“I’ve loved animals my whole life, and my cousin, Chris, has been volunteering at the nature center since he was a teenager. I visit a lot in my down time and once you get him started on birds, it’s hard to shut him up.”
“Ah, ok. Maybe after we are done, you can introduce me to him. If he’s here.”
“He’s here. They finally hired him and now he practically runs the place.”
“Nice.”
Once we are back at the building, we had already made plans for the following weekend to do one of the other trails. I take my phone from my back pocket and see that I have several missed calls from my sister and her husband.
“Oh my God,” I say as I swipe the screen. I had put my phone on silent because I didn’t want any distraction but that was a wrong choice.
“What’s wrong?” Vance asks.
I click on the first voicemail I see.
“Hey, uh it’s Jacob. Layla is in labor. We are going to the hospital now.” I can hear my sister in the background screaming in pain.
“I have to go,” I tell Vance “My sister is having her baby!” I squeal.
“Yes, go, go!” he says.
“I’ll text you later, okay?”
“Sounds good. Have fun meeting your new niece.”
I got to the hospital in record time, thankfully I didn’t get pulled over. I may have been speeding a tiny bit.
My sister screams as I walk into the room and I can’t help my natural reaction to retract a little, my face wincing.
“Sorry,” Jacob says.
I shake my head, letting him know that it’s okay and straightening my posture. I didn’t expect her to be any certain way.
I walk over next to Jacob and rub my sister on her back. She looks at me with pain on her face and it immediately makes me tear up. I hate seeing my sister in pain. I know it’s kind of expected with labor, but still.
“How much longer until she can push?” I ask Jacob as my sister folds into herself again, groaning in pain.
Just when Jacob is about to answer me, a nurse walks in.
“I’m here to check you, Layla. Do you want both of them in the room?”
“They are fine,” she says.
I keep my attention on my sister’s face while the nurse does her thing, and it scrunches even more.
“You’re ten centimeters. It’s time to push,” the nurse says. “I’ll be right back with the doctor.”
“Okay, I’m going to step out,” I tell my sister.
“You can stay,” she replies.
“No, really, it’s okay. I don’t think I’m ready to watch you birth a child.”
She nods her head and I squeeze her shoulder before leaving the room. I don’t go far and watch as the doctor and four other nurses file into the room.
An hour later and Jacob finds me.
“She’s here,” he says.