Page 149 of Wilde Flame

Once the laughter died down, Emeline sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I needed that laugh, Grams.”

“Me too,” Ensley said, still dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

“I miss Lilith,” my mother said softly, as she took Nellie’s hand. They both smiled at one another. “Just wait, girls,” she added. “This is just the beginning of motherhood. It’s a beautiful chaos.”

My father appeared with a plate full of hamburgers. “Come one, come all! Burgers are done.”

As everyone moved over to where tables had been set up, I reached my hands out to help Lilibeth stand. She laughed once she was on her feet.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing. I’m just blissfully happy. I’d gladly shit my pants and pee the bed if it meant this little angel was forever happy and healthy.”

Leaning down, I kissed her softly on the lips. “Come on. Let’s feed you two.”

Lilibeth

Week 39

I threw the sheet off of me and sat up in bed. Misty jumped up and meowed softly, so as not to wake up Caden, I was sure. Reaching over, I scratched under her chin, then ran my hand down her back.

“Seems neither of us can sleep, huh?” I whispered, before standing. My hand instantly went to my back as I waddled toward the bathroom to go pee for what felt like the hundredth time.

Quietly shutting the door, I turned on the light and let my eyes adjust. A hot shower sounded good right about now and would maybe relax me a bit. After using the toilet, I started to pull off my pajamas…and felt a pop in my lower pelvis, then a release of a bit of pressure.

I looked down to see fluid running down my leg.

“Oh. My. God.”

Turning, I carefully walked to the bathroom door, opened it, and made my way back to Caden. Once I got to his side, I gently shook him.

“Caden?”

He let out a soft little moan.

“Caden, I need you to wake up. Now.”

His eyes popped open, and he quickly sat up. “What’s wrong?”

Smiling, I said, “My water broke.”

Scrubbing his hands down his face, he moved to get out of bed. “Okay. I’ll get you another one.”

I stared as he shuffled across the bedroom, destination unknown.

Then I realized where he was headed. “Caden, not my drinking water. My water, water. The baby?”

He stopped and paused for a moment, then spun around and looked at me, a shocked expression on his face. “Wait—what? Your water broke?”

I nodded and let out a soft, excited giggle.

Caden had insisted we have a few trial runs for when the moment happened. He timed himself getting everything to the car, ran down his list of people to call, and made sure he had clothes set aside and ready. Just earlier tonight, we’d actually gone ahead and put my bag in Caden’s truck, because he was worried we’d forget it.

When he didn’t say anything, I chewed on my lip. “Are you okay?”

“Did you say your water broke?”

“Yes, about two minutes or so ago. I was going to take a hot shower because I couldn’t sleep.”