by Tina Martin
“Of course, Sir. I’m on it.”
Geraldine made her way over to Gianna when she finally saw her standing alone. “Nice baby shower,” she said.
“Thanks. Gemma, Felicity and my mother-in-law put it all together.”
“Well, they did a good job.”
“They did.” Gianna bit into a white chocolate strawberry as she glanced up at Geraldine. Not knowing what to say next, she said, “So, I saw you talking to Jerome.”
“Yeah…we were just catching up, talking about how things used to be, you know.”
No, she didn’t know because from her understanding, Geraldine had left Jerome because he’d lost his job. What more was there to talk about? Jerome must have had a forgiving heart if he was willing to reminisce about the past.
After a few passing moments of awkward silence, Geraldine said, “You’re going to be a better mother than I was, Gianna.”
Gianna wondered why she was stating the obvious. A flea would be a better mother than Geraldine…
“But where I lacked as a mother, I hope to make up for as a grandmother. I know I don’t deserve that title either, but in the hierarchy of kinship, she will be my granddaughter and—”
“And just like I’m giving you the chance to have a do-over now, I’ll extend the same opportunity to you to be a grandmother, Geraldine.”
“You don’t think your husband will stop you?”
Gianna glanced up and captured Ramsey’s radar vision. The way he was looking at her sent chills all over her body. It was like he could see right through her.
“Uh,” she said, losing her thoughts but when she looked away from Ramsey, she found them again. “Ramsey wants what I want, so no, he won’t stop me.”
“Okay, well thanks for giving me a chance. I know I don’t deserve one.”
“Just use it wisely, Geraldine.”
“I intend to.”
Chapter 20
Tuesday morning, Gianna came downstairs holding her stomach. She was preparing to head to the bakery, but while she was getting dressed, she felt a warm oozing sensation between her legs. She looked down, fearing she’d see blood, but it wasn’t blood. It was clear fluid.
Her water had broken.
“Carson,” she called out calmly, surprised that she was able to remain calm under the circumstances.
“Yes, madam. You called?”
“Yes,” Gianna said, still standing on the bottom step. Still calm despite the burn of the first real contractions. “Carson, my water broke. I’m going into labor.”
“No, no, no,” Carson said, panicking.
“Yes, yes, yes, Carson. The baby is coming. I need you to call Ramsey,” she told him since she couldn’t get to her phone.
Carson looked dazed like he didn’t know what to do.
“Carson, snap out of it! The baby is coming.”
“Okay,” Carson said, dialing Ramsey’s cell. “I’m calling him now.” He handed her the phone and while Gianna waited for Ramsey to answer, she held on to the railing for support when a contraction hit. She bowed over in pain.
“Hey, what’s up, Carson?” Ramsey answered.
“It’s me, Ramsey.”
“Gianna?” Ramsey said, already on alert, wondering why she was calling him from Carson’s phone. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Um...” she breathed, trying to disguise the sharp contractions ripping through her body. “Are you at—at work already?”
“I just got here…walking into my office now. What’s wrong, Gianna? Talk to me.”
“I don’t want you to panic.”
“I started panicking the moment I heard your voice on Carson’s phone, now talk to me, Gianna.”
“My water broke.”
“What!”
“My water broke, Ramsey. The baby is coming early.”
“Okay, okay. Are you all right?”
“Yes, but these contractions are almost unbearable. I’m going to get Carson to take me to the hospital.”
“Okay, baby,” Ramsey said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you.”
“I love you too, Ramsey. Please hurry.”
“I will, sweetheart. In the meantime, I need you to breathe just like they taught us in class, remember?”
“Yes.”
“And stay as calm as you can for me.”
“I’ll do my best. Please hurry, Ramsey.”
“I will, baby. Give Carson the phone.”
Gianna handed him the phone.
“Carson?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Get her to the hospital as fast and safe as you can. We packed a hospital bag already. It’s in the coat closet.”
“Okay. I’ll find it,” Carson said. “Don’t worry, Sir. The hospital is only a ten-minute drive. You know that. I’ll have her there in no time. You, on the other hand, have to travel at least forty-five minutes to get here, so take your time. Don’t drive like you’re on the Autobahn. We need you to arrive in one piece.”
“Yeah, got it,” Ramsey said when really, everything the man said was going in one ear and out the other. He ended the call, loosened his necktie, came out of his suit jacket popped off his cufflinks and ran down ten flights of stairs since the elevator was too slow for how fast he wanted to move at the moment. He needed to get to the hospital. There’s no way he’d miss the birth of his daughter.
He jumped in the Audi and hit the gas. Once he merged onto Interstate 77, he called his mother doing close to ninety miles per hour.
“Hey, Ramsey.”
“Ma, get to the hospital. Gianna’s in labor.”
“In labor!”
“Yes, it’s happening. I’m driving from Charlotte, too. I was at the office this morning when I got the call. Get there as soon as you can.”
“Lake Norman, right?”
“Yes. Lake Norman General.”
“Okay, son,” she said, winded. “I’ll be on the road soon.”
Next, Ramsey dialed Royal. His brain was working so fast, he hadn’t bothered telling his brothers what was going on before leaving the office. He just ran.
“What’s up, boss?” Royal answered.
“I figured Gianna would have called Gemma by now but she’s probably so scared and confused—”
“Ram, what’s going on?”
“Gianna’s in labor. I’m on my way to the hospital—Lake Norman General,” he said, navigating through traffic. “Call Gemma.”
“Okay…we’ll be there asap.”
Ramsey called Regal next.
Regal answered, “Ay, I saw you running out the building like it was on fire. What’s up?”
“Gianna’s in labor.”
“What!” Regal yelled. He was in the break room getting coffee. Nearly dropped the cup.
“I’m on my way there now. Do me a favor and let Felicity know. I need to concentrate on this highway and I doubt if Gianna called Felicity if she didn’t even call Gemma.”
“No problem, Ram. Concentrate on the road. I’ll call Felicity and hit the road.”
“Thanks, Regal.”
Regal immediately looked up the number to Wedded Bliss on his phone’s Internet then asked to speak to Felicity directly, telling the receptionist it was an urgent matter regarding Gianna. He knew that would get Felicity on the line.
After a few moments, he heard her say, “Hello? This is Felicity James.”
“Felicity, it’s Regal.”
“Are you kidding me? Do you think everything is a joke? Here I am freaking out thinking something is wrong with Gianna and it’s only you.”
“Something is wrong with Gianna. She’s in labor. That’s the reason for my call.”
“She’s not in labor. She has another month to—”
“Ramsey just called me and told me. Your friend is in labor.”
“This better not be one of your jokes, Regal.”
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this now get your butt to Lake Norman General if you want to be there for y
our best friend.”
“Okay. I’m on the way.”
Chapter 21
Ramsey pulled up at the hospital, jumped out of the car and didn’t stop running until he reached Labor & Delivery. Nearly out of breath, he asked a group of nurses, “Gianna St. Claire…where is she?”
“Are you the husband?”
“I am. Yes. Where is she?”
“Right this way, Mr. St. Claire.” The nurse began down a cold, long hallway while saying, “It seems her contractions have slowed down a bit. Happened right after she arrived. Her doctor is in route as we speak and should be here within the next few minutes.”
“Okay. Good.” Ramsey stepped into the room and saw Gianna lying on the hospital bed connected to an IV, a heart monitor and another monitor that kept track of the frequency of her contractions. He immediately attached himself to her side. Kissed her. Went into protective mode. “Gianna, I’m here, baby,” he said. He watched her eyes open slowly. He kissed her again. She looked tired already. Skin clammy. She almost seemed out of it. And her blood pressure was low, Ramsey observed. In all of her check-ups, he’d never seen it high or low.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“I feel sick.”
“Sick like you may vomit?”
She nodded.
The nurse went to get a small pan, just in case it got to that point.
When the doctor finally arrived, Ramsey greeted her with a barrage of questions. Gianna’s temperature was slightly elevated…she was sweaty…her blood pressure was low…she looked tired…weak. Gianna had told him she felt nauseated.
“This could just be the way her body is responding to pregnancy. I’m more concerned about the contractions starting out so strong then completely phasing out, so let’s see what’s going on here,” she said, putting on a pair of blue latex gloves. “All right, Gianna, I’m going to check to see how far your cervix has dilated.”
“Okay,” Gianna said softly.
After a brief exam, she said, “You are about six centimeters which is odd because your contractions have stopped. Also, there is some blood—”
“Blood?” Ramsey asked frowning.
“Yes which suggests there could be some hemorrhaging going on, but let’s not panic. We’re going to make sure baby girl arrives safely. Right now, I’m going to give you some Pitocin which will trigger your body to start contractions again, but I must let you know—if the Pitocin doesn’t work, we’ll have to do a cesarean. Remember we talked about that at your last appointment?”
“Yes, but I don’t want a cesarean unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Gianna told her.
“I understand, and it may not even come to that,” the doctor explained. “I just want you to prepare yourself if it does.”
“Yes. Thank you,” Ramsey said. Still holding Gianna’s hand, he said, “We’ll be fine, Gianna. Everything will be okay.”
“How do you know that?” she asked him.
Her question took him by surprise for a second, then he answered, “Because it has to be. This is a happy time for us.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not about to push a whole, big person out of your body.” She chuckled a bit.
So did he. “You can do it, Gianna.” He wiped sweat from her forehead. “I have all the confidence in the world in you. You’re strong and you’ve endured so much. You can do anything. You hear me?”
She was staring at him like she was in a daze. An eerie peaceful calm over her face.
“Gianna, do you hear me?”
She smiled just barely and whispered, “Love you,” then everything went dark. Monitors went crazy with beeps and piercing alerts. She was out.
“Gianna!” Ramsey said, his heart racing so fast, he felt dizzy.
The room instantly filled with medical personnel – a bunch of attending nurses, Gianna’s doctor and other doctors he didn’t know. Ramsey held Gianna’s hand tight, didn’t want to let go even though two nurses tried to pry his hand away. He didn’t want to let go. Letting go meant things he didn’t want to think about.
The doctors quickly got her pulse back, but she wasn’t doing good. Blood pressure still low. She was out of it and now the focus was on getting their daughter delivered. One of the nurses unlocked the wheels that kept the bed from moving. They had to move now – to the operating room. An emergency cesarean was the only option at this stage. Gianna couldn’t push. She was too out of it to do anything. And she was bleeding abnormally. Shaking.
The doctor didn’t have time to explain every detail to Ramsey and he realized this so he stayed out of the way, feeling helpless, trusting that the doctors would do their job – deliver his daughter and stabilize his wife.
Their baby girl’s first cries brought tears to Ramsey’s eyes. He’d gotten a glimpse of her before the nurses whisked her away to suction her nose and clean her up and then she cried more – sounded like a sweet melody to Ramsey’s ears. She was perfect – six pounds, two ounces he heard one of the nurses say. After they got her measurements and footprints, they swaddled her, then handed her to Ramsey.
He smiled, looking down at his daughter – his creation – completely in awe and amazement but he couldn’t rejoice like he wanted. Couldn’t enjoy the smell of her. The cute little button nose and all the other features that were her mother’s. His heart was heavy with worry. Gianna wasn’t doing so well.
“What’s going on?” Ramsey asked the doctor. “Is she okay?”
“We’ve managed to get the bleeding under control. We’re giving her medication via the IV, but she’s not out of the woods just yet. She’s going to need time to heal and rest. She’s still critical at this point.”
“Critical?” Ramsey blinked back wetness, still holding his daughter close to his heart. Their daughter.
“Yes. We’re taking her to the intensive care unit for recovery. I know you want to be with your wife, but unfortunately, the baby can’t be up there in ICU. We’ll have to take her to the nursery.”
Ramsey grew conflicted. He couldn’t be at two places at the same time and needed to be by Gianna’s side. At the same time, he didn’t want to let his daughter go to the nursery. He wanted to hold her. Love her. Admire her.
“Don’t worry, Mr. St. Claire. Our team of nurses is the best in the state. Your daughter will be well taken care of and you can come by and see her anytime you like.”
Ramsey didn’t respond. He didn’t know how. Didn’t expect this. None of it. Everything was supposed to go smoothly. Gianna was supposed to have the baby, and they were going to be reunited in a recovery suite for a few days where all the family could come visit, see and hold the baby for the first time, then they would be released to go home. But Gianna was critical and now, baby girl had to go to the nursery alone.
“I’ll take the baby to the nursery,” one of the nurses said reaching for her.
Ramsey didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t want to let his daughter go just yet.
“Don’t you want to go and give the family an update,” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I’m not leaving Gianna’s side. Can you give my family an update for me please?”
“I sure will, Mr. St. Claire, after I take the baby to the nursery.”
Ramsey didn’t want to, but he handed baby girl to the nurse finally and walked up to ICU while the nurses wheeled Gianna’s bed toward the elevator.
As promised, the nurse went to talk to the family and explained all that led up to Gianna receiving an emergency C-section. She told them the baby was okay, but Gianna was in intensive care.
Bernadette immediately burst into tears. Mason consoled her as best as he could.
Gemma couldn’t control her emotions at the thought that Gianna – her sister, who in many ways felt like her mother – was in intensive care. Royal wrapped her in his arms – told her everything was going to be okay.
Felicity covered her mouth in shock while her eyes teared.
Regal sat down and hung his head, trying to make se
nse of it all. He felt sorry for his brother. Ramsey didn’t need anything like this to happen especially after what happened to Leandra. He could only imagine the thoughts flying through Ramsey’s mind.
Romulus stayed holding up the wall, not making eye contact with anyone or saying a word about what was going down. He just stood there with a stoic face, figuring he’d wait to get an update directly from Ramsey. No one would really gauge the seriousness of the situation until they heard the breakdown of what happened and Gianna’s prognosis directly from him.
Chapter 22
Gianna had been asleep for hours. While her blood pressure changed constantly, it still remained lower than what it should have been. She breathed oxygen through a tube. She hadn’t adjusted her sleeping position once. She remained flat on her back.
“Hello,” a nurse, a different one from the afternoon shift, came in and said.
“Hi,” Ramsey told her.
“Feel free to go to the café and get something to eat—talk to your family—stretch.”
“I don’t want to leave her.”
“We are fully staffed in ICU, Mr. St. Claire.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to leave her.”
The nurse didn’t give up. She said, “It’ll do you some good to go stretch, swing by the nursery to visit your beautiful little baby girl and get something to eat. How can you be strong for Gianna if you’re not taking care of yourself?”
The pushy nurse had a point. “You’re right. Uh…when can she start having visitors?”
“When her blood pressure improves. For now, we can’t have her rest being interrupted by people going in and out of the room. You know what I mean?”
Ramsey nodded then scrubbed his hands down his face, exhausted. He stood up, feeling defeated. Feeling like he’d let her down. Like this was his fault.
When the nurse exited the room, he took Gianna’s hand into his and said, “I’ll be back, sweetheart.” He leaned down and left a kiss on her temple. “Love you.”
