Emma’s hand was trembling and a tear started to streak her cheek.
“How in the world have you done all this?” she asked.
“I ask that same question with regard to you every time I come home from work. From the comfort of our bed, you’ve managed to decorate and make our place a home. You managed to put the nursery together, stock it with diapers and clothes for every shape, size, and season. You run a tight ship, Emma Gentry. All from the comfort of our bedroom. I can’t imagine the things you’ll accomplish when you’re up on your feet. I’m only trying to keep up,” I said.
“Mom! Y
ou coming?” Benjamin called out.
Emma whipped her head around as her jaw hit the floor.
“Is… is that okay?” he asked.
I gripped Emma’s hand tightly as she fought back the growing tears in her eyes.
“You can call me whatever you want,” she said.
“Then come on, Mom!” Hunter said. “We wanna go swim.”
“Will you go swimming too?” Zoey asked.
“Yeah, will you go swimming too?” I asked.
I unbuckled Emma’s seatbelt and watched as she settled herself on her feet.
“Once I can figure out how to get down to the beach from here, sure. I’ll stick my feet in,” Emma said.
“Then follow me,” I said. “I know exactly how to get down there.”
Twenty-Seven
Emma
“Ryan, what’s going on?” Emma asked.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Just breathe. We’re almost there.”
“I don’t know what’s happening. This isn’t normal, right?”
“Emma, do as I’m asking you.”
“Answer me!”
“I don’t know, Emma! I don’t know! Just breathe! Please. I’m begging you. Just breathe and hold on.”
I careened the car around a corner and the tires skidded. I’d already called the hospital and informed them of what was going on. Emma called me at work and told me she wasn’t feeling well, so I took the day off. Told the nanny to watch the kids so I could tend to Emma myself. But a lingering fever spiked to one hundred and three over the span of fifteen minutes and she couldn’t hold anything down. She was shaking. Shivering.
And then? Her water broke.
“Ryan. Go faster,” Emma said breathlessly.
I zoomed through a red light and finally saw the hospital’s sign come into view.
“Hold on,” I said.
I tore the car into the emergency section of the hospital as doctors and nurses poured out of the automatic doors. Emma was crying. I was panicking. The nanny was staying overnight with the kids until we could figure out what was going on. They hoisted Emma onto a rolling bed and I took her hand, leaving my car to be driven off by one of the attending nurses. I had the entire hospital on my payroll in case something like this happened. I dropped bonuses beyond their wildest dreams to make sure we could be taken care of if an emergency with these triplets took place.
The fear in Emma’s eyes told me I’d made the right decision, despite the argument we’d had when she first found out.