“Mr. Westbury?”
I look to my left when my name is called. The doctor, dressed in blue, is taking off his paper hat as he reaches me. “I’m Doctor Rolland. I’ve been treating your wife. There really isn’t much to tell you except that she’s in labor. We can stop it, but we have to do an ultrasound first. Her blood pressure is higher than normal, which could have been caused by her being in the sun so much and from what I understand she ate half the hot dogs in the park?”
I try not to laugh because this isn’t funny, but if he knows this, it means Josie’s awake.
“She’s okay? And the baby?”
“Baby sounds good, no distress. We’ll be doing an ultrasound in a few minutes. Your wife has a headache and is dehydrated, but she’s awake and asking for you. You’ll find her at the end of the hall. I’ll be back in a few to do the ultrasound.” He turns and looks at the waiting room where everyone is standing. “Just one at a time, please.”
There’s no question that I’m going in first. The others can fight it out. As soon as the doctor turns the corner, I call for Noah.
“Let’s go see your mom,” I say, as I grab his hand. There’s no way I’m making him wait. He needs to see her as much as I do.
When I push the door open, her room is dark and the machines are beeping. Noah’s hand tightens and I squeeze back, reassuring him, even though I’m not so sure myself until I see her lying there looking at us.
Noah let’s go of my hand and rushes to his mom’s side. “You did so well today,” she says as she pushes his hair out of his face.
“You scared me so much, Mom.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Josie tries to pull him into a hug, but one arm is hooked up to a blood pressure machine and her other one has IV’s poking out of her skin. Still, Noah finds a way to wrap his arms around her.
When he lets go, Josie’s wiping tears away. Noah comes over and stands next to me and I place my hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to stay?” He nods and I motion for him to sit in the extra chair by the window.
“Hey, Jojo,” I say, as I approach her bed. She smiles softly and reaches for me. “I’m going to have to ask that you never do something like this again.” I kiss her dry lips and hold my forehead to hers.
“It was the hotdogs.”
I nod and try not to laugh. It comes out as half laugh, half cry. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”
Josie takes my hand and puts it under her head, holding it there. It’s uncomfortable, but I don’t ca
re. If this is what she needs, I’ll take the discomfort. Noah moves his chair closer and puts his head on her legs.
“Are you in pain?”
She shakes her head. “They’re going to try and stop the labor, but I’m still having contractions. I think I was in labor during the game. That’s why my back hurt.”
“I should’ve known.”
Josie runs her fingers down the side of my face. “I didn’t even know. There were five other women near me who have all given birth, and no one knew.”
“I froze, Josie. I didn’t know what was going on and all I could think about was my grandmother and JD – when they tried to take you, I wouldn’t let them. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
“I’m never leaving you, Liam. You’re stuck with me for life.”
“I’ll take it,” I say, as I give her a kiss.
Josie and I are just looking at each other when the doctor returns to do her ultrasound. She has one hand with me, while the other holds Noah’s.
“Come here, Noah,” I say when the doctor starts setting up the machine. “Do you want to see your brother or sister, or would you like to go out and wait?”
“Is it cool?”
“Aside from me being your dad, it’s the coolest thing ever.”
He shrugs and says he’ll stay. I keep him with me though, next to Josie, so that the doctor isn’t looking for an excuse to kick him out. A few nurses come in; one checks her vitals, while the other checks her IV’s.
“I forgot to tell you, a little old lady recognized my mom from an old movie. I thought mom was going to get up and dance a jig. When she asked mom where she disappeared to, she said she was raising a family and motioned to everyone in the waiting room.”