Page 80 of The Do-Over
ROB
“The paramedics are on their way,” Bradley called, leaning into the closet. Then he stared. “Oh, wow. You already delivered the baby?”
“They’re both doing fine,” Rob said. “We should probably have them taken in to the hospital anyway, just to be on the safe side. Why don’t you go outside and wait for the paramedics to arrive?”
It felt beyond natural to be giving these instructions. It felt like what he had been doing for decades.
And it was.
He was dizzy with the sudden onset of memories. In the heat of the moment, everything had come rushing back as if a dam had broken.
Of course he was a doctor. How could he have forgotten that? He remembered being in med school. He remembered graduating. He remembered working in the field, and eventually starting his own practice. It was all coming back to him now.
He looked at Thea. She was watching him.
“You remember,” she whispered.
He nodded.
He wanted to get away, to talk it out with her, but he was a doctor, and he couldn’t leave his patient until more help had arrived. He picked up Steph’s wrist and checked her pulse. She didn’t really pay attention to what he was doing, too enraptured with the baby in her arms.
“I’ll go help watch for the paramedics,” Thea said. She got to her feet and left the closet.
“Is she all right?” Steph asked. “Can you check her?”
“I don’t know a lot about babies,” he admitted. “I don’t really have experience.” It was disorienting to be able to say that and know that it was true.
“But you’d know if anything was really wrong,” Steph said.
He nodded, knowing she was right. If the baby was in distress, he would be able to tell.
He took her from Steph’s arms and checked her over. “Everything looks good,” he said. “She’s breathing normally. Her pulse is within normal parameters.”
“She’s crying,” Steph said anxiously.
“That’s all right—she’s had a busy day, after all. Maybe she’d eat. Do you want to try feeding her?”
Steph nodded and held the baby to her breast.
“She’s in here,” someone yelled, and Rob heard the rattling of a gurney. He got to his feet and opened the closet door.
He got out of the way so that the paramedics could get in to Steph. As he was backing out of the closet, he almost ran right into Thea.
To his surprise, she looked upset—almost as if she had been crying.
He frowned. “Are you okay?”
She nodded vigorously. “It’s just…I don’t know. It’s a lot.”
“Let’s walk,” he said.
“The award?”
He looked around the room. “Everyone seems pretty distracted right now,” he said. “I don’t think they’re going to get around to that for a while.”
Sure enough, people were watching the paramedics wheel Steph out to the ambulance, whispering to each other over cocktails. If there was going to be a time to slip away, this would definitely be it.
Thea bit her lip for a moment, then nodded. “There’s a conference room upstairs,” she said. “No one will be there.”
