PRESENT TENSE
Chapter Sixty-Three
Sunday, January 19, 2004
The winter rain beat down upon the roof of the
house, a muted sound that masked other sounds from outside. Faintly, the
barking of dogs and the sounds of passing cars could be heard, but the rain on
the roof silenced other noises.
It was not so quiet inside. Rose sat up in
annoyance from where she was stretched out on the couch, studying, looking
toward the pan set under one of the leaks in the roof. The dripping water made
a plinking noise as it ran from the crack in the roof into the metal container
below.
Ordinarily, Rose didn’t mind the sound of
water dripping, but today it was driving her crazy. She was attempting to read
her singularly dull textbook on political science, and every sound was capable
of distracting her. She had to study, but the material was so dull that the
sound of a leaking roof was more interesting.
Finally, she got up and fetched a dish towel
from the kitchen, using it to mute the sound of the dripping water. For a
moment, she considered just removing the pan and letting the water run, but
soon discarded the idea. The rain was pouring; if the water wasn’t collected it
would flood the living room floor, ruining the carpet and possibly the
furniture. The carpet wasn’t much to look at anyway, but it would be even worse
covered with mildew.
Looking in exasperation at the boring book,
Rose settled back onto the couch to continue her study attempt. She could think
of better things to do, but she had to get the boring part of her assignment
out of the way before anymore distractions came on the scene.
She and Helga were the only ones home. Tommy
and Jack had gone to a car show in Southland, though how interesting a car show
would be in the rain, Rose didn’t know. She had declined their offer to bring
her along, preferring the boring book to slogging through puddles staring at
cars.
Helga was in her room, resting. She hadn’t
slept well the night before; Rose had heard her wandering around the house in
the wee hours of the morning. At breakfast, she had complained of a backache,
going back to her room to lie down shortly thereafter. When Tommy had offered
to bring her to the car show, she had given a look that had sent him scurrying
away.
Jack and Tommy had gone to the car show by
themselves. Jack had stood patiently while Rose had fussed over him, making
sure his coat was buttoned up. He had been a little exasperated with her
fretting, but had understood the reason for it. He had caught strep throat from
her, coming down with it just after New Year’s, and it had taken him even
longer than her to get over it. Rose had been concerned—he was still on the
thin side from his ordeal the previous summer—but he had recovered. She was
just glad that no one else in the household had caught it, especially Helga,
who was almost ready to give birth.
Helga had been on maternity leave since
December nineteenth, to both the relief and trepidation of Jack and Rose. They
had been relieved that she was there to nurse them through their bouts with
strep throat, but also concerned that she would catch it, possibly endangering
her baby. They had both been relieved when the strep epidemic had passed and
she had shown no signs of catching it. Helga had shrugged and remarked that she
rarely caught anything; possibly because she was exposed to so many diseases at
work that she had developed an immunity to them.
Rose looked up when she heard Helga’s door
open and close. Her roommate came slowly down the hall, one hand on her
distended stomach and the other on her back. She waddled into the living room
and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the television set.
"What’s going on?" Rose asked her,
setting the book aside.
"Did Jack and Tommy say what time they’d
be back?"
"No. Why?"
Helga didn’t answer. She was looking at
watch, counting silently. When she looked up, her face wore an expression of
nervous excitement.
"I can’t wait around until they get
back. Could you please drive me to the hospital? I think it’s time."
"You’re in labor?"
Helga nodded. "I’ve been in labor since
about one o’clock this morning, but it usually takes a while for babies to
come. The pains are about five minutes apart now, so I think it’s time to go to
the hospital. I’d drive myself, but..."
"It’s not a problem." Rose smiled
at her friend, her eyes lighting up. "How exciting! You’re finally having
the baby."
"And on the due date, too."
"Go get whatever it is you need to bring
with you to the hospital. I’ll write Jack and Tommy a note, and we’ll be on our
way."
Helga nodded in agreement, struggling to rise
from the chair. Rose hurried over and gave her a hand, pulling her up from the
soft seat.
"Thanks." Helga turned and headed
down the hall, stopping once and leaning against the wall as another pain
struck her.
Rose hurried into the kitchen and found the
pad of sticky notes. Peeling one off and sticking it to the table, she hastily
wrote a note to Jack and Tommy.
Helga went into labor. I took her to the
hospital. I’ll call you when we get there.
Rose
Helga came into the kitchen as Rose finished
the note, a small canvas bag in her hand. Rose noticed a corner of the baby blanket
Helga had made poking out of the bag. The baby would have the best of care,
with a mother already so dedicated to him.
"You ready to go?" Helga asked
Rose, rubbing her back with one hand and holding the bag with the other.
"Yeah." Rose dug her keys out of
her purse and opened the front door. "Let’s go before Baby de Rosa makes
an appearance on the kitchen floor. I really don’t know how to be a
midwife."
"I’d tell you what to do," Helga
assured her, pulling the door closed behind her. "I’m a nurse, remember? I
know about obstetrics." At Rose’s wide-eyed look, she reassured her,
"I don’t think you’re going to have to play midwife. I’ve still got a ways
to go, I think. Several hours, at least."
"I hope so," Rose responded.
"Let’s get going."