across the wall

I'm sitting in my room in the Birth House apartment (see above), separated by a single wall from the impending arrival of a new human being. Earlier this afternoon, I heard the sounds of mother and father arriving, preceded by the arrival of the midwives, and shortly afterward they all came up the stairs and I heard the sounds of the baby's heartbeat, broadcast into the room by the Doptone. The mother was having some prodromal labour, and so the Birth House fell quiet earlier this evening as everyone left to head into town for a meal. They're back now, and I'm hearing splashes as water fills the deep, glistening, porcelain birthing tub in the corner across the wall. It's thrilling, and my neck-hairs are standing on end in anticipation... While I sleep tonight, I will probably be awakened in fits and starts by the tigress-growls of a woman in labour. And I would rather be here, than anywhere else in the world right now.