“I’ll drive.” Callie held out her arm. “Come on.”
“Just a minute.” Bella grabbed a pot of pasta off the stove and turned everything off, then flagged down one of the other servers. “Anu, serve as much of the food as you can,” she instructed. “A lot of things are ready and just need to be taken out, and the things I wasn’t able to finish… just leave them. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“You got it,” Anu said.
“Oh, and the dessert is ready — there’s a pie on the counter, an ice-cream dessert in the fridge, and an assortment of cookiesover there. They’re serving the desserts themselves, like the rest of the food, so don’t worry about plating. Just take them out like this.”
“I will,” Anu said. Her brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Bella’s hands formed fists as another pain rose up.
“It’s time to go now,” Callie said gently.
Bella let Callie lead her out of the kitchen. The guests were seated at long wooden tables decorated with wax candles and wildflowers in glass jars. The first half of the dishes were already out, and their plates were full of food. They looked up in surprise as Bella came out of the kitchen, but Callie just smiled brightly at them and hurried Bella out the double doors at the front of the barn. Another pain gripped Bella as they walked, but they still made it out into the slight rain. As they were about to reach the car, though, someone called after them.
“Hey!”
It was the bride, resplendent in a white lacy dress with a long veil on her short blond hair. She was glaring.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to go to the hospital,” Bella explained. “I’m so sorry. Most of the food is already served, and the servers know where the dessert is — it’s ready — but a few dishes will be missing.”
“Are you dying?” Tabi asked, crossing her arms.
“I don’t think so, but I am pregnant, and?—”
“I paid for a full family-style meal with multiple dishes,” Tabi said. “If I don’t get all those dishes, what am I paying for?”
“I’m sorry,” Bella repeated, but her anger was starting to build. “I wouldn’t leave if it weren’t an emergency.”
“You could at least have had other chefs to help you!” Tabi snapped. She looked much less lovely and bridelike when she was glaring like this. “You’re completely irresponsible. If you’re pregnant, you should have prepared for this kind of thing.”
Another pain gripped Bella, bending her double, and Callie pulled open the door of the car.
“Time to go, Boss.”
“I’m sorry,” Bella said again. “The other servers know where all the prepared food is, and only a few dishes are missing.”
“And who’s going to clean up?” Tabi asked. “Me?”
“I’m sure it won’t be you. I’ll sort it out,” Bella promised as Callie ushered her into the car and closed the door behind her. A moment later, they were pulling out along the gravel drive. Tabi still stood in front of the barn behind them, glaring with crossed arms as they drove away.
“What a bridezilla,” Callie muttered. “And what kind of a name is Tabi?” Bella rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “This is going to ruin my business.Tabiis going to ruin my business. But I don’t even care right now — I just want my baby to be okay. Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“Anytime. You really don’t have to, like, do everything on your own.”
Bella glanced at Callie, who was looking straight ahead. “Thanks.” She felt instantly bad for all the times she’d been abrupt with Callie, who was always just trying to help.
The wedding venue was on the outskirts of Portland, so it was a drive to the hospital. The pain kept coming now and then as they got closer, but it was less frequent, which gave Bella hope. It was only when Callie pulled into the parking lot that she realized which hospital they’d come to.
“Hold on.” She sat up. “Let’s go to a different hospital.”
“Come on,” Callie said. “You just told me you were worried about the baby. We’re already here. Let’s just go in.”
“I really…” Bella’s heart was racing, but she nodded. She had to put the baby first. “Yeah. Okay.”
