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“St. Maria’s Hospital, please. Private Maternity Ward.” The elder man instructed, easing himself into the personal taxi.
“Right away, Mr. Speedwagon.” The chauffeur replied.
It was times like this that he remembered that his joints weren’t quite what they used to be; perhaps if he had been skilled in Hamon, it’d have been a different story. Either way, the wistful thinking wasn’t getting Speedwagon into the car any quicker. He ignored the creaking pain in his bones and settled into his seat; ultimately too eager for his end location to care. He could barely hide the excitement on his wrinkled face. While he disliked thinking of such things; the man never envisioned that he’d be around quite long enough to see his adopted grandson, Joseph, become a father. Speedwagon thought him much too impulsive, immature and extravagant, entirely unlike his grandfather, who in contrast would have made a doting father.
He’d been visiting a Speedwagon Foundation facility site a few states over when Joseph’s wife, Suzie Q, had gone into early labour. Unfortunately, Speedwagon hadn’t heard the news in time for there to be a chance of him getting back to New York in time for the birth. Although it upset him greatly, he was more relieved that the child had been delivered safely and was both healthy and strong, even if somewhat small. Suzie Q, on the other hand, had had to have a few stitches and near enough broke two of the digits on Joseph’s metal arm, which would have to be entirely replaced. Typically, men weren’t allowed in the delivery rooms of hospitals, but seeing as Speedwagon technically owned the hospital as an extension of his company, Joseph was essentially given free run of the place. With the news of the birth, Speedwagon had also been told that the child was a beautiful little girl. All three had needed to remain in the hospital for a few days while Suzie Q’s stitches had started to heal over, and so the newborn could be monitored due to her small size and low birth weight. Although she’d only been born a few weeks prematurely, it still made a difference to her body mass. Both Erina and Joseph had called Speedwagon to say that he should finish his business over at the facility before coming back to New York, and with a heavy heart, he did just that since it’d have been a waste of everyone’s time had be gone back early.
The taxi ride seemed to carry on forever as the car slowly edged closer and closer to the hospital. To welcome the new member of his family into the world, the male came bearing gifts for both the mother and child. While he was sure Joseph would complain about his lack of gift, it’s not as though he did that much to assist in the situation of his daughter’s birth. For the newborn, Speedwagon purchased a small silver bracelet that was to be engraved with her full name, birth date and christening date. While for Suzie Q, he brought a bouquet of flowers; peach roses, more specifically. He took a moment to briefly think of Joseph, and wondered whether fatherhood would mature him as a person, and whether he had been a steady enough father-figure in Joseph’s life for him to be able to replicate that for his daughter. In all honesty, the thought of Joseph being a father was potentially what frightened him most; he seemed the type to misplace a toddler, or perhaps worse, stumble over one while not watching where he was going.
Both a blessing and a curse, the taxi door opening pulled Speedwagon from his thoughts – A beaming young man, who appeared undoubtedly nervous in the face of his boss, appeared standing outside of the door.
“Right this way, Mr. Speedwagon. I’m with the foundation working at this hospital, I’ll be showing you to the Joestars room.” He gestured to help the elderly man out the car, but instead ended up holding the roses.
Speedwagon got out of the car himself, steadying his posture on the door before letting the young man lead the way. The hospital was really of the highest quality: It was spotless, welcoming and void of any sort of intimidating mechanical devices. He was glad that, despite the early labour, Joseph had managed to get Suzie Q to this hospital in particular; he’d have been grieved should the new Joestar descendant be born in unsafe or unhygienic conditions, it was simply improper for such a lineage and he would have felt partially responsible for that.
The corridors were long and winding, Speedwagon was grateful for the elevator to take them to the top or else his heart surely would have not lasted the staircases. While ascending, there was a knot of uneasiness in his gut; perhaps it was anxiety. He thought of the child, specifically her weakened state and was already wrought with fear for her. She had lost both her grandfather and her great-grandfather to peculiar circumstances, even her father had barely escaped death by the skin of his teeth. What ailments were going to hinder the advancement of her small life? What evil-spirited being was going to stand betwixt this young Joestar and-
“Can you say ‘Daddy?’ or ‘Papa’?” A giddy, familiar voice resounded at the opening of the elevator; followed by numerous gargling baby-like sounds.
“Joseph, you do realise they don’t speak at this age, right? She’s far too young.” Joseph’s grandmother, Erina commented shortly after.
“There’s no harm in her learning early, then she’ll be as smart as her papa!” Her remarked again, evidentially already proud of the young child, despite her not actually doing anything out of the ordinary. She was only a few days old at best, after all.
“Don’t shout! You’ll make her cry.” Erina whispered violently, followed by the sound of a light thud that could be heard even from where Speedwagon was standing outside the door.
He knocked on the side of the wooden door frame lightly before stepping in and greeting them.
“Pardon my intrusion, and forgive me for not coming sooner.” He whispered at the two as they in turn greeted him warmly. The newborn was nothing but a bundle of pale yellow blankets with an embroidered ladybird peeking out of the corner, almost entirely encased between Joseph’s thick arms and his chest. Suzie Q had been wheeled out of the room for her bath before his arrival, since her stitches needed to be kept clean, and she’d be back soon, Joseph informed him. Of course, while he was concerned for Suzie Q’s health and wellbeing, Speedwagon couldn’t help but give in to the excitement and desperation he had been harbouring to meet the child.
“So, who’s this lovely little lady?”
“This is Holly, a lovely name for my lovely little girl. She’s rather pretty despite the wrinkles an-“ Joseph cut off his own sentence by cooing into the blankets, it was plain to see that he was smitten with the child; it was nothing but complete adoration. Speedwagon realised that his worries had been for nought, and he wondered to himself if that love extended to dirty nappies; only time would tell as he knew the boy hadn’t the stomach for such duties. Speedwagon moved to take the seat next to Erina and greeted her again, asking how her day was while setting the flowers he had brought onto the side table for Suzie Q to take whenever she returned, and further apologised for his late-coming.
“Nonsense,” Erina responded, “You’re family, we’re glad you’re with us at all. Besides, you’re not the last one here. Smokey’s still waiting for the chance to visit; as expected, he’s also tied up with work, and Elizabeth only managed to get here yesterday evening,” she reassured him before addressing her grandson in a soothing tone: “Here, Joseph, let him hold Holly.” She held out her hand for him who in turn seemed reluctant to release the bundle, clearly wanting to keep her to himself. Eventually, however, Joseph did relinquish the child into Speedwagon’s outstretched arms.
Suddenly, a face appeared from within the bundle: With a small button nose, a pink heart shaped mouth and soft strands of hair the colour of soft wheat milk too. The elder man was instantly humbled by the lightness and fragility of Holly, he couldn’t recall holding a child so small since the first time he had held her father in his arms. It was certainly true that the early birth had affected the size of this meek child; she was quiet and motionless, aside from the occasional breath or yawn. No doubt, the blanket was to keep her warm. With one finger, he touched the side of her cheek ever so gently and slowly, almost afraid of hurting her soft skin. To his surprise, Holly opened her eyes in response to his touch and Joseph rushed behind the man’s shoulder to also witness the spectacle, immediately interjecting, “Woah! I didn’t know kids opened their eyes so early!”
“Joseph, you’re shouting again,” His grandmother scolded, reminding the male that he was, in fact, in a hospital and should behave accordingly. “Besides, a newborn child is not like a dog.” She was slightly unnerved by how little the new father actually knew about children and prayed for her great-granddaughter’s safety.
“We struggled to have you keep your eyes shut, actually.” Speedwagon joined in with the light teasing of Joseph, since it was in good nature “Before I forget, Joseph, reach into my pocket and take the small box out. It’s for Holly, it’ll need to be engraved.” He finished.
The male did as he was instructed, slightly pouting in his ever-childish manner after learning it wasn’t a gift for him. Curious, Speedwagon asked how much she had weighed at birth, and was shocked to learn it was just slightly over five pounds, especially when her father had been tipping the scale at almost eight and a half. It suddenly felt as though there was nothing at all in his arms, and certainly not an entire person. Her sweet eyes were a dull blue, as most newborns were, and he wondered whether they’d change with age. Of course, it’s unlikely they’d deviate too much since her parents had green and blue eyes, but still, the thought resided. They all sat in relative silence for a moment, staring at Holly’s peachy face. That was, until the tiniest wail evicted itself from her lungs. Of course, from her young age, there weren’t any tears with her cry so it seemed a fruitless attempt at a complaint.
“Oh no! Is my little Holly hungry?” Joseph cooed as Speedwagon offered up the child to him, clearly feeling slightly guilty for having her cry in his arms.
“You can feed her if you want. I’m not overly fond of the idea of breast-milk. I-I get that’s it’s natural and all but-“ He shivered, handing the male a pre-prepared bottle in a ridiculously small size, already full of milk. Speedwagon could have guessed that Joseph was, at the very least, interested in the outcome of his wife’s swollen breasts, he wondered no one had had the heart to tell him that said swelling was only temporary. Speedwagon had been right on Joseph’s perpetual squeamishness at such things. He had to admit, he wasn’t so keen on it either, it was an odd concept to him too as he hadn’t had an excessively active role in the parenting of young children.
His hand was a little shaky as he went to adjust the small bundle so she could drink better. Her father came to help by moving her to be more upright while Speedwagon placed the tip of the silicone teat into her mouth. He was perpetually vomited on by both George and Joseph during both of their youths, and he hoped that it wasn’t a tradition that would continue on with Holly. She didn’t so much as suckle on the bottle, more or less just allowing the milk to drip out of it. Babies often have to be taught how to drink properly, so for the moment, he guessed that allowing her to do so as she pleased would be adequate. The feeble attempts of crying soon ceased and the peaceful cooing resumed.
The feeding was slow and drawn-out, and ultimately resulted in Holly only wanting to drink half the bottle, and then throwing up the majority of that onto Joseph’s shoulder as he attempted to wind her. Although Erina insisted that it was only milk she had brought up, Joseph’s face still resembled that of a betrayed, broken man.
Soon after, Suzie Q returned. Her walk was slow and she carried a drip with her; the sudden birth had definitely not been kind to her. The nurse had helped her into the room and onto the bed, where Speedwagon handed her the peach roses he had brought. She accepted them happily, playfully stating she was happy that ‘at least someone’ had been so kind as to bring her a gift, eyeing Joseph.
“I gave you a child!” He retorted. Of course, he’d buy her flowers and shower her with gifts as he usually did, but it didn’t appear as though he’d actually left the hospital since Holly’s birth.
“I’ll think you’ll find that’s the other way round!” Suzie Q gestured to the child he was cuddling.
It was a humorous tableau to see Joseph, a 6’4 mass of muscle, holding a tiny, newborn baby girl while looking so offended. Speedwagon couldn’t help but smile into his sigh, Erina commenting that they’d been this way since the birth. He knew they were going to be alright since this was their usual playful relationship; he was pleased that it had not been changed by the delivery of their child, since it can be overly straining on marriages.
“While you’re up, Jojo, you may as well change her.” She commented, lying down in the bed a bit further. This statement alone seemed to be enough to strike fear directly into the heart of the male, and he froze, making it exceedingly apparent that he had yet to change her himself. Supposedly, Joseph had not pictured fatherhood to be quite so messy and dirt-ridden. He had defeated four pillar men, one being the ultimate being, crashed two planes, and watched a friend die; but was reduced to a shell by the concept of touching another human’s excrement. As ever, Joseph was melodramatic and vocally lamented for the entire procedure, making sure everybody knew that he didn’t want to do it. He got the slightest bit of poop on the top of his hand and screamed a little, as though it was now irreversibly infected. Speedwagon noticed, that Joseph now wore a glove over his metal forearm, assumedly, to not startle Holly with any sort of sudden coldness, lest she fall ill. It also appeared that Joseph hadn’t the slightest idea of how to change a child. So much so that Erina took pity on the idiot and went over to help him, Speedwagon suspected a ploy to get out of doing the dirty work, but at least gave the new father the benefit of the doubt. He then claimed total responsibility and forged confidence in his own ‘skill’ when Holly appeared afterwards; cleaned and re-dressed a soft lavender baby-grow. He even made a show of kissing the top of her head and stating that he could handle of a bit of ‘you-know-what’ if he had to. Everyone in the room sighed in comedic unison at the man.
It was a touching image as a whole, one that Speedwagon held near and dear to his heart. He was happy that the family, his family, that he loved so much had found new hope and joy in the form of sweet Holly. Surely, they had all suffered enough losses. The old man’s eyes watered slightly at the thought, he quickly dabbed the tears away with his handkerchief. He hoped their delights and good-spirits continued on, even when he was no longer there to witness it with them.