Dance Away with Me(15)

“No. Bianca was going to have everything shipped from Manhattan.”

“Cut some up, then. From the softest, cleanest material you can find. Two or three.”

He didn’t ask her to repeat the list but set off.

Tess propped Bianca up with pillows and felt her abdomen as she timed the contractions. “It’ll be a while. Would you like to walk around?”

Bianca gazed up from the bed, her blue eyes as large and questioning as a child’s. “I can do that?”

“Sure. Walking’s good. You can labor in the shower or rock on your hands and knees. Whatever feels right to you. There aren’t any rules.”

What felt right, it turned out, was to labor in the bath.

Ian reappeared as Tess was helping Bianca, still clad in her nightgown, into the warm water. He dropped the supplies on the bathroom counter with a thud. “What are you doing? She should be in bed!”

Tess had heard more than enough from unlicensed Doctor North. “Women labor differently now than they did in the fifties.”

“But—”

“Staying in bed is the least productive way to labor, but put some fresh sheets on in case she decides to deliver there.”

“In case?”

Tess had delivered babies at the birthing center from mothers crouched on the floor or curled up in tight spaces. A surprising number of women wanted to wedge themselves between the bed and a wall. “If you have clean plastic, put it under the sheet to save the mattress.”

“Screw the mattress!” He hurried out.

The filmy material of Bianca’s nightgown floated in a smoky cloud around her body. Tess rubbed her shoulders, kept the water warm, and breathed with her through the contractions. Fortunately, Bianca’s self-centered nature kept her from picking up on Tess’s tension.

“I wanted drugs!” Bianca cried at the end of one strong contraction.

Not an option with this birth. “Drugs are overrated,” Tess said, giving her a gentle head massage. “Your body will know exactly what to do.” She prayed that was true.

“Where’s Ian? I want Ian!”

“I’m here.”

He appeared inside the bathroom door, but he didn’t look at her.

“You don’t care!” Bianca snarled at him. “You couldn’t even pretend to be happy when I got pregnant!”

“You were happy enough for both of us,” he said quietly.

Tess had seen more than a few women turn on their husbands while they were in labor, and she reached for the taps. “The water’s getting chilly. Let me warm it up.”

Eventually Bianca wanted out of the tub. Tess took off her wet nightgown and gave her a robe. “Let’s walk a little.”

They moved into the main living area. North stood by the windows, staring out into the night. Now that he’d gathered the birth supplies, he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself, but Tess believed fathers should be actively involved, especially when there was so much marital tension. “Walk with her,” she said. “Let her lean against you when she has a contraction.”

“No!” Bianca exclaimed. “I want you! I want you to walk with me, Tess.”

North seemed relieved, another black mark against him.

Tess walked with her. When the contractions hit, Bianca braced herself on Tess’s body. Twenty minutes ticked by . . . thirty. . . . The contractions were closer together, each one lasting longer.

Bianca wanted Ian, who held her as Tess had. Bianca leaned against him. “You know I love you.”

“I know,” he said.

Bianca was tiring and finally wanted to lie down. Tess made her as comfortable as she could, but hard labor had taken over. Bianca would reach out for her husband, crush his hand, and then abruptly let him go. As her contractions peaked, her low, guttural groans grew louder. North repositioned himself at the head of the bed, out of sight of the action. Tess slipped a clean towel under Bianca’s hips.

Bianca threw back her head and screamed as her next contraction crested. “Take care of my baby!” Her fingernails gripped the sheets. “If something happens . . . promise me, Tess. . . . He doesn’t care! Promise me you’ll take care of my baby.”

Tess stroked her leg. “You’re strong and healthy. You’ll be taking care of your own baby.”

The contraction had eased, but Bianca’s eyes were frantic. She grabbed for Tess’s hand with supernatural strength. Tess winced. “I want you!” Bianca cried. “Promise me!” Tess glanced up at Ian, who stood tight-lipped and grim. Bianca’s fingers dug into Tess’s hand. “If something happens to me, promise you’ll take care of my baby.”

“Oh, honey . . . I—I can’t promise that. I—”

Another contraction. Another scream ripped from her throat. “You have to.”

“Promise her!” North exclaimed. “For God’s sake, promise her!”

The very top of a tiny head appeared, wrinkled like a prune from the pressure. “The baby’s crowning,” Tess said soothingly. “You’re doing great. Turn on your side now. Here. Let me help you.” Lying this way would get more oxygen to the baby and might reduce tearing.

She ordered North to brace Bianca’s top leg. From his reaction, she might have been asking him to hold a cobra, but he did as she said. “That’s good. Perfect.” North looked everywhere except at the place where his offspring would emerge.