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"I'm kind of in the middle of something."
"Dean. I think I'm in labor."
Two seconds later, he came flying into the kitchen, his eyes wide and crazed. "What?"
"My water broke. I'm going to call my doctor, but I need to go to the hospital. Can you drive me?" I was thanking God that he had succeeded in getting his driver’s license.
"What about Dad?"
"We'll call him too. He’s down in Henderson."
Dean looked nervous, like he was afraid the baby was going to drop right there. "I think Dad put your bag in the car already, right?"
I nodded. "You just need to get the keys and your wallet. I'll grab my purse, and we’ll go."
A few moments later, we were in the car. I called my doctor, who told me she'd meet us at the hospital.
My next call was to Todd. His voice came through the Bluetooth speaker of the car. "Hey, beautiful. I think I'm going to be done here—"
"My water broke and I'm in labor. Dean is driving me to the hospital."
"Oh, my God. Okay, I'm on my way. Dean? Are you all right?"
Dean's fingers gripped the steering wheel at ten and two, his eyes darting around as if he was terrified that at any moment something would go wrong. "You should be here, Dad."
"I'm on my way. I love you both."
For all our planning, we hadn't anticipated this. But I knew that Todd was on his way. As long as this baby didn't do something crazy and come faster than all the baby books indicated a labor took, we should be fine.
37
Todd
If I didn't get a ticket, it would be a fucking miracle. I sped along the highway, weaving around traffic. I was glad that I had made the decision to drive myself today instead of having a driver because there was no way he’d drive like a bat out of hell to get to the hospital in record time.
I replayed Betts's call in my mind. She sounded strained, but I suppose labor could do that to a person. Dean sounded nervous. Why the hell hadn't I been there?
Dean is a good driver, I reminded myself. And women had babies every day. But even telling myself that didn't alleviate the quantum stress I was feeling. The truth was that my stress wasn't so much related to worry about Dean or Betts, although that was there.
No, my concern was missing the birth of my child because I was at work. Even when Dean was born, I'd taken time off work to be there.
I'd been feeling guilty about working so much over the last couple of weeks, and even with Betts's assurances that she understood that I was working so much now so that I didn't have to work at all once the baby was here, I still felt guilty. This was the behavior that had led to the breakup of my marriage and the estrangement from my son. I couldn't miss this child's birth, their first day here on earth because I was at work.
Granted, the baby was two weeks early, but I couldn't use that as an excuse. I'd promised Betts and Dean and myself that I would be present. The family would be first in everything. I made that vow to Betts as soon as I could after she agreed to be my wife. I'd made it to Dean on the day we submitted custody papers to court.
Taylor hadn't fought me on it, which was a mixed blessing. I was glad not to have to go to battle with her, but I didn't like the message it gave Dean. So, I doubled down, making sure that no matter what, he knew how important he was.
But I was on the verge of fucking it up on the first day of my new child's life. I couldn't have that. I sped into the hospital parking lot and screeched to a halt by the front doors, rushing in, not caring if my car got towed.
I hurried to the nurse’s station, giving her my name and asking her about Betts. I scanned the waiting area for Dean but didn't see him.
The nurse told me where I could find Betts. I decided I would check on her first and then look for Dean. I hurried down the corridor to the labor room. When I walked in, she was doing her breathing learned in childbirth class, and Dean was standing by the bed, counting.
Relief like I'd never known filled me, followed by an intense love. Here was my family.
I rushed into the room, and when Dean saw me, he stepped away, relief filling his expression. I took Betts's hand and set my other hand on Dean's shoulder. "How are you?"
Betts let out a breath. "I'm ready for the baby to be here."
