“I’m home. I’m still fucking home. She had to take a fucking shower.”
“A shower?” he asks me. “But her water broke. Should we call an ambulance?” he asks while Karrie yells from the shower.
“I’m having another one.”
“She’s having a contraction in the shower,” I say, hanging up the phone, running into the bathroom while she is getting out. “Should I call someone?” I ask her.
“I think I’m okay. I just have to get dressed,” she says while Vivienne knocks on the door and comes in. I stand in front of Karrie to block her nakedness from her. They both laugh. “We’re women. We see each other naked all the time. Stand down,” she says while she throws on a summer dress. “You think I should put panties on?”
“You’re leaking all over the fucking place, Karrie, you need Depends,” Vivienne says, walking around the wet on the floor. “Oh, you look really pretty in that dress,” she continues.
“Can we just please get in the car and go to the hospital?” I beg, running my hands through my hair. My palms are now all sweaty.
“Matthew, Karrie.” I hear Mom’s voice while she comes up the stairs, knocking on the door before walking in.
“Oh, Karrie, you’re glowing,” my mother starts and soon has tears streaming down her face. “Are you okay?” She walks to her.
“Can we all just get in the car?” I say with my teeth clenched together.
“I swear one of these days that vein in his head will have eyes.” Vivienne laughs at me. “He might give himself an aneurism standing there right now.” She walks past me out of the room, picking up one of the bags.
“I’m having another one,” she says while Mom holds her hands and starts breathing with her. “How far apart are they?” she finally asks when she can talk.
“I have no idea. I keep forgetting to check.”
Mom looks at me while Karrie glares. “Matthew, you have one job,” Mom says to me, walking past me, holding Karrie’s hand. “Now can we go?” she asks me.
I’ve been trying to get these people in the car the whole time. By the time we get downstairs, she has another contraction.
“I think they are a couple of minutes apart,” Mom says as we walk out of the house to what looks like a parade in our driveway.
There’s Vivienne sitting in our truck, with Cooper in back of our truck, Allison is behind Cooper, Doug is behind Allison, my aunt Meghan in behind them all.
Mom helps Karrie get into the car that now has white garbage bags all over the seats. “It’s to catch the water,” Vivienne says from the front seat.
“Here comes another one,” Karrie says while she breathes, this time huffing more. “That one really hurt.” She looks at me with tears in her eyes. “Matthew.”
“I’m here, baby, I’m right here.” I pick her up, setting her in the back. “Vivienne, you need to drive so I can sit in the back with Karrie.”
Vivienne climbs into the driver’s side. “Allons-y,” Let’s go, she says, waiting for my mother to close the door and jog back to Cooper’s car.
“The address is already saved in the GPS,” I tell her while I put my arm around Karrie’s shoulders. My heart is beating so fast I can’t seem to slow it down. I’m a nervous wreck. I’m a sweaty nervous wreck. My leg starts to move and my thumb starts drumming my leg.
“I think another one is coming,” she says, sitting up panting. “Hehehe hooo hooo, hehehe hooo hooo,” she chants out just like the class we took.
“Vivienne, step on it,” I say from the back.
We make it to the hospital, pulling up to the curb. I don’t even have my door open before I see Cooper running from inside with a wheelchair, with a security guy following him. I get out, walking around the car, grabbing Karrie, and carrying her to the chair. Cooper lets go of the back of the wheelchair, giving me the reins.
“Proud of you, son.” He slaps me on the shoulder, going back to the car to park it.
I push her into the hospital, all the way up to delivery. The second I step out of the elevator a nurse is here to greet us. She tells us to follow her, bringing us into a room with a bed, a couch, and a rocking chair.
“Okay, folks, I need Mommy to get undressed and put on the gown. I need your insurance papers as well.”
I grab my wallet and open it, giving her my papers and Karrie’s.
“Perfect. I’ll go put this in and will be back in a couple of minutes. When did her water break?”
“During Top Chef,” I answer her, watching her eyebrow shoot up.
“Okay, and what time was that?”
“I have no idea. It’s on our DVR.” I shrug, looking over at Karrie, who is now moaning. I rush over to her. She is bent over, rocking from side to side.