Chapter 67 Before
Before
It was time. Annabelle woke up at midnight to unbearable pain. No one had told her how awful contractions were. The baby was coming. She was still two weeks away from her due date. She called the hospital to have James paged, as he was working the late shift.
“Everything okay?”
“My water broke.”
“I’m on my way. How far apart are your contractions?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Hang tight. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“Don’t speed. It won’t help if you get into an accident. It’s raining like crazy out there. I’m not going to deliver in the next hour.”
“Okay, okay. See you soon.”
She winced, doubling over as another contraction racked her. This hurt like a bitch. She was definitely asking for drugs. After it passed, she went upstairs and got her little bag from the bedroom.
Everything was going to change. Her baby was finally coming.
Annabelle was suddenly terrified. What did she know about being a mother?
She always thought she’d have a child in her early thirties, not twenties.
She had no family support, a sick mother who needed her, and a job that barely paid the rent and expenses.
There was the money from her father, but she wouldn’t touch that.
Her mother was still young, she could live for many more years, and Annabelle had to make sure she had the resources to keep her mother where she was.
And she couldn’t live with James forever.
He’d made it clear that he had feelings for her, but as much as she liked and respected him, she wasn’t in love with him.
He had asked her to marry him. Said he didn’t care if her feelings weren’t as strong as his, and that she’d come to love him in time.
It was tempting to give in, let him be a father to her child, a partner to her.
It would make everything so much easier.
But it wasn’t fair to him or to her. Even though Randy had turned out to be a snake, she’d been in love with him, and she wanted to feel that again. She wasn’t going to settle.
She sat on the bed to slip her feet into the loafers James had left next to it.
But when she tried to put them on, they were too tight.
She raised her legs to get a look at her feet and was shocked to see that they were swollen.
Maybe she’d been standing too much. Even though she was nervous about the baby’s arrival, she couldn’t wait until her body went back to normal.
She walked over to the closet and, with her toe, pushed a pair of flip-flops out. They would have todo.
Annabelle returned downstairs and put her bag and purse next to the door. Then she realized her cellphone was in the kitchen, so she went to retrieve that and put it with her things. That’s everything, she thought. Now she just had to wait for James to get here.
She looked up as the door opened and James rushed in, his hair soaked and raindrops dripping from his jacket.
“Ready?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I’m scared. Is it too late to turn back time?”
He gave her a smile and took her hand. “You’re going to be fine. I know it’s scary, but I’ll be right next to you. Grab an umbrella.”
When they went outside, the wind was blowing so hard that it turned Annabelle’s umbrella inside out.
She ran to the car and slid in. “I’m not scared about the labor—well, I am, but I’m talking about motherhood.
I still feel like a kid myself. I’m not ready for this.
I mean, I never even babysat. I don’t have any nieces or nephews.
I don’t have the first clue what to do with a baby.
Do you think all first-time mothers feel this way? ”
“I don’t know. Probably. Change is scary, and this is a big one. But I’m sure you’re going to be a great mother.”
“How do you know? What if I’m not? I can’t cook. I can barely sew.”
“Cooking and sewing are not prerequisites for motherhood in the twenty-first century.” He laughed. “The only reason I had a decent meal growing up was thanks to our housekeeper.”
Annabelle was quiet the rest of the drive, her thoughts racing. She wondered if Randy had already left for Arizona. Did he even think about the fact that his child was soon coming into the world? Sorrow overcame her, and she began to weep.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Not really,” she sniffed. “I know I said I was glad Randy was out of the picture, but I’m sad that he doesn’t care about his own child.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I barely make any money.
I can’t afford a nanny. I should be interviewing for a full-time job now and working toward my dreams. This is a nightmare. ”
“I’m sorry, Annabelle. But you’re not alone. I told you, I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s not the same.”
His jaw tightened. “Do you really want to be back with Randy, after what he did?”
“No. This isn’t about me wanting to be with Randy.
But one day this child is going to want to know where their father is.
And it’s going to hurt. No matter how much I love this child, it will always feel the rejection of its biological father.
I know this because it’s what I feel. And I’m really sad to pass on that legacy. ”
“Maybe you don’t have to. I would—”
Another contraction made her scream. “They’re coming faster now. Something feels wrong. My head is killing me.” She cried out again as the pain intensified. “I’m gonna be sick.”
“Almost there.”
He sped up and pulled into the parking lot, stopping the car in front of the emergency doors. Throwing it in park, he leapt out and opened her door. Before he could help her out, she vomited. She looked at her hands. Why were they so swollen? “What’s wrong with me?” she cried.
James helped her into the building. “She needs to be admitted to OB right away.” He showed his ID. “I think she might be preeclamptic.”
“Right away, Doctor Reynolds.”
The next thing Annabelle knew, she was in a wheelchair and being raced down the hall to the elevator, with James keeping pace beside her.
“It’s going to be okay, honey. It’s okay.”
She started to shake, her whole body vibrating, and then everything faded from sight.