Gloria know that, you know. And I certainly don’t blame you for—”
“Miriam!”
Miriam jumps, turning again to run toward Travis. “Travis!” she says, running to where he is unloading more chairs from the back of a truck parked near the gazebo. “Travis! The baby is coming!”
“What?” Gloria says, snapping her head up from a conversation with Betty Grimshaw from Betty’s Bakery about a delivery of baked goods this afternoon. “Everybody get out of the way!”
“Nobody’s in the way, Gloria,” Miriam says, running back to Lauren.
Travis reaches Lauren’s side and puts his arm around her waist. “I’ve got you. The baby’s really coming,” he says, breathless and smiling.
“The baby’s cooomiiing,” Lauren says, her face grimacing in pain.
Andrea and her husband, Bill, honk as they pull up to a spot near the gazebo. As they get out of the car to begin helping at the fund-raiser, they stop when they see both Gloria and Miriam waving their arms like air traffic controllers. “Get back in the car!” Gloria yells. “Take Lauren to the hospital!”
Andrea sees Travis and Dalton helping Lauren across the town square, and she runs to the back car door, opening it. “Come on!” she says, waving them on.
The entire setup crew of Gloria, Miriam, Amy, Gabe, Stacy and her son, Ben, and Heddy rush to the car to help Lauren inside. “Gloria, I’m so sorry…” Lauren screams again as Travis helps her into the car.
“Sorry nothing!” Gloria says. “We’ve got everything under control here. We love you, babe! Andrea, call us as soon as the baby comes!”
And with that, Bill backs out of the parking space and heads for the hospital.
“The baby is coming early,” Gloria says, watching the car. She turns to look at Miriam, scowling. “What did you do?”
* * *
Gloria, Miriam, Dalton, Heddy, Gabe, Amy, and their daughter Maddie, and Stacy and her son, Ben, hurry through the hospital hallway, leading to the maternity ward. Andrea and Bill are waiting at the nurses’ station in the middle of the ward. “How’s Lauren?” Gloria says, rushing to her.
“She’s doing great!” Andrea says.
“A baby girl!” Gloria squeals, clapping her hands together. She realizes how loud she is and shushes herself, putting her index fingers to her lips in front of the nurses. “I’m so sorry! I’m just a proud grandmother who can’t wait to see her grandchild!”
“Whatever her name is,” Miriam says drily, looking at Andrea. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t tell us the baby’s name.”
Andrea holds her hands out in front of her in a shrug. “I don’t know the baby’s name! She wanted to wait until all of you got here.”
“Oh, come on!” Gloria says, tugging on Miriam’s arm. “No time to squabble! Take us to our granddaughter!”
Andrea and Bill lead all of them to a room at the end of the hall, where Lauren is propped up on the bed, holding a bundle of pink in her arms. “Theerre sheee iiss,” Gloria says, drawing out each word in a high-pitched drawl. “Have you ever seen a child so beautiful?” she asks the group, all craning their necks to see.
“Her face is kind of blotchy!” Maddie says, making everyone laugh, and Gabe puts his hand over her mouth.
“The doctor said that won’t last long,” Lauren says, grinning at Maddie. “Somebody tell me how the fund-raiser went!”
Gloria scoffs. “We will not say a word until you tell us this angel’s name.”
Lauren holds the baby tighter. “Not until you tell me how it went.”
“We raised more money than any other year, thanks to Ben’s great idea!” Stacy says. Ben looks sheepish, smiling.
“What idea?” Lauren asks, looking up at Ben.
“For ten dollars, people could guess if you were having a boy or a girl,” Stacy says. “We raised an extra $2,600!”
“But most people thought you’d have a boy,” Ben says, a bit disappointed.
“But they’ll be delighted to meet…” Gloria says, hinting that she wants to know the name of the baby.
“Glory,” Lauren says, beaming.
Gloria’s mouth drops open and Miriam gasps. “Glory?” Miriam says, confounded. “This sweet child has to go through life with the name Glory?”
“Actually, it’s Gloria Miriam. We’ll call her Glory,” Travis says, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Tears fill both Gloria’s and Miriam’s eyes. “I bet you don’t have anything to say now, do you?” Gloria says to Miriam.
“Oh, be quiet, Grandma,” Miriam says, serenely defeated. “A child named after us! I never would have imagined. A perfectly beautiful baby girl.” She sighs in happiness. “Gloria Miriam! Welcome to Grandon, little one.”
“And while you’re home