Letting her thoughts drift, she ran down the last minute baby checklist and tried to ignore her mother’s stares. She had been watching Laura with a shit-eating grin on her face for several minutes.
“Are you happy, baby?” Joanie asked. “I know you wanted something different, but I hoped you two would come back together somehow. And he’s so handsome! You two will have the prettiest babies!”
“I am happy, Ma.” Laura stood to clear the empty takeout containers. “I told you that I didn’t want him around, but I was kidding myself. This is exactly where I want and need to be.”
Joanie stood and kissed her daughter on the forehead. “I’m glad. Now just so you know, I expect you to have a big Irish Catholic wedding down at the cathedral–”
“Ma! Seriously?” Laura felt herself blush again. “What is with you tonight?” Laura asked with a laugh.
Chapter Fifty Five
Laura and Mason lay in bed watching a movie. They both felt more relaxed and at peace than they had in a long time.
“Do you plan on staying here after the baby comes?” Mason asked as he played with the loose tendrils from her ponytail.
“Most likely. I wouldn’t want to be more than an hour or so from our parents, and the thought of raising a child in the craziness of Manhattan doesn’t appeal to me at all. I’m sure Daniel will let me work from here as long as I want, as long as I drop in for visits once in a while.” That was, if she wanted to even continue working after the baby. She had toyed with the idea of just doing part-time freelance work instead.
“I agree. I’m pretty sure my mum and dad would chain me in their basement if I tried to go too far away with their grandchild. What would you say if I sold my portion of the business and we bought a home out here?”
Laura thought for a minute before answering, “First of all, I’d think you were crazy. You love your work. And second, I’d probably be okay with it.” Laura sat up. “You didn’t sell your half of the business already, did you?”
“I had to. Remember that Page Six article you mentioned earlier? That was just a small part of my quick trip into insanity. For three or four months I was a mess, mostly drinking myself until I couldn’t feel feelings anymore, and my work became sloppy. My conduct wasn’t stellar either.” Mason turned the TV off. “So my partner and I sat down together after I sobered up and drew out an agreement. My behavior was bad, and I was burnt out, so instead of ruining the reputation of the company, I sold my half. I’ve spent the last couple of months putting my shit back together.”
Laura was surprised. Mason was getting good at doing that to her. “So, hold on. You sold your part of the company. Now what?”
“What do you mean ‘now what’? Now you and I patch things up. I want to find something to do that won’t require me to travel two weeks out of the month or tie me to a computer all day. It’s a strange feeling, though. I’ve never had this kind of freedom before.” Like a magnet, Mason’s hand was once again drawn to Laura’s belly. This time when he touched it, it was as hard as a rock. “Is that normal?”
Laura took a couple of deep breaths as the contraction passed. “Yeah. I’ve been having these Braxton Hicks contractions for a week or two now. They’ve been getting stronger the closer I get to go time. Today and yesterday have had a few that have taken my breath away.” As she spoke, she was seized by another one and just breathed through it. “They’re less painful if I’m not tired. Can you turn the movie back on? The sound has been helping me fall asleep.”
Mason clicked the power button on the remote and settled in with Laura tucked in close to him.
***
Laura shot up in pain around midnight. Up until that point she hadn’t experienced anything so painful before. After laying back against the pillow she pulled iTunes up and played the “Hypnobirth” track to help her focus.
She had been practicing her breathing for weeks and usually fell right to sleep when listening to it. However, that night, it wasn’t happening. As she listened to the soothing voice piping into her ears, another intense contraction happened, followed a few minutes later by another.
In case it wasn’t time to go to the birth center, she let Mason sleep while she timed her own contractions. There was no point in waking him up if it wasn’t go time, and it likely wasn’t, since she had almost three weeks left.
A nice long break happened, just about long enough for Laura to drift off a little. Until she felt a gush of wetness between her legs, followed by another squeeze. “Mason,” she whispered. “Mason, wake up.” She nudged the sleeping man next to her. If she couldn’t wake him up, the cooling wetness in the fabric of the sheets would. “Wake up. Ah!” She felt like all the air had been sucked out of her.
“What? I’m awake.” Mason rolled over into the wet spot. “Is everything all right?” He was instantly awake as anxiety took root. What the hell was going on?
“I’ve been having some pretty strong contractions for over an hour now, not falling into a pattern yet, but getting stronger. And I think my water broke.”
Mason ripped back the sheets, and sure enough, the wet spot was steadily growing. “Uh, what do I do? What do I do!”
“Relax and don’t wake my parents. It’s only…” She checked her bedside clock. “It’s not even 2am yet. Just calmly get up, get dressed, and grab my robe and my bag. I’m going to call my midwife.”
Mason nodded and raced around the room to do everything Laura asked. She told him to stay calm, but he couldn’t do it. Excitement, anxiety, nerves, and fear were wrestling around in his head as he collected his things.
“My contractions are still a little off, but they’re getting more regular and closer together. I would say like five to seven minutes apart, maybe?” Laura had her back to Mason as she brought her midwife up to speed. If she looked at him she would get crazy and anxious too. “Great, see you soon.”
“What’s going on?” Mason paused with his toothbrush in his mouth.
“She said to come on dow–” Laura doubled over and grabbed her nightstand. “Get to the birth center. I’m going to give you the name. Just plug it into your GPS, because with this amount of pain, you don’t want me navigating.”
***
Laura’s midwife, Ann, had met them at the birth center and let them in. Ann was a sweet woman in her late forties with dark skin and graying, curly hair. Laura loved that she was a nice balance between medical and crunchy. “Let’s get you into Birth Room Three. Do you want me to fill up the tub?” Ann asked.
“Yes please.” The next contraction came from her back. The hot water in the tub was going to be so nice.
“Great. And is this Daddy?” Ann eyed Mason with a look that said she hoped not.
“Yes. Mason, this is Ann, my midwife. Ann, Mason is my boyfriend and, yes, the father.”
Father. Just hearing the word attached to his name made him giddy. Over the course of less than seventy-two hours he had gone from ignorant bachelor to finding out about his child, and now he was so close to actually meeting it.
Laura almost buckled with the next one. “Ah! Fuck!” She white-knuckled the back of the black leather sofa in the waiting room. When she could walk again, she hurried to her birth room to get undressed before the next one came.
Mason looked around at what appeared to be a room in a bed and breakfast. “Where’s the doctor? Shouldn’t someone be by to administer an epidural or something?” The hardwood furniture and cozy quilts offered nothing that felt like it should be part of a birth. “Is this place even sterile?”
“Yes, it’s clean. There is no doctor and no epidural. There’s also no surgeon, Pitocin, and hopefully no episiotomy,” Laura answered. She grunted and curled her fingers into the bedspread.
“Ann! What exactly do you need me to do?” Mason asked. He felt impotent and totally useless.
“What you can do is rub her back when she’s experiencing a contraction. Hold her hand if she needs you to. Just touch her as long as she wants to be touched, and s
upport her. It helps a ton.” Ann hustled to shut the water in the tub off.
“Help me get my shoes off, Mase.” Laura couldn’t reach her laces.
As Mason was untying, the midwife returned to help Laura into the tub.
***
For the next several hours, the hot water was refreshed countless times, and Mason felt totally lost: he was in a situation where he couldn’t call the shots or force the outcome. It had to happen naturally. He was incredibly proud of Laura, though. She appeared to have slipped into a trance and just breathed through her pain.
Ann reached into the tub with a gloved hand and felt between Laura’s legs. “Oh! You want to come feel this, Mason? The head is crowning.”
He cautiously approached the tub and put on a glove. He sank his hand in and touched the top of a fuzzy little head. He stared at the midwife in awe.
“In a couple of pushes, we will have a new little miracle. Laura, you are doing so well.” She patted Laura on the shoulder. The gesture didn’t even disturb her, she was so in the zone.
She did reach for Mason’s hand and grunted as her last effort pushed the baby out into the waiting hands of the midwife.
“It’s a girl!” Ann announced.
Chapter Fifty Six
Lying back in the warm, dry bed, Laura put her daughter to her breast. “We have a little girl!” She kept repeating the words, but somehow they still didn’t feel real.
“What should we call her?” Mason asked. He hadn’t the slightest idea.
“Winnie. Winnie Joan Decker. How does that sound?” Laura gazed up at Mason through sleepy eyes.
“I think that sounds perfect.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I also wanted to give you this.” He turned to rummage around in his overnight bag. He pulled out the small teal box. “Laura, we’ve known each other since we were kids. I have been in love with you since the day we met in the tenth grade.” He pulled the lid out and turned the velvet box out into his hand. “I’ve messed up, but I have never stopped loving you.”
Mason flipped the lid back to present Laura with a 1.25-carat, cushion cut, white and pink diamond ring. “You are perfect for me. I know we’ve tried this before, but I want it to stick this time. Will you marry me, Laura?”
Laura’s jaw dropped. She had never seen such a beautiful piece of jewelry in her life. She looked up into Mason’s pale blue eyes, with tears in her own, and nodded. She smiled like an idiot and shouted, “Yes! Of course I will!”
She held out her shaking left hand for Mason to slide it on and immediately pulled him in for a kiss. Laura had her little family and, finally, her happy ending.
~ End ~
If you enjoyed this bundle, you might also enjoy my first box set:
BILLIONAIRES IN LOVE (Vol.1)
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KILLIAN: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 2) Page 109