When Maureen was certain she'd heard Roger shut the door to leave the loft, she waited another five minutes before unlocking the door. She glanced around to make sure he was gone. The baby kicked at her stomach and she winced.
"Calm down, baby. Didn't mean to upset you…Mommy's just having a hard time right now."
She rubbed her stomach gently as she whispered to the baby. After a few minutes, she felt the baby relax. As she made her way to the sofa, though, a sharp pain doubled her over. Maureen gripped the back of the couch. What the hell was wrong with her? An instant later, the pain was gone. She sat carefully on the couch, trying to read the book Mark had left there. Another pain shot through her. She cried out and realized what it was. Contractions.
Roger was almost to the café before he turned around. He couldn't do this. He couldn't pretend and act like he didn't love Maureen. He couldn't just sit in the café and act like everything was normal when he knew she was up in the loft crying. Roger ran back to the loft, wanting to hurry before he lost his nerve. He stopped when he heard her scream, then ran faster.
"Maureen! Maureen, what's wrong?" he shouted as he bolted in.
Maureen lay on the couch doubled over. Her hands clutched her stomach. Oh God. "Roger?"
"I'm here, I'm here. What's wrong? What happened?"
She relaxed and leaned back. "I-I think I'm having labor pains."
"You're not due for, like, three months."
"Tell that to the baby."
"Shit." He ran for the phone.
"What the hell are you doing?" Maureen asked as he dialed.
"Calling the doctor…Hi, I need to speak with Dr. Forrester now. It's sort of an emergency….Doctor, it's Roger Davis. Maureen Johnson's…the father of Maureen Johnson's baby? She's in labor…we think…I don't know, she's having contractions but she's not…yeah?...Well, yeah, a few minutes before…hang on…"
"Mo? How far apart are the contractions?"
She glanced at her watch. "I don't know. First ones were, like, four minutes apart, but then it was like seven and..."
"It's varying….oh? No, no we didn't know that…Okay, okay, and in the meantime … Right. Okay…yes of course. Thank you, doctor."
"Well?"
"False labor," he said, sighing.
"This sure as hell doesn't feel false." As if on cue, another contraction hit, doubling her over again. Tears stung her eyes. "Shit!"
"The doctor said women at this stage of pregnancy sometimes start having contractions if they're really stressed out or upset. Especially by arguments and that sort of stuff."
Maureen nodded. "So what am I supposed to do?"
"Absolutely nothing. Bed-rest until we get you in to see the doctor and make sure everything's okay. And if the contractions get more regular, we're going to the hospital."
"Okay," she said, relaxing again.
Roger bit his lip, turning it bright red. "Come on, let me help you to bed."
Maureen hesitated, but accepted his hand and let him help her along. She was surprised when he guided her to his room, but said nothing. Roger waited for her to lie down and pulled the blanket up over her. He brushed the hair from her forehead.
"You okay?"
"Ye—ow! Damn it!"
She leaned forward and grabbed Roger's hand, squeezing it hard. He kept his other hand on her back. The silence hung in the air until she'd relaxed again.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I think so. That was, like, five minutes."
"Okay. Do you need anything? Water? Tea? More blankets?"
"Some water maybe?"
Roger went to the kitchen and came back with the water. Maureen took a small sip and set it down on the nightstand. "Roger?"
"Yeah?"
"Look about—"
"Let's talk about it later. You need to rest. For you and the baby."
