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Stone
“Thank you so much for coming, I know it was a lot to ask,” Regan greets me with an outstretched hand and I just stare at it in disbelief.
“It’s flu season. Unnecessary touching isn’t recommended,” I say and climb out of my truck.
“Right,” she says, and stuffs her hands in the pockets of her skirt.
It’s fucking petty, but three months after that night at her house, the weight of resentment still sits in my gut like a boulder.
“I’m here. So cut the cloak and dagger. What do you need?” I ask, and cross my arms impatiently.
“It’s an emergency or I wouldn’t have called,” she says urgently.
I laugh. “Yeah, I’m aware that you avoid me at all costs.” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.
She swallows audibly, and her eyes narrow as if she’s in pain for a second. “There’s a woman here, she didn’t have anywhere else to go. And she’s in labor. I think. She’s been having contractions all day.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the clinic you partnered with?”
She sighs, her hands flexing and curling at her sides. Her lips barely move when she speaks.
“They terminated our agreement after my divorce. Marcel is one of their largest patrons. I haven’t been able to negotiate another arrangement like that yet. I’m working on building my own clinic on sight, but that takes money that I’m still trying to raise. Permits that keep getting “lost” And, as you noted, you are my last resort, because it’s a fucking emergency.” She pauses to take a deep breath. I know we have issues, but if you could put them aside and please come help this woman who has trusted me with her life.” Her voice breaks and her chest heaves, her eyes are pleading and bleak.
But I need to understand what I’m walking into.
“Have you been timing her contractions?”
“Yes, but only since her water broke, and that’s when I called you.”
“How close?”
“Four minutes, max.”
“Do you have a delivery area set up?”
She nods eagerly. “I have everything in place. I found some info in the book about home births…I fitted the room out today.”
I grab her arm, “Today? She’s been here all day. Why’d you wait so long to call me?”
She bites her lip. “The baby’s not due for another month, and until her water broke, I wasn’t sure she was in labor. So, I let her rest and went to get stuff from the medical supply just in case.”
I’m already moving again by the time she’s done talking. I grab my field kit from my car and start walking back to her.
“Take me to her,” I say with a curt nod, and wait for her to take the lead. I open the bag to see if I have everything I need and look up to find her standing in the same spot, watching me. “Is there a problem?” I in a brisk, but civil tone.
“Thank you so much for this. I know you’re angry with me…” She puts a hand out as if she’s going to touch me.
I step back with a sharp shake of my head. “That doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling, but this isn’t the time. Let’s go.”
She nods and drops her eyes to the ground but not before I glimpse some of the sorrow in them.
I’m torn between heartache and hope. The last month of silence and distance has nearly eaten me alive. Tyson has made it sound as if she’s never been happier. But that’s not what I see now. It’s not what I feel.
Her shoulders sag and my heart mimics the motion.
“Okay, let me show you the way.”
“Thanks Rob, appreciate you coming.” I shake hands with my retired pediatrician. He was the only person I could think of to call who would come.
