The Spinster's Club

Cass: Two

Urs Buhler had had quite possibly the longest day in his entire life. The call from his brother in law, Pete telling him that Jools, Pete's wife and Urs' sister had gone into premature labour had come too late for him to catch the last flight out of the state. His car was in pieces in the shop, so the only alternative was to break out his Harley Davidson motor cycle, which was currently mothballed in the back of his garage instead.

When was the last time he'd taken her out for a cross country trip like this, he wondered. It must have been years ago, maybe even when he was in college.

He cursed his bad timing in okaying the rebuild of his classic car for this week, and as he stretched out his stiff shoulders,and wished he'd kept riding the bike more regularly over the years. He couldn't recall aching like this after a ride before. He must be going a bit soft around the edges.

No, his leather jacket still fit him just fine, he decided. He took an experimental deep breath to check it wasn't too tight around the middle. How he loved that bad boy jacket. He'd thought he was so cool when he bought it in his senior year. He'd customised it himself with the torn denim vest and chains. The old full face helmet hadn't changed either - with its quasi gang designs stenciled on.

But that was the least of his worries. He'd ridden straight through the night, across three states and covering God knows how many miles, barely stopping for fuel let alone food, in order to reach his sister. Not that he was hungry. His worry for his sister and her as yet unborn baby had robbed him of his appetite. He was her only blood relative in this country – and even though he knew that Pete would keep her safe, Jools was still his baby sister and this baby meant the world to her.

Years ago she'd told him that starting a family with Pete was the most important thing in her life. No one could have predicted that they would have such difficulty conceiving and then carrying a baby to term. Three miscarriages in the last 6 years had made this babe all the more precious to her – and by extension to him. He was going to be there when this baby made its entrance, or his name wasn't Urs Buhler.

He'd arrived a little after dawn, just missing the birth, but right in time for the fall out. Pete was a hot mess of fatigue mixed with elation, and relief tinged with worry. Jools, the love of his life had just gone through a prem labour – and as of right now they had a very tiny daughter, who'd been whisked straight off to the NICU. Which of them needed him more? Urs could see he was clearly torn.
"Jools needs you right now," Urs said as Pete looked longingly towards the NICU. "You can't do anything for the baby yet. She needs the doctors and nurses more."
"Yeah, of course you're right. But Jools will want to know how the baby's doing"
"I'm sure the doctors will tell you as soon as they know anything. Jools needs your strength."
"How did you get to be so wise?" Pete asked.
Urs shrugged. "Beats me. I'm so tired I can hardly stand up."
"Come on in and see Jools with me. There's a chair in there."
Pete led the way and went straight to his wife's bed and gathered her into his arms.

Now, in the silence of Jool's room, he found himself staring at the new parents and wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now. Without an actual baby in the room, it all seemed a bit strange. There was no focus for their attention - like a birthday party without a cake or presents.

He fought back a feeling of disappointment in himself and the situation. After riding all night, he'd still failed to arrive in time for the birth.
But then he looked at his sister's radiant face and his disappointment vanished. "Congratulations, Jools" he said and leaned down to hug her. She accepted his embrace happily then scratched at his unshaven cheek. "Thanks Scruffy Boy."
He rubbed his hand over his chin and grinned. It was a far cry from his usual appearance.

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot you came all that way for us." Jools said, lying back in the bed with Pete's long arms around her. She smiled but Urs could see the fatigue in her eyes.
He felt a surge of brotherly love; she'd had a very tough time of it.
"Yeah man. But what were you thinking riding all that way? Where's your car?" said Pete.
"My car is in a million bits on my mechanics workshop floor. Yeah, bad timing, I know. This was the fastest way I could get here short of chartering a jet." he said with a short laugh.
"Well we appreciate that you dropped everything to come..."

And wasn't that an understatement? Not only had he ridden all night, but he'd simply abandoned his latest project and trusted his PA could reschedule his appointments. They didn't need to know that though.

Instead he shrugged. "I know Mutti and Vati would have been here if they could. But as the chief representative of the Buhler family in this country, it was the least I could do."
"You mean, as the only representative..." Jools laughed.
Urs ran a hand over his brow. "Have you spoken to them yet?"
Jools wrinkled her nose in consternation. "No, not yet They would only ask questions we don't have answers for. Wouldn't they?"
And the rest, thought Urs. As much as he loved his parents, he loved them better knowing they were on another continent.
Pete kissed his wife on the cheek. "Yeah, they'll want to know every little detail, won't they? Don't worry. I'll give them a call later today. It's after midnight back in Switzerland anyway, isn't it?"
"Thanks Babe. You're the best." Jools said, snuggling into his arms contentedly. "Can you believe it? We're finally parents – after all this time. I can't believe she's finally here!"
"I'm sure the docs will be in here soon to tell us how she's doing. She's got a bit of a road ahead of her," said Pete.
Urs caught the look of worry that flashed across his brother in law's face. Did he know something that Jools didn't? Pete shook his head imperceptibly. Apparently this was not a conversation for right now.

Urs suddenly felt a huge wave of fatigue wash over him. If he didn't sit down soon, he'd fall down. "Uh, I'll go and grab a cup of coffee and uh, give you guys some privacy, shall I?"
"Yeah OK. " sighed Jools, looking even tinier and more fragile than before. "I think I'll have a nap now too. You can go with him if you like, sweetie."
Pete shook his head firmly. "No I'll stay with you, babe and we'll wait for the paediatrician together." Then looking directly at Urs, said firmly "We'll wet the Munchkin's head tonight, OK bro?"

And I've been dismissed, thought Urs but couldn't find it in his heart to begrudge them this time together.
As he reached the door, Pete called out. "A bit of friendly advice. Don't bother with the coffee here."
Pausing with his hand on the door handle, Urs turned back. "Bad, is it?"
"Very nasty. But there's a coffee shop across the road. It's pretty good."
Jools lifted her head slightly as she agreed. "Yeah, we started going there during our ante-natal classes." She lifted her arm weakly. "Have a cappuccino for me."
"Do you want me to bring you back one then?" he asked, but his words fell on deaf ears. The two of them only had eyes for each other. A lump formed at the back of his throat as he backed out of the room.
He slipped on his sunglasses. He figured his biker image would take a massive hit if he was caught with tears in his eyes.
He cleared his throat. Now do I have enough energy to find that coffee shop?

The coffee shop was in the Art Deco style, one of his favourite building eras. He briefly admired the small stained glass panels above the door windows. They were probably original too, he decided, automatically assessing the patina on the window's lead channeling. Everything looked very authentic, he approved.

The door opened with a light tinkle and he stepped inside, momentarily surprised by the number of tables in such a small place. They must have very good coffee here, he decided. There seemed to be a long queue of hospital workers lining up for a caffeine hit, even at this early hour. He looked back over his shoulder and wondered if he should try somewhere else, when he noticed some delicious looking pastries on display in the glass-fronted cabinet. His stomach rumbled and he tried to remember when he last ate. Maybe I'll stay after all.

But where on earth could he stand? He was so tired he could hardly stay upright any more, so he leaned against the wall nearest the door to wait for his turn at the counter. It wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes for a few minutes, would it? No one could see his shut eyes behind his sunglasses, could they?
His eyelids drooped and he started to doze.