“Thank God,” Natalie leans her head back on the bed. “I’m going with the drugs. I’m sorry, Jules, I know we said all natural, but I can’t do it.”
“Honey, you do what’s best for you. These contractions are strong, and my hand may not survive many more of them. What does Luke say?”
“He said to go for the drugs if I needed them.”
“Sounds like a plan then.” I wipe her forehead with the washcloth again as a man with a white coat strolls through the door.
“I hear you’re ready for some medication, Mrs. Williams.” He’s an older man with kind eyes. And needles in his hand.
“This is where I leave.” I stand, but Natalie pulls me back down.
“You can’t leave me here alone!”
“Um, Nat, he’s got needles. I’ll find Luke.”
“This will only take a minute,” the doctor says and Natalie is looking at me with big, green pleading eyes.
Oh my God.
Okay. I can do this. For Natalie, I can do this.
“Sit at the edge of the bed, Mrs. Williams, and hug your pillow, curving your back for me.”
Natalie does as instructed, and I kneel before her, the needles out of my view, and rub my hands up and down her bare legs.
“Thank you,” she whispers, her eyes a little frightened.
“No problem.” I shrug like it’s no big deal and take a deep breath. He’s got motherfucking needles and he’s about to stick them in her spine. I’m going to faint.
Natalie cringes as, I’m assuming, the doctor pushes the huge, gigantic, enormously evil needle through her flesh, but then it’s over.
“All done,” he says and packs up his tools of torture. “Go ahead and lay back. It’ll take effect shortly and you won’t be able to feel anything from the waist down.”
“Thank you.” She’s the most polite pregnant woman I’ve ever seen. I help get her settled and Luke comes back through the door.
“Hey, who was that guy?” he asks and sits next to Natalie, his hand resting on her belly.
“The anesthesiologist. I went for the drugs, baby. I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. We talked about this.” He kisses her forehead, and then her lips.
“How is everyone out there?” I ask.
“They’re excited and nervous. I would have been back sooner, but Isaac and Stacy showed up, and then the rest of your brothers and Sam and Mark all wanted to hear the status update from me directly, so I was on the phone with them for a little while.” He sits back and watches the contraction monitor. The needle starts to go up again, but Natalie doesn’t even flinch.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore?” I ask.
“I feel a little pressure, but no, the pain is gone.”
“Good,” I smile at them both, and realize I haven’t checked my phone all day. I pull it out of my purse and wake it up, frowning when I see eight missed calls and five text messages.
I check the texts first. The first one is from Mrs. Glover.
Email is sent. I hope your family is well.
I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Nate got the documents he needed on time, then check the messages from him.
Hey baby, breaking away for lunch do you have a minute to talk?
I’m going into a meeting, won’t be available the rest of the afternoon.
Are you okay?
Please call me.
Shit. He’s worried. I haven’t even thought about calling him since I got the call about Natalie. I should have called him. I check the voice mail.
“I’m worried. Jenny said you ran out of the office this morning because of an emergency, but she hasn’t heard from you. I can’t reach you on your cell or the house line. Please be considerate and let me know you’re okay. I can’t pack up and go home tonight to check on you. Call me.”
I hang up and glare at my phone. I don’t like his tone.
“Hey guys, I’m going to go find a quiet spot and call Nate real quick. He’s been trying to reach me all day. Don’t have that baby without me. I’ll be right back.” I kiss Natalie’s cheek and walk down the hall to a small, empty waiting room. Our family must be out in the larger one near the hospital entrance.
I scroll down to Nate’s name and press send.
“Julianne,” he sounds relieved and pissed at the same time.
“Hey, can you talk?”
“Yes, I’m at the hotel. Where the fuck have you been?”
“Don’t yell at me. I’m at the hospital.”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” His voice is suddenly panicked and I feel like a shit.
“No,” I respond, my voice calm now and soothing. “Natalie’s in labor, Nate. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I got the call this morning at the office after I texted you, and I raced here to meet them, and I’ve been with her ever since. It’s been a long day. Still no baby.”
“Is she okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, she’s doing great. Luke is too, surprisingly. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“You should have called.” His voice is cold again, and I’m tired, and I do not need this right now.
“I already apologized.”
“I’ve been worried. Also, what the fuck happened to the report I asked you to send me?”
“What are you talking about? I finished it and asked Jenny to send it for me because I forgot to hit send on the email before I ran out of the office. She sent me a text and said that it was done.” What the hell happened to my report?
“I got it, but it was half-assed done. That’s not like you.”
“That report was perfect, Nate. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” I run my hand through my hair in frustration.
“When I’m out here alone I need to be able to depend on you to do your job in the office, Julianne.”
“You’re not alone. Ask Carly to fix the fucking report, Nate. She should be earning her paycheck while she’s with you.” Now I’m just fucking pissed off.
There’s silence on the other end of the line, and finally, Nate responds with a deceptively quiet, “What are you talking about? Carly isn’t in New York.”
“But you sent for her.”
“Why would I do that?” his voice is raising and I take a deep breath.
“Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding,” I say as calmly as possible.