Kathleen’s gaze went to her belly. “He says he is going to be a big one. I’ve got to agree with him on this one. When this kid rolls over, my entire body moves with him.”
Jack chuckled at that. The thought of a big, healthy son was a welcome one, but he worried what it would do to his wife. She wasn’t a large woman.
“You should be in bed with your feet up,” Jack scolded her. “Not decorating the bar for the holidays.”
“I can’t.” Her voice held the hint of a whine, which was so unlike her. “I can’t get comfortable. I can’t lay down without losing my breath. I can’t sit up because my back hurts so bad...” Her lower lip wobbled and her eyes filled with tears. “Jack, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Ah, baby. Everything’s going to be okay.” He kissed her tears away. At first he’d been concerned about the dramatic mood swings that seemed to take hold suddenly and without warning; now he was taking them in stride (mostly). Everyone assured him it was part of the process. Apparently women tended to get very emotional in the final stages of pregnancy, something about an overabundance of potent hormones or the like.
“I know. I’m sorry,” she sniffed. “Would you help me into the kitchen? I just need a few minutes to get myself together.”
“Of course, baby.”
Jack helped her to her feet and walked with her into the back. He fetched her a glass of ice water and got her settled on the old couch in there with an order to rest. This time, she didn’t argue. As ratty as the couch was, she said it was the only piece of furniture that she could sit in comfortably these days. More than once she’d fallen asleep on it, and he’d slept on the floor beside it each time. Both of their backs would appreciate when the kid finally decided to make his grand appearance.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she smiled wearily. “I’m fine. Just tired, cranky, and very, very pregnant. Go on with you, now. You’re needed out front.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit and see if I can get this little guy to take a nap with me.”
He didn’t want to leave her, but he had a full bar. Several small local businesses decided to come to the Pub for their pre-holiday celebrating and they were slammed. Under normal circumstances, he’d be thrilled, but he couldn’t help worrying about Kathleen. Despite her assurances that everything was okay, she was looking paler than usual.
“Go,” she insisted.
“Okay. I’ll check back on you in a few minutes. If you need anything before then, just yell, all right?”
“I will.”
Jack reluctantly went back to the bar, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He checked on her about half an hour later, and she appeared to be napping. Unwilling to wake her, he slipped back out front and peeked in when he could. Brian was doing a great job, but it was a lot easier to keep up with both of them out there.
It was several hours later when things had calmed down enough for him to catch his breath. He walked into the kitchen, hoping she was still dozing peacefully. Instead, he found her doubled-over, fighting for breath.
“Kathleen!”
“The baby,” she wheezed. “He’s coming. Now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jack paced incessantly back and forth across the waiting room. It had been more than two hours since he’d rushed Kathleen to the emergency room, and no one would tell him anything. Erin watched his back and forth progress warily, but remained silent, having given up trying to reassure him.
“Mr. Callaghan?”
Jack’s head snapped up at the voice of the balding, older doctor with the tired, pinched features. He crossed the room in two great strides, while Erin stood.
“Yes. That’s me.”
“Congratulations, Mr. Callaghan. You have a son.”
The words were welcome, but the doctor’s tone was too flat, his expression not befitting the bearer of such good news. Jack’s chest squeezed painfully.
“My wife, Kathleen. How is she?”
The doctor’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “Both mother and baby are doing well, but it was close, Mr. Callaghan. Another hour and we would have lost them both.”
“What?” he and Erin barked out at the same time. His knees threatened to buckle beneath him.
“Your wife’s blood pressure was dangerously high, Mr. Callaghan. Regular prenatal check-ups would have caught the problem and we could have addressed it before the situation became critical.”
“Regular prenatal check-ups?” Jack echoed, confused. “Kathleen scheduled check-ups every couple of weeks.”
“Not with me, she didn’t.”
Jack turned to Erin and narrowed his eyes. “She was going for check-ups, wasn’t she, Erin? Didn’t you go with her?”
Erin looked every bit as surprised as he felt. “I did, in the beginning, but then Michael was sick... After a while, she stopped telling me about her appointments. I just assumed she was still going...”