“How’s Violet?” she asked as she walked past me into the house.
“Um, she’s in her playpen. I was just playing some music for her. She seems to like it when I play the piano.”
“That was good thinking,” Taylor said. “If the piano calms her, you should keep playing.”
“Unless it bothers you.”
She glanced over her shoulder at me, already heading toward the master bedroom. “You know it doesn’t.”
I followed her down the hall to find Violet in her playpen, panting heavily. She stood as Taylor approached, and that’s when I noticed she was shaking. Oh boy. This was really happening.
“Looks like you were right,” Taylor said, crouching in front of Violet. “Shaking and panting are both early signs of labor.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. This was exactly what Holly and Peyton had told me to watch for. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight, though.”
“Peyton’s daughter is running a fever, and Holly’s working tonight, so you’re stuck with me.”
“Well, I’m not complaining.” Shit. Did that sound flirty? I hadn’t meant for it to.
Taylor stood, giving me an amused look. “I’m not either. It’ll be fun to watch some new lives enter the world.”
“What do we do now?”
“Just keep an eye on her, mostly,” Taylor said. “She knows what to do. You could see if she wants to go outside before her labor progresses, in case she needs to pee or anything.”
“Oh yeah, okay.” I looked at Violet. “Want to go outside?”
She got right out of her playpen and headed down the hall. Taylor and I followed. I put Violet on leash, and we all went into the backyard. Violet took care of business, whining as she squatted, and I hoped she wasn’t about to deliver a puppy right there in the yard, because she definitely looked uncomfortable.
But she headed for the back door, and when I opened it for her, she went inside for a drink of water and then straight down the hall to her playpen.
“We should get our supplies ready,” Taylor said. “She may or may not need any help, but it’s best to be prepared.”
I went to the box in the corner that Taylor had brought on Monday. It contained old towels, a bulb syringe, scissors, iodine, absorbent pads, and probably a few other things I couldn’t see from the top. With Taylor’s guidance, we placed pads in Violet’s playpen to help contain any messes, sterilized the scissors, and set everything out for easy access.
Violet moved around restlessly in the pen, nipping at the bedding as she tried to get it just right now that we’d added the pads. Then she plopped down in the middle and lay, panting.
“There’s really not much else we can do but wait,” Taylor said. “It could still be a few hours, so we should probably give her some space and just keep checking in.”
“Did you come straight from work?” I asked.
Taylor nodded. “I asked Alleya, who I work with, to take Minnie and Blue home with her tonight, in case I’m here awhile.”
“Oh.” The thought of Taylor being here awhile was both thrilling and unnerving, because it meant we’d be here alone, late at night, potentially sitting together on my grandmother’s bed. “Want me to fix us something to eat while we wait?”
“Sure. I’m pretty hungry, actually.”
“Should I feed Violet her supper?” I asked as I went down the hall to the kitchen.
“It’s better if you wait and feed her after she’s delivered the puppies. She’s probably not even hungry right now. We’ll make sure to offer her lots of water, though.”
“Makes sense,” I said. “I was going to roast a chicken, if that sounds good to you.”
“A whole chicken just for you?” Taylor asked as she poured herself a glass of water. Her familiarity with the kitchen cabinets was another reminder of how much time she’d spend here with my grandma over the years. More than I had, apparently.
“I like the leftovers for sandwiches, and well…I thought Violet might want some, but shhhh, don’t tell that lady from the shelter that I feed her people food, okay?”
Taylor grinned. “I knew you were a softie deep down.”
