Gerty shifted, her sciatic nerve uncomfortable on this metal bleacher, despite the blanket and pillow Mike had brought for her. “Yeah,” she said amidst the patriotic music blaring over the crowd.
Mike moved too, supporting her from behind, the way he had been all night. But they couldn’t lie on the lawn the way they had in past years, and they couldn’t make their annual trip to Coral Canyon to celebrate the Fourth with Mike’s aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Gerty was due with her second baby in only two days, and she’d never been more uncomfortable. Another round of fireworks filled the air, this time filling the sky with red, white, and blue sparks as the song ended.
The unmistakable tightening across her belly made Gerty gasp. She automatically reached and clamped her fingers around Mike’s forearm, and he leaned down. “Mike,” she gasped as families around themoohed andahhed at the next round of cascading sparks.
This could not be happening. Perhaps she’d just felt the baby move.
“Are you okay?” Mike practically shouted in her ear.
Gerty released her grip on his arm and turned to look at him. His dark eyes scanned her face with the same intensity she’d seen during their most serious discussions.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I just had a contraction.”
Panic ran through Mike’s eyes. He blinked. It cleared. “Okay,” he said, and he started getting to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Gerty had to move as he did, and she stumbled to her feet too. A white-hot pain shot across her stomach and around to her lower back. “Oh,” she groaned, and that was definitely a contraction.
“Momma,” West complained. “Why you movin’?”
The music started to crescendo, and along with it, so did the fireworks being shot into the sky.
“We have to go,” Mike said loudly, and he scooped West into his arms. “Leave everything, Gerty. My parents can get it.”
“They’re down on the lawn,” she said, her breath coming quickly.
Others in the crowd turned their way, and Mike said, “Sorry, everyone. My wife is going into labor. Can I get a path cleared?” He gripped her arm this time, and because he’d spoken in his CEO voice, people actually did what he said.
They cleared a path. In fact, one man went ahead of them, calling out, “Make way, please. This man’s wife is going into labor.”
“Good luck, honey,” one woman said, but Gerty had gone face-blind. She pressed one hand to her belly and kept the other knotted tightly in Mike’s.
They’d just reached the end of their row when another contraction hit, stronger this time, and Gerty doubled over slightly, one hand pressed to her rounded belly.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said. “We need to get to the truck.” He looked up the aisle to the top of the bleachers, which they’d walked down to their seats. The parking lot sat up there too, and Gerty did some quick calculations in her head.
You can’t stay here, she thought, and with that, she took the first step.
The same man helped keep the steps clear, and by the end, he was also gripping Gerty’s other arm and helping her step up.
“Maybe your mom can take West,” Gerty gasped when they finally reached the top.
“There’s no time,” Mike said. “He came so fast, Gerty. We have to go now.”
She remembered how fast West had come, and people said second babies came even faster. But her water hadn’t broken yet, and she set her jaw and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
She made it to the truck; Mike strapped in West while she let the stranger help her into the front passenger seat. “Thank you,” she managed to say before another contraction stole her breath.
“Yes, thank you so much, Steven.” Mike shook the man’s hand and ran around the front of the truck.
“How do you know him, Daddy?” West asked, because Mike seemed to know everyone. Well, at the very least, they knew him.
“We met him tonight, buddy,” Mike said, shooting a glance over to Gerty. She pulled her seatbelt across her body, but Mike just put the truck in reverse and backed out of the stall.
“Maybe we’ll beat the traffic out of here,” he said. “Can you imagine if we got stuck in the flow of people leaving the fireworks?”
