Chapter 48
Once again Jordan went to work the next morning, after she'd had a hearty breakfast and listened to pleas from Woody to take it easy, of course.
At work, she faced the concerned faces of her co-workers at how slowly she was moving towards the break room. Her back was still hurting even if she hadn't told Woody and Evelyn that before she'd left the apartment that morning. Jordan had known they would never have let her come to work, but she also knew she would have been bored to death at home. At least paperwork was better than soap operas or afternoon game shows!
By lunch the backache still hadn't let up, if anything it was getting worse. The problem was that it was sapping all of her energy. She was so tired by lunch that she could hardly move.
Jordan decided to combat her dilemma with that tried and true pick-me-up, caffeine! Picking up her oversized mug, that today seemed to weigh about ten pounds, she began to shuffle her way to the break room.
Bug, Nigel, and Lily were there when she arrived, caught in the age old battle of whether to go out to lunch or order something to be delivered. When she went straight for the coffee pot all three of them started to protect at once.
Whether it was the pain in her back, or the frustration of being beyond her due date, or possibly that she had just had enough pampering to last her a lifetime, Jordan snapped. She slammed her still empty mug down on the counter, planted her fists on her almost non-existent waist and started to let them have it.
However, she had only managed to get out, "Now you guys listen here," out before Lily was pointing to the floor at her feet.
"What?!" Jordan demanded in irritation at the interruption of her tirade.
"I am guessing that what Lily is trying to indicate is that just because this is called the break room, it is probably not where you might have wanted to have your water break," Garrett said as he entered the room and assessed the situation at a glance.
"I really just wanted to bring it to her attention, but your version works too, Garrett," Lily replied.
When nothing else was said, all eyes went to Jordan who was looking down at the floor. Lily approached her, putting an arm around her shoulders and said, "Jordie, I think you're in labor."
Jordan's eyes flew up to meet Lily's and she snapped, "Well of course I'm in labor!"
"What should we do?!" questioned Bug.
As they stood there as if in a frozen moment Garrett started taking charge and issuing orders, "Nigel, clean this up. Bug, gather up Jordan's things from her office, I'll need her car keys. I'm sure she has her bag in there. Lily, get Jordan changed into some scrub pants, so she doesn't have to travel in wet clothes. I'll call Woody and tell him to head to the hospital."
Everyone jumped to follow orders from the boss they were used to having take charge. Within minutes everything had been done and they were all at the elevator to see Jordan and Garrett off. The three not going along promised to check in and see how she was doing and to come by right after work to see the baby.
However, Jordan was never one to do things the easy way, and when Bug, Nigel, and Lily arrived at the hospital six hours later Jordan was still in labor. Evelyn, Max, and LaVon were also packed into the small waiting room. Tuyen was out of town at a conference for young women in teaching roles. The only other family member not accounted for was Jordan's Aunt Meredith who was in Spain for the summer.
Midnight came and went as the waiting parties took turns pacing up and down the hall. Throughout the evening Woody had come out every so often to give them updates and give them each a turn to go in and see Jordan for a few minutes and offer their encouragement and support.
To be continued…
