Echoes

Part 4

August 2007

I woke up in a puddle of my own fluids. My due date was August 16th, roughly two weeks away still. A small part of me wondered if I'd wet the bed, after all, an 8-pound baby pressing on your bladder was a lot for it to handle, but deep down I knew my water had broken. I dialed Michele's number and told her it was time to go to the hospital.

"When's Zoe getting here?" she asked me as I squirmed in the passenger's seat.

"I didn't call her," I said.

"What the hell, Shira?" she demanded.

"Well, this is earlier than expected and she's in the middle of summer school exams," I explained. "She needs to handle that first."

"Why don't you call her and let her make that decision?" Michele asked. "You shouldn't make it for her."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I sighed.

With that, I dialed Zoe's number. She picked up after about four rings.

"Hey Shira," she said. "Are you counting down the days till your stomach is free?"

"Actually, I'm in labor right now," I said. "Michele is driving me to the hospital."

"Seriously?" Zoe asked. "Wow, two weeks early? Oh my God. Okay, I'll be there in like two hours."

"No, no, you don't have to come down," I insisted. "You've got exams. Besides, you'll be here in less than a week."

"Shira, come on," Zoe urged. "What kind of sister would I be if I let you squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of something the size of a lemon without me there?"

To my surprise, I laughed.

"As long as it doesn't mess too much up for you," I relented.

"It doesn't matter," she insisted. "I'm going to come down and go back tomorrow for my first exam. It's not till noon. I may not be able to study that much, but who cares?"

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours," I said. "I love you."

"I love you too. Try not to have an obscenely short labor, okay?"

About five hours later, I was experiencing increasingly short contractions, with Michele and Zoe by my side. I hadn't asked for drugs yet, as I was hoping to see if I could do it without them. It might have been my pride, but I wanted to be able to say I'd done something that few other people could. Having dropped out of high school and stalled in my GED studies, I needed the confidence boost.

"Should I call Asher?" Michele asked.

We hadn't talked about him since she dropped the class she shared with him, but I could see why he was on her mind now.

"I don't know," she continued. "I mean, he's been texting me about you."

"Screw that," Zoe snapped. "If he's so concerned why doesn't he pick up the phone and call her?"

"Because he's stupid," Michele said. "I don't think he deserves to be notified, but I feel like I owed it to Shira to let her know what's up."

"I'm right here, guys," I reminded them.

"Sorry," Michele said.

"Yeah, sorry Shira," Zoe echoed. "This is your decision, not ours."