Chapter 34 Lucy
Lucy
Lucy’s belly bumped up and down as Jade tore through the hotel parking lot, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. ‘You doing okay?’ Jade asked her for the hundredth time, her eyes only leaving the road for a split second. ‘Are the contractions bad?’
So far, Lucy wasn’t even sure if she was having contractions, or if the pressure in her belly was from the aftereffects of her water breaking. ‘No … I’m okay.’
Jade stopped at the edge of the parking lot. ‘Which hospital? Stillwater or Minneapolis?’
Oh God. Now what? Lucy didn’t know. Her OBGYN and the dads were in Stillwater.
She was currently in Minneapolis. The labour and delivery department told her to choose whichever she was most comfortable with when she asked this same question.
Her chin trembled. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know …
’ Too many decisions, too much pulling in her belly, too much sticky dress fabric adhering to her skin.
‘I’m going to pull over to a parking spot. Call Drew, get his thoughts, and then we’ll bolt.’
Jade whipped the car to the left and put the blinkers on as Lucy dialled.
‘Luce. We have a strict texting-only friendship. Which must mean … you’re calling to tell me Jade won her award?’
Shit. Jade was missing the biggest night of her life, and it was all Lucy’s fault.
The baby wanted out, early, she hadn’t taken those freaking classes, her chest hurt, and basically everything was going completely opposite to their plan.
What if she couldn’t do it? Why didn’t she read that damn book that Drew had begged her to read?
The trembling in her chin moved to her lips, and she choked out a bumbled word.
‘Lucy? Are you okay? What’s happening here?’
‘My water broke and … it was everywhere, and I don’t know which hospital to go to and we’re in Minneapolis, but I don’t know anyone here, and …’ A sob erupted from Lucy, and Jade gripped her shoulder.
‘Are you serious? Are you okay? Is Jade with you?’
Lucy conjured up more jumbled words until Jade grabbed the phone and put it on speaker. ‘Drew, she’s okay. But I need to know, now, which hospital you want us to go to. We’re thirty-five minutes out from Stillwater, about fifteen from the nearest Minneapolis hospital.’
A deep inhale sounded over the phone. ‘Ah, ah … Stillwater.’
‘Got it. On our way.’ Jade handed back the phone, slammed the car in reverse, and sped out of the parking lot.
This is happening. Drew must be so scared for the baby, and Lucy couldn’t say a single thing to alleviate his fears.
‘I’m so sorry, Drew. She’s so early. I don’t know if I caused my water to break or what.
I don’t think I can stop it from happening, but maybe the hospital can add more back in?
’ The amniotic fluid was gone, the remnants sticking to her bare legs, but maybe they had new technology or something.
‘This is not your fault.’ He sighed. ‘Everything’s going to be okay.’
They’d been friends for too many years, and even though her thinking was muddled from being in labour, she knew his fake voice.
She was immediately thrown back to when her mom had died in the bike accident, and he’d used those same words.
Everything’s going to be okay. He was worried.
She was worried. Jade’s pale face and parched lips showed she was worried.
‘The birthing classes. We didn’t do them.
We should have, and you told me, but I didn’t listen—’
‘Stop it. You can do anything, including having a baby without classes.’ He paused. ‘I have to call Mason. We’ll be up there right after you. Jade’s gonna be there with you and we’ll be two seconds behind, got it?’
Lucy nodded, but her throat felt too tight to verbalise a response.
‘I love you, Luce. We love you so much.’
Car lights, bridges, and orange construction signs zoomed by as Jade weaved through the traffic.
‘I’m so sorry for tonight,’ said Lucy. ‘You’re missing everything because of me.
’ Her lip trembled. For everything Jade had sacrificed during their entire relationship, this evening was supposed to be one hundred per cent solely focused on Jade and not on Lucy and the baby.
She deserved to have her moment and Lucy was ruining everything.
‘Do you want to go back? Maybe I … we … can get me an Uber or something?’
‘Lucy.’ Jade touched her thigh for a quick moment before white-knuckling the steering wheel again. ‘This award is just an award. For real. This … all this right here … this is life. I would never, ever leave you. Don’t even give it another thought.’
A deep knot tugged at Lucy’s lower abdomen, and she winced.
Jade flicked on her blinker and passed a car. ‘Contraction?’
‘Yeah.’ Lucy clocked the time and shoved an ice cube in her mouth from the cup Amelia handed her earlier.
Was it five million degrees? The vents were not blasting enough air, and Lucy was a second away from melting into the Prius’s seat.
She rubbed an ice cube against her hair line, closed her eyes, and tried to take calming breaths.
Less than thirty minutes later, they were squealing to a stop in front of the emergency entrance door and Lucy lurched forward.
‘Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. You good?’ Jade whipped off her seatbelt and bolted from the vehicle, not waiting for an answer. ‘Can someone help me, please?’ Panic laced her shouts, and she waved people towards their vehicle. ‘Somebody!’
Another cramp, deeper this time, seized Lucy’s gut. ‘Gahhhh!’ She gripped the door handle. ‘Dammit, that hurts.’
The emergency doors slid open and two people in scrubs burst through, one pushing a wheelchair. Jade reached both arms into the car and lifted Lucy to standing. A moment passed as Lucy attempted to steady her sea legs. Nausea flashed through her, and she grasped Jade’s hand.
‘Hey there.’ A man in blue scrubs pushed the wheelchair next to her. ‘Looks like we might be in labour. Did your water break?’
‘Well, I didn’t spill a milkshake on this dress.’ Lucy pointed at the bottom half of her stained gown. ‘It broke about forty-five minutes ago.’
The nurses guided her into the wheelchair and a barefoot Jade followed them up the sidewalk.
‘I’m sorry, but you have to park your car,’ the man said.
Jade’s head frantically shook. ‘I am not leaving her.’
God, I love this woman. Lucy reached for Jade’s hands. ‘It’s okay. The pain is at like a two. Go park and meet us up there. You don’t want to hold someone else up if they’re having an emergency.’ She kissed the top of Jade’s hand. ‘I’m totally fine.’
That was the largest load of bullshit ever to leave Lucy’s mouth. Everything was on fire. Her head was hot, burning from the inside out. Her belly raged, and her knees trembled. Nothing about this moment was fine.
Jade pulled her lips into her mouth. ‘Where are you taking her?’
‘Triage in labour and delivery, sixth floor.’
‘Got it.’ Jade planted a kiss on Lucy’s forehead. ‘I’ll see you in two minutes, tops. Okay? Don’t worry about a thing.’
‘I’m good. Go.’
As the electric hum of Jade’s car took off, Lucy rolled into the hospital with two strangers.
Independent her whole life, right now, she felt alone.
She wanted Jade to hold her tight and tell her everything was okay.
She wanted Drew and Mason and her dad to answer the doctors’ questions, because one thing was certain -– she couldn’t do this alone.
The receptionist checked her in at record speed. As Lucy stuffed her ID back into her wallet, another cramp seized her stomach. Oof. That one kicked things up a notch, a solid 2.5, and she clocked the time. Fourteen minutes since her last one. She restarted the timer.
Several nurses surrounded her. One helped her into a gown as the other tapped on her keyboard. ‘Chart says you’re 33.5 weeks. Is that accurate?’
Even though she already knew how early she was, hearing the nurse say it, fear flooded Lucy’s system. She blinked at the vitals screen, hoping it would provide a magical message saying everything was fine. ‘Is the baby going to be okay?’
The nurse showed no reaction. ‘Right now, let’s focus on you. But we’ll do everything for your baby.’
That’s not a yes! That was not anywhere near a ‘baby is going to be fine’ type of reassurance. Lucy lowered herself onto the stretcher, and soon, wands and ultrasounds and blood pressure cuffs had been efficiently attached to her various body parts. ‘Wait, it’s not my baby. Is that in the chart?’
The nurse cocked her head, eyes narrowed. ‘What?’
‘I am not the mother!’ Lucy yelped, then leaned back as spots overtook her vision. Did they know she was a surrogate? Did that change something somehow? Do they have all the paperwork? And where was Jade?
A knock on the door came from behind the curtain. ‘Permission to let Jade Hudson in?’
Thank God. Tears filled her eyes, again, for the millionth time. ‘Yes, yes. And when Drew and Mason get here, let them in. They’re the dads.’
Jade burst into the room and wrapped Lucy in her arms. Lucy shook against Jade’s familiar scent and comforting touch. Several breaths later, her racing heart had calmed somewhat. ‘What happened to your dress?’
Jade tugged at the dangling spaghetti strap hanging from her arm. ‘Your fierce grip from when I helped you out of the car.’
None of this was how tonight was supposed to go, nor how the birth story was supposed to go. ‘I’m so sorry about tonight. It was such an important event for you and this … I should have offered for you to stay.’
‘Darn.’ Jade rested her hip against the cot. ‘I really should have called you that Uber and met you here after the ceremony.’
‘Really?’
Jade let out a small chuckle and tucked a piece of hair behind Lucy’s ear. ‘Lucy, I’m totally kidding.’ She pressed her lips against Lucy’s forehead. ‘There is nowhere else I’d rather be. Truly.’
The nurse strapped a blood pressure cuff on Lucy’s arm again and watched the vital machine. ‘Blood pressure’s good.’ She recorded the information. ‘We’re going to roll you down to labour and delivery. Questions before we go?’
Only a million. ‘How long until I push?’
‘Hard to say. Could be an hour or twenty-four hours. We won’t know until we check your cervix and see if we need to boost contractions.’ Her index finger scrolled across the mouse. ‘Have you thought about pain medication? There’s nothing in your charts that indicates your wishes.’
Lucy avoided Jade’s surely heated gaze.
Throughout the paperwork process, the question about what type of pain medication she may or may not want arose often.
Lucy knew about epidurals, of course, but the idea of getting a massive needle shoved into her spine terrified her more than labour itself.
But then the doctor explained opioids, local anaesthesia, even laughing gas, which she’d thought was only for the dentist. Who knew there were so many options?
But Lucy hadn’t done the proper research – which she was totally kicking herself for now – on the possible effects of drugs on the baby.
Throughout the journey, Jade barely had any opinions – except for the medication.
She was adamant that Lucy take some pain management, touting all her clients over the years who used various things, and the babies turned out fine.
When Lucy pushed back, Jade cracked. ‘I can’t stand to think of you being in pain,’ she’d said.
‘Lucy? Thoughts on medication?’ the nurse repeated.
‘I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes.’ Lucy looked at Jade’s flatlined lips. ‘Can I just wait and see how bad it gets?’
‘Of course.’ The nurse nodded and added the note in her computer.
Lucy turned to Jade. ‘Can you call my dad, tell him what’s going on, tell him not to worry, and ask him to stay with Chucky?’
‘Of course.’
The contractions held steady at ten minutes apart.
In the labour and delivery unit, the nurse helped Lucy into the bed.
‘We’ve got yoga balls, a bathtub, towels, and heating pads.
You can walk around, squat, roll on the ball, whatever will help you.
As long as your vitals stay stable, you’re free to do whatever you need for relief. ’
‘Thank you.’ An odd calm before the storm settled. The nurses were right – there was nothing Lucy could do now but accept her fate. She sucked on an ice cube and peeked at the army of goose bumps on Jade’s arms. ‘Can we get my girlfriend a sweatshirt or something? A blanket?’
‘I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.’ A shiver tore through Jade. ‘I mean, only if you have one available.’
‘On it,’ the nurse said. ‘I’ll grab something and then leave you two alone for a little bit.’
As soon as the nurse left, Jade hurried to the bed. ‘Are you okay?’
The creases crossing her forehead gutted Lucy, and she kissed Jade’s hand. ‘I’m banning that word from here to eternity. I promise that if I’m not, I’ll say something.’ She glanced out the hospital window at the swaying trees. ‘Thank you for being here. I couldn’t have done this without you.’
‘Yes, you could have.’ Jade pulled the chair next to the bed and rested her head by Lucy’s lap.
Lucy closed her eyes and relished the moment, knowing that in just a few hours, all their lives would change forever.