Delilah’s excited, twinkling eyes met mine and she offered me her fist to bump. “Yes,” Delilah and I said together.
“I was sitting here thinking that song is so far removed from the Lily Parnell in XrAid, but Jesus, ladies, it’s a phenomenal number. Y’all had me mesmerized. If you debuted that song as a break out release solo from your band, your transition will be seamless,” Drew added.
A guilty pang struck a chord in my chest at the mention of XrAid. It had been months since I’d spoken to Lennie or Cody, and I missed them. In the beginning, Alfie had fielded their calls, before I’d sent them both an email to say that I understood they should do what’s best for the band, and to not count on me to be involved.
I received an email correspondence back from Lennie informing me that the band had decided to cut their new album without me, using a backing singer to sing instead of me.
Although it had been my decision to step back, I had still expected to feel a sense of betrayal if they went ahead without me. However, where my pride and ego should have been hurt by their actions, the only feelings I had were those of relief.
“Are you ready for fame, Delilah?” Alfie said, smiling at his prodigy.
“I was born ready,” she replied, glancing from him to me. She hunched her shoulders like a small, excited child.
“How is this going to work?” Drew queried with narrowed eyes.
I shrugged. “We’ve already decided we’re not going to be a duet. This is a collaboration, introducing Delilah,” I explained.
“I think that’s wise because you’re both different kinds of artists, although I must say, that song is incredible. You’ll have a number one in the charts for your debut single, Delilah… and for you as a solo artist, Lily,” he predicted.
“I’m not thinking about that right now. Let’s get this little one safely here and then see what the state of play is. I can imagine we’ll be disorganized for a while… not to mention me getting disentangled from XrAid if I choose to do that,” I suggested.
A mixture of anticipation and excitement at meeting our baby flowed through me until a wave of apprehension about our ability as parents and juggling that with a solo career came to mind.
“Lily, your mom is coming. How many women have a consultant pediatrician on hand to make sure you do things correctly?”
“Oh, I hope she doesn’t fuss too much, that’ll undermine my already fragile confidence about doing this,” I admitted.
“I agree, your mom’s a ball-buster, but this will be different for her. Decisions get cloudy when emotions are involved. She’s going to be grandma remember.”
“My dad’s going to melt into a puddle. You saw how he was with every baby of Jack’s that came along.”
Alfie chuckled. “It’s going to be fun watching your parents flustered for a change.”
“Right. Well, talking about kids, I need to get back and give Elle a break for a while. She’s got a nail appointment at 3:30 p.m. I promised to drop her off and pick her up again.”
Drew stood to leave, and I eased off the stool I’d been sitting on. Stepping in, I hugged him, then stepped back. As I did this, I felt a pop and a large gush of water darkened my dark maternity pants.
“Shit,” I muttered, glancing down while the water kept trickling out.
“Oh, God, are you okay? Is that blood?” The alarm in Alfie’s voice set my heart racing. I stared down at my pants and immediately became alarmed.Was it?
I headed to the bathroom down the hall with Alfie hot on my heels. I’d barely made it inside before Alfie began tugging at my pants to pull them down. Fortunately, they were elastic at the waist and glided down without much effort.
A look of relief passed between us when we saw the slightly straw-colored fluid.
“It’s only my water,” I said initially relieved, then both our eyes widened as we stared at each other. “Shit. We need an ambulance,” Alfie muttered.
“No, we don’t,” I said, chuckling. “I’ll grab a shower, and some fresh clothing. Call Oscar and grab my overnight bag for the hospital.”
“Should I call your mom?” Alfie asked, rubbing my back and guiding me by my arm like I was an elderly relative.
“No!” I shrieked. “Not until we’ve gone to the hospital, and I find out what’s going on.” A streak of panic tore through me that the reality of this little person I’d kept safe in my belly was going to be part of our world. I swallowed roughly at that thought.What if I fail as a mum once our baby is on the outside?
“What’s going on is my son is coming to meet us,” Alfie said, sounding excited.
“Or daughter,” I argued, pushing back my negative thoughts to concentrate on Alfie’s excitement. “Now, I’m wishing I’d agreed to know what sex it is. Our daughter is going to have a complex about you wanting a boy.”
“It’s not what I want. I’ll love this baby no matter what. I just know in here it’s a boy,” he said, tapping his chest with his free hand.
