Bring Me Back

Hannah grabs one of the other chairs and pulls it over. “This is early, right? Or has time gotten away from me?”

“She’s coming early,” I confirm. “Shit,” I curse. “I need to call my mom.”

In all the excitement, I forgot about my parents.

“Do you want me to call them?” Ryder asks.

“No, I can do it. But could you go get me some water?”

“Yeah, of course. Anything else?”

“Maybe some ice.”

“Sure thing.” He grabs my phone and hands it to me before he leaves.

“Please tell me you two are together now, because seriously it’s going to happen eventually,” Casey says.

I laugh. “We haven’t really talked about it, but I think we are. We said I love you, so that counts for something right?”

Her mouth pops open. “What? When did this happen?”

“Today,” I answer, scrolling through my phone to find my mom’s contact.

“Speaking of today, why were you guys together?”

I press the SEND button and hold the phone to my ear. “He was helping me get the baby’s room ready. Speaking of, we didn’t finish. Would you guys mind going over to my place and putting the mattress in the crib and the bedding?”

“Yeah, of course, whatever you need,” Hannah assures me.

My mom picks up. “Hello?”

“Hey,” I greet her, and, of course, a contraction chooses now to show up. I hiss between my teeth and ride it out.

“Blaire?” she says. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I’m.” Breath. “In.” Breath. “Labor.”

“Oh my God,” she says. “We’ll get on a plane as soon as we can. Dan, pack your bags,” she yells.

“Mom, I’m still on the phone.” I wince from the shrillness of her voice.

“Oh, sorry. Just hang in there, B, we’ll be there soon. Flights are only about three hours and there’s probably one soon.”

“Mom,” I cut her off. “Just get here.”

“Right. I love you. See you soon.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

I drop the phone down on the scratchy sheet that covers me and I look at Casey pleadingly. “Get the nurse. I’m ready for that epidural.”

She’s up and out of her seat before I can blink. Ryder returns almost seconds after she leaves and hands me the water. I gulp it down and then reach for the ice, crunching down on a piece.

“I take it the contractions are worse?” He sits back down and I reach for his hand, squeezing it.

“Oh, yeah,” I say, pressing my head back against the pillow with my eyes squished closed. The pain of the contraction fades and I open my eyes. “Thank you for being here.” I smile at Ryder.

“What am I?” Hannah laughs. “Chopped liver?”