Chapter 21
The next day after work, Anna stopped by Wendy’s house to check on her. She could tell her sister was having a tough day. The signs were smudges of exhaustion and stress beneath her eyes, pale skin, and, maybe most telling, quiet. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah.”
Anna added lethargic to her mental list and did her best to swallow her panic. For all she knew, this was normal, but she couldn’t beat back her monthslong fear, the one that had started the day Wendy told her she was pregnant—that something would happen to her sister in childbirth, like it had to their mom. “Can I get you anything? Food? Anything you want.”
“No. Thanks.”
Okay, now she was really worried. Wendy was always starving. There was only one thing to do—manipulate her the way Wendy manipulated Anna at every opportunity. “Well, I’m hungry,” Anna said. “Starving, really. But I can’t decide what to eat.”
Wendy waved a hand in the direction of the kitchen. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”
“Yes, but I hate it when I go to the kitchen looking for food and all I find are ingredients.”
Wendy gave a small smile. “Liar. You love to cook. You just never make time for the stuff you love.”
Anna drew a deep breath, reminding herself she hadn’t come here to fight yet again—even if Wendy was 100 percent right. “What are you hungry for?”
Wendy shrugged.
“Wen, are you sure you’re okay? Should I call Hayden? Your doctor?”
“Don’t you dare. I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t fine, or she’d be wanting food. Anna’s panic was joined by her old friend Anxiety. “Come on. I know you’ve got a craving. Let’s hear it. Anything.”
“Well, if we’re talking anything and not just what’s in this house, I’d go for an entire bucket of fried chicken. But that’s ridiculous, I’m not asking you to go there and then come back here, not when it’s closer to your place. I’ll just nibble on whatever you rummage up from downstairs.”
Anna nodded and went downstairs. Then she quietly went out the front door and back into her car. Five minutes later, she’d bought an entire bucket of fried chicken. Back at Wendy’s, she let herself in and placed the bucket of chicken in her sister’s lap.
Wendy stared at it and promptly burst into tears.
“Oh no, don’t cry!” Anna thrust a stack of napkins into her hands. “I’m sorry! I was just trying to cheer you up!”
“These are happy tears,” Wendy said soggily, and started in on the chicken, humming with pleasure, closing her eyes to savor it. After a few minutes, she smiled. “I guess I was hungry.”
Anna did her best to not thunk her head against the wall.
Wendy sucked down her bottled water. “Okay, so now that I’ve got some protein in me, tell me how it’s going with Owen. You’re wearing a lovely, enviable, I’m-all-sexed-up glow.”
“Well, first of all, I’m not sure there was actual meat, much less protein, in this fried chicken.”
“Don’t change the subject.” Wendy jabbed a wing in Anna’s direction. “Talk.”
“You want me to admit I know I’m wearing a glow?”
“No, I want you to admit you like him. A lot.”
“Fine.” Anna chose a biscuit and slathered it with butter. “I like him. A lot. But we’ve agreed it’s going to be over when the case is.”
Wendy stared at her. “That’s still the stupid plan? Seriously? Why would you even agree to such a thing?”
“It was my idea,” Anna said.
“Oh my God.” Wendy shook her head. “I take back the smartest sister thing. You’re dumb. This is dumb. He’s a keeper, Anna. He looks at you like you’re the moon and the sun and the stars—and lunch. Do you know how rare that is? He’s a guy willing to stand at your back, at your side, wherever you want him to stand. Plus, he’s got no ego when it comes to knowing just how smart you are, he loves to watch you think, talk, laugh... Why are you doing this to yourself?”
“You still want the truth?” Anna asked.
“No, Anna, lie to me.” Wendy shook her head. “Yes, I want the truth!”
“Okay, well... I don’t really see myself as a keeper.”
Wendy gasped, a hand to her heart. All she needed was a set of pearls to clutch. “That cannot be true.”
Anna shrugged. Owen had never thought of himself as a keeper—at least not until now. That seemed to be changing for him, and she knew that if she wasn’t the one pushing for this to end as soon as the case did, he wouldn’t be pushing for that at all.
But she was scared. That was the bottom line.
Wendy opened her mouth, but Anna held up a finger. “Subject change,” she said firmly. “Are you going to tell me what was wrong when I got here?”
“If you’re sure you won’t tell me more.”
“I’m sure.”
Wendy sighed. “I love these babies. I do. But today, my maternity stretch pants are too tight, my boobs are sore, and I bent over to pick up my phone when I dropped it—and...”
“And what?”
“I farted.” Wendy moaned and covered her face. “Like I didn’t even know it was coming! Hayden thought it was the funniest thing in the entire world. I told him we have to divorce now, because what was next, us pooping in front of each other? I’ll die first.”
“You about done?” Anna asked.
Wendy sighed again. “Yeah. But I’m never going to live that down.”
“Okay, let me try to touch on all your various and very serious problems. One, your maternity stretch pants were made for one woman and one baby, not one woman and three babies, so you’re going to have to give yourself a break there. Two, as for your boobs being sore, look at it this way—you always wanted bigger ones, and now you’ve got them, so take the win.” Then she hesitated.
“You don’t know how to make me feel better about the fart,” Wendy said dejectedly.
Bingo. “Well, um, guys love farts, right? I’ve got no idea why, but they do. Plus, you made Hayden laugh. That’s not that easy to do, and he has a great laugh, so maybe just try to enjoy that part.”
Wendy thought about it and shrugged. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Thanks. And thanks for the food too. You’re truly the best, sweetest, kindest sister.”
“I’ll admit I am the best sister, but sweet and kind are definitely a stretch.”
Wendy laughed, and it warmed Anna’s heart. “I should’ve said you’re the bestest, smartest, most likely to have my back sister on the planet.”
Anna smiled. “I’ll take that.”
Two days later, Wendy tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable or to sleep. In the dark, she heard Hayden’s deep and even breathing and she wanted to kick him for his ability to sleep no matter what. What was wrong with him that he didn’t take all their problems and worries to bed like she did? And what was the secret?
Gah. She rolled to her back, which used to be her favorite position to sleep, but now she could only stay there for a minute or two before the babies’ weight on her internal organs threatened to cut her off from life itself.
She sighed loudly, really hoping Hayden would wake up.
He didn’t, dammit. And since she’d promised not to kick him awake anymore, she couldn’t even do that. She briefly considered calling Anna, but she’d already brought her the fried chicken, and she didn’t want to be a burden. She knew Anna would be mad at her for doing the overprotection thing, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Hi, yes, her name was Wendy and she rarely learned a thing from the fights she’d had with Anna.
She’d just have to have a private freak-out party for one all by herself. But babies wriggled inside her, reminding her she wasn’t alone at all. There in the dark, she smiled and put her hands on them. At first, it’d been hard to realize her body was no longer her own, instead belonging to these beings she and Hayden had created. Although, to be fair, she’d done far more work than Hayden. Still, the babies had been with her twenty-four seven, keeping her company.
And now, soon, it’d be over. She was thirty weeks pregnant today, which meant in two weeks these babies would be on the outside of her body, their own beings. For so long, she’d been both obsessed with and terrified of this one massive dream of hers actually coming true, and it was almost here. And while that was thrilling, she knew she’d miss this, being alone with them.
Apparently, there really were two sides to having a dream come true.
The babies squirmed some more. Kit Kat, Reese, and Oreo, she decided, so named for her current craving... And if Hayden objected, well, he could damn well wake up and talk to her. Or better yet, he could push three watermelons out of his hoo-ha.
She reached for her iPad to maybe watch a show, but she ended up in a deep social media dive on Will and Joe. It was still bugging her how Will had alluded to the fact that his dad probably knew more than he’d let on, while at the same time Joe had seemed far too smug.
They were missing pieces to this puzzle, and she couldn’t help but feel those pieces were named Will and Joe.
She set down the iPad to think, and the next thing she knew, it was five in the morning.
And something else.
She couldn’t have explained it to save her life, but she knew, knew to the depths of her soul, that today was going to be the day. She ran her hands over her body, trying to figure out what had clued her in, but everything felt the same. Same massive boobs, same backache, same constant urge to pee.
Except maybe not the exact same backache. This morning, it felt sharper, more intense.
Unrelenting...
She took the next thirty minutes to time the contractions to make sure she wasn’t getting out of this cozy bed at the crack of dawn for nothing. But her contractions were six minutes apart.
Holy cow. She was in labor.
She was really going to do this. Damn. Being pregnant was a lot more fun when not facing down imminent labor...
Hayden stirred at her side and came up on one elbow. “Need pickles for breakfast again?”
Did she? “Yes. Uh, no. No.” Now that she knew she was in labor, she was afraid to eat thanks to the horror stories she’d heard from the moms in her birthing class about pooping on the table in front of their partners and a room full of professionals. Nope. No, thank you. No way, no how.
“Wendy?” Hayden, clearly sensing that something was wrong, came all the way awake. He sat up, a hand going to her belly. “What is it? You okay? Youngest, Middle, Oldest?”
“I think you mean Wilma, Betty, and Pebbles.”
He didn’t take the bait. His eyes remained calm but piercing as he reached out and put a hand on her wrist, wrapping his warm fingers around her chilled skin. She thought it was sweet, until she realized—he was taking her pulse.
She knew how much he worried, and okay, yes, it meant a lot to know how much he cared about her, as did the fact that he wanted her safe and happy at all times. “Happy wife, happy life,” he always told people, with the sweetest, most genuine smile on his face.
She loved that about him, that she was the center of his universe. She truly did. But once in a while, it was okay to not be okay. She was pretty sure he didn’t understand that, but there was someone who did. “Can you call Anna?”
He studied her, rubbing his jaw. “Is this like the other night when we were sitting on the couch watching TV and I heard my phone from the kitchen—only when I got up to retrieve it, there was a text from you asking me to please bring the chips on your way back?”
She smiled at the memory. “No, this is different.”
He just looked at her.
“I swear! I’m not going to ask her to bring me anything.”
He eyed the time. “You do know it’s only five in the morning. Anna’s not exactly the morning person in this family. She’ll kill you for waking her up. And no offense, but I’d rather not have to kill her for killing you. You know how much I love this bed. And playing basketball with the guys. And driving my truck. And—”
“And you couldn’t do any of that in prison,” she finished for him. “I get it. But don’t worry, Anna isn’t going to kill me for waking her up.”
“How do you know—” He sucked in a breath. “Wendy,” he said, incredibly seriously. “You’re in labor?”
“If I say yes, are you going to maintain your legendary calm or freak out?”
Hayden leapt off the bed so fast, he dislodged a sleeping Jennifur. The cat hit the floor and sat there shaking her head a moment before giving Hayden a dirty look and stalking off, rigid tail swishing through the air, the picture of a pissed-off kitty.
“Okay, so freak out it is then,” Wendy murmured, amused, but also sucking in air because of the latest contraction.
“Stay calm,” Hayden said, shoving his feet into his basketball shoes and grabbing her go bag, the one he’d had ready ever since her first pregnancy OB-GYN appointment all those months ago now. He turned to her. “What do you want to wear?”
“More than you’re wearing,” she said, trying and failing to hold back a smile.
He looked down at himself and she laughed, because he was naked as the day he’d been born, with the exception of his shoes. Still snorting, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, but it wasn’t there. She vaguely remembered tucking it beneath her pillow in case her iPad battery died, so she slid a hand around looking for it.
Gone.
She twisted to the best of her ability to search the bed. Meanwhile, Hayden, who’d managed to get dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—inside out, but Wendy figured she was going to need something to keep her amused over the next hours, so she didn’t say anything—came at her with a pair of his sweatpants.
Nope. “I am not wearing big, baggy, old sweatpants to give birth,” she said.
“Babe, hate to break this to you, but you won’t be wearing any pants to give birth.”
Dammit. She hated when he was right. But hey, she found her phone under her own ass, so that was something. She quickly hit Anna’s number and waited.
After three rings, Anna answered her cell with a groggy “’Lo? Who died?”
“No one,” Wendy said. “Well, maybe Hayden soon since he wants me to wear his ancient old baggy sweats today.”
Hayden gave a Wendy-worthy eye roll.
Wendy stuck her tongue out at him.
“If no one’s dead, why are we all awake?” Anna demanded.
“I’m in labor.”
“Ohmigod! I’ll be right there! Don’t you dare start without me!”
“Too late,” she quipped, but Anna was already gone. Okay then. “Anna will be right here.”
There came the sudden sound of pounding feet coming up the stairs. Two seconds later, Anna appeared in their bedroom doorway in just an oversize T-shirt and undies, hair wild, eyes wide. “You’re in labor?”
Wendy stared at her. “Did you sleep here?”
“She did,” Hayden said.
“I had a weird feeling about you.” Anna came close, taking Wendy’s phone and setting it on the nightstand. She then climbed up on the bed with her, pushing Wendy’s probably equally wild hair back from her face. “You okay?”
That Anna was here, that she’d come in silent support, had Wendy’s eyes filling with tears. But then she stilled, eyes on Anna. “You had sex.”
“What?” Anna asked, clearly startled.
“You totally did it with Owen again, even though you claimed you weren’t going to! Dammit, you get to do all the good stuff!”
“Wow,” Hayden said.
Wendy waved a hand at him. “Okay, yes, fine, we did it a few nights ago, and you never complain, even though you’re trying to sleep with someone who’s turned into a Tyrannosaurus rex. And don’t think that I don’t know it was like trying to thread a needle without glasses. We couldn’t do it doggy style because it felt like my belly was going to secede from the United States of Wendy. We couldn’t go full frontal because you don’t have a twenty-four-inch-long penis. Even playing big spoon little spoon is nearly impossible.”
Hayden blinked. “I thought we managed okay.”
“I fell asleep on you!” Wendy cried.
“Um...” Anna looked at Hayden. “I don’t want to alarm you, but your wife has lost her mind.”
Hayden wisely didn’t respond to this. “Can we go to the hospital now?”
Wendy looked at Anna. “Are you going to deny me details regarding the sexy times with Owen? Throw a starving girl a bone here.”
“Seriously?” Hayden asked.
Wendy opened her mouth to say something but froze as the next contraction hit. “Oh. Oh, damn. Shit. Fuck.”
Hayden tried to scoop her up, but she pushed him away. “Just... give... me... a... minute.”
Hayden climbed on the bed with her so that she had him on one side and Anna on the other, each holding a hand as she took that minute. The second the pain passed, she looked at Anna expectantly.
Anna talked directly to Hayden. “Can’t you control her at all?”
“Not even a little bit,” he said.
“Please don’t make this thing with Owen a bigger deal than it is,” Anna said to Wendy. “I told you, this is just a thing until the case is solved.”
“She’s self-sabotaging again,” Wendy said to Hayden. “Fix her.”
“She doesn’t need fixing.”
Anna beamed at him.
“Suck-up,” Wendy muttered, then hissed out a breath of surprise as she felt some sort of internal pop and then a rush of water.
“What?” Hayden and Anna asked in unison.
“I think...” Wendy stared up at them in horror. “I think I just peed the bed.”
Five minutes later, Anna was on the phone with the OB-GYN as Hayden walked Wendy outside toward his car.
The two little five- and seven-year-old girls who lived next door were sitting on their grass. “Where you going?” they asked.
“To have babies,” Hayden said, pointing to Wendy’s belly.
“Did you eat them?” the younger asked Wendy.
Wendy was laughing when Hayden helped her into the front passenger seat of his vehicle. He reached for the seat belt to buckle her in, pausing when she curled into herself with a moan as a contraction swamped her.
“Hee-hee-hoo,” Hayden said.
Wendy shoved a hand in his face to shut him up as she got lost in the pain. She might’ve added some choice words as well.
He had the engine started and the car in gear when Anna hopped into the back seat with Wendy’s go bag.
“Did you seriously almost leave without me?” Anna demanded.
Wendy laughed through the pain. “Yeah, because this... is... all... about... you.”
Anna put her hands on Wendy’s shoulders from behind and gently massaged them. “Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Two short exhales, one longer one. Hee-hee-hoo. Hee-hee-hoo.”
“That’s what I told her,” Hayden said. “She threatened to give me a vasectomy. With her nail file.”
Wendy put her hands over her sister’s and held on tight as she tried to breathe with Anna.
“Doing great,” Anna said calmly, turning her hands over so Wendy could entwine their fingers together. “Again. Hee-hee-hoo. Hee-hee-hoo.”
“Thanks,” Wendy whispered in sincere gratitude when the contraction passed.
Hayden sighed.
“Hey, you were helpful too,” Wendy said.
“How?”
“Well, when you nearly ran naked to the car without me, that made me laugh. And laughing is important.”
Hayden shook his head.
“I still can’t believe I peed on my favorite sheets,” Wendy moaned.
“You know it wasn’t pee. It was your amniotic fluid,” Hayden said. “And I’ll buy you more sheets. As many sets as you want.”
“He’s still worried about the whole vasectomy-with-the-nail-file thing,” Wendy said. “Turn right.”
Hayden didn’t turn right.
“That was the fastest way!” Wendy nudged him in the arm. “Turn right here then!”
“We’re going on Lake Drive,” Hayden said. “It’s the safest route.”
Wendy gave him the death stare. “I swear to you, if I have your babies in this car, the vasectomy is the least of your worries.”
He didn’t look scared. That was the best thing about her husband. He was unflappable, unrufflable—at least when she wasn’t in labor. Even now, he was driving calm and steady because in his mind, calm and steady won the race every single time. “Just this once, can’t you be the rabbit?” she asked.
“No.”
“You’re driving like a grandpa.”
“I’m not speeding up, Wen.”
“But the babies are coming right now!” she yelled.
He glanced over at her. Then shook his head. “That was a lie. And mean.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he knows you,” Anna said. “You always squeak when you lie, and you totally just squeaked.”
“Oh my God,” Wendy moaned. “We’re not ready for this. We’re going to be outnumbered!”
“We’re not,” Anna said. “Three of us to three of them. We’ve got this, Sissy. It’s going to be okay.”
Sissy. Anna hadn’t called her that since they’d been little kids. The single word, with warm affection and a dash of worry in Anna’s voice, warmed her heart to almost bursting.
“Keep breathing,” Hayden said, reaching out a hand for Wendy’s. “You’re not alone, babe, we’ve got you. Always.”
Okay, so her heart was actually going to burst. Also, her eyes were leaking. She didn’t deserve either of them.
“You still okay?” Anna asked. “You hanging in there?”
“Is there another option?” Wendy gave a half-hysterical laugh. “Remember that time we went to Disneyland? We saw that couple with three kids—one of them was screaming, another one was hurling into a trash can, and the third one had taken off running. What happens when that happens to us? Do we console the screamer, clean up the puke, or catch the sprinter?” She started crying, startling all of them, including herself. “And Disneyland is supposed to be the happiest place on earth!” she wailed.
“You’ll console the screamer,” Hayden said. “Anna will handle the puker. And good thing I was all-state cross-country because I’ll grab the sprinter.”
“Wait—why do I get the puker?” Anna asked.
“Hello!” Wendy yelled. “Are either of you going to dilate to ten centimeters? Only the dilater gets to freak out!”
Hayden pulled into the hospital, parked, and reached for her, giving her one of his grade A hugs. It was so good, Wendy sighed and relaxed.
“We’ve got this, babe, the three of us. I promise.”
Still crying and also laughing, she hoped he was right.