Page 64 of Nobody's Girl

“Baby…it’s coming…”

Oh god… “I’ll call the ambulance.”

Clemence grabbed her arm. “No, it’s too late…god… oww, oww, oww, I can feel it coming, Sofia…please help me…”

Somehow, although her heart was pounding out of her chest, Sofia got Clemence to sit on a floor, while she grabbed towels and hot water. Clemence was pulling up her maternity dress, soaked with amniotic fluid as Sofia, her hands washed, knelt down. Now wasn’t the time for shyness, she thought, and helped Clemence ease out of her underwear. With a shock, Sofia could see the top of the baby’s head already, and panic must have shown in her eyes.

“I though…the first time…labor was supposed to be hours long,” Clemence gasped, clutching Sofia’s arm.

“Well, honey, we don’t have hours, so time to buckle up.” Sofia tried to remember what she had seen about giving birth from television shows. “Now, do you feel like you need to push?”

Clemence nodded and Sofia took a deep breath in. “Okay, then, so, hold my hands, and brace yourself against the couch back and push down as hard as you can. One, two, three…push! Come on, Clem, harder!”

Clemence gave a long drawn out scream as she bore down, and Sofia saw the baby’s head move a centimeter. She let go of Clemence’s hands for a moment and checked to see if she could help. The baby’s head was covered in goo but Sofia didn’t think about it. “Okay, so take a few deep breaths and when the need comes again, we’re going to go with it. The baby’s head is most definitely engaged,” she grinned up at Clemence. “I can see the crown of her head and so I reckon we’re almost home.”

“Trust Ivo’s baby to be early,” Clemence grumbled and Sofia giggled.

“Right? Okay, sweetheart, you okay? Let’s try and go for another one, okay? Grip my hands.”

As Clemence pushed, she almost Sofia’s hands under the stress of it but Sofia braced herself, then let go as the baby’s head moved significantly. She eased it out a little, not even slightly phased by the fact she was touching another woman’s vagina. It seemed such a natural, organic situation. Clemence pushed twice more, collapsing exhausted then the baby’s head was out. Sofia supported the head, sliding a towel under Clemence as for the final time, Clemence pushed and Peony Brochu Zacca slid out into the world. Sofia handed her to her mother, both woman crying with happiness now. Clemence cradled her daughter to her chest, kissing her. Sofia wiped the baby’s head for her, marveling at how tiny and perfect she was. Her little cheeks were plump, her little mouth opened in a wide yawn.

“Oh, you’re tired?” Her mother joked, smiling through her tears. Sofia kissed the top of the baby’s head then Clemence’s cheek.

“You did it, Clem…you did it.”

Clemence leaned her head against Sofia’s. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, Sofia, what would I have done without you?”

Sofia wiped her tears away with her fingers. “You? Clem, you’re Wonder Woman, you would have been fine. I’ll go sterilize some scissors and I’ll take care of the umbilical cord.”

Clemence pressed her lips to her daughter’s head. “I feel like I need to push again.”

For a moment, Sofia panicked then relaxed. “That’s probably just the afterbirth. We’ll deal with that then I think we need to get you to hospital.”

A few hours later, Clemence and Peony were safely installed in a private room in the best maternity hospital in Paris and Sofia was trying to call Ivo. She kept getting voicemail but she asked him to call her back immediately. She didn’t want to tell him his daughter had been born over voicemail.

When Clemence was asleep, Sofia went back to her apartment to grab the bag she had packed for the hospital visit. She took a detour back to her and Ivo’s hotel room to grab her cellphone, and as she made her way back onto the street, she heard someone calling her. She turned and smiled. “Hey, Felix, how are you?”

Felix smiled at her. “All the better for seeing you.” He nodded at the bag. “Going somewhere?”

“Oh, no, it’s not my bag. I’m taking it to the hospital. Ivo’s daughter was born earlier today so I’m just helping out.”

“Okay…” He looked confused. “I’m sorry, did you say your husband’s child was born?” His eyes dropped to her flat belly and Sofia giggled.

“Wow, long story. But yes, Ivo’s daughter was born and she’s gorgeous. Look, I do have to get back to the hospital but it was really good seeing you.”

“Listen,” he took the bag from her, “Let me help you grab a cab and maybe I could take you for coffee afterwards.”

Sofia shrugged. “Okay.” She was so wired she would find it difficult to rest anyway, and she liked Felix – or Grant’s – company. She was also a little freaked that Ivo hadn’t called her back yet; she needed to vent to someone about everything that had happened.

Clemence and Peony were both asleep as Sofia crept back into their room, so she put the bag down and closed the door behind her as she stepped back into the hallway. “Both out like a light. Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

Felix bought them both a coffee, and insisted on getting Sofia some food. “You look like you’re about to drop, sweetheart.”

She grinned at him as he brought her some soup and a sandwich. “You’re a good guy, Felix…look, I have to come clean about something.”