“Ow!”
“Sorry,” he said.
“You’ve done this to me before!” she accused.
“I know. I’ve always been real smooth,” he said, remembering a time long ago, before they were married, when he was carrying her home in much this same manner, though not pregnant, and while his mind was on sex, he damn near gave her a concussion, which sort of precluded any kind of sex. His mind was definitely not on sex right now.
Jack carried Mel to the bedroom while Brie took charge of David. Mel had already prepared the bed with a rubber mattress protector so all that was necessary was helping her to undress and climb in, which Jack did. He added a couple of soft, clean towels under her. Then he went for a flashlight from the kitchen and Brie shouted, “What’s that for?”
“I have to see how close she is,” Jack responded, moving quickly.
“Oh my God,” Brie said. “We need some professionals here!”
“Try Doc Mullins’s pager. The number’s inside the cupboard door. And get out a bottle,” Jack said.
“You’re going to have a drink?” she asked, appalled.
Not a bad idea, he thought. “For Davie. Get him ready for bed and give him his bottle.”
“Oh. Sure,” she said, rattled.
Back in the bedroom he said, “Let’s have a look, honey.”
Mel’s knees came up and Jack clicked on the flashlight, shining it right on her pelvic floor. “Good. I don’t see anything yet.” Then he looked over her knees. “You gonna wait for John this time?”
“With any luck,” she answered breathlessly.
He rolled his eyes. “Where’s your bag?”
“In the truck.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll get it. I’ll wash up. Pant.” And he disappeared again.
He didn’t stop to chat with Brie as he ran through the house, but he noticed her eyes were round and a little scared as he passed her with Mel’s medical bag. He was rushing around like a madman, getting clamps, scissors and suction out of her bag, spreading out towels and baby blankets at the foot of the bed. He shone the flashlight on her again and said, “Pant!” Then he headed for the bathroom, rolled up his sleeves and began to scrub up to his elbows. He’d been down this road before and he wasn’t thrilled about doing it again. Doctors and midwives should deliver babies, not men who knew nothing about it. He’d been lucky once, but there was no guarantee he’d be lucky again. It took him ten minutes to get set up and washed, then he was back at her side, flashlight in hand. He gave a look. “Oh God,” he said.
“She’s crowning,” she confirmed.
“You’re incredible. How can you do this so fast?”
“I don’t have the first idea. I’m a breeder, Doc says.”
“Pant,” he said. “If you push, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“You know, you get so pissy…”
“Yeah, I keep trying to avoid this part. All the rest of it, I’m game. I hate doing this. I should’ve had you tested or something—to see why you just dump ’em like this, like there’s nothing to it. Holy shit, Melinda—what if I screw up? Huh? Have you thought of that?”
“Jack,” she said weakly, “you aren’t going to screw up.” And then she was seized by another contraction.
He suddenly realized he was thinking only of himself and he got down on one knee beside the bed, took her hand in both of his and said, “I love you, baby. More than my life—you know that. Right?”
“Not now, Jack,” she whispered. “I’m busy.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“Sure it will,” she said. “Maybe you better pant.”
“I should never have let you do all that cleaning.”
“Shh… Just breathe…”
He heard the sound of voices outside their bedroom. Brie stuck her head in the door. “Need anything?” she asked.
“A basin or bowl. The baby bathtub of warm water. John Stone would be nice.”
“Oh, he’s here. He’s scrubbing up in the kitchen sink.”
“Tell him to get in here now. Tell him she’s here!”
“Not quite here,” Mel said. “But she’s coming…” Mel looked at Jack. She reached out a hand and touched the hair at his temple. “You’re getting a little gray here.”
“Big surprise. I really didn’t know you’d be such a handful.”