Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“She’s in the car,” he rushes out before flying back out of the restaurant door. “We were on the way to the hospital, but she’s not going to make it. I can see the baby’s head.”
“Shit,” she grunts under her breath as we hurry out behind them. “Sir, have you called an ambulance?”
He looks startled at the question, and I pull my phone out to begin dialing.
Reaching the car, we find the public starting to crowd around, and Gigi simply barges past them before leaning down in the open car door and taking the woman’s hand, so fucking calm as she looks at the woman screaming out in pain. “Hi ma’am, I’m Gigi. I’m going to help you,” she says, squeezing her hand. “Are you able to get out of the car?”
The woman tries to move but she’s too far along, and she hastily shakes her head, panic flashing in her eyes. “I need to push,” she screams at Gigi.
“Alright,” she says as calmly as ever before turning to me. “Can you help her out of the car?”
I nod and throw my phone to Logan who catches it and instantly continues the conversation with the emergency operator. Then diving into the open doorway with the woman’s husband, we help get her out as Gigi demands someone grab a shit load of towels and blankets. Though I don’t know where the fuck we’ll find them out in the street.
The waiter from the restaurant brings out bottled water with a pile of clean tablecloths and we finally get the woman down on the ground. Her husband climbs in behind her to help support her back, and I stand patiently beside Gigi, waiting for any instructions if she needs help. Then all too aware of the onlookers, Gigi spares me a quick glance. “Can you get someone to hold up a blanket? She needs privacy.”
I get straight to it and within seconds Jax is right there, quickly unfolding one of the many tablecloths and handing one end to a guy in the street, making a partition between the onlookers and the woman.
“Alright, ma’am, I’m going to remove your underwear,” she tells the woman as she reaches forward. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Lucia,” she practically screams at Gigi.
“Okay, Lucia. I can see your baby’s head, so you’re going to have to prepare to push on your next contraction,” she says, blowing me the fuck away with how calm and professional she is, but then she goes and glances up at me. “Grab someone who’s not squeamish and get down here. One at each leg.”
Ahh, fuck.
I do as she instructs, and before I know it, both Logan and I are in the firing zone, glancing up at each other over the woman’s legs, horror in both our eyes.
“How far out is the ambulance?” Gigi questions.
“Still a few minutes. There’s an accident backing up traffic,” Logan explains.
“Shit, alright,” Gigi says, pressing her lips into a hard line. “Looks like we’re delivering this baby.”
Fear flashes in Lucia’s eyes as she looks at Gigi. “The contraction is coming.”
Gigi explains to Lucia how she wants her to push as Logan’s eyes widen, and judging by the look in his eyes, I’d bet he’s wondering how the fuck our nice lunch turned into this.
Gigi gets me and Logan to hold the woman’s legs up, and I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my life, but there’s not a damn thing we can do about it before the woman starts screaming. Her husband does his best to calm her, but she’s squeezing the life out of his hand, making him scream right along with her. “Okay, Lucia,” Gigi says over the noise. “You’re going to give a great big push while Sean counts back from ten.”
Shit. I momentarily forget what the fuck numbers are before jumping into action and trying to remember what the fuck comes after seven. “Slower,” Gigi murmurs, her voice low.
We get all the way down to one when her contraction stops, and I feel like both me and Logan are breathing just as hard as the woman. “Another push on the next contraction and we’ll have the head out. You’re doing great Lucia.”
Just as I knew she would, Gigi coaches her through the next one, and I find myself staring down at the baby’s head sticking out of its mother’s vagina—not exactly the sight I thought I’d be looking at after eating my lunch.
Gigi checks the positioning of the umbilical cord and explains what’s going to happen next as I hear my daughter in the background asking what’s going on and wondering where her daddy has gone. Hoping like fuck one of her aunties has got her rather than leaving her to run around the street by herself.
The next contraction has the baby coming the rest of the way out, and it’s so fucking gross, but it’s also incredibly beautiful. If I was a weaker man, I’d be tearing up right now, the same way the woman’s husband is sobbing behind her.