Twenty-Five
It’s a really good act,” I told him, honestly. “I’m a wreck.” I hung up with Raymond and called the ambulance. I told them the address and that the front gate was expecting them.
Then I hung up and waddled to the elevator. I was getting nervous because the pains were becoming more intense. I didn’t want to have the baby here. When I got to the main level I made my way to Karen’s office. One look at me and she was on her feet.
“Vicki? What is it?”
“The baby is coming,” I said. “My water broke and I’m having contractions.”
“Oh no! How early is it?”
“About five weeks,” I told her. I was trying not to think about that. I was trying to stay positive. I think Karen realized too that this was no time to worry. It was too late for that anyways.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” she said, picking up the phone.
“I did that already,” I told her.
“I also let the front gate know they’re coming.”
She laughed. “Even in labor, you’re efficient.
What should I do then? Should I call Alexander?”
“No! No, don’t bother him. I can do this. I’ll call my roommate. She’ll come to be with me.”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
Karen looked sad, but she nodded. I heard the doorbell ring and looked back at her and said, “Wish me luck.”
“The best,” she said with a hug. “As soon as my shift is over I will be there. I can’t wait to meet him.”
I put my hand over my belly and felt a flutter
er of anticipation. “Me too,” I said. My little man would be in my arms by the end of the day.
I refused to believe that anything could go wrong.
ALEXANDER’s POV
I had just finished with my first meeting of the day when my phone rang. I looked at it and saw that it was the house call. I excused myself and stepped out into the fresh, salty air. “Hello?”
“Mr. Reigns, it’s Karen.”
I could tell by the tightness in her voice that something was wrong. “What is it, Karen? What’s happened?”
“I’m not supposed to be calling you. She didn’t want to disturb you…”
“Karen, just tell me what is wrong.”
“Victoria’s waters broke. She’s on her way to the hospital.”
“Oh my God, alone?”
“She said she would call her roommate, but for now, yes, she’s alone.”
“Damn! Okay, thanks for calling me, Karen.” I hung up and called my pilot. “How long before you could file a flight plan and get me home?”
“We could leave within the hour, sir.”
“Okay, but the sooner the better, alright? I’m headed to the airport now. Get everything ready.”
“Yes sir.”
I hung up with him and called Cassie. She was out of the beach, of course. “What is it, Alex? We don’t leave until tomorrow. Why are you bothering me?”
“I have to go home,” I told her.
“What? Now? Why?”
“Victoria is in labor.” I heard the hesitation. All along I had wondered if she’d figured it out… or heard the rumors.
“So why does that involve you?” she finally said. She sounded reluctant to ask, but it was a fair question. This wasn’t the way I’d wanted to do this, but it had to be done.
“Cassandra, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this before.” I was already stepping into the back of the car that would take me to the airport. “The baby is mine. Victoria and I were together one time…”
“You bastard! You cheating slime!”
With a sigh I conceded in my head she had a right to be angry. Taking another deep breath I said, “I didn’t cheat. You and I were in the middle of divorce proceedings. I slept with her. She got pregnant. I wish I could tell you I was sorry so that you would feel better… but I’m not.”
The airport was only ten minutes away. We were already driving up to the hangar when she said, “This is what that stupid nursery was about! You knew all along and you had ample opportunity to tell me you lying, cheating bastard!”
I stepped out of the car and said, “You have a right to be upset, Cassie. But I won’t stand for you calling me names. When you get home, we’ll talk about this and figure it out.”
“I’m not raising that maid’s brat!”
“You would never be expected to,” I told her.
“Victoria will be raising her child and I will be there to help her as much as she needs.”
“You’re insane! You’re married! Do you know what the tabloids will do with this?”
“I don’t care. I’ve thought about this a lot, Cassie. You know as well as I do that you and I are not going to last forever. We may as well just cut our losses now. I want to try and make it work with Vicki and our child.”
“You’ll be very, very sorry Alex! You’ll rue the day you met that manipulative little tramp!”
With a low growl I didn’t even know I possessed I said, “You can call me what you like. Do not ever refer to my child as a “brat” again, or his mother as anything other than the beautiful lady she is.” Before she was able to spew any more ugliness, I hung up. Strangely, I felt better than I had in a very long time.
VICTORIA’s POV
The ambulance delivered me to the emergency room and from there I was taken to the OB/GYN wing of the hospital. A lady with a clipboard came and checked me in and I did the best I could to answer her questions about my labor pains. When I finished with her, an elastic strap with a fetal monitor on it was attached around my abdomen. The nurse started an IV in my hand and took my vital signs.
“Take deeper breaths, honey,” she said. I tried. It was hard to breathe when your insides felt like they were being ripped out. She took the oxygen sensor reading again and still not satisfied she turned on a small oxygen tank and put the tubes in my nose and said, “Just relax and breathe normally.” Sure, relax… right? I wonder if she’d ever experienced labor. I wasn’t even that far into it and I was sure that there was going to be no relaxation for me.
After she did all of that, she put on her gloves and said, “We’re going to see if you’re dilated.”
My feet were put into the dreaded stirrups and she did her checking. It was almost as uncomfortable as labor pains. When she was finished, she snapped off her glove and said, “You’re only at about two. We’ll see how you progress. We might have to have you walk for a while to speed things along.”
Walking sounded like torture at the moment. My belly seized up into another pain and this one traveled across my back. The nurse watched me and looked at the monitor. “They’re about five minutes apart. They’ll get closer as you progress and you’ll dilate more. Are you going to want the epidural?”
“No,” I told her. “I want to do this all-natural.” She raised an eyebrow but she didn’t say anything. She fussed around me a little more.
“Okay, I’ll be back in about half an hour. Press the call button if you need me before that. Is there anyone waiting that you would like me to send in?”
“No, no one thanks.” I hadn’t called Liz. There was no reason for her to leave work and sit here worried. I would call her after.
“Maybe I could call someone for you? Dad?”
Dad is in Belize with his wife. “No thank you,” I said, simply. Her eyes looked sad, but I’m sure she’d seen it before. She left and suddenly I was alone. I had another terrible cramp and I realized that the little man was trying to tell me that I was wrong. I wasn’t alone and after today, I never would be again. After the cramp passed I rubbed my belly and said, “You and me, kid. We can do this. We’re going to be okay.”
ALEXANDER’s POV
The flight seemed to take forever. It was almost five hours. I wondered if I would get there in time, or if the baby would already be here. I wondered how much danger the baby was in by being a month early. I kept thinking about her going through this all alone. I could hardly stand the thought of it.
All I knew of having a baby was what I’d seen in the movies and on television, but it looked very painful. No one should be alone in that kind of pain. Vicki shouldn’t be alone… in pain or not. I was going to do whatever I had to do once I got there, to make sure it never happened again.