“I wish it were true.”
“Me too,” I say. “I let her have her moment though. Sometimes I think she needs it.”
“She does.”
“Whoa, what is that?”
Coming from the computer is the baby’s heartbeat. Noah’s eyes go wide as he looks at Josie and me.
“That, young man, is the heartbeat of your brother or sister and this is what he or she looks like.” The doctor turns the screen to show Noah, whose face drops.
“Where’s its head?”
Now I’m looking and sure enough, my child is missing its head.
“Well, it seems that your sibling is ready to join the world.”
“It’s too early!” Josie screeches.
“I’ll alert NICU,” one of the nurses says, leaving the room. The other nurse is jotting information down in Josie’s chart and the doctor is studying the computer.
“What’s going on?”
He looks at Josie and smiles. “You’re going to deliver. We’re going to let things progress naturally for a bit and see how much you can do by yourself, but you’re not leaving the hospital until your baby is born.”
“But… but…”
He rests a reassuring hand on her leg. “You’re early, but everything will be okay. We have a great team in the NICU, who will be on standby to assist your baby. Do you want to know the sex?”
We both shake our heads. We haven’t even discussed names. We thought we’d figure it out after we saw the baby.
“I know you’re scared. We could try and stop the labor, but the baby is engaged, so even if we stopped it today, it’s likely you’ll be in active labor within twenty-four hours. I suggest you rest while you can. Right now your contractions are mild, but that will change.”
He leaves the room, leaving us pretty much speechless. I’m trying not to panic. Josie doesn’t need this.
“Can you go get Katelyn? She went early with the twins. She’ll know what to do.”
I kiss her gently and tell her I’ll be back after Katelyn. As soon as I open the door to her room, her mother and father stand.
Noah stands next to me while I deliver the news. I tell everyone that they can fly home, that they don’t need to stay, but everyone says they’re not going anywhere.
“Katelyn, she needs to talk to you.” Katelyn rushes down the hall and into her room, followed by Mrs. Preston. Frankly, the one-person rule is dumb and we’re breaking it. I look at Mr. Preston and tell him he should go, too. That’s his baby girl in there.
“I need someone to go to the hotel and see if we can extend our stay.”
“I’ll do it,” Tess volunteers. “Do the kids want to come back to the hotel and swim?” Quinn and Elle say yes, but Peyton shakes her head. Tess reaches for Eden, who is still sleeping.
“I think I’m going to go with you, Tess,” Aubrey says. I know the chairs can’t be comfortable. Mr. Powell and Nick both stand, each saying for someone to call them when the news changes.
I pull Nick aside. “Thank you. Not only for trying to help Josie when I couldn’t, but also for being there for Noah when I wasn’t.”
He extends his hand, and I shake it. “You’re welcome, Liam. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.”
I know this, and nod. I don’t want to think about a time when I need to call Nick for help, but I’m glad that he’s been there for my family. I watch him walk away, knowing that he’s never going anywhere and I need to accept it.
“Liam,” my mom says as she comes to me, placing her hands on my forearms. “I’m going to go order us some food. You guys have to be starving.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I watch her walk away and think about these past few months. She spends more and more time at our house, which doesn’t seem to bother Josie. They’re often laughing together. I was shocked as shit when they started shopping together. Whatever happened when I was in LA, for her and Josie, has been a great thing.
My father is another story. He refuses to acknowledge Josie as my wife, which means he doesn’t acknowledge Noah and that is unacceptable in my book. He’s not welcome in our home and he knows it.
I’ve told my mom that as soon as the baby’s born, she and I will go back to LA and get my grandmother’s estate in order. There’s a trust in my mother’s name that her father left her and I think it’s about time she claimed it. Maybe she’ll use the money to leave my father.
One could only hope.
When I was in labor with Noah, my mom was by my side. My dad, Katelyn and Mason waited in the waiting room for the news that Noah was here. As much as I love Liam and know he’ll be by my side, helping me through this delivery, I need my mom and Katelyn with me right now.
They both come rushing in, each taking a side. My mom bumps the nurse and doesn’t apologize. I’m sure the nurse is used to overbearing mothers.
“Don’t be mean, Mom, she’s just doing her job.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” she says turning her attention on me. Her fingers push through my hair and even at this age, I find it calming to have my mom here.
“The baby is coming early. I’m scared.” I say to both of them through tears. “What if it’s not ready?”
Katelyn grabs my hand. “I was scared, too, when the twins came early, but look at them. They’re healthy. They only had to spend a couple of days in the hospital. If the doctor didn’t think the baby was ready, he’d be doing everything he could to stop things. You’ve got to trust him.”
“She’s right, Josie. You need to have faith,” my mom says. These words are easier to hear, but not so easy to believe and I won’t be able to until I’m holding my baby in my arms.
Katelyn gives me a kiss on my forehead and steps aside so I can see my dad.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, Sweetheart. You really gave me a scare.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
My dad has never been an overly emotional man. I’ve seen him cry only a handful of times. When I told him Sterling wouldn’t help me find Liam, he said it broke his heart that I was going through this by myself. He cried then, when he held Noah for the first time and now.
“Don’t cry. You’re going to be a grandfather again.”
“And I can’t wait.” He kisses my forehead and excuses himself. Once he leaves, everyone starts to come in. Pretty soon my room is full of family and friends, and the smell of delicious pasta.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Tess and Mr. Powell took the kids back to the hotel to swim and make sure we aren’t booted from our rooms since we were due to check out after the game. Nick took Aubrey there, as well, because the seats in the waiting room aren’t very comfortable.”
“I can imagine,” I say, looking at Liam. Then to everyone else, “You guys don’t have to stay.” From the look on Harrison and Jimmy’s faces, they want to get the hell out of dodge.
“This is where we want to be, Josie.” Bianca says as she hands me a plate of plain pasta, with plain toast and some applesauce.
“All of this is okay, I checked with the nurse.”
“You did?” I choke back sob of gratitude.
“Of course. I don’t want you sick when you deliver. You need strength, so eat. I know it’s bland. We’ll just have to go out to dinner after the baby arrives.”
“Thank you, Bianca.”
She smiles and looks away, not liking the attention. When she passes by Liam, he pulls her into his arms and gives her a quick hug. They’re still working on building their relationship and I have no reason to believe it will ever crumble again. She’s determined to do right by her son.
Liam sits next to me while we eat. With each bite he takes, I long for the heavy cream of Alfredo sauce.
“How does yours taste?”
“Great, want some?”
I shake my head and turn back to my plain noodles with my plain toast. I could really use a hot dog right now.
When the nurse comes in, she brings me a Popsicle. I think I love her. She looks around the room and smiles once she realizes who is in my room.