Chapter 1

"Stop overreacting. Labor takes hours. Chloe hasn't even washed her hair yet, so we're waiting."

My husband, Liam, drops my hospital bag by the door and turns his back on me.

My water breaks an entire month early.

"I'm going to be the baby's godmother. I should be the first one to hold her. I can't take once-in-a-lifetime photos with greasy hair."

She turns to Liam. "Wash my white sneakers for me. I want to wear them to the hospital."

Without a second thought, Liam sets my hospital bag aside and starts scrubbing her shoes.

My mom calls me on FaceTime. The second she sees my face, she pales.

"We're on our way! I already called your OB. Get to the hospital now!"

I grip the console table.

"Liam, I'm already dilating. If we don't leave now, the baby and I could both be in danger."

Liam scoffs.

"Labor takes hours. We'll just be sitting around waiting anyway. Stop overreacting."

Overreacting.

My water has broken, and he calls me dramatic.

I watch him carefully wiping the dirt off Chloe's sneakers.

Suddenly, I feel completely exhausted.

I pull out my phone and text a number I haven't used in years.

"You said you wanted me and the baby. I'm having her today."

"If you make it, you can be her father."

The reply comes almost instantly.

"Deal. I'm on my way."

The shower keeps running. Liam doesn't rush her. He patiently plugs in the hair dryer and sets it on low heat.

The heavy, dragging pain in my lower abdomen gets worse.

I slide down the wall and sit on the floor.

My doula can't watch this anymore. She helps me onto the sofa.

"Liam, you cannot delay this," the doula says. "Her water has broken. She's preterm, and the baby could already be in distress. She needs to get to the hospital now."

"You still have to drive there. What happens if there are complications?"

Everyone stares at Liam.

He doesn't even lift his head. He's busy packing Chloe's skincare products.

"It's fine. Chloe is just washing her hair."

He looks at me.

"A few more minutes won't matter. And if something goes wrong, they can just do a C-section. You didn't want a vaginal delivery that badly anyway."

My voice trembles.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is after my water breaks this early?"

"Yeah, yeah," Liam mutters, still staring at the bathroom door.

He hasn't heard a single word I said.

I grab a throw pillow and hurl it at him.

"I said our baby and I could die! I need to go to the hospital right now! Did you hear me?!"

Liam steps back.

"Are you crazy?"

"Chloe is just washing her hair. You promised she could be the godmother. You seriously can't wait a few minutes for her?"

The shouting finally brings Chloe out of the bathroom.

She walks out with wet hair.

"Please, Maya! We agreed I'd be the godmother!"

"I can't look awful in the photos. I just need to blow-dry it. Two minutes, tops."

The hair dryer clicks on.

Liam immediately takes it from her hand.

"You're too slow. Give it to me. I'll dry it, then we'll leave."

I watch Liam carefully run his fingers through Chloe's hair.

Acid burns the back of my throat.

During my third trimester, I asked him to blow-dry my hair because my back hurt.

He always brushed me off, claiming he was too tired from work.

A sudden, violent cramp tears through my stomach.

More amniotic fluid rushes out.

The doula quickly checks me. Her expression changes immediately.

"Oh my God. There's meconium in the fluid."

"The baby's in distress. We cannot wait any longer!"

The hair dryer roars.

Neither of them even hears her.

The doula marches over and yanks the plug from the wall.

"Maya needs to go to the hospital now!"

Chloe stares at Liam in shock.

"Why is your doula bossing everyone around in your own house? I'm just washing my hair, and she's acting like I committed a crime."

Liam snorts.

"I told Maya to let my mom help, but she insisted on hiring a doula."

He plugs the hair dryer back in.

It starts roaring again.

They don't worry about me or the baby.

They just complain about me.

My phone rings.

It's the hospital.

"It's 10:20. Where are you? Your OB and delivery team are ready. You need to be here before eleven. Do not wait any longer."

The hair dryer stops again.

This time, I unplug it myself.

I'm breathing hard.

"I have to be at the hospital by eleven."