Oh, boy, he’d forgotten his mother’s request to have the whole family together for Christmas. Including his father, whom he hadn’t seen in years. The stress of Jack’s problems had ruined his parents’ marriage and his father’s subsequent second marriage, too. He needed to tell his parents about Alyssa and the babies, but if he did that, they’d expect her to come along.
He sank down on the edge of his bed, trying to figure out the best way to handle things. He didn’t want Alyssa exposed to his problems. She hadn’t signed on to be Jack’s caretaker, that was his role. He didn’t want her involved.
“I have to work Christmas,” he reminded her. “I’ll see if I can get a couple of consecutive days off, all right?”
“Okay.” He could hear the disappointment in his mother’s voice. “Are you sure you can’t get off for Christmas?”
“I was off work for over four months,” he reminded her. “At this point, I’m not in a position to ask for favors.”
“I understand,” she said hastily, knowing very well why he’d needed to take that time off in the first place. Things had been bad. Jack had gotten completely out of control. “We can celebrate whichever days work best for you.”
“All right, I’ll be in touch.”
“Bye, Jadon. I love you.”
Guilt swelled his throat. “I love you, too, Mom.”
After he hung up the phone, Jadon realized he couldn’t keep the truth about his twin brother a secret from Alyssa for much longer. Alyssa needed to know about Jack, so she’d understand when he had to leave again. And why he couldn’t give her what she needed. What she deserved.
He needed to explain everything.
From the very beginning.
Alyssa sat on the sofa, taking slow, deep breaths while waiting for Kim to return her call. She hoped Kim would call while Jadon was still in the shower, but already she could hear him leaving the bathroom and making his way to his bedroom.
The contractions hadn’t eased very much. They hadn’t gotten any worse, but they certainly hadn’t gotten any better either.
She nibbled on her lower lip, wondering what to do. She didn’t want to rush to the hospital, yet the medication to prevent contractions didn’t seem to be working very well either.
If she didn’t hear from Kim in a few hours, she’d go in. Better to be safe than sorry.
“So, have you thought about where you’d like to go Christmas shopping?” Jadon asked, striding into the living room.
“Uh, actually, I’m feeling a bit tired. Do you think it’s okay if we do a little online shopping instead of going out?”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “We can, but are you sure? I thought you’d be ready for a change in scenery.” He glanced toward the window. “It’s not snowing.”
“It’s not the weather. I’ve had a couple of contractions,” she admitted, knowing he was going to ask in a minute anyway. “And, yes, I’ve already called Kim Rayborn but she’s busy with a delivery so I left a message for her to call me back.”
“Dammit,” Jadon muttered. “We shouldn’t have made love.”
“You don’t know for sure sex caused the contractions.” She removed her feet from the top of the coffee table and struggled to stand.
“Where are you going?” Jadon asked in alarm, jumping over to her. His strong hands lifted her from the soft sofa cushions without difficulty. “Stay put. I’ll get my laptop computer if you want to shop online.”
She sighed. “I’m going to the bathroom. You can’t help me with that.”
“Oh. Okay.” His expression was sheepish. “I’ll turn on the computer while you’re gone.”
“All right.” She took a few steps but then stopped as another contraction hit. Moisture gushed down between her thighs and for a horrified moment she thought she’d lost control of her bladder. But looking down, she realized there was a lot of fluid. Clear fluid. Amniotic fluid.
“Um, Jadon? You’d better forget about the computer. I think my waters just broke.”
ALYSSA tried not to show her panic as one of her ED coworkers, Susan, wheeled her upstairs to the thirdfloor labor and delivery area.
Kim crossed over to greet her as she rolled in. “Alyssa, how are you? I just picked up your message and suddenly you’re here. What happened? Have your contractions gotten worse?”
“My waters broke.” She kept a hand on her stomach, forcing a smile for Jadon’s sake. “And yes, the contractions have gotten worse. Not only are they coming more frequently and regularly at seven minutes apart, but they’re lasting longer, too.”
“Well, it’s clear those twins are not going to wait any longer to be born,” Kim said. “Looks like we’ll be getting you ready for delivery.”
“They’re still pretty early, aren’t they?” Jadon asked, concern evident in his tone.
Kim nodded. “A bit. But they’re thirty-one weeks along now, which is one more week’s worth of growing. I’m sure everything will be just fine.”
A week’s worth of growing didn’t sound like very much. And she wished more than anything she could believe everything would be fine. Reality set in as another contraction tightened her abdomen.
“Neenah?” A nurse hurried over when Kim called, a young woman Alyssa didn’t recognize. “Let’s get Alyssa settled into room six. I’d like to get her twins hooked up to the fetal monitors to see how they’re doing.”
“Of course,” Neenah said, taking over behind the wheelchair. “Alyssa? My name is Neenah Burnes and I’ll be your nurse for today.”
Alyssa nodded, but her mind was struggling to come to grips with what was happening. She was in labor. She was going to deliver her babies. Twins. Jiminy Cricket, how on earth was she going to manage? What if she couldn’t handle the pressure of raising a baby? Two babies? Her mother had struggled with the demands of single parenthood.
At least Jadon was here, so she wasn’t nearly as alone as her mother had been. And even though she wanted more from him at the moment, she’d take what she could get.
Neenah helped her move from the wheelchair onto the bed, shooing Jadon out so she could change into a hospital gown. He’d been suspiciously quiet and Alyssa couldn’t help wondering if he regretted being here with her. She suspected the prospect of fatherhood scared him.
Would he stay with her during the delivery? Or should she call Kylie to be her coach?
When
