Jake flashed me a shit-eating grin. Even when I wanted to kill him, I loved him so much.
CHAPTER 22
JAKE
Seven Months Later
It was hard as a rock, looking ready to burst and always moved when it got excited.
There was nothing better than time alone with Nina’s gigantic belly while she slept. It was like a beach ball wrapped in silk.
Dim sunlight peeked through the heavy sliding curtains in our room. We were at a hotel in New Hampshire on a babymoon and were scheduled to head back to Boston early this evening.
Nina was sleeping soundly through the noise of the rickety air conditioner. She was eight months along now. We’d decided to let the gender of our baby be a surprise. I was sure it was a girl. Nina and A.J. thought it was a boy. It didn’t matter to me as long as it was healthy.
My sister had taken A.J. for the weekend so that Nina and I could have one night away before the big arrival next month. Since the pregnancy with A.J. had been problematic, resulting in a C-section, Nina’s doctors scheduled her for another one this time around just to be on the safe side.
“Hello, my little alien,” I whispered against Nina’s belly as the baby did what looked like slow breakdancing. It was impossible to resist softly kissing the taut skin whenever it moved. It was just the two of us up now, after all, while Nina snored.
“You’re a morning person like Daddy, eh? Well, your brother and Mommy like to sleep in. So, when you come out, maybe we can watch the sunrise together sometime. Would you like that?” I ran my lips along the smooth skin of her stomach again. “It’s probably pretty dark in there right now, huh?”
“Hmmm.” Nina stirred before rolling over toward me and asked in a sleepy voice, “Who are you talking to?”
“The little alien. We hang out sometimes when you’re sleeping.”
“Who?”
“Our kid. She was showing me her moves.”
Nina flashed a joyful smile. “She, huh?” Her mood seemed to quickly shift. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
“Jake, I’m so wet.”
“Giddy up.”
“No!” she said, jumping up and patting the sheets. “Not that kind of wet. Feel.”
The sheets were damp, the spot right under her completely soaked.
“Shit.”
“I think my water broke! Oh no. No, no, no. This is not good.”
I frantically searched for my phone. “Can we call your doctor?”
“She’s just gonna tell me to go to the hospital. I don’t even know where the nearest one is to us right now.”
I opened Google and started searching for hospitals close to the lake region where we were staying. We were far from a major city, which was unsettling. “Saint Andrews is the nearest one. It’s five miles away.”
The words were spilling out of her mouth so fast. I could hardly understand her. “This isn’t supposed to happen. My body is not supposed to go into natural labor. I’m scared because I’m more prone to uterine rupture because of the prior C-section. What if we don’t get there in time and something happens to the baby?”
“Is there a chance you’re not actually in labor?”
“I think once the water breaks, that means it’s happening.”
“We’ll get you there, baby. Don’t worry. Everything is gonna be fine.”
Now, if I could only convince myself of that.
Nina scrambled to throw some of her things into the suitcase then said, “I’m gonna take a quick shower. It might be a while before I can do that again.”
“Yell if you need me. I’ll pack the rest of our shit in the meantime.”
About ten minutes later, when Nina returned from the bathroom, she was leaning back into her hands, grasping the bottom of her hips. “I think the contractions are starting now. They seem to be coming from the back. I never had them with A.J., so I don’t know what they even feel like, but I’m getting these sharp pains.”
Fuck.
“We’d better go.”
The loud click of the heavy suite door locking behind us echoed through the hallway. Our suitcase rolling along the carpet of the desolate hotel seemed like the only sign of life. It was still early and a Sunday. We were probably the only people awake in the entire building aside from the front desk staff downstairs. Our room was located on the tenth floor. I pushed the down button and prayed that the elevator came quickly. The busy floral pattern on the rug made me dizzy as I looked down in an attempt to calm myself. I couldn’t let Nina see how freaked out this situation was making me.
Rubbing her back, I tried to soothe her. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m with you. We’re gonna get through this. We’ll get to the hospital in no time.”
She nervously nodded and let out a long breath but said nothing.
The wait seemed to be taking forever. When the doors slid open, I placed my hand on the middle of her back and gently led her into the elevator.
Nina’s back was pressed against my chest as we started to descend. Using my palms to gently massage her belly, I whispered into ear, “Everything is gonna be fine.”
Almost as soon as the words came out of my mouth, the elevator made a jerking movement that caused us to lose balance before slamming against the wall. The car was no longer moving. The door was still shut tight.
What’s happening?
No.
No.
No.
“Jake! Are you kidding? Don’t pull this on me now, please!”