Lizzie bit her lip, her gaze turning to the window where the fallen tree was barely visible in the sheets of rain. Charlie needed a doctor, and as Lizzie looked at Josh she knew he understood exactly what she was thinking.
“I’ll go,” he said. “I’ve got the slicker. It’s only a mile or so.”
“It’s closer to two miles, in one-hundred-mile-an-hour winds and this rain.” She ran her hand through her hair. “You’re not going by yourself. I’ve got a raincoat somewhere. We’ll go together.”
“You need to stay where it’s safe.” He was already texting Charlie, but Lizzie shook her head. No way was he going alone. And if Charlie did end up delivering the baby at home, Lizzie needed to be there, especially if she was this close.
“I promised her I would be there for the birth of her baby. I’m going with you, Josh. Give me two minutes.”
Two minutes was all it took for her to grab a raincoat from her closet. She didn’t have boots, so she put on sneakers—the best she could do under the circumstances. Josh was dressed and pulling his hood over his head, tying the strings tightly beneath his chin, and she did the same.
With a big breath, they opened the door, stepped out into the madness, and Lizzie shut it tight and locked it again.
The wind hit them hard, nearly knocking Lizzie off her feet as the rain bit at her face. “You sure you want to do this?” Josh called out.
“I’m sure!” she called back.
“Watch for trees,” he advised. “And let’s do this as quickly as we can.”
Keeping up a fast pace was impossible as they got hit with gust after gust of wind. The sound was wild and eerie; there were no cars on the road or people anywhere. With the power outage the houses were all dark. It felt otherworldly, and Lizzie grabbed Josh’s hand as they trudged along the road toward Charlie and Dave’s house.
It took them almost forty minutes to make the trek through the storm. There were several trees down and the rain came in sheets, soaking through Lizzie’s pants and shoes. When they reached the lane to the cottage, Lizzie let go of his hand and ran to the front door, her sneakers squidging all the way. Josh hustled up behind her just as she was pounding on the door.
Dave opened it, looking harried and very relieved.
“The cavalry’s here!” Lizzie announced, stepping inside. Josh went in behind her, and they took off their shoes as Dave shut the door behind them. “Where is she, Dave?”
“In the living room, foolish girl. She was cold and wanted to be near the fireplace. God, it’s good to see you guys. How the hell did you get here?”
Josh answered, “We walked from Lizzie’s. There’s a tree down at her place or else we would have brought the truck.”
“I’ll go to Charlie. Dave, I’m soaked from the waist down. Do you think you could find me a pair of Charlie’s sweats or scrubs and some thick socks?”
“Of course.”
A moan came from the living room and Lizzie rushed away.
She found Charlie sitting on one of the loungers from the deck, and Lizzie started laughing. “Oh my God, this is perfect!”
Charlie’s forehead glistened with sweat and some of her hair stuck to her face, but she was sitting up just as she would be in a hospital bed. “Glad you find it funny. I wanted to have my baby in a nice comfortable maternity ward, with, you know, electricity and stuff.”
“I’ve got the generator running, baby,” Dave said, coming into the room with the wad of clothes in his hands.
“Oh, thank you,” Lizzie said, taking the clothes. Her sweatshirt was still dry, but her pants and feet were soaked through. “Charlie, you breathe through the contraction. Josh, maybe you can get Charlie’s bag from Dave and take some vitals while I change. Then we’ll get down to business.”
Dave and Josh disappeared into the bedroom while Lizzie stripped down to her panties and pulled on soft, warm sweatpants and some sort of fuzzy purple socks that were ugly as sin but blessedly warm.
“That feels good. It’s wicked nasty out there,” Lizzie said, tossing her wet clothes on the small hearth in front of the fireplace.
“You sound like a real Mainer,” Charlie gasped.
“What can I say, this place grows on you.” Lizzie pulled up a kitchen chair and sat next to Charlie, noting the time on her watch. “Breathe, honey. Nice big breaths. Have you been timing your contractions?”
Charlie sent Lizzie a dark look as she breathed out. “Of course I’ve been timing them.”
“How far apart?”
“Four minutes. Give or take. Though that one felt closer.”