“You’re not gonna like that one,” she said, knowing that Princess would be getting shots.
She cleared all of the boxes one-by-one, stopping when she got to the last one. It was a reminder for an appointment with Nadia and Karim: a final confirmation of their menu choices, a week before their wedding.
Ella’s hand froze on the mouse, the cursor hovering above the X. She felt her breath heavy in her throat. She had forgotten to remove all of their wedding items from her calendar and now here it was, reminding her of the inevitable. She closed her eyes and clicked the box, making it disappear from her screen.
Without hesitating, Ella opened her email and began filling her electronic calendar with appointments for potential baby shower clients. She scoured
her old client list and scribbled down some ideas for a host of new marketing projects so that she could drum up new business fast. It wasn’t that Ella needed the money; she needed the distraction.
An hour or so later, Ella sat back and looked at her computer. She had successfully managed to completely fill her calendar with projects and appointments, focusing specifically on two Saturdays away—the day of Karim and Nadia’s wedding. She made sure she wouldn't have a moment to spare that day, not a moment to think about what would be going on in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel.
When she was satisfied that she would be completely distracted on that day, she sat back and read through her emails. She felt a dull pang of sadness when she realized that she hadn’t received any emails from Karim or any vendors related to his wedding. Apparently, the new wedding planner had already gotten all of the correspondence switched over. That was good as it meant that the new planner was on top of things, but it still felt like a small slap in the face to Ella.
She exhaled and sat back, letting her eyes wander to the expansive view from the windows. She walked over to them and cracked the top half open, letting in a nice warm breeze and the sounds of the city below. Ella looked down at Princess and shook her head, wishing she too could be back in a state of pure laziness, as she had been in Rhode Island. But the paper had snapped her out of that. In fact, Ella realized that even though she had been gone for nearly two weeks, it felt as if she had never left.
She carried her plate back to the kitchen and set it on the counter when she heard her phone buzz. It buzzed again and Ella picked it up, swiping it open. She saw that she had three new text messages and two voicemails.
Ella tapped on the messages and read them. Her mother had texted her to say she was glad Ella had come to visit, then there were two texts from Hannah, one telling Ella that Princess had been a dream and she was waiting for her in her apartment, the second simply said 'Call me. NOW!'
Ella put the phone down on the counter and hit a button, allowing the messages to play on speaker phone.
“Hi dear,” Maggie’s voice came through the phone. “I just wanted to tell you that it was so good to see you. Really, your dad and I miss you so much and we're so happy you came to visit. I know I sent you a text message, but this is a new cellphone and I'm not sure if I did it right. Anyhow, I’m here if you need anything honey, really. I love you. Oh, and you left those cute flats here, the ones with the little bows on the toes. You know the ones I’m talking about? Well, they’re here. I can mail them if you want. Just let me know. Okay then… I love you. Bye.”
Ella smiled to herself. Her mother was stuck in the era of answering machines and didn’t understand much about smartphones. She waited while the message ended and then listened to the next one.
“Ella! It’s time! Where are you?! The baby is coming… NOW!”
Ella swung around from the sink and grabbed the phone up from the counter.
“Han?! Hannah?!” she yelled into the phone, before remembering that it was a voicemail. She looked at the call log and realized Hannah had called just a half an hour before. The baby was coming? Already? But Hannah wasn’t due for another six weeks!
Ella threw her phone into her purse, grabbed her keys and flew out the door, hailing wildly for a cab. She arrived at the hospital in no time and minutes later was arguing with a nurse on the maternity ward.
“No, I’m not family, really,” Ella said, trying to get in to see Hannah. “But I’m like family… really!”
“Are you a blood relative?” the nurse asked coldly without looking up from her paperwork.
Ella pounded her fist on the counter. “No! I’m not, but she doesn’t have any blood relatives. I’m it!”
The nurse continued to shuffle her paperwork, her eyes down. “Are you a blood relative?”
Ella rolled her eyes and turned away from the counter, frustrated that she couldn’t get in to see her best friend give birth to her first child.
“I told you already. No, she doesn’t—“
The nurse cut her off. “I’ll ask you one more time…” she said slowly, looking up at Ella as she slid a form across the desk to her. The nurse took a pen and tapped a box that authorized visitors to attest that they were blood relatives. She held it out to Ella. “Now, are you a blood relative?”