Mother Load (21 page)

“It’s pretty swollen, but it still wrinkles when you’re worried…like right now.”

“I’m scared, Anna. They’re so little.”

“But we’ve got all the angles covered, sweetheart. You heard what the doctor said. She sees this kind of thing all the time, and I bet Beth has too. They act like they’ve got it all under control.”

“But what if one of them is hurt from the wreck? I should have listened to you. If I hadn’t been so stubborn about working I wouldn’t have been on that highway in the first place. I should have been at home taking care of myself.”

“Shhh…this wasn’t your fault. They’re going to be okay.” She brought her face close and smiled. “Did you hear what she said? We’re having a boy and a girl.”

Anna’s optimism was unshakable, so much that Lily finally gave herself permission to relax a little.

Darla returned and scattered several items on the bedside table and drew the curtain so it blocked the open door. Casually holding up a box labeled Urinary Catheter, she addressed Anna, “Girlfriend, this might be a good time for you to take a long walk.”

Anna paused and gripped the wooden handrail that ran the length of the hall, hoping to steady both her legs and her stomach. She was physically sick from having worried all afternoon, something she had masked upon seeing Lily in a state of near-panic.

Eagerly heeding Darla’s advice, she had broken away to find Kim, who had texted her to say she was with their father and Andy in the maternity waiting room. Anna had only a brief window to connect and let them know what was happening. It would be even more important to keep up her spirits in front of Andy, who was probably already scared by what little he had been told. He was too smart not to realize everyone was worried. Her decision to have him brought to the hospital in the first place was impulsive in case things had…she didn’t even want to entertain the thought. With Lily set to stay at least a couple of days, the best course would be to send Andy home with his grandparents.

Kim’s was the only face she recognized in the waiting room. Without makeup and clad in sweatpants and a hoodie, it was obvious she had rushed to the hospital just like everyone else.

“Hey, where’s Andy?” Anna asked.

“Dad took him down to get something to eat. They should be back any minute. How’s Lily?”

“She’s a little banged up, but not too bad. She’s resting now. They think everything’s okay but they’re going to keep her for a couple of days just to be sure.”

“What’s up? Are they worried about the babies?”

“I wouldn’t say worried…call it cautiously optimistic.” As she laid it out for Kim, she started feeling better about where things stood. “She’s been having contractions all afternoon, but Beth said that was just the babies repositioning on account of the amniotic sac. Apparently it ruptured in the accident, and a lot of her fluid leaked out.”

“Her water broke? That means she’s going to deliver.”

“Maybe not. She doesn’t seem to be leaking now, so Beth says if everything’s still intact the babies could make more fluid and fill it back up in a few hours. She called in a neonatal specialist, a woman by the name of Saint-Laurent, and she said the babies looked good.” She decided to keep secret the news about their gender, since it didn’t feel right to be boasting about anything when she wasn’t yet sure they were safe. “One’s a little smaller but their heart rates are good, and the sonogram showed them sitting up higher than the seatbelt so they missed the impact.”

“So the only question is whether or not the sac fills again?”

“That’s it. The contractions aren’t coming as often, so Beth says that’s a good sign too. They’re prepping her for a C-section just in case and gave her a shot of steroids to help speed up the lung development. Just precautions though.” She pulled a hospital-issued pager from her pocket. “They gave me this and told me to get lost while they were putting the catheter in.”

“How are you holding up? And don’t even think about lying to me.”

It was useless to lie to Kim anyway. She had an uncanny ability to see right through her, even to uncover feelings she didn’t know were there. “I’ve been scared to death ever since that woman called me, but I feel better now. I couldn’t let Lily see me worrying because she feeds off it and gets even more anxious than she already is. I got really scared when I saw the babies on the sonogram—they’re tiny. The littlest is not even two and a half pounds. My foot weighs more than that.” What if their son didn’t make it?

“Oh, Anna.”

As Kim’s arms went around her shoulders, she realized she had started to cry. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to one of them…or to Lily.”

“Listen to me,” Kim said, her voice more serious than Anna had ever heard it. “You sat out here in this very room for sixteen hours waiting for Jonah. I was freaking out just like you are because it was taking so long, but Beth was like”—she threw up both her hands and twisted her face into an exaggerated look of nonchalance—“we got this. She was in total control the whole time, and if she thinks Lily or one of the babies is in trouble, she’ll be on it like Rambo.”

Anna wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sniffed loudly, knowing she couldn’t go back in the room with Lily until she pulled herself together. “That’s what I told Lily, that they saw this kind of thing all the time.”

“And you know what? They probably do. My friend Mona delivered at twenty-five weeks and her baby turned out just fine. They do miracles every day.”

Andy came through the door, sliding his feet forward and holding his arms out like an airplane. He was probably bursting with pent-up energy.

“Mom!” He raced across the room into her open arms.

“Hey, pal. Mama said for me to give you a great big hug.” Tears stung her eyes again as she poured fierce emotions into her embrace. “She had a wreck in the car but she’s going to be okay.”

Her father joined her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “How is everything else?”

“I’ll let Kim fill you in. Can you keep Andy for a day or two? I want to stay here at the hospital with Lily.”

“Sure.”

“You all right with that, pal? Grandpa will take you to our house so you can pack a few clothes and toys, and then you’ll go stay at the Big House.”

“But I have school.”

“That’s okay. Grandpa or Grandma will take you and pick you up. And I’ll call you tomorrow so you can talk to Mama on the phone.”

He frowned and jutted out his lower lip. “I don’t want to. I want to stay at the hospital with you.”

Her heart broke at his whimpering plea. “I wish you could, but they won’t let little kids visit. That’s why you had to stay out here with Grandpa and Aunt Kim.”

Kim tugged him to where she was sitting and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. “I know…why don’t you come stay with Jonah? You can teach him his alphabet.”

“What about Chester?”

“You can bring Chester too. He can teach Peanut to pee outside.”

Even at four thirty in the morning the hospital buzzed with activity. Lily had dozed off and on, taking advantage of the fact that her abdominal pains were much milder and coming less frequently. The attending OB-GYN physician had come in overnight and conducted another sonogram, which confirmed a significant increase in amniotic fluid. That was the best news they could have gotten.

Soon after he left, the overnight nurse, a young Asian woman named Wendy, had wheeled in a recliner for Anna, who had nodded off for a few minutes but now was wide awake and gazing transfixed at the array of monitors.

Lily studied her profile from the dim light that streamed from the hallway. It was undeniable she was worried about their situation, but Anna didn’t worry like most people. She took charge, even if it meant putting problems in someone else’s hands, as it did in this case. When she was satisfied she was on the right path she usually went forward with confidence. That’s where they stood now, waiting for Beth to walk in and decree that their babies were out of danger.

A faint smile crossed Anna’s face, causing Lily to wonder what had just passed through her thoughts. “Are you thinking about baby names?”

Anna chuckled. “No, I was thinking about something Kim said about Chester and Peanut. I hope one of our children grows up with her sense of humor.”

“Something tells me Alice will be just like her mother. The faces that child makes…I bet her first full sentence is a smart-aleck remark.”

“I wonder if our kids will be as opposite as Jonah and Alice.”

“I don’t know. With Andy in the mix—” Another contraction shot through her midsection and she moaned. It was nothing compared to the ones she’d had right after the accident, but she would be glad when they stopped altogether. “I have a feeling one of these kids will grow up to be a lumberjack.”

“Is there something I can do?”

“Just be here.” She was tired, and could only guess that Anna was much worse, since she had been sitting up in the chair all night. “We should probably try to get some sleep. I imagine there will be people in and out of here all day.”

“And then you’ll get to go home for bed rest, while I go back to work.”

“You should take a couple of days off too.” It was comforting to hear Anna talk about the days ahead. Her confidence helped hold back fears that something horrible was yet to happen. The worst part was over, the trauma of the accident. Now they had only to wait…

“How you doing, sugar?” Darla’s exuberant voice brought the room to life.

Lily opened her eyes to daylight creeping through the blinds. Anna had apparently fallen asleep also because she suddenly sat up and twisted her neck from side to side.

“Wendy done told on you. Said you stayed up and played all night like you was having a slumber party in here.”

The aroma of breakfast was wafting in from the hallway and Lily’s mouth began to water. “What time is it?”

“Seven fifteen. Time to get you all jellied up again so we can look at those babies.” She tugged the ultrasound machine to the bedside and laid out fresh supplies. “Dr. Beth will be here in about two minutes.”

“Sooner than that,” the doctor announced from the doorway. With her hands on her hips and a broad smile she looked pleased. “I got the report last night on your sonogram. Amniotic sac was intact and filled again with fluid. Looks like we dodged a bullet.”

Lily and Anna exchanged looks of relief.

“We’ll do another one right now, but I believe these little ones have gone back to sleep.” She ran the wand across Lily’s abdomen and lit up the display. “Yes, indeed. Dr. Saint-Laurent was probably right about this being just a pressure breach. No rupture at all…and the vitals look good.”

“So what does that mean?” Anna asked. “You think we’re out of the woods?”

Beth answered with a pensive nod. “I’d like to keep tabs on her for another day just to be sure, but I don’t expect anything to happen. After that she goes home for bed rest. That’ll bring its own brand of craziness, but it beats worrying about your babies.”

“It sure does,” Lily said. She had been looking forward to some free time to prepare for the babies’ arrival and reclaim her kitchen for a few weeks, but what mattered was the babies’ health, and if that meant staying in bed, she would. She was through taking chances. “Do you think I’ll go to term?”

“Ennnh…” Beth squinted and cocked her head. “I kind of doubt it. Twins usually come early anyway, and I think under the circumstances we might want to assert a little more control. I hope you didn’t have your heart set on natural childbirth.”

“I just want them to be healthy.” She would have sat on a nest for the next nine weeks if that had been determined as the best thing for her babies. “Does this mean I get to eat?”

“I’ll order up something.” She looked back over her shoulder at Darla. “You can disconnect that IV but leave her clip in until I wrap this up with Dr. Saint-Laurent.”

Anna stepped out to call Kim, who was the conduit for everyone else in the family.

“Let me give you a little inside info on the breakfast around here,” Darla said, lowering her voice. “The eggs are real eggs, but that bacon ain’t bacon, just like their hamburgers ain’t hamburgers. It’s all turkey.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell Darla that she preferred the leaner offerings. “Usually—” She was interrupted by a contraction, quite a bit stronger than the last one, but it was over as quickly as it came. “I don’t mind it so much, but usually when I want turkey, I order turkey.”

“Ain’t it the truth? But here you order pig, you get turkey. You order cow, you get turkey. I don’t even want to think what you get when you order turkey.”

Lily tugged the catheter tube from underneath her as she shifted onto her hip. “Please tell me you’re going to take this out too. I’ve felt like I’ve had to pee ever since you put it in.”

“Hmm…I don’t know if…” Darla was distracted by the monitors that read out her vitals, as well as the heartbeats of her babies. “Dr. Beth didn’t say anything about that.” She left the room as Anna was returning.

“Did you check in with Kim?”

“Sure did, and Andy went right to sleep last night with Chester at the foot of his bed. Even Jonah had a quiet night, relatively speaking. The only problem was that—I wasn’t even going to tell you this because I didn’t want you to worry—he wet the bed again.”

The news, though not surprising, made her sad. “Poor little guy. He was just getting used to the idea of sharing us with two babies. This is really going to make him feel left out. At least you can be home with him tonight.”

“Maybe, but I can’t leave you if things are still up in the air. We’ll just have to make it up to him later. And I’ll call over there as soon as school’s out.”

Darla returned with the doctor in tow. They both studied the monitor for a few seconds before Beth withdrew her stethoscope and pressed it to several spots on Lily’s abdomen. “Page Dr. Saint-Laurent to obstetrics. Tell her to scrub in.”

“Scrub in?” With the monitor still attached, Lily could hear the ping of her own pulse rising with alarm. “What’s going on?”

“The little one’s heart rate is falling. We need to get them out now. Darla, get me a team set up stat.”