Ice (27 page)

Smiling, Jean said, “Don’t worry, Maggie, I doubt that you could keep us away even if you tried. Thank God you bought that huge house.”

“It’s not that big.”

With a snort, Jean said, “It’s not that small either.”

“Maggie, could you come up here for a minute please,” Alex called from upstairs.

“Probably can’t get off the toilet,” Maggie said with a giggle, winking at Jean as she left the room and jogged up the stairs. Entering their bedroom, she walked up to the bathroom door. Snickering, she said loudly, “What is it, sweetheart? Need help getting up?”

“Um, can you come in here for a minute?”

Maggie’s heart dropped. Quickly opening the door, she rushed inside and found Alex sitting on the edge of the tub, surrounded by a puddle of water on the floor. Confused, Maggie asked, “What happened?”

Raising an eyebrow, Alex stared back and watched as the penny dropped.

“Your water broke!”

“No! You think!” Alex shouted, still quite flustered at the gush of water that had soaked through her trousers.

Chuckling, Maggie tiptoed to the tub. “Sweetheart, you knew that this was going to happen.”

“It didn’t happen to you!”

Tickled by the fact that her normally unflappable wife was freaking out, it was all Maggie could do not to laugh. Sitting on the edge of the tub, she patted Alex’s knee. “No, it didn’t happen to me, but you knew there was a chance. What’s wrong, sweetheart? You seem almost angry?”

“I just had a pain that made me see stars, for Christ’s sake. I thought I had to pee, and then suddenly – whoosh – I’m a two-year-old again! My trousers are soaked through, not to mention my knickers, and I can’t stand wet knickers!”

“Since when?” Maggie joked, laughing out loud when Alex gave her a dirty look. Pulling a towel from the rod, Maggie covered the puddle on the floor. “Let’s get you to hospital, okay?” she said, taking Alex by the arm and helping her stand.

“Not until I change my trousers.”

“Alex—”

“Margaret, this is not up for debate. I’m not going anywhere until I’m wearing dry knickers!”

Biting her lip, Maggie tried her best to hide her grin as she guided Alex into the bedroom and helped her changed her clothes. A few minutes later, as they were about to leave the room, another labor pain rocked Alex, forcing her to stop in her tracks and grab hold of the door jamb until it passed.

“Are you all right?” Maggie asked in a whisper, the amusement she had felt a few minutes earlier having disappeared at the sight of Alex in pain.

“Yeah,” Alex replied, taking a few deep breaths to clear her head. “But that one was worse than before.”

“How much worse?”

“A lot.”

“Are you timing them?”

Nodding her head, Alex looked at her watch. “Four minutes.”

Maggie’s eyes flew open. “Four minutes! Alex, that’s fast.”

“Yeah, well you know me. I’ve never been known for my patience.”

“Well, you’re about to be a patient. We need to get you to hospital. Come on.”

Hearing voices, Jean came to the landing. When she saw Maggie holding the small overnight case for the hospital in her hand as she carefully guided Alex down the steps, Jean rushed outside and called for her husband. Gathering his grandsons in his arms, Douglas rushed into the house, depositing them in the kitchen, before hurrying to the front hall.

“Oh, Christ. Is it time?” he asked, helping Alex down the last two steps.

Before Maggie or Alex could answer, another pain ripped through Alex and this time, she couldn’t stop herself from crying out. Grabbing hold of the railing, she began taking rapid breaths as she waited for it to pass.

Grabbing his keys from the table, he forced them into Maggie’s hand. “Take these and go start my car.”

“Dad, our car—”

“Maggie, it’s snowing and mine is safer, so stop arguing and do what I ask!”

Taking the keys, Maggie ran out the door. Jumping into her father’s SUV, she started the ignition, adjusting the seat and mirrors while she waited for the defogger to clear the windows. Turning the heater on full blast, she scrambled out and ran to the house. Halfway up the walk, she stopped in her tracks when the front door flew open, and her father came out with Alex in his arms.

“She just had another contraction and almost hit the floor,” he explained, carefully walking down the snow-covered path. Gingerly placing Alex in the front seat of the car, he waited while Maggie climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll stay with the boys, and Jean is going with you,” he said.

“Dad—”

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll call Jean’s sister, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Kissing Alex on the cheek, he winked at his daughter and shut the door, quickly jogging into the house in search of his wife. Seconds later, Jean ran down the path and got into the car.

“Maggie, I’m scared,” Alex said quietly as Maggie carefully backed out of the driveway.

“I know, sweetheart, but it will be okay. I promise.”

“But what if it’s not?”

“Since when do you think like that?” Maggie snapped, stopping the car and putting the gearshift into park.

“Maggie, dear, I really don’t think you should stop,” Jean chimed in from the back seat.

“I’ll move when I’m damn well ready,” Maggie growled, her temper thickening her accent like it always did.

She had read all the books. She had been with Maggie from conception through birth, yet nothing could have prepared Alex for the emotions now coursing through her body. In a short time, two little girls would emerge from her, and she was terrified.

Glaring back at the woman with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face, Maggie said, “What’s wrong, Alex?”

“I guess I’m just scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of not being as strong as you.”

“What?”

“You know, how you went through all of this with the boys like a champ.”

Rolling her eyes, Maggie said, “Sweetheart, this isn’t some fucking competition! If you want to scream and swear, or rant and rave, have at it! It’s totally understandable given the circumstances.”

“Really?” Alex said, wincing as she could feel another contraction starting.

“Really,” Maggie replied with a smile.

“Well, with that being said,” Alex said, stopping to take a few quick breaths. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything, sweetheart, just name it.”

“Could you please drive me to the fucking hospital? I’m dying here!”

Laughing, Maggie leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek. Casting a quick wink at Jean, who was smiling in the back seat, Maggie slipped the car into drive and carefully took her wife, now swearing like a sailor, to the hospital.

***

“Let’s get you out of these wet clothes while we wait for your Aunt Janet,” Douglas said to his grandsons as he began removing the multiple layers of clothing that Maggie had dressed them in.

“Where’s Mum and Mummy?” DJ asked as his grandfather tugged off his soaked mittens.

“They’ve gone to the hospital to get your sisters.”

“I want to go, too!” John stated emphatically as he fought with the zipper on his jacket.

“No, not tonight, but maybe tomorrow.”

“I want to see my mum!” DJ shouted, pulling away from his grandfather.

“Hey, what’s this?” Douglas said, grinning as he pulled the boy into a hug. “Mummy told you that Mum would be away for a day or two. You know that.”

“But Mum was crying! Mum was hurt! I want to see my mum! I want to see Mum now!” DJ screamed.

Totally forgetting that the children were in the kitchen when Alex had cried out in pain, Douglas sighed and knelt down beside them. Pulling them into his arms, he tried to find the words.

“Sweethearts,” he began, looking into their dark-brown eyes. “When a woman has a baby, it sometimes hurts a little.”

“Like when I fall down?” John asked.

“Exactly,” Douglas said, nodding his head. “But once Mummy gets Mum to the hospital, the doctors have something that will make the pain go away. I promise. They know what to do.”

With all the force that a three-year-old could muster, DJ wiggled out of Douglas’ grip. “I know what to do!” he shrieked, running to the door. “I know how to fix Mum!”

Before Douglas had a chance to stop him, he watched in shock as DJ opened the back door and ran out into the snow. Jumping to his feet, he strode to the door. “Douglas Jarrod Campbell-Blake, you get in here this minute!” he bellowed, seeing his grandson dart about the snow in his stocking feet.

Having kicked off his boots after coming back inside, Douglas frantically looked around the kitchen, but just as he spotted them in the hallway, his other grandson rushed past him. “Oh, me, too! Me, too!” John yelled, dashing through the snow to meet up with his brother.

“Jesus Christ!” Douglas muttered as he looked up at the ceiling. “Thank you God for giving me a girl. Boys are a pain in the arse!”

The sound of their shrieks of joy changed his focus, and standing in the doorway, he screamed again. This time, adding a bit more emphasis to get their attention. “John Ethan and Douglas Jarrod, get in this house
now
!”

His booming voice finally did the trick, and out of breath, but smiling, the two youngsters scampered back to their grandfather, giggling all the way. Ushering them into the house, he ran his fingers through their black hair to dislodge the snow, and then pulling off their socks, rubbed their cold, tiny feet until they were warm.

Exasperated and confused, he said, “What the hell…um…what in the world did you think you’d find outside that could help your mum?”

“This,” DJ said proudly, as both he and his brother held out their hands.

Feeling as if he had been sucker-punched, Douglas sank to the floor. Unable to stop the tears from forming in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around his grandsons and held them close. Placing a kiss on each of their cheeks, he held out his hands…and they filled them with ice.

The End

###

Ice
is my first published book, but I hope to publish more in the coming weeks and months. If you liked
Ice
, I hope you return to where you purchased it and leave a comment. If you want to contact me personally, please feel free drop me a line at
[email protected]
  Please check out my author's page on Smashwords which will be updated with blog or website information when it becomes available.