Page 119 of Best Man
“You guys got this,” Niko said, bouncing on his feet with excitement. He hurried for the door. “Good luck tonight, boys!”
36
Paulina
A terrible pressure twisted and pressed down on Paulina’s spine. She felt like her insides were being stabbed with knives.
“Push, honey!” the doctor said, trying to coach her through it.
“I am, Iam!” she yelled, doing her best to bear down.
The contractions were coming more frequently, and each one was harder and more painful than the last. It was the kind of pain so awful, it crawled up your throat and made you gag. Trying to physically escape the pain, she arched her back and screamed.
The contraction finally waned, and Paulina, completely drained, collapsed into her hospital bed. Every muscle ached and cramped. She had nothing left. Worse, she knew it wouldn’t be long before the next contraction began—they were coming so rapidly now, she couldn’t even catch her breath before the next set began. And the next wave wasalwaysworsethan the last. She whimpered and began to cry, fearing the terrifying heights of pain it would surely bring …
I can’t do this!
“You’re doing great,” the doctor said.
She didn’tfeellike she was doing great. She felt shitty, tired, and weak. There was no sugarcoating this—giving birthsucked.And y’know what made it even worse?
Sasha’s not even here!
The thought that the father of her baby wasn’t here to see his child be born absolutely crushed her heart. Just thinking of him, and how much she wished he could be here to hold her hand, made more tears stream down her cheeks. Didn’t hecare?Yes, yes, of course she understood perfectly well why Sasha couldn’t be here. And she knew the pregnancy had her emotions all out of whack. But that didn’t mean those feelings weren’treal.He wasn’t here for her when she needed him most. She was strugglingsohard to pop out this baby, and Sasha was going to miss it, all because of a game—
Just then, the door opened. A commotion turned every head in the room and the nurses gasped, but Paulina was too tired to lift her head.
“Pst!” Piper said. “Paulina, look who it is!”
She used the last ounce of her energy to turn her head. In walked Sasha, a hospital gown over his athletic compression tights. A surgical mask covered his mouth, but she could see his happy smile in his cutely crinkling eyes.
Paulina burst into a confused sob. “Sasha?!”
He came to her bedside and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Hello, baby. How are you?”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. She glanced at the television, which was airing endless pregame coverage on mute. “You’re supposed to be playing!”
“I thought you’d be happy to see me?” he said, making the nurses chuckle.
“I am!” she said. She glanced at the television again and saw his picture. “Looks like they’re talking about you.” She grabbed the remote and hit unmute.
“ . . . breaking news out of Dallas,”oneof the talking heads on the television said in a startled tone.“The Devils’ leading scorer, Aleksander Nikolaev, did not partake in the team’s warm-up skate. Team officials say Nikolaev will not be on the ice to start the game. When asked who will replace Nikolaev in the lineup, the Devils stated that they will not be dressing a twelfth forward.”
Niko chuffed. “Huh! Wow, I can’t believe Coach actually went for that!”
The TV co-anchor asked,“What in the world are they thinking?”
“Hard to say. But we do know that Nikolaev is expecting the birth of his first child any day now. One wonders if his absence in the lineup might have something to do with that.”
“Wonderful timing, if you’re a Dallas fan,”the co-anchor opined sarcastically.
“Okay, I think that’s enough of that,” Sasha said, taking the remote control. He pressed the power button and turned the television off.
A minute ago, she wanted nothing more than to have him here. But now that she actually had him, she realized the cost. If the Devils lost the Cup, the fans would forever blame him and her both.
“What were youthinking, Sasha?!” she wailed.
He knelt at her side. “That I’d rather be here with you,” he said, gently stroking her hair. “I couldn’t miss this, Paulina.”
