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“Damn, Suze, looks good. If you’re cooking like this every night, I’m moving in.” Growing up, our parents took turns with dinner most nights and on the weekends we got takeout or we went out to eat, so homecooked meals weren’t a total novelty. Sarah cooked some, but she was a busy doctor and it was rare that our meals came from our own oven. Since Sarah died, I ate out, with Suzie or prepared meals. “Sound good?”
“You’re invited to dinner every night, Drew.” She smiled up at me and then her smile slipped.
“Suzie, what’s wrong? Is it the babies?”
She nodded, nearly dropping her plate as one hand went to her belly. “Yes,” she grunted, a strained smile aimed at me when I grabbed her plate.
“All right, let’s get you to the sofa.” I set the plates on the counter and eyed them longingly before I turned to help Suzie take a seat.
“Skip the sofa, Drew. My water just broke.”
Her water just broke.
I stood rooted to the spot and stared at Suzie as she gripped the sides of her belly. In labor. My sister was in labor.
“Drew!” She snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Don’t be a guy right now, please. Be a doctor.”
“A doctor. Right.” I nodded absently and stared at her belly for a long moment. “Keys. We need to call Gavin.”
A huff of pained laughter escaped. “Gavin is on tour, remember? Call Zola and Granddaddy and let them know we’re headed to the hospital.”
“Why?”
“Because they would want to know, Drew. I’m going to change.” She shook her head and I watched her limping footsteps until she disappeared. Without the distraction of Suzie, I was finally able to spring into action, starting with the phone call to Aaron. He would tell Zola what was happening. I found my keys and stood by the front door, waiting for Suzie.
“Everything all right, Suzie?”
“Um, yeah?”
I knew that tone well. It was Suzie’s I need help but I’m too embarrassed to ask for it tone. “What do you need?”
“Nothing.”
“Suzie,” I growled and marched to her bedroom, giving the door two sharp knocks before I twisted the knob. “Open the door, Suzie.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I’m naked.” Her voice was so small that my heart ached for her.
“I’ve seen you naked before.”
“Not like this, you haven’t.”
“Remember that time you got drunk and puked on yourself? Who got you into the shower and stayed with you so you didn’t drown?”
She laughed. “The same person who forgot to get me a towel or a change of clothes.”
“I wasn’t a doctor yet, I didn’t know I needed to be that prepared.” She needed my help and I just sprang into action, because it was my sister. “But I told Dad you started your period early instead of telling him you were drunk.”
“Drew,” she laughed, and then let out a thunderous cry as her first real contraction hit.
“Open the door, Suzie!”
In the long silence that followed my command, I heard a door somewhere open and close. Then footsteps. When I looked up, Zola marched down the hall with a determined look.
“Suzie, it’s Zola. Do you need some help?”
“What are you doing here?” The growled whisper didn’t even produce a blink from Zola. “I said to meet us at the hospital.”
Zola folded her arms and glared up at me like I was a piece of dirty gum on her favorite pair of shoes. “Yeah, and you were just going to leave Suzie in the backseat, having contractions on her own?” She shook her head to tell me what she thought of that idea. “You drive, and I’ll take care of Suzie. I promised Gavin I would.”
As if that mattered. “She’s my sister.”
The door lock slid open and then Suzie’s voice sounded. “Come in, Zola.”
“She can see you naked but I can’t?”
Zola rolled her eyes. “She’s vulnerable, Drew. And wet,” she whispered the last part as if I was the idiot.
“Obviously. Her water broke.”
She stared at me again, as if I wasn’t an experienced medical professional, shook her head and slipped inside Suzie’s bedroom. “The purple or the teal?”
I knocked on the door. “She’s having a baby, not attending a red carpet event.”
Silence rang out louder than any smart ass remark I knew Zola would make. A few minutes later the door opened and Suzie emerged with a smile, wearing teal sweatpants with a matching jacket.
“Thanks for telling Zola to come here.”
Zola was right behind her. “Is your go bag in the front closet?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect.” Zola wrapped an arm around Suzie and nodded for me to lead the way. “We can grab it on the way out. I’m excited to meet these girls, aren’t you?”
Suzie smiled, pain forgotten about for a moment, and nodded. “So excited.”
Even though I hated it, I couldn’t deny that Zola did a fantastic job of keeping Suzie distracted through her contractions. “I’ll bet they have Gavin’s hair and your eyes.”
