I shook my head at her, and Bryce promised, “We can get it cleaned.”
Then he spoke to Fletcher. “Will you ride to the hospital with us, in case we need you?”
He nodded. “Let me tell Liv, and I’ll meet you in the car.”
“Thanks,” Bryce said, and I felt relieved I would be with a doctor if I ended up being one of those people having my baby on the side of the road. I guess if it came to that, at least I’d be in a limo.
Then he looked at me. “We didn’t discuss your labor plan, but if you want someone besides me in the room with you, now is the time to say it.”
I widened my eyes at him in shock. This selfless man was offering to take a back seat to my friend and my grandma if that’s what I wanted.
“I want you there,” I whispered. “Rei, can you stay with Glamma in the waiting room?”
“Absolutely,” Rei said. Glamma nodded. “We’ll stop by the house and make up a bag for you.”
“Okay, let’s have this baby,” Bryce said with a smile on his face. He walked between Glamma and me, letting both of us hold his arms on the way down the stairs. Hayes stepped up to the mic, explaining what was going on…with very colorful language.
Together, we walked toward the limo waiting for us on the gravel path between the wedding setup and the tent. I looked at the tent, sad I’d have to miss the party.
But soon, I’d get to meet my baby girl, and that was pretty exciting too.
76.Bryce
ThankGod I read those books on pregnancy once I found out Jada was expecting. Thanks to them, I knew what it meant when Fletcher said Jada was four centimeters dilated. The timing of her contractions told me a story instead of being a series of numbers. I held Jada’s hand on the ride, trying to help her be as comfortable as possible while we drove.
Eventually, the limo came to a stop, and I looked away from Jada, still in her wedding gown, and out the window. We were here at the hospital.
I got out the door before Gen could open it for us and rushed inside to the front desk where a scrubs-clad nurse with white skin and gray hair sat behind the desk. Several people were in the ER waiting room. But Jada was my focus. “My wife’s in labor. I need a wheelchair to get her up to labor and delivery.”
“Let me get you one,” she said. Then she sauntered to a private room behind the desk.
I ground my teeth together at her lack of urgency. Did she want my baby to be born in the parking lot?
It felt like hours later when she returned with a wheelchair and followed me out the door. Fletcher and I helped Jada out of the limo, getting her settled into the wheelchair.
“Good?” I asked her, leaning down.
She nodded, eyes closed. “Good.”
“Grab your skirt,” I told her. “Wouldn’t want it stained.”
She chuckled at the joke and then cringed. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Got it.”
The nurse pushed her into the building and followed the blue line on the floor that led to the main hospital elevators. I swore the lady was moving as slowly as she could while my legs twitched torun. Jada was silently gripping the arms of the wheelchair, her fingers losing color. Fletcher kept pace beside me with a sense of calm I tried to borrow.
At the elevators, I jammed my finger into the button multiple times, feeling like I was finally able to do something, even if small.
Soon, the four of us got in and the elevator was rising to the fifth floor.
When the nurses in labor and delivery saw us, they hurried into action, finally giving me the feeling that someone besides Fletcher and me cared. “Follow me to room three,” a nurse said.
No amount of reading could have prepared me for this moment—standing at the side of the bed, holding Jada’s hand while she pushed.
“Catch your breath, and then another big push,” Dr. Blake said behind their mask. “Just one more, Jada.”
A look of fierce determination crossed her face, and she nodded. After taking several sips of air, she squeezed my hand, hard, and then started to push.
