‘My apartment.’ The words came out before Clara could second-guess them. ‘We’ll go to my apartment.’
Max stared at her. ‘Your apartment? A German officer’s apartment?’ A bitter laugh escaped him. ‘That’s not protection, Clara. That’s a trap.’
‘I have never been more serious,’ said Clara. ‘My husband is away. There is no one there. We need a safe place for the birth. We don’t have time to discuss this.’
‘Just do what she says,’ pleaded Hannah. ‘The contractions .?.?. they are getting stronger and closer.’
‘Go. Now!’ said Clara.
Five minutes later they were pulling up at the end of Clara’s street. ‘You will have to walk from here,’ said Max. ‘We can’t afford to draw attention from the neighbours.’
‘Can you walk?’ Clara searched Hannah’s face.
Hannah’s jaw set with determination that cut through the pain. ‘I’ll crawl if I have to.’
Every midwifery instinct Clara possessed screamed against this, but Max was right. An ambulance outside her building would have neighbours at their windows within minutes.
‘We need to go as quickly as possible,’ said Clara. ‘Your contractions are roughly every four minutes. We’ll wait for the next one and then we should be able to make it to the apartment building before the one after that comes.’ She hoped she sounded far more confident than she felt about this. She looked at Max. ‘It’s twins. I’ll need another pair of hands.’ Clara caught Max’s eye, trying to communicate what she couldn’t say aloud – complications, haemorrhage, death. His expression shifted. He understood. ‘I need you to get my friend Marie. She’s a midwife. It’s her day off.’
‘Can you trust her?’
‘Of course I can. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. I need her.’
Max hesitated for a moment, before relenting. ‘All right. Tell Paul where to find her. He’ll bring her. In the meantime, I’ll get rid of this.’ He jerked his head towards the ambulance.
The next four minutes seemed more like ten, and never before had Clara wished for another contraction to come so quickly. Hannah groaned and gripped Clara’s arm tightly as the contraction rose in intensity and then faded.
‘Ready?’ asked Max, immediately Hannah appeared not to be in pain.
Hannah nodded. They climbed out of the ambulance and made their way down the road towards Clara’s apartment. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy, and they didn’t bump into anyone Clara knew.
They had just reached the main entrance of the apartment building when Hannah’s grip on Clara’s arm tightened. ‘Contraction,’ she gasped.
‘Breathe,’ said Clara. ‘Just breathe through it. I know it’s hard but try not to make any noise.’
Somehow Hannah managed to get through the contraction without crying out. She bent over double, and Clara had to hold onto her. She knew the babies were going to be born very shortly.
Clara yanked open the lift gate, and they stumbled inside. The mechanism groaned to life. In the confined space, Hannah’s ragged breathing seemed impossibly loud. Every second Clara expected a neighbour’s door to open, curious faces to appear, questions that would doom them all.
Within a few minutes they were safely inside the apartment. Clara ushered Hannah into the spare bedroom and helped her get comfortable on the bed. Then she set about getting everything she needed for the impromptu home birth.
Nearly an hour passed and Clara was just beginning to worry that Paul hadn’t been able to find Marie, when there was a knock at the door – the usual pattern she had grown accustomed to being Paul’s.
‘Told you he’d be here,’ said Max, who, since disposing of the ambulance, had been waiting in the kitchen, out of Clara’s way.
Clara opened the door and Marie hurried in, followed by Paul.
‘I’m sorry I had to get you involved,’ said Clara. ‘But it’s twins.’
‘Don’t be sorry,’ said Marie giving her friend a hug. ‘I’m glad you asked me.’
Clara felt relieved Marie was there. It was one thing overseeing the birth of one baby, but two, she needed help.
Time blurred in the small bedroom. Clara and Marie worked in tandem, their hands sure and steady despite the danger beyond the apartment walls. Hannah’s labour progressed rapidly but both babies were positioned well.
‘You’re doing beautifully,’ Clara murmured to Hannah as another contraction peaked. ‘Just a little longer now.’
David had arrived earlier, smuggled in by Max through the service entrance. He was standing outside the bedroom door, refusing to sit in the living room, despite Max’s encouragement.
