When my sister named her newborn son Martin, just like mine, I brushed it off as a strange coincidence. But weeks later, after our mother’s sudden death and the shocking reading of her will, I realized Emily had a plan all along — and it began with that name. The corridor outside the delivery room smelled like disinfectant and something else — something older, heavier. It reminded me of fear that had been sitting around too long. The chairs were hard, plastic, and cold even through my coat. I sat beside Jake, my sister’s husband. Our knees nearly touched, but it felt like we were sitting miles apart.
He kept rubbing his palms on his jeans, over and over, like he could wipe away whatever thoughts he was trying not to think. “No screams… maybe things went well?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light. I offered a small smile, but it just hung in the air like a question no one wanted to answer. “Or maybe the opposite,” he said without looking at me, his voice flat. His eyes were stuck to the floor like he was afraid to look up and see something he couldn’t handle. I looked around. The hallway was quiet — a cart rolled by in the distance, one of those metal ones with rattling wheels. I wanted to talk — about the weather, the vending machine that only gave Diet Coke, anything to break the tension.
But Jake wasn’t in the mood. He looked like a man on the edge of something deep and cold. Just then, the door creaked open. A nurse with kind eyes and tired shoulders poked her head out. “You can come in.” Jake and I stood at the same time, but I reached the door first. Inside, everything was too white — the lights, the sheets, even the walls. Machines beeped softly, blinking like quiet little heartbeats. And there she was. Emily. My sister looked like someone who had been to war and back. Her face was pale, lips dry and cracked.
Her eyes had dark circles like she hadn’t slept in a week. But she was smiling, and in her arms was the tiniest thing I’d ever seen — pink, wrinkled, and alive. The baby squirmed softly in her arms, making those little newborn noises, half sighs, half squeaks.Jake gasped and leaned on the wall. His face went pale, and I worried he might hit the floor. I placed a hand on his back and gently nudged him toward a chair. “Men,” I said with a smirk, trying to lift the mood. “Built like trucks, faint like feathers.”
Emily laughed softly as if pushing it out had taken everything she had. She tilted the bundle so I could see him better. My heart clenched. He was beautiful. Small and perfect. A new life, right there in her arms. “He’s beautiful,” I whispered. Emily nodded slowly. “His name is Martin.” I blinked. The air changed — like a breeze had just run through a still room.
