Novel-novel oleh Goeey

The knock came while Liora was screaming and I had one hand under her and one on the kettle.I didn't answer it. I took the kettle off the base and put Liora against my shoulder and stood in the middle of the kitchen with her crying into my ear.The knock came again. Elias came down the stairs and got the door."It's the midwife."I had forgotten she was coming. Someone had said something at the hospital about a follow-up and I had nodded and lost it."Give me a minute."Elias looked at Liora, then at me."Bring her out."I came out with her still crying.The midwife set her bag down in the hall."Let me have her."I handed her over. She laid Liora along her forearm with the head in her palm and turned her once and Liora stopped crying."Wind. It's sitting low.""I've been burping her.""You have. This is lower down." She took my hand and put two fingers against Liora's back near the base of the spine. "Firm. Small circles."I did it. Liora made a sound and then a bigger one and went

They let us go in the afternoon.Elias took the bag. I took Liora in the car seat. Walking still hurt. My mother had gone ahead to open up and put food in the fridge. When we got there she was already leaving."I'll come in the morning," she said. "You two take the first night.""Alright."She kissed Liora's head and went.The house smelled the same. Lemon cleaner and the old wood under the stairs. Elias put the car seat on the sofa and undid the straps carefully. Liora was asleep. We both just looked at her for a second."You want tea?" he asked."In a bit."He made it anyway and left it by my hand.Then he started moving things. The hospital bag from the hallway to the living room. The sleepsuits from the bag to the arm of the chair. The nappies from the chair to the shelf by the television, then to the coffee table, then back to the shelf."That's your fourth trip."He stopped with the nappies in his hands."I'm organising.""You're carrying the same things around the room.""There

The nurse wheeled me into the ward and went over what to expect during the next few hours. She explained the call button, the checks they would be doing, and when I should ask for help getting out of bed.I tried to pay attention. By the time she finished, I could barely remember half of it."Is there anything you need before I leave you?"I shook my head, then hesitated. "If she needs feeding, will someone come and help me?""Press the call button and we'll come."She pointed it out once more before leaving.Liora slept in the cot beside the bed. I closed my eyes, opened them, and looked over. He sat back in the chair. His attention went straight back to the cot.A nurse came in to check my blood pressure and ask about the pain. She reminded me not to get out of bed without calling if I felt dizzy. I said I would, and she left.Liora started fussing. Her head moved side to side and her mouth opened against the blanket.I looked at Elias. "Is that what she does when she's hungry?""I

The pressure built so fast I couldn't separate one sensation from the next. My body became one long effort. I pushed until my strength gave out and fell back against the pillows, gasping."That's it. Rest until the next one."I couldn't answer. My mouth was open and nothing came out but breath.Elias was still holding my hand. His face had changed since the first push. The color had gone out of it. He kept looking between me and the midwife, then at the monitor, then back at me.The next contraction started before I recovered. I made a sound I didn't recognize and his fingers tightened around mine."Push down again when you're ready."I tried. The pressure was enormous. I clung to his hand and pushed until the contraction eased. Then I collapsed against the bed with a cry. Elias bent over our joined hands and pressed his forehead against my knuckles.One of the nurses looked at him."Sir, do you need a moment outside?""No." His voice came out rough. He swallowed. His free hand had cu

The midwife came and went, checked the readout, wrote in the folder, and told me I was progressing. Between the check and the next wave there was never enough time to decide whether I believed her.My back ached from the top of my hips to my shoulder blades. My legs had gone heavy. Shifting the pillows had become a task I had to plan for.Elias had not left the room. He helped me turn when lying on my back stopped working and moved the pillows when I wanted my side. He steadied me when I got onto my hands and knees. He learned the small shift of my weight before I asked for anything, and by the time I found the words he was already moving."Turn me again."He cleared the pillows and helped me onto my side. I drew my knees up and the pressure in my back eased for a minute. Then the next one started.I caught his forearm and pressed my face into the pillow. The pain tightened until I lost track of the room. I tried to breathe through it and got halfway before a groan turned into a cry a

The first contraction pulled me out of sleep before the alarm. I turned onto my side and drew my knees up, and a sound came out of me before I was fully awake. The pressure sat low in my stomach and spread outward through my hips until it let go.Elias stirred beside me. "Adeline?"I couldn't answer. The next one came before I had caught my breath, and I pushed myself upright and gripped the sheet.He was already sitting up."What's wrong?""Elias." His name came out before I could form anything else. Another wave pulled through me and my whole body curled around it.He was out of bed and crouched in front of me before I'd finished saying it."Is it the baby?""Yes."He looked at my stomach, then back at my face. "Has your water broken?""Not yet.""Are you bleeding?""No."He stood, looked around the room like he'd forgotten where anything was, and picked up his phone off the nightstand."I'm calling the midwife."She answered on the second ring. He started talking before she'd finis