Page 69 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
“You need to come now. Callie’s waters just broke. I think she’s having the baby.”
She hangs up the phone and kneels down in front of me, squeezing my hand. “Breathe, Callie. Big breaths. It’ll be okay.”
God.
It doesn’t feel okay.
It feels like my insides are about to launch out and splatter all over the ground. I groan in pain as another contraction grips my core, nearly bringing me to my knees. An older lady comes rushing over with a cool cloth and presses it against my head. “The ambulance is on the way. I’m a nurse, try and take deep breaths. What’s your name?”
“It’s Callie,” Jo says.
“Hi Callie, I’m June. It looks like you’re in very sudden labor, are you experiencing any pressure down below?”
I shake my head, wailing as another contraction takes over my body. Only seconds from the last.
Then I feel the pressure, the incredible pressure. The urge to push is so overwhelming I can’t breathe.
“She’s going to have this baby now,” June yells, “get her out back.”
People are scattering around just as Tanner runs through the door, his eyes going to me. He rushes over and drops to his knees, taking my hand, “I’m here baby. I’m here.”
“She’s not going to make a hospital, if I’m correct,” June tells him, “you need to carry her out the back.”
He nods, lifting me into his arms, even though he looks utterly terrified.
“She’s going to have the baby now?” he asks.
“Oh yes,” June nods. “I think she is.”
Lord help me.
“THE AMBULANCE WILL be here soon, Callie, but you’re fully dilated and ready to push. I’m going to help you and we’ll get your baby out safely, but you’ll need to do as I ask. Do you understand?” June asks, staring between my legs which are now wide open in the back office of a café.
“Yes,” I wail, clutching Tanner and Jo’s hand, praying for this to be over already.
“Jo, can you get some more towels, just in case. A blanket maybe, if they have one. Anything we can use to keep the baby nice and warm if the ambulance doesn’t make it on time.”
Jo nods and stands, rushing out. June wets a cloth and presses it against my forehead again. “You’re in a little bit of shock, Callie, because this is so sudden. You’re probably going to feel that once the baby is born. I’m just preparing you.”
“I need to push!” I scream, launching forward as a contraction buckles my body and every instinct inside of me urges me to push, to get this baby out.
“She’s ready,” June says, moving back down to the area between my legs. “Push on your next contraction, Callie. With everything you have.”
I do as she asks, just as Jo rushes back in with an armful of towels. She drops back down beside me as I crumple forward, screaming as I push with all my might during a contraction.
“Good,” June says, her voice frantic. “Another.”
I do as she asks, pushing during the next contraction.
“Your baby is coming, one more push Callie. Tanner, come and deliver your little one.”
Tanner lets me go and moves down just as I push with all my might. He leans down, everything feels blurry for a moment, and then I hear the cry. The beautiful, crackly cry of my baby. June hovers over, using her fingers to clear the airways, and then Tanner looks up at me, a tear running down his face as he says, “It’s a girl.”
A girl.
A beautiful little girl.
June wraps my baby and Tanner cuts the cord with some sterilized scissors, and then she hands me my daughter.
The first thing I notice, is her hair. It’s the whitest hair I’ve ever seen on a newborn. Tanner and I are both dark haired, but this little girl has the hair of an angel. So light blond it’s practically white and thick, so thick it’s covering her tiny head.
She has the softest, palest skin I’ve ever seen, and the sweetest button nose.
She’s crying but the moment I press her to me, she stops. As if she knows she’s safe. As if she knows she’ll always be home when she’s with me. Tears run down my face and I look at Tanner, who is beside me again. “She’s perfect,” I whisper.
“So fuckin’ perfect,” he murmurs, gently stroking her skin.
“Oh Callie,” Jo cries. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful child.”
I smile at her through my blurred vision.
“She’s as fair as an angel,” June smiles. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I croak. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re very welcome, dear.”
She continues cleaning me up, and we continue staring at the beautiful miracle we created.
I look to Tanner and I say to him, “You were right, a little girl.”
“Fuckin’ most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“She’s so fair, it’s like…” Jo trails off, and her eyes well up.
It’s like the heaven’s opened up and gave us the one thing we knew we could never get back. With her white hair, and her pale skin…I just know her eyes will be blue. I just know it. I know it because she was sent to us.
