“Oh, right. Okay that’s good. Good. Okay. Well, you get dressed and I’ll get hold of Coop and your mom.”
I headed downstairs, dialing as I went.
“Cooper, call me back. It’s urgent.”
I opened the front door as Ralphie pulled up in the car, the windows lowering as he rolled to a stop. “You okay?”
“Yeah, but Freddie’s baby is coming.”
He nodded his head, not seeming phased at all that we now had a potential delivery on our hands. “Oh, okay. Did her water break? How far along is she?”
“How the fuck would I know? How would you know?”
He chuckled. “You remember things after four kids.”
My eyes bugged in surprise. “You have four kids?”
How did I not know that?
“FELIX!”
I rushed back inside to Freddie’s yelling as quickly as I could, considering I couldn’t walk very well, definitely couldn’t run, and didn’t have a crutch to lean on. She was standing at the top of the stairs wearing one of Cooper’s team hoodies, which almost came down to her knees, even with the bump taking up so much room.
“I’m here, you ready? Ralphie’s outside to take us.”
She made it to the bottom of the stairs. “He’ll be here, won’t he?”
I hugged her, kissing the top of her head. “Yes, he’ll be here. I promise. But for now, you’ve got me.”
“Thank you, Felix.”
“You’re welcome. Come on, let’s get in the car.”
There was a wheelchair and a nurse waiting for us as we pulled up to the hospital entrance. Freddie managed to get out of the car and into the chair without grumbling too much, because her anger levels had been on the increase since we’d left the house. Anger at me, at the traffic, at Cooper and at the baby. At anything she could find, really. Not sure what I’d done wrong, and I didn’t dare ask.
The nurse wheeled her in, taking us up to the labor and delivery floor of the hospital and into her room. I placed her hospital bag on the couch and sat down, while more nurses fussed about.
“Freddie, I’m going to go and get your doctor.” One of them handed her a gown. “Put this on and get into bed.”
“Thank you.”
I shielded my eyes, staring down at my blank phone screen, while another nurse helped her into it and onto the bed.
“Felix?”
I turned to her and saw her hand outstretched toward me. I moved over and took it, looking down at her face. She looked so sad.
“How’re you doing, Angel?”
She rubbed her hand over her belly. “Did you hear from Cooper?”
“Not yet, he’ll still be at practice and we’re not allowed phones on the ice. But I’ve left him a message and he’ll call me as soon as he gets off. Don’t worry.”
I figured it was okay to stretch the truth in extreme circumstances, because I actually didn’t know where he was. But he’d better call me back, because if he didn’t make it here in time, he’d be a dead man.
At Freddie’s hands.
The door opened and in walked a doctor. She smiled at Freddie as she looked at the monitors attached to her belly.
