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He cast her a withering glance as he pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt Then he took her elbow and accompanied her down the hall They paused just outside the nursery as another contraction seized her

Gabriel switched on the pink-and-white chandelier so he could see her face “Is it very bad?”

“Yes” She tried to distract herself by leaning against the doorpost and staring into the baby’s room

She would have been content to purchase all the furnishings for the nursery froet, but Gabriel had insisted on Pottery Barn

(Parenthetically, it should be noted that Julia referred to Pottery Barn as Protestant Barn, for it featured fine furnishings that were WASP-ish in the extreht were too expensive)

Together, and with iteiven by their friends and fauest rooreen for the walls and a soft white for the ork and crownthat featured flowers in pink, yellow, and green pastels covered the oak floorboards

“This isat the classic Winnie the Pooh decals they had placed over the crib and changing table, in anticipation of wide and eager little eyes

“It’s waiting for her” Gabriel s Roll”

When Julia’s contraction subsided, he took her hand and helped her down the stairs and into the Volvo, in which he’d already installed the baby’s car seat He sent a text to Rebecca, explaining as happening, and assured her he’d be in touch

A short while later, they arrived at the Bain Birthing Center at Mount Auburn Hospital By the ti rooed to conjure a calm exterior He didn’t want Julia to see his anxiety or to feel the way his insides churned with unspoken fears

But she knew She knehat he was afraid of, and she held his hand and told hi to be fine

They held hands during her internal exa Roll was in a transverse position and that she hoped the baby would decide to turn when it was time for her to be born

Nurse Tracy quickly distracted a nervous Gabriel fro a complicated, illustrated explanation of transverse positions, teaching him to read theand when it was corateful for his distraction But that didn’t stop hi transverse positions and their attendant information on his iPhone

(It should be noted that at that point, Julia wished he’d left the da at hoh to allow her to nap, and she drifted into semiconsciousness

“Julianne?”

She opened her eyes to see her husband standing over her, a concerned expression on his face

She smiled at hi”

“I ”

Julia reached out to hi it up to his lips so he could kiss it

“My rings,” she whispered, pressing against his wedding band “Did I lose theer “You took the and you orried they’d get stuck You started wearing theo, back in the orchard”