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A woman screamed in the back, and the man in the driver’s seat yelled, “My wife is in labor!”
Oh, hell, Tristan thought.
“I’m a doctor,” Calista announced as she maneuvered over the passenger seat and into the back, among broken glass.
The sound of ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. Thankfully, they didn’t have far to go.
Tristan peeked his head in the car. “What can I do?”
“Keep Dad calm,” Calista instructed.
Tristan assumed she meant the man in the driver’s seat. He actually recognized the man with the patch on one eye. They’d played in a charity golf tournament earlier that year. The man, Reece, was a lawyer, and his wife was a well-known author, if he remembered correctly.
“Hey, man.” Tristan used his arm to sweep the broken glass off the passenger seat before he climbed in. He tried not to react to the blood dripping down Reece’s head. They looked as if they’d just come from a party of some sort. Reece was wearing a suit and his wife was in an evening gown. “Your wife is in excellent hands. Calista is one of the best doctors at the hospital.”
Reece swallowed hard. He seemed afraid to move. Tristan feared the impact had hurt his neck or back.
Tristan reached over and took his hand, not knowing what else to do. Reece gripped it tightly.
“Hi there, Mom,” Calista said in soothing tones. “Tell me your name.” She was already reaching into her backpack and putting on blue gloves.
“Josie,” the woman panted. “I feel like I need to push,” she screeched.
“How far along are you?” Calista asked.
“Thirty-eight weeks,” Josie could barely say through the pain.
“Very good. Is it okay if I check you?”
Josie nodded and bent her knees, allowing Calista to peek under the evening gown.
Tristan averted his eyes, though he wanted to watch Calista. He was in awe of her.
“Did you know your baby is breech?” Calista asked.
“No,” Josie cried. “I need to push!”
“Okay. Listen,” Calista remained calm. “I delivered a few breech babies while I was in Africa. Your little one is on the way out and isn’t going to wait until we get you to the hospital.”
“It’s a boy,” Reece interjected, squeezing Tristan’s hand.
“The good news is, your little guy is buttocks first,” Calista informed them. “Josie, I need you to bear down hard with the next contraction. It’s best if I don’t touch the baby until I can see his shoulders. As soon as that happens, I’m going to take his hips and pull until his arms are delivered. We’ll go to that point,” she said as calmly as could be.
From there, it was a blur to Tristan amid the arrival of EMTs and police. But through it all, Calista was amazing. He was in love with a rock star. The way she expertly and safely brought new life into this world among the chaos was incredible. When the baby’s cry filled the car, he admitted to tearing up right along with Reece.
Calista flashed him a quick grin before laying the baby on Josie’s chest and placing a coat over him. The way she beamed lit up the dark car.
Once the baby had safely arrived, she let the EMTs take over. But not before she called out, “By the way, I love your book.”
Josie laughed, clasping her infant, trying to keep him warm. “I’ll send you as many signed copies as you want.”
“Thank you, thank you,” Reece and Josie both cried as Tristan and Calista exited the car.
“If there is anything we can ever do for you, just name it,” Reece added.
Even though things he didn’t want to think about covered Calista’s clothing, he wrapped her up tight as they watched the emergency crews do their thing. “I love you” was all he could think to say to express the awe he felt around her.
“I don’t think we’re going to make it to the skating rink or the movies,” she laughed.
