Page 104 of Lone Star Longing
“What’s wrong? You can do this.”
She knew she could. She was worried about the pain, of course, about the whole labor thing. She was worried about going into a room in front of strangers and admitting she didn't have the baby’s father supporting her. She was forever grateful to Poppy for coming with her. Her dad had offered, but him accompanying her would be even more embarrassing than not having the baby’s father. Plus, some things should remain a mystery between father and daughter.
So yeah, she was chickening out.
Poppy hooked her hand through Lacey’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Lacey’s heart leapt, hoping Poppy had read her mind and they were going to escape. But no, Poppy dragged her into the room. The space was open, with chairs set in a semicircle, and posters depicting the stages of childbirth pinned to the walls.
“Avoiding the class doesn't mean you’re going to avoid the birth. You can do this.”
The instructor, a woman about her dad’s age, welcomed them when they walked in. “Hi, I’m Alicia, your coach tonight.”
“Hi, I’m Lacey Davila, and this is my coach, Poppy.”
“Oh, how nice. Are you a...couple?”
“No, we’ve just been friends since high school. The dad is....overseas.”
“Oh, I know that’s hard. Welcome, have a seat, make yourself comfortable. We’re still waiting on two more couples.”
Lacey found a spot in the semi-circle of chairs and led the way to it, far enough away from the other couples—one couple older, maybe mid-forties, the other three couples maybe her age or a little older.
Couples. She had expected as much, but she’d never felt more alone. What was she going to do? She wanted to go into that delivery room as informed as possible. And they also would show her how to take care of babies. Yes she was a nurse, but she hadn’t taken care of babies in a long time.
But today was the introductory class. She looked around. Two of the couples seemed further along in their pregnancies, two didn't look as advanced.
Finally the other two couples came in and found their spot. One couple seemed very friendly, the other more private, and Lacey found herself drawn to that couple more, since she was feeling the same.
But of course the first thing the instructor Alicia wanted to do was have them all introduce themselves. The gregarious couple started, of course. This was their third pregnancy, though their second ended in a miscarriage.
“Our rainbow baby,” the mother, Dorien, said with a madonna-like smile, circling her hand over her belly.
A sharply drawn breath came from the woman beside Lacey, and Lacey looked over to see the woman tearing up, her hand in front of her mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said. “Everything’s making me cry these days. Everything.”
“Everything made you cry before you were pregnant,” her husband said, his tone fond. “We’re Jason and Olivia. First baby. High school sweethearts. It’s a girl.”
“Okay, we skipped this one. You said you’re friends?” Alicia pointed to Poppy and Lacey.
“Yes, since elementary school.” Lacey didn't want to go into the details of her relationship with Jesse, so she stuck with, “The father is deployed, and Poppy is going to be my coach.”
“Well, thank him for his service, especially since it’s keeping him away from the birth of his child. That’s wonderful to have a friend so good to you.”
“It is. We live in Broken Wheel, so we have quite a drive for the class.”
“You do. I’m glad you could make it. First baby?”
Lacey nodded and resisted the urge to circle her belly like Dorien had done. “Babies. Twins.”
Everyone exclaimed over that, and Alicia nodded. Of course, as the coach, she’d known about that, since she was going to have to address Lacey’s delivery a little differently.
The other couples were introduced, and just as Alicia began instruction, the door swung open. All eyes turned to see Beck hurry in.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He waved to Alicia, and walked behind the semicircle to sit beside Lacey, on the other side from Poppy.
Everyone was silent as Lacey turned, open-mouthed, from Beck to Poppy, who shrugged.
