Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“I’m gonna call an ambulance,” he tells me.
“Good. And tell them to hurry because I think Olive’s getting impatient, and I really don’t want to give birth on the side of the road!”
I hear River talking to emergency services, and then he’s back, crouching at the side of the car.
“How’re you doing?”
I give him a look. “My car is broken. It’s hot as Lucifer, and I have no air-conditioning. Oh yeah, I’m in labor! How do you think I’m freaking doing?”
“Fuck, I love it when you’re angry, Red. It’s so hot.”
“Fudge off.” I scowl at him, not in the mood for his teasing.
Another contraction hits.
“Sweet fudging Jesus! It hurts!” Tears prick my eyes.
I grab hold of River’s forearm, which is the closest thing available to me, and squeeze hard. He covers my hand with his, holding me, and rubs my leg.
“Breathe deep, Carrie,” he encourages softly. “In through the nose, out through the mouth.”
“I-I think Olive’s coming, River. I keep feeling like I need to push.”
“What?” he gasps.
It would be comical right now, the look on his face, if my baby wasn’t trying to currently climb out of my body, like the alien does in the film Alien.
“No, she can’t come now! The ambulance isn’t here!”
“Well, it’s not like I’ve got a lot of say in the matter!”
“Can’t you just hold her in?”
I stare at him blankly. “Are you fudging serious right now? Hold her in?”
“Yeah, like when you need a shit and there’s no bathroom around.”
“Olive is not a piece of poop!” I yell. “And, no, I can’t freaking hold her in—FUDGE!” I scream at the top of my lungs at the hit of another contraction. “Jesus Lord! She’s coming!”
“Holy fuck!” He pulls at his hair. “Shit, what do I do?”
“I don’t know! I’m not a doctor!”
“News flash: neither am I!”
“Stop yelling at me!” I shout.
“Christ. The baby’s really coming now?”
I stare at him, panting, sweat-soaked hair sticking to my face. “Yes, River, the baby is really coming.”
“Okay. I’m calling 911 again. See if this ambulance is any closer to getting here.”
He’s just got his cell out when I hear the wail of a siren.
“The ambulance is here,” River states the obvious, looking as relieved as a man who just got a last-minute pardon before going to the electric chair.
The ambulance pulls up behind my car.
“Hey, what have we got here today?”
“A baby.” River jabs a finger in my direction, sounding flustered. “Red’s in labor. Her water broke. And she’s two weeks early. We were on our way to the hospital when her shitty car broke down.”
“Okay.” A lady crouches down next to me, putting a medical bag down beside herself. “Hey, honey. My name is Hope. I’m a paramedic, and I’m here to help you.”
“I’m Carrie,” I tell her through a pant.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Carrie. So, you’re in labor. Thirty-eight weeks—is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Contractions are how far apart?”
“It’s hard, keeping track. They’re coming real fast though. And I feel like I need to push.”
“Okay. And your water broke?”
Biting my lip, I nod.
“When did that happen?”
“About thirty minutes ago.”
“Okay. Would you mind if I just have a feel of your stomach?”
“Go ahead.”
I sit while she presses and pushes at my stomach. I wince when it hurts.
“I’m sorry,” she says in a soothing voice. “It hurts, huh?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“I’ve got two of my own. Boys. So, I know where you’re at right now. Okay, Carrie, do you think you can move for me? I need to get you in the ambulance.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t. I feel like, if I stand up, the baby’s just gonna come out.”
“Okay. So, that means, I’m going to have to examine you here. I need to see how dilated you are.”
“Examine her here?” River pipes up. “Can’t you just take her to the hospital?”
She shakes her head. “If I’m right—and I usually am—there is no time to get to the hospital. This baby is ready to come out now.”
“The fuck?” River gasps.
I’m at the point where I don’t even care anymore. I just want the pain to stop, and I’ll do anything to make that happen.
“Right, Carrie, I need to move you back a bit, so we can get you lying down on the seat.”
“Okay.”
“Dad, I need you to go around to the other side of the car and go behind Carrie. With your arms under her armpits, help guide her back as seamlessly as possible.”
Dad. She thinks River is Olive’s dad.
I meet River’s eyes in this moment. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. I wait for him to correct her. But he doesn’t.
And neither do I.
River comes to the other side of the car and opens the door behind me. He helps me move into a flat position. But he doesn’t move away. He stays there, kneeling on the floor beside the car. His head by mine. His hand stroking the hair off my face.