Chapter 42
In the afternoon, Chuck brought Kaitlyn her lunch. When he walked into the bedroom, she was coming out of the bathroom.
"Gary's called about ten times since he left. He obviously has no confidence in me." Chuck groaned as he set the tray down on the bed. He looked over at Kaitlyn completely dressed, wearing a cotton maternity dress and holding a suitcase. "What's that for, you planning on running away?" He said.
"Chuck, I'm having contractions." Kaitlyn said.
"What? Oh, no, no, no. This isn't happening." Chuck said as he put his hands over his ears and started to pace the floor.
"Chuck! Chuck!" Kaitlyn screamed to get his attention. "Look at me! I don't think we have very much time. Where are the girls?"
"Megan came by and took them to the zoo." Chuck said.
"Okay. Where did my mother go?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Shopping with Mrs. H." Chuck winced. "Gar! We'll call Gary." Chuck said quickly and headed for the telephone as Kaitlyn sat down on the bed.
After the look of panic on Chuck's face, Kaitlyn asked, "What's wrong?"
"I think he wore the battery down calling here a hundred times today." Chuck said. "I can't get him."
Kaitlyn screamed as she got another contraction. She looked at her watch, they were getting closer together.
"Okay, Chuck you're going to have to take me to the hospital." She said when the contraction ended.
"Me?" Chuck asked.
"Yes you!" Kaitlyn screamed as she handed him her suitcase and headed for the door.
Gary and Bernie had finished with the paper. Bernie told Gary that if he didn't need his help for the rest of the afternoon, he was going to head over to the park. Since he had been visiting Chicago so frequently, he had gotten himself involved in a curling league. Gary stopped back at McGinty's. He found Marissa working in the office.
"Hey Marissa. How's it going?" Gary said as he sat down at the desk.
"Chuck isn't here so it's quiet. I didn't expect to see you today." Marissa said.
"I've been taking care of the paper today. Chuck is with Kaitlyn."
"You're kidding, right?" Marissa asked.
"Nope. I wish I was." Gary said.
"What brought that on?" Marissa said.
"Well, depends on who's version you want to hear, Chuck's or my wife's." Gary said as he fumbled through some receipts that were on the desk. "See, Chuck tells me that Kaitlyn wants me out of the house because I'm driving her crazy. When I asked Kaitlyn about it, she tells me it's because she is worried about Chuck. She said she thought he needed someone to talk to because he's nervous about becoming a father."
"Who do you believe?" Marissa asked.
"Well, I would like to think that my wife wouldn't lie to me. But, I talked to my Dad about it and well, I think I have been a little to overprotective. So, I tend to fall on Chuck's side." Gary groaned.
"Gary, I'm sure Kaitlyn understands that you are just worried about her and the babies." Marissa smiled. "She's just probably anxious to get this whole thing over with. Not to mention the fact that she has been cooped up in the hospital and now the house."
"I hope so." Gary groaned.
"You finished with the paper today?" Marissa asked.
"The only thing left was a little fender bender over on Logan. I skipped it. I want to head home early. It's just going to snarl traffic for a while. I'm going to call and check on Kaitlyn before I leave." Gary said as he picked up the telephone and dialed. "That's strange." He said as he put the telephone down.
"What?" Marissa asked.
"There's no answer." Gary said concerned. "Why wouldn't they answer." Gary said nervously.
"Gary, don't get all worked up. Kaitlyn probably talked Chuck into letting her sit outside for a little while." Marissa said. "She'll be fine."
"Yeah, you're probably right. I have his cell phone, so if there was a problem they would have called me." Gary said as he reached for the paper in his back pocket. He found the article. His face went white. "Marrisa, the article has changed. It says that a pregnant woman is going to have a baby in that traffic jam. Oh, God! What if it's Kaitlyn." Gary said as he headed for the door. "Keep trying to get Kaitlyn on the phone, when you get her tell her to call me on the cell phone." Gary said a he left the office.