“It’s better than nothing! Get over here, stat!” I yell and hang up the phone.
Two minutes later, Jameson walks into the house, looking tense but still loads calmer than anyone else in this house.
He meets me in the middle of the living room and says, “I am highly unqualified for this.”
“Listen, her husband—who still hasn’t introduced himself to me—is practically hyperventilating. I cannot do blood. Lo and her friend, Amy, were gagging when her water broke. Hannah’s the only one partially keeping it together…but look at her.” He glances over at her still holding down her spot by the wall.
He nods his head and walks farther into the room. “Tess, Millie called me for some help. Are you okay with me being here?” he asks her in a reassuring voice.
“Honestly, at this point, I don’t care who delivers this baby!” she says just before another contraction hits her body.
He takes stock of everything we’ve done to prepare so far and decides it looks good. He tells me to go get a shoelace and some scissors and drop them into the boiling water on the stove. No idea what the shoelace is for, but I don’t have time to question him. Tess is starting to push. Holy moly, this is really happening.
I run to my room and grab a sneaker that I never wear. The shoelace looks brand new, so I quickly pull it out of the shoe and run to the kitchen. Jameson is in the living room, speaking to Tess in a soothing voice. I listen as I drop the items into the boiling water.
“When you feel the contraction start, push as hard as you can. Don’t fight it,” he says. Tess nods her head and then starts pushing. Her eyes are squeezed shut, and her face is turning red.
“Push, push, push.” Hannah cheers her on beside her. Tess is holding Hannah’s hand, and Hannah is rubbing her head.
“You’re doing great,” Tess’s husband says. She’s leaning back against him, perched between his legs. I snap a picture with my phone, making sure all necessary parts are covered. As crazy as this moment is, Tess will want to remember this.
She lets out a loud yell, and Jameson lets her know she’s almost done.
“Millie, go ahead and bring the shoelace and scissors,” Jameson yells. I grab some tongs, hold them in the boiling water for a minute, and then use them to remove the items from the water. I place them on a clean towel and carry them over to Jameson.
“Get a towel ready,” Jameson says to me.
A minute later, the baby is born. Jameson catches the baby with the towel in his hands. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a child born into this world. I’m not going to lie. It was a little terrifying to watch, but it was also really beautiful. Tears fill my eyes, and I look around to see there’s not a dry eye in the entire house.
Jameson places the baby on Tess’s chest, and I watch as she looks at her daughter’s face for the first time. Watching her, I wonder for the first time what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone you love so much that you decide that’s the person you want to raise children with. That you actually want to create a whole new person with them. It’s amazing. Nine months ago, this little girl did not exist, and now she’s here in the world, blinking and breathing.
I’ve never felt anything close to that kind of love with anyone. I’ve never even said the word “love” to anyone other than Lo and my dad. Those words are huge and scary. After watching my mom walk out on my dad when I was ten years old, I wasn’t so sure that romantic love was real. Seeing Tess’s husband’s eyes light up after watching his rock-star wife deliver a baby in my living room, I think maybe it is real.
The paramedics arrive just a few minutes too late and assess Tess and the baby. They declare both to be in great shape. They’re loaded up into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Hannah declares herself to be exhausted and decides it’s time for her to head home to get some sleep. I must be riding some sort of adrenaline high. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for several more hours.
Jameson and I stand in the now empty living room and stare at each other for a long moment. “You were wonderful,” I finally say. “Thank you for coming. We were all panicking.”
“Not a problem. This has been the most exciting Friday night I’ve had in a long time,” he says, and I bust out in a fit of laughter. Before I know it, we’re both leaned against the couch, laughing until our stomachs hurt. We laugh so long that Amy and Lo come out of their room to observe the weird adults in all of our awkwardness.
“You guys okay?” Lo asks.
“Do you think it’s some weird form of PTSD?” Amy asks. “Should we get them on the phone with a tele-therapist?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I say as I get myself under control.
That night, after everyone has gone home and I find myself still unable to go to sleep, I pull out my computer to work on my novel. I take a sip of tea and think about all of the things I had planned out for the book. The hero of the book is supposed to be the CEO of a big corporation. It’s just not fitting him anymore, though. I make a note to change his career to a first responder…perhaps a paramedic. Someone who would come to people’s rescue in their most desperate times of need without even second-guessing it.
I’ve never thought too much about a man in a uniform before, but I’m realizing now that it’s quite possibly the most attractive sight on this earth.