She stalked into reception, causing the nurses to jump back in shock, and made her way to labour and delivery, her heels clicking on the linoleum floor. As she marched through the hallways, people shrank back against the walls, almost as if she were a leper or some kind of terrorist. She caught a glimpse of herself in a reflective wall, and stopped to try and make herself look less insane, wiping her smudged lipstick away and tidying her eyeliner with a swipe of her sleeve. After all, a crazy lady barging into labour and delivery was grounds for a psych hold, and she wasn’t exactly keen on being committedjustyet.
“Where is she?” she shouted as she banged open the doors to labour and delivery. An elderly nurse looked up ather, clearly in no mood to be shouted at, and she forced what she hoped was a smile onto her face.
“Who are you looking for?” the nurse asked, her voice a clear indicator that she was in charge. Maria gritted her teeth and did her best to speak calmly.
“I’m looking for Emily Fountain. She’s my daughter-in-law.” Her tone was almost saccharine in its sweetness.
The nurse tapped on her keyboard and shook her head, offering up an apologetic smile. “Sorry, no Emily here. Are you sure you’re in the right department?”
“Yes, I’m sure. She’d be about … five foot six, in labour, looks like someone pissed in her cornflakes, black hair …no?”
“All of our labouring mothers have gone home. We have two ladies awaiting induction and another one who has had her baby already, but they’re in intensive care.”
Maria swore under her breath, turning on her heel to look around the ward. Sure enough, the only mothers that were there were a scrawny blonde who looked like she was coming off heroin and a black mother who was walking around rubbing her belly like it was some sort of Holy Grail. There was absolutely no sign of Alyssia, or Douglas for that matter.
“What about a man?” she asked, earning herself a raised eyebrow from the nurse. “Was there a tall man with grey hair here? He’d have been with the woman I just asked about.”
“The only men we’ve had in here are the ones you can see. Sorry.”
Maria swore again, her mind racing. Where could they have gone? Surely Alyssia hadn’t just popped the baby out and gone on her merry way? She curled her lip, wondering where the woman might have gone, and then spotted Damon watching her from around a corner.
“Thank you,” she threw over her shoulder at the nurse, before hurrying towards Damon. When she got there, however, he was gone. She swallowed a scream of disappointment and looked up and down the hallway, but he was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, painfully slowly, she walked towards the exit, her mind racing at warp speed.
“I’ll find you, you littleputtana,” she hissed, her teeth clenched. “Wherever you are, I will find you!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several nurses hurrying towards the operating rooms, and a thought popped into her head. Alyssia’s baby had been breeched when she went to hospital, so it was more than likely that she’d had to have a caesarean to get the baby out. If thatwas the case … her breathing intensified as she scanned the walls desperately, finally seeing the signs for the operating rooms and recovery suites.
“I’m coming for you,puttana,” she gritted through her teeth. “That baby’s mine.”
21
In theatre, Alyssia was lying on the operating table, a cloth draped over her torso. Antonio was standing beside her, gently stroking her hair, and Damon was stalking between the outer doors and the hallway, making sure that nobody interrupted them. The soft sounds of classical music floated through the air, bringing an almost luxurious energy to an otherwise clinical room. All around them, various nurses and doctors moved like a well-oiled machine as they prepared Alyssia for surgery.
“Are you ready, ma’am?” the surgeon asked, gently moving her legs back and forth. “All numb down here?”
Alyssia nodded, her legs feeling incredibly heavy. The surgeon nodded, and his assistant gently squeezed Alyssia’s shoulder.
“OK, Dad, if you want to sit by Mum’s head and keep her calm for me? Then if you want to see baby afterwards, we’ll lower the curtain for you to have a look, all right?”
“You’ll feel some pushing and pulling,” the surgeon told Alyssia, flashing her a smile. “Then when we take baby out, you might feel like your stomach has droppedout, but try not to panic – it’s a normal experience. Dad, did you want to cut the cord or do you want us to?”
“I’ll do it,” Antonio nodded, his voice sounding slightly strangled. “You’ll have to show me how to do it, but I think … I think it’s important.”
“Alright, so Dad will cut the cord, and then we’ll get baby weighed, check that everything’s as it should be, and then your journey with us is complete! While baby’s weighed and so on, we’ll sew you back together again. Don’t worry, you won’t have much of a scar, I promise.”
“OK,” Alyssia sniffed, feeling tears prick the back of her eyes. “Um, how soon will I be able to walk about afterwards?”
“We’ll go over all that in recovery,” The nurse smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “For now, let’s focus on getting baby out safely, OK?”
“OK,” Alyssia nodded at the surgeon. “OK, I’m ready.”
“Alrighty then!” The surgeon beamed. “Let’s have us a baby!”
The surgery went without a hitch, and before she could gather her thoughts, Alyssia was faced with a red, angry baby, legs kicking and arms waving all over theplace. She couldn’t hold back her tears, and she sobbed with relief and joy at the sight of her beautiful child.
“Well done, Mum!” the midwife cooed. “You have a beautiful baby girl! Congratulations!”
Alyssia couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and she wailed with emotion as her daughter was whisked away to be weighed and checked over. A few moments later, a deafening cry rang through the air, and everyone laughed and applauded.
