I'm In Trouble Deep

Deep Connection

When Danny had been called into work that day, Linda had cried. She had wanted him to come to her doctor's appointment later that day; she was having another ultrasound, and had wanted her husband to see their little baby.

On the drive to the obgyn, she had cried again. She had a meltdown in her car in the parking lot, but had finally pulled herself together. She was still sad as she walked into the office, but knew it couldn't be helped. When she saw all the husbands sitting next to their wives, she felt as if she'd been punched in the gut. Somehow she had managed to check in and pick a lone chair to sit in without breaking down, but when the couple across from her leaned into each other and acted like couples do, that was when she lost it. Immediately she started to ugly-cry, and immediately all four wives were at her side.

"What's wrong?" The one on her left side kneeled to the floor. She looked about five months pregnant. "I'm Elsie, what's wrong, sweetie?"

Linda took in a breath, embarrassed she was crying like that in public. "My husband's not here. He was supposed to- to be here, but he ha- had to g-go to work. And it was s'pposed to be spe- special, and it's all so terrible."

The wives collectively comforted her, patting her shoulders and hands and even her knees. One wife, Marilee, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and Linda only cried more.

"It's not fair," she hiccuped, "he was gonna be here, and I feel terrible because I made him feel guilty, and I look terrible-"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Phoebe, who stood on the right side, was quick to disagree. "You look so cute! I've been looking for a top that cute for ages!"

"And you're very pretty," Elsie complimented her. "Even crying, you're positively glowing!"

Marilee smiled at her husband who had brought tissues over for the crying mother to be. "And your husband loves you."

"I know he does," Linda had stopped crying now. "I just wish he was here, y'know? It's our first baby."

A chorus of "congratulations!" broke out from the wives before one was called back and all went back to their seats. Linda was soon called back as well, and she sighed, swallowing more tears.

**********

"Linda. Linda."

She groaned out a response, wondering what could be so important at two in the morning.

"Is it possible to get appendicitis twice?"

"What?" Certainly she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Appendicitis," Danny repeated. "Is it possible to get it twice?"

"Danny, getting appendicitis twice would be like amputating a finger twice."

"You can amputate a finger more than once. One is gone, but there's seven more left, including two thumbs."

There was a long stretch of silence before Linda answered, "this is the best sleep I've gotten in months. You better be dying." Not once did her eyes open.

"I think I am! My stomach feels like shit, and it's so weird cause it's not just my stomach."

"Where does it hurt?" She was dead tired, but she was still a nurse and a wife. She knew there was no way it was appendicitis, but it could be something else.

"Here," Danny intentionally tapped her pubic region and she didn't even try to hide the instinctive moan. "And my thighs, and lower back."

She furrowed her brows, "is there a stabbing pain behind your belly button?"

"Yes."

"And it feels like the shark from Jaws is eating you up?"

"Yes! What the hell is up with that?"

She propped herself on her elbow, her eyes open and her smile wide. "Danny, that's wonderful!"

"How the hell is getting eaten by a shark wonderful?"

"Don't you see? Those are sympathy pains!"

"They're what?"

"Sympathy pains! It happens a lot to husbands when their wives are pregnant. You're experiencing the pain that I'm feeling!"

Danny cursed, dropping back to the pillows. He couldn't help but smile, though, when Linda kissed his cheek. If she was happy, he'd try to be happy too.

*******

"She says we've got some sorta deep spiritual connection," Danny relayed over the phone to his Mom the next morning.

"And what do you think?"

"I think I won't think 'she's overreacting, she has to get over herself' ever again when she's cramping."

Mary burst into a fit of laughter.

"At least Tylenol works for me," he poured himself more coffee. He had some how been able to convince his boss to let him go on paternity leave a little early. His figuring was that Linda was due to have the baby any day now, and he wanted to be by her side when that happened.

"How's she doing? I know the due date is any day now."

"Yeah, any second really. She's late, and if it doesn't happen soon, they're gonna um... force labor? I didn't know they could do that."

"Oh, yeah. Jamie had to be induced."

"Huh."

"Anyway, I wanted to know if Linda would be interested in grabbing lunch with me, Erin, and Nicky today?"

"I'm sure she'd love that, but I'm not exactly sure if she's up to moving. She's been in bed for the last three days."

"I'm sorry; we'll bring her a doggie bag."

"Yeah, she'd like that." He sipped his coffee, "mm, listen, Mom, Linda's-"

Mary frowned when he didn't finish his thought. Her friend grew deeper when she heard thudding in the background, then the clattering of a mug and the phone falling to the floor. "Danny? Danny, what's happened?"

Danny came skidding into the foyer to find Linda on the floor, clutching her huge pregnant belly. Blood was coming from the side of her head, and she was crying. He dropped to his knees, putting one hand on her head and the other on her stomach. "What happened?"

Her face scrunched in pain, "I don't know! I was co- comin' down for- for food, and-" she sobbed harder, starting to cough and gag.

"Shit. Shit, shit! Okay, okay. I'll be back. I need to call an ambulance, but I'll be back. I swear." Danny didn't remember calling the ambulance, waiting for it, or watching Linda being loaded in. He just remembered her cries and the high pitched wails of the sirens.