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I scan the tub. “It looks clear.” I pull over her makeup chair and help her sit on it. Then I dry her off. “I’ll get my phone.”
With only a towel around my waist, I race to the kitchen to get it, then call Hudson.
“Allie’s water just broke. Well, she thinks so. She was in the tub.”
“Was the fluid clear?”
“Yes. That’s good, right? Is it too early?” I stop and lean against the wall, my heart racing.
“She’s right at thirty-six weeks. Babies born now have the same chance of being healthy as full-term babies. But I do want you to get her to the hospital right away. Has she had any contractions?”
I push off the wall and go back to the bathroom. “Hudson is asking if you’ve had any contractions.”
“Braxton Hicks, I guess, for a few days now. Or at least I thought they were Braxton Hicks.” She sighs, clearly upset with herself for missing the signs. “But my water definitely broke. I can feel it trickling out of me.”
I relay the message.
“I’ll meet you there,” Hudson says and then ends the call.
I fall to my knees in front of Allie. “Is this really happening?”
She swallows and looks at me, terrified. Allie has been so upbeat during the entire pregnancy, I’m shocked to see her likethis. Is she thinking something will go wrong? Is she thinking about Christopher?
“Sweetheart, it’s going to be okay. It’s not too early. They are going to be fine.” I cup her face in my hands. “We’re doing this. And tonight or tomorrow we’re going to meet Alex and Christina. And, oh my god are they going to love their mom.”
She nods over and over, unable to speak.
I stand and hold out my hands to help her up. “Let’s get you dressed and go have some babies.”
Chapter Forty-three
Allie
I can’t help but make comparisons to when Christopher was born. Laboring this time is like night and day. With him, all the doctors and nurses knew the situation. Every time one of them looked at me I could see the sadness in their forced smiles. They all knew I was having a baby just to watch him die.
This time, the room is filled with nothing but excitement.
We decided a while ago to invite Bug to be here when the babies were born. I’ve been doing everything I can to make her feel like we’re a family and in this together. And while some teenagers would surely shy away from watching their siblings enter the world, she has embraced the idea with open arms, stipulating only that she not be ‘down there’ to see the ‘gross stuff.’
At the moment, however, it’s quiet. There are no doctors or nurses milling about, and Bug is asleep on the couch since it’s three in the morning. I dozed off a few times earlier, but since I’m having contractions now, I doubt that will happen again.
Asher repositions the pillow behind me. “How’re you holding up?”
“It’s not too bad. You should try and get some sleep. It might be a while yet, and you may not get a chance later.”
“I’m not sleeping if you’re not. We’re in this together.”
There was a whirlwind of activity when I got to the hospital seven hours ago. I was immediately induced, given an epidural, and hooked up to two baby monitors. They also did an ultrasound to make sure each of the twins are still presenting head down.
But now, it’s a waiting game. My contractions are getting closer together. They don’t hurt necessarily, but I do feel pressure which is keeping me from sleeping. Or maybe it’s the excitement that’s doing it. Or the anticipation. Or the underlying fear.
For over five months now, since the blood tests and ultrasounds showed everything was normal, I’ve been good. No panic attacks. And as far as I can tell, not much more than the usual pregnancy stress, albeit doubled for twins. But I’ve been generally happy, relaxed, and optimistic.
So why now, when the babies are mere hours away from being here, are all my nerves suddenly coming out to play? What if one or both is deprived of oxygen during the birth? What if one is born vaginally but the other has to be C-section? What if they missed something on the blood test or ultrasounds?
“Allie? You okay, sweetheart?”
I open my eyes to see Asher studying the monitor by my head that’s reporting my vitals.