CLASS OF 2000
Chapter Seventeen
July 16, 2000
Within a few hours,
news of the birth and the location of Rose and her newborns had gotten out. The
hospital itself had been discreet, refusing information on the grounds of
confidentiality, but the audience to whom Jack and Rose had spoken the night
before when they had left for the hospital had no such restrictions, and the
news that the Dawson twins had been born in a hospital in Palm Springs quickly
reached the media.
It didn’t take long
for the reporters and photographers from various newspapers, magazines, and TV
shows to find the hospital. Before the hospital staff could prepare for the
onslaught, they crowded the waiting room, demanding information and interviews.
Curious bystanders also joined the crowd, until hospital security had to be
called to remove the milling people so that patients could get in.
Thomas Andrews
finally obtained the use of a conference room to talk to the reporters and
photographers. Disappointed that they couldn’t actually talk to Rose and see
the babies, but looking for any story they could get, they gathered in the
room, shouting questions and demanding to know everything that had happened.
Andrews answered
their questions, telling them the names of the babies, when they were born, and
how much they weighed, assuring them that both mother and children were fine.
When they still demanded more information, he called Jack on his cell phone.
A few minutes
later, Jack arrived in the conference room. The photographers immediately began
snapping pictures of the new father, and the reporters turned their attention
to him, demanding more information.
"How does it
feel to be a father?"
Jack responded,
coming up to a podium and motioning for silence. "It’s wonderful. It’s the
greatest feeling in the world."
"You and your
wife are both so young. Are you sure you’re ready for child-rearing?"
"We’re ready.
We’ve been ready since the moment we knew about the babies. Of course, it won’t
hurt that we’ll have some help from our friends."
As if on cue, Ryan,
Emily, Cole, and Shanleigh barged into the room, flocking up to the podium
where Jack stood.
"It took you
long enough to get here!" he exclaimed, as the photographers began snapping
pictures of the group.
"Hey, it’s a
long drive from Santa Monica to Palm Springs," Ryan told him. "You
only called at six o’clock this morning."
"Was it really
that early? I wasn’t paying attention."
Some of the
reporters laughed, writing down Jack’s every word.
"Where are
Rose and the babies, anyway?" Shanleigh wanted to know.
"They’re in
the maternity ward," Jack said. "I’ll take you up to see them in a
few minutes."
"Mr.
Dawson!" Some of the reporters began to shout for his attention, pleading
to be allowed into the maternity ward to interview the mother and photograph
her and the twins.
At that moment,
there was a commotion from the back of the room. A tall man with graying red
hair entered, accompanied by a young redheaded woman being pushed in a
wheelchair by a nurse. Two infants sent up furious squalls at the clamor.
More cameras
clicked as photographers turned to take pictures of Perry DeWitt-Bukater, Rose,
and the twins.
"Back off!
Back off!" the nurse shouted, motioning back some members of the crowd who
were coming too close. Rose turned the babies from the photographers and put
their heads on her shoulders, trying to soothe the frightened newborns.
Two security guards
followed them in, having far more success in making the crowd back off than the
nurse. Perry took over from her, wheeling his daughter to the podium beside her
husband and friends.
Shakily, Rose got
up, still cradling the twins. Maddy had stopped crying and stared at everyone
with the blank fascination of newborns. Avery continued to whimper until Jack
took him, patting his back soothingly.
As Rose stepped up
to the podium, voices again filled the room, but with the presence so often
remarked upon, she quieted them before they could again frighten the twins. As
the photographers snapped pictures, Rose gave the speech she had prepared for
the press when the babies arrived.
"Maddy
Elizabeth and Avery Thomas Bukater-Dawson were born at 12:15 AM and 12:22 AM,
respectively, on July 16, 2000. Maddy weighed six pounds, seven ounces at
birth, and Avery weighed six pounds, nine ounces."
"Aren’t they a
little smaller than many full-term babies?" a reporter asked.
"Yes, but
remember that they’re twins. Babies in multiple births tend to be
smaller," Thomas Andrews answered for her when Rose looked a little
baffled by the question.
"How do you
feel about being a mother?" another reporter asked Rose.
"I love my
children. Giving birth was hard, but it was a wonderful experience,
anyway--such a miracle. I brought these two tiny children into the
world--though they didn’t seem so tiny when they were being born," she
added, bringing knowing laughter from a few mothers in the crowd.
"Mr. Dawson,
were you present for the birth?"
"He was there
every minute," Rose responded, smiling at Jack lovingly. "Even when I
tried to bite his fingers."
"Good thing
you didn’t try to bite anything else," a photographer muttered, drawing
snickers from those around him.
Rose turned her attention
to her friends. "You guys came!"
"Jack called
Ryan at six o’clock this morning, going on and on about interrupted concerts
and perfect twins. Ryan called the rest of us, and we got here about fifteen
minutes ago."
Rose nodded as her
father spoke up. "Rose called me on my cell phone. Luckily, I was in Palm
Springs on business, so I got here almost right away."
"Where you’ve
been for the past hour, spoiling your grandchildren outrageously," Rose
added as he took Maddy and cuddled her.
"What else are
grandfathers for?" he asked. "Rose, I called your mother. She’ll be
here this afternoon. I also took the liberty of calling Jack’s parents. His
mother should be here in a couple of hours, and his father will be flying in
from New York later today."
"At the Palm
Springs airport?" Jack asked, quietly, so the reporters couldn’t hear him.
"Yes. I told
both Rose’s mother and your father to catch flights to Palm Springs. I’ll pick
them up when they get here."
The reporters were
growing restless as the quiet conversation continued, some trying to sneak
forward to hear what was being said. The security guards were trying to keep
them back when Jack and Rose again turned to the podium.
"We thank you
for taking the time to interview us," Rose told the crowd, taking Avery
from Jack. A few more pictures were snapped. "Now, though, the babies are
falling asleep, and I, for one, have had a long night."
"We’ll be
granting further interviews at a later date, when mother and babies are
rested," Jack added, turning the podium over to Mr. Andrews.
As Mr. Andrews
dismissed the reporters and photographers from the room, Jack helped Rose back
into her wheelchair, walking beside her as the nurse wheeled her back to her
room. Perry and their friends followed close behind, almost blocking the
hallway as they hurried to accompany Rose to her room.
Once there, Rose
nursed the fussing babies, pulling a blanket over herself for privacy. Her
father tactfully left the room, allowing the friends to talk.
"Emily and I
have an announcement to make," Ryan told them, pulling Emily close.
"We’re
engaged," Emily announced, showing her diamond engagement ring.
"You are? Oh,
congratulations!" Rose exclaimed, hugging her friends around an armful of
babies. Cole and Shanleigh stared at the couple on surprise.
"You’re
engaged?" Shanleigh asked, her eyes sparkling. "So are Cole and
I!"
"This is a
time to celebrate," Rose agreed, sitting up. Jack put his arms around her
and the twins.
"Two babies
and two weddings. Who would have thought that the group of friends who got
together at the beginning of senior year would have come this far?" he
said, taking the now sleeping babies from his wife.
"Everything
worked out in spite of ourselves." Emily smiled, embracing Ryan.
As Jack handed the
twins to the nurse’s assistant, the six classmates came together, hugging and
assuring one another that no matter where their lives led them, they would
always be friends.