Chapter 51
51
PENNY
My heart races as I rush to Claire, who is standing near her coffee table, doubled over.
“Claire, what’s wrong? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I had to use the bathroom for the one hundredth time today.”
“Are you sick? Hurt? Is the baby okay?” I ask at a frantic pace.
“I think it’s just my body’s way of preparing for the baby to come in six weeks.”
Another wave moves through her, and she calls out until it passes.
“Are these contractions the practice ones?” Collins asks.
Standing up taller, she shrugs. “I’m not sure. I thought they were.”
Angie looks at her watch. “I’m going to time them.”
“Why?” I ask, quickly forgetting everything I’ve ever learned about pregnancy and childbirth from the high school classes I took years ago.
“Because if the contractions start coming in a rhythm and closer together, then that means Claire is going into active labor and the baby is coming soon.”
“The baby can’t come,” Claire says boldly. “It’ll be too early. It needs more time to bake.”
My eyes move to Collins’s as he stares at Claire and her belly. Then I tug his arm to step away from the scene and out of earshot of her. “What?” I ask him. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Pausing for a few seconds, he finally responds. “I’m going to get Nic and Graham here.”
“Why?” I snap, my nerves getting the best of me.
“Just as a precaution.”
I shake my head at him. “I’m scared. Is Claire going to be alright?”
“This is not happening,” Claire calls over to me, just as another one hits. “This is about you and Collins.” She gulps in air between each spoken word, twisting her face as she endures what her body is forcing on her. Then when she’s able to focus, her eyes connect with mine. “I had the perfect plan to hold you hostage until you listened to him.”
I should have known that Collins would do a stunt like this one, involving the two people I can’t say no to…
“You can play matchmaker another time,” Angie tells her. “Are you feeling any pain?”
“Hell yeah, I’m in agony but not all the time. Like, right now? I’m fine.”
My eyes move to her pristine white area rug to see the pinkish stain forming as she holds her stomach.
“Oh, my goodness, Claire,” I squeal. “You’re bleeding.”
“Her water must have broken,” Angie explains. “Oh, my…”
“This happened suddenly,” I comment, trying to figure out what to do next.
“Well, I think I was in denial about how hard it was to talk and breathe earlier,” Claire clarifies. “I was just so determined to get you here and get Collins here to fix this giant mess you both created.”
Collins grabs his phone and taps his fingers on the screen. “Claire’s water just broke. She’s at home. We have no way to get to the hospital without calling for a ride. Call 9-1-1 and get here fast.” He pauses for a second. “I’m not sure.” He looks at Claire, who has her hair lying limp around her face and sweat beading on her forehead. “She says she’s contracting. Get here now.”
“Noooo!” she screams out as another contraction ripples through her. “It feels like a tidal wave.”
“Here, lean on me,” Angie says, trying to offer support.
Amniotic fluid pours down Claire’s legs like a river. “The baby is coming.”
I stand in shock—basically as useless as a decorative statue—while Collins jumps into action.
“And Nic isn’t here!”
Collins curses under his breath and then wraps an arm around Claire to keep her from falling or passing out—I don’t know which. “Angie, run and get some clean bedsheets and blankets. There’s probably some in a linen closet upstairs. Maybe get a couple of pillows if you can find any. Just make sure they are clean.”
“Okay,” she says frantically, rushing upstairs to go search.
“Penny, go get a clean bowl and fill it with warm water. Then find me some fresh dish towels or ones for the bath. And clean your hands. We’re about to deliver this baby if the ambulance doesn’t get out here in time.”
“What? We can’t deliver this baby,” I snap.
“We don’t have a choice. Now go,” he demands. “Claire needs us.”
I run off to the kitchen to get the supplies, thankful to have something to focus on.
When Angie comes back to the living room, she prepares a makeshift bed on the floor and Collins helps lay Claire gently onto it.
“I need Nic here,” she cries out, her face twisting in pain. “He can’t miss the birth of our first child. This isn’t how the plan was supposed to go.” Her words break apart midsyllable as she struggles to get them out.
I dampen a cloth and wipe her forehead. “Just breathe,” I try to soothe. “Sometimes the most unexpected things are the best things.”
As she bends her legs, Claire’s maternity dress shifts to a more natural position. Angie runs to get her some ice chips from the freezer to suck on. And we all just wait to see if help will arrive in time.
“The ambulance is ten to fifteen minutes away,” Collins informs, placing his phone back into his pocket.
I’m not surprised by this, as the house’s location is so far out from the main part of the city.
Collins leaves the room and comes back, drying his hands on a paper towel.
“Ahhh,” Claire bellows, arching her back and squeezing her fingers into tight fists of bedsheets that have pooled around her. “There’s so much pressure.”
“What does that mean? Are you cramping? Do you need to change positions?” Angie asks, looking at both Collins and me for support.
We are all terrified—and in shock.
“I think I need to push.”
Another contraction hits and Claire screams out, just as Graham and Nic make it to the scene.
“Fuck,” Graham growls under his breath, but then snaps into action.
“I’m here, Baby Girl,” Nic calls out, rushing to her side. “I’m going to carry you to the back seat of the SUV and get you to the hospital.”
“No,” she says. “The baby is coming now .”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Now ,” she clarifies.
Nic looks at Graham, then at Collins.
“It’s probably safer to do this here and wait for help to arrive,” Collins suggests, “than to be stranded on the side of the road on the way there.”
His focused but calm demeanor helps me not to completely freak out, which would normally be my default reaction.
Nic runs into the bathroom to wash his hands and returns with a look of apprehension. I know he’s scared that the baby is too small and will possibly need more medical intervention than we are equipped to handle, but he doesn’t express his fears verbally in front of Claire.
“You guys got here fast,” I comment. I’m relieved they are here, and that Nic won’t miss out on the birth that very well could go down in his living room.
“We were already en route to my place,” Graham explains. “So, we just made a detour here.”
Claire does a series of exaggerated breaths. “I was trying to help Collins kidnap Penny and make you men see that they belong together and to get your heads out of your asses.”
“Is that so?” Nic growls.
“Yes,” she cries out. “I am done with this tension and feud. It ends right now.”
“Let’s discuss this later.”
Claire looks at each of us one by one. “You all are the family I never had. I’m not allowing anyone to leave me.”
Nic helps put a few pillows under her hips. Then he leans over to kiss her on her lips. “No one is going to leave you, Baby Girl.”
“It’s always an adventure with you, isn’t it?” Claire chokes out.
Nic lets out a nervous laugh. “I’m up for the challenge.”
Graham helps prop Claire’s body up to give her more back support.
“Angie and Penny, grab a knee,” Collins instructs. “Nic, remove anything Claire has on from the waist down.”
“How do you know so much?” I ask him. He’s basically a pro.
“I watched a lot of medical dramas.”
We all laugh, while Claire screams about how badly she wants this baby out and that it’s all Nic’s fault for putting one inside her in the first place.
“I’m going to put another one inside you as soon as it’s safe to do it again. I have never seen you more beautiful than when you’ve been carrying our child.”
“You are such a caveman!”
“You’re doing great, Claire,” Nic soothes, ignoring her anxiety-induced rage.
“This baby is coming too early. I can’t lose it.”
“You won’t,” I promise blindly, helping to hold her knee back and give her the angle needed to push this baby out.
Another contraction hits, and Nic moves between her legs, holding a towel.
“Push now,” he demands. “Push, Claire—like you mean it.”
“You’re doing great,” Collins says with confidence, not seeming the least bit scared over all the blood and fluids surrounding us.
And with a bellowing wail from Claire, the baby comes out.
“It’s a girl!” Nic announces, full of pride and love.
“It’s a girl,” Claire whispers, as tears flood her eyes.
* * *
I am overcome with every emotion as I stand back and look at the scene before me.
This room encompasses my entire heart, with each person holding a special place inside.
Claire is propped up against pillows, holding her precious baby girl—Scarlett Ann—while Nic and the medical staff tend to both of their immediate needs. I couldn’t be more proud of my brother and the love of his life for bringing this child into this world safely, despite being early. And the little miss is such a little squish, looking healthy and content being close to her momma.
Graham and Angie embrace in a hug, and the worry wrinkles that once lined their foreheads have since vanished. I know witnessing her best friend deliver her baby on the rug in her dream home, while she is unsure if she can conceive one of her own, has to feel bittersweet. But I wouldn’t know it by the beaming smiles on everyone’s faces.
Momma and Dad are fluttering about, making sure everyone is comfortable, and a gazillion pictures are taken to capture this moment. They were destined to be the best grandparents ever, and I can already tell they would gladly welcome more children into their hearts if the circumstances allowed for it.
Then there is Collins standing on the sidelines, like he has for the last year and a half of my life, like an invisible but constant thread, woven into my support system. I feel him looking at me, while I look at all of them. And it’s in his quiet, calm nature that I see his true heart.
I am his, as he is mine.
He accepts me at my best. But embraces me at my worst.
Looking up at him, I see the worry broadcasted back at me, probably wondering what I’m thinking and what my next move will be.
But I’m tired of pretending…
I’m tired of acting like I’d be better off without him, when he’s never really left me.
He’s been with me the whole time.
Collins shows up in my life when it matters most, and he’ll keep showing up.
Then without thinking, I slide my arm around the back of him and settle my head on his heart. He tucks me into his side and gives me the gentlest squeeze. His lips press against my hairline and it’s the sweetest thing.
This is love.
And we do it through the good times and the bad times, through the hard times and the easy times, and in sickness and in health.
It’s about showing up and fighting for who we want to spend our short time on this earth with…
And I choose him.
“Collins?”
He pulls back a tad, just so he can see my eyes. “Yeah?”
“I’m willing to try.”
He smiles down at me and then presses a gentle kiss on my lips. “All I need is a chance.”