Page 75 of Once Upon a Holidate
Garrick thought he knew everything about Happily Inc, but he was wrong. He never would have guessed the hospital offered birthing classes to expectant mothers.
“Welcome,” a fifty-something woman said when he and Joylyn entered. “I’m Serenity, your instructor.”
Serenity?he mouthed, looking at his daughter.
She rolled her eyes, then looked at Serenity. “Hi. I’m Joylyn Kaberline.”
He held out his hand. “I’m Garrick.”
“Joylyn and Garrick Kaberline,” Serenity said, checking her clipboard.
“Not Kaberline,” Joylyn said quickly. “I mean that’s my last name, but it’s not his.” She sighed. “He’s not my husband. Chandler’s still deployed. He should be back before the baby’s born. This is my dad.”
Garrick did his best not to chuckle. “I’m standing in for Chandler.”
Serenity offered him a glowing smile. “What a wonderfullysupportive thing to do for your daughter.” She patted Joylyn’s arm. “You’re a lucky girl to have such a caring father.”
“Thank you,” she muttered.
Serenity pointed to a few empty chairs. “Have a seat. We’ll get started in a few minutes.”
“Did you hear that?” Garrick asked as they walked into the room. “I’m wonderfully supportive.”
“Be quiet.”
“You’re a lucky girl.”
“Stop it.”
But she was laughing as she spoke.
They sat next to a couple in their thirties. The very pregnant woman smiled at them. “Hi. I’m Jill and this is my husband Jack.” She held up a hand. “Please don’t say anything. We’ve heard it all before.”
“I won’t say anything,” Joylyn promised. “I’m Joylyn and this is my dad. My husband is deployed so he’s filling in.”
Jill looked at him. “Are you? That’s so nice. My dad would never do that. You’re really lucky to have him.”
Joylyn groaned. “So I’ve been told.”
Garrick winked at her. This had been a great idea. While he was always happy to help out his daughter, he hadn’t expected so much praise. To be honest, he was feeling pretty damned good about his parenting skills right about now.
The glow lasted nearly thirty minutes, which was about the time it took Serenity to get the meeting started and everyone to introduce themselves. Less than two minutes into the actual instruction part of the evening his stomach was in knots, and he had a very strong need to wait for Joylyn in the safety of the parking lot.
He’d been fine with the course outline at first. The birthing process was a given, and dealing with pain, while not pleasant, wasn’t a surprise. But “Common Complications”? Thatwas wrong. Complications shouldn’t be common, and while he knew that wasn’t what the title meant, he didn’t want to think about any complications when it came to Joylyn and his soon-to-be grandson.
“Finally, we’ll tour the maternity ward and, if you’re having your baby here, get you preregistered.” Serenity smiled. “One less thing for you to deal with while you’re in labor.”
Joylyn leaned close. “Dad, are you okay? You’ve gone white.”
“I’m fine. Just paying attention.”
She didn’t look convinced. “If you’re this tense now, how are you going to get through the videos?”
“I have no idea.”
An hour into the evening, they took a fifteen-minute break. When Joylyn returned from her bathroom visit, she waddled back to her seat.
“I’m feeling so much better,” she said. “Having this information makes me feel like I know what I’m doing. Or I will. I should have signed up for a class a long time ago.”
