The Truth About Ever After (29 page)

“No,”
Jen said dismissively. “The contractions aren’t regular or close together. I’m
sure this is just pre-labor stuff. No biggie.”

We
waited for a few more minutes. When no contraction came, I allowed myself to
relax. “Maybe it was just a false alarm,” I said, relieved.

Jen
smiled at me, then gasped.

“Another
one?” I asked.

“No,”
she whispered, her eyes bright with terror. “I think my water just broke.”

We
stared at each other, wide-eyed and silent. I had absolutely no idea what to
say, what to do. Jen was looking at me as if she wanted me to make some kind of
decision, but I didn’t know what.

“Well,”
I said finally, when it was clear she wasn’t going to speak. “I think we should
probably take you to the hospital then.”

“This
wasn’t the plan,” Jen whispered, looking pale. “I had a plan, Kiki. And this
wasn’t the plan.”

“What
was the plan?”
I asked, feeling alarmed.

“Well
my
fricking
husband was supposed to be here, for one
thing,” she said, her voice rising in both volume and pitch. I thought I caught
sight of tears gathering in her eyes. “I was supposed to be able to enjoy some
time at home first. I was going to have a bath. I even bought a new bottle of
bath oil!”

It
suddenly dawned on me that Jen, usually so calm and in control, was the verge
of hysteria. The realization snapped me out of my own panic. I had to get her
relaxed and to the hospital.

“Okay,
Jen,” I said calmly, as tears started to stream down her face. “Everything is
going to be fine. Why don’t you call Matt and see where he is, okay?”

She
just stared at me, crying and taking huge gulping breaths. “Or I could call
him,” I said, looking down at my own phone. I pulled up Matt’s number and
dialed. It rang and rang before switching to voicemail. “Hi,
Matty
,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “This is
Kiki. I’m with Jen and I think she might be in labor. So, uh, call me, okay?”

I
hung up, knowing it was the most moronic message I had ever left, but what else
could I say? “I was supposed to have three more weeks,” Jen whispered. “I had a
plan.”

She
looked even more panicked now. Her breathing was getting irregular. “Jen, you
need to calm down,” I said firmly. “Everything is fine. I have my car here and
I can get you to the hospital in about ten minutes. Just relax.”

I
got up from the couch and searched through the mess on her coffee table for her
phone. “Jen, what’s your doctor’s name?” I asked, scrolling through her
contacts. When she didn’t answer I raised my voice. “Jennifer Thompson, you get
it together this minute,” I said, my voice commanding. She blinked rapidly and
looked at me. At least she had snapped out of it a little bit. “What’s your
doctor’s name?”

“Cartwright,”
she whispered. I found the contact and hit dial.

“Do
you want to talk to them?” I asked. She nodded and I handed her the phone.

Jen
explained to the nurse what had happened, then closed her
eyes
and nodded her head. She hung up the phone and looked at me, the panic still
clear on her face. “They want me to go right to the hospital,” she said, her
voice shaking.

“Okay,”
I said brightly. “We’ll go then. Where’s your hospital bag?”

“Hall
closet,” she whispered. “Where’s Matt? Where is he?”

“He’ll
meet us,” I assured her. “Do you want to change your clothes before we leave?”

“And
the girls. The girls are at work. What am I going to do?”

“The
girls will leave work,” I told her, my tone like a mother explaining something
to a very small child. “They’ll meet us, too. Jen, do you want to change your
clothes?”

Jen
nodded. “Can you get me something? My sweats are in the bottom drawer.” I
rushed up the stairs to her room. Once I was out of sight, I let my panic to
the surface. What if Matt didn’t show up? Would I have to help her in the
delivery room? I hadn’t been to any of her Lamaze classes! Or what if she went
into full-out labor in my car? I couldn’t deliver a baby on the side of the
road. Didn’t you need hot water and towels or something?

You’re spiraling,
I told myself.
You’re being ridiculous. Women have babies every hour of the day.

I
found a pair of maternity yoga pants and grabbed some clean underwear, then
headed back downstairs. I hoped I was looking sufficiently calm and in control,
as Jen still had that panicked look on her face. I helped her to her feet and
walked with her to the bathroom. “Do you need help?”

She
shook her head mutely and I stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door ajar
in case she needed me. As I stood waiting, I had the terrible feeling that the
hall around me was moving. Before I could fall over I braced myself with my
hands on the wall, willing the dizziness to pass, feeling scared. The last time
this had happened it was because I hadn’t eaten. The same could definitely not
be said today.

Too much sugar
, I told myself. And stress about Jen.
The dizziness passed and I was able to stand up straight. I wondered briefly if
I should be driving, but my fear for Jen pushed that thought away. I would be
fine.

Jen
moved surprisingly fast for a woman in labor; in just a few minutes we were
heading back to the living room. I grabbed my purse and walked Jen to the front
door, stopping to pick up the hospital bag from the closest before we stepped
out into the muggy August heat.

Just
as I was helping Jen into the car, she frowned. “Oh no.”

“What
is it?” I asked, feeling a flash of fear. What if the baby came right this
second?

“We
left the Coke out,” Jen said. “It will go all flat.”

I
stared at her. “Jennifer, you’re about to have a baby,” I said, making every
word distinct. “I don’t give a flying fuck about the Coke. Now get in the car
please, sweetie.”

She
did as I asked and I hurried around to my door, shaking my head. Only Jen would
care about wasting pop at a time like this. As I started the engine I looked
down at my phone.
Still no call from Matt.

You better hurry up, buddy
, I thought to myself as I pulled out of
the driveway.
I love you both, but I
really don’t want to have to do this without you.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Lucy
Kimberly Thompson was born eight hours later. I was in love with her from the
moment I laid eyes on her. She was a gorgeous baby, all soft and pink, with the
most delicate, feminine little features I’d ever seen and a shock of black hair
on top of her head.

“She
looks just like you,” Annie whispered, leaning over my shoulder to stare down
at the baby. “She’s like, mini-Jen.”

“Lucky
her,” Matt said, rubbing Jen’s shoulders. She smiled up at him, looking more
tired and more beautiful than I had ever seen her. Matt had arrived at the
hospital only moments after us, leaving me to wait, relieved, in the waiting
room. Ginny and Annie had arrived soon after that, and the three of us had
celebrated the impending birth with vending machine snacks and a bottle of wine
that Annie had snuck in in her purse.

“How’d
you do, Mama?” Ginny asked, finally tearing her eyes away from the baby to go
and sit on Jen’s bed.

“She
was amazing,” Matt said firmly. “I’m officially in awe.”

“It
was really, really hard,” Jen said, as Ginny put her arm around her shoulders.
“Sorry for telling you to suck it up all those years ago.”

Ginny
threw her head back and laughed. “You never once told me to suck it up. You
were wonderful when I had Danny.”

“Where
is he, anyhow?” Jen asked.

“The
kids are with Josh. They can come and meet the baby tomorrow.”

“I
want her,” Annie said. “It’s my turn,
Kiks
.
Gimme
.”

I
handed the baby off to her auntie and went to sit with Jen and Ginny. “Have you
called your parents yet?” I asked Matt. “Is Mom freaking out?”

“Yeah,
she’s pretty much beyond all sense,” Matt said, grinning.

“I’m
amazed they’re not here,” I said, looking down at my watch.

Jen
shook her head firmly. “No grandparents tonight. They can all come up tomorrow.
Tonight is just for me and my girls.”

I
smiled at
her,
touched I was included in that. It
probably helped my case that I had been the one to get Jen to the hospital in
the first place.

“When’s
Eric getting here?” Matt asked, looking at me. I felt some of my joy slip. I
had no idea when, or if, Eric was coming. I had called to tell him about the
baby, but got his voicemail. I hadn’t tried again. But of course Matt would
assume that I would be the one to share the news with his brother.

“I’m
sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t get ahold of him, and then it kind of slipped my
mind. I don’t know if he even knows.”

“I
talked to him,” Matt said, looking at me oddly. “He was getting on a plane
right away.”

I
breathed out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t responsible for Eric missing
the news of the birth of his brother’s first child. Matt was still watching me
with a funny expression on his face, but I ignored it. I was certainly not
going to fill him in on my marital problems right now.

“Speak
of the devil,” Jen said, her face lighting up. I turned and saw Eric standing
in the doorway, still in his suit and tie and looking decidedly rumpled.

“Hey,
brother,” he said, moving forward to wrap Matt in a huge hug. I felt a lump
form in my throat at the sight of them. Jen reached out and took my hand, and I
squeezed it back, grateful.

“Come
meet my girl,” Matt said, his voice sounding much huskier than normal. Annie
grinned up at Eric and handed him the baby. I watched as Eric reached out and
took Lucy in his arms, staring down at her tiny form with a look of absolute
awe. The lump in my throat grew. Suddenly, Eric looked up and met my gaze. I
was shocked at how tired and gaunt he looked. Had he been sick? But he smiled
at me and I smiled back, determined to focus on the joy of the day.

“Congratulations,
Uncle,” I said.

“You
too, Aunt,” he said. “And namesake, I hear?”

Jen
squeezed my hand again. “Yup. Matt vetoed naming her Kiki, but I did manage to
get Kimberly in there as a middle name.”

I
was almost overwhelmed with the sense of happiness and peace that I had at that
moment. The baby was here and safe and perfect. Jen and Matt loved me enough to
give their daughter my name. And my husband was home. Regardless of how things
had been going between the two of us, it was a relief just to see him standing
there.

Jen
yawned suddenly, a huge yawn.

“You
must be exhausted,” I said, standing.

“Yeah,
maybe everyone should go,”
Matt
said, watching her.

“Don’t
be rude!” she cried, hitting his arm. “Our friends can stay as long as they
want.”

“I
couldn’t care less about being rude,” Matt said. “I care about you getting your
rest. You had kind of a big day, you know.”

“He’s
right,” Ginny said, laughing easily. “You guys should have some time together
anyhow. We can come back tomorrow.”

We
all said our goodbyes, cooing over the baby and hugging Jen and Matt. “Thank
you for getting her here safe,” Matt said, pulling me into a tight hug. “You’re
a great sister,
Kiks
.”

I
kissed his
cheek,
feeling touched, then leaned down to
hug Jen. “You were amazing today,” she said. “Seriously. I was freaking out,
Kiki. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

I
shrugged. “I was happy to help.”

“You
really made me proud today,” she said, looking me straight in the eyes. “You
were so calm and in control. You’ve grown up a lot this year, Kiki. I don’t
know what I’d do without you.”

My
eyes filled with tears as I looked down at her. “I love you, Jen.”

“Love
you too,
Kiks
.”

I
felt a warm hand wrap around mine and looked over to see that Eric had come up
beside me. “Ready?” he asked.

I
nodded, feeling shy to have him so close, and followed him out into the
hallway.

“See
you tomorrow?” Ginny asked.

“Of
course,” I said. “See you guys then.”

The
girls waved and headed down the hall, leaving Eric and me alone outside of the
room.

“Did
you drive?” I asked, unsure of what to talk about.

“No,
I got a taxi from the airport,” he said, giving me a small smile. “Could you
give me a lift?”

“Sure,”
I said, smiling back. As we walked down the hall I watched him from the corner
of my eye. He really did look terrible. He had two days’ worth of stubble on
his face, and his skin had a waxy look to it.