“Uh, yeah, I heard you. Are you sure? I mean, we still have like two weeks.”
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I replied, “Yes, I’m absolutely certain. My pants are drenched, and Estelle thinks the pain I’ve been experiencing is back labor.”
“Shit. I’m still half an hour out to Green Valley, least of all the distance to Knoxville.”
“It’s okay. Just take your time, and be careful.”
“I will. Keep me posted, okay?”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
After I hung up, Estelle began shooing me toward the car. Cradling her phone to her ear, I couldn’t imagine why it was taking so long telling GramBea I was in labor. Maybe GramBea was waiting to talk to me herself. After a grunt of frustration, Estelle huffed, “Fine. We’ll be there in five minutes. Be at the edge of the driveway, or I’m not stopping!” She then hung up.
“Where are we going in five minutes?”
Estelle rolled her eyes. “Your grandmother insists on us swinging by and picking her up.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I wish.”
“Unfreakingbelievable!”
Once I was in the car, Estelle hustled over to the other side and got in. When she turned the car on, it was like some magnetic pull happened in my abdomen. The dull ache that had been in my back spread around to my front before ratcheting up a few levels.
“Fuck!” I muttered.
Without even glancing over at me, Estelle threw the car into reverse, and we spun out of the studio’s parking lot and onto the main road. When the pain subsided, I turned to her. “Okay, that wasn’t good.”
“While I never experienced it myself, I would imagine nothing about the physical aspect of childbirth is supposed to be good.”
“Somehow in my mind I thought when the really bad shit started, I’d be at the hospital, and I would have already had gotten my epidural . . . and maybe a morphine drip.”
Estelle chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”
When we crested the hill, GramBea and Dot were waiting at the end of the driveway just as Estelle had instructed them. As soon as she slowed down, they pounced on the car and fell into the backseat. The moment the doors were closed Estelle took off again.
Leaning over the console, GramBea’s voice came in my ear. “How are you doing, honey?”
“I’ve been better.”
“She had a really strong contraction,” Estelle informed them.
GramBea rubbed my shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be just fine. I called your mama and daddy, and they’re going to be on the way just as soon as they can.”
“Thanks, GramBea.”
“Where’s Zeke?” Dot asked.
“He’s in Crossville working on the new building.”
“Oh dear,” Dot murmured.
When I turned around to survey her panicked expression, GramBea squeezed my shoulder. “It’s fine. He has plenty of time to make it to the hospital.”
Something about the tone of her voice sent an anxious feeling over my body. “No one said anything about Zeke not making it to the hospital.”
“Of course not,” GramBea replied while Dot nodded emphatically.
I narrowed my eyes at them. “Wait, do you think Zeke’s not going to make it?”
“Of course not,” GramBea repeated while Dot continued nodding emphatically.
When I turned to Estelle, she rolled her eyes. “They’ve been that bad at lying since we were kids.”
My head collapsed back on the headrest. “Zeke is going to make it. I can’t let myself think anything else.”
“That’s right. Positive thinking all the way,” Estelle replied.
Just as we reached the sign for the city limits, the wail of a siren, coupled with blue and red flashing lights, erupted behind us. Whirling around in her seat, GramBea peered out the back window. “It’s the sheriff.” She turned back around and cocked her head at Estelle. “Were you speeding?”
“Jesus Christ, Beatrice, I’m trying to get your granddaughter to the hospital to have a baby!”
“That’s still not an excuse to break the law.”
Estelle and I rolled our eyes in unison. After Estelle pulled over to the side of the road, the deputy followed her. When the deputy arrived at the window, Estelle still hadn’t bothered to get her license and proof of insurance. Instead, she tapped her hands in annoyance on the steering wheel.
After putting the window down, she turned to Officer Evans. “Good afternoon, Ms. Lewis,” he pronounced pleasantly.
“Good afternoon, Colin.”
With a cocky grin, he asked, “In a hurry to get somewhere, huh?”
Tilting her head at him, Estelle replied, “As a matter of fact I am.”
“Well, there’s nothing that important that negates breaking the law, is there?”
“Would you consider the fact my goddaughter is sitting here with an ass soaked in amniotic fluid important enough?”
“Oh my heavens,” Dot muttered from the backseat.
“Honestly, Estelle,” GramBea said before leaning over Dot to roll her window down.
“Colin, sugar, while you’ll have to excuse Estelle’s crudeness, it is true that Finley is in labor.”
Colin ducked his head to glance across Estelle at me. “Oh, hey there, Finley. I didn’t see you before.”
With another cramp contorting my abdomen, I threw up a hand. “Hey, Colin,” I gritted out.
“My apologies, Finley, I would have never pulled you guys over if I’d known.”
“Thanks.”
Colin raised back up. “Why don’t I give you guys a sheriff’s escort out of town?”
In my mortification, I was about to tell him that wouldn’t be necessary when Estelle replied, “That would be great. In fact, why don’t you just take us on to Knoxville while you’re at it?”
Colin’s eyes bulged. “But Ms. Lewis, I have to stay within our jurisdiction.”
“Bullshit. You think the entire town of Green Valley is going to go to absolute shit in the next thirty-five minutes?”
“I would have to check with Jackson.”
“You do that. Then tell him I’ll double my usual donation to the department’s charity fund.”
“Um, okay.” He backed away from the car before turning his head to his shoulder. He spoke in hushed, frantic tones into his radio. After a few tense moments, he turned around. “Sheriff James said it would be okay.”
Estelle turned to wink at me. “I thought it would.”
When the siren and lights started back up again, I scooted farther down in my seat in mortification. Regardless of whether I was in labor, I hated the added drama and extra attention of a sheriff’s escort to the hospital.
Sensing my embarrassment, GramBea giggled. “Just think of the story you’ll have to tell Taylor about the day he was born.”
Furrowing my brows, I turned around to look at her. “Taylor?”
“I thought you said you might name him after your father.”
“We’re not naming him after either of our fathers.”
“Then what did you decide on?”
Since I knew it was going to be an issue, I replied, “Can we do this later?”
“Why not now? It’s not like you’re going anywhere?”
“Bodaway,” I replied.
Silence reverberated through the car. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” GramBea asked.
“Bodaway. We wanted to honor Zeke’s Native American heritage, and it means fire-maker.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” Dot mused while GramBea merely blinked. In her mind, I’m sure she was horrified we hadn’t picked a very Southern name.
“Bodaway Masters?” she said as if she was trying it out. Somehow though it still appeared to leave a sour taste.
“We’re calling him Bo.”
A sigh of relief echoed over the group. “Well, that’s somewhat better,” Gram
Bea remarked.
I laughed. “Not that I care, but I’m glad you think so.”
“What about a middle name?” Dot asked.
“Anderson for my maiden name.”
“Bodaway Anderson Masters . . . that sounds like a law firm,” Estelle quipped.
GramBea and Dot chuckled. “Har, har,” I muttered.
With a wink, Estelle said, “At least we’re keeping your mind off the pain.”
She was right. The last contraction I’d experienced wasn’t as rough as the others. I smiled at her. “I appreciate that.”
With Colin leading the way, we shaved ten minutes off our trip to the hospital. Colin must’ve called ahead because they were waiting with a wheelchair for us out front. The next half hour was a blur of pain punctuated by getting registered, riding up to the maternity floor, then getting settled in my room. There was also the regretful call from Zeke about getting stuck in traffic caused by a wreck.
Through the haze of my pain, I saw a nurse enter the room. Once I was through the contraction, she smiled down at me. “Hi there. I’m Rita.” She glanced around the bed at the girls. “My, my, you have a full house with you today.”
“Can they at least stay back here with me until my husband gets here?”
“Of course. They can even stay during the birth if you’d like.”
I wrinkled my nose. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about them seeing me pushing something the size of a watermelon out my vagina. “Um, I’ll have to see what Zeke thinks about that,” I replied diplomatically.
GramBea appeared slightly miffed by my response. “Many years ago, it was midwives and women who brought babies into the world while the men stayed outside,” she remarked.
With a roll of my eyes, I replied, “Yeah, that was back when women were told to put a knife under the bed to cut the pain because they didn’t have access to hospitals and drugs.” I gave her a pointed look. “From what I remember, all of your kids were born in a hospital.”
Rita laughed. “While you guys work it out, I’m going to check to see how far dilated you are.”
When Rita donned her gloves and pushed the sheet up to expose my hoo-hah, GramBea’s resolve to stay in with me momentarily faltered. Suddenly, she found the lighting over my head utterly fascinating.
“Oh my, it looks like you’re at ten,” Rita proclaimed.
Although I was a Lamaze dropout, I’d watched enough medical dramas on television to know what ten centimeters dilated meant. “That’s impossible. I’ve barely been in labor.” I motioned my hand toward my nether regions. “You need to check it again.”
Rita cocked her head at me and gave me a “Bless your heart” look. “I do believe your grandmother said you’d had some intense back pain for twenty-four hours.”
“It’s my godmother, but yes, that’s right.”
Rita gave me a knowing smile. “You’ve been in labor for twenty-four hours. Your body is ready.”
I shook my head wildly back and forth. “But my husband isn’t here.”
With a sympathetic look, Rita replied, “I’m sorry, but babies tend to have a mind of their own. I’m going to go tell the doctor you’re ready.”
As Rita exited the room, I turned to GramBea. “I’m not going to have Zeke miss his son’s birth.”
GramBea crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you intend to do? Cross your legs to try to keep the baby from coming out?”
Before I could answer her, another contraction rocketed through my body. I sucked in a breath and did the counting Estelle had taught me. Because of Zeke’s crazy schedule, I’d dropped out of Lamaze classes. Not to mention I had to go all the way to Maryville to attend a class.
Once I recovered from the contraction, a plan began to form in my mind. “If Zeke can’t be here for the delivery, we’re going to bring it to him.”
While GramBea’s silver brows furrowed, Estelle nodded her head. “Skype or FaceTime?”
“I’m thinking FaceTime.”
GramBea and Dot exchanged a confused look. “What’s Spacetime?” Dot asked.
“You know, the way you talk to Preston when he’s on the screen,” Estelle replied. Turning to me, she said, “I have to set it up and answer it for her.”
“I’m not surprised,” I laughed.
Glancing around at the three of them, I tried deciding who would be the best to man the camera. GramBea was out because she had the potential to be an emotional wreck. While Estelle would be a good choice, I knew I would need her strength to keep me and GramBea calm and focused. That left only one option. “Dot, I need you to be in charge of the camera.”
Her eyes bulged. “Me?”
GramBea glanced between us. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Dot always cuts people’s heads off in pictures.”
Estelle reached for my phone. “I’ll take care of the phone. Beatrice can take one leg, and Dot can take the other.” As if she sensed my reasons for hesitation, she added, “I can man the camera and keep everyone together.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Rita returned with Dr. Charles—one of the OBs I’d rotated through during my pregnancy. With a smile, he said, “Good to see you, Finley. I have to say I wasn’t expecting you this soon.”
“You and me both, Dr. Charles.”
“Regardless of what we thought, this baby is ready to make his entrance.”
“He already has his mother’s determined spirit,” GramBea said with a grin.
“Oh, right, like this is all my fault,” I muttered.
Dr. Charles laughed. “Ready to push?”
“Not exactly,” I grunted as another pain gripped me. Not getting to have pain medication was something I was going to guilt this baby with for years to come. I assumed Dr. Charles got that response often because he merely ignored me and rolled his stool over at the foot of my bed.
As soon as I was spread open like a barn door, I nodded at Estelle. She immediately dialed Zeke. She held out the phone to face me. When Zeke answered, he appeared horror-stricken. “Are you okay?”
“Well, I’m about to squeeze a watermelon out of a hole the size of a lemon without the benefit of drugs, so yeah, I’ve been better.”
His eyes widened. “You’re delivering now?”
“I’m sorry. Our impatient son wants to make his arrival ASAP. Here’s what I need you to do.” Before I could say anything else, another contraction squeezed my lower half in a vise. While I was working through the pain, Estelle turned the camera to her to supervise Zeke.
“We need you to pull off somewhere. I know Finnie said you were stuck in traffic, but you don’t need to get distracted and potentially cause another wreck.”
“Okay, I’ll pull off on the shoulder right now.” A clicking noise came in the background. “I just turned on my flashers too to be extra careful.”
“That’s good,” Estelle replied. With Zeke in position, Estelle turned the camera back to me.
This was it.
Like so many experiences in my life, my delivery was nothing like I had imagined it. But let’s face it: who in their right mind would ever imagine being spread-eagled on FaceTime while your husband watched from the side of the road and your grandmother, great-aunt, and godmother surrounded your bed?
I’ll spare you the rest of the gory details about the blood and fluids and tearing. Instead, we’ll pick up right when Dr. Charles helped ease my son the last bit into the world. As tears over-spilled my eyes, I experienced every clichéd moment of seeing my son for the first time.
“What a big boy you have!” Dr. Charles exclaimed as he held Bo up.
Still unable to tear my eyes away from my son, I asked, “Can you see him?”
When I finally looked at the phone, Zeke’s hand was over his mouth. He appeared so overwhelmed with emotion he could only nod his head. “He’s got loads of jet-black hair just like you,” I told him.
“But he’s got Finnie’s nose and lips,” GramBea sniffled.
I grinned at
Zeke. “I’m not sure about that.”
It took a moment for him to speak. “He’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“Wait until you see him in person.”
Zeke ran his hand over his eyes. “I can only imagine.” He craned his neck to the side before his eyes lit up. “They’re letting traffic through now. I’ll be there just as soon as I can.”
Swiping the tears away with the back of my hand, I replied, “We’ll be here waiting for you.”
After Zeke hung up, I almost wished I’d asked him to stay on the line. Even though the girls encircled my bedside, I felt somewhat bereft not hearing his voice. I turned my attention back to my son. “Your daddy is trying to get here just as fast as he can.”
He merely stuck his tongue out at me and flailed his arms. While we waited for Zeke, I reluctantly gave Bo to the nurses to do his checks. Although I couldn’t have cared less about what I looked like, the girls fretted around me, brushing my hair and washing my face.
When Zeke came busting through the door about twenty minutes later, Bo was snuggled against me for some skin to skin bonding time. Cocking my head at my husband, I asked, “Did you go ninety to get here?”
“Maybe,” he replied absently as he crossed the room. The moment he laid eyes on Bo live and in the flesh, Zeke burst into tears.
GramBea patted his back. “We’ll be outside in the waiting room if you need us,” she said.
Swiping his eyes, Zeke nodded his head. “Thanks for being here when I couldn’t.”
“It was a pleasure,” GramBea replied while Dot and Estelle bobbed their heads in agreement.
After the door closed, Zeke’s hands hovered over Bo. He appeared unsure what to do next. “Do you want to hold him?”
“Yes. Very much. But I’m also afraid of dropping him.”
I laughed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Ever cautious, Zeke sat down on the side of the bed before taking Bo into his arms. As I sat back and watched the two men in my life bond, I was overwhelmed with love. Fate had certainly enjoyed sending both Zeke and me down a broken, if not down-right hazardous road to find each other. Somehow that road had led us from lives in the big city to a small-town existence in Green Valley. Most of all, it taught us a self-awareness of what real happiness looks like and what a deep, abiding love feels like.
Shelf Awareness: Green Valley Library Book #4 Page 23