Page 180 of Tell Me What You Want, Or Leave Me

When she hangs up, she gives me back the phone and smiles.

“By the sound of your husband’s voice, I don’t think it’ll take him long to get help.”

I don’t doubt it. I imagine him running through the mall like a crazy person. Luckily, he’s with Björn. I pity anyone who gets in their way.

A new contraction makes me wince again. Why does this have to happen to me right now? This one’s deathly painful, and I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m drowning!

Mel watches me, utterly calm.

I’m surprised at her poise while I’m climbing the walls. But, of course, I’m the one in pain, not her.

With tremendous patience, she makes me look at her and breathe. The pain gives way, and she opens her cell phone and chats briefly.

“I’ve asked for reinforcements,” she says. “If your husband doesn’t get someone to get us out, my friends will.”

Is it getting hot, or is it just me sweating?

My neck itches.

“What’s your name?”

“Judith...Judith Flores.”

“Where in Spain are you from?”

“I was born in Jerez, but my mother was Catalan. My father’s from Jerez, and I lived in Madrid.”

I can’t say more. The pain is back. It overwhelms me. The young woman takes my hands.

“Very well, Judith...Look at me again. Let’s breathe. C’mon! Do it.”

I begin to breathe with Mel, and, when the pain passes again, I’m grateful.

“Thank you.”

She smiles. The minutes pass, and the elevator doesn’t move. I scratch myself. My cell rings. I guess it’s Eric, worried. Mel answers. She calms him down, and, when she hangs up, she holds my hand.

“You’re destroying your neck.”

We hear noises, but the elevator doesn’t go up or down. She fans me with a piece of paper she’s taken out of her backpack.

“So, are you having a boy or a girl?”

“We don’t know. Medusa won’t let us see.”

She smiles again; she understands the name.

“I told my daughter that, while I was pregnant, I called her Cookie. Whatever it is, it’ll be beautiful.”

“I hope so.”

I’m hot. It’s overwhelming and stifling, but Mel keeps her wits about her.

“I have a girl, and I know what you’re going through,” she says. “I can only tell you that you’ll forget everything. When you have your baby in your arms, everything will be erased from your memory.”

“That’s supposed to reassure me?”

“I’m sure,” she says with a laugh.

---