Fools Rush in(41)

“Taking over my job?” he asked amiably as his co-workers loaded Heidi and the baby onto the stretcher.

“Hey, Dave. Better talk to Dr. Barnes,” Sam answered.

“Thirty-seven weeks, para two, nuchal times one, spontaneous cry. No placenta. I saved that for you.” I grinned at the paramedic.

“Nice work,” he said. “Lucky you were here.”

As Heidi was bundled off, her husband and son in tow, the crowd once again began to applaud. I grinned, suddenly euphoric, my heart filled with joy. I turned to Sam for a hug.

“Well done, Officer,” I said into his shoulder, my throat tight with emotion.

“You’re the one who did everything, Mil,” he answered. “Great job.” We looked at each other for a moment, grinning. Sam’s eyes were warm…and a little wet. My heart squeezed. Could there be any better man to have at your side during an emergency than Sam Nickerson? I thought not.

Ethel came up and handed me Digger’s leash. “Thank the Christ I didn’t have to do that,” she grated. “Goddamn gross, if you ask me.”

“I thought it was beautiful,” said a familiar voice. I turned around.

Joe Carpenter, his blond hair glowing in the sun, wearing some old cut-off jeans, smiled at me. “Wow, Millie. You were amazing.”

“Thanks, Joe,” I said, smiling back. “Can’t take any credit, though. The mom did all the work.”

A baby! I had delivered a baby on Coast Guard Beach! Even Joe Carpenter’s golden beauty couldn’t touch that one.

The crowd was beginning to break up. A few people came up to Sam and me, congratulating us or making jokes.

As I bent down to pack up my medical bag, I noticed I was rather messy, my T-shirt smeared by the fresh-from-God baby. Oh, well, who cared? Badge of honor. I patted Digger and let him lick my face before standing up. My heart was so full that it actually caused a pleasant ache in my chest.

I stood up. Joe was still there.

“So, Millie…you doing anything tonight? Want to get a beer or something?”

For a minute, I just soaked it in, the cries of the seagulls and the roar of the waves and the voices of the people blending into a beautiful summer melody. The sun was warm and the breeze gentle, and this was clearly the best day of my life. I smiled again. “Sure, Joe.”

He smiled back, dimples appearing. “How about if we meet at the Barnacle around eight?” he suggested.

“Sounds great,” I answered, strangely calm.

“See you later, then,” he said and walked off.

Still beaming, I turned to go. Sam approached me.

“Amazing, huh, Millie?” he asked, running his hand through his short-cropped hair.

“You don’t get to deliver a baby every day, do you?” I laughed.

“Hey, you want to grab dinner later?”

I remembered belatedly that Danny was with Trish this weekend. “I can’t, Sam, I have plans. Sorry, bud.” I was sorry. It would have been nice to relive this glorious morning with him.

“No problem. Maybe I’ll see you later.” Sam grinned and went off to make his report.

As I walked off the beach, I was congratulated and complimented eleven times. Finally reaching my car, I drove home, filled with gratitude that life could be so sweet.

THE REST OF THE DAY PASSED in a dream. I called Katie and my parents and Mitch and Curtis and Janette in Boston and Dr. Bala and even Trish. After telling the story six times, it was starting to feel real. I sat outside on my tiny deck and went over every detail again and again. How lucky I felt to have been part of that baby’s birth! How proud I was of that mother, who’d managed to deliver a healthy baby on a beach in front of a crowd! How proud I was that I’d done everything right! How proud I was of Sam, so gentle and caring and calm! And of Digger, who’d been so well-behaved during the whole event! And then, after despairing last night, after eating all those Cheetos, after crying pathetically and being a loser, Joe Carpenter had asked me out! When I was unshowered and when my hair stuck up in odd places and when I was covered in blood and vernix and amniotic fluid, Joe Carpenter had asked me out.

I got a few calls from people telling me I did a great job and asking how the baby was. I called Heidi at Cape Cod Hospital to check on her, and she tearfully thanked me and “that wonderful officer.” Then I just floated around my house and yard, grinning and laughing and thrilled.

The baby had made me feel like a winner. Joe’s asking me out merely confirmed that feeling. Yesterday, I would have been deeply grateful to be noticed by J.C. the C.; today, it was merely what happened to competent, friendly, quick-thinking doctors who cleverly delivered babies on the beach.

Joe Carpenter was what I deserved.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

IF I DIED AT THIS MOMENT, that would be A-okay, I thought to myself.

Joe had greeted me at the Barnacle with a kiss on the cheek, leading me to a table for two in the corner. Katie was working, and Sam had dropped in, too. We heard from the Eastham Police Department that mother and baby were just fine, happily sharing their story with reporters at Cape Cod Hospital. And though I’m sure Joe and I must have talked about something, I couldn’t remember exactly what it might have been, so happy was I on this most perfect day.

And now, Joe led me from the Barnacle. Outside, in the clear, cool night, with stars shining and wind whispering, I felt that the world was my own movie set. Everything was so perfect. Our feet crunched on the gravel driveway, and a pleasant nervousness suddenly flooded through my limbs, the shot of adrenaline tingling in my knees. It was the first feeling that managed to break the surreal quality of the day.