Do You Promise A Pregnant Woman? Ever?

If anyone would’ve told me that morning when I woke up that I would be driving Josh’s ex-wife to the hospital after her water broke while shopping at Wal-Mart, I would’ve told them to lay off the really cheap drugs. But that’s the position I found myself in not even five minutes after Carol returned from the bathroom.

“So umm…” I had no idea what to say as I pulled out of the parking lot. What do you say to someone who you never thought you would ever actually talk too, let alone be driving them anywhere?

Luckily for me, Carol was a little preoccupied with the breathing and the labor pains to really expect me to talk to her. “My phone,” she said in between breathing and contractions. “I have to call Phil!”

I had no idea where I threw her purse in my haste to get both Carol and Jess into my car, all I remember is jokingly asking her not to have her baby in my car and she actually laughed at that. “Don’t worry,” she told me. “I’m not about to have this baby anywhere but in the delivery room!”

“Just use mine,” I grabbed it from my center console and held it out to her.

Carol took my phone without hesitation and punched in Phil’s number, after listening for a moment, she looked like she wanted to toss the phone. “No don’t answer your phone you jackass, I’m only having your baby while you bang the flavor of this week!” She snapped my phone closed, her eyes meeting mine for a moment before she looked away.

There are so many questions I wanted to ask her at that moment but I didn’t, I knew already how mean women in labor could be – Mary threatened Zack with castration when she was in labor with Natalie, I think if we would’ve left her alone, she would’ve done it too.

“The baby is past due,” she told me. “I was supposed to be induced tomorrow.” She glanced at me. “I never had half as many problems with Jesse as I did with this one and Jesse even tried to come a couple weeks early!”

I glanced in the rear view mirror at Jesse who was holding Mister Bear like you would a baby. When he saw me looking in the mirror at him, he smiled and told me he was going to be a good big brother, “like daddy.”

Carol laughed, “Everything with Jesse is ‘like daddy’ lately and Phil hates it.” Carol sighed and then asked me to promise her something.

“Like what?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to promise her anything at all.

“When I go into the delivery room, I want you to take Jesse and bring him to Josh; I don’t want him to go home with Phil at all.” When I gave her a confused look, she told me that Phil wouldn’t have time to watch Jesse, “And frankly, I think he would be happier with Josh. Promise me you’ll make sure he goes to Josh.”

“Of course,” I told her I would make sure that he did.

"And one other thing," she looked around but couldn't find what she was looking for. "When you tried my purse, there's a Wal-Mart Pooh gift card in my wallet, it's Jesse's 'gift' from my sister." She glanced at Jess, "Buy him the 2pc cord set that we were looking at when you saw us, please?" I told her I would. "Thank you," she smiled through the pain of the next contraction.

We got to the hospital and I ran to get someone to help me get Carol out of my car, once we were in the building, they took Carol off to the maternity wing while I was left standing in the lobby with Jesse, filling out the hospital forms for her.

“We go see mommy?” Jesse asked me as I finished the last bit of paperwork. I glanced at the lady behind the desk and she told me she would call someone to see if Carol was in the delivery room already.

“She is,” the lady told me when she hung up the phone. “You can go and wait in the waiting room,” she gave me the directions and I started to head down there but changed my mind when I saw the exit door. “Before we go wait for mommy, I think we should call your daddy so that he knows where to come and get you.”

“I go daddy?” Jesse’s little eyes widened in surprise. “Yay!” He started to bounce in my arms. “I go daddy!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at him as we walked outside to call Josh but he laughed too, so it didn’t seem so bad.

First I tried Josh’s cell but when the voice mail picked up, I thought maybe he was at home but when I called there, I got his voice mail too. Sighing, I left a message on his home phone to call me on my cell the second he got the message. And then to be sure that he got the message, I called his cell phone again and left the same message there.

Then because I was in the mood to call someone to tell them that Carol was in labor, I scanned my recent outgoing numbers and tried calling Phil and as luck (I guess) would have it, he picked up on the second ring.

“Don’t have time to explain it all,” I said quickly and then told him that Carol was in the hospital having the baby.

“Right now?” He seemed a little shocked.

“Yes, right now!”

“I’ll be right there!” He said and hung up on me.

Five minutes later, Jess and I were seated in the waiting room when I saw Phil go flying past the door.

Thirty minutes later, we were still seated there and no one could tell me if Carol was still in labor or if the baby was here. “Hey do you want to go call your daddy again?” Jesse nodded and we made our way down to the exit again.

There was still no answer when I called Josh; once again I left him messages to call me the moment he gets the messages, “it’s really, really important,” I said at the end of the message.

We went back inside and sat down.

An hour later, there was still no word from anyone. “Ama,” Jesse tugged at my arm as I heard his stomach growl. Glancing at the time I was shocked to see it was almost 7.

Where the hell is Josh? I wondered and then I had this messed up thought that he was avoiding returning my call because I didn’t call him back right away the night before. He wouldn’t be that childish, would he?

“Ama?” Jesse was trying to get up with me now.

I told him I would take him to get something to eat. On my way out, I stopped at the nurses’ station and told them where we were going and gave them my number to call if Carol had the baby before I got back.

Once Jess and I were in my car, I dialed Josh’s cell again – this time I got an answer. “What the hell?” I snapped at him.

“What?” He asked.

“I called…you know what, never mind it doesn’t matter all that matters is…”

“Ama, Jesse want nuggets!”

“…you are there…”

“Was that Jesse? What are you doing with Jesse? Where are Carol and Phil?”

“…and I guess it doesn’t matter what I was…”

“Anna! Where are Carol and Phil?” Josh sounded like he was freaking out just a little.

“They are at the hospital, trying to have their baby and I have your baby sitting in the back seat of my car telling me that he wants nuggets because he’s starving.”

“Meet me at McDonalds."