policy, I’m not part of the family unit. I’ll have to take vacation time if I want to stay with you. Or an unpaid leave,” Chastity said.
“Well, after two weeks, FMLA allows for the remainder to be unpaid leave,” Bill said. “It’s not so different.”
“Let’s give this some thought,” Henry said. “It sounds like the three of us need to coordinate time off in the next few months.”
Neither Henry nor Chasity returned to the office in the next week. Jackie and Bill went back to Louisiana Sunday afternoon. Henry was surprised to find how easily he could ignore the impending IPO when he was holding or even looking at his daughter and wives.
When Bill and Jackie left town, they were informed that Beau and Solange would be arriving the next weekend for a visit. The three parents wanted as much time with their daughter as possible. They did, however, entertain Luke, Isobel, and Paul on Tuesday evening.
“She’s so tiny!” Isobel said, hefting her five-month-old son. She handed the boy off to Henry who was amazed at how heavy he was compared to his newborn daughter.
“Well, Paul would have made nearly two of Cassie when he was born!” Lisa said. “She was six pounds-nine and nineteen inches when she was born. Long and skinny. I think she’s going to put on weight pretty quickly. The pediatrician is coming to do an in-home health check on Friday.”
“I couldn’t even pick Paul up for nearly two months,” Isobel said. “I was always afraid my insides would fall out the incision site.”
“That was more literal than it sounded,” Luke said. “She was limited to maximum lifting of ten pounds for three weeks. Paul was almost twelve pounds when he was born.”
“And look at you!” Isobel continued, pointing at Lisa. “You’ve already lost all your baby weight! I hate you! It took me three months of constant exercise and dieting before I could pack my fat ass into my old clothes!”
“Didn’t stop her from buying new clothes,” Luke chuckled quietly, accepting his son back from Henry.
“Oh, I still have a few pounds to shed,” Lisa said. “I’m not trying all that hard. It will drop when it drops.”
“Let’s eat,” Chastity said, putting a large tuna noodle casserole on the table.
She couldn’t even take credit for having made it. Sylvia and Jackie had made up several dishes and left them in the freezer for the family. All of the pre-made meals would serve at least eight people. They’d have leftovers the next day.
“This is… posh,” Isobel said, trying to be kind about the plain fare.
Luke put Paul in his carry-seat and gave him a bottle.
“Well, there’s good news,” Luke said. He lifted his glass of sparkling water. “The IPO is fully subscribed. That means we should get a good price for our shares when the market opens at nine in the morning.”
“Hmm. We’re putting up four million from the LLC, right?” Henry asked. “What’s Argos planning to put up?”
“According to Dale, they will put up all their preferred shares. That’s twenty million. They’ve decided to keep their voting shares until the paving project is complete. Everyone should be aware, though, that we’ll each have to pay taxes on around $15,000,000 in profit. Rachel hired an accountant experienced in this who is handling the tax filing for everyone who is selling shares,” Luke said.
“Who else is selling?” Chastity asked.
“Well, everyone who has vested stock options is putting at least some of them on the market. That’s only going to be about another million shares combined,” Isobel said.
“That means we stand a chance of maintaining a solid controlling interest,” Henry said. “Good.”
“The underwriter says there are two investors who have subscribed to ten million shares each. We may need to expand the board. We won’t know who the investors are until after the broker releases the statement for the report.”
“Okay. I’m not paying any more attention to the IPO,” Henry said. “Let me know if the price hits $50 a share.”
“Yeah, right,” Isobel scoffed.
“Hey, you haven’t been in the office this week to test the upgrades the Alice group made to Deena. She’s great. Everyone in the office has interacted with her. She’s got the first real personality we could say one of the holograms have had,” Luke said.
“Horrid thing,” Isobel said. “She’s spookier than ever. Sounds like a person but looks like a ghost. Sell her to the happiest place on earth.”
“Let’s talk about babies,” Lisa said, bringing the business conversation to an end.
Around two in the morning, Henry was feeling restless. Cassie had been fussy, even after being fed, burped, and changed. He’d sat for nearly half an hour in the rocking chair, just cooing at her and trying to let her hear the comfort in his voice until she finally went back to sleep.
Chastity was holding Lisa in bed, sweetly cuddled together. Henry left the room quietly and went upstairs.
He turned on his computer and settled into a chair before launching his father’s singularity. The team had done a lot of work on the program over the early summer and it was now limited as to how much it could make up. However, his father continually added content as he thought about it. It was a pretty rich program.
“Hey, Dad,” Henry typed. “Did you sing any lullabies to me when I was a baby?”
He turned on the audio when he saw his father’s image take shape on the screen.
“You were a bit of a fussy baby,” his father began. “You liked to dance, though. At first, I played music in the living room and danced to it, but it disturbed your mother. So, I started making up music that I could hum or sing quietly without disturbing her sleep. There was a little nonsense song that was pure monotony. It always seemed to work to get you back to sleep. Let me see. It went,
I’ve been everywhere
And I’ve done everything
And I’ve met everyone whose name begins with A
Including Alice, and Allen, and Audrey, and Anne.
I’ve been everywhere
And I’ve done everything
And I’ve met everyone whose name begins with B
Including Betty, and Bobby, and Billy, and Brenda.
“You get the idea. Just keep going through the alphabet and list all the names you can think of for each initial. If the baby isn’t asleep by then, switch the order. Start with ‘done everything’ and ‘met everyone’ and then list all the places you can think of that begin with the initial letter. I think there was only one time I got all the way through the third cycle before you were asleep.”
“Gosh, Dad. It still puts me to sleep,” Henry laughed.
“Me, too,” replied the avatar.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
