He took several deep breaths and nodded. “Okay. But I would like to get you to the hospital. Now!”

  “Okay,” she smiled. “I’ll let you do that.” Opening her address book beside the phone, she pointed to the doctor’s number.

  “You call. Tell him my contractions are five minutes apart. I’m going to the bathroom and then we’ll go. I promise.”

  She found Scott pacing in their bedroom when she emerged from the adjoining room. Shaking her head, she pointed to the two bags beside the closet. “I need those,” she said, waddling past him and hiding a smile.

  Once they were back in the car, she reached over and laid her palm on his cheek. He turned to face her despite his obvious impatience to start the car and get on the road.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For being here to go through this with me. Last time--” She couldn’t continue.

  His face softened. He reached for her hand and held it firmly. “I’m here, sweetheart.”

  The hospital was close by, and her contractions were still mild enough that she was able to walk in on her own, answer questions at the desk, and get to the room without assistance. The nurse checked her and found her to be at four centimeters, enough for them to be convinced she was in real labor and have her admitted.

  “We should call Josie now,” she said.

  Holly told Scott to get her purse, and she found the number on her phone. She had been seeing a local obstetrician for all her prenatal visits, and he would be on call throughout the night if any complications arose, but Josie was going to be doing the delivery otherwise. Josie had gone to school to become a certified nurse-midwife.

  She answered on the second ring, and Holly told her where she was and all the vital information.

  “Faith and I will be there as soon as we can,” she said. “Hang in there, honey.”

  Scott took the phone from her and called everyone else: His mom, her mom, Jack and Dana, Tamara. Holly felt fortunate to have so many people supporting her this time, especially Scott, but knowing Josie was coming gave her an extra measure of peace. Josie had been there with Sarah, and she had been so great. Her soothing voice, calm presence, and encouraging words had been such a blessing. Having Josie as her midwife this time would make it that much better.

  The contractions began to get stronger and closer together around ten-thirty. Josie and Faith had arrived and were in the room with her. All the others except Scott were down in the waiting area.

  “I feel bad they’re all here waiting already. It’s probably going to be awhile.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Josie said. “Those contractions are getting pretty strong. I think this little one is anxious to get out of there.”

  Josie checked her again soon and confirmed her own prediction.

  “Eight?” Holly gasped. “How can I be at eight already?”

  Josie laughed. “I told you, he or she is anxious.”

  Holly laid her head back, closed her eyes, and began to panic a bit. She hadn’t expected it to go so quickly. What if I can’t remember how to push? What if I can’t handle the pain? Maybe I should have gotten the epidural after all, but now it’s too late!

  She felt a hand on her arm, and she opened her eyes. Scott leaned over and brushed her lips with a light kiss. “I’m here, baby. I’ll be right here the whole time.”

  The tears came and he held her. Another contraction seized her, and he talked her through it. His anxiety had subsided since Josie had arrived. Holly began to relax again. She wasn’t alone. Everything was going to be fine.

  “I brought the bassinet for you,” Faith said.

  Holly smiled. “You did?”

  “I hope you didn’t go out and buy one. I kept forgetting to tell you I wanted you to have it.”

  “We haven’t. That was on our to-do list. Thank you, Faith.”

  “Have you decided on names?” Faith asked.

  “Wyatt Daniel,” she replied. “That was Scott’s dad’s name. And if it’s a girl then it’ll be Brianna Grace.”

  “Oh. I like both of those.”

  Holly remembered from last time that talking helped keep her mind off the pain. She turned to Josie and asked, “How’s everyone in your family?”

  “Good. Brandon is good. Busy with his business as always. Tommy just started sixth grade--Yikes! He’s almost as tall as me. Rebecca is three and a half. And Jonathan is two. They keep me busy.”

  “Did you leave both of the little ones with Brandon?”

  “Oh, sure. He’s great with them. Tommy helps a lot too. He loves being a big brother, except when Becca gets into his art stuff.”

  Josie kept talking about her kids, and Holly focused on her voice, but the strong contractions didn’t allow her to comprehend exactly what she was saying. She reconnected when Josie said, “My sister is due in a few weeks.”

  “Natalie? How’s she doing?”

  “Great. Timothy is two--same as Jonathan, and this one is also supposed to be a boy. What name did she say they had decided on, Faith?”

  “Silas.”

  “That’s right. Silas. I like that name.”

  “Are you and Brandon planning on having any more?”

  “I’d love to have another one, but I don’t think my body can take another c-section. This may be it for us unless the baby bug hits me hard enough to talk me into going through that again. How about you?”

  “This is not a good time to ask me that,” Holly laughed. She looked at Scott. “But yes, we want at least one more, maybe two.”

  It became harder for Holly to keep up a conversation after that, and she found herself breathing through one contraction after another. She went to another place where only Scott’s voice, Josie’s reassuring words, and the sound of the baby’s heartbeat coming through the monitor made it past her senses.

  “Okay, honey,” Josie said sometime later. “You can start pushing now.”

  Holly felt relieved. With Sarah she remembered being most afraid of the pushing stage, but when it had actually arrived she felt better having something to do besides endure the pain.

  She’d had to push for a long time with Sarah and was surprised when Josie said she could see the head coming after the first two pushes.

  “This one’s got dark hair,” she said.

  Holly forced herself to relax and pushed when Josie told her to. The pain was as strong as she remembered with Sarah, but she didn’t have the fear she’d had last time. She knew a baby could actually fit through that narrow opening. Having Scott’s hand to squeeze as tight as she needed helped also, along with his soothing voice. In between contractions Scott kissed her forehead and told her he loved her.

  “Okay, Holly. One more time, honey.”

  Holly obeyed Josie’s coaching, using all the strength she had left. She broke into sobs when she heard the baby’s cry.

  “It’s a girl,” Josie said and laid the moist bundle across Holly’s chest. Holly opened her eyes and stroked the tiny head covered with a mop of dark hair. Except for the intense pain she had just experienced, she felt like she was dreaming.

  The nurse dried off its wet skin and laid a warm blanket over the baby, then stepped back and let Holly enjoy the moment. She looked up and saw Josie smiling at her.

  “Congratulations,” she said. “You did fantastic.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. Returning her gaze to the baby on her chest, Holly reached for Scott. He laid his cheek against her hair. She heard him crying softly.

  Scott placed his hand over hers and stroked the baby’s cheek. “Welcome, little Brianna. Our extra dose of God’s grace.”

  He turned and kissed her. “We’ve got three little girls.”

  Holly smiled through her tears. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  After little Brianna had been cleaned up and examined and Josie had given Holly a good report about her own condition, Holly let the baby nurse while Scott left to go share the happy news with those gathered down the hall. Since it was after midnight they all decided to go home and come back in the morning for a peek at the new life. But Madeline and Sarah came to the room with Scott for a few minutes to say hi to Mommy and their new baby sister.

  Brianna was awake for about an hour and then slept most of the night. When Holly opened her eyes again, it was morning, and the first thing she saw was a huge bouquet of pink roses on her eating tray. The second thing she saw was Scott rising from a chair in the corner.

  “Good morning, love.”

  She enjoyed his tender kiss. “Good morning. Thanks for the roses. They’re beautiful.”

  “You’re more beautiful.”

  All morning long others came with balloons and more flowers and cute little baby things. Uncle Jack wasted no time in giving the babe a good rocking. Her mom and Glen came and stayed for quite some time. They had gotten married this summer, and Holly couldn’t be more happy for her mother. She glowed like Holly had never seen before.

  Tamara and Brian couldn’t stay too long. They lived in Bend where Tamara was teaching first grade and Brian had gotten a job with the city police department. Tamara had taken today off, but Brian had to work tonight.

  “Oh, Holly. I’m so happy for you,” Tamara said. “She is just beautiful.”

  “Thanks for coming,” Holly said, giving her cousin a hug. “How’s that husband of yours treating you?”

  Tamara smiled and put her arm around Brian’s waist. “Just fine. How about yours?”

  Holly turned and looked at Scott holding Brianna in front of the window. It didn’t appear he had heard Tamara’s question. Holly stared at him gazing down at their newest daughter. He was the man she had committed her life to; the man who never treated her with anything but gentleness; a wonderful father, a loving husband, her best friend.

  “Just fine,” she replied. “He’s treating me just fine.”

  Dear Reader,

  Of all the books I have written, this one is my favorite. Many late nights were involved in watching this story unfold as God gave me an intense concern for this fictional character that I knew represented many real young women facing uncertain futures and similar fears.

  If you are facing a difficult circumstance, this book is meant to be an encouragement to you. The main thing I hope you take away from this story is that no matter who you are, no matter how alone you feel, no matter how hopeless things seem, God is there and He loves you. He wants to meet your need, and He is able to do that. Cry out to Him and cling to Him. He will never abandon you.

  If you don’t quite believe God cares about you, consider this: I have prayed specifically that He would put these books into the hands of those whose hearts He wants to touch. The fact that you have this book in your hands is evidence of Him reaching out to you. I hope you won’t turn Him away or believe in anything less than His unconditional and passionate love for you. Ask Him to bless you. I promise you He will.

  I’d love to hear how God has used

  this story to touch your heart.

  Write me at:

  living_loved@yahoo.com

 

 

  Melanie Wilber, Roses For Holly (Garden of Love 4)

 

 

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