“Everything okay, son?” my dad asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Uh, yeah, sorry, I was just thinking…” Then I turned my attention to my mother and tried to get the focus off of me. “Everything tastes great, Mom.”
“Thanks, dear,” my mom said, her face suffused with pleasure at my compliment.
My mom always did up Thanksgiving right. It was her favorite holiday, and she loved making massive amounts of food. Her sweet potatoes were the best, and her pecan pie was out of this world.
Cal’s cell phone started ringing, so he stood up and excused himself while trying to dodge the dirty look our father shot him. Dad did not believe in cell phones at the table. Especially on holidays.
A couple seconds later Cal came back and announced, “That was Brock, Victoria’s in labor. They are at the hospital and all checked in, they’re just waiting for her room to be ready. I guess she’s been having contractions for a while and waited to tell him, so she’s pretty far along already.”
“You can leave the kids here, if you guys want to go to the hospital. We’ll have dessert and watch the Charlie Brown special on TV,” Mom told Cal and Shelly. “We’ll save you some pie.”
“That’d be great, Mom,” Cal said, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “You comin’, bro?” he asked me.
“Yeah, just let me go wash up and I’ll be ready,” I replied, pushing back from the table and grabbing my plate.
“I’ve got that, Craig,” my mother said. “You go get ready and get to your friends.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, then went to give her a kiss on the cheek myself.
My parents’ house wasn’t that far from the hospital, so it didn’t take us long to arrive. We’d been at the same hospital when Shelly and Gaby had gone into labor, so we knew exactly where to go. When we got to the waiting room, Sasha and TJ were already there, along with Brendan and a very frantic-looking Brady.
The waiting room was comfortable, with couches, chairs, a small table with tiny chairs in the corner, presumable for waiting siblings, and a TV in the corner. The walls had Anne Geddes pictures covering them, so there was a calming yet exciting feeling that always came from being there.
I said hi to the others, then went over to where Brady was sitting, his leg bouncing as he tore a napkin to shreds in his lap.
“You okay?” I asked as I sat next to him.
Brady and I had gotten to know each other over the years, while I was working for Brock. Brady was his right-hand man and helped him run the painting company. He was closer to Cal’s age than mine, but we’d always gotten along.
He looked up at me, his dark eyes worried, and said, “We were having dinner, you know, and all of a sudden, Tori doubled over in pain … One minute she was eating fried turkey, and the next, her water broke.”
“Is this your first time?” I asked, trying not to smile over how freaked he looked.
“You mean being around someone who’s having a baby, or sitting next to someone when their water breaks?” Brady asked, starting to see the humor in the situation and looking a little less green. “Cause it’s a yes to both.”
I chuckled, at the same time totally understanding his panic.
“I get it, man,” I assured him. “With Sophie, Cal and Shelly’s first, I had no idea what to expect. I’d never been around someone giving birth before, and I made the mistake of going in the room. Once she started screaming like she was being murdered, I was out of there.”
“You couldn’t pay me to go in the room,” Brady said seriously. “It’s just,” he began, looking toward the doors leading to the back, tearing at the napkin again. “She’s so tiny, you know … And Brock’s a fucking beast of a man…”
“They’ll all be fine,” I promised.
Brady nodded and replied, “Thanks.” Then he stood up abruptly and said, “I need to go for a walk. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Sounds good. If anything happens, I’ll let you know.”
I watched him walk out into the hall. Two seconds later, Gwen, Gaby, and Scott walked in.
I stood up and Gwen’s eyes met mine. She gave me a small smile, then I watched as she greeted everyone with a hug and a kiss. A knot formed in my stomach, getting tighter as she moved stiffly around the room.
When she finally got to me, I pulled her in for a hug and asked, “Everything alright?”
Gwen pulled back and said, “I’m working on it.”
I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but she stopped me with a shake of her head.