Chương 3
“Then don’t.”
Victoria made an impatient sound from the doorway.
“This is absurd.”
Madison looked at her mother as if seeing her from a new angle.
“Mom, stop.”
Victoria’s head snapped around.
“What did you say?”
“I said stop.”
“You have no idea what’s happening.”
“I have eyes.”
Madison set the shopping bags down.
One of them tipped sideways and a shoebox slid partly out.
Victoria stared at it.
“Pick that up.”
Madison gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“You’re worried about the bag?”
“I’m worried about everyone losing their minds.”
Claire heard the dispatcher asking if someone could unlock the door for paramedics.
“The door’s open,” Claire said.
Ethan reached for the phone again.
She pulled it against her chest.
His hand stopped in midair.
“Claire, I’m staying.”
She looked at him.
A minute earlier those words would have changed everything.
Now they seemed strangely small.
The dispatcher asked whether Claire had anyone with her.
“Yes.”
“Is there an adult who can gather your hospital things?”
Claire looked at the papers across the floor.
“My husband.”
Ethan flinched.
The dispatcher could not have heard the tone, but Ethan did.
He stood and began picking up the scattered documents.
His movements were fast and clumsy.
He grabbed insurance forms, lab reports, and the emergency sheet, stacking them without order.
The blue folder lay near Claire’s knee.
When he reached for it, she placed her hand on top.
He froze.
“I need that.”
“I’ll carry it.”
“I can carry it.”
“You can’t stand.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to decide what happens to my things.”
His face tightened.
For a moment irritation returned.
Claire recognized it because irritation was easier for him than shame.
Then he let go.
“All right.”
She dragged the folder into her lap.
Another contraction began before she could settle it.
Her shoulders pressed against the cabinet.
The dispatcher counted breaths with her.
Claire hated the counting.
She hated being told to inhale as if breathing were a skill she had somehow misplaced.
But she followed the voice anyway.
Ethan knelt beside her again.
“Can I touch you?”
The question almost undid her.
For years he had touched her without asking because closeness had been assumed between them.
A hand at her waist in grocery-store aisles.
His palm against the back of her neck when she had headaches.
His foot finding hers beneath the blankets.
Now he waited with his hands held awkwardly between his knees.
Claire nodded once.
He placed his palm between her shoulder blades.
The pressure was gentle.
She leaned into it despite herself.
Victoria turned toward Richard.
“We should go.”
Richard stared at her.
“To the mall?”
“We’ve made arrangements.”
“No.”
The word came out flat.
Victoria blinked.
Richard unfolded his arms fully.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You were the one who said she could wait.”
“I was wrong.”
Victoria’s lips parted.
Richard looked at Claire, then quickly away.
“I thought she was early in labor.”
“She said something was wrong,” Madison said.
Richard’s jaw worked.
“I heard her.”
Nobody spoke after that.
The contraction loosened.
Claire let her head rest against the cabinet.
Ethan kept his hand against her back.
Sirens sounded faintly beyond the neighborhood.
Madison walked to the front step and looked outside.
“They’re coming.”
Victoria picked up her handbag more securely.
For one second Claire thought she might leave alone.
Instead she stepped farther into the foyer, away from the open door.
The movement was almost invisible, but Claire noticed it.
Victoria did not want the paramedics to find her standing outside as though she had been trying to escape.
The siren grew louder.
Ethan looked toward the sound.
Claire watched his face.
He looked frightened now.
Not frightened of his mother.
Not even frightened of the babies.
Frightened of what strangers were about to see.
Two paramedics came through the doorway carrying bags, followed by another pushing a folded stretcher.
The first was a compact woman with dark hair braided tightly down her back.
She took in the room in one sweep.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Lena.”
She crouched beside her.
“This is Mark and Joel.”
Mark was already checking Claire’s pulse.
Joel moved the scattered shopping bags away from the walkway without asking whose they were.
Victoria stepped forward.
“She’s having contractions, but—”
Lena held up one hand.
“I need her to answer for herself.”
Victoria stopped.
Claire felt Ethan’s hand leave her back.
Lena asked about the twins, the due date, previous pregnancies, complications, medications, contractions, fetal movement, fluid loss, bleeding, and her obstetrician’s instructions.
Claire answered between breaths.
When she mentioned elevated blood pressure, Lena’s expression sharpened.
“When was that diagnosed?”
“Last week.”
“What numbers?”
“I don’t remember exactly.”
Ethan spoke.
“One-forty-six over ninety-two at the last appointment.”
Claire turned toward him.
He avoided her eyes.
Lena looked at Ethan.
“You’re her husband?”
“Yes.”
“Any headache, Claire?”
“Yes.”
Ethan’s gaze snapped back to her.
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I told you I didn’t feel right.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Lena glanced between them but said nothing.
“Vision changes?”
“Little spots earlier.”
Ethan went pale.
“When?”
“Upstairs.”
“You should have said that.”
Claire gave him a tired look.
“I was trying to.”
Mark wrapped a blood-pressure cuff around her arm.
The machine inflated.
Everyone listened to the soft mechanical hum.
Claire suddenly became aware of how many people were watching.
Victoria.
Richard.
Madison.
Ethan.
Three strangers.
She wanted them all gone.
The machine beeped.
Mark looked at Lena.
“One-fifty-eight over ninety-six.”
Lena’s entire posture changed.
“We’re moving.”
Ethan stood immediately.
“I’ll get the car.”
Lena looked up.
“No, sir.”
“I can drive her.”
“She’s going by ambulance.”
“The hospital is twelve minutes away.”
“She’s going by ambulance.”
Ethan opened his mouth.
Lena was already speaking to Claire.
“We’re going to get you onto the stretcher carefully.”
Claire nodded.
“Can my husband come?”
The question left her before she had decided whether she wanted the answer.
May you like
Lena glanced toward Ethan.
“If there’s room, one person may ride, depending on the crew’s assessment.”
