Video Store Baby

I rent a lot of movies.  I have always been a fan of independent films, and since none of the obscure ones I wanted were available on Netflix, I frequented a video store in town.  I usually get to the store one a week, so I got to know the staff pretty well.  We never talked about personal stuff, but there was one guy in there who was a film buff like me so I got to know him. 

His name was Ryan and he was pretty cute.  He was a sophomore at the local community college and worked at the video store three nights a week to help pay for class.  I first noticed something different in Ryan a few months ago.  Normally a pretty in shape guy, I noticed him developing a little bit of a pot belly.  It’s a funny thing, you don’t really notice changes in people when you see them so often. 

Ryan’s middle continued to grow, and I really didn’t notice.  It wasn’t till he made a comment about this obscure file that we both loved that I realized what was different.  We were talking about how the main character in the film gave birth to a demon that went on to terrorize the town, he patted his belly and said “I hope this one doesn’t turn out to be a demon”.

Like I said we really never talked about personal lives, so he never mentioned who got him pregnant, how far along he was, or what he was having.  I did know that he was working his way through school so he never really took a sick day or a vacation.  He noted that every hour he could get paid was less time he needed to worry about money.  I supposed that his parents weren’t helping him through, and he didn’t want to rely on them to support him.  He must have been a very proud guy, I thought.

The only other time Ryan made mention to his pregnancy was when he mentioned that he would probably be out for a week or two after the kid was born.  We were talking about a release of a small German film we both wanted to see.  He was mad he wouldn’t be here when it got delivered, because he would be out for those 2 weeks.  That was the second week in July.  I suppose he didn’t want to take off any time before, as long as he could work.

I didn’t go to the video store for a few weeks between the middle of June and when I got back from July fourth holiday.  I was looking forward to seeing Ryan and discussing a few movies I had watched at my parent house.  I was also a little interested in seeing how he was keeping up with his pregnancy. 

I felt bad for the kid when I saw him.  He really looked tired.  He was getting bags under his eyes.  I assume that was because the baby wasn’t letting him sleep.  I remember my sister got no sleep at the end of her pregnancy because the baby was always kicking.  Ryan looked exhausted. 

It wasn’t just the not sleeping that was getting to him; it looked like he was about ready to explode.  The baby had grown quite a bit in the last few weeks.  Ryan’s shirt was stretch tight against this full belly.  I could see his belly button had popped since last time I saw him.  His belly looked like it had dropped a little bit deeper in his hips too.

While we were talking, Ryan was putting back videos that had been returned.  It pained me to see this kid struggle to get to a deep squat replacing DVDs on the bottom shelves of the displays.  Getting up from that position was a struggle too.  I offered to give him a hand, but being a proud guy, he refused.  “Its my job.” He said.

I felt bad for Ryan, he was on his feet 8 hours a day, three days a week.  The shop he worked at clearly didn’t care about his condition, as there was no stool for him to sit on.  I would usually come in later on at night towards the end of Ryan’s shift, when the store was about to close, so I always ay him after 6 or 7 hours on his feet.  He would just walk around with his hand pressed to his back.  Occasionally when we were talking the baby would shift or kick and he could rub his swollen belly.  There were a few times I could actually see his stomach change shape in his tight shirt.  That kid must be strong, I thought.

His due date came and went and it was almost the end of July.  The poor kid was miserable.  He wasn’t even able to hold a regular conversation to be because he hurt so much.  His belly continued to drop as the days went buy.  I could see the discomfort in his face as he tried to massage his hips and allow them to spread with the descending baby.  The baby was heavy on his small frame and his back was pulled into an awful arch.  His hands were pressed to his back, or massaging his stretched skin when he wasn’t working on his hips. 

Ryan and I were talking about the weather when something happened.  He began to breathe deeper and secured himself on the counter as he groaned a little bit.  “Hey, are you OK?” I asked.

“Yeah, just a contraction, don’t worry I’ve got a while tho.”

I freaked out a bit when he told me, but he said really needed to finish his shift.  I couldn’t imagine how long this kid had been in labor.  He told me he was just going to call an ambulance if necessary, but he felt like he would have a long labor and be able to finish his shift and get home before he needed to get going.  He explained that because of the size of this kid and the narrowness of his hips, the doctor felt like it would be a long labor.

We hung out at the store watching a video that Ryan had put on the TV.  It was late at night, so there were usually few customers.  During the movie, I think Ryan had a few more contractions.  He didn’t let on about it, but I could see a change in his position and his belly shifting.  He would start to lean on the counter and rock his hips back and forth.  While this was happening, I could see his belly shifting as it contracted.  Ryan would occasionally check the clock on the wall too, I did the same thing. Could these contractions be 10 minutes apart?

As the movie ended, I started to say goodbye to Ryan.  I knew it would be a few weeks before I saw him again, so I wished him luck with everything.  As I was about to walk about the door, I hear him groan loudly. 

I looked back and didn’t see Ryan behind the counter.  When I approached, he was in a deep squat and his pants were wet. 

“Are you OK?”

“Ugghhh, water broke, mmmhhnnn”

I took that as my cue to over sp my bounds as a customer and come to his aide.  I helped him up from the squat and called for an ambulance.  He told me he really didn’t need help, but it was clear he did.

The ambulance came in a matter of minutes.  Honestly I didn’t think they would make it on time.  I got Ryan up to the counter to sit down.  His legs were spread wide as the head drove itself into his opening.  He shuttered as each contraction came.  I’m not sure why but I put my hand on his belly.  I feel like I wanted to sooth him, but also I had never felt a pregnant belly before, let alone, one in labor.

It was weird to feel.  As the contraction came on, it was rock hard.  I can’t imagine how much that hurt him to have his muscles contract like that.  As the contraction waned, I could feel the baby shifting inside.  I bet he didn’t like the contractions any more than Ryan.  Even as the contraction completely left his body, his belly was still firm and full.

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and the paramedics got to Ryan.  They asked him a million questions.  I learned more about his pregnancy from their conversation than in our whole friendship.  He was 8 days past due, 10 lbs baby, contractions were 3 minutes apart and his water broke.

They got Ryan on to the gurney and pulled up his shirt.  I couldn’t believe the belly this kid was lugging around.  It was huge.  He had a ton of stretch marks, showing how big and fast the baby had grown.  His belly button was popped out and stuck up high in the air.  The paramedics felt around his belly and assured him he had some time to go before it was born. 

The last thing I saw was Ryan being wheeled out to the ambulance.  I guess I had to close the store.