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“Is she having the baby now?” the driver looked around at the stagnant cars, the traffic barely progressing in the middle of the highway. They were at least half a mile from the nearest hospital and with no means of clearing a path.
Dina turned to the driver, her chest heaving as she gritted her teeth. “No,” she said sarcastically, her nose flaring. “She’s just being dramatic to gain your attention.”
Dina’s words caused the driver to freeze for a few seconds, then he stammered. “You stay with her while I go for help.”
Dina was about to suggest changing roles, but the driver disappeared before she had the chance. Inside that car was the last place she wanted to be. For almost a year, she had loathed Alina. She even imagined her in great discomfort. However, now that it was actually happening, Dina couldn’t shake the concern for the same woman she despised just moments before.
Her brother was in love with Alina and that was his child trying to come into the world, her nephew or niece. Dina couldn’t just run away. Whether or not she liked it, Alina was family now, and family was everything to Dina.
She may have been even more anxious than Alina, not knowing what to do. Taking a deep breath, she asked. “You know what to do, right? Can you do it on your own?”
Being in pain brought out the sarcasm in Alina. “Definitely. I just planned to have my first child in the hospital for fun. But I don’t need the doctor who spent years training to deliver a baby.”
“You don’t have to be bitter,” Dina eased herself closer. “I was just asking.” Her voice now was unlike Dina’s. It was softer, almost approachable. “So usually, pregnant woman does breathing techniques.” Then she added with more surety. “Yes, do that breathing thing.”
Dina began mimicking what she saw in a movie as she took out her phone. Maybe it was nervously or the extra moisture on her fingertips, but she had a hard time keeping the phone in her hands. It fell to the ground and, after some shuffling around; she retrieved it with heavy breaths and dialed three numbers.
How was it possible to have more exaggerated breaths than a woman in labor?
“Hello.” Dina clutched her chest as she continued to breathe loudly. “We’re stuck in traffic on the highway and she’s going into labor.” Alina kept her eyes on Dina as she listened to the person on the other end of the call.
“Yes. It’s broken,” Dina said, sweat dripping from her face as Alina clutched the chair, closed her eyes, and fumed from the next round of pain.
The man on the other end of the call asked for the women’s location and Dina supplied it the best she can, describing the car that had picked them up.
“Okay. EMT is on its way to you. Have her do breathing exercises and keep her as relaxed as you can,” the man instructed and Dina wondered how was she to pull off the impossible. She couldn’t even keep herself calm. How was she supposed to keep a woman virtually going into labor on her own from freaking out?
Dina placed her phone down and settled herself closer to Alina. “Just continue breathing. Help is on its way.”
Alina did as she was told, but when the contractions started again, she clung to the seat and screamed. The pain from her voice was daunting and Dina couldn’t think of anything else but to take her hand, offering her some support.
Alina’s screams seemed to catch the attention of persons nearby, but no one offered their help. If there were any doctors stuck in traffic, they were already assisting with the accident.
“Just breathe and stay strong until help arrives. If this child is anything like my brother, it’s coming, no matter what.” Dina did not know what she should say, so she babbled.
Her words seemed to distract the impending mother from her labor pains. Alina laughed. “Dereck is the most stubborn person I know.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Dina added. “For days, he didn’t eat or drink anything until our parents agreed to pay for medical school. He looked so pale I thought he was going to pass out, but he stuck with it until they caved.”
“That definitely sounds like Dereck,” Alina said before a soft smile framed her lips. When Dina gently patted the back of her hand, she smiled even brighter. At first, Alina felt doomed to realize Dina was her only support during labor, but now she felt more at ease. She had a gentler side to her and it was a great comfort.
“This is it.” The women raised their heads to the emergency personnel their driver accompanied. They were originally dispatched to the accident but had been instructed to tend to the new emergency while the second crew dealt with the accident.
The back seat of the car was cramped, so as the medics approached, Dina backed away, taking her phone with her. She stepped away from the car so Alina’s screams wouldn’t interrupt her call. And also, to prevent her brother from panicking.
“Dereck. There was an accident, and the highway is backed up and she went into labor.” Dina said everything in one breath with her free hand waving in the air.
“Wait what? Where are you?” Dereck’s casual voice had become panicked in seconds and his voice was unnecessarily loud.
“There’s too much traffic. You could never get to us. I’ll send you a text of the hospital we’ll go to.” Then, to reassure her brother, she added. “Alina’s going to be fine. She’s doing great and the medics are already here. I’m not leaving her.”
“Thank you, Dina,” Dereck pushed all his emotions into his words. “I’ll see you soon.”
Dina remained close until the emergency personnel examined Alina and, after agreeing that she still had some time before the baby came, they placed her onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. It took some maneuvering for the ambulance to near their vehicle, but it just proved the skills of the emergency drivers.
Inside the ambulance, the women held hands, with Alina holding even tighter every time a contraction came. Dina held her gaze with a gentle smile on her lips, distracting her from being rushed to the emergency room in a whaling bus. Occasionally, she patted the back of Alina’s hand in silent encouragement.
As the ambulance stopped at the emergency room entrance, the EMT jumped out, rolling Alina out of the vehicle and into the building. The hospital staff took over and wheeled Alina into the labor room at a jog. Dina slowed her pace as they approached, giving the team room to do their jobs. That’s when Alina turned to the doctor. “Can she come with me?” There was a longing in her eyes, though obscured by a hint of pain. Alina was scared, and the last thing she wanted was to part with the only familiar face in the room.
