NYLON ~ 92 ~ FOREVER
JT gathered his toys together and dropped them into the colored bins in his room. Hanna smiled at him as she finished folding small blankets which she placed in the white dresser. Her belly had now grown to the shape and size of a blimp but she couldn't be happier because it meant her girls would be in her arms soon. As she bent over to close the drawer, she felt her stomach tighten.
"Oof!" she groaned.
"Mama," JT asked her, "are you okay?"
"I think the girls are getting excited," she told him. "Can you finish cleaning up your room and then we'll have lunch."
"Okay Mama," he replied finishing up.
Hanna stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge to pull out leftovers from what she had made the night before. She placed the food on a couple of plates and heated them up in the microwave before placing them on the table. Then she felt her belly tighten once again. She recognized it as a contraction but knew she was nowhere near giving birth to her little girls.
"JT!" she called out.
"I'm starving," he said running into the kitchen and sitting in his padded chair.
"We're having pasta!" she told him sitting down across from him.
"I love pasta!" JT said shoveling it into his mouth.
JT caught her up on the regular goings on at the playground and let Hanna eat her tomatoes because he thought his baby sisters deserved them more. Hanna laughed at the thought but ate them anyway knowing JT despise the little red fruits. But halfway through the meal they were interrupted by Hanna's third serious contraction.
"Ow, ow," she said rubbing her stomach.
"Mama?" JT asked. "Is that the babies?"
"Yeah bud," Hanna replied.
She picked up her phone to text Caleb, letting him know that the girls were likely on their way. She put the phone down and turned back to her lunch knowing it would still be a while before two new members joined the family.
"Hey bud," Hanna sighed, "how about we watch a movie?"
"Pirates!" JT said quickly.
"Okay," she smiled following him to the TV room. "We'll watch a pirate movie."
Hanna put the movie on and sat down on the couch next to JT who was clapping excitedly. Hanna's little boy rested his head on her lap and a few minutes in, was already asleep. She delicately stroked his hair until another contraction hit her. Hanna did her breathing exercises as she had practiced and the pain was gone momentarily.
She had four more contractions during the movie but they were nowhere near close enough to be alarmed. Then she picked up her phone. Caleb still hadn't texted her back and it worried her a bit. She had thought he would be jumping at the chance to meet his little girls. She glanced at the clock and noticed the time. Caleb really should have be on his way home. Hanna woke up JT. The little boy rubbed his eyes open and sat up. He gave Hanna a big smile and jumped up on the couch.
"Mama!" he said. "I want to do leap frog."
"What?" she sighed. "You know I can't play leap frog with you baby."
"I'm not the baby," he protested. "They're babies."
"I know," Hanna sighed. "You're my big strong boy."
"Yeah," he replied jumping on the couch. "I'm big and strong."
"How about we make some dinner for when Dad gets home," Hanna suggested.
"Do his favorite!" JT said. "Pasta carbaraba!"
"Carbonara," Hanna corrected him. "I'll see what I can dig up."
Between the two of them they banned together to cook up Caleb's favorite meal. Hanna pulled out all the stops and let JT pour the milk and stir in the butter while she chopped all the vegetables. Despite having to pause occasionally to breathe through a contraction, Hanna managed to finish the meal. When they were done Hanna glanced at the clock once again. Caleb was due to be home any second and now she was really starting to get worried. She grabbed her phone and dialed his cell. There was no answer.
"Hi Caleb," she left a voicemail. "I haven't been able to reach you all day. Your phone is probably on silent but I think I'm in labor and I'm probably having these babies tonight. Call me when you get this."
"Is that Daddy?" JT asked.
"Just his voicemail," Hanna replied.
She and JT waited nearly an hour but Caleb didn't come home. Eventually it was getting close to JT's bedtime so she let him eat. More importantly, it was getting to be time to deliver the girls. Her contractions were getting much closer and she needed to get to a hospital quickly. Then she grabbed her phone and dialed Caleb once again. No answer. She dialed the office. Again, no answer. Then she called Spencer.
"Hey," Spencer answered.
"Spence!" Hanna said urgently. "Have you heard from Caleb?"
"He left the office a couple hours ago," Spencer explained. "He needed to check on the Long Island job. Is everything okay?"
"He's not home yet," Hanna explained. "He's not answering his phone and I'm in labor."
"Like real labor?" Spencer asked.
"Yeah," Hanna panted. "I need to get to the hospital soon."
"I'll drive you," Spencer said quickly.
Hanna breathed a sigh of relief and dialed Caleb again. Still no answer. Then she cleaned up JT and finished getting the kitchen in order. Spencer was at the door a few minutes later and Hanna ushered her inside.
"Calm down," Spencer told her. "Everything is going to be fine."
"How do you know?" Hanna sighed.
"Let's get your things," Spencer said, "and go to the hospital. I'll make sure Caleb meets us there."
"Okay," Hanna sighed suddenly invigorated by Spencer's positivity.
Spencer grabbed JT and his small bag while Hanna carried her own bag. Then they made their way to Spencer's car and headed to the hospital. The nurses made them wait a bit before checking Hanna into a room and getting her hooked up to a handful of machines. In the meantime, she called Caleb's cell phone again and left a message on the house phone.
"You're doing great," Spencer told Hanna.
"Thanks," Hanna smiled as she looked over to find JT curled up asleep on a hospital chair.
Suddenly, Hanna was struck by another contraction. As she had practiced, she breathed through it and when she opened her eyes, she found a surprise standing in the doorway.
"Caleb," she panted.
"I'm so sorry," he kissed her forehead. "I left my phone at home. I came as soon as I knew."
"I am going to wring your neck!" Hanna snapped.
"Han," he smiled, "you can skin me alive if you want. I deserve it. But first, let's meet our girls."
"Okay," Hanna laughed. "You promise you won't disappear again?"
"Promise," he kissed her hand. "I'm here forever."
UP NEXT ~ JUST LIKE HER MOM
JT adjusts to having two new sisters in the house
