Page 61 of Not My Finest Hour

I shake my head. “It’s too soon. You said it yourself.” Justin examined me earlier and said I’m only two centimeters dilated, so I still have a ways to go.

“Yeah, but we can get you to the hospital, so if you want pain meds, there will still be time to administer those. If you wait too long, you’ll be too late for an epidural.”

I walk into the baby’s nursery and look out the window which gives me a clear view of the street. There’s not a soul in sight, and no cars on the road either. That’s because most of the cars that were parked on the street already slid down it because we’re on a hill. We got to watch it this morning. One car started sliding down and bumped into others parked on the street, and it started a chain reaction. Thank goodness Justin’s home has a driveway, so our cars weren’t part of that mess.

Justin and I have been living together since the beginning of November. He would’ve had me move in sooner, but he wanted to wait until he finished remodeling his house. He and his friends remodeled the kitchen first, then the living room, but the nursery we finished together. We painted it a light gray to keep in line with the rest of the house, and the décor and furnishings are in neutral tones. We got most of the baby essentials from a baby shower, but the real showstopper of the nursery, the thing that catches my eye every time I come in here, is the painting on the wall. I finally took those painting classes my parents gifted me last year for Christmas. I got to spend five hours with Marlene Pickett, my favorite local painter. With her guidance, I created a lovely landscape painting of Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the background. I’m so pleased with how it turned out, and it was another thing I got to cross off my list of things to do before the baby arrives.

Another contraction comes, feeling like the worst menstrual cramp I’ve ever had, and I grip onto the baby’s crib for support. I breathe through the pain, trying to remember all of the things Justin has been telling me to do, and relax once it’s all over.

“Okay. I’m ready. You can call the ambulance now,” I say. If the contractions are this intense now, I can’t imagine what the pain will be like once it’s time for me to push. There’s no way I’m going through that without some pain meds.

Justin immediately dials 911 and gets in touch with someone. While he’s on the phone, I resume pacing, only this time, limiting myself to the nursery so I can eavesdrop on his call. It’s difficult for me to hear though, and I can’t make out what they’re saying.

“Did they give you an estimate of how long they think it’ll be?” I ask once he hangs up.

“No, they just said they would be here when they could. They’re dealing with a lot of emergency calls today, and as you would expect, response times have increased because of the roads.”

“What if they don’t make it in time?” I screech. “I don’t think I can have this baby naturally.”

“Relax, honey. It doesn’t do you or the baby any good to stress out. You have a very experienced coach by your side. I’ll guide you through it if it comes to that.” Justin pushes the hair away from my face and lifts my chin so our eyes meet. “You can do this. I know you can.” He brushes his lips against mine.

“Don’t try to butter me up. You did this to me,” I say, pointing to my bulging belly.

He knows I’m not being serious and smiles against my lips. “You definitely had a hand in it too.” He takes my hand and leads me into the living room where he turns on the TV. “Let’s watch something to take your mind off things.”

As I look around, the transformation this place has gone through is amazing. I remember the first time I was here in this house, the kitchen seemed closed off and dated. The tile countertops are gone, replaced with granite, and the backsplash is a tasteful, white subway tile. Justin and his friends opened up the living room and the kitchen and made it more of an open-concept floor plan, just like he wanted.

Justin sits down on the couch and pats the cushion next to him. “Have a seat. I’ll massage your back for you.”

I shake my head. “I can’t sit down right now. I’m too nervous and uncomfortable.” I walk away from him and resume my pacing through the house until a blaring siren interrupts me. “Do you hear that? Is that for me?”

We both rush over to the nursery window and look out. An ambulance with tire chains is parked right in the middle of the street and two paramedics gingerly get out of the vehicle, hanging onto the vehicle doors as they slip and slide around. They give up trying to walk and get down on their hands and knees.

“Oh, my God, they’re crawling! Justin, they’re crawling across the street. How the hell are they going to get me out to the ambulance if they can’t even walk themselves?”

“Maybe you’re safer delivering the baby here,” he says.

“It’s too late now. Do we have everything we need for the hospital?”

“It’s all by the front door.”

The paramedics open up the back of the ambulance and bring out a stretcher, which makes it easier for them to walk since they have something to hang on to. I don’t like the look of this at all, but I have no other choice. So when they come to the door and ask me to get on the stretcher, I willingly go, hoping the whole time that I’m not going to go sliding down the street on this thing.

We make it to the hospital in one piece and I request an epidural immediately. Everyone at the hospital already knows Justin, so it’s nice that he can pull a few strings to get me treated as soon as possible. And once the epidural kicks in, I’m finally able to relax.

We take this time to call our parents, and my mother is so upset that she’s not able to get to the hospital. With this being her first grandchild, I know she really wanted to be here, and would probably have been in the room with us during the delivery if she could. But she and my dad can’t make it, and neither can Justin’s parents. And Fern is a no-show too, but she’s all the way in Texas, so I didn’t expect her to be here. She and Brett finally used their Christmas gift from last year, and they’re visiting Julie and Dustin in Texas. Before she left, Fern told me that she and Brett are going to get married while they’re there. She wanted Julie to be there for her when she marries Brett, and it looks like she’ll get her wish.

Hours go by. All of a sudden my labor changes.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asks, sensing the change in my demeanor.

“I think it’s time.”

“I’ll go get the doctor,” he says, then steps outside the room.

Since we’re dealing with a historic ice storm, I get stuck with whoever is at the hospital since there’s no way Dr. Andrus can make it here. It may not be the perfect birth plan I was envisioning, but as long as the baby comes out the right way and is healthy, that’s all I care about.

When the doctor comes in, she introduces herself. While she’s no Dr. Andrus, she seems nice enough. She checks my cervix, then smiles at me. “Are you ready to see your baby today?”

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