M: I tried to call Frank when I left the doctor’s office, but he was in a meeting and couldn’t come to the phone. So I went online. By the time he got home I was pretty freaked out. When I told him there was a problem I think I overwhelmed him with too much information.
D: And?
Daniel’s jaw clenched. What the hell did he say to her?
M: He asked “how did this happen?”
D: Did you tell him that the doctor told you it just happens?
M: Daniel, you know Frank. In his mind nothing “just happens”, someone has to be to blame.
D: That’s ridiculous. Plenty of things “just happen” every moment of every day.
M: I know, but it made me think that maybe I’d done something to cause it. Who knows, maybe I did.
D: You’re the most cautious pregnant woman in the world. Unless this problem is caused by eating too many nutritious homemade meals or avoiding alcohol, I don’t see how it could be anything you’re doing. Your baby’s not even close to being born yet, and you’re already a great mum.
Daniel stared at the screen, but no reply came.
Shit. Did I upset her, or did we lose the connection?
His thumb picked up speed as it drummed on the edge of the table.
D: Are you still there? Are you okay?
M: I’m here.
D: Oh good, I thought I lost you.
M: I’m not that easy to get rid of.
D: I wouldn’t know, and I’ve no intention of trying to find out.
M: Thank you for saying that.
D: Saying I’ve no intention of getting rid of you?
M: Well, that too, but I meant thank you for saying what you said about me being a good mum.
Daniel was relieved he’d said the right thing. He wished he was there to give her a hug.
D: I’m not just saying it, you know. It’s true.
M: I miss you.
D: I miss you too.
He hit send with no hesitation. He was glad she said it first, because he had wanted to say it so badly. Plus he was thrilled she felt the same way.
M: If I’d talked to you earlier maybe I wouldn’t be surrounded by brownies now.
D: Is this about my accent again?
M: Little bit.
D: Crazy American women.
M: Seems to me you’re pretty fond of us crazy American women.
D: Some more than others.
M: My oven is going to beep in two minutes.
D: Is that some sort of euphemism?
M: Very funny.
D: J
M: I’ll let you get back to your tropical paradise now. Thanks for making me feel better.
D: My pleasure. Do you really feel better? You’re not still blaming yourself?
M: I do feel better. And I’ll freeze some brownies for you.
D: Get some sleep tonight, okay?
M: Yes sir.
D: LOL You realize I know you’re only humoring me when you say that, right?
M: J
D: Good night Marienne.
M: Good night Daniel.
He watched as the light went out beside her name then closed his eyes. Fucking Frank. He ran both hands through his hair. How could he not know that Marienne would take that comment to heart? Stupid bloody arse. He rubbed his eyes then stared at the computer, scrolling back to see if she’d named the specific problem she was having. She hadn’t. He brought up his home page and typed into the search area ‘common placenta problem early pregnancy’.
By the time Justine arrived two hours later Daniel knew more about placenta-related pregnancy problems than he ever could have imagined. He could see why Marienne was freaked out. There was so much information and most of it was scary.
He concluded she must have mild placental previa, as it was the only condition that seemed to have a decent chance of correcting itself as the pregnancy progressed. He hoped that would be the case for her, because the alternatives were the scarier ones.
Justine breezed through the door and tossed her purse on the couch, then flopped onto the bed.
“Owww,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel logged off and carried his laptop back into the room.
“Sunburn.” She craned her neck to examine her shoulders. “I knew I should have worn long sleeves on the boat. Will you lotion me?”
“Of course.” He grabbed the bottle of after sun cream from the dresser.
She braided her hair and twisted it up, tucking in the ends to get everything off her shoulders, cringing with every movement. Daniel sat down next to her and unzipped her dress, carefully moving the straps. A pale line of skin accented each shoulder while the rest of her back blazed bright red. He rubbed the lotion on his hands then gently placed them on her.
She jumped, then he felt her relax beneath his fingers. “Mmmmmmm, that’s better.”
“How was dinner? You have them all wrapped around your little finger now?” he asked.
“Not quite, but I’m getting there.” She sounded pleased. “What about you? What were you doing on the patio?”
“Googling.”
Justine let out a laugh. “That sounds like it should be so much more fun than it is. What were you Googling.”
“Information about placentas.”
“Ewwwww. Why?”
“I heard from Marienne. She seems to be having a complication with her pregnancy. I didn’t want to get too nosy, but I was curious how serious the problem was, so I looked it up.”
“Pregnancy seems like one big complication if you ask me. The nausea finally stopped and now she’s got some other issue already?”
“Pregnancy’s not the easiest thing in the world, but you do get a baby out of it.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
“It is a good thing.”
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing if you want a baby.”
He stopped lotioning. “Do you ever think about it?” He held his breath.
“No,” she said, without hesitation.
“Seriously?” How is that possible? Now that Marienne and Frank were having a baby, he thought about it all the time.
“Seriously. I am so not ready for all that.”
“I’m not saying tonight.”
“Definitely not tonight.” She winced as she stood up and stepped out of her dress. “I can’t even practice the fun part tonight.”
“You hardly need practice at the fun part.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere. Literally.”
“Was worth a shot.”
Daniel debated whether or not to bring up babies again. It bothered him that she no longer seemed to have children anywhere in her future plan. He decided to let it go. He was certain cranky, sunburned Justine was even less likely to change her opinion.
“I’m going to get ready for bed. I’m exhausted.” She walked toward the bathroom. “Let’s sleep in tomorrow. Maybe we can do brunch at that place on the beach. At a table in the shade.”
“Sounds good.” He crossed the room and hung the ‘do not disturb’ sign outside. The words ‘If you want a baby’ popped back into his head. He hoped the if was supposed to be a when, but something in his heart told him it wasn’t.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A loud noise startled Marienne awake, so loud she jumped out of bed, not an easy task for someone seven months pregnant. The noise sounded again and she sighed with relief as she realized it was just the furnace banging. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and her tension ebbed. Then a small rush of liquid ran down her leg.
Fear swept over her as she realized her water might have broken. She stood perfectly still, willing it to be nothing, then came another gush.
She felt the color drain from her face. She grabbed the cordless phone and headed to the bathroom. She was too jittery to press the buttons properly. It took three tries before she dialed Frank’s number correctly. Please pick up, please pick up, pick up, pick up. There was no answer. She tried his
cell phone, and it went straight to voicemail.
Cold and shaking she dialed the doctor’s office. The on-call nurse told her she needed to come in to the hospital immediately. Marienne explained that she had no way to contact her husband, and the nurse offered to send an ambulance. The thought of an ambulance terrified her further. “That won’t be necessary, I’ll call a friend.”
Still shaking she dialed Daniel and Justine’s number. The phone rang once. Twice. “Please pick up,” she said. She heard Daniel’s sleepy voice on the other end of the line.
“Hello?” he said.
“Daniel.” Her voice was three octaves higher than usual.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded wide-awake. His clean, crisp voice helped her focus.
“I think my water might have broken.” She struggled to hold back tears. The phone bounced wildly against her ear, and she needed both hands to steady it.
“Is Frank with you?”
“No.” The panic escalated in her voice. “I can’t reach him, but I’ve called the doctor, and they said I need to come into the hospital right away.”
He didn’t wait for more information.
“I’ll be right there,” he said, and hung up the phone.
****
“Marienne thinks her water may have broken,” Daniel said to Justine’s sleeping figure. He rushed around the bedroom pulling on pants and a sweater and grabbing his wallet off the dresser. “Do you want to come with us to the hospital?”
“What?” Justine groaned and rolled over. “Hospital? It’s three in the morning. I have a presentation at eight. No way.”
“Well, I’m driving her.” He was aghast at her utter lack of concern. “Franks’s not home, and the doctor wants to see her straight away.” He tried to impress upon her the importance of the situation in an attempt to get some sort of semi-human response out of her.
“Daniel,” She whined. “People have babies every day, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“She’s not full term.” He pulled on his socks. Exasperated and anxious to leave, he was still desperate to make some impression on Justine.
“Oh,” she said. “Well, preemies usually do fine these days.” She rolled over again. “Tell her I said good luck.”
He was certain she was back asleep before he’d even reached the bottom of the staircase. His stomach churned from a mixture of disgust and fear and he tried to focus only on Marienne.
Though he tore out of the driveway at record speed, he felt as if he was moving in slow motion. The drive around the block to Marienne’s house seemed interminable. Please let her be okay. Please let the baby be okay. Where the fuck is Frank?
He screeched to a halt in her driveway and practically flew across the yard to her front door. She was waiting for him, her eyes huge and frightened in her pale face. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and hold her.
“Can you walk?” was all he could manage to say.
She nodded. He took her hand and led her toward his car.
To his shock she pulled a large trash bag out of her pocket and began spreading it over his front seat as soon as he opened the door.
“What are you doing?” he asked, baffled.
“I don’t want to …leak…all over your car,” she said.
“Oh for God’s sake, I don’t care. Would you just get in?”
She smoothed the last corner of plastic down before struggling into the seat. He reached over and buckled her in then rushed around and hopped into the driver’s seat.
“St. Peter’s?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered with a nod.
He sped through the streets, across the bridge, thankful there was no one else on the road. He pulled into the emergency driveway and leaped out of the car to usher her inside.
“Maternity?” She asked a nurse.
His head started to swim from the hospital smell. He hadn’t been inside a hospital since his mother had died, but the odor brought the memories flooding back.
“Third floor,” the woman replied. “Do you need a wheelchair?”
“No,” Marienne said. “I’m okay.” She turned to Daniel. “Will you come with me?” Her voice was small and pleading.
“Of course.” He took a step toward the elevator, but a security guard stopped him.
“Uh, sir, is that your black Cherokee?”
“Shit,” Daniel said. “Yes.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to move.”
Daniel looked at Marienne’s frightened face. “You’ll be fine. Go straight upstairs, and I’ll find you in two minutes.”
She nodded, eyes round. He ran to the car faster than he could ever recall moving.
By the time he got up to the maternity ward Marienne was nowhere in sight. The hospital smell was assaulting him again, but he tried to ignore it. He drummed his fingers on the reception desk as the nurse finished shoving papers into a manila folder before acknowledging his presence.
“Marienne Valeti,” he said, as soon as the she looked at him.
“Room three.” She pointed to the right.
He rushed down the hall. A nurse was standing in the doorway, scribbling in a chart. “Marienne?” he started to ask, but before he finished he heard her voice from behind the curtain.
“Daniel? I’m right here.”
Without thinking he strode behind the pink and blue checked cloth, trying to steady himself as he saw Marienne sitting in the hospital bed. A hideous light blue gown was wrapped around her, and she looked pale and shaky. He moved toward her and grabbed her hand in mid air as she reached for his. “Are you okay?” He searched her face.
“I don’t know. Apparently they have to run some tests.”
She looked terrified. The nurse with the chart yanked the curtain to the side as she wheeled over a fetal monitor. “Are you the father?” She looked from Daniel to Marienne.
“No,” they said in unison. Her hand tightened around his.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait outside.”
Daniel squeezed Marienne’s hand and looked into her eyes. “You’re going to be fine.” He managed to keep every bit of shakiness out of his voice. She nodded and reluctantly let go.
“There’s a room right down the hall, sir,” the nurse said.
Daniel nodded and walked out of the room.
He paced back and forth past the couches several times before plunking down on one. His hands raked through his hair, repeatedly, pausing only to rub his eyes. He pressed his forefingers against the bridge of his nose.
The odor was overwhelming him now. Seeing Marienne in that bed, looking so frightened and helpless, the sounds of monitors beeping, the nausea swept over him as images of his mother in her hospital bed bombarded him. No, not the same, not the same at all. He tried to think rationally. Marienne’s not dying, she’s bringing a new life into the world. Frank. The name came out of nowhere. He fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone, flipped it open and scrolled to Frank’s number.
It went straight to the automated message. Fuck. He tried the work number which rang five times before going to voice mail.
“Fucking fuck,” he said, aloud, startling the man on the far couch who had apparently nodded off. “Sorry,” Daniel said. “Really sorry.” The man waved and closed his eyes again.
Daniel stared at him. He was much older, white-haired. Daughter having a baby perhaps? Umpteenth child being born? He couldn’t imagine any scenario in which one could doze off while in the waiting room of the maternity ward. His mind was racing. Marienne’s panicky voice and wide eyes, Justine’s ambivalence, the images of his mother, the sleeping man, all crowded his brain and spiraled together. He didn’t even hear the nurse approaching.
“Sir?” she said. “Sir, your friend will be ready to go in a few moments.”
“Ready to go?” He was relieved, but confused.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Kind of a false alarm. I’ll let her explain.”
“But she’s okay?”
&nb
sp; “Mmmmhmmmm.” She nodded.
“And the baby?”
“Fine too.”
“You’re absolutely certain?”
“They’re both fine.”
“Okay.” He tried to let it sink in.
Marienne walked out of her room, and the confusion stopped. All he felt was happy. The color had returned to her face, and the fear was gone. She sighed as he approached her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” She sounded both relieved and embarrassed.
“What happened?”
“Well.” She looked down, her cheeks coloring, which thrilled him; her paleness had scared the crap out of him earlier. “It seems the baby is big enough to exert quite a bit of pressure on my bladder sometimes.” She took a deep breath. “My water didn’t break, I wet myself.”
It took him a moment to realize what she said. “So….”
“I peed my pants.” She gestured with both hands and shrugged.
He felt joyous. She was fine, the baby was fine, everything was fine. Although he knew he shouldn’t, he let out a laugh. She scowled, and flushed a deeper shade. “Ah, yes,” she said. “Everyone loves a good ‘I peed my pants’ story.”
He hugged her and kissed the side of her head, hard, breathing in the scent of her hair as the relief further washed through him. She’s fine. “Yes, that’s true, there’s nothing better than a good ‘I peed my pants’ story, but this may be—no this is—the best one I’ve ever heard.”
“Stop it.” She tried to sound stern, but was unable to keep from smiling.
“No really, I’d tell it as my own, but I don’t think I could pull off the pregnancy bit.”
She smacked his arm as they walked toward the elevator. He couldn’t stop grinning.
“Seriously,” he said, as they rode to the first floor. “This is the best news I could have hoped for, you’re fine, your baby is fine, it’s all good.”
“I know.” She nodded. “And thank you. Thank you for being there for me. I don’t know what I would have done….” Her voice trailed off and her eyes clouded with tears.
“You don’t need to worry about that.” He kissed the side of her head again.
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