Another Reason to Love

chapter 23

Dinah, Ally, and Normani stood on the doorstep wondering why it was taking so long for Camila or Lauren to answer the door. Normani rang the bell once more, impatiently holding a few boxes of decorations.

"Hey! Brooklyn, can you open the door for us?" Dinah asked when she noticed the little girl peeking through the window. After struggling for a moment to unlock and open it, the door flew open and the three of them were met with a smiling little blue-eyed girl.

"Where are your mamas, little one?" Normani asked, setting down her boxes and kneeling down to get on Brooklyn's level.

The little girl shrugged and pointed upstairs. They looked at each other somewhat nervously. "I'll go check," Dinah said, taking off her jacket and placing it on the coat rack in the foyer. She climbed the stairs, still a little hesitant at what she might find.

Camila met her at the top of the stairs with a worried look on her face. "We have to go to the hospital," she said. Her face was as pale as Dinah had ever seen it and she immediately thought the worst.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Dinah asked as she reached out to grab Camila's arm.

"Her water broke. She's not in much pain yet but we need to get to there as soon as we can. Will you look after Brooklyn?" Camila asked.

Dinah nodded her head. "Of course. Do you need us to help you out at the hospital? I can get Normani or Ally to go there with you right now," she added.

"Once we get there and are settled in I'll call you and let you know. Thanks, Dinah. I've said this before, but I don't know what we would do without all of you," Camila said. Her eyes were starting to get teary as a result of the realization that she was going to have a baby sometime really soon.

"Sure," Dinah said. She gave Camila a quick hug and turned to go back down the stairs.

"Wait," Camila said. "I'm sure Lauren will want to say goodbye to Brooklyn, too. Let me get her downstairs before you leave." Dinah gave her friends a thumbs up and went to find the other two and Brooklyn.

When Ally saw Lauren and Camila out of the corner of her eye, standing at the top of the stairs, she rushed to grab Lauren's hand. "Here, let me help you. Camila's hands are full," she said, noticing the several overnight bags that Lauren and Camila had packed recently. They had no idea they would need them so soon. Camila thought about how the baby was a few weeks early and wondered if she was in any real danger. She looked over at her wife, who was full of life, excitement, and labor pains, and decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

Brooklyn was waiting with her hands clasped, jumping up and down at the foot of the stairs. Dinah had relayed the message that the baby was coming soon and the excitement was not lost on the 4 year old. Her eyes grew wider as Camila and Lauren got close.

"Hi, baby girl," Lauren said as calmly as possible. She used the old 'stay calm in front of the kid' trick fairly often, but it was harder today due to contractions.

The little girl looked peeked behind Lauren, then Camila. She moved to the other side so that she could see up the stairs. "Where's the baby?" she asked.

Camila shook her head and bent down so that she could look into Brooklyn's pretty blue eyes. "Abby isn't here yet, Brooks. She's coming, though."

Brooklyn's eyes narrowed and she looked as though she was deep in thought. "How is she going to get out of there, Mama?" she asked Lauren.

Lauren heard Dinah laugh in the background, obviously enjoying this uncomfortable question. "She's going to come out of my stomach, Brooks. She'll find her way out, don't you worry," Lauren said. She smiled and tugged on Camila's shirt. "Will you pick her up so I can give her a hug?"