My Kind of Forever

by Heidi McLaughlin

  “What’s your name?”

  “Liam.”

  “Okay, Liam. We’re going to get your wife to the hospital. Everything will be okay.”

  The truck takes off with a lurch, causing me to wobble a little. I lean down so I can talk to my wife. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to be strong.” As I’m whispering in her ear I hear beeping. The last time I heard this, JD was in a coma. Sweat starts to pebble on my forehead and my heart starts racing.

  “What’s that noise?”

  “Heart monitor for your wife and baby.”

  “Okay, that’s good, right?”

  “It is. I’m making sure she’s stable right now and that the baby isn’t in distress.”

  I know I have to trust her to do her job, but in the back of my mind I fear she’s not doing enough. My wife is unconscious and they won’t tell me why.

  “We’re here.”

  Before I have time to react, the back doors are open and Josie’s gurney is being pulled out from under me. The EMT’s are running Josie in and I’m left standing on the sidewalk as she disappears through two sets of doors and down a hall.

  “You look lost. Can I help you?” I look down at an older lady with white hair and a grandmotherly face. For a minute, I think she looks like my grandma.

  “That was my wife they just rushed in there.”

  She nods and places her hand on my bicep as pushes me toward the doors. “I’m Ethel. I volunteer here in my free time. It’s the best thing for me in my old age. I can spend hours rocking newborns to sleep while their moms rest.”

  “My wife is pregnant. She passed out at our son’s baseball game today.”

  “The staff here is wonderful. They’ll take care of her. Come on, I’ll show you where to go.”

  Ethel takes me to the emergency room, where the lady tells me they’ve taken her to labor and delivery.

  “Well, we best get on up there.” Ethel is slow and I want to run there, but I’m not sure if I’d make it. I let her show me the way because right now she’s keeping me somewhat calm.

  “Good afternoon, Ethel.”

  “Hi, Lois. This young man is looking for his wife. They just brought her in by ambulance.”

  Lois smiles, but it’s not very reassuring. I just want to see my wife. “She’s with the doctors now. Ethel can take you to the waiting room.”

  Ethel tugs on me to follow her and I do. When she sits down next to me, I feel like asking her if she has someplace else that she needs to be, but the truth is I don’t want to be alone. I don’t know how much time passes until I hear familiar voices. Noah comes sprinting toward me and I stand up and catch him as he launches himself into my arms. Everyone is frantic, except Nick, who is calmly speaking with the nurse.

  “What’s going on, Liam?” Mrs. Preston asks.

  “I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head and holding Noah in my arms. I don’t care how old your child is, when their mom is hurt, they’re just like babies again. I set him down and pull him into my side.

  “Where is she?” her father asks.

  “The doctors are with her now. We have to wait until they come out.” I’m useless in this situation and my hands are tied. I want to be in there with Josie, but know I’d be in the way. I’d have to touch her, hold her, and they need the space to work on her.

  We cram into the waiting room, which isn’t big enough to hold our family. JD, Nick and Harrison all take spots on the floor. Jenna is holding a sleeping Eden in her arms. Peyton is sitting on Harrison’s lap with Quinn sitting next to him, while Elle is sitting in JD’s lap. Noah is next to me and we’re sitting in between my mom and Josie’s. Tess, Mr. Preston, Katelyn, Mr. Powell and Jenna sit across from me, as Yvie and Xander lean against the wall.

  Ethel appears out of nowhere with a tray full of coffee and juice for the kids. Right now I think she’s the greatest lady I’ve met in a long time because she’s taking care of my family without even being asked.

  When she stops at my mom, she smiles softly. “You know, you look like this actress I used to love on the big screen.”

  “Is that so?” I eye my mom out of the corner of my eye and watch her. Her silver screen days have been over for so long that her movies are hard to find.

  “Oh yes, she stopped acting though, and just disappeared.”

  “What was her name?”

  I don’t know if my mom is fishing or just making conversation, but either way, their chatter is keeping the mood light.

  “Bianca Page. She just lit up the screen when she’d smile.”

  “Oh, Bianca, you must give her your autograph.” Josie’s mom says, chuckling. Ethel’s face is priceless as she gasps. My mom blushes, but I know she likes it. She recently auditioned for a role in the fall production at the Beaumont Theater.

  “My dear, what happened to you?”

  My eyes are focused on the hallway, waiting for the doctor to appear, but trying to listen to my mom as well. I’m interested in her excuse as to why she stopped.

  “I had a family to raise, and grandbabies.” I turn just in time for her to motion to all of us sitting around. I wish it were true, but Ethel doesn’t need to know that.

  I’m starting to get jittery so I stand and walk out into the hall. Nurses move around, and babies cry. Looking into the waiting room, I see family – family that didn’t exist years ago, aside from Tess, Harrison, Quinn, Yvie and JD. They’ve been with me through everything and never questioned me when I came back.

  “Mr. Westbury?”

  I look to my left when my name is called. The doctor, dressed in blue, is taking off his paper hat as he reaches me. “I’m Doctor Rolland. I’ve been treating your wife. There really isn’t much to tell you except that she’s in labor. We can stop it, but we have to do an ultrasound first. Her blood pressure is higher than normal, which could have been caused by her being in the sun so much and from what I understand she ate half the hot dogs in the park?”

  I try not to laugh because this isn’t funny, but if he knows this, it means Josie’s awake.

  “She’s okay? And the baby?”

  “Baby sounds good, no distress. We’ll be doing an ultrasound in a few minutes. Your wife has a headache and is dehydrated, but she’s awake and asking for you. You’ll find her at the end of the hall. I’ll be back in a few to do the ultrasound.” He turns and looks at the waiting room where everyone is standing. “Just one at a time, please.”

  There’s no question that I’m going in first. The others can fight it out. As soon as the doctor turns the corner, I call for Noah.

  “Let’s go see your mom,” I say, as I grab his hand. There’s no way I’m making him wait. He needs to see her as much as I do.

  When I push the door open, her room is dark and the machines are beeping. Noah’s hand tightens and I squeeze back, reassuring him, even though I’m not so sure myself until I see her lying there looking at us.

  Noah let’s go of my hand and rushes to his mom’s side. “You did so well today,” she says as she pushes his hair out of his face.

  “You scared me so much, Mom.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” Josie tries to pull him into a hug, but one arm is hooked up to a blood pressure machine and her other one has IV’s poking out of her skin. Still, Noah finds a way to wrap his arms around her.

  When he lets go, Josie’s wiping tears away. Noah comes over and stands next to me and I place my hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to stay?” He nods and I motion for him to sit in the extra chair by the window.

  “Hey, Jojo,” I say, as I approach her bed. She smiles softly and reaches for me. “I’m going to have to ask that you never do something like this again.” I kiss her dry lips and hold my forehead to hers.

  “It was the hotdogs.”

  I nod and try not to laugh. It comes out as half laugh, half cry. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

  Josie takes my hand and puts it under her head, holding it there. It’s uncomfortable, but I don’t ca
re. If this is what she needs, I’ll take the discomfort. Noah moves his chair closer and puts his head on her legs.

  “Are you in pain?”

  She shakes her head. “They’re going to try and stop the labor, but I’m still having contractions. I think I was in labor during the game. That’s why my back hurt.”

  “I should’ve known.”

  Josie runs her fingers down the side of my face. “I didn’t even know. There were five other women near me who have all given birth, and no one knew.”

  “I froze, Josie. I didn’t know what was going on and all I could think about was my grandmother and JD – when they tried to take you, I wouldn’t let them. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

  “I’m never leaving you, Liam. You’re stuck with me for life.”

  “I’ll take it,” I say, as I give her a kiss.

  Josie and I are just looking at each other when the doctor returns to do her ultrasound. She has one hand with me, while the other holds Noah’s.

  “Come here, Noah,” I say when the doctor starts setting up the machine. “Do you want to see your brother or sister, or would you like to go out and wait?”

  “Is it cool?”

  “Aside from me being your dad, it’s the coolest thing ever.”

  He shrugs and says he’ll stay. I keep him with me though, next to Josie, so that the doctor isn’t looking for an excuse to kick him out. A few nurses come in; one checks her vitals, while the other checks her IV’s.

  “I forgot to tell you, a little old lady recognized my mom from an old movie. I thought mom was going to get up and dance a jig. When she asked mom where she disappeared to, she said she was raising a family and motioned to everyone in the waiting room.”

  “I wish it were true.”

  “Me too,” I say. “I let her have her moment though. Sometimes I think she needs it.”

  “She does.”

  “Whoa, what is that?”

  Coming from the computer is the baby’s heartbeat. Noah’s eyes go wide as he looks at Josie and me.

  “That, young man, is the heartbeat of your brother or sister and this is what he or she looks like.” The doctor turns the screen to show Noah, whose face drops.

  “Where’s its head?”

  Now I’m looking and sure enough, my child is missing its head.

  “Well, it seems that your sibling is ready to join the world.”

  “It’s too early!” Josie screeches.

  “I’ll alert NICU,” one of the nurses says, leaving the room. The other nurse is jotting information down in Josie’s chart and the doctor is studying the computer.

  “What’s going on?”

  He looks at Josie and smiles. “You’re going to deliver. We’re going to let things progress naturally for a bit and see how much you can do by yourself, but you’re not leaving the hospital until your baby is born.”

  “But… but…”

  He rests a reassuring hand on her leg. “You’re early, but everything will be okay. We have a great team in the NICU, who will be on standby to assist your baby. Do you want to know the sex?”

  We both shake our heads. We haven’t even discussed names. We thought we’d figure it out after we saw the baby.

  “I know you’re scared. We could try and stop the labor, but the baby is engaged, so even if we stopped it today, it’s likely you’ll be in active labor within twenty-four hours. I suggest you rest while you can. Right now your contractions are mild, but that will change.”

  He leaves the room, leaving us pretty much speechless. I’m trying not to panic. Josie doesn’t need this.

  “Can you go get Katelyn? She went early with the twins. She’ll know what to do.”

  I kiss her gently and tell her I’ll be back after Katelyn. As soon as I open the door to her room, her mother and father stand.

  Noah stands next to me while I deliver the news. I tell everyone that they can fly home, that they don’t need to stay, but everyone says they’re not going anywhere.

  “Katelyn, she needs to talk to you.” Katelyn rushes down the hall and into her room, followed by Mrs. Preston. Frankly, the one-person rule is dumb and we’re breaking it. I look at Mr. Preston and tell him he should go, too. That’s his baby girl in there.

  “I need someone to go to the hotel and see if we can extend our stay.”

  “I’ll do it,” Tess volunteers. “Do the kids want to come back to the hotel and swim?” Quinn and Elle say yes, but Peyton shakes her head. Tess reaches for Eden, who is still sleeping.

  “I think I’m going to go with you, Tess,” Aubrey says. I know the chairs can’t be comfortable. Mr. Powell and Nick both stand, each saying for someone to call them when the news changes.

  I pull Nick aside. “Thank you. Not only for trying to help Josie when I couldn’t, but also for being there for Noah when I wasn’t.”

  He extends his hand, and I shake it. “You’re welcome, Liam. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.”

  I know this, and nod. I don’t want to think about a time when I need to call Nick for help, but I’m glad that he’s been there for my family. I watch him walk away, knowing that he’s never going anywhere and I need to accept it.

  “Liam,” my mom says as she comes to me, placing her hands on my forearms. “I’m going to go order us some food. You guys have to be starving.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I watch her walk away and think about these past few months. She spends more and more time at our house, which doesn’t seem to bother Josie. They’re often laughing together. I was shocked as shit when they started shopping together. Whatever happened when I was in LA, for her and Josie, has been a great thing.

  My father is another story. He refuses to acknowledge Josie as my wife, which means he doesn’t acknowledge Noah and that is unacceptable in my book. He’s not welcome in our home and he knows it.

  I’ve told my mom that as soon as the baby’s born, she and I will go back to LA and get my grandmother’s estate in order. There’s a trust in my mother’s name that her father left her and I think it’s about time she claimed it. Maybe she’ll use the money to leave my father.

  One could only hope.

  When I was in labor with Noah, my mom was by my side. My dad, Katelyn and Mason waited in the waiting room for the news that Noah was here. As much as I love Liam and know he’ll be by my side, helping me through this delivery, I need my mom and Katelyn with me right now.

  They both come rushing in, each taking a side. My mom bumps the nurse and doesn’t apologize. I’m sure the nurse is used to overbearing mothers.

  “Don’t be mean, Mom, she’s just doing her job.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” she says turning her attention on me. Her fingers push through my hair and even at this age, I find it calming to have my mom here.

  “The baby is coming early. I’m scared.” I say to both of them through tears. “What if it’s not ready?”

  Katelyn grabs my hand. “I was scared, too, when the twins came early, but look at them. They’re healthy. They only had to spend a couple of days in the hospital. If the doctor didn’t think the baby was ready, he’d be doing everything he could to stop things. You’ve got to trust him.”

  “She’s right, Josie. You need to have faith,” my mom says. These words are easier to hear, but not so easy to believe and I won’t be able to until I’m holding my baby in my arms.

  Katelyn gives me a kiss on my forehead and steps aside so I can see my dad.

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Hey, Sweetheart. You really gave me a scare.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  My dad has never been an overly emotional man. I’ve seen him cry only a handful of times. When I told him Sterling wouldn’t help me find Liam, he said it broke his heart that I was going through this by myself. He cried then, when he held Noah for the first time and now.

  “Don’t cry. You’re going to be a grandfather again.”

  “And I can’t wait.” He kisses my for
ehead and excuses himself. Once he leaves, everyone starts to come in. Pretty soon my room is full of family and friends, and the smell of delicious pasta.

  “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Tess and Mr. Powell took the kids back to the hotel to swim and make sure we aren’t booted from our rooms since we were due to check out after the game. Nick took Aubrey there, as well, because the seats in the waiting room aren’t very comfortable.”

  “I can imagine,” I say, looking at Liam. Then to everyone else, “You guys don’t have to stay.” From the look on Harrison and Jimmy’s faces, they want to get the hell out of dodge.

  “This is where we want to be, Josie.” Bianca says as she hands me a plate of plain pasta, with plain toast and some applesauce.

  “All of this is okay, I checked with the nurse.”

  “You did?” I choke back sob of gratitude.

  “Of course. I don’t want you sick when you deliver. You need strength, so eat. I know it’s bland. We’ll just have to go out to dinner after the baby arrives.”

  “Thank you, Bianca.”

  She smiles and looks away, not liking the attention. When she passes by Liam, he pulls her into his arms and gives her a quick hug. They’re still working on building their relationship and I have no reason to believe it will ever crumble again. She’s determined to do right by her son.

  Liam sits next to me while we eat. With each bite he takes, I long for the heavy cream of Alfredo sauce.

  “How does yours taste?”

  “Great, want some?”

  I shake my head and turn back to my plain noodles with my plain toast. I could really use a hot dog right now.

  When the nurse comes in, she brings me a Popsicle. I think I love her. She looks around the room and smiles once she realizes who is in my room.

  “You’re one lucky lady.”

  “Thanks,” I say as I suck on the icy treat. “I don’t know which one is the dad though, so it’s a bit awkward, if you know what I mean. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to be in this position.”

  Her eyes go wide, as everyone in the room starts to laugh. My mom chastises me for saying such a thing. I shrug and continue giving my baby a massive dose of sugar.