Page 161 of Dirty Like Dylan

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I soon discovered that a pregnant woman’s water breaking was not at all like it was in the movies. At least, it wasn’t in Jessa’s case.

There was no giant gush of liquid on the floor. There was no mad dash for the hospital. Jessa just calmly went to call Brody, though I wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it since he was over a thousand miles away.

“Okay, ladies, I think that’s our cue to clear out,” Katie said, starting to clean. We all pitched in and had the party room tidied up in minutes, then beelined for the front door. Jessa reappeared as we were putting on our jackets, phone in hand, looking slightly less calm and more pale.

“Brody’s flying back?” Katie asked, which made the tiny crease between Jessa’s eyebrows deepen.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “That’s as soon as he can fly out. They don’t exactly have an international airport in Mosquito Lake, Saskatchewan.”

Frowns rippled over the faces of the gathered women. I’d never heard of Mosquito Lake, Saskatchewan, but it definitely didn’t sound like much of a travel hub.

“Who the hell goes fishing in a place called Mosquito Lake?” Devi remarked, and Katie elbowed her.

“Brody and Jude,” Elle offered dryly.

“They’re ice fishing,” Roni muttered, clearly unimpressed with the whole idea. “Which is even more ridiculous.”

“I think it’s just a name.” Jessa rubbed her belly in soothing circles. “It looks lovely there. Brody showed me pictures…”

“Not much of a name, tourism-wise,” Summer pointed out.

“I told him not to leave,” Roni said. “It’s too close to your due date. Now he’s sitting in some shack on the ice drinking beers when he should be here, with you.”

“It’s okay.” Jessa laughed a little, but she sounded kinda scared. “The baby isn’t due for two weeks. Who knew this would happen?”

Katie rubbed her back soothingly. “Sweetie, I’ll stay with you until he gets home. Jesse can come over, too.”

“No. It’s okay,” Jessa said, sounding less-than-thrilled at the prospect of her brother coming over. “Maggie’s my on-call Brody-fill-in. She’ll come. And actually…” She looked at me. “I was going to ask Amber to stay.”

Now everyone looked at me.

“Oh…” I said. “What?” I glanced at Katie and I knew my eyes were wide. Why did Jessa want me here instead of her sister-in-law?

“To take pictures,” Jessa explained. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. To surprise Brody. He’s been saying he wants to take photos, even video, of this whole process. I think he overestimates the free time he’s gonna have on his hands while this happens, and also, I really don’t want video of this. But some nice photos, I could live with that.” She smiled hopefully at me. “What do you think? I know it’s not exactly a glamor gig—”

“I would love to,” I told her, touched that she’d ask me.

“And I know it’s a lot to ask. We’ll pay you, of course. But if you already have plans over the next, well, twenty-four hours or so, I understand.”

“No. Seriously.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “I would love to.”

The smile spread across her face, almost wiping out the worry in her eyes.

“Are you sure?” Katie seemed hesitant to leave, though not offended. “I can stay with you until Maggie comes.”

“Really,” Jessa assured her, “it’s not a big deal. I already spoke with my midwife and she said the best thing to do now is sleep, so I can save my energy for when labor really starts.”

“It hasn’t even started yet?” Devi said, and Katie elbowed her again.

“Shit. This is not like in the movies,” Summer muttered, voicing my own thoughts.

“Nope.” Jessa sighed. “This is just the beginning of the beginning. Unless contractions start. And I’d really like as few people here as possible when they do. I’m nervous enough.”

“Okay. Well…” Katie hugged Jessa and held her, carefully but tight. “Please let me know if you need anything. I’m just a text away.”

“Thank you.” Jessa hugged her back, and they held on a while. “Next time you see me, though, I’ll be handing you your niece or nephew. Save the help for that. I’m gonna need it.”

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