His First Wife

The air was thick with hate when we came toe to toe in the grass. Her hands were by her side, mine were on my hips. Something was about to happen.

“You,” I said with my face only a spoon away from hers. I felt the baby twist and turn quickly in my stomach.

“You,” she said, coming in even closer.

“Where’s my husband?”

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t you dare try that with me,” I said, and then something inside of me just dropped. It was like an anvil that had been dangling from my throat had fallen and landed in my stomach. The pressure where it sat tightened and then released.

“Kerry,” Coreen said, stepping back and pointing toward the ground.

“What?” I looked down to see water streaming in crisscrossing lines down my legs. Water was pouring from my middle, and the front of my dress was soiled.

“Your water broke,” Coreen said.

“Oh, no,” I said. “No, not now!” But the water kept flowing down my legs and into the grass beneath me.

“The baby . . . It’s coming,” she said.

“I have to go.” I gathered my dress and tried to walk back to the car. I had to get to the hospital.

“Kerry,” Coreen cried after me. “You can’t go alone.” She was following behind me, hesitating with each word.

I tried to open the car door, but she grabbed my arm.

“You can’t drive like this,” she said. “I have to take you. It’s not safe.”

“Please, let me go,” I said, feeling my stomach tighten into little cramps. I pushed her away and opened the door. “I don’t want to be here.”

“Kerry, don’t be stupid. You can’t drive.”

“I don’t need you,” I said. I slid into the driver’s seat and a bigger cramp came striking up my spine. I buckled forward and took a deep breath.

“You okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. The pain came again and instead of pushing the key into the ignition, I dropped it on the floor. Coreen grabbed it.

“Give me the keys,” I said, struggling to keep my breath. The contractions were coming faster and hitting me harder.

“I know you hate me, but I can’t let you do this,” she said.

“You slept with my husband and now you want to care about me and my baby?” Another contraction came, pulling me forward as I bent over to escape the pain.

“Breathe,” Coreen said, pulling me out of the car. “Just breathe slowly and try to think about something else,” she said as we walked to the passenger’s side.

After helping me into the car, Coreen got into the driver’s seat and turned the engine on. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Where I was and who I was with.

My phone began ringing in my purse. I knew it had to be Jamison.

“Get my phone,” I said, between breaths.

She pulled it from my purse and looked over at me.

“It’s Jamison.”

“Tell him to meet me there . . . at the hospital.”