Read Online Christmas in Paris (A Master Chefs Series Standalone Novel) by Kailin Gow - Free Book Online Page B

her side,” Errol said.
    Beaming,
Taryn held his hand as she was wheeled into the operating room.  Errol was
instructed to stand on the other side of the small sterile drape that was set
between Taryn’s face and her belly.
    Taryn
looked up at Errol’s face, but when she felt the sensation of a hand on her
belly, she gasped.  “Wait,” she shouted.  “Wait!  I can feel that.  I can feel
that.  The anesthetic didn’t work.”
    “Don’t
worry, Madame King.  You’ll feel a little bit of pressure every once in a
while, but you won’t feel any pain, I promise you.”
    Errol
frowned and gripped her hand.  “Don’t worry, babe.  They know what they’re
doing.”
    Taryn
sighed and closed her eyes, anticipating great pain, but as the doctor
proceeded, she indeed felt nothing.
    “And
now you’re going to feel a light pulling sensation,” Dr. Dupré said.  “Now…
now… and… here we go.”
    Moments
later a baby’s cry rang out.
    “Oh,”
Taryn said.  “My God.  Can I see my baby?”
    The
doctor clipped the umbilical cord and clamped it off before handing the baby to
the nurse.
    Instead
of being brought to her, the baby was carried to the other side of the room.
    “I
want to see my baby,” Taryn said.
    “Let
me close you up first,” Dr. Dupré said as she continued to work on Taryn.  “In
the meantime, they’ll clean your newborn up.”
    “Is
everything all right?” Taryn cried out, feeling a frantic and desperate need to
see her baby.
    “We’re
just making sure that everything is as it should be.”
    “And?”
Errol said, his anxiety showing as well.  “Is everything as it should be?”
    “The
pulse is a little weak, but she’ll be fine,” the nurse said.
    “She’ll?”
Errol said in wonder.  “We have a little girl?”
    “That’s
right.  I’m just going to suction her nose and mouth, get her all nice and dry
and bring her right to you.”
    Taryn
smiled despite the overwhelming fatigue that suddenly took hold of her.
    “We
have a daughter,” Errol said with a beaming grin.
    “We
have a daughter,” she echoed with a tired smile.
    “And
here she is,” the nurse said as she finally brought her to them.
    Bundled
up tight in a soft pink blanket, their newborn was handed to Errol who looked
at the tiny form with love and awe.
    “She’s
so small, so absolutely tiny,” Errol said.
    “Enjoy
it while it last,” the nurse said with a smile.  “Before you know it she’ll be
going off to college.”
    “Never,”
Errol said with a laugh.  He leaned over to show her to Taryn.
    “Have
you guys thought of a name yet?” the doctor said.
    Errol
looked at Taryn.  “We’d quickly thought of Laurence for a girl and William for
a boy, but…”  Other than tossing a few boy and girl names around, they hadn’t
really discussed it.
    “Look
at that face,” Taryn said.  “She doesn’t look like a Laurence.”
    “You’re
right,” Errol said.  “So what does she look like?”
    “She’s
our miracle baby,” Taryn said after a thoughtful moment.  “A Parisian baby.”
    “A
baby born in a country that is proud of its equality, fraternity, and liberty.”
    Taryn
liked the sound of that and looked at him expectantly.
    “How
do you feel about Liberté?” Errol said.
    Taryn
smiled.  “I love the sound of that.  It sounds so perfect.  Absolutely
perfect.”  She looked up at her daughter.  “What do you think about that,
Liberté?”
    The
tiny newborn puckered up and sucked on her fist.
    “Isn’t
she the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen,” she said as she reached out to
run a finger along the tiny, little cheek.
    “Congratulations,”
the nurse said.  “Things could’ve been a lot more complicated than they were.”
    “My
little girl,” Taryn said as she yawned. “You kept Mommy going, you know. I was
so tired trying to run from the stadium that there were so many times I just
wanted to sit down and give up, but the thought of you and protecting