"Sugar, Baby, wake up," Prince urges, there's a slight tension to his voice.
That's when I'm first aware of the pain radiating from my back, I muffle a groan.
"Sugar, something's happening, your belly gets hard."
"What?" he's not making sense as far as I'm concerned, plus the pain is distracting.
"I was sleeping and you whimpered a little bit and your whole belly got hard like a rock. It was the weirdest thing, then it went back to normal. I was almost asleep and I felt it do it again, you cried out again, too."
"My back is killing me," because I'm still half asleep, and it's all I can pay attention to. I sit up in the bed, thinking maybe I have to go the bathroom. When I stand and start across the room the pain from my back shoots around to the front, I feel my belly tighten and he's right, it turns hard. "Prince, grab my phone, what time is it?"
He picks it up, "9:52, why?"
"Remember that, I'll be right back," he carries the phone and follows me to the bathroom. "I'm going to pee," I tell him, "maybe more." I circle my finger, indicating for him to turn around, "Alone."
"Should I call Gretchen?"
"Not yet, I want to see if it happens again. Stay out there," I warn.
I'm thinking these are contractions, because they hurt. I sit on the toilet and rub my belly, it feels as it should right now, and I relax a bit and find I did have to do a bit more than pee. Making room for the baby to pass through, I tell myself, but it did nothing to ease the pain.
I return to the bedroom and I'm more than uncomfortable. I don't know whether to lay back down or not, as I waddle around the room holding my back. Prince is up and walking beside me, caressing my shoulders and looking worried. I stop and grimace, folding over to try to ease the tightness of my belly, I start puffing from the pain. "Time?" I ask through clenched teeth.
"It just flipped to 10:00," he tells me.
The pain subsides a bit and just the ache remains, "Eight minutes," I breathe.
"I'm calling Gretchen," he flips the phone over and starts to look for her number.
"Prince, let's see if it happens again. I hate to bother her for another false alarm."
"Dana, I don't think these are the same as this morning, I think this is it," he almost looks scared.
I continue to waddle around the room in circles, I'm restless. The pain in my back starts to build and I hurry back to the bed for something to hold onto. The pain makes my legs want to buckle, but I breathe my way through. I don't even have to ask, Prince announces, "10:07."
"Call Gretchen," I whisper before I start my pacing again. Prince nods and dials, his face is so full of concern, I wish there was some way I could reassure him, but I'm consumed by the pain. Oh, God, please don't let anything be wrong, not now, we've come so far.
I listen as Prince starts to explain the whole thing, being woken, the hardness of my belly, but he's cut short. "Seven minutes," he answers her question. When I cry out, I hear him confirm to her I'm having another one. Prince is silent for a minute, then his answering voice is quiet, "Okay. Yes. Okay. Yes, Ma'am, we'll see you soon."
He presses the disconnect button, "She's on her way to the hospital, she's calling them first, then our doctor." I nod as I try to gauge the time for the next one. "Come on, I'll help you get dressed. She said it's time to go."
I shake my head like a disobedient child, "Something is wrong, Prince, it hurts too bad."
"Gretchen sounded like everything was right on track," he falls in step with my pacing, "but she said we've got to go."
I fold over in pain and Prince holds onto my waist, then rubs my low back. He pulls the phone from his pocket, "10:20, Sugar, we have to go!" His voice is firm, he means business. My nightie is pulled unceremoniously over my head, and I'm lead into my closet. I'm handed a bra, then panties and he quickly scans my clothes and pulls a slip-on maternity dress from the rod. As soon as I have the bra hooked, he's pulling the dress down over my head and straightening it. He grabs my pair of sneakers and leads me back out into the bathroom. "Sit," as he steers me to my vanity chair. He drops to his knee and slips my sneakers onto my bare feet and ties them before looking up at me, "Sugar, pull your hair back while I get dressed, okay?" I nod, and he's gone into his closet.
Since he is who he is, the man is dressed and back behind me in what seems like seconds, taking my brush out of my hand and securing my hair into a messy bun. "My purse," I manage as another contraction hits, I put my head down onto the vanity counter and he pauses just long enough to rub my back. When it passes he's into my closet and back out like a flash, with my purse slung across his body like he's wearing his guitar. "Let's go, now!" his words are a little too harsh and forceful.
I'm more in shock by his tone with me and I allow him to pull me into the elevator, I stare at his determined profile on the way down. When the door opens he notices my sad expression, "What's wrong, Sugar?"
We stop just outside the door. "You yelled at me," the pain has weakened me emotionally.
"Seriously?" he shoots back, but when I stand quiet, looking hurt, he apologizes. "I'm sorry I raised my voice, Sugar, but unless you want to have this baby in the car, we have to go," he keeps his tone even as if he's talking to a child, and right now I feel like one.
He rests his hand on my low back and starts to steer me toward the garage, I tense when I feel the pain start to radiate again, and grab onto the counter as we pass. Prince massages my back as he looks longingly at the garage door, I can almost hear him think that we were so close. When it passes, he urges me to move with his hand, grabbing my overnight bag by the door as we pass through. "Your car," he says and moves past me to open the passenger door, helping me in, he puts my bag in the backseat, then hands me my purse before going around. The garage door gets opened and he's backing out before he even fastens his seatbelt.
"Seatbelt," I whisper, as he puts the car into drive. He smiles and pats my knee, fastening the latch as we turn out into the street. He drives faster than he should, but not recklessly, reaching his one hand over periodically to let me know he's still paying attention to me. He only takes the time to call Tyka on the way, using the hands free option on the car, the call is brief, "We're headed to the hospital," is all he says before disconnecting. We zip into the covered area marked ADMITTING, as soon as the car is thrown into park, he flings open the door, forgetting his seatbelt, his attempt to exit is comical. He looks angry with himself as he unfastens the latch and finally bolts from the seat, he arrives at my already opened door the same time Gretchen comes into view with a wheelchair. I'm relieved to see her and the wheelchair, both, then Tyka comes into view from the parking lot, everyone has beat us to the hospital. Prince is at my side helping Gretchen move me into the chair, and when she starts to push me towards the entrance, he follows. "Sir," an attendant stops him, "You have to move your car," Prince glares at him.
Tyka intervenes, "I'll move it, go."
"My bag," I remind Prince and his trots back to retrieve it before Tyka pulls away to park my car.
Gretchen leans down as she pushes me, "How are you doing?"
I'm doubled over in the chair, "It hurts!" I hiss, "I can't do this," Prince looks stricken, then wide eyed at Gretchen.
"It's supposed to," she says calmly, "and you have no choice, my dear."
The room is ready when we get to the maternity ward, the lights are dimmed, a small CD player plays a soothing piano piece, which I'm sure is Prince's, and I'm surprised by the plethora of candles in every nook and cranny of the room. The room is equipped with a jacuzzi sized tub for water births, but Gretchen has a portable deal set up off to the side and it's ready for me. It's like a really tall kiddy pool.
"Candles? I thought we couldn't..."
Gretchen smiles, "Your husbands idea, they're LED." Prince grins. "I need you up on the bed for a second to see where you are." As she helps me stand, she tells Prince to remove my panties, and he quickly reaches under my dress and pulls them to the floor. I step out of them and lay down, only to double over again, "Five minutes," Gretchen announces before she washes her hands and dons gloves, "this baby is in a hurry," she says. Prince doesn't know I saw him as he glances at the clock on the wall, it's 11:11. Gretchen looks surprised as checks me, and turns to our doctor who has just arrived, "She's at six." She looks up at me, "you're over halfway there, let's get you into the water."
"I have to, um, use the bathroom," I feel the need to make more room.
"Of course," she helps me to the bathroom, and follows me in, closing the door behind us, and I'm forced to use a portable type chair thing.
With that out of the way, I'm brought to the portable 'pool' and helped in, the relief is instantaneous and it's visible on my face. Prince is situated on a chair near my head and I turn and hang over the edge facing him, he strokes my face. I'm exhausted and the warm water is soothing. Another contraction hits and I grimace and fold up, but it's not as bad. Gretchen smiles, "Better isn't it?"
I nod, happy for some relief, "Where's Tyka?"
Prince laughs, "Oops, I forgot about her," and starts to stand.
The doctor says, "I'll go get her. Tyka, you said?" We both nod and she leaves the room. They return as I'm clinging to Prince's shoulders and breathing through another contraction, Tyka looks sympathetic but also beams with motherly love.
"Where are you at, Honey?" Tyka asks as she moves in beside Prince to push some damp hair from my forehead.
"Five minutes between and 6cm," Gretchen answers for me.
"It won't be too much longer," she smiles down at me.
I place my head on Prince's shoulder to rest while he holds me over the edge of the 'pool.'