AllFreeNovel
Share Us
To see Noa in that position? To know what she was bringing into the world was a result of our love, it made me press harder on the gas.
I thought about Noa.
I thought about the way Noa looked when she painted. And I wondered if I’d ever feel that way about something other than her.
Painting was Noa’s passion. She expected programming to be mine, but it was just something I was good at. Something I liked to do.
Noawas my passion. She was what made me extraordinary.
I made it to the exit in thirty minutes. Everything after that was a blur. I pulled into a parking spot, not caring that I nearly sideswiped the car beside me, and ran inside. I looked at the directions and headed up to Labor & Delivery. When the nurses let me in, I gave them Noa’s name.
“Has she started pushing yet?” I asked.
The nurse told me she didn’t know but pointed me in the direction of Noa’s room.
I jogged to the door and flung it open, expecting a scene but uncertain of what exactly I’d see.
“Thank God,” Miranda said as she walked over to me.
I looked past her to see a very flushed Noa, who squeezed her eyes shut as a tiny sound of pain pushed past her pressed lip. I bypassed Miranda and went right to Noa, grabbing her hand and pushing her hair from her forehead. “Tell me what you need. I’m here. Tell me,” I said, ready to take on the world for her. Ready to forget it all. Ready to finallybewith her.
“Stay.” Her face pinched and for a few moments, I wasn’t sure she was breathing. Then it all stopped, and she relaxed.
And I wasn’t angry. I didn’t care that I hadn’t been there for her. That I hadn’t known she was in Seattle. That we had no plans for a name, and I didn’t know how we’d divvy up the child’s time or where we stood.
I just wanted to be right where I was, with her hand holding onto mine as if she were getting her strength from me.
“Do we know what the sex of the baby is?” I asked. My free hand ran over her belly.
Her eyes closed. She looked so tired as she shook her head. “We’ll find out soon enough,” she whispered, blowing strands of her hair from her face.
I reached up and tucked them behind her ear. “Sounds good. Names?” I asked her these things to get an idea of what she was thinking, but to also to keep her focus off the pain.
Miranda snorted from her position at the foot of the bed and I caught Noa’s grimace.
“Shush,” she told Miranda before turning to me. “I’m so unprepared. I mean, I’ve had more time to think about this baby than you have and you’re fucking calm and I have no idea what we’re gonna do.” She took a deep breath and wiped at the tears that made their way down her face before I grabbed her hands. “I didn’t want to hope. I didn’t want to face that again.”
I nodded in understanding, wishing I could take her fear away. I was in college, worrying about exams while she’d been burying a child. It was hard to imagine what kind of scars something like that could leave on your heart.
“While we’re here, let’s think of some names. And as we go along, the other stuff will come to us.” I kissed her hands. “I’m just happy to be here.”
She burst into tears and I opened my mouth, wondering what I said wrong.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I—” She lost her breath and her eyes squinted before shutting.
I looked at Miranda as Noa squeezed my hand.
“Contraction,” Miranda answered. “I should get the doctor. They’re getting closer and closer and these assholes aren’t doing a thing.”
When she left, I turned to Noa, who looked like the pain was fading. She was losing the color in her face and rather than add to her anxiety, I tried to keep up with my questions. “Okay. Girl names?” I asked.
“God, I don’t want a girl,” she said with a short laugh, wiping away the sweat that’d beaded along her hairline. “I love Emily. It’s such a sweet name. Classic.”
I nodded. “Emily Andrews. Solid name.”
She was breathless when she asked, “What about her middle name?”
I shrugged.
