Mara didn't hear the rest of what she had to say. She headed to the elevator with Jack behind her, trying to pull her back. He reached out and grabbed her sleeve, yanking slightly. The look she gave him when she turned around was devoid of expression, her voice flat and emotionless.
"Let go of my sleeve, Jack."
"But, Mara, I need you to talk to these people."
"Phoebe will do it. Now let me go."
"But, Mara!"
She wrenched her sleeve away from him and hit the button to take her to the ground floor. Jack's face was livid as the doors slid shut. She smiled sweetly as she went down.
She pulled into Toby's driveway less than ten minutes later. He was delighted to see her and gave her a big kiss when she walked in the door.
"She's in the bed watching TV. She's bored out of her mind. I talked to the doctor, he said just to keep her horizontal, and not get her excited. See if you can jolly her up a little, Mara. She's making herself crazy."
"I'll do what I can, Toby. Be careful on the road."
"Will do." He hugged her and left.
"That you, Mara?" Olivia called.
"Yep! What are you up to?"
Mara walked into Toby and Olivia's bedroom expecting Olivia to be lying down. She was sitting up with her feet over the side, trying to get up.
"What are you doing?"
"I need to pee!" She struggled some more.
"All right, let me help you."
Mara was surprised at Olivia's pallor. Usually a rich mocha color, her complexion was ashen and waxy. She didn't look well. Mara helped her to the toilet and waited outside the bathroom door.
"Mara?" It was a tone Mara recognized. Something was wrong. Olivia was on the edge of hysterics.
Bursting into the bathroom, she knelt by Olivia.
"What's wrong?"
"Call the doctor. I'm bleeding."
"Are you in labor?"
"I don't know. Call him."
"Hell with him. We're going to the hospital. I'll call on the way."
"Toby!"
"I'll call him, too."
Mara grabbed some towels and a blanket to keep Olivia warm. She bundled her into the backseat of the car and wrapped her up. As she pulled out of the driveway, she dialed Olivia's OB-GYN on her sister-in-law's cell phone. A short conversation with the nurse confirmed Mara's decision to go to the hospital.
Toby was next, but he couldn't be reached. He was deep in his meeting, and the receptionist didn't dare bother him.
"If his wife suffers because you're a chicken shit," Mara told her, "I wouldn't want to be you. Interrupt the meeting. If they don't understand, fuck 'em." She hung up.
They got to the hospital without incident in about half the time it usually took. Mara pulled up to the emergency entrance and grabbed the first orderly she could find. He came out with a gurney and helped her load Olivia onto it. She was bleeding heavily and by the looks of the towels on the seat, had lost a good amount of blood. Mara piled the towels on the gurney and followed the orderly inside.
"I'll take her, Miss," he told her kindly. "You have to move your car. There's places to the south of the entrance. You can park there."
Nodding, she dashed out the door, moved her car and ran back to the emergency room. Olivia was already being seen, so Mara got her paperwork filled out, staying as calm as she could. Once all the papers were signed, she asked if she could see Olivia.
"I'll check," the receptionist told her.
A short time later, she came out and called Mara back to the cubicle where Olivia was being tended.
"She's going up to the delivery floor in just a few minutes. You can go up with her. Has her husband been notified?"
"I've called him. He was in a meeting, and the girl didn't want to disturb him," her voice dripped with disgust and fury.
The receptionist didn't say what she thought about that, but Mara could tell. She didn't approve any more than Mara did.
"Call him again and I'll talk to her, if you like." Her smile was coldly calculating. "I love taking on uppity secretaries."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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