Sunny Says by Jan Hudson Page A

maybe she’s in the bathroom.”
    Sunny shook her head, feeling a
sense of urgency. “We have to go home.” She tugged on the lapels of his jacket.
“Immediately.”
    *    *    *
    When the patrol car let them out
at the big house on Ocean Drive , Sunny ran up the walk, then waited impatiently as
Kale unlocked the door.
    She burst inside, calling
Estella. When there was no answer on the lower floor, she took the stairs up to
her friend’s room two at a time. “Estella!”
    When she heard a muffled moan,
Sunny threw open the door. Estella lay atop the coverlet, knees drawn up,
drenched in sweat. Several sheets and towels were in a heap on the carpet.
    “Ohmygod! Kale, call an
ambulance!”
    Panicked, Sunny ran to the bed,
knelt beside her friend, and took her hand. “Hang on, Estella. Kale is calling
an ambulance.”
    She clutched Sunny’s hand. “No
time for . . . ambulance,” she gasped. “This baby is . . . coming.”
    “Oh, no! No! Pant and blow. Blow,
blow, blow. Don’t push. For God’s sake, don’t push!”
    Kale rushed in. “They’re on the
way!
    Estella cried out as a
contraction heaved her body. Kale blanched.
    “There’s no time,” Sunny said, a
calmness flowing over her. She picked up the clean linen from where Estella had
obviously dropped it. “Help me get this under her. Blow, Estella, blow!”
    “But we can’t—”
    “The hell we can’t!”
    “Wait a second.” Kale rushed
into the adjoining bath, and there was a loud crash before he dashed out,
dragging a shower curtain, just as Estella screamed with another contraction.
He thrust the plastic at Sunny. “I’ll lift her and you fix the bed.”
    He smiled at Estella and said
gently, “Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart. We’ve got it under control.”
    Estella tried to laugh, but her
sweat-soaked face turned into a grimace as her body bucked.
    When the contraction had passed,
he said, “Put your arms around my neck. I’m going to lift you just a little
bit. That’s good. That’s good.”
    Sunny quickly shoved the curtain
and a pair of folded sheets under her. “We’ve got to wash our hands.” She
sprinted to the bathroom, scrubbed up to her elbows, and doused her hands and a
large section of the floor with half a bottle of alcohol.
    Kale met her on her way back. “I
hope you know what you’re doing,” he muttered out of the side of his mouth, “because
I sure as hell don’t.”
    “We watched a movie in
childbirth class.”
    “Oh, you have a world of
experience,” he said sarcastically. “Don’t we need to boil some water?”
    Sunny rolled her eyes. “For
what? A cup of tea?”
    Estella yelled, “It’s coming! It’s
coming!”
    “Wait!” Sunny screamed. “Blow!
Don’t push yet. I’m not ready!” She hurriedly arranged Estella’s clothing and
was about to drape a sheet over her knees, as she’d seen done in the film, when
Estella cried out again.
    Sunny’s eyes grew large. “It’s
crowned!” Kale ran back in, his hands dripping. “Crowned?”
    “I can see its head. Kale, when
the next contraction comes, hold Estella’s shoulders up and help her push.”
    “It’s coming!”
    Sunny climbed on the foot of the
bed and yelled, “Okay, okay! Here it comes!” A tiny head appeared, and she
eased her hand under it. “Oh, it’s wonderful, Estella, it’s wonderful. Here
comes the shoulder. Take a couple of cleansing breaths. Good, good. Now! One
more, one more. Push! Oh, here it is, here it is. Oh, Estella, it’s wonderful.
It’s a boy! He’s perfect. He’s beautiful.”
    The wrinkled little face squinched
, his lungs filled, and he let out a wail. Estella laughed and fell back to the
pillows in exhaustion. Sunny started laughing, tears running down her face.
    Kale stared at the tiny, mewling
infant, awestruck. A slow smile slid over his face. “That’s incredible. You did
great, Estella. Just great.” He kissed Estella’s forehead, then winked at
Sunny. “Good job, Dr. Larkin.