“Call me the minute it happens. I want to be the first one up there. I’ll already got my gifts picked out.” He headed down the patio and waved before rounding the corner. His head popped up a moment later again. “On second thought, I think I am going for a drink at that bar. Make it a night cap, and I can catch the highlights of the Masters.”
Jamie rolled her eyes and shooed him away. “Go. Have a good time and find a crazy hot chick to pick up.” She knew exactly what he was looking for, and it wasn’t the highlights of a golf tournament. Jamie closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen as a sharp pain raced through her center.
“Shit.” She reached out and gripped the counter, breathing deeply and trying to figure out if she was having a contraction or just more Braxton Hicks. They’d been hitting her off and on for the past few weeks.
After a minute or so of standing pain-free, she walked to the living room and grabbed her phone from the couch. Another pain, followed by a tightening of her stomach, ran through her and she cried out, dropping down to the couch and leaning back.
“Breathe,” she whispered as panic overtook her. “Just breathe. Contraction. This could be the start of a crazy-long process. These babies aren’t coming out in ten minutes.”
She grabbed the phone and dialed Alex's number. He answered on the second ring.
“I'm on my way, baby. Zander and I were just discussing—”
“Maybe cut it short. I think I'm in labor,” she barked out as she panted softly, not quite able to catch her breath. She cried out as another contraction slammed into her. Nothing and then boom! Three contractions in a matter of twenty minutes?
“Damn!” He sounded excited and nervous at the same time. “Screw the meeting. Hold on, baby. I'll be right there.”
She dropped the phone and nodded, breathing through her mouth in short, fast puffs. The pain subsided as she rested against the couch, closing her eyes and trying not to freak out. Being pregnant was a natural thing to do. She knew a zillion woman who had been pregnant and given birth, but for some reason, she couldn't bring one solid example to the forefront of her mind as she started to panic.
“Mom. Mom was pregnant twice. She's fine. Well, she's not fine, but...” Jamie laughed and let out a long sigh. She was okay. She would get through the delivery and Alex wouldn't leave her. Emotions raged through her, and she stilled her thoughts so that she could process how grateful she was to have a man like him.
She grabbed her phone and kept track of the contractions as she waited. Hadn’t the doctor said they’d start and probably be erratic until they finally hit a rhythm? Labor didn’t go from nothing to everything, right? What had the OB said? Every delivery was different.
She marked the time and length of the contractions as another one raged through her, throwing her breathing and relaxing off. She focused and concentrated on pushing through the uncomfortable feeling. She tried shifting on the couch. Another four contractions ran through her before Alex arrived. They were five minutes apart.
“Baby?” Alex cried out as he burst through the front door. “Where are you? Jamie?”
“Right here, Alex. I'm fine. The contractions just came on. They just keep coming faster and faster. I think it's time.” She reached for him as he moved toward the couch and pulled her up. She had a belly but she wasn’t as big as she thought she’d get. At their last appointment, the doctor had figured the babies’ weight around four to five pounds each. ‘Tiny tots,’ Alex had nicknamed them.
“Are they hurting you?” He brushed his fingers over her cheek before pulling her into a careful hug.
“A little, but that's all part of it. Let's get going before the next one hits.” She walked to the front door. “My overnight bag is in the bedroom, on the floor on my side. It’s all packed in that one bag.”
“Let me just run and grab it. Just stay put and try not to pass out.” He turned and jogged toward the living room as another contraction hit.
“I’m not going to pass out,” she mumbled. She pressed her hands to the door and let out a low groan, trying to stay on her feet as pain like she'd never experienced squeezed her belly tight.
“So you want me to... Jamie?” He moved to her and put his hands on her back. “Breathe, baby. Through your mouth like those classes you made us go to. Breathe.”
She gritted her teeth and nodded, forcing herself to pant fast and steady through her mouth. “So freakin’ bad.”
“Awwww, sweetie. I would take it from you if I could.” He touched her back, and she jerked from him. “Let's get you in the car.”
She moved back, still locked in the middle of the contraction, but trying to dim the effect it was having on her as to not scare the hell out of him. “O-Okay.”
“That bad, huh?” He opened the door and reached back, taking her hand. “Need me to carry you”?”
“No. Just give me a second.” She pushed at him, overwhelmed with the need to lash out.
“Okay. I'll get the stuff in the car and get it started.” He walked out of the house and continued to talk to himself.
She couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. One minute she wanted to launch him across the yard, and the next, she wanted to cuddle him and whisper how much she loved him over and over. “What's wrong with me?” She took a deep breath as the pain subsided.
Alex moved to stand in front of her. “You ready?”
“Yeah. It's gone for now. Hurry.” She pushed at him as he offered her a hand. “Just move.”
“Okay, baby. I'm just making sure you're not going to fall.” He walked closely behind her, and it took all of her not to turn around and give him a tongue-lashing for no reason.