“What? What is it, Rebecca? What’s wrong?”I jumped up and walked around the table to her.
She looked up at me with a panicked look on her face. “Um, nothing, Jeff. It’s nothing. I guess the baby just kicked really hard. That’s all. ”
“Are you sure? Do we need to go the hospital?”
She tried to laugh, but I could see the pain on her face. She was trying to hide it. She shook her head and reached for her phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“I’m gonna call Crysti. I really just want to go and lay down. She can stay with me at my apartment to make sure I’m alright. ”
While she started to talk to Crysti, my head started spinning. What the fuck is going on here?
“Rebecca, don’t be crazy. I’ll take you home and stay with you until Crysti gets there. Don’t you think though that you should call the doctor again?”
“No! Jeff, listen to me. I just need to go lie down. ” Rebecca looked away from me, returning to the her phone conversation. “Yeah Crysti, I know…. I know! It’ll all work out. Just trust me on this, please. Just come to Maudie’s. Yep, the one off of Lake Austin Boulevard. ”
Rebecca hung up the phone and tried her best to smile at me.
“Rebecca, I don’t understand. I drove all the way in because you said you didn’t have anyone to be here for you. You said you were having contractions. Now you’re fine, and you just want to go home and lie down. You don’t want me to take you home even though I just drove a few hours to get here. What the fuck is going on? Clearly something is wrong. ”
“Jeff, really, I just need to stay calm right now. I sense that you’re upset that you had to leave the party and Ari. You’ve tried calling her a number of times. Really, you should just head back to Mason. I promise I’m okay. Crysti is on her way, so I’ll have someone to stay with me. I can’t go into labor this early. I’m just nerv-v-v. ”
She grabbed the table again.
I looked up and noticed the waitress was still standing there. She just kept looking back and forth between us. Then, she took a step back and glanced at Rebecca’s feet.
“Um, can you give us a few minutes? Just two waters for now, please,” I said smiling up at the waitress.
She looked back at Rebecca.
“Listen, I really think you need to go to a doctor now,” the waitress said.
Rebecca gave her a dirty look.
“Um, I really think you need to mind your own goddamn business!” she yelled.
“Rebecca! Holy shit!” Turning to the waitress, I said, “I’m sorry. ”
“Listen, I’ve had three kids, sweetheart and I hate to tell you this, but your water just broke. ”
Rebecca’s face turned white as a ghost.
“No!…. Oh no. Oh god no! This can’t be happening!” Rebecca just kept repeating herself over and over again. She reached for her phone and called Crysti again.
“You need to hurry. My water just broke. Yes Crysti! I know!”
It took a good two minutes for everything to soak in before I jumped up and headed over to Rebecca. I reached down and picked her up in my arms.
“What the hell are you doing, Jeff? Put me down!”
“Jesus Christ, Rebecca. You’re in labor. We’re going to the hospital now!” I couldn’t believe it. Fuck! She still had a month and two weeks to go. This was not good.
“Oh god, Jeff. Please…I just need you to leave. Crysti can take me to the hospital. I’m sure it will be fine. They will get the contractions under control. I’ll probably just be put on bed rest or something. Really, I just need you to leave!”
When we got to my truck, I gently set Rebecca down while I opened the passenger door.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Your water broke! You’re gonna have this baby, Rebecca, regardless if it’s time or not. I’m not leaving. I missed the first seven months. Do you really think I’m going to miss the birth of my son?” I held the door open and helped her in. Poor thing seems like she was scared to death.