Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE BABY CAME EARLY
Emma went into labor at thirty-six weeks.
Too early.
Not dangerously.
Still terrifying.
Lucas drove.
Margaret called six times.
He answered once.
“She’s in labor.”
“Which hospital?”
Lucas looked at Emma.
Emma shook her head.
He said:
“I’ll tell you when she says.”
Margaret went silent.
Then:
“Okay.”
Progress could be one word.
At the hospital, Emma’s blood pressure climbed.
Doctors discussed an emergency delivery.
For one terrible hour, the old continuity papers hovered in everyone’s memory.
What if she became unconscious?
What if the baby needed decisions?
Who spoke?
Sarah had prepared new medical directives.
Emma had chosen Lucas as medical proxy.
Not Margaret.
Not Richard.
Lucas stared at the document.
He had spent days telling everyone that Richard exceeded his authority. Now a legal form was asking Emma to give Lucas authority again, this time knowingly and specifically.
“You still trust me with that?”
Emma breathed through pain.
“I trust you more now that you know it can be taken away.”
He almost cried.
May you like
Then contractions intensified.
No time for speeches.
