Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Finn and the orderly got Hope situated, Finn giving her a tight hug. “You’re doing great, Hope. Griffen will be here any second.”
I followed Hope and the orderly into the hospital, checking my phone as I went. Nothing from Griffen. I texted him an update.
We’re here.
Nothing. Not even a read notice. And it had been more than five minutes.
At least we were at the hospital.
Hope relaxed a fraction as we went through intake. She and Griffen had been to the hospital a few weeks before for childbirth classes and had done all their paperwork in advance. The nurse took us to a curtained-off triage room and ran through Hope’s information while I helped get her into a hospital gown. We eased her onto the bed, the nurse placing her feet in stirrups for a quick exam.
“Why am I down here?” Hope asked. “Shouldn’t we go up to Maternity?”
“We just need to see where you are before we bring you up,” the nurse said so calmly I wanted to punch her. She was doing her job, and we needed calm. She was making sure this was the real deal and not false labor before she got Hope set up in a room upstairs. I knew all this and still wanted to demand they bring Hope upstairs ASAP and get her that epidural. I’d never before been tempted to demand, “Do you know who she is?” but the urge to do so now was almost overwhelming.
Hope was the last person to make a thing out of being a Sawyer, but if there was ever a time, it was now.
“Her water broke at home,” I said for the second time, in case somebody had missed it. Clearly, the woman was having a baby. Why were we wasting time on paperwork?
As if she’d said it a thousand times before, the nurse explained, “I just need to take a look so I can put it in the chart—” Her words cut off once she took a good look at Hope’s cervix. “When did you say her water broke?”
I looked at the clock above the bed. “An hour and fifteen minutes ago.” It had taken more than an hour to get to the hospital. It had felt like an eternity, but with the weather out there, it could have been much worse.
“She’s at seven centimeters,” the nurse said. She straightened and grabbed the phone off the wall, barking orders I couldn’t translate.
When she turned back to us, she was all smiles. “Well, Mrs. Sawyer, it looks like you’re having a baby. They’re getting your room ready, so let’s get you upstairs.”
Hope looked up at me. “Is Griffen here yet?”
I shook my head. If Griffen was in the hospital, he’d be at Hope’s side. “I’ll let Finn know where we are and ask him to keep calling Griffen.”
Following Hope and the nurse, I tapped Finn’s name on the screen of my phone.
“Hope okay?” he answered.
“We’re headed up to Maternity. Can you try Griffen and let him know where we are?”
“I’m on it.” He hung up.
I held Hope’s hand all the way to her room, rubbing her back as a contraction took her in the elevator, her eyes wide and panicked, sweat trickling down the sides of her face. “Just hang in there,” I said, “and before you know it, you’ll get to meet your baby.”
My voice choked up on the last word, memories washing over me. The fear, the nerves, the unrelenting pain. And then Nicky, my baby, his blue eyes blinking up at me myopically, his mouth opening in an irritated cry that had sounded like heaven. All that pain and fear had melted into sheer joy.
We popped out of the elevator to a busy hallway. Nurses were everywhere, someone putting a band on Hope’s wrist, another nurse pushing Hope into a room and helping her onto the bed. The doctor strode in, checking a tablet. They were all moving quickly, efficiently, and I was at once glad for their expertise and worried by how quickly they were handling things. Was there something wrong?
“Mrs. Sawyer, I saw you at your checkup a few months ago. I’m the on-call obstetrician from your practice tonight.”
“Yes, I remember. Hi,” Hope said, breathless.
“Why don’t we get you up and walking around?” the doctor asked, handing the tablet to a nurse and murmuring something I didn’t catch. Hope and I looked at her as if she were insane. “Do you think you can walk?” the doctor pressed. “You’re not pushing yet, correct?”
“No, but—” Hope began.
“Then let’s get you on your feet for now. Anesthesiology is on the way up, and we’ll see what we can do about getting you an epidural.”
“Yes, please,” Hope said.
“Once that happens, you’ll be in bed, so you’ll want to walk now while you can.”
Hope shot me a look that clearly asked if the doctor was nuts. I knew the OB was right, and walking was a good idea now that we didn’t have to worry about having a baby on the side of the road, but I didn’t think Hope wanted to hear that.