‘Breathe, one, two, three.’ Finally getting her hands back and able to flex her fingers to bring the circulation back, Ally said, ‘I’ll get the gas for you to suck on. It’ll help with the pain.’
‘That sounds good. But I do need to push.’
‘Try to hold off until I’m back. Promise I’ll hurry.’ She dashed out of the room and nearly ran Adam down in the hallway. ‘Oops, sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t see you there.’
‘Is the baby here yet?’
‘No.’ But it wasn’t too far away. ‘Can you fill two beakers with water and leave them outside the door?’ She had no idea if Marie wanted one, but giving Adam something to do was important.
His little shoulders pulled back as pride filtered through his eyes. ‘I’ll put them on a tray, like Dad does sometimes.’
‘Good boy.’ Out at the car she dug her phone out of her pocket and called the medical centre. ‘Megan, it’s Ally. Can you put me through to Flynn?’
‘He’s with a very distressed patient and said not to be interrupted unless it was an emergency.’
Define emergency. She guessed a baby arriving early didn’t quite fit. ‘When it’s possible, will you let him know that I’m with Marie and she’s having her baby at home? There isn’t time to transfer her to hospital. Also mention it to Faye and Jerome in case I need help.’
‘That’s early. Tell her good luck from me. When Flynn’s free I’ll talk to him, but I suspect he’s going to be a while. His patient is really on the edge.’
‘Thanks, Megan, that’d be great.’ She cut the receptionist off. Marie needed her. She gathered up the nitrous oxide tank, a bag of towels and another bag full of things she’d need.
‘I’m still getting the water,’ Adam called as she closed the front door.
‘Good boy.’ Back in the bedroom the temperature had dropped a degree or two. Sundown was hours away, but outside she’d noticed clouds gathering on the horizon. ‘Marie, how are you doing?’
‘Okay, I guess.’
‘Here, suck on this whenever the pain gets bad.’ Ally handed over the tube leading from the nitrous oxide tank. ‘Have you got a heater we could use? I don’t want baby arriving into a cold room, and I’d prefer to warm these towels as well.’
‘There’s an oil column one in the laundry. Adam knows where it is and can push it along on its wheels. It’ll be perfect for what you’re wanting.’
‘Onto it.’
Outside the door Adam was placing the beakers ever so carefully on a tray he’d put on the floor earlier. ‘Can you bring me the heater out of the laundry? Or do you want me to help?’
‘I can do it. Do I have to leave it out here?’
‘Yes, please.’
His little shoulders slumped. ‘Why can’t I see Marie?’
Ally knelt down and took his small hands in hers. ‘When women have babies they don’t like lots of people with them, watching what’s happening. They get shy.’
‘Why?’
‘Because having a baby is private, and sometimes it hurts, and Marie wouldn’t want you to see her upset.’ Sometimes it hurts? Understatement of the century.
‘No, she only likes me to see her laughing. I’ll knock when I’ve got the heater.’
For a four-year-old, Adam was amazingly together about things. Nothing fazed him. But then he had lost his mother so he wasn’t immune to distress, had probably learned a lot in his short life. He coped better than she did. He did have a great dad onside. ‘Then you can play with all those toys I saw in a big box in the lounge.’
‘But I like playing outside. Marie always lets me.’
‘Today’s different. I need you to play inside today, Adam.’ She held up a finger. ‘Promise me you won’t go outside at all.’
‘Promise, Ally.’
Her heartstrings tugged. What a guy. As she gave him a hug a groan sounded from inside the bedroom. ‘You’re a champ, you know that?’ Now, please go away.
‘What’s a champ?’ Adam didn’t seem to have heard Marie.
‘The best person there is.’ The groan was going on and on. ‘I’ve got to see Marie.’ Please, go away so you don’t hear this. Nothing was wrong but that deep, growling groan might frighten him, or at least upset him.
Thankfully Adam had his father’s sensitivity and recognised a hint when it came. He raced down the hall towards the laundry and Ally let herself back into the bedroom.
‘Hey, how’s it going?’ The pain on Marie’s scrunched-up face was all the answer she needed. ‘Feel like pushing some more, I take it.’
‘How can you be so cheerful?’
So they were at the yell-at-anyone stage. ‘Because you’re having a baby and soon you’ll forget all this as you hold him for the first time. Can you lie back so I can examine you again?’
‘Examine, examine—that’s all you do.’ But Marie did as asked.
Kneeling on the floor, she gently lifted Marie’s robe. ‘The crown’s further exposed. Baby’s definitely on its way.’ She stood up and dropped the gloves into a waste bag. ‘Have you tried to get hold of your husband again?’
‘His name’s Mark and, no, I haven’t. He’s not going to answer if he’s on deck, hauling in nets. They don’t have time.’ Tears tracked down her face. ‘Anyway, I want him here, not on the end of a phone.’
Ally picked up Marie’s phone. ‘How do we get hold of him? Can we talk to his captain?’
Marie stared at her like she’d gone completely nuts. Then she muttered, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
‘Because you’re having a baby, that’s why.’ Ally handed her the phone. ‘Go on. Try every contact you’ve got.’
Just then another contraction struck and Marie began pushing like her life depended on it, all thoughts of phone calls gone.
‘That’s it. You’re doing well.’ Ally again knelt at the end of the bed, watching the crown of the baby as it slipped a little farther out into the world.
Knock-knock. ‘I got the heater,’ Adam called.
‘Thank you. Now you can play with those toys.’ She gave him a minute to walk away before opening the door and bringing the heater in. Plugging it in, she switched it on and laid two towels on top of the columns to warm for baby.
‘Hello?’ Marie yelled at someone on her phone. ‘It?
?s Marie, Mark’s wife. I can’t get hold of him and I’m having our baby. I need to talk to him.’
Ally held her hand up, whispered, ‘Slow down, give the guy a chance to say something.’
Marie glared at her but stopped shouting long enough to hear a reply. ‘Thank you so much. Can you hurry? Tell Mark to phone back on the landline so I can put him on speaker.’ A moment later she tossed the phone aside, grabbed the edges of the bed and pushed again.
The phone rang almost immediately. Ally answered, ‘Hey, is that Mark? This is Ally, Marie’s midwife.’
‘Hello, yes, this is Mark. What’s up? Is she all right? The baby’s not due for weeks.’
‘Marie’s fine. You can be proud of how she’s handling this. Baby has decided today’s as good as any to arrive.’
Marie snatched the phone out of her hand and yelled, ‘Why aren’t you here with me? I need you right now.’ Then she had to drop it and clutch her belly.
Ally pressed the speaker button and Mark’s voice filled the room. ‘Hey, babe, you know I’d be there if I’d thought this would happen. How’re you doing? Come on, babe, talk to me, tell me what’s going on.’
‘I’m having a baby, and it hurts like hell. It’s nearly here and I can’t talk any more. I’ve got to push.’
‘Babe, I’m listening. Imagine me holding you against my chest like I did when you dislocated your shoulder. Feel my hands on your back, rubbing soft circles, whispering how much I love you in your cute little ear. Can you feel me there with you?’
Ally tried to block out this very personal conversation, pretend she was deaf, but those words of love touched her, taunted her. These two had a beautiful relationship. If Mark was a deep-sea fisherman, he was no softy, would definitely be a tough guy, and yet here he was speaking his heart to his wife when she needed him so much.
Marie cried out with pain, and pushed and pushed.
‘Hey, babe, you’re doing great. I know you are. You’re a star. I’m not going anywhere until you have our little nipper in your arms, okay?’
Ally blinked back a tear and slipped out the door for a moment to get herself sorted. It wouldn’t do for the midwife to have a meltdown in the middle of a birth. Not that that had ever happened but Marie’s birth was affecting her deeply, more so than any other she’d attended. Leaning back against the wall, she took deep breaths to get her heart and head under control. What was it like to have a man love you that much? She could take a chance with a man like that. Even if she screwed up he’d be there to help her back onto her feet.