Page 73 of Finding Wonderland

Vera waited until the contraction eased up before pointing at the clock. “They’re getting closer.”

“That one was eight minutes apart.”

“How far are we from home?”

“Another hour.”

“Okay.” Inhaling sharply, Vera tried to calm her nerves before the next contraction came. “We got this.”

“You’re doing great.” Isla lifted Vera’s hand to her lips and kissed it.

“I’m getting scared.”

“It’s okay. I’m right here. It’s going to be okay.”

Isla smiled over at her, reassuring Vera.

Barley five minutes later, Vera felt a contraction so strong she couldn’t help but let out a scream of pain. “Fuck!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“What happened?” Mason called from the backseat as Isla pulled the car off to the side of the road. With the car pulled over, Isla unbuckled her seatbelt and put her hand between Vera’s legs. She had a pair of shorts on, but they were now soaked.

“Mama’s water broke.”

“Is she okay?” Mason’s sob broke Vera’s heart. As the contraction continued, Vera held her hand back to Mason who quickly took it. “I’m here, Mama.”

“Mace, hand me one of the clean beach towels from the back.” Not letting go of Vera’s hand, Mason grabbed a towel and handed it to Isla. Isla placed it between Vera’s legs before patting her thigh. “How you doing, Mama?”

“That one fucking hurt.”

“It was also less than five minutes after the last one. Should I find a hospital near here?”

“No,” Vera shook her head. “I think I can make it.”

“You sure?”

Vera nodded. “I’ll make it.”

“And if you don’t?” Isla’s question made Vera quickly snap her head at her. She was about to snip that she knew her body when Mason answered for her.

“I will jump out of the car,” Mason laughed, lightening the moment.

Leaning over the back of the passenger seat, Mason put her arms around Vera. Isla merged back onto the interstate as Vera placed a hand on Mason’s arm. She kissed it gently, letting Mason know she loved her without words. With the other hand, Vera still had a tight grip on Isla’s hand. As each contraction came, Vera was conscious to only squeeze Isla’s hand.

Finally, they arrived at the hospital. Isla had called Stacey to let her know they were almost there. They were waiting for them when they arrived. Melanie had a wheelchair and a bemused look on her face while Stacey had her hands on her hips. Stacey opened Vera’s car door with an I-told-you-so smile.

“You know, I’ve heard you yell at patients for doing the exact same thing you just did.”

“I know,” Vera sheepishly laughed as she let Stacey help her out of the car and into the wheelchair. “But in my defense, you were never supposed to know.”

Although Vera had helped get countless women into the hospital, assessed, and into their own room, she’d never been on the receiving side of so much attention. They hooked up two monitors to monitor the babies’ heart rates and took Vera’s vitals. Another even stronger contraction came as Vera lay in the bed waiting for Stacey to examine her progress.

“Fuck,” Vera groaned in pain as she lay on her side and squeezed the bed’s railing. The pain was so intense that Vera was having a hard time focusing on anything but the pain. But when her eyes landed on Mason, Vera knew.

She was scared.

Vera could see it written all over her face and the way she was nervously wringing her hands.

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