Page 86 of Finding Wonderland

“Have you been having contractions?”

Isla’s silence answered for her.

“Isla,” Vera gently scolded. “Was this your first contraction today?”

“I might have had a few since we had sex.”

“Define a few.”

“Like maybe three?” She grimaced. “Or four.”

Getting off the bed, Vera motioned Isla to lie back down. She quickly went into the bathroom and washed her hands before examining Isla. “You’re still at two centimeters.”

“That’s where I was when you checked me last week.”

“I know.” Vera put her hand on her knee as she looked down at her beautiful wife. “I just need you to tell me if you’re having contractions.”

Isla arched an eyebrow at her as she smirked. “You’re a very bossy doctor. I like it.”

“I can’t deal with you.”

As they snuggled back up in bed, Vera stayed awake until she was sure Isla was back asleep. She didn’t feel the need to worry about Isla since she was still at the same stage as she was last week. But something about the way Isla looked during the contraction told her it was stronger than Isla let on. Vera tried not to overthink it as she fell asleep.

Vera had no idea how long she had been asleep until she finally rolled over and checked the clock. It was after nine, which was normal for a Sunday. They usually slept in late and then made brunch for the kids before starting their day. Rolling over, Vera was surprised to find Isla not in bed with her.

“Isla?” She called out to no response.

Getting up from bed, Vera made her way downstairs to find Ellie, Brayden, Mason, and Eden at the kitchen table eating breakfast as Isla stood by the coffee pot. Vera took in the sight before her. Her family was everything to her. She loved watching Ellie and Brayden laugh with Mason and seeing how much love Mason had for them. It was easy to see even Eden was crazy about them.

“Morning, babies.” Vera kissed each of them, even Eden, as they all said a round of good mornings to her. Walking over to Isla, she put a hand on her lower back as she watched her stir the creamer into the coffee. “Is that decaf?”

“Yes, because my doctor is so demanding.” Isla kissed her, and Vera felt her heart fluttering as she smiled. How Isla still had that much power over her with a single kiss was a mystery Vera never wanted to decipher.

“Yes, but the doctor is just looking out for you and the baby.” Vera cocked her head a little as she lowered her voice. “How are you feeling?”

Looking at the table where the kids were already back into conversation, Isla shook her head slightly.

“Can you help me with the laundry?”

“Oh, geez,” Mason groaned dramatically from the kitchen table, “not the code.”

Although they’d known their code had been deciphered by Mason years ago, they still kept it in place for when they needed alone time. It didn’t always mean they needed a quickie: sometimes they just needed to talk about from little ears. Vera playfully stuck her tongue out at Mason as she and Isla headed upstairs to their bedroom.

“I’m still having contractions, but I don’t know if they’re real or just Braxton-Hicks.” She put her hand on her lower back. “Some are back here, and some aren’t. And they’re not consistent. I haven’t had one in an hour.”

“Well,” Vera was trained to stay calm, but on the inside she was torn between freaking out and exclaiming with joy that Isla was in labor. “I can always check you again. But we really need to start monitoring them.”

“Already on it, Doc.”

Pulling out a small notepad from the pocket of her robe, she handed it to Vera. Isla had scribbled the times and intensity of each contraction on a scale of one to ten. Vera couldn’t have been prouder.

“This one,” Vera pointed to one at 7:03 that Isla had written a 7 beside, “what did it feel like?”

“Painful.”

Vera arched an eyebrow, letting her know that wasn’t the answer she wanted.

“Exactly like the contractions I remember with Blake and Mason.”

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