Honk-
Honk-
"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, IDIOT!" The woman in the passenger seat shouted.
She looked to the side, trying to forget about the current situation.
Tall buildings, sidewalks, and pedestrians.
A different world.
She tried forgetting, but the pain wouldn't let her.
"Will you please go faster?" Her impatient tone showed that it wasn't a request, but a demand.
"We'll be there in less than ten minutes. You have nothing to worry about." The driver reassured.
"Nothing to worry about... Aghh... Easy for you to say."
The man wanted to chuckle. But with the pain his wife was experiencing, he knew that he really couldn't afford doing so.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Huh?" The man did not take his eyes off the road.
"What are you smiling at?"
"I'm just... I'm..."
"You're... You're... What?? Why are you stuttering? I... Arghh! I aaaasked you a question!"
He knew the pain would make her irritable, but he didn't think it would be to this degree.
"We're going to be a family." The husband declared.
"Oh, shut uuarghhh...! Shut up!"
"You're going to be a mom. And I'm going to be a dad. It's going to be amazing, trust me."
"Ohhh. I see. Trust you. Neat. I'm sure you know aaaargh... A lot about it!"
His smile widened.
"I love you, Emma."
He truly did.
"That's the problem with you all. My mother warghhh...! Warned me about you men. I'm here suffering while you're smiling. I'm going to be a dad." She mocked. "The best day of your life is the one I'm... Arghh... The one where I suffer the most."
And she did too.
"Another five minutes and we'll be at the hospital."
"Arghhh!" Emma held her stomach with both hands. "He's not even out and he's already being a pain in my-"
Her husband couldn't hold his laughter anymore.
"You did not just chuckle." The man kept his eyes on the road. "I hope he will be a better son than you are a husband, James."
His lips curled up into a guilty smile.
"I love you." He said.
"And I'm starting to hate you."
The two remained silent for a bit.
"It hurts, James."
"I'm sorry."
James truly did not know what to say.
He thought that, had he a father growing up, he, perhaps, would have known better what to say, what to do, and how to act in the present situation.
"I'm scared, James."
"You have nothing to worry about." James reassured.
He was scared too. But he wasn't the one with a human being growing in their stomach.
"I'm scared..." Emma whispered.
Her hand reached for his shoulder.
James momentarily took his eyes off the road.
It was obvious that she was afraid. But the expression on her face...
He had never seen his wife show such an expression.
"We're going to be great parents."
Emma nodded and pulled her arm back.
"Ohh he's going to be trouble, just like you." She lay back and raised her gaze to the car's ceiling. "Arghh... I can't believe... Your mother went through this alone."
James' breathing grew unstable for a bit.
His mother had gone through this alone.
She had to, since his father had run away.
'Now isn't the time to think about that...'
His mother had gone through this alone, and he had never asked about it.
James felt guilty about it. And about letting his mind wander there when his wife was here.
"You're not going to leave me alone. You're not going to run away, are you?" Emma asked.
The question shook James' whole being.
He turned towards her with such speed she feared he had snapped his neck.
"I would never-"
"WATCH THE ROAD!" Emma suddenly shouted.
"WHAT-" His eyes went back to the road.
James had nearly pissed himself.
"Hahahaha. Gotchaaarghhhh! IT HURTS DAMMIT!"
She hit the seat repeatedly.
After taking a couple of deep breathes,
"I'm glad you're here, James."
"I'm glad to be here."
"Hehe, I bet. Since you get to see me sufferrrgghhh...! Ahh. He's impatient, just like you."
Had those words been spoken by anyone else, James would have thought the fault was being placed on him.
Placing the blame on others.
That was something he was used to.
Used to being both the one to place it and the one on whom it is placed.
Emma gently held her stomach.
"I'm scared, James. I'm scared..." She raised her gaze to the ceiling and closed her eyes. "Why do you have to be so impatient...? Why...?"
"It's going to-"
"I'm scared, James. It's too early... Months too early..."
He pressed his lips.
Had I a father growing up, I would know what to-
An all too common excuse he had grown used to telling himself.
"Why won't you just... Argh... Wait a bit longer..." Emma whispered, her eyes on her stomach.
James bit down on his lip.
"40 weeks... 40 weeks it's supposed to be..." She continued.
For the first time in a dozen years, he felt like he was about to cry.
"You're early... Too early... Twenty weeks early-"
"They say babies can hear, you know?" James interrupted, his eyes on the road. "They say babies can hear us talk to them, even before they're born. Sounds, music... They hear all sorts of things."
Emma listened silently.
"He probably even knows the sound of our voices by now. How cool is that?" His voice shook, as if it was about to break. It didn't, and James continued. "He heard us talk to one another, he heard us talk to him... He heard our music. Remember that time? When I pressed headphones against your stomach and played music for him to hear? He-"
"What... Are you trying... To say...?" Emma asked, her question interrupted by pained groans.
"Early? Impatient? That's how much he wants to live. How much he wants to see us. He wants to be with us. To join us as soon as possible." James found it harder and harder to hold back his tears. "It'll be okay. Our son will be okay. Because he wants to be with us. He can handle coming early. And of course, he can. He's our child."
By then, the hospital was just around the corner.
"I love you, James"
"Everything will go well, Emma."
She nodded.
Everything will go well-
One can only hope.
