Mateo is quite prepared for my accusing gape. He answers calmly, “She can’t have an epidural. She’s at home and it’s too late anyway.”
“You guys suck,” I mutter, approaching Meg’s bedside and offering my hand. She squeezes it way too tight and I wince.
“Mia, I’m dying. This is how he’s gonna kill me,” she states.
Still calm as ever, Mateo informs Meg, “If you’re going to cause trouble, I’ll have Adrian escort her out and she won’t come back.”
“What can I do?” I ask her. “Do you have a hot water bottle? I could send Adrian for a hot water bottle to put behind your back, maybe?”
“It’s not enough. The pain is everywhere. It’s not just my back; this little demon child is trying to break my whole body apart so it can get out.”
The doctor and his assistant stand at the foot of the bed. Now the stodgy old man tells her, “This will go much easier for you if you relax.”
Her blue eyes widen and she looks like she could spit fire. “That’s easy for you to say, asshole!”
I glance back at Adrian. “What about ice chips? I read that women get ice chips when they’re in labor. It’s not an epidural, but maybe it’s worth a shot?”
Meg lets out another horrible noise of torment, like the demons of hell are ripping her apart. She tries to crush my hand and I grimace sympathetically, trying hard not to think about the fact that I have to do this in a few months, too.
My visible stress gets Mateo out of his chair. He comes around the bed to stand behind me, placing a strong hand on each shoulder, and leans in to murmur, “It won’t be like this for you.”
“Because my baby will be nicer?”
He drops a kiss at my nape, then peppers the rest of my neck with kisses, trying to distract me. “Because you’ll be well taken care of.”
I’ve never thought Meg had a filter, but now that she’s in severe physical pain, she’s somehow less restrained.
“You are so fucking mean,” she says, glaring at Mateo.
If she expected this to wound him, she must be incredibly disappointed when he smiles. “I know.” Then, to be an even bigger asshole, he firmly grasps my chin and turns my face so he can give me a little kiss.
I narrow my eyes at him to let him know I’m not at all impressed, but he’s not even paying attention to me, he’s watching Meg, looking for new ways to be a dick, probably.
Meg whines, throwing her head back into the pillow. “I hate everyone. I hate everything. I hate the whole world! Feel my vengeance, world! Get this baby out of me!”
The contraction subsides and demonic Meg fades to merely unpleasant Meg. Adrian isn’t happy about it, but I send him for ice chips. I’m convinced the ice chips will help. She’s in the middle of another contraction when he comes back with them.
“You’re too nice,” Adrian states gruffly, giving me the ice chips.
My eyes widen. “Do you hear the noises that are coming out of this woman?”
He shrugs, unconcerned. “I’ve heard grown men make noises just like this. Didn’t break my heart then, doesn’t break my heart now.”
“I love you, but you’re being a jerk.”
“I am not being a jerk, she’s a jerk,” he mutters, but now he’s all flushed since I used the L-word so he meanders away.
I try to feed Meg ice chips and she is, in fact, a jerk about it. I’m sure it’s just because she’s in lots of pain though, so I set them aside and let her crush my hand while she whines and rages at the world some more.
After what must be an hour of pushing, the doctor signals Mateo to come over. They talk in hushed tones and Mateo glances at Meg.
“What?” I ask, since Meg is moaning and in misery, unable to concentrate on anything. “What’s happening down there?”
Mateo nods at the doctor and comes over, gently pushing me out of the way. “We need to get her on her hands and knees.”
“Why?” I ask, alarmed.
“The baby’s heart rate is dropping.”
My heart drops. I stammer a few times, but Meg doesn’t know what’s going on, so I swallow, willing color back into my face and attempt a smile when she looks over at me.
“What are we doing?” she asks, confused. “Why are we moving?”
Mateo and the doctor help get Meg up on her hands and knees. Another contraction hits and she howls. Everything moves fast. Mateo stays by her side now and Adrian comes over to pull me back into the protective shelter of his chest.
“Why don’t we go out in the hall and—”
I shake my head. “No, I have to… Is the baby going to be okay? Shouldn’t we do something? Maybe we should go to the hospital? Call an ambulance?”