The Birth of a Child

By the birth of their daughter he had been rendered useless. It was only with their first child that he had been needed by Nadine as a bulwark between her and the pain. The woman now began to shout and writhe. He reached for her hand, the tan fingers decorated with silver rings, and she crushed his like a vise. She didn't seem to hear the question until she did. Nava started to sweat little beads gathering at her temples. Up close her face was softer, less decided. Cohen searched his mind for the thing to do. What if the baby came now? The baby was coming now, wasn't he?