Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(124)

Krista let the realization tug the corners of her mouth into a smile. “Nervous for the future, girls?”

Both smirked, but didn’t relax.

Cassie walked in next, the size of a trailer. In a few more months she, too, would be the size of a house. It had taken her four months to get pregnant, so she was always a few steps behind Krista. As her smile turned into alarm, it probably wasn’t a good thing.

“Does it hurt?” Cassie asked in a small voice.

World’s dumbest question, yes, but that’s what happens when a girl realizes what she is heading for. She needs the obvious voiced, sometimes repeatedly, as the brain tries to hold onto the bliss of ignorance.

“Do I look that bad?” Krista asked, eyeing everyone.

Sean stepped to her side quickly. “You look absolutely beautiful, Krista. Radiant.”

“And like shit hurts,” Kate said dryly. Ben’s bobbed up and down.

“Yes, shit does hurt.”

They passed a while talking, sporadic laughter, and intervals of pain. Sean was the ring leader. When it was time for Krista to focus on breathing, or moaning, or anything but the agonizing pain of her body being ripped apart from the inside out, everyone was to lend support. When she was supposed to be distracted so she wasn’t worried about the pain to come, Sean had endless chatter. It was like he was throwing a party.

The dude with the medicine machine came to give her the epidural and Ben went running. Half way through trying to get it set up, another contraction came on. Krista whimpered and everything stopped. The nurse braced her, Sean put his hand on her knee, and another crash of torture smothered her.

The nurse said, “Pretty soon you’ll be flying, Krista. No sweat.”

Once the tube was in place, Krista had another contraction that stopped conversation, and she was strategically placed on her side so the drug would take effect and not mess up the tube that was to remain inside her lower back. Things got better. She felt the pain subside fairly quickly and could breath, pain free, again.

That was when Marcus entered the building.

“What’d I miss? Hey honey!” He was carrying a giant bouquet of roses. “You look awful!”

“She looks beautiful,” Sean said from his lounge chair next to Krista’s bed.

Marcus laughed and said, “Protective to the last, huh, young stud? Well, who wants to hear the latest gossip?”

This is how they spent the next two hours until the doctor came in to check her, noted her at five centimeters, and chased everyone away. Krista needed to rest, she said. There was a long way to go yet. She should turn off the lights and try to sleep. Everyone could come back when the show began.

Right before everyone left, life was serene. Sean was doting on her, her friends were treating her with goddess status, and she had a portly, jubilant nurse in and out asking if she needed anything. Oh yeah, and she couldn’t feel her legs.

Chapter Thirty-Six

As she and Sean tried to close their eyes, she on her side in her hospital bed, him on his lounge chair that looked super uncomfortable, Krista started noticing that her legs weren’t as numb as before. Feeling slowly started to creep back in.. This meant, of course, she was starting to feel the contractions raise their ugly head and give her a jagged toothed smile.

Right now, that head was dull and blunt. It was banging around below her stomach somewhere. But she got worried immediately. She looked around for the nurse call remote and Sean jumped up as if on springs.

“What’s up? What do you need? I love you very much, baby. So, so much.”

“Um…just need the nurse call button pushed. I think the epidural is wearing off.”

Krista took a moment to think that it must be nice to be really excited and awaiting the birth without actually having to deal with the tubes in your back and arms, the pain, the huge belly—she was crabby. She did need to get some sleep.

Sean pushed the button, his eyes looking at Krista with tender devotion. The nurse came in and looked askew when Krista told her what was happening. Apparently it wasn’t an everyday occurrence.

Krista was switched to her other side, which was weird because she had just come back from that side—apparently the medicine just flowed out of the tube wherever gravity takes it. It was necessary, then, to awkwardly move from one side to the other— awkwardly because numb legs are dead weight and moving them is then not the easiest thing in the world.

They settled down again, Sean content that the problem was fixed. But it wasn’t. The numbness receded, leaving surges of dull, creeping pain in its wake. Finally, Krista started reaching for the remote again. She could see the direction this operation was headed.

“What’s up, Krista?” Sean said as he bounded up again.

“Sean, you’re supposed to be resting.”

“I’m not the one who needs it, Krista. What do you need? Do you want some ice chips? Are you hungry? You can have some chicken broth, I think.”

“I need the nurse again. This stuff is wearing off and it’s starting to hurt.”

Sean pushed the button and walked to the door to look outside. He came back into the room, followed by the nurse. This time, her confusion was evident. She went to look at the machine, looked at the tubes to make sure all was in place, then put her hands on her h*ps and tilted her head.

“I’ll call the anesthesiologist. He’ll have you fixed right up!” she said in her low, though comforting, voice.