“I’m sorry,” her friend said, the right side of her face swollen and puffy. “I’m so sorry. I woke up in horrible pain and went to the ER this morning. They sent me to my dentist where I had to have an emergency root canal. It took forever and they knocked me out with something and I never thought to text because I didn’t think it would take four hours.” Bernie grabbed her hand. “And Hayes is in court so he couldn’t contact you but he’s on his way and oh, Zennie, I’m sorry. I hope we didn’t scare you.”
The relief was sweet. Zennie held on to Bernie’s hand. “I’m okay,” she said. “I was worried that something had happened.” She glanced over her friend’s shoulder to see Clark giving her an “I told you so” smile. She smiled back.
Hayes walked in and hurried over.
“Everyone okay?” he asked. “Sorry I got stuck in court. Bernie, you look awful.”
“I feel awful. They drugged me. I had to Uber over, so we’ll need to get my car later, but none of that matters.” She squeezed Zennie’s hand again. “Let’s see our baby.”
“We’ll do the heartbeat first,” the technician said, pulling a container of gel out of a warming oven.
Zennie held out her free hand to Clark, so he could join them. Bernie looked between the two of them, but didn’t say anything. Later Zennie would tell her about the meltdown and they would all laugh, but for now, she was grateful for the support.
“Here we go,” the technician said.
For what felt like the longest time, there was nothing. Zennie knew that finding the heartbeat this early could take some doing. It all depended on the position of the baby in her body and the—
The sound of tiny galloping horses filled the room. Bernie cried out and clutched Hayes. Clark squeezed Zennie’s hand.
“Let me get Dr. McQueen,” the tech said with a smile. “She’ll want to count the beats.”
Zennie knew that one hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty beats per minute was normal. The beats were strong and regular and there really was a person growing inside of her.
“Thank you,” Bernie said, with a shaky smile. “Oh, Zennie, thank you for everything.”
“Of course. You’re my friend.”
“And you’re a miracle.”
“I’ve never been a miracle before,” Zennie admitted, telling herself to remember this moment for when it got hard. Because this made it all worthwhile.
Chapter Thirty-One
Six months later...
Ali studied the brochure from the Four Seasons in the Bahamas. It was a beautiful resort with every possible amenity. She didn’t dare imagine the price, but it was tempting.
“Are you sure?”
Daniel looked up from his desk. They were in his home office on a lazy Saturday morning, debating what to do after Mary Jo and Parker’s destination wedding on Valentine’s Day. The happy couple was flying everyone to Jamaica for the ceremony at one of those all-inclusive resorts. The timing worked out—Zennie would be recovered from having Bernie’s baby and Finola could easily fly in from New York.
“Ali, I want what you want. You know that. I love you and I want to get married, but the how is up to you. It was just a suggestion. If you don’t like it, we can have a big wedding somewhere here, if you’d like. The beach or a hotel. The Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey is beautiful.”
It was and yes, they could have a big wedding. Only she kind of felt she’d already done that. And Daniel’s first marriage had started with a blowout wedding. This time she wanted something smaller. Something that felt like them.
Valentine’s Day was a Friday and Parker and her mom were putting everyone up through Sunday. Daniel’s idea was to fly from Jamaica to the Bahamas and get married there. Just the two of them.
Ali had been in touch with the resort’s wedding planner and the process was fairly simple. A couple could apply for a wedding license after being on the island twenty-four hours and get married one day later. If she and Daniel arrived Sunday morning, they could apply Monday afternoon and get married on Wednesday. The wedding planner had told them that a midweek wedding would be available with no problem. One of the gorgeous beachfront suites was available for the week. The wedding planner would handle all the details, including providing the required two witnesses. Easy peasy.
There were a lot of advantages to eloping, she thought. It spared everyone wedding awkwardness. While Glen had come around and was even dating someone else, Ali didn’t relish the thought of walking down the aisle only to see him standing next to Daniel. Not having his brother as best man was an option, but also a difficult decision. Tying the knot in the Bahamas seemed like the perfect solution.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
He grinned. “You sure?”
“I am.”
“All right. Let’s make our reservations. I’m getting married!”
His excitement was gratifying. Every day, Daniel made it clear how much he loved her. They were happy and looking forward to their future together. Ali was thinking that she just might talk to Daniel about her going off birth control so that they could start trying to get pregnant on their honeymoon. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Her cell phone buzzed. She glanced down and read the text, then jumped to her feet.
“Zennie’s in labor.” She grabbed her phone. “She’s been in labor all night and they’re on their way to the hospital right now. We should go, too.”
“By ‘they’ you mean Zennie and Clark?”
“Yes. Who else?”
“But they’re not dating.”
“They’re friends.”
“He practically lives there. They’re together all the time.”
Ali didn’t understand why Daniel couldn’t get it. “But as friends.”
“So no sex.”
She smiled. “Not everyone wants it as much as you do.”
“And you.”
“And me,” she said, standing and heading toward the garage. “Some people don’t do it much at all.”
“From what I hear, Parker and your mom do it all the time and they’re old.”
“Let’s not talk about my mother. Zennie and Clark have a different kind of relationship.”
“That poor guy must take five cold showers a day.”
Ali climbed into the passenger side of the truck, then leaned over and kissed Daniel. “Something you never have to do.”
“I know. I’m a lucky, lucky guy.”
She was the lucky one, she thought as he backed out of the driveway and headed for the hospital. Finding Daniel was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She glanced at him, then smiled. Okay, it was actually the second-best thing. The first best had been finding herself.
* * *
“I. Can’t. Do. This.”
Zennie stared up at the ceiling and wanted to kill someone. Anyone would do. A random stranger, a member of her family. She just wanted to lash out, preferably with a baseball—
“Nooo!” she screamed as the pain ripped through her. “Dammit, somebody do something.”
The delivery nurse shook her head. “You waited too long, honey. The baby’s on his way and there’s no time.”
Zennie grabbed the side of the bed as her entire body twisted, those damned muscles she’d been so proud of betraying her now with a force that could crush a planet.
“I hate this,” she screamed.
“We’re not having fun, either,” the nurse said calmly. “But we’re not complaining.”
Zennie saw Clark’s lips twitch. “Do not smile at me, mister. This is all your fault.”
He was undaunted by her display of temper. “You’re the one who refused to go to the hospital. You said you didn’t want to be one of those whiny women who showed up six days early, complaining about the pain. You said you knew best.”
All of which was true, but he didn’t have to say it. “I’ll hate you forever,” she growled.
“Tough talk, Zennie. Tough talk.”
She was grateful he wasn’t offended. She had no idea where her rage came from, except maybe it was her way of dealing with the pain. Holy crap, how did women survive this? It was her worst ever menstrual cramps times a million. It was so bad, she’d thrown up, but now there was only enduring the hideousness of it all.
Bernie and Hayes burst into the room. “Oh, Zennie, is it really time?”
Zennie opened her mouth to yell that it was all their fault when Clark caught her eye. He shook his head as if warning her that Bernie was her friend and she loved her and, dammit, why did it have to hurt so much?
Another contraction ripped through her. She screamed, knowing she was frightening everyone, but she couldn’t help it. She’d had a relatively easy pregnancy and now she was paying for it.
“I can’t,” she gasped, as Bernie squeezed her hand. “I can’t do this.”
“Seems like a silly time to give up,” Clark said calmly.
She glared at him. “You will pay for this later.”
“Bite me.”
That almost made her laugh, but then the pain was back, even stronger this time. Dr. McQueen walked into the room, already in her gown.