Chapter 38 Surprise Arrival
Davey
“What did you fucking do?” Daphne roared. “What did you do?”
I stared at my phone, terrified. What did I do?
“I dunno,” I stammered. “I… I guess I said something I regretted.”
“You broke up with Eva right when she’s about to give birth.”
“We have three more weeks—”
“Davey, she’s in such a bad place right now. Things are messy. I know things feel better and that she loves you to bits. I’ve never seen her like this with anyone—not even Mona, okay? But she thinks she needs to move this acquisition to make you happy.”
I knew my sister was right.
“Yeah, you fucked up big time,” Daphne said.
“Don’t sound so satisfied, Daph!” I paced. “Fuck!”
“I’m not satisfied. I’m worried about both of you.”
“Worry about her! She’s being erratic. I just responded with the same energy—”
“Davey, she’s having twins with her boss while coping with a technology meltdown. Like any Type-A career woman, she fears losing her identity. Your constant daddy doting isn’t helping.”
“Daddy doting?”
“You have given her no space to talk about anything else. You don’t give anyone space.
Good God! Do you wonder why she fibbed? She did it to protect you.
I bet she worried it would harsh your vibe.
I know Eva. She’s terribly loyal and honest in a way that bothers people sometimes.
She struggles to find that balance. But you?
She babies you. She cares about you, and you just broke her heart.
I’m going to help you put it back together again even if I’m too tired and shouldn’t. ”
“I didn’t actually break up with her.”
“You said you were done and hung up after interrogating her. What would you call that?”
I turned back to Daphne, stopping still. She was right. “Fuck! Do you know where she is? I need to speak to her right now. I need to call her.”
“Her assistant would know,” Daphne said.
“But what if she doesn’t accept me? What if I’ve fucked it up? What if she moves to London?”
“Apologize for accusing her of running off with your babies as if you assumed she was out to get you. She’s been broken up with and thrown out after losing a pregnancy.
She’s a mess. You are, too. Just apologize and realize that you hit a sensitive nerve.
David, she’s going to stick around and marry the fuck out of you someday if the two of you can get your heads out of your asses. ”
“You really think that?”
“Yes. I think once the babies are here and the two of you have a lot of time to yourselves—and she’s not miserably pregnant and insecure about it—you will come to that place and naturally approach things.
I love you, brother, but this is not your strong suit.
It’s also not Eva’s. If she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t be here.
And she always tries to make it work. She doesn’t trust men but knows you will respect her. Somehow, you built trust with her.”
“Well, after this, who knows?” I panicked. “She thinks I’m trying to control her, right?”
“Before the call? I think she just wanted to avoid hurting your feelings with this talk of the dog dying. She didn’t want to ruin Christmas or this time for you—for all of us. But after the call? Yeah. You were acting like an ass. It’s totally out of character for you.”
It was. I didn’t know what set me off. I paced, then dialed, unsure of what else to do. If I didn’t apologize, there was no hope for us. While I waited on the assistant, a call from Eva came in. I answered it, hanging up the first call.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I am so, so sorry. Please come home. Let’s talk. All I want to do is make it up to you—”
“Hello. Uh, this isn’t Eva,” an unfamiliar voice cut me off. “So, apologies, but I am taking Eva to hospital. She’s in labor, I think. I am so sorry, but we are racing there.”
Was Mona taking Eva to the hospital?
I raced to the foyer, “I… I will be right there. Thank you, Mona.”
I hung up, gaping at Daphne who had chased me all the way. “She’s in labor. I need to get everything to the hospital.”
Daphne helped me load the car, hugged me for encouragement, and I departed with a flash.
I had no idea what to expect. The babies were too early.
Everything was a hot mess. I couldn’t express the fear and turmoil inside except through tears.
So, I drove, crying, and finally stopped after being stuck in terrible traffic for forty minutes.
Taking a moment at the valet to breathe, wipe my tears, and compose myself, I dropped the car and proceeded in.
“I’m… I’m looking for my girlfriend,” I said. “She’s in labor.”
“What is her name?” The receptionist asked.
“Pavlak. Spelled P-A-V-L-A-K.”
“Got it,” the woman scribbled. “Here is her room number. You can go up those elevators.”
I followed where she pointed, racing to the maternity ward. After being buzzed in, I had to answer a barrage of questions.
“Look, I need to get to my girlfriend. I am her support system. Someone brought her in—a friend—but she’s not the other parent. I am.”
I was back near tears again, feeling so helpless.
“Okay, give me a second.” The nurse tried to calm me with a sweet tone.
I watched her go down the hall, suffering as I worried Eva wouldn’t let me in. What if she was so angry I’d never see my babies? What if I couldn’t be there to hear their first cries? What if I missed out on everything under the sun? Why did I fuck it all up so badly out of anger and jealousy?
The nurse returned, smiling. “We just are required to check. Sorry. You can go back.”
A weight lifted. I approached the door—now slightly open—and entered.
Mona sat on Eva’s bedside. Eva spoke with a nurse, not yet acknowledging me.
There were half a dozen people around, poking and prodding.
I saw the instruction board and burst into tears.
Without a single word from Eva, I knew we were okay.
Everything was there—her pregnancy details, her weeks and days pregnant, and the names of our babies.
Robbie and Max Delphine. Somehow, seeing those names, I realized she wasn’t going anywhere. I sobbed tears of joy at this news—not because they carried my name or had won, but because we were okay.
“Davey,” Eva said. “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t say more than, “I love you so much, Eva. I am so sorry. I have no idea what got into me.”
Eva
Davey approached my hospital bed, brushing by Mona, who moved aside.
“I’m going to give you all space,” Mona said. “I want to hear when they are here, okay?”
“I will send you a text,” Davey agreed. “If that is cool?”
“That’s perfect,” Mona smiled. “Good luck, Eva. You’ll do great.”
Mona patted Davey’s back, and he dropped to the chair where she sat. He pulled it closer, holding my hand so tight. I’d never seen him cry like this. It occurred to me we’d never broken up, but he worried the same. Why was he so emotional? He wasn’t angry or cold.
“I never wanted to say such awful things, Eva.”
“I get why you were upset,” I sighed, brushing his cheek. “I did lie. I did meet Mona.”
“Let me be clear that it really wasn’t Mona. It was you keeping things from me, but I understand I wasn’t exactly sensitive of what you needed. You could have told me about Carter.”
“It’s okay. We were both raw and I worried you’d hassle me about working too much or being too invested with the dog, but I should have known better. I should have trusted you would support me.”
“I never would have said that. I did want you to stop working on leave, but also… I didn’t know you were working so hard to make me happy or how much it mattered to you. Eva, you make me happy. This…”
He put his hand on my stomach. “This makes me happy. These babies mean everything to us both. I don’t need anything else.”
I grunted through a contraction. “But you have the company—”
“Fuck it,” Davey said. “It is meaningless if I do not have the three of you. Set that aside. All I want to do is focus on getting these babies here safely, okay? No more work talk. We’ll have months to discuss what is next.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“You… you named them?”
“I hate that Robbie will be David Robert the Third or whatever. It’s annoying, but we can agree to call him Robbie.
I thought about it a lot. He has my dad’s name as his middle name—same as you.
And your dad meant the world to you. I gave in.
Max was perfect, as you well knew. So, I made the choice. You don’t hate it?”
“I love it.” Davey leaned to kiss my forehead. “With one important change.”
He hopped up, grabbed the dry erase marker and added something.
Pavlak-Delphine.
“They deserve both our names, Eva,” Davey said. “You made them, and it is your determination that will make them strong. They’re Pavlaks as much as Delphines.”
Now, I fought tears as our doctor appeared.
“So, it looks like they might give us a bit of an unwelcome surprise,” he said.
“But we’re in good shape. I think the best way to proceed here is to see if the labor stops.
If it gets more consistent or your water breaks, I will suggest we decide by five tonight Twin A is in a good position, so we can attempt a vaginal delivery, but I’ll give you some time to think about that.
More than likely, I think you will be parents soon. ”
That was final. We were having these babies.