Oh fuck! I forgot to do that. I ran over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of underwear, shorts, and a T-shirt. I got her stuff out of the closet and then stuffed everything into a suitcase. I started down the steps, but then I stopped. I took out my phone and then continued down the stairs.
“Who are you calling?” Heather called out.
“My parents!” I shouted.
I ran through the living room, kitchen, and out the back door. When I got to my truck, I realized I’d forgotten my damn keys. I set the suitcase down and ran back inside as I found my mom’s cell phone number.
“Josh, is everything okay? It’s two in the morning. ”
“Holy fuck, Mom!”
“Josh! Do not swear at me like that. What in the hell is wrong with you?”
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Mom! Focus here. Heather’s water broke. I’m freaking the fuck out, but I don’t want her to know I’m freaking the fuck out. ”
My mother laughed.
Oh my god! My mother is laughing at me! “Mom, really? You’re going to laugh at me now. Do you ever want to hold the babies?”
My mother stopped laughing. “You wouldn’t! Oh, Josh, calm down, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. How far apart are the contractions?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Ah hell, Mom. I didn’t look at the clock. That was my job. I fucked up my first official Dad job. Fuckin’ A!”
“Josh, what are you doing right now?”
“I, um…I was putting the suitcase in the truck, but I can’t find my truck keys. ” I looked up and saw Heather standing there, holding my truck keys.
“Oh, Heather has them! Thanks, babe!”
I ran back out the door and to my truck. I opened the back driver’s side door and threw the suitcase in. I jumped in and checked the car seat again. Shit, I hope this thing is in right.
“Okay, sweetheart, that’s good. But what are you doing right now?”
“Mom, I’m checking the car seat now!”
“Okay…my guess would be to just let that go for now since you already had that checked out four times in the last two weeks, honey. You might want to focus on Heather. I’m just saying. ”
I heard my mother tell my father to call Heather’s cell.
“Josh, stop and take a deep breath. Will you do that for me?”
I jumped out of the truck and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes, picturing Heather and the first time we had made love next to the river. I remembered everything—how her body had reacted to my touch, every sound she’d made and look she’d given me, every time she’d whispered my name. My breathing slowed, and my hands stopped shaking.
“Better?”
“Yeah. Better. It’s just that I love her so much, Mom. I don’t want anything to happen to her or the little ones. ”
“I know, baby boy. I know. Your dad is talking to Heather now. She said her contractions are about twenty minutes apart. Honey, go back into the house and help your wife to the truck. We’re on our way, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay. But, Mom…”
“Yes, Josh?”
“Hurry. Please hurry. Heather needs you, Mom, and I…I need y’all, too. ”
“We will. Don’t worry. Women do this every day. You’re married to the strongest woman I know. She’s got this. ”
“Thanks, Mom! See ya soon. ” I tried to walk calmly back into the house.