My Best Friend by Ancelli Page A

went into the bedroom and slammed the door, and he went to his office to check his email. He was trying to calm down. Usually he was the one always apologizing, but not this time. He hadn’t done anything wrong. All he’d done was secure their future as a family.
    “Jason! Jason!” she yelled, but he ignored her until he heard her say, “My water just broke.”
    Great, he thought. He ran to the bedroom and saw the puddle on the floor. Something was wrong. In all the books he’d read and the cla sses they’d attended, no one said anything about that much blood. He called her doctor, who said he would meet them at the hospital. He picked her up and carried her to his car. On the way to the hospital, her contractions were getting closer and closer. She was quiet, but he could see she was in a lot of pain. He hated that there wasn’t anything he could do. When he pulled up to the hospital, the nurses were waiting to wheel her to the maternity ward.
    He waited an eternity it seemed like , and finally, the doctor came to the waiting room and said he could go in. The doctor told him he didn’t know what had started the bleeding, but he needed to get the baby out as soon as possible. He told them she needed to start pushing or he would have to perform an emergency C-section. The contractions came closer. The doctor told her to push, and she did. Jason held her hand and kissed her forehead. He’d heard crazy stories of women cursing and hitting during labor, but Kay wasn’t anything like that. She was silent and did what she was told.
    She pushed again and again until he could see the baby’s hair. She pushed one last time, and the baby came out. The baby wasn’t crying yet. She was covered in vernix, and the doctor asked him if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord. He went over and cut it. The baby started crying, and it was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.
    He looked back to see if Kay had seen her, but her eyes were closed. “Kay, Kay,” he said, trying to wake her. He looked at the doctor, and the doctor rushed over to check her.
    He turned to the nurses. “Get one of operating room ready. She’s hemorrhaging.”
    The nurses rushed her out. Jason was shocked. What had just happened? Their baby girl was here, but now his wife’s life was in danger. She hadn’t even seen her. His world was turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours. All he could think about was the last time they’d been together. He didn’t get to tell her he loved her.
    He called his parents and told th em what happened. They were on their way. The nur se returned and said, “Sir, the Doctor is operating on her. I will keep you updated.” S he handed him Kay’s wedding rings. He just stared at them and started crying.
     
    * **
     
    The nurse came in with the baby, and she asked, “Would you like to hold her?”
    He stretched out his arms and held his baby for the first time. She was beautiful , looking like her mom with a little button nose and soft pink lips. Her eyes were closed, but he could see that she had long lashes. Her skin was the color of smooth caramel, and she had jet-black curly hair. He was speechless holding his little girl. He kissed her. “Happy birthday, Angel. I’ve been waiting for you.” He sat in Kay’s room holding their baby, memorizing her, counting her fingers and toes. At that moment, she became his rock.
    His parents walked in. His mother had been crying, but she walked over and lo oked at her grandbaby. “She’s beautiful.” His dad hugged and kissed him, saying, “She is going to be ok.”
    “ If that were true, the Doctor or Nurses would’ve told me.” He said without looking at his dad.
    The doctor came in, and Debbie took the baby from Jason. “Your wife is in the ICU. She’s in critical condition because she has lost a lot of blood. What happened to her is common in some woman. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I just wanted you to know it wasn’t your fault. There was