head, and reminded me why I might be feeling uneasy over leaving him on his own.
Chapter Seventeen
The trip back through the field on the ATV left me terribly anxious. I was convinced something awful was unfolding back at the house. At my insistence we pulled up to the front door and rushed inside.
“Seth!” I called as we poured into the front hall. “Seth, are you in here?” No answer. Then an ache struck my abdomen, travelling from one side to the other and back again. I fell to my knees from the pain, Sid and Caroline on either side of me.
“Is it the baby, Sara?” asked Sid as he helped me up.
“Of course it’s the baby,” Caroline said as she held my other arm. “It could come any time now.”
“Do you want to lay down, Sara?” Sid was practically dragging me to the living room.
“Sure.” I felt too weak to argue. “Can you please look for Seth?”
“Sure, Sara, Sid will look for him and I’ll stay with you,” Caroline soothed while Sid left the room.
“If they’ve done anything to Seth….” I screeched through the pain.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Caroline helped me recline on the couch. “Is this a contraction, do you think?”
“Maybe.” I doubled over again and grasped my belly. “Oh, shit, Caroline it hurts like hell.”
“I think you might be having that baby.”
“Get me upstairs.”
Caroline slowly assisted me up the stairs to Joel’s room.
“I want Seth! Where is Seth!” It sounded pathetic, but I couldn’t help myself. Pain and anxiety were tearing me apart.
“Don’t panic, Sara.”
“Get me boiled water and towels, Caroline, and scissors and something to clamp off the umbilical.” These were some of the things I’d trained myself to ask for when the big moment arrived.
Sidney appeared a second later. “The entire house is empty, I-” he stopped himself. “Shit, are you having that baby?” He looked scared to death. Was it the current situation or something else? Again the pain struck. Such pressure. All other thoughts and concerns flew from my mind. I concentrated on the pressure and my breathing. I couldn’t believe it was going to happen. I knew from experience these things usually took much longer to progress, especially with a first child, and I was worried at the close proximity of the contractions to one another. Maybe something was wrong. But this baby wanted out, immediately.
“She’s having her baby,” Caroline hissed excitedly as she rushed past him with the pot of water and towels in hand. We had decided earlier that we wouldn’t tell the others when the birth was taking place. I didn’t want any of them involved, so we’d made this pact to do it alone. I looked again for Seth, the only other person I wanted to see right now, but there was no sign of him. Just Sidney standing awkwardly in the hall, the blood draining from his face.
“Jesus, really, Sara? Isn’t this early?” he wondered aloud.
“I think so, but then, what do I know?” I moaned. The pain was just bearable. I knew it would become increasingly worse as the night went on, and from the way the first contractions felt, I wasn’t looking forward to the big ones!
“Wow, Sara…” Caroline was so happy for me, for us, it made me weepy. My hormones had been all over the place the last week as well. Perhaps I should have known this would happen sooner rather than later. Where was Seth? He’d been my rock through so much of my pregnancy. I summoned the memory of his kind smile and voice repeating, “It’ll be okay. Everything will be fine”.
The labor went on for most of the night. Caroline read anxiously through the same pages of a medical textbook I’d perused countless times the past few months. Sid was in and out of the bedroom repeatedly throughout the night to check on whether anyone had resurfaced. Each time he reported the same news. No one. The rest of the
Chapter Seventeen
The trip back through the field on the ATV left me terribly anxious. I was convinced something awful was unfolding back at the house. At my insistence we pulled up to the front door and rushed inside.
“Seth!” I called as we poured into the front hall. “Seth, are you in here?” No answer. Then an ache struck my abdomen, travelling from one side to the other and back again. I fell to my knees from the pain, Sid and Caroline on either side of me.
“Is it the baby, Sara?” asked Sid as he helped me up.
“Of course it’s the baby,” Caroline said as she held my other arm. “It could come any time now.”
“Do you want to lay down, Sara?” Sid was practically dragging me to the living room.
“Sure.” I felt too weak to argue. “Can you please look for Seth?”
“Sure, Sara, Sid will look for him and I’ll stay with you,” Caroline soothed while Sid left the room.
“If they’ve done anything to Seth….” I screeched through the pain.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Caroline helped me recline on the couch. “Is this a contraction, do you think?”
“Maybe.” I doubled over again and grasped my belly. “Oh, shit, Caroline it hurts like hell.”
“I think you might be having that baby.”
“Get me upstairs.”
Caroline slowly assisted me up the stairs to Joel’s room.
“I want Seth! Where is Seth!” It sounded pathetic, but I couldn’t help myself. Pain and anxiety were tearing me apart.
“Don’t panic, Sara.”
“Get me boiled water and towels, Caroline, and scissors and something to clamp off the umbilical.” These were some of the things I’d trained myself to ask for when the big moment arrived.
Sidney appeared a second later. “The entire house is empty, I-” he stopped himself. “Shit, are you having that baby?” He looked scared to death. Was it the current situation or something else? Again the pain struck. Such pressure. All other thoughts and concerns flew from my mind. I concentrated on the pressure and my breathing. I couldn’t believe it was going to happen. I knew from experience these things usually took much longer to progress, especially with a first child, and I was worried at the close proximity of the contractions to one another. Maybe something was wrong. But this baby wanted out, immediately.
“She’s having her baby,” Caroline hissed excitedly as she rushed past him with the pot of water and towels in hand. We had decided earlier that we wouldn’t tell the others when the birth was taking place. I didn’t want any of them involved, so we’d made this pact to do it alone. I looked again for Seth, the only other person I wanted to see right now, but there was no sign of him. Just Sidney standing awkwardly in the hall, the blood draining from his face.
“Jesus, really, Sara? Isn’t this early?” he wondered aloud.
“I think so, but then, what do I know?” I moaned. The pain was just bearable. I knew it would become increasingly worse as the night went on, and from the way the first contractions felt, I wasn’t looking forward to the big ones!
“Wow, Sara…” Caroline was so happy for me, for us, it made me weepy. My hormones had been all over the place the last week as well. Perhaps I should have known this would happen sooner rather than later. Where was Seth? He’d been my rock through so much of my pregnancy. I summoned the memory of his kind smile and voice repeating, “It’ll be okay. Everything will be fine”.
The labor went on for most of the night. Caroline read anxiously through the same pages of a medical textbook I’d perused countless times the past few months. Sid was in and out of the bedroom repeatedly throughout the night to check on whether anyone had resurfaced. Each time he reported the same news. No one. The rest of the
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