“Just breathe, baby.” Holding the sides of her stomach, we stared at each other, breathing until it passed.
Sighing and cracking her neck, she put on her jacket.
“Thank God for baby books.”
“Dad,” I said into the phone. “Listen, Mel’s water just broke…”
“What?” he screamed before yelling for my mother. “Evelyn! Mel’s in labor…”
“Pop, listen to me! I need a barrier around us as we get to the hospital. We’re heading down now.” I think he got me, but I couldn’t tell with all the shuffling around the room.
“Of course you were going to come early and when I was exhausted,” Mel whispered to her stomach. “As if I wasn’t nervous already.”
Taking her hands, I kissed the palms of each of them. “We’re going to be okay. All of us are going to be okay, I swear.”
She nodded, her eyes drooping slightly; the clock on the dresser beside us seemed to taunt us, as it flashed, 2:04 a.m.
“I’m not ready for this. He’s early, Liam. He can’t be early because I’m not fucking ready. I can only do this when I’m ready,” she whispered through deep breaths, as who could only be my mother, knocked against our door repeatedly.
“Liam? Mel? Are you okay? Can we come in? How far apart are your contractions?” My mother knocked like she was fucking SWAT.
“If there is any woman on this planet that can do this, it’s you.” I waited for her to nod before calling out to my mother. “We’re good, come in.”
“Oh thank Jesus!” she yelled, running in with curlers still in her hair, while wearing a pair of sweatpants I didn’t even know she owned.
“ARGH!” Mel screeched through her teeth. “Can someone please get me to a damn hospital? No way in hell I’m having this baby here.”
MELODY
“These endorphins better kick in hard when he gets here!” I screamed through another contraction before falling back onto the pillows. “It’s been nine hours. I just want sleep, damn it.”
“Shh, baby, I know,” Liam whispered, dabbing the sweat off my skin.
Finally, I smacked his hands away. “Your fucking hands were what got me in this shit. The moment this is over, I’m cutting your dick off and buying pit bulls just so they can eat it!”
“Mrs. Callahan, we need you to relax—” said a nurse.
“Have you ever tried to relax with a head trying spilt your vagina? I have a nice vagina. A cute, tight, great vagina! Ask him, that’s the reason why I’m like this. I’m trying to calm down, but again, there’s a head coming through my fucking awesome vagina! Now, you people leave me alone, I want everyone out!”
I’d tried everything and the damn meds they were giving me weren’t working. This was what you got when you spent years experimenting with different drugs. My body could eat epidurals for damn breakfast. They wouldn’t give me more for the baby’s safety and what I could say to that? Fuck it, I want meds. The doctors and nurses wouldn’t leave, they just wrote me off as though I was just another bitching pregnant woman.
“Liam, I want them out. I need a second, please,” I whined, covering my face with the blanket.
“Okay.” He kissed my head before snapping at the doctor,
He ushered them out of our birthing suite. Our usual doctor wasn’t here, so we were stuck with some random woman who kept probing me like we were on a damn date. I didn’t look up. I just wanted the pain to stop.
He brushed my hair back as he spoke. “I know this is a dumb question, but how do you feel?”
“Scared. Tired. Frustrated, and so fucking tired,” I whispered, leaning into him as he held me in his arms.
“You’re doing great, love. It’s almost over.”
“How do you know?” I’d overheard the damn nurses say this could be another long one and that was only after hour eight. “I’m so done being pregnant, Liam. I swear to God!”
Before he could tell me some other placating bullshit, I clutched his hand as another wave of aching rushed through me. I clenched my teeth together so hard I thought they would break; I couldn’t even hear myself scream.
“Mrs. Callahan? What are you feeling?” The doctor yelled, rushing back in with a new pair of gloves in her hands.
Staring at her for a moment fighting the urge to rip her head off. What the hell? I was feeling pain! What kind of motherfucking question was that?
“Pain. I want to push,” was all I could bring myself to say.
She checked my dilation with one hand as she used her other hand to push against my stomach “I’m sorry, Mrs. Callahan. You can’t.”