Page 41 of 40 and Flirting (with Disaster)
A gasp left her.
Claire was right back in there. “What is it?”
Erin looked down. “I think my water just broke.”
As one, they all looked down to see a wet streak along Erin shorts and down her leg. “Oh, sweetie,” Lily said. “I’ll get a towel.”
Claire looked to Iris, her eyes frantic. “What do we do?”
Iris grinned at the other woman. “We have a baby.” She moved to take Claire’s place at Erin’s side. “Why don’t you give Carter a call?”
Claire nodded, rolling her eyes. “Of course I should give Carter a call.” She relinquished her hold on Erin and rushed for the living room.
Iris stepped up to her friend. Erin met her eyes, her own filling with tears.
“What’s wrong?” Iris asked. “Don’t cry. It’s gonna be okay.” She reached to rub a tear from Erin’s cheek.
“I’m not ready,” Erin said, the tears coming stronger, more quickly.
Iris gave her a hug. “You’re more ready than you feel, trust me.” She moved to stand in front of Erin, clasping her friend’s shoulders. “I know it feels overwhelming right now, with the whole thing looming in front of you. But you’re both gonna do great, and your baby is going to be here in no time at all. You both will be fine.”
Erin soaked in the words like they were a lifeline. Then the next contraction hit. “Oh!”
Iris turned her toward the wall, guiding her hands up to lay flat against it. “Lean over a little bit, Erin. Let the wall take your weight.”
She rubbed Erin’s back through the contraction, murmuring soothing nonsense words that even she didn’t understand, knowing Erin wouldn’t really hear any of them, just the tone. Already her focus was moving inward, concentrating on her body, on her baby. The sight brought back so many memories for Iris, the moments she’d spent laboring to bring Adam and Krista into the world. The thought of her daughter squeezed at her heart. So much time had passed between their births and now, so much had changed, but that single-minded love that was born when your child was conceived never went away.
Iris coached Erin through the contraction, then handed her over to Lily to clean up a bit while they waited for Carter to arrive. Twenty minutes and four contractions passed before the squeal of brakes in the driveway reached them. Carter was at the door seconds later. “Erin?”
“Here!” The word was a harsh rasp as Erin panted through a contraction.
Carter rushed to her side, his lips meeting her temple, his arms wrapping around his wife and the belly that held their baby. “It’s okay, just breathe.” He whispered in her ear through the long moments of squeezing pain, and when they passed, a little smile appeared on his face. “Our baby’s coming,” he said more loudly, words full of wonder.
“She is,” Erin said. She straightened up. “We need to go.”
They bundled Erin into Carter’s car and watched the two of them back out, headed for the hospital. Nostalgia tugged at Iris as she imagined their next steps, the moment when Baby Deveraux would take her first breaths in this world. So much love and laughter lay ahead of them.
Claire, Lily, and Iris went back inside, poured some wine, and toasted their friends’ new beginning as they waited for news.
Twenty
Instinct had Jamie reaching for Iris’s hand as they crossed the parking lot toward the front entrance of the hospital. He’d craved her touch from the minute he met her, but now that she’d given herself to him, whenever she was with him he couldn’t stop. Holding her hand, putting his arm around her waist, a kiss anytime he could sneak it in. And it was never enough.
He squeezed her fingers lightly. “Erin said everything went fine with the delivery?”
“Picture perfect.” A glance showed him that Iris was smiling softly. “Longer than she wanted, I’m sure, but that’s true of every delivery. She gets to go home tomorrow as long as the baby continues to do well.”
They entered the hospital through the heavy sliding glass doors and crossed the neutrally painted lobby that was supposed to make everyone feel calm. Jamie had always hated hospitals. He could still remember Michael’s birth like it was yesterday, the chaos and the anxiety and the waiting. It didn’t matter what color the walls were, there was nothing about the whole experience that had felt calm. But he was certainly glad Erin and Carter had managed all right.
The elevator took them to the labor and delivery floor, and they made their way through the maze of hallways to Erin’s room. Iris knocked on the door and pushed through when Carter’s voice called for them to enter.
“Congratulations!” Iris hurried across the room to give Erin a hug. Jamie followed, holding the flowers he’d picked out and the gift Iris had brought along. Carter stood to the side of Erin’s bed, a bundle wrapped in a soft pink blanket held securely in his arms. He reached to shake Jamie’s hand.
“How are you feeling?” Iris asked, the question directed at Erin.
“Sore,” she admitted, a tired smile taking over her face. “But happy.”
“Want to meet the baby?” Carter asked, his voice coated in proud-dad energy.
