Epilogue
Yvonne woke with a restless feeling. She wasn’t sure why this kept happening.
She had nothing to worry about. She’d gotten her green card in the mail a month ago.
It helped that Chris had a steady income, and Yvonne was basically assured of a job at the Sweet and Savory Table.
Her relationship with Chris and Kate worked out well; the three of them clicked in many aspects of their lives.
Yvonne and Chris had settled into the apartment, and it felt like home to Yvonne.
Tante Wilma was over the moon with her niece close by, and Oom Cameron had recovered.
Her obstetrician was pleased with how her pregnancy progressed, the baby was growing well, and the morning sickness had vanished during the second trimester.
Yvonne struggled out of bed, her back sorer than usual.
She tiptoed out of the bedroom, making sure Chris didn’t wake, and had to brace herself on the wall in the hallway to the bathroom as pain shot up her spine.
She took a few moments to breathe through the experience and continued her trek to the bathroom.
She used the toilet, but by the time she was washing her hands, another painful contraction rippled through her lower back and abdomen.
According to the obstetrician, she wasn’t due for another three weeks, and it could be nothing, but it seemed like she was in labor.
Yvonne ambled to the kitchen and scrambled for her phone to dial Kate but winced as she noticed the time—five in the morning.
Maybe she should hold off for an hour or so.
Yvonne was a masochist, after all, and knew how to handle pain.
She settled on a kitchen chair and pressed against the backrest as another wave of pain hit.
It felt like her uterus was being ripped apart from the inside, and she gasped for air. Okay, waiting was a lousy plan.
Yvonne breathed through the pain and pushed herself from the chair. She waddled back into the bedroom and placed her hand on Chris’s shoulder. “Chris, Chris, wake up.”
The moment Chris opened his eyes, Yvonne almost doubled over as a new wave of pain rippled through her body. He shot upright, barely missing hitting Yvonne in the face. “You can’t be in labor. It’s too early,” he rambled.
Even in her agony, Yvonne had to smile about his statement. “Well, tell your son or daughter that. He or she is—” Her sentence broke off, and she groaned.
“What the… how fast are the contractions coming?” Chris struggled to put on his pants, forgoing underwear and socks. “Siri, call Kate,” he ordered his iPhone.
A sleepy Kate answered the phone right after Chris had pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and grabbed Yvonne’s delivery bag. “Chris, what’s wrong?”
“Yvonne is in labor. The contractions are coming in a rush, and we can’t even time them. We have to go to the hospital. Now!” He snapped the last word and half-supported, half-carried Yvonne to the exit.
Kate didn’t waste words. “I’ll meet you at the car in twenty seconds.” She wasn’t joking or exaggerating. She and Chris had rehearsed this, and they knew what to do.
True to her word, Kate waited with the back door to their new Nissan Skyline open, and Chris helped Yvonne inside as Kate accepted the bag and slid behind the wheel. Chris joined Yvonne in the back seat and yelled, “Go-go-go!” before he slammed the door shut.
Kate started the car and jammed the shifter into drive.
“We’ll have to go to the emergency room since the baby insists on coming outside of normal hours,” Kate stated as she maneuvered the car onto the main road.
Yvonne moaned. “Here comes another one. It feels like my back is breaking.”
“Chris, put pressure against her back.” Kate glanced back at them through the mirror.
She drove a tad above the speed limit, but the road was reasonably open.
The last thing they needed was for an overenthusiastic police officer to pull them over by—not because of a possible ticket but because of the time it would cost them.
Luckily, they reached the hospital without hitting even one red light, and Kate halted as close to the emergency entrance as possible then jumped out and pulled open the back door.
“Woman in labor!” she called out to a small group of men and women in scrubs near the doors.
Two people broke free and rushed forward.
Kate pressed a quick kiss to Yvonne’s forehead and Chris’s cheek. “I’ll park the car and find you.”
The next few hours passed in a blur of pain and activity for Yvonne.
By the time Kate joined them in her private delivery room, the staff had hooked Yvonne to various machines, and she was as comfortable as a woman in labor could be.
The contractions lasted more than a minute and occurred only minutes apart.
After an incredibly fast delivery, their baby girl was born kicking and screaming at 10:30 am. Although she was three weeks early, she was big and healthy at six pounds, ten ounces and didn’t need to go to the neonatal unit as the hospital staff had been expecting.
Chris kissed Yvonne’s forehead as she cradled the small bundle, and he looked at them with adoration in his eyes. “Thank you, so much for this little wonder. Our little girl is perfect.”
She barely saw him this serious, and wat is dat?—was that a tear in the corner of his eye?
Yvonne gave Chris a tired smile and looked over to Kate. Their complex dynamic had changed again, and Yvonne worried about how Kate felt. She struggled upright and carefully held out her precious girl to the other woman.
“Here, Kate. Hold our daughter.”
Kate took the bundle from her with an expression of love and awe, and Chris scooped Yvonne’s right hand and pressed a kiss to it.
Yvonne leaned back into her pillow. To her right sat Chris, still holding her hand with the biggest goofiest grin.
To her left, Kate held their baby girl, her expression now solemn.
Although her Mistress whispered the words, Yvonne could hear them clearly.
“Hello Katerina Rose Smith, I’m so happy to meet you.
I’m Mama Kate, and I, Mama Yvonne, and Daddy, love you very, very much. ”
THE END