She carried her plate back to the kitchen and set it on the counter when she heard her phone buzz. It buzzed again and Ella picked it up, swiping it open. She saw that she had three new text messages and two voicemails.
Ella tapped on the messages and read them. Her mother had texted her to say she was glad Ella had come to visit, then there were two texts from Hannah, one telling Ella that Princess had been a dream and she was waiting for her in her apartment, the second simply said 'Call me. NOW!'
Ella put the phone down on the counter and hit a button, allowing the messages to play on speaker phone.
“Hi dear,” Maggie’s voice came through the phone. “I just wanted to tell you that it was so good to see you. Really, your dad and I miss you so much and we're so happy you came to visit. I know I sent you a text message, but this is a new cellphone and I'm not sure if I did it right. Anyhow, I’m here if you need anything honey, really. I love you. Oh, and you left those cute flats here, the ones with the little bows on the toes. You know the ones I’m talking about? Well, they’re here. I can mail them if you want. Just let me know. Okay then… I love you. Bye.”
Ella smiled to herself. Her mother was stuck in the era of answering machines and didn’t understand much about smartphones. She waited while the message ended and then listened to the next one.
“Ella! It’s time! Where are you?! The baby is coming… NOW!”
Ella swung around from the sink and grabbed the phone up from the counter.
“Han?! Hannah?!” she yelled into the phone, before remembering that it was a voicemail. She looked at the call log and realized Hannah had called just a half an hour before. The baby was coming? Already? But Hannah wasn’t due for another six weeks!
Ella threw her phone into her purse, grabbed her keys and flew out the door, hailing wildly for a cab. She arrived at the hospital in no time and minutes later was arguing with a nurse on the maternity ward.
“No, I’m not family, really,” Ella said, trying to get in to see Hannah. “But I’m like family… really!”
“Are you a blood relative?” the nurse asked coldly without looking up from her paperwork.
Ella pounded her fist on the counter. “No! I’m not, but she doesn’t have any blood relatives. I’m it!”
The nurse continued to shuffle her paperwork, her eyes down. “Are you a blood relative?”
Ella rolled her eyes and turned away from the counter, frustrated that she couldn’t get in to see her best friend give birth to her first child.
“I told you already. No, she doesn’t—“
The nurse cut her off. “I’ll ask you one more time…” she said slowly, looking up at Ella as she slid a form across the desk to her. The nurse took a pen and tapped a box that authorized visitors to attest that they were blood relatives. She held it out to Ella. “Now, are you a blood relative?”
The nurse raised her eyebrows and Ella got the message. “Yes,” she said, nodding her head slowly as she grabbed the pen. “I am a blood relative.”
The nurse smiled. “Fine, just initial here. She’s in room 305.”
Ella initialed the box and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to the nurse before she ran down the hall to find Hannah’s room.
Room 305 was just around the corner. The door was ajar and Ella could hear Trent’s reassuring voice trying to calm Hannah. Ella stuck her fingers through the door in a small wave. She didn’t want to just enter and interrupt their intimate moment.
“Hi,” Ella said softly, peeking in further so they could tell she was there.
“El! I’m so glad you—aaaaaahhhhh!” Hannah screamed in pain.
“It’s okay, babe, breathe, just breathe. Remember, in through the nose and out through the,”
“I’ll tell you what you can breathe out of!” Hannah hissed at Trent.
Ella ran over to Hannah’s bedside and grabbed her free hand. Hannah squeezed it hard as she screamed through her contraction. When it was over, she collapsed on the bed in a pool of sweat.
“You’re doing great,” Ella said, wiping Hannah’s head with a cold cloth.
Trent looked at Ella from the other side of the bed and nodded in relief. She could tell he was glad reinforcements were there.
They stayed with Hannah for another hour until the doctor came in and after examining Hannah, told her it was time to push. The nurses outfitted Trent and Ella with surgical masks, gowns and gloves and prepared them for what was about to happen.
Within minutes, Hannah was sitting up and pushing hard. After a few piercing screams, Hannah fell back onto the bed with tears rolling down her face as the doctor held up her little baby girl.