“I know she thinks of you as a daughter and would love to help you. Shoot, if you let her, she would probably take over the whole thing for you.”
“I might just let her do that.” I laugh.
“Alright, go find your husband before he starts running around the house, yelling for you and scaring all the guests.”
“I’ll come back and check on you soon. Do you want a piece of the baby shower cake?”
“No, thanks. I'm on a diet.”
“Oh, lord.” I roll my eyes.
“Hey, there’s a new guy that’s kind of cute. I need to watch my girlish figure.”
“I'm leaving,” I say, laughing and walking out the door, trying to get the image of Ms. Alice and a man, any man, out of my head.
“Hey, sis, you’re leaking,” Nico says and I look down at the water pitcher in my hand. I don’t see it leaking, but I do see water running down my legs and onto the floor at my feet. I look back at the pitcher then back at my feet, and then I realize that it’s time.
“I... I'm, well, I think my water broke,” I tell him and he looks like he may fall over.
“Your water broke?” He stumbles back.
“Oh crap!” I mumble.
“What’s going on?” Cash asks.
“My water broke and Nico is freaking out,” I tell him, waving a hand in front of Nico’s face. Then I look at Cash and he looks the same as his brother. “Come on. You can’t be serious?” I groan.
“Is everything okay?” Trevor asks and I don’t even tell him. What’s the point? He’s just going to freak and I don’t have time to deal with them.
“Your water broke?” Trevor says from behind me and I notice that he sounds normal, so I stop and look at him.
“Yes, and I need to find your brother. Will you help me without going comatose?”
“Sure.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal, and his other two brothers aren’t standing four feet away staring into space. He grabs me around the waist then slides his arm under my thigh, lifting me. I scream and hold onto his neck for dear life.
“I could have walked,” I tell him, digging my nails into his back.
“This would be easier if you would retract your claws there, kitten.”
“Oh, sorry,” I mumble.
“What are you doing? Put her down,” Asher says when he sees us come through the backdoor.
“Her water broke. I'm taking her to the car.”
“Your water broke?” he asks in the same tone as Nico and Cash.
“Asher James Mayson, if you freak, we’re going to have so many problems, especially after you shoved that damn baby book down my throat every day for the last nine months. You know everything that is going to happen. You cannot be surprised by any of this.”
“You tried to burn it,” he reminds me of my failure. When we finally got home from the hospital and the guys came over for dinner that weekend, they decided to grill steaks and found the baby book still inside the grill, safe and sound, not even slightly damaged by the horrible rains that we had for two days before. He brought the book inside, set it at the island, then went back out to the grill, never saying a word about it.
“That book is like the damn Chucky doll,” I complain and dig my nails into Trevor’s neck again when the first contraction hits.
“Holy mother of God, that hurt!” I say, breathing deep and looking at Asher.
“Go get her stuff. I’ll take her to the car,” Trevor tells him.
“Put me down.”
“I'm taking you to the car.”
“Put me down right now!” I yell and he sets me on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Susan asks, walking around the corner to the living room.
“My water broke and all of your sons, except Trevor, turned comatose at the mention of it. I need to get my bag and get to the hospital.”
“How far apart are your contractions?”
“I just had my first one, so I don’t really know. I haven’t timed them.”
“It was one minute and fifty-six seconds ago,” Trevor says. Asher glares at him.
I walk to the couch and sit when I feel another contraction coming on.
“Well, they’re less than three minutes apart. We really need to get to the hospital,” Trevor says and I'm wondering what the hell is going on.
I look up at him and he shrugs. “That book has been around a lot,” he says, pointing to Asher. “He carries it with him everywhere, even to job sites. When I was bored a few times, I read it.”
“Lord, save me,” I say, looking up to the ceiling then back to Asher, who’s still just standing there.
“Asher, unless you want your brother to take over for you, pull it together,” I tell him, waddling out to the car.
Nine grueling hours later, July Heaven Mayson, came into this world screaming.
I walk into the living room and look at the couch. Asher is lying on his back with July lying in just a diaper against his bare chest. One of his big hands in holding her bottom, the other is on the back of her head. She’s facing me, her hand resting against her chin. Her eyes are the same color as her father’s. His eyes are closed. I walk towards them and Asher’s eyes open and the smile that comes across his face is devastating. It’s a look of pure bliss, the look of someone who is right where they are supposed to be in life and is so overwhelmed with happiness that it comes through every time they smile.