Chapter 23 – Luke
LUKE
“Can I just say how fantastic it is to be in a hospital because Maura’s having a baby instead of a heart attack?” Beau sighs, putting his arms behind his head as he lies back on the hospital bed.
“You can, but I wouldn't advise saying it in front of James,” Nate says. “He’s a nervous wreck.”
“I feel bad,” Cat admits. “Maura’s in labor and the rest of us are pretty much just having a sleepover.”
Just like he did when a cardiac event landed Maura in the hospital earlier this year, James paid the hospital to keep a spare room open down the hall for us, his friends.
The whole thing does have a sleepover-type vibe.
Brinley and Ryan are flipping through a celebrity gossip magazine in one corner while Pippa paints Cat’s nails pink.
Beau brought several gigantic Tupperwares full of gourmet sandwiches and Nate sent his assistant to Costco to get more chips, cookies, sodas, and granola bars than we could possibly eat in a week.
We offered some to the nurses on the floor, but unsurprisingly, James had already arranged for meals to be delivered for everyone on staff.
“We’re providing important moral support,” Pippa says. “Once Maura’s done getting her epidural, we’re going to go do all the breathing exercises with her.”
“Exactly,” Brinley says. “So we need fuel. Pass me the Oreos?”
Nate tosses her a sleeve of cookies, which she practically drops twice before getting a good grip on it.
“Don’t throw stuff at Brinley,” Eden reminds him. “Athletics aren’t her strong suit.”
“Because the universe is fair,” says Brinley. “I have too many other strengths. If I were an amazing athlete too, people would start to resent me.”
A nurse appears in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” she says. “Mr. Keller asked me to send in Maura’s friends. She won’t be in active labor for a few hours yet, and she could use the company.”
“Come on, ladies,” Pippa says, getting to her feet. “Time to distract Maura by any means necessary.”
Ryan holds up the celebrity magazine. “Wanna take this? It has some interesting articles. Turns out, Brad and Jen’s relationship is in trouble.”
Pippa does a double take. “How old is that magazine?”
“Old enough to go to med school and deliver this baby,” Beau says.
When the girls return two hours later, Cat looks slightly pale. Nate shoots to his feet, practically hoisting her into his arms as he quickly gets her into a chair.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
Cat shakes her head. “In three months, I’m going to have to do that. She can’t get comfortable, Nate. She tried kneeling and dancing and bouncing on a ball and none of it worked. And it’s going to go on for hours. Hours.”
“That’s not really a surprise, though is it?” Pippa says. “Labor takes a while. You knew that.”
“There’s knowing it and then there’s seeing it with your own eyes.” Cat puts her hand on her rounded stomach. “Baby, you might just have to stay in there forever.”
“When it’s your turn, you’re going to do great,” Eden says encouragingly. “And even if it’s terrible, you’re going to get hit with such a whirlwind of happy hormones to bond with your baby that you’ll forget all about birth.”
Cat looks up at her hopefully. “Really? Is that true?”
“It is,” Brinley declares. “I’ve read about it. It’s like chemical amnesia. It’ll be hard, but you and Maura will both be fine after. Now let’s get you a sandwich, your baby needs nutrients.”
I lean over and ask Eden quietly, “Is that actually true, or are you just making her feel better?”
“Both. You do get the hormone rush, but it’s more effective for some women than others,” she murmurs. “Hopefully Maura and Cat get lucky.”
Beau hands out sandwiches while Nate sets up a Jackbox game on the TV.
After a while, Ryan disappears, returning with brightly colored Band-Aids all over his arms. Apparently, he ended up as a patient for some kids in the waiting room pretending to be nurses and was treated for his many fictional injuries with Band-Aids and a lollipop.
After we get bored of playing the game, we flip through the channels until we find a classic movie channel playing a James Bond marathon.
We all settle down to make jokes about the 60s haircuts and attempt our best Sean Connery accents.
Since Cat’s pregnant, she and Nate lounge on the hospital bed, giving her plenty of room to get comfortable.
Beau and Brinley squeeze into an armchair while Pippa and Ryan lie on their stomachs on the sleeping bags they brought.
Even though everyone knows Eden and I aren’t actually a couple, we naturally end up on the padded bench because it’s the only place left to sit. We don’t snuggle up like the others, but it’s still nice to be this close to her.
It feels wrong to be sitting here, enjoying ourselves while down the hall, Maura grits her teeth through birth and James wracks himself with worry. I wish there was something I could actually do, but I don’t have control over the situation. Either Maura’s birth could go well or it won’t.
Because the elephant in the room is that Maura’s heart condition could cause complications. She had a high-risk pregnancy, and there are so many things that could trigger another cardiac event. That’s the real reason we’re here—as moral support, in case anything happens and James needs us.
Slowly, as the night creeps on, people start falling asleep.
The room fills with gentle, even breathing.
Eden’s head droops several times before she gives up and leans against my shoulder to sleep.
The floral scent of her shampoo drifts up to my nose, and I’m struck with the urge to wrap my arm around her and pull her tighter against me.
My eyes grow heavy once we pass 1:00 a.m. I blink and find James Bond in a completely different continent with a brand new Bond girl. I try to stay awake, because it feels like someone should be keeping vigil. Still, I drift in and out of sleep as the clock ticks past two, three, four o’clock.
It’s still dark outside when James walks in with his suit jacket off and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His face looks pale and hollow, but he’s beaming with a wide grin I’ve never seen on his face before.
“She’s here?” I whisper, and he nods.
I nudge Eden, who raises her head. When she sees James, she snaps to attention, shaking off the sleep. “Baby?” she asks excitedly.
Next to her, Nate and Cat stir. Ryan sits straight up, his hair sticking up ridiculously. Beau gently shakes the shoulder of anyone who’s not already awake until we’re all ready to hear the news.
“The baby was born ninety minutes ago,” James says. “Sixteen inches long, eight pounds, six ounces. The spitting image of her mother.”
He shows us a photo of a little red-faced baby, bundled up in hospital blankets. She’s got a surprisingly thick head of dark red hair and, unmistakably, Maura’s mouth.
“Oh my god!” Cat squeals. “I take it back. I can’t wait to give birth. That baby is so worth it.”
“She’s perfect,” Pippa sniffs.
“How’s Maura doing?” Brinley asks.
“She’s glowing.” James grins proudly. “You know how tough she is, and she went through it like a champ. Doctors are monitoring her now, but everything looks good. Once she's cleared, she'll be able to hold the baby.”
Brinley slumps with relief and Beau tightens his arm around her shoulders.
“You named her Ryan, didn’t you?” asks Ryan. “Or were you afraid I would give her too much to live up to?”
“Her name is Hazel Olivia,” James says proudly. “After our mothers.”
“She looks like a Hazel,” Eden says. “She’s lucky to have you two as parents.”
Then Nate, of all people, wipes a tear away from his eye. “I'm so happy for you,” he says roughly.
James pulls him into a tight hug. Ryan leaps to his feet and wraps his arms around them both. Then, we're all hugging, moving around the room to exchange tearful embraces. The bone-deep happiness we all feel radiates through the room.
Hazel’s arrival is only responsible for half of our joy.
Now that Maura’s given birth, she’s finally eligible for a trial treatment recommended by her new cardiologist. It’s new, but promising, and it might give Maura more time.
Maybe just a few more years, which would be everything for James, but I know he hopes for more.
Maura could live long enough to watch her daughter grow up or even get old with James.
“I have a big favor to ask you all,” James says when we’re finished. “Maura and I are both so grateful that you were all here, but they're limiting her visitors and we want to spend a little time as just our family of three. Could you come back tomorrow?”
“Of course, man,” Beau says.
“We should stagger our arrivals so Maura and the baby don’t get too overwhelmed,” Eden suggests, her event planning mind already in gear. “I could text a proposed schedule, if everyone wants.”
“Thank you, Eden,” James says. “That would be perfect.”
Everyone starts gathering their things to leave, naturally falling into their couples, and it lands on me that my oldest friends are becoming parents, building families, moving into the next part of their lives.
As I glance over at Eden shrugging on her coat, I imagine how it might feel if she were really mine, if this thing we’re pretending to have were real.
She glances up and catches me staring. “What?” she asks.
“Nothing. I was just going to offer to drive you home.”
She smiles. “Thanks. I’d like that.”
My chest swells. If she were really mine, it would feel really fucking good.