in pain.”
“I am.” I nearly double over in agony. “It hurts all the time.”
“It isn’t contractions, is it? Because the baby is due in a couple of days…”
“No, I don’t think so.” I don’t want anyone to worry, least of all me. I can’t have this baby today anyway. I’m not ready, I don’t even have my hospital bag with me, it’s at home. “No, I’m pretty sure this is just Braxton Hicks. I got that a lot before Travis was born.”
My parents are silent for a moment and I can’t help but wonder if they are suffering guilt because they weren’t there then. Much as I tell them not to worry about what happened in the past because we have moved beyond that now, but they still do from time to time.
“I think we need to get to the hospital.” Oh, right. No, they are thinking about right now instead. “I think that this might be more than Braxton Hicks. I’m pretty sure that this pain is due to contractions, and you might be about to have a baby right now. We need to go right away.”
“Mom, I don’t think so,” I reply weakly. “I want to stay and have dinner…”
This is a place that my father suggested, and I know that it isn’t cheap. The last thing that I want to do is waste the chance of a good meal while I can. Plus, I don’t want to ruin this nice time with my parents. I always appreciate every single moment that I get with them.
“Dinner doesn’t matter.” Mom reaches out and holds my hand. “Don’t worry.”
“It’s not that I’m worried…” Ooh, the air has been stripped from my lungs. What the hell is going on. “I just… I don’t need to leave… I’m okay…”
But as she says those words, my resolve starts to weaken. Perhaps she might be right. I don’t want to think about having my baby right now because it isn’t convenient, but when is it ever? This child isn’t going to wait until I am ready. Plus, it might be nice to go through this with my parents here rather than being completely alone. To have them a part of all of this.
“Oh God…” Nope, I can’t put this off any longer. My waters have broken, I can feel the spot between my thighs soaking. “Yep, we need to go to the hospital right now.”
Mom rises me up from my seat and takes control of my body for me. Thank God because I don’t know if I have any control over myself at all. My father takes care of the restaurant bill, presumably with a big tip since my waters broke on their chair, and we get into the car.
All the drive towards the hospital, the pain grips me even harder than before. I don’t quite remember it being this bad before. I don’t remember the pain being this awful with Travis…
“I’m going to call Marc,” Mom suddenly says, reminding me that I am even less alone this time around. I won’t be that sad young girl in the hospital bed alone watching everyone else have their families visit. I will be one of the lucky people with everyone. “He needs to be here.”
I just about hear Mom contact Marc and it sounds like he is about to rush to the hospital to meet us there with Travis with him. He’s going to pull Travis out of school for this day… thank goodness. Because there is no way anyone can tell how long this will take.
“Thank you,” I burst out in between the agony, as soon as I have a chance to speak. “Thank you everyone for being around. For being with me. I prefer this to being alone.”
Mom turns to smile at me, letting me know that it would always be this way from here on out which is good. I wasn’t sure at first, I knew that life was going to be a test for me and my parents to keep in touch, but we have all made an effort to not let things get bad again and it seems like it will always be this way…
“Oh my God, she is beautiful,” Marc gasps with tears in his eyes. “She is perfect. Don’t you think that she is perfect?” He stares at me and grins. “She is just wonderful. I love her so much.”
He might be gushing, but I know exactly what he means. There is a real rush when a child