Page 50 of Eye on the Ball
“She isn’t new. She’s just … particular,” Alejandro soothed.
“Peculiar! That’s even worse!”
“Not peculiar! Particular, my love. Particular is good in a pilot.”
“We can take my truck,” Jack said calmly. “I pushed the seat all the way back. Let’s go now.”
Aunt Ruby grabbed our purses, and the rest of us moved to help Rose toward the door. Alejandro shook his head and lifted his wife into his arms.
“Get the door,” he said, his voice strained.
Jack threw the door open and held it wide. Once Alejandro and Rose were out the door, I raced ahead to open the truck door. I put the seatback into a more reclining position and jumped out of the way. When Alejandro gently placed his wife, who was now moaning continuously, on the truck seat, she reached out and grabbed my hand in an iron grip.
“Come with me,” she demanded.
“Okay, I’ll follow right behind?—”
“No! Come with me.”
Since she wasn’t letting go of my hand anytime soon, I climbed in the backseat and squeezed into the tiny space left there. Alejandro wanted to drive, but he was trembling, so Jack gently nudged him into the back seat next to me and jumped into the driver’s seat, and we took off toward town.
Aunt Ruby and Uncle Mike waited for Shelley, so we were alone on the road. I made meaningless sounds of what I hoped would be comfort, and Alejandro kept up a constant stream of reassurance.
Jack presented a totally calm face, but I noticed his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. I guess he hadn’t delivered any babies, either.
We sped into the parking lot of the softball field, threw the doors of the truck open, and waited.
“I’m glad you changed from that jumpsuit to a dress,” I blurted out. “It will be easier when the babies come.”
Rose gave me an incredulous look but kept panting.
“They could probably cut the pants off,” Jack said.
“Are we … really talking … about myclothes?” Rose shrieked.
“I’m sorry. I—” Jack cut off whatever he’d been going to say and looked up through the windshield. “I hear the chopper.”
Alejandro, Jack, and I all blew out relieved breaths.
Rose did not.
Rose yelled something so loudly my skull rang with the reverberations.
“What?”
“It’s too late! Tess! The babies are coming!”
26
Tess
In case you’ve ever wondered, babies don’t care about waiting for helicopters.
I wrapped Rose and Alejandro’s newest daughter in Jack’s shirt and handed the baby to her exhausted mother. “She’s beautiful, Mommy.”
Thank goodness Rose had cast that protective spell over herself to include the babies. It would have destroyed me if I’d had to see this tiny angel’s death.
Alejandro had tears running down his face. “So beautiful. Oh, Rose, my darling love. Look what you’ve done. You’ve brought our new daughter into the world.”