Dylan expected me to want a big ceremony, but I just wanted us to be together. I may like pink pretty things, but I really don’t need much. When the man of my dreams asks me to marry him I want to get on with it.

We had a civil ceremony at the courthouse downtown two weeks later with Cindy and Dylan’s phone buddy Sam in attendance. I wore a pink empire waist dress that stopped at my knees. I couldn’t help myself. It had to be pink. I looked like a pink balloon, but I was happy. Dylan was handsome in one of his tailored suits. Sadly, Birdie couldn’t be there.

We had an amazing reception though. We all went back to the Navy Pier and rode some rides. Cindy brought her kids and even Sam came along. He’s a bit of a workaholic, but we’re working on loosening him up. He needs to let go every once in a while.

Now, I’m happily married and overdue for a baby girl by three days. “Come out!”

Dylan chuckles at my outburst. “She’ll come anytime now. We’re on her clock.” He rubs my aching feet and I fall even more for this man. He’s so sweet and considerate. Who knew that the man who drove me insane at work a year ago would be my husband and the father of my child today.

“Let’s have sex. The doctor said that could help.” I smile devilishly.

Dylan gives me a grimace. “You know I want you, but the baby is right there . . . it’s a little weird, sweetie.”

“Ugh!” I throw my hands up in the air. “I can’t even get sex!” And then my water breaks!

“See!” Dylan motions to my current condition. “I knew it.” He laughs. “I guess you were ready to pop.”

I give him a look that makes him slither into the bedroom to get my hospital bag without another word. I call Cindy in the meantime to see if she can care for Birdie while I’m gone. I leave a key for her under the mat and then we’re on our way to the hospital. As Dylan exits the elevator the strap to my hospital bag trips him up and he face-plants on the lobby floor. I cringe as he just lies there.

“Oh, are you okay?” I try to reach down to comfort him but a contraction comes and I let out a wail across the lobby. Dylan turns over onto his back.

“I think I might have broken my ankle.” I look down and see his right ankle is starting to swell. I bend down to help him up after my contraction eases.

“Well, good thing we’re going to the hospital, right?” I try and laugh it off. I hope he didn’t really break it. That would be horrible right now. I need my husband at my side for this birth.

“Uh, Andy?” I wrap his arm around my shoulder as we hobble out to the car.

“This is my right foot. You know the one I have to drive with.” I look down again and sure enough, he’s right. Shit.

“No problem, I’ll drive.” I smile triumphantly.

“No. No, Andy. Just . . . no. You’re in labor right now. You don’t need to be driving a large machine. That’s not very smart. We’ll just call a taxi or get an Uber.” Dylan shakes his head emphatically.

“Baby, by the time an Uber or taxi got here, we’d already be at the hospital.” Another contraction comes and I squeeze Dylan’s wrist hard. I take deep breathes to concentrate on relaxing. Although I don’t feel like this breathing is doing shit. If anything, it’s making me angrier. Those liars at the Lamaze class! After the contraction decreases, I begin to move out of the lobby.

“Oh my God, woman! You’re impossible. What happens if you have a contraction on the road?”

I bat my eyelashes at him. “Then I’ll just pull over. It’s really not that big of a deal. I read once where a woman was driving on the freeway and delivered her own baby. I can at least drive to a hospital that’s like ten minutes away. If it gets too intense then I’ll pull over. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

Dylan groans and tries to step down on his hurt ankle. “Fuck. There’s no way I can drive with this pain.”

This guy wants to talk about pain right now, really? I feel like smacking him. Okay, let’s do this.

We argue a few more minutes outside of the car until I go almost exorcist on him and then he complies and gets into the passenger side. I wait until I have another contraction to drive, so I’ll have a good break to drive in. Dylan looks helpless in the passenger seat. I’m feeling like Wonder Woman right now. I’m in labor driving myself and my injured husband to the hospital.

Everything is smooth sailing until we get about halfway there and a contraction hits me. It causes me to gun the car a little and speed. Dylan freaks out and flails his hands in the air while I try and concentrate on slowing down on the accelerator.

“It’s okay, I got this.” I breathe and it helps to focus on driving instead of the pain. I think if Dylan wasn’t sitting he might faint. I giggle at that thought and soon the pain ebbs. “Almost there,” I say.

“Fuck, we almost died there for a minute, Andy,” Dylan yells at me. “I can’t believe you convinced me to let you drive.” His hands still grip the dashboard and I have to steel myself from giggling. It was just a little push on the peddle. Geez. You’d think I gunned it.

“We did not. I totally had the situation handled. I just sped up a bit that’s all. Stop being so dramatic.” He opens his mouth to argue with me, but then thinks better of it. I pull up to the front of the hospital and get out. We’ll worry about the car later. Right now, we need some assistance because the way these contractions are rolling through me, I think this baby is going to be popping out soon. “UGH!”

I lean against the car as Dylan gets out and hobbles to me and begins rubbing my back. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

I breathe and breathe and breathe some more. It’s not really helping. I wail out the pain. That seems to help. It puts Dylan in a tizzy though.

“Nurse!”

An older round nurse walks out with a wheelchair like this is a walk in the park. She spins the chair around like a pro and helps lower me into it.

“I think my husband might need one too. His ankle might be broken.” The nurse looks at my husband and then down to his swollen ankle that now looks pretty hideous with its black and blue color. She whistles and a young nurse pops out of the automatic doors and then my husband and I are wheeled into the hospital.

They bring Dylan into x-ray while I move to the maternity floor. They promise he’ll be here soon after I tell them this baby isn’t coming out without her father. “You got it, sweetie,” the nurse replies.