“You can do this, Em,” Ernesto insists.
“I really can’t and neither can you. I need a doctor, not a producer. I hate that you’ve seen my vagina. I really and truly hate it.”
“Would you rather I stood down there?” Kel asks.
“If you fucking go near that cloth over me, I swear to you, I will bite your head off with my teeth and throw it in the fire.”
“Okay, okay… sheesh,” he mumbles.
“Would it help you to know that I did an insane amount of research on childbirth for the devil birth scene in that TV showWicked Unholy?” Ernesto asks.
“No! It doesn’t help me at all.”
“Dude,” Kel begins, “I loved that show. Did you produce that?”
“Yeah, man. I even directed a few. Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“No prob. Hey, you know that one part where the doctor reaches up into that one chick and pulls out her heart? Who did the makeup and props for that? I swore that shit was the real thing.”
“It was actually—”
“I’m in labor here, you assholes!” Emerson shouts.
“Another time then,” Ernesto says through gritted teeth.
Finn brings in a pot of hot water and some towels. I take them from him and our hands touch. I try not to overthink my mistakes.
I bring the items over to Ernesto and take my place alongside Emerson, opposite from Kel. She’s gripping his hand so hard he’s flinching.
“I need this hand, Em. You’re gonna break it.”
“Stop being such a pussy!” she shouts through a contraction.
Ernesto gasps. “Em, I think I see the head! You need to push.”
“No. I can’t do it!” she shouts.
“Yes you can,” I whisper just as the phone rings.
Finn rushes to answer it. A second later, he’s stretching the cord and bringing the phone to Emerson with a smile. It stops about two feet from her.
“Shit,” he says.
“Put her on speakerphone,” Johnny Kennedy shouts from the back corner. He’s in a rocking chair with Kelly on his lap.
Finn hits the button and Julie’s voice permeates the room.
“Emee? Can you hear me?”
“Oh God, Jules, I tried to wait, but he wants out. He wants to be born. I’m so sorry!”
“Baby, listen to me. You’ve got this, okay? Just like we practiced.”
Emerson nods her head. “I need you, Jules. I can’t do this alone.”
“I’m right here and from what you’ve told me about this group, you’ve never been alone since you met them.”
Emerson glances around at us and tries to smile as another contraction hits.
