True Colors

Better Late Than... Later?

August 3, 2023

Leila rested her hands on her stomach and called from the living room. “Honey?” 

“Yeah?” Apollo responded from the kitchen. She could hear pots and pans banging together as he unloaded the dishwasher. 

“Don’t freak out,” she said calmly, “but I think I’m having contractions.”

The banging stopped. Her husband came into view, his brows scrunched together. “Are you serious?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m serious. This little girl was supposed to be born a week ago. I’m past the point of playing jokes.” 

Apollo’s face paled. “Okay. Okay. I’ll start the car and we’ll go straight to the hospital and—”

“Whoa, slow down,” she laughed. “I’ve only had three contractions so far, and they’re between fifteen and twenty minutes apart.” 

“Three?!” 

“And besides, they’re not even that bad right now. I don’t need to go to the hospital until they’re closer together and more painful.” She shrugged. “We won’t need to go in for at least a few hours.” 

“How are you so calm?!” Apollo asked, pressing a hand to his heart. “I’m not even the one having the baby, and I’m panicking!” 

“You know what you should do?” Leila wanted to laugh, but she also wanted Apollo to settle down before he hyperventilated and passed out. “You should call Renee and Eugene and tell them to come over. Maybe ask your mom, too. They’ve all been through this, and they can tell you that I’m just fine.” 

“Or, you know, maybe you’re wrong, and you’re not fine, and you need to be rushed to the hospital immediately.” 

“Oh, trust me. I’m right,” she insisted. 

Apollo retreated to the kitchen, using his cell phone to call Renee, then Cece. After relaying the facts to each of them, he came back to the living room. “You’re right,” he sulked. 

Leila grinned triumphantly. “I told you!” 

He stood behind her and started to give her a shoulder massage, loosening the tight muscles  and kneading the knots out of her neck and upper back. “Renee and Eugene will be here in fifteen minutes. Mom wanted to come, but someone has to stay with the kids, and she figured I would need to hear things from another father’s perspective.”

Leila looked up to the ceiling, breathing deeply. Without her knowledge, a small groan escaped her lips. 

Apollo misinterpreted the sound and his hands stopped. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“No, you’re fine. I’m just having another contraction.” She took another deep breath and it was over. “I’m good.” 

Her husband looked about ready to panic again, but somehow, he kept himself calm. “I love you,” he murmured as he placed a kiss on her head. Apollo moved around the couch and placed an arm around her as she checked the time on her phone. 

Leila rested her head on his shoulder. “Sixteen minutes between this contraction and the one before it.” 

He set his other hand on her large belly, rubbing his thumb back and forth soothingly. “What do they feel like? The contractions?” he whispered. 

“Right now, they sort of just feel like she’s kicking extra hard for about thirty seconds at a time,” she explained. “But when they start getting closer together, they’re supposed to hurt a lot more.”

The arm around her shoulders pulled her closer. “What is it?” 

“I think I’m just nervous. This is something I’ve never done before, obviously.” Leila sighed and bit her lip. “It’s kinda scary.” 

“It’s okay to be nervous. I’m nervous,” Apollo admitted. “It’s normal to be nervous. You have no idea how nervous Eugene was when Renee went into labor with Amber.” 

“Amber was also a month early, remember? That warrants a little panic. This little girl is a week late, and I feel like I’m still not quite prepared.” 

At that moment, they both heard a knock at the door. Apollo stood quickly and opened the front door, revealing Renee and Eugene. They both hugged him briefly before Renee rushed to Leila and squatted down in front of her. “You’re gonna be a mom! Like, today!” she squealed while taking Leila’s hands. Leila knew she would have hugged her, but with Leila being a week past her due date and Renee only about seven weeks from hers, it would have been quite difficult. “Tell me what’s going on. Give me all the details, and I’ll try to help however I can.” 

Leila explained the physical side of things first, telling her sister-in-law about the contractions she had experienced. As she did so, she experienced another contraction and squeezed Renee's hand. This one was slightly more painful than the ones she had experienced previously. She exhaled deeply as the sudden pain faded. 

“How long since the last one?” Renee asked. 

A glance at the clock on her phone told her the time. “Twelve minutes.” 

“How long was the last gap?” 

“Sixteen minutes.” 

Renee nodded. “Okay. We’ll track the next couple and see if that was just a fluke or if they are getting closer together. Either way, it’s nothing to worry about. Now tell me, what’s going through your head? Thoughts, emotions, anything.”

Leila forced a laugh. “There’s no way I’m ready for this,” she whispered, low enough that Apollo wouldn’t be able to hear her voice. “I can’t do it. I can’t.”

“You can.” Her sister-in-law squeezed her hands and looked directly into her eyes. “You are one of the most capable people I have ever met.”

“I’m scared.” 

“It’s okay to be scared,” Renee assured her. “This is something new. It’s normal to be scared.”

“I’m not ready for labor, I’m not ready for the delivery, I’m not ready to be a parent.” She blinked rapidly, feeling her eyes well up with tears. “I don’t know how to do it, any of it.”

“Listen, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re ready or not. That baby is ready, and it’s about time. But trust me, you’re ready too,” Renee said calmly. “The second you see your baby girl, you’re going to love her more than you could ever imagine loving someone. She will be the most beautiful and perfect little thing you’ve ever laid eyes on, and the best part is, she’ll be yours. No one else will affect her the way you will. Sure, other people will influence her, maybe just as much as you, but not in the way you will. You’ll know, the moment she’s a part of this great big world, that you’re ready.” 

The dam cracked, and Leila’s tears slid down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she sobbed. Renee, who was also starting to cry, joined her on the couch, and the two pregnant women leaned into each other in a (very specific) side hug. 

Their husbands took notice of the scene and stood off to the side. “Good going, Renee,” Eugene teased, rolling his eyes. “You messed with the waterworks, and now we’re in a flood warning.” 

Apollo’s forehead wrinkled and his eyes widened. “What the hell happened?” 

Eugene shrugged. “We let our pregnant wives talk to each other alone, that’s what happened.”

A/N: I literally have finals today, but I spent three hours last night writing this chapter instead of studying... Oops. Let's hope I didn't screw myself over. I'll let y'all know how they went next week. Also, we have officially passed the 300 mark! Still pretty far behind Expect the Unexpected, which is currently at 3.7K, but I'm grateful for the support that this book has gotten. Thanks for reading!