put an oxygen mask on her. They had opted not to know the baby’s sex so it would be a surprise, only now the blonde in his office was the surprise. They cut the cord and lifted her onto a gurney, while the policeman held the baby, wrapped in a blanket.
“We’re going to take you to the hospital,” the fireman said to her and she nodded. The pain had stopped, but she couldn’t stop crying, and they laid the baby next to her, and covered them both with a blanket.
“He’s beautiful,” Zack said to her as they carried her out. “And I love you. Everything is going to be okay.” She nodded even though she didn’t believe him. She saw the baby nurse and Kendall on the way out, and heard Zack telling her what had happened, but he didn’t tell her why it had happened that way. She hated him for that too. He had ruined everything with that girl on his desk and all the nights he hadn’t come home. She had been such a fool to believe him. She wondered how long it had been going on. She had no proof that he was sleeping with her, but deep in her gut now, she knew he was.
They were in the ambulance then and she looked down at the baby in her arms. He looked so innocent and so sweet and then she had terrible pains again, and Zack held the baby, while the paramedic delivered the placenta, while they raced to the hospital, with the siren shrieking. They were there ten minutes later, and they carried her into the hospital, while Zack followed with the baby. The nurses took over then, and a doctor came to examine her. She thanked the paramedics when they left. She was shaking, and she felt sick. Then they cleaned her up and checked the baby, and the doctor came a little while later and told her everything was fine. But it wasn’t fine. She knew it every time she looked at Zack. It would never be fine again. She wondered now how long he had been cheating on her. Since the beginning? Only recently? For all of her second pregnancy? And the first one too?
“I guess you missed the train this time,” her doctor said, joking with her a little. “You were ready to pop. It went pretty fast. We’ll have to get you in at the first sign of labor next time. The fast ones always get faster. I have one patient who hasn’t made it to the hospital yet with three kids. But everything looks good. The baby weighs eight pounds two ounces, by the way. He’s perfect. Your husband is in the nursery with him now. He’ll bring him back in a few minutes. You can go home tomorrow if you like, or stay a few days. It’s up to you.” Ruby nodded and listened to him, but everything had gone so fast, she felt like she was still in shock, from the morning, the baby, and the fast delivery which had been intense. And knowing that her marriage, and her feelings for Zack would never be the same again.
Zack came back pushing the baby in a bassinet a little while later, and they had given her something for the cramps she was having from her uterus contracting. She was dozing, and she woke up and looked at Zack as he handed the baby to her. They had agreed to name him Nicholas if he was a boy.
“Do you want to hold him now?” a nurse asked her, and since Ruby was woozy, she shook her head. She just wanted to be left alone.
“These emergency home deliveries can be pretty rough,” the nurse said to Zack, and he agreed. Ruby closed her eyes and went to sleep. All she wanted was for this day to end. And to stop loving Zack as soon as possible.
Chapter 18
Everything was different this time. Even the next day. And the recovery. She had terrible cramps the following day, and they gave her something for the pain. Zack came back in the morning. He hadn’t spent the night with her in the hospital as he had the first time when Kendall was born, and she wondered where he’d been. Maybe back in Palo Alto with the blonde. She didn’t know what to say to him. It made her sad every time she looked at their son. What a terrible day to