Chapter 10 - The False Alarm
I didn't turn around. Mara took my elbow and guided me to her car. We were two blocks away when my stomach tightened like a fist.
"Pull over," I said.
The pain eased, then returned. Mara timed the contractions while I called my obstetrician's answering service. They told me to come in for evaluation. No argument, no home remedy, no guess about whether it was stress.
At the hospital, a nurse helped me into a gown and checked the baby's heartbeat. She asked questions about fluid, bleeding, pain, and movement. The contractions were real, but after monitoring and an exam, there was no sign that labor was progressing. I was sent home with instructions about when to return. Our daughter moved against the monitor while I watched tears roll into my hair.
Daniel arrived as the nurse was going over the instructions. He looked frightened.
"Are you both okay?"
"We're being watched. That's not the same thing as nothing happening."
He nodded as though he understood the difference for the first time. I told him about Linda's threat at the party. He said he'd speak to her.
"You keep offering conversations," I said. "I need changes."
The nurse handed me a form to review my contact information. My own name was correct. So was Daniel's. Under an optional additional contact, however, someone had entered LINDA PARKER and her phone number. I hadn't provided it.
"Who added this?" I asked.
The nurse checked the screen. "It came through online pre-registration. We can remove it at your request."
Daniel stared at the floor. "I thought a backup contact was sensible."
"You had my number," Mara said quietly from the doorway.
May you like
I crossed Linda's name out on the printed copy and watched the nurse update the record. Then a desk phone rang. The nurse answered, listened, and frowned.
"Mrs. Parker," she said to me, "there's a woman in the lobby claiming she's your mother and demanding your room number."
