In The Long Run

In The Long Run (26, Part 1)

I was panicking and in pain and pretty much at the brink of hyperventilating. I was alone in my little hospital room. The nurses who helped me earlier left to call a doctor and Curly had left to call Wayne. The only thing other than my intense sense of panic to keep me occupied, Curly gave me her watch when the nurses told me to time my contractions while they went to get everything ready. I mean, seriously? They expect me to be able to do that on my own? Each time one hit me, I was too focused on the pain to even think about the watch in my hand, that is, until I broke it. I squeezed it so hard during a very bad contraction that the little glass cover shattered and earned me a few deep cuts on my hand.

"Son of a ..."

"I'm here to ease some of the pain." a nurse said as she came into the room, cutting me off before I could finish cursing no one in particular. She walked over to the bed with a small tray in hand and one particular object on that tray nearly had the blood freezing in my veins. A big, pointy needle. As she set the tray down on the table beside the bed, she noticed the crushed up watch in my now bleeding hand. "Oh my! That watch wasn't a good idea. Let me fetch something to get that fixed for you." Then she left and I could breathe a sigh of relief. At least the injection won't happen right away. Curly came hopping into my room just then. I looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"And? Did you get a hold of him?"

"I got a hold of your parents. Wayne wasn't there and I didn't have his number, but they promised to call him and they said they're on their way, so no more panicking for you." she said happily and I suddenly had the urge to strangle her.

"No more panicking?! Are you kidding me?!" I yelled at her and felt bad when she flinched, but didn't feel bad enough to apologize right then. "The father of my child is not here to be with me while I give birth! How can that possibly make me panic less?!"

Curly bit her lip and glanced around the room nervously. She only did that when she either felt guilty or didn't know what else to say. I know, because I've witnessed this behaviour numerous times on double dates when things turned awkward and I felt bad that I was the one throwing her in the fire this time. It was just that the thought of Wayne not being here made tears prick at my eyes. When Curly noticed my now watery eyes, she rushed to my side and had her 'sorry' face on.

"Jamie, I'm sorry. What can I do to help?" she asked weakly.

"Nothing." I told her in a sobby tone of voice. "You did what you had to do. It's just... It's just that Wayne's still not here and every time I pictured the momentous occasion in my head, he was there. He was the one making everything better, holding my hand and whispering all kinds of sweet things to me, like he does every time I'm sad or angry since we've started dating."

The nurse came in and Curly didn't say anything. I sat up and stretched out my hand for her to fix and she did so quite well, but considering it was her job, I said nothing, only letting out a little yelp as the antiseptic stung. She cleaned my hand and wrapped a bandage around it. That was nothing compared to what was about to happen. When she picked up that syringe, I saw Curly pale in the background.

"Your going to give her an injection?" she asked the nurse.

"Yup. Just to help her cope with the pain a little better."

"Okay." Curly said, nodding vaguely. "I'll just wait outside."

When she shut the door, the nurse smiled at me gently and instead of reassuring me, it freaked me out just a little more.

"Okay, I'll need you to get up and lift your gown please."

Pethidine was what she called it. I got a 50mg shot of the stuff in my butt and let me tell you, it was not pleasant, not that injections ever were. She assured me that it would make me feel better and I hated that it would take time to kick in. Curly came back in when the nurse left and I clutched at the sheets desperately.