Stanton Bliss(55)

He raises a brow but wisely holds his tongue as I switch it onto speaker.

“Hey, baby,” Adrian answers.

“Oh my God, Adrian. I’m having a nightmare,” I cry.

“What is it?”

“I wet my pants at polo and now Cameron thinks that it’s amniotic fluid and we are on our way to the hospital.”

“But… you are not due for another twenty-nine days.”

I smile. Of course he would know the exact days. “I know. What if they got a shot of me with wet pants?”

Joshua rolls his eyes. “Who cares?” he interjects. “We got bigger f*cking problems.”

Adrian pauses as he thinks. “That’s ok, we will just issue a statement saying the images were photoshopped.”

“You could do that?” I ask hopefully.

“Of course we can. Swing past home and get changed and then go to the hospital.”

“Ok.” I nod. Good thinking.

“No!” Cameron snaps. “We need to get to the hospital as a matter of urgency and stop this labour.”

Joshua’s worried eyes flick to Cameron. “What’s the problem with this early.”

“The baby’s lungs are still developing and it may have trouble breathing.”

My face falls and Bridget reaches over the seat and grabs my hand. “Tash, this is just a false alarm. Everybody has false alarm stories, don’t they Cameron?” She glares at him in a shut the f*ck up, your scaring her look.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Cameron corrects himself.

I think for a moment. “Adrian, can you go to our house and pack me a bag, please?”

“Of course, baby.”

I think for a moment. “Can you get my pink dressing gown and my nightdress from the bathroom?”

“Yes, what else?”

“Umm.” I think for a moment, what else do I need? Bridget can go and get my personal stuff later. My eyes glance at Joshua in his Polo gear. “Can you grab Joshua some clothes, too?”

“Ok, I will meet you there.”

“Thank you.”

Joshua grabs my hand again and winks.

I feel sick to my stomach. What if something goes wrong? What if the baby is underdeveloped?

“It will be ok, Presh,” Joshua saysassures me softly.

I nod nervously and put my head onto his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me. I rub my large stomach. Please behave in there and stop trying to escape. I’m not ready and neither are you.



After the slowest drive in history, we finally get to the hospital and find two nurses waiting at the door with a gown. They come over to the car and pass it in. “Put this on, dear.”

I take it with thanks and put it over my clothes. No doubt Adrian has rang ahead and organised this.

I waddle my way through the hospital with Joshua, Bridget and Cameron until we get to the maternity ward. The young nurse on the desk sees us and her face drops in shock.

“O-oh,” she stutters before regaining composure. “I mean… Hello. Can I help you?” She’s obviously a Joshua fan.

Joshua glares at her.

“Mrs. Stanton needs to see her doctor. Page Dr. Walton immediately!” Cameron snaps.

“Yes, sir.”

An elderly, kind midwife comes out and smiles. “Hello, my dear, my name is Nancy. What’s going on here?”

Cameron goes to interject and she holds her hand up to stop him.

“I’m talking to?” She raises her eyebrows at him in question.

“Natasha,” I murmur softly.

“I’m a doctor,” Cameron states, annoyed that he has just been dismissed.

She smiles warmly and takes my hand. I bite my bottom lip to stifle my smile. These older midwifes obviously don’t take shit from young doctors. She doesn’t give a damn who he is.

“Hello, Natasha. Why are you here, my dear?”

“Um.” I swallow my nerves. “I think my waters may have broken but it is too early.”

“How far along are you?”

“Thirty-six weeks.”

She smiles calmly. “I see.” Oh, this midwife is good, really good. She looks between Cameron and Joshua. “And who is the father?”

“Me,” Joshua snaps, affronted that there could be any doubt.

She smiles again. “And what is your name?”

Bridget and I exchange looks. She doesn’t know who we are. Thank God for that.

“Joshua,” he replies.

“And this is your family?” She looks between Bridget and Cameron, and they both nod.

“Ok, lets take you through here with Joshua to run some tests. Your family can wait in the waiting room.”

Cameron and Bridget wave us off nervously and take a seat in the waiting room.

Nancy leads us into a hospital room and opens the bathroom door to the side. “Just go into the bathroom, dear, and remove your clothes and underwear, then put this gown on.” She retrieves a gown from the cupboard and passes it to me. I nod nervously and do as she instructed. I put it on and take my place on the bed. She wheels a trolley in and attaches pads that are hooked up to monitor, to my stomach. The baby’s heartbeat starts to bleep a little noise. “Ah, there it is. A beautiful strong little heartbeat.” Nancy smiles.