Page 110 of Pretend You Love Me
We all break out in individual conversations while passing food around. I nearly gag when Declan hands me the gravy, so I pass it immediately to Juno.
“You’re being weird,” he whispers.
I just shrug. “You’re always weird.”
I spoon some mashed potatoes and green beans on my plate and then add a roll. I’m nibbling on the roll while listening to Eli and Declan talk about their latest vacation.
“Had you ever snowboarded before?” Keene asks.
“No, never,” Eli answers.
“Sounds awesome, I want to go next time.”
“Absolutely. Any of you can come. It would be fun to have everyone go. What do you think, Brooklyn?”
“Huh?” I say. I’m looking at Olivia. She’s placed her fork down. There’s a flash of discomfort across her face.
“Snowboarding. Would you want to try it?”
“Maybe? Hot chocolate by a fireplace sounds better.” I’m still watching Olivia. After a minute, she picks up her fork and continues in the conversation.
“I agree,” Juno says.
The conversation around me continues. Some time passes, and I notice Olivia set her fork down again.
“Liv, are you okay?” I call across the table. Everyone stops talking and looks at her.
She takes a shaky breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. I think I’m having contractions.”
“What?” Will yells. He stands up so quickly his chair falls over.
“Calm down.” She’s shaking her head.
“How far apart are they?” Elizabeth asks.
“Um, I’m not sure.”
“Seven minutes,” I say. Every eyeball falls on me. I shrug. “I’ve been watching her.”
“Okay, we need to head to the hospital.” Will starts pacing.
“Will, honey, seriously, you’re stressing me out.” Olivia stands up. Will rushes over to her side.
“We’ll get you to the hospital, don’t worry.” James is on his feet now too.
Will rushes around. I’m not even sure what he’s doing. I’m pretty surehehas no idea what he’s doing either.
Elizabeth gives Olivia a quick hug. “You’re going to do great. Send us lots of updates. Call us whenever she arrives. It doesn’t matter what time it is. We’ll keep our phones on all night.”
As soon as Elizabeth steps back, Zadie gives a little yelp. We all look over at her. Her hand is over her mouth. There’s a puddle at her feet.
“My water just broke.”
Ethan’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.“Isn’t it too early?”
“He’s due in twelve days. I’m considered full term.”
Ethan looks like he’s swallowed his tongue. These big tough guys sure do go to mush quickly when it comes to baby stuff.
