Page 111 of Songs for Libby

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Sean was only going to be gone for two nights, then he would be back for…I wasn’t sure how long. But he didn’t have any more appearances scheduled. I tried to tell him that he should schedule more concerts, but he just smiled and shook his head.

“You asked me to go before and I went, because it was the right thing, but leaving you for more than a couple days at a time now or anytime in the near future would not be the right thing for me or for you.”

“You can’t pretend indefinitely that you don’t have obligations.”

He smirked. “Wanna bet?”

“Sean.”

“I’m not going to quit, Libby. I’m not going to go looking for a nine-to-five job. But you better believe I’m going to cut back on my obligations and be much more selective about the places I go and for how long.”

I sighed and gave up the argument. For now.

We had worked it out so that Louisa flew in just before Sean flew out. She arrived with two giant suitcases filled with baby things and a single carry-on that held all of her personal items. I was equally horrified and impressed.

Just before Sean left, he gave me a thorough goodbye kiss on the doorstep, along with a kiss to the side of my belly. “For baby girl,” he said with a grin.

And then he turned to Louisa and wrapped her in a giant hug. “I’m so glad you’ll be here with her,” he said. I’d been having Braxton Hicks contractions the past couple days, and Sean had gotten progressively more nervous with each one even though I told him over and over that it was normal. Good, even. It didn’t seem to help.

Louisa chuckled. “You need to stop being such a worrier. All we’re going to do while you’re gone is sit around and watch sappy shows.”

“Speak for yourself,” I said. “I plan to assemble furniture and do some welding.”

“You always were handy with a torch,” he replied as he came back for one more peck on my lips. “I’ll be back in two days.” He waved and jumped into his car.

Louisa sighed beside me. “He’s a good one, isn’t he, Libby?” I was surprised by the note of uncertainty in her voice.

“Yeah, he is,” I assured her, once again amazed at how gracious she continued to be in regards to Sean.

She linked her arm through mine and we went into the house, where I happily gave her a tour and we laughed about the random luxuries that I never would have thought to ask for but apparently came standard in a house like this. Then I helped her unpack all of her baby offerings and we organized them into the nursery, which was almost as big as my master suite. I had it decorated with creams, lavenders and pale blues. I already had enough stuffed animals to last her a lifetime. I sat in the glider and enjoyed the calm mixed with anticipation as Louisa hummed and put things away. Even the sad smiles that passed between us regularly didn’t disturb my contentment. I’d come to accept the haze of sadness that came with the joy. And Louisa, by some miracle, had come to accept Sean.

♪♫♪

We were watching a movie the following evening when Louisa eyed me sideways. “More Braxton Hicks?”

“Yup!” I assured her, even as my eyes widened in panic. These didn’t seem like the practice contractions I’d been having the past several days. They seemed more serious. But they couldn’t be more serious. Now was not the time for me to have a baby. I wasn’t ready yet. I was supposed to have two more weeks to prepare physically, emotionally and mentally.

I was sitting on my couch, my fingers digging into the armrest beside me even as I tried to appear relaxed, staring at the TV show I was not following.

“Libby?” Louisa asked in a careful voice.

“Yeah?”

“You’re having to breathe through the contractions. I don’t think they’re Braxton Hicks.”

“Yes, they are.” There was a bite in my voice. The kind born of terror and the need to deny reality.

“I’ve been timing them—”

“You what?” I finally broke my gaze from the TV and looked at her.

She held up her phone. “They have an app for tracking contractions.”

I blinked, surprised that my not-so-tech-savvy mother-in-law would respond to an inquiry with “There’s an app for that.”

“They’ve been coming pretty steadily for more than an hour, Libby.”