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The maternity ward waiting room at West Valley General Hospital was packed, which wasn’t unusual for the night of a full moon. What was different this evening was the number of uncomfortable chairs being filled by the loved ones of a particular couple: the Lawrence-Diazs.
Amanda LaRusso was there with her husband, Daniel, sitting across from Miguel and Robby. The two step-siblings were trying to be patient while waiting for their parents to make them both big brothers for the first time. The teens pretended to be engrossed in something on their phones, though their bouncing legs and startled responses every time the door opened belied their calm exteriors.
Carmen had asked Amanda to keep an eye on them, as her mother would be with her throughout most of her labor. At least until near the end, which must be getting close, as Rosa had emerged from the labor room to join their little group about forty minutes before.
That could only mean one thing. The birth was imminent, and she’d left Johnny and her daughter alone to share bringing their baby girl into the world together.
Amanda watched as Rosa sat beside her grandson Miguel, exchanging excited glances with the two nervous boys.
The older woman whispered, “Todo estará bien. Tu madre es fuerte.”
“Si, Yaya,” Miguel nodded despite his worried eyes.
“She’s gonna do great,” Robby offered, sounding more hopeful than confident. “Besides, Dad’s with her.”
“Exactamente,” Rosa agreed, bumping her shoulder against Miguel’s until he looked up from his phone and gave her the smile she sought. “Johnny es su roca.”
Soon, Chozen Taguchi entered the waiting room and sat beside Daniel with a stern, determined expression.
“Daniel-san, I have checked the perimeter. All is well,” he said solemnly.
Daniel had never been able to fully talk his Okinawan assassin co-Sensei down from the role he’d assigned himself as their guardian. So, he just bowed his head and said, “Thank you, my friend. I think we’re going to be alright for a while.”
“Can never be too safe,” Chozen insisted, leaving no room for argument.
The man’s watchful eye and dour demeanor warned those who didn’t know him to tread carefully. There was no doubt he could be downright deadly if the wrong enemy crossed him. But Amanda had accidentally caught him one too many times swimming naked in their pool or crying over reruns of The Bachelor to be intimidated by him any longer. In fact, the opposite could be said to be true. Chozen tended to give her a wide berth as if she were the truly dangerous one.
“Amanda-san,” he gave a cautious half-smile as he reached across Daniel and offered her a packet of peanut M&Ms. “Bought from vending machine. Must keep up strength. Could be long night.”
“Oh!” she blinked in surprise before tearing open the seal and offering him some. “Thank you, Chozen.”
“Hmph,” he let out a grateful grunt before helping himself to about half of the bag. “No Sakura Sake KitKats… They don’t know what they are missing.”
Sake KitKats, huh? Maybe not such a bad idea, Amanda considered as the minutes ticked away.
Suddenly, a loud voice shattered the quiet murmur of the waiting room.
“She’s here!” Johnny came bursting through the door, a lovestruck grin practically splitting his face in two.
He wore a v-necked blue scrub top over his jeans. His eyes were red-rimmed and weary, still welling with joyous tears.
The boys got to him first, plowing into Johnny so hard he swayed with the impact. He quickly gathered them both into his arms, kissing them each on the top of the head and laughing, “Congratulations, girl-brothers!”
“Is Mom okay?” Miguel asked, understandably concerned.
“She’s more than okay,” Johnny patted him hard on the back. “She’s a total badass! Came through like a trooper.”
Robby shook Miguel by the arm. “See? I told you she’d do great!”
Miguel nodded, his eyes becoming misty.
Soon, Rosa joined the fray, pushing her way in to give Johnny a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Felicitaciones, Papi. Estoy tan orgulloso de ti.”
Johnny hugged her back, bending to get his arms around her.
“We couldn’t have done it without your help, Rosa,” He closed his eyes and held her tightly for a moment, whispering, “Thank you, Mamá.”
Rosa reached up to wipe a tear from Johnny’s cheek, then turned to give everyone else in the room a chance at the new father.
“¡Un nuevo bebé! ¡Qué día! Dios ha bendecido a nuestra familia…” she said in gratitude.
Daniel swooped in next, holding his hand out to shake Johnny’s, only to be dragged in for a bro-fisted, back-slapping hug that made his dark eyes about pop out of his head.
“Congratulations, Johnny!” he wheezed, the air nearly knocked from his lungs. “Good job.”
“Thanks, man.”
Johnny’s smile seemed permanently etched into his features, as warm as sunshine and nearly as bright.
“I see you earned the scrub shirt. How’d that happen?” Daniel teased, chuckling along with Johnny as he held up a hand to fend off the question.
“Don’t ask.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah,” Johnny winked. “I’ll tell ya about it later.”
Amanda finally cut in to give Johnny a big hug. “Congratulations, Johnny. How’s Carmen? She must be over the moon.”
“She’s great,” Johnny sighed, his expression still filled with wonder. “She was so strong, so… It was amazing.”
Amanda could feel the love that was radiating from the usually hard-as-nails Sensei.
“And what about your baby girl? How beautiful is she?”
“Gorgeous, just like her Mama,” Johnny declared, his blue eyes focussing on the vision still dancing in his head. “She’s gonna be a heartbreaker.”
“Sounds like she’s already stolen yours,” Amanda smiled.
“Definitely,” Johnny nodded, swiping at his eye with the back of his hand.
“When can we see them?” she asked, dying to congratulate Carmen and coo over the new baby.
“Soon,” Johnny promised. “They’re getting everybody cleaned up and settled in. I’ll be out to get you the minute they say it’s okay.”
“We’ll be right here until then,” Daniel said with genuine warmth. “We can’t wait to meet her.”
“That’s good.” Johnny looked between Daniel and Amanda, a crooked grin curling the corner of his lips. “Because she can’t wait to meet her Godparents.”
“Oh, Johnny!” Amanda clapped her hands and stifled a squeal of happiness.
“Really, man?” Daniel asked in surprise. “You’re sure?”
“Hell, yes!” Johnny laughed, giving Daniel a friendly punch on the arm.
Amanda watched the two ex-rivals, once mortal enemies, as they shared the moment now as true friends. It felt like a circle had finally closed. What had been broken some thirty-five years before by circumstance had been healed.
Then, a new thought occurred.
“Have you named her?” Amanda asked, curious to know which of the picks Carmen had mentioned they’d finally settled on.
“Sure have,” Johnny tipped his head back and smiled down his nose like he was delighted with the choice. “Her name is Laura Rosa.”
Amanda's eyes grew misty, knowing that Laura had been Johnny’s late mother’s name. She could hear Carmen’s mother break into tears behind them at hearing her own name mentioned as well.
“That’s beautiful, Johnny,” Amanda said, touching his forearm gently. “I think your Mom would have loved that.”
Johnny nodded, his mouth tightening, holding back a flood of emotion. “I know she would.”
Just then, Chozen stepped forward, giving the newborn's father a polite bow.
“Akachan no tanjō omedetō!” he said, adding, “Congratulations to you and your wife, Johnny.”
“Thanks, Chozen,” Johnny reached out to shake his co-Sensei’s hand. “I’ve got a cigar waiting with your name on it. Maybe us guys will have a toast back at the dojo in a couple days. Okay?”
“I will bring the sake. I know where to get the good stuff,” Chozen promised, smiling at their mutual partner. “Daniel-san, how proud you must be.”
“Yes,” Daniel agreed wholeheartedly. “Being asked to be Godfather is an unexpected gift.”
“And having baby named after you… Such an honor,” Chozen added.
“Huh?” Johnny asked. “I did what now?”
“LaRusso,” Chozen said in his Japanese accent. “Baby’s name. After you, Daniel-san.”
Daniel’s mouth fell open as he and Johnny eyed each other.
Johnny tried again, “It’s Laur-a Ro-sa,” doing his best to enunciate more clearly,
“Yes, I see. Lawr-R-russ-aoh,” Chozen reiterated with a sentimental shake of his head. “Very great honor.”
The look on Johnny’s face was priceless as Amanda watched it dawn on him just how close the two names sounded, especially to a non-native speaker. She worried for less than half a second as a frown crossed the blond man’s face, quickly followed by an arched eyebrow and an annoyed glance at Daniel.
But then he couldn’t seem to stop the chuckle that started somewhere deep in his chest and burst out into a full-throated laugh that had him wiping tears from his eyes once again.
“Well, I guess it’s too late to switch those two names around now,” Johnny surrendered, resting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder as he ribbed him. “Hope it’s okay we did that without asking first, LaRusso.”
“I’ll take it,” Daniel nodded with a knowing grin. “I’ll take the honor in the spirit it was intended.”
Johnny gave Daniel’s shoulder a squeeze. “As it turns out, today? I’m happy to give it, man.”
With that, Johnny’s friends and family surrounded him, holding him up with their good wishes and the love he’d struggled so long and hard to find. Maybe there was such a thing as a happily ever after, Amanda pondered. She only knew she was glad to be a part of it.
The price to get here had been steep for all of them, but looking around and considering the new life waiting to meet them just a few rooms away, it suddenly all seemed worth it.
The truth was, every one of them had been given a chance to begin again. It was time to take it in their hands and run with it into the future - a future that suddenly looked so much brighter than it ever had.