“The nurse on the floor will know anything about the case. Stairs to the left, third floor, maternity ward.”
Ed Thatcher held a bunch of flowers wrapped in green waxed paper. The broad stairs swayed as he stumbled up, his toes kicking against the brass rods that held the fiber matting down. The closing of a door cut off a strangled shriek. He stopped a nurse.
“I want to see Mrs. Thatcher, please.”
“Go right ahead if you know where she is.”
“But they’ve moved her.”
“You’ll have to ask at the desk at the end of the hall.”
He gnawed his cold lips. At the end of the hall a redfaced woman looked at him, smiling.
“Everything’s fine. You’re the happy father of a bouncing baby girl.”
“You see it’s our first and Susie’s so delicate,” he stammered with blinking eyes.
“Oh yes, I understand, naturally you worried.... You can go in and talk to her when she wakes up. The baby was born two hours ago. Be sure not to tire her.”