Slow Motion

Chapter 1

Kiki

Nine months was a lie told to women to make us feel like we could survive pregnancy. In actuality, you were pregnant for a hundred years and a few days. And right around the time you were positive you couldn’t take another minute of it, your water broke in the middle of a shift at work.

I looked down at the puddle at my feet with disgust.

Gross.

With a sigh, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called my fiancé, Noah. He was working so I already knew he wouldn’t answer, but I left what I hoped was a relaxed, unemotional message on his voicemail.

“Hey, babe, it’s me. Looks like Baby Girl has finally decided to make an appearance. Hope you can get back here on time. Love you.” I disconnected and stuck the phone back in my pocket. A delicious tray of prosciutto and camembert puffs would be coming out of the oven in a few minutes, and I needed to watch them. Baby Girl, which was the only name we’d been able to agree on so far, didn’t seem to be in any hurry considering my due date had been two days ago.

“Did you pee yourself?” My boss, Marla, demanded, staring at the puddle at my feet.

“No, I didn’t pee myself.” I rolled my eyes at her. “My water broke, but?—”

“What?!” Marla gazed at me and then suddenly began shrieking. “Gordon, pull the van around! Nita, get Kiki’s things from the back! We need to?—”

“No, I don’t think—” I tried to interrupt but she wasn’t having it.

“Honey, once your water breaks, it’s time. We have to get you to a hospital pronto.”

“It could be hours!” I protested. “And I really want to hold off as long as possible, to give Noah time to get here.”

“It could be five minutes or five days,” Nita said with a grin. “But you should be at the hospital either way.”

“I don’t want to be at the hospital any longer than necessary,” I snapped. “And I need Noah to get here. So, if you guys could slow down and let me catch my breath, it would be awesome.” I hadn’t meant to snap at them, but the words tumbled out anyway and my coworkers looked a little startled at my outburst.

“Bri would know what to do if she was here,” Marla mumbled, referring to my best friend, who’d once worked with us.

“Bri is in L.A.,” I responded. “Which means you guys need to chill. Now, the puffs will be done in three minutes. Once they’re out, I’ll call Noah again and we’ll go from there.”

“Are you having contractions?” Marla asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Not yet.” I managed to smile even though I was more nervous than I was letting on. I’d gone through most of my pregnancy on my own, since Noah was on tour with the band he worked for as a roadie, and it had only gotten harder as I’d gotten closer to my due date.

It wasn’t like Noah had abandoned me. He was working, making money we would need once the baby was here and I had to take time off from the catering company I worked for. But I hated being apart.

The worst part was I couldn’t tell him how I felt because he loved his job. And God knew, he needed something to be excited about. Between his history of addiction and recent stint in rehab, I’d been walking on eggshells when it came to my very unplanned and untimely pregnancy. Not that I’d gotten pregnant on my own, but he’d overdosed after I told him the news, so I’d been extremely cautious about letting him see how scared I was. And frankly, being on my own so much put me in a perpetual bad mood. Not being able to reach him when I needed him annoyed me even more.

“He’ll get here,” Nita said softly, putting a hand on my arm. “Now we need to go. Marla and Gordie will stay here to take care of the food, and I’ll take you to the hospital.”

I waved my hand in protest. “But?—”

“The only thing you need to do right now is have a baby.”

“Bri’s about to call you,” Marla yelled. “She can be here in a few hours.”

My phone rang before I could respond, and I yanked it out of my pocket again. “Hey.”

“It’s time!” There was no mistaking the excitement in my best friend’s voice.

“Goody,” I muttered sarcastically. “I’m totally looking forward to spending the next however many hours screaming in agony.”

“You’ll get the epidural, and it’ll be fine,” she said, laughing. “And I’m heading to Vegas right now. Hopefully, I’ll be there before you give birth.”

“I’m sure you’ll be here before Noah,” I murmured. Noah was her brother, so I’d been careful about what I said with regard to our current situation, but I was too out of sorts right now to care.

“Did you call him?” she asked.

“Of course!” I snapped. “But even though he knows my due date passed two days ago, he couldn’t be bothered to answer.”

“They’re probably in the middle of soundcheck,” she said quietly.

“And I’m in the middle of giving birth to his kid!”

We were both quiet for a beat before she said, “You’re upset. I understand. I’m on my way and I’ll make sure Noah calls the minute he’s done.”

“He promised he’d be here,” I said, suddenly feeling defeated. “But all he thinks about is money.”

“Because you need it.”

“I know, but at what cost?” Tears came out of nowhere, and I hurried to the back door for some privacy. “I need him, not money. Him!” I swiped at my eyes, hurt and frustrated and suddenly battling an intense bout of pain. “Oh, shit.”

“What? Is it a contraction?”

I was too busy trying to breathe to answer.

“I’m coming,” Bri said softly. “Go to the hospital, get the good drugs, and wait for me, okay?”

“It shouldn’t be your job,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “He should be doing everything in his power to get here, not you.”

She probably didn’t respond because she couldn’t.

I was right, and there was no getting around it.