Part 162
Sarah and Howie had spent the evening first with Becca and Nick and then at ‘Tabu’. Now at home, they were nestled in their bed making love when the phone rang. With Howie’s face buried in her neck, Sarah reached for it.
Howie stopped her, lacing his fingers with hers and putting her hand above her head. "Let the machine pick up, Angel," he whispered as he thrust into her filling her completely. He ran his tongue from her ear to the pulse point on her neck where he began to suck lightly.
"Oh…god…D," moaned Sarah.
The machine picked up and Howie’s voice…"Hey…you’ve reached ‘Sweet D’ and his Angel…we’re busy right now so leave your name and number. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks."
"PICK UP, Howie," came the voice. "COME ON, YOU TWO! You can go one freakin’ night without fucking. I know you can hear me…the machine is beside your bed. PICK UP!"
Sarah giggled softly as Howie groaned hearing the whiney voice. "Why me?" he asked.
"PULEEEZ! Howie…Pick up! I REALLY need to talk to Sarah!"
"It might be important for a change," whispered Sarah as Howie rotated his hips against her. "Something could be wrong."
"Then he can call the doctor….or wait until morning," replied Howie as he kissed her neck. "Right now, I have only one thing that’s important and that’s YOU."
"YOUR NEPHEW IS GONNA BE BORN WITHOUT YOU IF YOU DON’T PICK UP!" came Nick’s increasingly panicked voice.
Giving up, Howie rolled off Sarah as she grabbed the phone, "Nick, what’s wrong?"
"THANK GOD! Sarah, Becca’s having contractions and it’s TOO FUCKING SOON!"
"First off, Nick, calm down," soothed Sarah as she took Howie’s hand in hers. "If Becca IS in labor, she’ll be fine. Have you timed the contractions?"
"Timed them? How the FUCK DO YOU TIME THEM?"
Staying calm, Sarah said, "From the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next one. Let me talk to Becca."
Becca took the phone and Sarah heard the fear and tears in her voice. "Sarah…please…god, it hurts."
"Becca, calm down. I told you, if you are in labor, it’s OKAY. Now listen to me. When the next contraction starts, do a cleansing breath…just like I showed you this afternoon…and BREATHE through the contractions…when it’s over, another cleansing breath."
By now, Howie realized that something was wrong and he reached to put the phone on the speaker so he could hear too. He lay back putting his hand on Sarah’s stomach and whispered, "Do we need to go in to Becca’s?"
Sarah shook her head ‘no’ as she waited for Nick.
"What now?" asked Nick.
"You need to time the contractions, Nick. Give it an hour. If the contractions are coming evenly apart, she’s in labor. How close does her doctor want them to be before you call?"
They both heard Nick ask Becca and then he said, "She hasn’t told us. Sarah, Becca’s hysterical."
"You have to calm down first, Nick," said Howie.
"And then you need to calm HER down," said Sarah. "She DOES NOT need you scaring the hell out of her. This is NOT something to panic over. Make her focus on something relaxing…maybe the first time you took her out on the boat…sing to her."
"Hold on…she’s starting a contraction."
As Sarah waited, she looked at Howie and gave him a kiss. She whispered,
"I’m sorry, D."
Howie shook his head, "It’s not your fault, Angel. They BOTH need you.
Get her through this and there will be time later."
"Okay, Sarah….now what?"
"Time them, Nick," said Sarah calmly. "It’s gonna take more than a couple contractions to tell if she's in labor. If she IS, the contractions will come evenly apart. If they’re sporadic…five minutes between two and then one minute…then it’s just Braxton-Hicks contractions."
"They’re WHAT?" asked Nick.
"Braxton-Hicks…false labor. It’s the body’s way of preparing for the real thing."
"What do we do if it’s THAT?"
"A warm shower use to help me when I was pregnant with Jesse. Take a walk. But Nick, you have to calm down so that you can time them. Call me back in about half an hour."
"How far apart if it’s the real thing?"
"As close as you are to the hospital, I’d say about four minutes."
"FOUR MINUTES!"
"Nick, it’s the first baby! It’s NOT gonna come that fast. I was in labor for almost fourteen hours before I was even fully dilated."
Howie asked, "Nick, would you feel better if we came in?"
"Would you?" asked Nick hopefully.
"Give us an hour, Nick. If you need us before then, call me on my cell."
"Howie, you two are the greatest! Thank you!"
Sarah said softly, "It’s gonna be okay, Nick." Howie reached up to hang up and Sarah groaned. "Why did you tell him we’d come in?"
"Angel, you heard him. He’s just gonna scare the shit out of Becca causing her blood pressure to go up. And she hasn’t told him about THAT yet, has she? Besides, if she IS in labor, we’ll never make it in time."
"Oh, god! I may kill them MYSELF. No, she hasn’t told him about her blood pressure. THEY OWE us for this!"
Howie smiled as he brushed her hair back. "I promise, we WILL finish this."
The two kissed and then got up to get dressed. They were both worried about Nick and Becca so they hurried.