Page 12 of Ink

“What if we pretend?” she asked.

“Pretend?” he asked. “What do you mean by pretend?”

“I mean, can’t we try to be a family—you know, you, me, and Bethany?”

“Bethany,” he said, “is that what you’re naming her?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” he admitted. She doubled over, holding her belly and he knew that she was having another contraction.

“We need to go to the hospital, honey,” he insisted. Ink grabbed her purse and helped her on with her jacket. “Everything is going to be okay,” he assured, although he wasjust as worried as she seemed to be. Hearing her ask if the three of them could be a family had him imagining just what that might look like, and he liked what he saw. He wanted to be a part of both of their lives, and he’d take them any way that he could get them.

“I don’t think that we’re going to make it to the hospital,” she said. “I feel like I want to push now.”

“Don’t push, honey,” Ink insisted. “I’m going to call 911. Let’s get you back into bed first.” He helped her lay back down and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, putting the call on speaker so that he could have his hands free because he was pretty sure that he was going to need them.

“911, how can I help you?” the woman asked.

“My girlfriend is in labor, and we were on our way to the hospital, but I think that the baby is coming now. She said that she feels the need to push.”

“Tell her not to push,” the operator insisted.

“I already have, but the contractions are coming one right after the other now.” Charlie cried out and yelled that she needed to push again.

“What’s your address?” she asked. Ink rattled off his address while he stood over Charlie. All he wanted to do was comfort her, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility. She needed a doctor and a hospital, and he wasn’t able to give her that.

“I need for you to pull down her pants if she’s wearing any,” the operator said.

“She is,” he said, “hold on,” he ordered. He pulled her sweatpants off and grabbed his cell phone again. “I took them off, now what?”

“You’re going to have to look to see if the baby’s head is visible,” the operator said.

“When will the ambulance be here?” he asked. “I’m not certified to do this kind of thing.”

“You’re going to do just fine,” the operator said.

“She’s right, just look,” Charlie shouted. He got on the bed between her spread legs, and he could see the baby’s head crowning.

“I can see the head,” he said.

“Okay, I think that your baby might get there before the ambulance does, but don’t worry, I can guide you through everything,” she promised. Hearing the woman call Bethany his baby did crazy things to his heart, but he didn’t have time for feelings and all that stuff.

“You’re kidding right?” Charlie yelled at the phone.

“You’ve got this. What’s your name, sweetheart?” the woman asked.

“Charlie,” she said.

“How about you, sir?” the operator asked.

“My name is Ink,” he said.

“Well, that’s an unusual name,” she said. Charlie screamed out and the woman started barking directions to Ink about what he should and shouldn’t do. He wished he didn’t have to put Charlie through any of this, but he had no choice. The baby was coming, whether the ambulance was there or not.

“Now, when you have your next contraction, I want you to push,” the operator said. “Grab your knees and hold them back while you push as hard as you can.”

“I don’t think that I can,” Charlie whimpered.

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