Page 46 of Denim & Diamonds

An hour later, we were almost back at my jobsite with more than a ton of roofing shingles when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I knew the area code— Boston . My pulse picked up as I reached for the panel on my dashboard and pushed the button to answer on speakerphone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Brock. It’s Nina.”

“Is everything okay? Are you in labor?”

“No. I’m not in labor. And the baby and I are okay, but I am in the hospital. ”

Shit. “What happened?”

“I had a little spotting, so I went to the doctor for a checkup. He did an ultrasound, and it turns out I have placenta previa.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a condition where the placenta is low in the uterus and partially or fully covers the cervix opening. The baby is fine, but it means I’m at a risk of severe bleeding if I deliver vaginally.”

I raked a hand through my hair. “Jesus Christ. Can they give you medicine for it, or fix it somehow?”

“No, but sometimes it corrects itself. As the uterus expands, it can naturally push the placenta back up. If it doesn’t, I’ll probably need a C-section. But they’re going to keep me in the hospital for a day or two, to monitor things and keep an eye on the bleeding.”

“Damn, I’m sorry. Is someone there with you?”

“My sister Kelly dropped me off. She had to go to work. But I’m fine. They have me on bedrest, which makes me miserable, so I’m not the greatest company anyway.”

I was quiet for a few heartbeats. “Okay. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. I just wanted to keep you updated.”

“Alright. Well, I guess give me a call tomorrow to let me know how things are going?”

“I will.”

“Thanks. Take care, Nina.”

I pushed the button on the dash to disconnect and felt more overwhelmed than ever. “What if something happens to the baby?”

Elvin looked over. “You can’t think like that. She’s in the right place. She’ll get good care. ”

“Did Linda have placenta previa?”

Elvin shook his head.

“Should I go to Boston?”

“If you feel like you should be there, you should go.”

“I still have so much shit to do here to get ready to bring a baby home.”

“You need to do what your gut tells you. But I can promise you that half the shit we buy for babies, they don’t really need.

You need diapers, formula, and a couple of outfits.

Hell, our grandmother didn’t even buy a bassinet.

She would just clean out a dresser drawer and put the baby in there for safe keeping. ”

I yanked at my hair. “ Fuck . We never stopped to get a bassinet either. But I think I need one. I’m not using a drawer.”

“Take a deep breath, Brock. That vein in your neck is starting to bulge. I’ll grab one for you.”

“What if the bleeding starts again so they do a C-section and I can’t get there? What if there are no flights available?”

Elvin pointed ahead. “Slow down. You’re about to miss our exit.”

My jobsite was only a few blocks off the highway, so my head was still spinning when I pulled in.

“You want to swap trucks for the night?” my brother asked. “So you don’t have to bring the haul to my place? You’ve got enough going on.”

“It’s okay. I’m just going to check what the guys got done here and then I’ll stop at your house on my way home and help you unload.”

He nodded. “Thanks. And I’ll have a cold beer waiting if you want to talk some more. I feel like you might need a few minutes to yourself first anyway. ”

My brother wasn’t wrong, though I needed a lot more than a few minutes to get my head on straight.

The problem was, I didn’t have time. What I really wanted to do was call February and talk to her about how I should handle Nina being in the hospital.

But I wasn’t sure it was fair to dump this stuff on her.

I was lucky she was still speaking to me at all.

A few hours later, though, even after a beer with my brother, I still had no damn clue what I should do, so I wound up calling her.

February answered on the first ring, though I could see she was still at the office. “Hey, you. Can you hang on just a minute?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She moved the phone away from her face, but I could still hear her talking. “Thank you for staying so late, Oliver.” She laughed. “And for making sure I didn’t strangle that thread supplier.”

Oliver’s voice was distant. “No problem, boss lady. Antonio made meatloaf , so you did me a favor. Every time he makes it, I feel like he’s one bad decision away from making a nice loaf of bread. Don’t stay too late tonight.”

“I won’t.” February laughed. “Thanks again.”

I listened to the sound of her office door closing and then her beautiful, smiling face returned. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem.”

Her face fell. “What’s the matter?”

And here I thought I was doing a halfway decent job of trying to act normal. “How do you know something’s wrong? ”

“It’s written all over your face. Your jaw is tense, and you have little creases on your forehead. What’s going on?”

I sighed. “I’m sorry to call you with my shit. But I wanted to get your opinion on how I should handle some things.”

“Is everything okay with the baby?”

I explained the call I’d received from Nina earlier today and told her some of the stuff I’d read online about placenta previa.

She shook her head. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“So many things can go wrong, for the baby and the mother. Fetal distress—the baby can be deprived of oxygen due to disrupted blood flow through the placenta. Placenta accreta spectrum—that’s when the placenta attaches too deeply to the uterine wall and causes hemorrhaging during delivery.

Maternal shock, placenta abruption. It’s not good. ”

“Okay, well, if you called for my advice, then the first bit I’m going to give is that you need to retire your Google MD.

If you have questions and concerns, you should get your information firsthand.

Maybe ask Nina if you can speak to the doctor so you can discuss your concerns.

Google is only going to scare the crap out of you.

Trust me, I once convinced myself that a pimple on the back of my neck was a tumor because I spent too much time researching online.

By the time I got in to see the doctor, I’d already weighed the pros and cons of which chemotherapy I needed. ”

I sighed. “You’re right. Nina didn’t sound too concerned. I’m getting myself worked up unnecessarily.”

“We worry when we care.”

I was quiet for a beat. “Do you think I should go there? To Boston? Be there in case anything happens, or she goes into labor?”

I thought the screen had frozen, the way February went silent for so long.

Eventually she smiled sadly. “I’ll be honest, as the woman you’re involved with, I hate the thought of you sitting beside your ex.

But as someone who knows right from wrong, I think the right thing for your baby is to go be with them.

It’s also the only way you’re going to have peace of mind. ”

I sighed. “I was supposed to come see you this week. I don’t know how often I’m going to get there in the weeks after the baby is born.”

“Actually, I was going to call you when I got home to tell you I need to go to Milan, so it sort of works out anyway. The potential investor I told you about—the one who owns half the leather supply in Italy—wants to talk in person.”

“That’s good, right?”

She nodded. “I should never have gotten into bed with the venture capitalists that took over my board. They know nothing about my business. But if Giovanni is interested, I think he’d make a much better partner. I’ve known him for years. He’s smart. I could learn a thing or two from him.”

“Giovanni from Milan, huh? Sounds like a male model. I hope all he’s interested in is investing.”

February smiled. “He’s happily married and invited me to stay at his villa with him and his wife.”

I had a lot of balls making that comment, considering I was probably going to get on a plane and go visit the woman carrying my child. But hearing the guy was married made me feel better anyway. “I’m relieved that I won’t be letting you down if I decide to go to Boston. But I miss you, Red.”

Her face went soft. “I miss you, too.”

After a few more minutes, the cleaning crew knocked on February’s office door. “I should get going so they can do their thing.”

“It’s late. Take an Uber, not that awful damn subway.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Lumberjack.”

“Thank you.”

“I haven’t made my arrangements for Italy yet, but I’ll probably take a night flight tomorrow or the next evening. I like to sleep on the plane to help adjust to the time. But give me a call after you talk to the doctors in Boston.”

I still wasn’t a hundred-percent sure I was going, but February already knew. It made me smile. “I will.”

She blew me a kiss. “Talk to you soon.”

Panic washed over me. “February, wait!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I just…I want to say thank you for being here for me, even when what I need to talk about is hard to swallow.”

“Of course. I care about you. I’ve told you before, but I want you to hear it again. No matter what happens between us, I’d like you to be able to rely on me.”

The no matter what happens between us hurt like hell, but I couldn’t blame her. “Thanks, Red. Get home safe.”

She winked into the camera. “’Night, DILF.”