Page 32 of Wrong Turn, Right Bear
“Owww.”
Not even my mate wriggling his butt would ramp up my blood pressure. I’d promised to chill out. And as we glided over the water and the only sound was the oars dipping into the water, I admitted my mate was right. This was calming and peaceful.
“Do you need another cushion, babe?”
“Owww.”
That was the second owww.
“My belly. It’s tight.”
That wasn’t surprising. There was little room for the baby to maneuver so yeah, space was tight.
“Not long now babe and the baby will be here.”
“Ummm maybe sooner than—” Theo leaned forward and panted. Huh? What was with the panting? Sure, he was short of breath because he was lugging around a baby. Maybe he wouldn’t finish the sentence and we could continue with our outing.
But my mate squealed.
“Oh my gods. You’re in labor and we’re in the middle of the lake.” I’d rowed further than I intended and we were a ways away from the bank.
I pulled the phone from the bag but there was no signal. The universe was messing with me.
“We need to get back to shore.” I began to row, my arms moving like those speedy cartoon characters I’d watched as a kid.
“Ash, remember how I got pregnant quickly and we joked that maybe labor would be just as fast?”
No! I didn’t want to hear that.
“This baby is coming. Get me off this chair.”
Theo tore at his oversized shirt, wrenching the collar as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of the clothing. After I got him undressed, I helped him onto the blanket. He was on his back and pushing before I got settled between his legs. Was this what I was supposed to do?
Gods the baby was almost here but I needed a rewind. It was all happening too fast.
“This hurts.” Theo leaned forward while gripping his legs. He was doing this alone without medical assistance. It was just him and the baby. He needed a partner and that was me, so I took his hands and he pushed, the exertion evident in his red face and the sweat streaming over his cheeks.
“You’re doing so well.” I didn’t know if that was true but I had to offer encouragement.
He lay back down as the contraction eased off but seconds later he moaned.
“Do it with me. The moaning.”
He strained and cried out and I mimicked him. Our voices drifted on the wind and echoed back to us. Huh? I glanced up as my mate lay on the pillows. Chuck, Romey, and Mollie were on shore waving.When another contraction took hold of Theo, he grunted and so did I while the other three did the same.
“Do we have an audience?” Theo panted as I dabbed the sweat from his brow.
“Assistance not gawkers.”
Theo pushed again and the head, it was coming. I blinked back tears because I couldn’t fall apart. My mate and baby needed me.
“Our little one’s almost here, Theo.”
He pushed again and the baby’s head was out. I’d been present when animals gave birth but here I wasn’t just a witness. My heart was involved.
There were more pushes and the shoulders appeared and then everything happened at once. The baby arrived. Theo had done his job and I placed our little one on my mate’s chest and covered them with a blanket.
“We have a son.”
