“No. That will just hurt their feelings. It’s time for plan B.”
I pulled my head back in shock. “Plan B? You had a plan B you didn’t tell me about?”
Hitting Claire’s number, she simply said, “Yep.”
“Claire, hey . . . oh, dear God. Yes, I’m in labor—who told you?”
Kilyn slowly turned her head and glared at me. “Aunt Maria, huh?”
“Oh, man,” I mumbled.
“Yeah, you guessed it. Plan B is in full swing. Right, you’ve got my bag? Perfect. Yep, I already called them. Right. Sounds good. See ya soon.”
I shook my head in confusion. “Wait. Claire knew about plan B?”
She chuckled. “Please, Claire came up with plan B. We need to head to Memorial Hospital instead.”
“What?”
She hit another number, “Yes, hello, this is Kilyn Drivas calling again. We need to invoke plan B of the birthing plan. Oh, good, he hasn’t left yet. Perfect.”
My mouth dropped open. “Wait. Who all was in on this plan B?”
Kilyn turned and looked at me. “Me, Claire, and Dr. Hopkins’ office.”
“Yet you didn’t feel like you could tell me?”
She continued to stare at me and then a look of sheer pain swept over her face.
“Shit! Another one. Drive, Thano! Drive!”
I had purposely left my phone in the car. I knew my parents would be calling me and wondering where in the hell we were. It wouldn’t take long before one of them tracked us down here at Memorial, especially with Kilyn still only five centimeters dilated.
Knowing what I needed to do, I told Kilyn I was running down to get coffee. She’d been given the epidural thirty minutes ago, and I could already see how much more relaxed she was.
With a deep breath, I reached in the car and looked at my phone.
One hundred twenty-six missed calls.
Shit.
My father was the safer bet. “Athanasios! It’s Athanasios, be quiet! Where in the world are you?”
Clearing my throat, I replied, “We didn’t go to General. There was a change of plans.”
“They’re not at—”
“Dad! Wait!”
He stopped talking. “Dad, I fucked up.”
“What did you do? Is Kilyn okay? The baby?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah, they’re both fine. A few weeks ago, Kilyn and I talked about when the baby was due, how we wanted to handle things. The only thing she wanted was for it to be the two of us, only. I was supposed to talk to you and Mama about it and I forgot.”
“I see.”
“Dad, it’s not like Kilyn doesn’t want the family to see the baby, it’s just . . . the family can be a bit overwhelming. Ya know?”
He chuckled. “I know, son. Believe me, I know.”
Running my hand through my hair, I sighed. “Dad, she had a plan B. She knew I was going to mess up and she made arrangements to go to another hospital if we needed to. I feel like a total asshole for her having to use it. Hell, for her having to have it in the first place.”
“It’s okay, Athanasios. The only thing that matters now is you’re about to be a father.”
I smiled as I walked back into the hospital. “Yeah, I am.”
“I’ll handle the family, don’t you worry. You spend time with your wife and baby and call when you’re ready for us to come visit.”
Hearing my mother in the background, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Handle the family? What do you mean you’ll handle the family?”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Don’t you worry. Kiss Kilyn and tell her we all love her.”
Hitting the elevator button, I replied, “I will. Thanks again, Dad.”
Getting off of the elevator, I started toward Kilyn’s room. One of the nurses was walking up to me. My heart began to beat faster. If something happened I’d never forgive myself for leaving.
“There you are. It looks like your baby decided to make an appearance right now.”
“What? Right now? As in now, now?”
She chuckled. “Yes, Dr. Hopkins is in the room now and Kilyn is ready to push.”
I quickly picked up my pace to almost a run. When I walked into the room, the other nurse smiled. “There he is!”
Kilyn turned and looked at me. I could see the fear in her eyes as I made my way over to her side. Leaning over, I kissed her lips. “This is it.”
She wearily nodded her head. “I’m scared.”
Shaking my head, I took her hand in mine. “No. Don’t be scared. You’re the strongest woman I know. You’ve got this.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Right. I’ve got this,” she whispered.
Kilyn spent almost an hour pushing. Sweat was covering her face and I could see how tired she was.
The doctor looked up and smiled. “One more good push and your baby will be here, Kilyn.”
She thrashed her head back and forth. “I’m so tired. Tell him to wait another day.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Slipping my arm around her, I said, “Come on, baby. One more time and that’s it. You’ll be holding our baby in your arms soon. One more push.”