Coach, who had been hovering near the door, clearly uncomfortable, gave a little cough. “I’m going to walk outside and call Todd, let him know what’s going on. Anyone need anything while I’m out?”
“Oh, can you bring me a bottle of water, hon?” Mrs. Casey requested. “I’m a little parched.”
“Got it.” Coach frowned at me. “Lassiter. Want to walk with me?”
“Uh—” I was torn. The last thing I wanted to do was leave Willow even for a moment, but she so obviously wanted me gone that I wasn’t sure what I should do . . . which felt like the perfect analogy for our entire relationship.
“Oh, Dean, I’d really appreciate it if you’d stay with me. Just in case Willow needs something, I think it’s a good idea for two of us to be here.”
Coach gave me a clipped nod. “I’ll be back.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Patty turned to face me again. “Well, this is quite a day for you, isn’t it! Graduation and a new baby all at the same time.”
From the bed, Willow made a garbled sound. Her mother leaned over her.
“What did you say honey? I couldn’t understand you.”
I could see from the monitor on the wall that the contraction was fading away. Willow managed to be heard this time.
“I said that the baby probably will not be born today. First babies take a long time to come.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Which is why I said that you should just leave now, Dean.”
The door swung open as Willow spoke. A woman with dark silky hair, wearing a white hospital coat, strode inside and sailed over to Willow.
“Couldn’t help overhearing,” she said breezily. “And you’re not wrong. First babies usually do take a long time to make their way into the world. However, your chart said that you were already at four centimeters when you were admitted, and according to what the nurses tell me, it sounds like you might be moving pretty quickly. It’s possible you’ve actually been in labor for a few days and just didn’t notice it.”
If looks could kill, the doctor would’ve been stone cold dead on the floor. “Well, I’m definitely noticing it now!” Willow shot back. “Where is the doctor who was here before?”
“He went off-shift. I’m Caroline Fay, and I am a certified nurse midwife.” So saying, she pulled a pair of gloves out of the box near the door. “I’ll be taking care of you for the next twelve hours. And hey, if you go ahead and have your baby during that time, then you won’t have to have another new provider when we change shifts again.”
“Whatever,” Willow muttered. Another contraction was ramping up, according to the monitor.
“I’m going to go ahead and check you now,” the midwife announced. “Just to see where we stand. Depending on how far you’ve progressed, we can talk about an epidural or other pain management.” She patted Willow’s leg. “Can you bend your knees, please?”
I backed toward the door. “I should go out for this part, right?”
“Yes!”
“No.” The midwife shook her head. “Cervix checks during labor can be a little uncomfortable for Mommy. It’ll be helpful if you stand up by her head and hold her hand.”
I glanced dubiously at Willow. I wasn’t sure holding her hand was a safe option at this point, but her mother took one side, and so I felt honor-bound to stand at the other.
It killed me to see Willow in pain, and watching her face as the doctor performed the check nearly tore me in two. I wasn’t going to say that, of course, because I didn’t think it would be well-received at the moment.
“Well, we’re moving right along.” Ms. Fay stood up and removed her gloves. “Seven centimeters. Doing just fine.”
“What about the epidural?” Mrs. Casey asked.
“Eh.” The midwife shrugged. “We can call anesthesiology and see about getting one on board, but it will probably slow her progress a little bit. It could also impact how effective she is at pushing. Especially for a first-time mommy, we find it’s easier for them if they can feel the contractions when it’s time to push.”
“That’s all right,” Willow murmured. “I don’t need the epidural. If I’m this close, I’ll be okay. I think.” She lifted her eyes to the midwife. “I don’t want this to go any longer than it has to.”
I could see that another contraction was on top of her, but this time she wasn’t panting; she was gritting her teeth, tensing her upper body.
“Try not to do that,” the midwife counseled. “Your jaw corresponds to your pelvis, so when you clench it, the pain is worse.” She patted Willow’s knee. “Why don’t we try walking a little bit? It won’t be easy, but it might speed you through these last few centimeters.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Willow closed her eyes and turned her face away, but I did notice that she was making a concerted effort to keep her jaw relaxed.
For the next two hours, Mrs. Casey, Coach, and I took turns walking with Willow around the labor and delivery floor. At first, she hadn’t been very enthusiastic about letting me accompany her on a loop, but she finally gave in.
