Lisa nodded, smiling.
I stood up, almost knocking Lisa down in my haste. I had to reach out and grab her to steady her. “Sorry,” I said, but she just laughed. I turned to the group assembled in the board room. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize, but my wife is about to have our baby.” They all clapped and made exclamations of excitement.
“Ex-wife,” Bryce reminded me, falling in step with me.
“Same thing,” I said.
Celia made a face. “I’m pretty sure the distinction matters.”
“Let’s go,” I started jogging down the hall to the elevators, my excitement too much to contain.
The three of us rode to Indigo Falls together. Celia called Mom to inform her and asked her secretary to tell Olive, who worked on a different floor of the building. The boundaries between us were firm as concrete at this point. They both knew that I partially blamed them for the dissolution of my marriage. Iknew I was mostly to blame, of course, but their meddling hadn’t helped.
And even though Olive was putting forth an effort to show that she had changed, I still had a hard time being around her for very long at all.
We stopped by my house and dropped off Bryce and Celia’s bags. They’d be staying with me until the baby was born, and maybe a few days afterwards. Then we headed to the hospital. I was so excited and nervous I could barely sit still.
When I arrived, I asked to see Carrie while Bryce and Celia were shown to a waiting room. I glanced in and saw most of Carrie’s friends and family waiting in there. I felt the dirty looks directed at me, but I’d long since grown a thick enough skin for that to bounce right off me. The only person I didn’t see was Blair, so I assumed that’s who was in the room with her.
I peeked in the room before doing anything else. Carrie already looked tired. I knocked on the door lightly. Blair turned to look, gave me a tight smile, and ushered me in the room.
“Hey,” I said, walking over to Carrie. “How are you doing?”
“This might come as a shock to you,” she said drily, “but this really hurts.”
I grimaced. I could barely comprehend how something that big was going to come out of her. She was so small. It seemed impossible. “How fast are the contractions coming?”
“They’re coming pretty fast, but the doctors don’t think she’s progressing fast enough,” a nurse said.
“What does that mean?” I whispered to Blair while Carrie closed her eyes and didn’t appear to be listening.
“She’s made almost zero progress even though the contractions are coming steadily.” Blair looked at me. “That’s not normal. It puts stress on the baby and makes things difficult for the mom.”
“Well, that sounds terrible.”
“It’s not terrible. It’s just… a little unusual. But the doctor said she’s seen a woman go from not progressing to fully dilated very quickly. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
I frowned, worried about both Carrie and the baby. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. If you want to run down to the cafeteria or something, now would be the time. I’ll text you if anything happens.”
“I don’t want to miss anything.”
“I promise, Thatcher. I won’t let you miss a thing.” Blair said, finally giving me a kind smile. It was the smile she used to give me all the time, and it felt good to see it again.
The day turned into night, and everyone was becoming uneasy. The night wore on. It was miserable. I hated watching Carrie in pain, and I couldn’t stand hearing the doctor and nurses talking about ‘adequate progression of labor’ and other things I didn’t fully understand.
Only two people could be in the room with her at a time, and Blair had been designated as her birthing partner. I would’ve loved that role, but I understood why she wouldn’t want me to have it. I gave up the second space often, letting Carrie’s mom Diane, Sadie, Melinda, and even Celia in while I waited in the hallway. I was never far away.
I was terribly nervous as the hours wore on. I took to pacing the halls, waiting for something to happen. By morning, we’d all had enough. Carrie was exhausted. Finally, the doctor came in while Blair and I were there.
“We’ve booked an operating room for a Cesarean section. It’s time. She’s made some progress but not enough. I don’t want the baby put under any more stress than necessary.”
“They… they’re going to cut her open?” I swallowed hard and looked around for a chair. “I don’t feel so good,” I murmured, pulling on the collar of my shirt. “I think I might need someair. Is it hot to you?” I asked no one in particular. “It’s just so stuffy.” I was circling the room trying to find a non-existent chair. “I think this hospital needs more chairs.” I looked at the nurse, who looked strange to me. She was light in the center and then fuzzy around the edges. Were my eyes dilated? “I’ll donate a million dollars for chairs.”
I realized everyone was staring at me. I gave them a small wave.
“Thatcher? Are you okay?” It was as if I was hearing Blair’s voice from a distance, and it almost didn’t make sense. It was kind of like she was Charlie Brown’s teacher. I cocked my head and frowned trying to make sense of what she was asking me.
