Forever Entwined

by M. C. Decker

  Ireland: Well, she most certainly has a doppelgänger roaming around the city. And, she’s pregnant.

  Bentley: Oh shit.

  Ireland: Yeah, let’s just say that I thoroughly embarrassed myself.

  Bentley: I’m sorry you had to go through that alone, Shamrock.

  Ireland: I’m fine. But, I think we do need to finally have this conversation tonight.

  Bentley: Sounds ominous. Should I still pick up the marriage license?

  I sighed, saddened that he even felt like he needed to ask me that question.

  Ireland: Of course you still need to pick it up. I love you, Bentley. I’ll love you even after this conversation. But, it does need to happen—for my sanity.

  Bentley: I understand. It’ll happen tonight. I just heard them announce Mom and Dad’s flight. I need to run, but text me after your appointment. I love you.

  Ireland: OK. Give them both a hug for me. I love you, too.

  I dropped my phone into my purse just as I was summoned into the exam room. An ominous feeling washed over me, and I suddenly wished I’d taken Bentley up on his offer to come with me to the appointment. Taking a deep breath, I told myself it was just Staci’s doppelgänger getting the best of me. I was fine, my baby was fine, everything was going to be fine—it had to be. After all, I was getting married in just a few days.

  I hopped onto the examination table, the paper sheet crinkling underneath my weight. Twirling my thumbs, I waited as Bonnie, Dr. Rhoads’ nurse, began taking my vitals. I tried to focus on anything other than the sound of my heart trying to beat out of my chest. I really needed to relax, or my blood pressure was going to be through the roof.

  Before I could worry about it any longer, Bonnie wrapped the prickly, BP cuff around my upper arm. It continued to inflate, nearly cutting off all my circulation. Looking down at my fingers, I swear I could see them turning blue. I wiggled them a bit in hopes of regaining some feeling.

  “I’m sorry,” Bonnie said. “Am I hurting you. I think something must be wrong with this cuff. I can’t seem to get an accurate reading. Let’s try this one,” she continued, grabbing another cuff from the cabinet behind me.

  She wrapped the cuff on my opposite arm and again I felt the prickling sensation until it, too, became almost unbearable.

  I could see a look of concern flash across her face. “I think I should go get the doctor. You sit tight,” she said, placing the little machine next to me on the examination table. I looked down and saw the reading: 177/115.

  Holy shit! That’s higher than it was when I’d been admitted into the hospital. That can’t be right. I’d been doing so much better.

  Before I could get myself much more worked up, Dr. Rhoads rushed into the room.

  “Good morning, Ireland. Bonnie tells me that your blood pressure is elevated again. I think it’s time we get you to the hospital and possibly induced. I’m very worried about preeclampsia, and I just don’t think we should take the chance.”

  “But, it’s still so early. I’m only thirty-six weeks. Is my baby going to be OK?” I asked, nearly hyperventilating.

  “Ireland, you need to relax. Take a few deep breaths,” Dr. Rhoads encouraged. “I believe your daughter will be fine. You’re nearly full term and she should already weigh around six pounds. She may need to spend a few days in the NICU, but I don’t expect any long-term complications by delivering her early.”

  “OK, I just know I’ve read that it’s important to keep her in there as long as possible,” I said, tears begging to fall down my cheeks.

  “Under normal circumstances, I would agree, but I’m far more concerned about the complications that may arise for her and you if we leave her in there,” Dr. Rhoads said in a serious tone. “I’m not trying to upset you even more, but this is very serious and I want this baby delivered immediately. Bonnie has already called an ambulance and we will begin the induction process as soon as you get to the hospital, but if that doesn’t seem to work then I’ll have to schedule a C-section.”

  As I waited for the ambulance to arrive, I tried calling Bentley, but my call went straight to voicemail.

  “Shit! He must still be inside the airport, or he forgot to turn his phone back on,” I mumbled to myself. What if he missed our baby’s delivery? He’d already missed so much of my pregnancy. I knew he’d be beside himself if he missed her birth too.

  Trying to keep my anxiety in check, I dialed Katie’s number next. On the fourth ring, she finally picked up the phone.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I didn’t think you were going to answer. No one is answering their damn phones,” I nearly screamed.

  “Whoa, calm down. I was in the middle of feeding the baby, and my phone was on the other side of the room. Why are you so upset? Who else isn’t answering their phone?”

  “Bentley! I can’t get ahold of him, and I’m being transported to the hospital by ambulance in like five minutes,” I said.

  “Fuck! Seriously? That’s not good. What’s wrong? It must be pretty serious if Dr. Rhoads is sending you to the hospital again.”

  “Yeah, my blood pressure is through the roof again.”

  “Really? I thought it had come down since you came home and worked everything out with Bentley?”

  “Yeah, it had, but I guess with planning this wedding and Bentley moving in I overdid it again. And, not to mention my run in with Staci’s pregnant doppelgänger.”

  “Oh shit,” Katie mumbled.

  “Yeah, I’ll have to save that story for another time though because the EMTs just showed up. I don’t know if I’ll be able to use my phone for a while, could you please try Bentley again for me?”

  “Of course. And, I’ll get Greg’s mom to come watch Shawn and I’ll meet you at the hospital. I won’t let you have this baby alone. Take a deep breath and relax because everything is going to be just fine,” she said.

  “Thanks, Katie. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said before ending the call.

  The transport to the hospital had gone without any complications. I was beginning to question why I couldn’t just drive myself to the hospital until we arrived and a single room had already been readied for my arrival. I felt like a celebrity.

  I’d just changed into a hospital gown and a nurse had arrived to check my vitals and begin my first round of induction medication when Katie burst through the door into my room.

  “I got here as soon as I could. There’s still a baby in there right,” she joked.

  “Dear god, yes. If I still look this huge after I give birth I’ll crawl into a hole and never come out,” I sighed. “Did you get ahold of Bentley? Is he on his way?”

  “No, his phone was still going straight to voicemail. Did you try Rita’s phone? Isn’t he with his folks? Maybe she’ll answer.”

  “No, I guess I never thought of that,” I said, reaching for my phone.

  After two rings, Rita picked up the call. “Ireland, dear. I can’t wait to see you. I’m sorry my son is taking forever getting us to your place,” she said, not allowing me to a get a word in edgewise.

  “Rita! Rita, that’s why I’m calling. I need to talk to Bentley, and I think his phone must be off. Is he with you?”

  “Oh yes, his phone is right here. We went into the courthouse to apply for your marriage license, and he didn’t think he could take it in with him.”

  “So, he’s not with you then?”

  “No, not exactly. We’re sitting outside in the car. We’re pretty tired from the flight. Old, brittle bones and all,” she chuckled.

  I laughed before I felt my stomach begin to harden as a pain started in my back and wrapped around to my front. “Ahhhhh,” I yelped, dropping the phone to my side.

  “Ireland! Ireland, dear, are you OK?” I could hear Rita ask.

  Katie grabbed the phone from my hand. “Hi Rita. This is Ireland’s best friend, Katie. Ireland has been admitted to the hospital to in
duce labor and we need Bentley here like yesterday. It appears the drugs are already working and your granddaughter could be arriving at any time.”

  Just as I was trying to hear what Rita was saying on the other end of the call, another contraction ripped through my core.

  “Katie! Do you think it’s too late to get an epidural?” I screamed, nearly ripping the thin, scratchy bedsheet.

  Bentley

  “How much information do they want on this damn thing?” I mumbled with exasperation, while beginning to fill out the three-page application for our marriage license. “I’m surprised I don’t have to give up my firstborn.”

  Turning the form over to the second page, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. “Son,” I heard my dad’s normally calm voice crack behind me. Something’s wrong. Did something happen to Mom out in the car? I knew I should have taken them back to the house before I stopped here.

  I turned on my heels to face him. “Dad? Something’s wrong. What is it?”

  “Ireland just called your mother. She’s been trying to reach you, but your phone’s been turned off. She’s been admitted to the hospital, and they’re inducing labor. She had a contraction while she was on the phone with Rita, and it sounded pretty bad.”

  “Shit! Why did I ever let her go to her doctor’s appointment alone? I’ve already missed so much.”

  “Her friend Katie’s with her, but they said to get to the hospital right away. There’s no time to wait. It looks like I’m going to become a grandpa again really soon,” Dad said, patting me on the back.

  I grabbed the application off the counter and told the office worker that I’d bring the completed form back later. I didn’t have another moment to waste on it—not today, today I was going to become a dad for the second time in my life.

  I sprinted out of the courthouse and jumped into my already running SUV. “Buckle up, Mom, you’re in for a bumpy ride,” I said, putting the Range Rover into gear.

  “Bentley, take it easy. You won’t do anyone any good if you get pulled over, or worse yet get us all killed.”

  “Not now, Ma. Ireland needs me right now, and again I’m not there. Why does this keep happening to us? And for fuck’s sake, is every light in this damn city stuck on red?”

  “James Bentley! I know you didn’t learn that kind of language in my house!”

  Rolling my eyes, I honked at the driver of the car in front of us who was just sitting at the green light.

  “Probably not paying attention because they’re too busy trying to catch a Pokémon,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Calm down, Son,” my dad chimed in from the back seat. “Ireland knows this couldn’t have been avoided. Everything will be just fine. Just take a deep breath and don’t give your mother a heart attack.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked over at my mother who was grasping the handle above the door for dear life. “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll slow down, but just a little.”

  About fifteen minutes later, and two construction detours later, we arrived at the hospital. Dad agreed to park the car as I pulled it up to the hospital’s main entrance.

  I stopped at the front desk and waited for a few moments as the receptionist finished a phone call. Just as she was hanging up and I began to speak, the phone rang again. Putting her finger up to me, she answered the call.

  “Seriously! I was here first. This is getting ridiculous!” I yelled rather loudly.

  My outburst caught the attention of a nearby nurse who came over to assist me.

  “May I help you, Sir? Are you in some sort of pain? The emergency department is down the hall and to your right,” she said.

  “No, I’m fine. Well physically fine anyways,” I stumbled. “My fiancée was brought in here by ambulance a little bit ago. She’s thirty-six weeks pregnant, and they were going to induce labor.”

  Typing away on the keyboard, the nurse began asking me a few questions. “What’s your fiancée’s name? Do you know her physician’s name? Do you know what time she was admitted?”

  “Ireland O’Brien, Dr. Rhoads, and maybe forty minutes ago,” I responded.

  “OK, yes, I see her in the system. She’s upstairs on the sixth floor in the labor and delivery department. Room 617. The elevators are down the hall and to the right,” she said.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking off toward the bank of elevators.

  The doors to the elevator opened as I stepped inside with a group of doctors. Pushing the button for the sixth floor, I noticed that each button was already lit up. Seriously? I thought it was common knowledge that doctors only took the stairs? Evidently these White Coats didn’t get the memo.

  After several minutes of stopping at each floor, waiting for people to get off and others to get on, I finally made it to the coveted sixth floor. Stepping off the elevator, I nearly slipped in a puddle of—never mind, I don’t even want to know.

  Sidestepping the mystery puddle, I took off in a sprint down the hallway toward Room 617. Nearing the end of the hall, I stopped right before I entered Ireland’s room. The curtain was pulled closed so all I could see were shadows.

  “Maybe this is a sign, Katie. Bentley and I were supposed to get married in just a few days. Maybe the universe is telling me we shouldn’t get married at all. First, I see Staci’s lookalike at the doctor’s office, and now Lexi decides she needs to make a grand entrance into the world.”

  I know I should’ve gone in the room and prevented these thoughts, but instead I leaned a bit closer so I could hear the rest of the conversation.

  “Ireland, you need to relax. You don’t know what you’re even saying right now. You’re hopped up on pain medication, and don’t kill me for saying this, but your hormones are making you all sorts of crazy.”

  I smiled knowing that Katie still had my back. Things have been strained a bit with both her and Greg since I went back to Staci after the accident, but I was beginning to see things slowly return to normal.

  “I just don’t know anymore. I thought I did, but I’ve been so confused with the whole Staci thing constantly lingering over us. I just don’t know if I can handle all that baggage.”

  My heart nearly stopped beating. It was a good thing I was in a hospital because if Ireland kept talking like that I was going to be in need of some serious medical attention.

  “Bentley, I’m glad to see Ireland was finally able to reach you. I know how worried she was that you weren’t going to make it on time,” Dr. Rhoads said, coming up from behind me.

  “Hi Doc, she knows I wouldn’t miss this for anything.” Hoping Ireland could hear me and understood the meaning behind my words, I added, “I’m here for her—only her.”

  Following Dr. Rhoads into the room, I could tell by the expression on Ireland’s face that she feared I’d heard their entire conversation. I gave her a small nod and a weak smile. “I love you and we’ll talk about it later,” I mouthed.

  “Ireland, how are you feeling,” Dr. Rhoads asked, as she scooted her stool toward Ireland’s bed.

  Before Ireland had a chance to respond, her entire body began to quake and she wailed in pain. Despite the words I’d heard Ireland tell Katie just minutes before, I was immediately at her bedside.

  “Breathe, Shamrock. Just like they taught us in the birthing class. You’re going to be OK. Deep breaths,” I said, wiping her brow with a damp cloth as her contraction subsided.

  “Bentley, there’s an extra pair of scrubs in the cabinet. You should probably change into them because I don’t think it’s going to be much longer before your daughter arrives.”

  “I think that’s my cue to head to the waiting room. Ireland, I think you’re in excellent hands with these two,” Katie chuckled, before heading toward the door. “Bentley, you better come and get me as soon as my beautiful, future daughter-in-law arrives.”

  “Seriously, Katie, would you stop it with that,” Bentley said, shaking his head. “My daughter is not marrying your son.”

  “You heard it here f
irst,” she laughed, waltzing out of the room.

  “Give me one more hard push,” I said, allowing Ireland to squeeze my hand. Holy shit! I liked to think I was an athletic guy who worked out regularly, but this petite woman had suddenly become the Incredible Hulk.

  “Bentley’s right, Ireland. I can see her head. Just give me one more big push and I think I can get her out,” Dr. Rhoads said, patting Ireland on the knee.

  Ireland pushed with all her might and immediately fell back in relief as a loud cry engulfed the room.

  “Congratulations! Here’s your daughter,” Dr. Rhoads said, holding up our baby girl. “Would you like to come over and cut the umbilical cord, Dad?”

  I softly touched my daughter’s cheeks waiting for instructions from the delivery nurse as Dr. Rhoads attended to Ireland.

  With assistance from the nurse, I was able to cut the cord before she scooped Lexi up and took her to be weighed and measured.

  “Five pounds, nine ounces and sixteen inches long,” the nurse said. “I’ll let her stay with you two for a minute, but then we need to get her down to the NICU since she’s just a bit on the tiny side. The pediatrician on staff will give her a thorough evaluation and I suspect she’ll be back in your room by evening unless he wants to keep her overnight for observation.”

  The nurse placed Lexi on Ireland’s bare chest for a moment of immediate skin-to-skin contact. Looking down at my two girls, I knew that whatever was going on between Ireland and me would resolve itself. It had to—there was not another option. These two girls and Tanner were my entire world.

  “She’s absolutely gorgeous, Shamrock. She has your little button nose,” I said, as our daughter latched onto my pinky finger.

  “I think she has your eyes,” Ireland whispered, looking up at me.

  “She’s perfect just like her mommy,” I smiled, gazing down at our angel.

  “Bentley,” Ireland sighed. “I think we should talk about what you overheard.”

  “Shhh. Not now,” I said, shaking my head. “Today is about our daughter. Let’s just enjoy her.”

  “OK,” Ireland agreed, placing her hand on the back of Lexi’s bald head. “Do you want to get into bed with us?”