"No, rightfully you are a married man, you asshole, and you didn't even have the right to impregnate me to begin with, but through some twist of fate that's what happened. If you had even a shred of human decency, Matt, if even a fraction of the man that I got to know that got me into this very pregnant predicament to begin with exists… you will do everyone a favor and just… just go to New York, Matt. Just go, leave us alone, let everyone move on."
There was silence on the line for so long that Julie had to pull back the phone and look at it, to see if he had hung up. She saw that he didn't and put the phone back to her ear, just waiting.
"Is that what you want me to do?" he finally asked.
"Yes," she said simply. "I love Aaron, and he loves me, and this is his chance to have a family. If you have any remorse for all that you've taken from him, just… back off and let him have this."
He was quiet for a few more seconds and then a rough laugh, completely devoid of any humor. "It's funny, I think I would do one of the big romantic gestures if I thought it would work."
Smiling slightly, she answered, "That's the sibling rivalry talking."
There was another pause, then he said very quietly, "I just don't love her anymore, Julie."
Despite herself, she sighed, sitting down and closing her eyes. She hated that she felt sympathetic to the man, but she couldn't seem to completely kick the feeling. "I know. I don't blame you, she's… something else. And I'm sorry, I really am. I wish that you weren't stuck in a loveless marriage, but… I'm not the answer. I've never been the answer. There was a time, however brief, when I would have been your excuse, and who knows what would have happened then? But… you let that window close, Matt."
"I wasn't ready then," he admitted. "I still needed to hold onto her, but now I just…"
A sharp pain knocked the wind right out of Julie and she gasped, trying to draw a steadying breath.
"Julie?" Matt asked, concerned.
"Everything's good," she managed, trying to keep her voice even. "Um… I have to go though, I'm sorry, but… think about what I said."
"Yeah," he said flatly.
"Bye, Matt," she said, quickly hanging up the phone and then turning it back on, dialing the number to the café.
Debbie answered and Julie asked to talk to Aaron, who came to the phone immediately, asking what was wrong.
"I think I just had another contraction," she told him.
"You did?" he asked excitedly. "All right, um… you've only had one, right? Stay put, I'll be there as quick as I can."
"Be careful," she advised sternly. "I’m sure I still have plenty of time, but I just… want you to be here with me."
"Where else would I be?" he asked lightly.
Julie smiled and hung up the phone, then she waddled into their bedroom to check her pre-packed hospital bag. Once she was certain all of her stuff was in there, she grabbed the incredibly tiny pink dress that was left on top, hugging it to her and closing her eyes as she considered that her daughter would soon be there.
Aaron got there in record time and loaded her stuff into the car. Julie had only experienced two more contractions and she assured him they were still bearable, but he still wanted to haul her into the hospital.
As it happened, the rest of the evening went smoothly, her water didn't even break and her contractions were bad but not terrible. They checked her into a room and Aaron never left her side, but by about 11 o'clock he had fallen asleep in the chair, still holding her hand. Julie drifted off to sleep shortly after that, her water still in tact, and it wasn't until just after four in the morning that she woke up, her hospital gown soaked through, a horrendous contraction stealing over her. Aaron woke up when she clenched onto his hand painfully, and then he called for the nurse when he realized her water had broken.
Before long, the contractions were coming with increasing regularity and when the nurse timed them at about three minutes apart, they called the doctor in.
"These hurt a lot worse than the ones I had earlier," Julie informed them all, pausing to inelegantly wipe the sweat from her brow as another contraction hit.
"How far is she dilated?" Aaron asked.
"She's at 6 cm so far, she still has a ways to go," the nurse informed him.
"Oh God, it needs to be over now," Julie groaned, squeezing Aaron's hand. "Why can't I be one of those women who has their baby in like 20 minutes?"
Smiling slightly, the nurse replied, "Most of us aren't that lucky, hon."
"This is the worst," Julie stated, frowning at Aaron. "This is not magical, Aaron. Not a bit."
Smiling slightly, he said, "I think it's the post-labor part that's supposed to be magical, honey."