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Except herself.
With another deep breath in, she pulled her focus back to the air moving through her nose. She held it there for a count of five, then slowly released it. When her music of pond sounds ended, Lauren opened her eyes and gave herself a moment to come back to the present.
With her nine-month-big baby belly, Lauren used a chair to help herself get back to her feet. She stretched her arms high above her head and pulled up her right side, then the left. She hadn’t been sleeping well for the past month, but the infant she carried was worth it.
Her feet hurt almost all the time, because they’d swollen in the last couple of weeks, and even when Blake rubbed them, she didn’t find much relief. The only thing that would bring her true relief was having this baby, and truth be told, Lauren couldn’t wait to meet her daughter.
She had dark hair and eyes, but Blake was a bit lighter than her, especially in skin tone. She wondered if their baby would have her olive coloring or his lighter complexion. She felt sure she’d have the dark brown hair and eyes, but she wasn’t sure how deep.
Would she have hair? Be bald? Would she be fussy or fiery or perfectly pleasant? Would she know Lauren’s voice?
Lauren couldn’t wait to find out.
A pain radiated down her spine and moved forward through her pelvis. She released her stretch, and that relieved some of the sting flowing through her. Lauren had gotten used to strange, never-felt-before pains in the past nine months. She’d never been pregnant before, and she’d never gone into labor.
She had read plenty on the subject, because when Lauren didn’t know what to do, she researched. When she didn’t know something, she learned about it. She didn’t have a mother she could call on for help, but Blake’s mother had been to the house several times in the past month, helping Lauren get the nursery set up, going over how to clean a bottle, and just talking about having her children.
She’d spoken to her friends too, all of whom had children. “I’m ready,” she told herself as she went over to the desk. Her therapy journal sat open, her entry from the last time she’d needed to iron flat her thoughts, shining up from the page.
A sigh slipped from her lips as she sat, and she rolled her head to stretch her neck. “I need a nap,” she said out loud, and in fact, she wrote that line first for today’s entry. She knew being tired could influence her thoughts, and she hadn’t slept well last night.
Her belly tightened as her pen scratched, and Lauren groaned as she pressed her free hand against it. The baby pushed back, which actually caused Lauren to smile. “You getting ready, baby?” she asked her daughter. “Your time in there is coming to a close.”
She finished her therapy in only a few minutes today, and when she picked up her phone, she saw she’d missed quite a few texts on the Supper Club thread. She loved her friends so much, as they’d been at Lauren’s side for such a long time. Through so many of her major life events.
Sometimes she said something to upset one or more of them. Sometimes they irritated her. But no matter what, she could count on them for anything. Today’s conversation revolved around Bessie’s survival of another Heritage Festival, more pictures from Bea’s road trip, and the menu for this month’s Supper Club, which Joy was hosting.
Will you be there, Lauren?Joy had asked, though Lauren had told them all she wasn’t sure how the baby would impact her ability to come to Supper Club. Bea had missed in July, but other than that, the six of them were always there. Even when half of them had lived in another state, they’d done video calls and participated.
Joy wanted to serve some new Chinese recipes she’d gotten from another teacher at the school where she worked, and Lauren wasn’t going to tell her no.I’m due in four days,she said. Supper Club isn’t for another two more weeks. If I’m still pregnant then, someone better do something outrageous.
She smiled at her own text and scooted away from her desk to go start dinner. Blake would be home from work soon, and Tommy had had enough time on his computer. She stood, and a hot flash of wetness saturated her yoga pants.
“Oh,” she said, freezing her feet to the floor. She reached for the desk and pressed one palm against it as the baby seemed to stretch her whole body out, including into places she had not moved before.
“Tommy,” she called, because the teen’s computer sat out in the kitchen, where Blake and Lauren could monitor it. “Tommy!” He wore headphones a lot of the time, and Lauren couldn’t recall right now if she could move now that her water had broken.
“Of course you can,” she told herself. Women didn’t turn into lumps of ice when they went into labor. They had to get to the hospital somehow, and Lauren fumbled for her phone still on her desk.
She tapped to call Blake, her panic rising as the phone took precious seconds to connect. Her abdomen tightened, and Lauren groaned as the pressure reached a level she’d never felt before. She felt like she might pop, and she pressed her eyes closed.
“Hey, honey,” Blake chirped. “I just left the office. Do you want me to pick something up for dinner, or are you in the nesting mode already?”
“I’m in labor,” Lauren said. She gasped as the pain started to recede. Things connected in her mind—finally—and she added, “I just had a contraction, and my water broke.”
“I’m ten minutes away,” Blake said, all chirpiness gone. “Have Tommy help you get your bag and get you out in the driveway. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“Can you stay on the line?” Lauren asked, tears coming to her eyes. Her nose ran, and she tried to pull everything tight again. It didn’t quite work, and a sniffle and a whimper escaped.
“Yes,” Blake said. “Lauren, baby, it’s okay. Take a deep breath with me, okay?”
She nodded rapidly. “Okay.” He breathed in, and Lauren tried to copy him, but air seemed like the wrong thing to put in her lungs.
“Now,” Blake said. “Go out into the living room and get Tommy.”
“Okay.” Lauren lifted her palm from the desk and straightened. Her legs didn’t buckle, and her baby didn’t kick or push, and she managed to take the required steps to her office door. She opened it and called, “Tommy,” again.
He turned from his computer this time, swiping his headphones off. “Yeah? What’s up?” He was sixteen, but he wasn’t stupid, and he got to his feet a moment later. “What’s wrong?”
