I smothered another smile and moved closer to her on my stool.
“That’s the urge to push. Bare down,” I instructed.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “But what if I…”
She gestured with her hands.
I waved a dismissive hand. “Shit happens.”
She burst out laughing, but then, just as suddenly, she started to scream as she curled around her belly and gave it all she had.
My own stomach cramped right along with hers.
“Okay, one more push and the head should be delivered,” I told Jasmine. “Tony, do you want to come catch the baby?”
Tony shook his head frantically.
Like all first time fathers, he was a nervous wreck, and anything dealing with childbirth was a very scary ordeal to him.
“Alright, well it’s up to you, Jasmine. Show me what you got…”
***
Two hours later
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I chanted to my phone as I called Michael once I was leaving Jasmine and her newest addition.
You got my voicemail, leave a message.
“Fuck!” I said, walking quickly to my car before it happened again.
‘It’ being those regular pains that signaled that I, myself, was about to have my own baby.
I’d been having them on and off all day long, but it’d only been since Jasmine started to push that they began to become regular and consistent.
At least my water hadn’t broken yet.
Although, that wasn’t a good indication of progress. There were some women that went all the way up to delivery before their water broke.
My next call was to Doctor Mead, my OB/GYN.
Or his office, anyway.
Although I did have his home number, I’d play the good little in labor mom and call the office like everyone else was instructed to do once they were in labor.
“”Hello?” A bored woman’s voice came over the speakers in my car.
“This is Nikki Perez, I’m in labor,” I said a little breathlessly.
Another pain had consumed me, and I had to pull the car over to avoid wrecking.
“How do you know you’re in labor?” The woman asked with annoyance.
I clenched the steering wheel and said through clenched teeth. “Because I’m having regular contractions, and I go breathless each time one hits. Now, relay the message.”
“What did you say your name was again?” The woman asked snottily.
The pain finally loosened it’s grip on my uterus, and I started moving forward again.
I knew I’d get a good two minutes of reprieve, which might get me all the way to the ER before I had another.
“Nicole Perez, but my maiden name is Pena. Sometimes they have to pull it up underneath that,” I told her, pulling around an old woman going fifty in her maroon Lincoln Towncar.
“I found it, Dr. Mead isn’t on call today, Dr. Shepherd is. I’ll transfer you to…”
I interrupted her.
“No, call Dr. Mead. There should be a note in my chart. My husband refuses to have anyone but Dr. Mead take care of me. Trust me, he won’t let Dr. Shepherd touch me if you call her,” I explained quickly, excited to see the red and blue sign that denoted the emergency entrance of the emergency room up ahead.
I turned into the lot and parked before the next pain hit.
“I’ll try, but that’s not protocol. He won’t even answer if it’s not an emergency…”
I hung up on her.
“Fuck it,” I panted, pulling up Dr. Mead in my contacts and pressing dial.
“This is Dr. Mead,” he answered three rings later.
“This is Nikki Pena Perez. I’ve gone into labor. I’m at the ER right now,” I told him quickly.
“I’ll be right there. Tell the doctors I’ll be there in twenty minutes or less,” he said quickly.
“10-4,” I agreed and hung up my own phone.
I grabbed my purse and bailed out of my car before I tried calling Michael again.
Luckily, this time, he answered. “Yeah?”
He was breathless.
“I’m in labor,” I panted, hoofing it all the way to the ER doors before another pain nearly took my feet out from under me.