Abel (29 page)

That made Nellie laugh.
“Your mom’s not so bad.”

“
She can be, and just wait ’til this baby’s here. She’s really gonna want to take over. I need to get you out of here
pronto
.”

He leaned his forehead against hers
as her eyes brightened. “Can we go see it now?

Abel pulled away then seemed to mentally take inventory of her body from top to bottom.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“
Up to what?” She laughed. “Walking through a house? I think I can manage.” Truth was she’d been cooped up in the house all week, and she was ready for some fresh air. Abel still stared at her, a bit unsure. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him as she pulled her legs off the side of the bed.

Finally
, he smiled. “Okay. But you promise me you’ll tell me the moment you’re not feeling so hot.”

“
I promise,” she said, already rushing to her bag so she could change.

~*~

It had come as a surprise when Nellie told Abel about the necklace his mom had given her. But even more surprising was what his mom had said the heart represented, not that he disagreed in any way. Nellie didn’t just own his heart. She was a part of him now, a part of him that he was certain he couldn’t live without anymore. So what his mom had said was spot on. What surprised him about his mom’s gesture was that she was so happy and all for this so quickly.

They finished walking through the house. Nellie had been a bit quiet as she took in every room
: The huge family room with the massive fireplace in the corner. The granite counter tops in the big open kitchen with the center island and state-of-the-art stainless-steel appliances.

She
’d smiled at the double shower heads in the master bedroom shower, and he knew she was remembering San Francisco. When they stepped out into the yard, she nearly gasped.

The intricate cedar play set had taken his breath away as well
when he first saw it. It was three parts with slides coming out of both ends. Wooden bridges connected all three parts. One side was shaped like a castle while the other end was in the shape of a ship with a helm and steering wheel.

“
It’s beautiful,” she whispered, her hands at her face.

Abel walked up from behind her
, hugging her by the waist, and kissed the side of her face. “So, as a whole you like this house? The location? The inside? This yard? The pool?” He stared out into the spectacular view beyond the play set.

“
It’s perfect,” she said, glancing back at him with a smile then turning back to admire the play set. “When are you planning on telling your mom that we’re moving out?”

“
I already did,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

He felt her stiffen.
“Really? What did she say?”

Abel kissed her neck before responding.
“She knew it was coming. I’d already mentioned that the back house wouldn’t be big enough anymore, and she agreed. I told her I was already looking for the perfect place for my family.” His heart sped up a little before asking. “Would you say I found it?”

“
Yes,” she nodded quickly. “It’s absolutely
perfect
.”

Smiling
, Abel reached into his back pocket with one hand while he caressed her belly with his other then pulled away. “Then only one other thing would make it even more perfect.”

She turned just as he got down on his knee.

“What would that—”

Instantly her brows pinched
, and her bottom lip began to quiver at the sight of him on his knee, holding out the ring he’d bought earlier that week.

“
Make my life
completely
perfect, Nellie. Marry me.” He held the ring out to her. “Please?”

Bringing her hand over her quivering lip
, she nodded. Abel slipped the ring on her finger and stood, immediately taking her in his arms. Life had never felt sweeter than at that moment.

“
I’d love nothing more than to be your wife, Abel, but . . .”

Abel pulled away slowly to look at her. Everything had felt so perfect until that last word.
“But what?” he asked, searching her worried eyes.

“
It’s one thing for us to move into this home and raise this baby together.”

Her anxious eyes
were making him anxious too.
But what, damn it
?

“
Marriage is a whole other challenge than just living together, a challenge I’ve already failed miserably at once. I just don’t . . .” She glanced away and took a breath. “I don’t want you thinking we
have
to get married just because I’m pregnant.”

“
You can’t be serious.” His brows came together, and he stared at her very intensely. “First of all,
you
didn’t fail at anything. That idiot ex-husband of yours failed to see what he had. I
know
what I have, and let me tell you that being married to you will
not
be a challenge. Maybe that’s what marriage felt like to you because you married the wrong guy. But I have every intention of making you the happiest woman on earth or die trying. Baby . . .” He softened up what he was sure was too hard of an expression because he wanted to make that anxiousness he still saw in her eyes disappear. He wanted her to look as happy as she made him. “I already feel like the luckiest man alive. I have everything any man could ask for, but I’m gonna be a greedy bastard because I want more. I want it
all
.” Finally the apprehension in her eyes gave way to a smile, and it made him smile too. “I’m not asking you to marry me because your pregnant, Nell. I’d wanted this before I even knew you were pregnant. When you didn’t show up at my fight and even after I reached what I thought at the time was the ultimate goal in my life, and I was now the champ . . . When I couldn’t find you . . . When that doctor said there was a possibility you might not wake up . . .” He swallowed back the overwhelming emotion. “I realized something. Without you in my life, none of that matters. I need you, baby. I need you to make my life complete.”

With the tears rolling down her beautiful face
, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I need you too.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist tightly.
“My beautiful Nellie,” he whispered against her ear. “I love you so much.”

Sighing deeply
, she hugged him tighter. “I’m the luckiest woman alive. I love you too,” she whispered, “so much.”

Epilogue

Two false alarms in
one week were enough. Nellie wasn’t about to mention her contractions this time until she knew for sure they were coming closer together. A third trip to the emergency room in the same week, only to be sent home again, would be embarrassing now. But she knew being embarrassed was the
last
thing Abel would be worried about. He was already so anxious, and one mention of her contractions would have him herding her out the door immediately as he had the first two times.

Nellie was anxious
too. But unlike Abel, she had more than one reason. She hadn’t mentioned it in months because so far she’d had a normal pregnancy. There were no complications at all, and the baby was, as far as the doctors could tell, perfectly healthy. But there was still a tiny piece of her heart that feared that maybe her asthma attack so early on in her pregnancy had damaged
something
. She wanted to be nothing more than excited about this baby’s arrival, but it was hard to silence that fear completely.

Not only did she not want
to embarrass herself with a third false-alarm trip to the emergency room that week but today was Hector and Charlee’s engagement party. Nellie wanted Abel to be there for his brother. Earlier that week, she’d been disappointed that perhaps he’d miss out on the party because she might still be in the hospital. She was glad now that Hector had simply wanted to make it official, even if they wouldn’t be getting married for several years when they both graduated. Making Charlee Hector’s wife was merely a formality because Charlee had moved in that back house with him months ago.

Abel had mentioned how surprised he
’d been at his mom’s willingness to accept things that years ago she wouldn’t have been okay with. He didn’t say it and Nellie didn’t tell him she knew, but Caro’s acceptance of Charlee moving in with Hector even before they were married was probably as surprising to Abel as her welcoming Nellie so quickly.

Roni had explained her theory
, which made sense to Nellie. Like Roni had been when all the boys of 5th Street came into her life, Caro was more excited now about her expanding family than she was about old-fashioned traditions and beliefs.

Nellie had
made it through the morning and a better part of the afternoon without letting on to anyone that she was experiencing the strongest contractions she’d had all week. But they were still very erratic. At one point, they’d stopped all together, so it’d been a good thing she hadn’t said anything.

Now she sat at a table with Roni and Bianca as they watched Hector and Charlee
welcome more guests. The party was supposed to have been an intimate one, but Caro had invited a few more people than Charlee and Hector had originally planned.

Roni leaned over and rubbed Nellie
’s belly just as it contracted. Her big smile immediately fell, and she stared at Nellie. “Wow, that’s hard.” She lifted a brow. “Are you contracting?”

Nellie shrugged.
“Yes, just like I have been all week. But none are significant enough to have me making another trip to the hospital just yet.”

She
forced a smile, taking a sip of her water as a bitch of a contraction hit harder than any so far and took longer to pass. Glancing down at the time on her phone, she made note of the time. That prior one hit about eight minutes earlier. They were definitely getting closer. Needing to get the attention off her before Roni noticed anything, she turned to Bianca. “So have you and Gio decided when you two will start with the baby making?”

Bianca
grinned playfully but looked away without responding. Nellie and Roni exchanged glances then looked back at Bianca. “Bianca?” Roni’s cautious question was laced with the same excitement Nellie was beginning to feel. “What is that grin about?”

Seeing Bianca cover her mouth in
obvious pleasure made both Nellie and Roni’s eyes shoot open. “I can’t say yet,” she gushed. “Gio wants to wait until we know for sure.” She leaned in after glancing around and whispered. “You can’t say anything, okay?” Both Nellie and Roni immediately shook their heads, smiling. “The early pregnancy test I took a few days ago was positive. But it’s only been like three days since I missed my period, and we’re nervous about making any announcements.” Her smile suddenly waned. “I’ve been off the pill almost as long as you’ve been pregnant, Nellie. When we found out you and Abel were having a baby, we started talking about when would be a good time for us to start planning for one, and a few weeks later, we decided it’d be a good idea for me to at least get off the pill. I figured it would take a few months for it to get out of my system, but I didn’t think it would take
this
long.”

Roni and Nellie both spoke at once then laughed. They assured Bianca she was pregnant, especially after she mentioned her overly sensitive breasts and how incredibly tired she
’d been lately. “I was beginning to think I was coming down with something. I’ve been so tired.”

“
Oh girl,” Roni reached over and squeezed Bianca’s arm. “You are
so
pregnant.”

Bianca smiled gidd
ily. Nellie was about to tell her about stocking up on
fideo
and crackers for the next couple of months because it was the only thing that got her through those first few months when another contraction hit her
hard
.

Holding her hand to her side she wasn
’t able to refrain from grunting. Roni turned to her, immediately looking concerned. “Honey, are you okay?”

Nellie nodded
, unable to say anything as unbelievably the contraction kept on and was brutal. She started the breathing she was taught in Lamaze classes, but either she was doing it wrong or they were full of shit because it wasn’t helping. Glancing down at her phone, she saw it’d been only six minutes since the last.

“
Nellie, this may be it.” Roni said, standing up. “Where’s Abel?”

With the contraction
finally passing, Nellie looked up and across the yard. Abel was standing with Noah and Gio under the large patio by the backhouse, holding a beer and laughing. He glanced her way and did a double take, his eyes abruptly locking on hers as she still held her side. At that moment, she knew that he knew. It was as if he froze for a moment, and then he moved quickly, so quickly that the guys all turned and watched him rush toward her. Roni waving him over only made him move faster. “Don’t make him nervous, Roni,” Nellie warned. “He tries to hide it, but he’s been a wreck for days.”

Nellie almost felt guilty that she
’d interrupted a moment where he seemed to be relaxing for the first time in days. Ever since their first trip to the hospital earlier that week, he’d been so jumpy. At any sign of discomfort he noticed she might be having, he was on her, asking if she was okay.

“
What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked as soon as he reached her and knelt down in front of her.

“
Nothing’s wrong,” Roni said a very reassuring voice. “It just might be time to go to the hospital,” she informed him as he continued to search Nellie’s face.

“
For real this time,” Nellie said, forcing a smile because she felt another contraction coming on already.

Well shit. Maybe she shouldn
’t have waited so long to say something. There was no way it was six minutes from the last one. She moved to her side, squeezing the armrest of the chair in an unsuccessful attempt to ease the discomfort she was now feeling.

She didn
’t even realize she’d scrunched up her face as the contraction continued to clobber her lower back, until Abel kissed the side of her face. “Breathe, baby,” he whispered, massaging her back. “Breathe.”

As soon as she took a long breath
, she felt it. If Abel’s face hadn’t been so close, he might not have heard it, but he did—the wheezing. She’d seen the alarm in his eyes earlier that week and saw it when he’d rushed over to her, but now there was something more in them. His eyes widened and she saw the terror. “It’s okay,” she said, trying to mask the effort it took her to breathe. She hadn’t had an asthma attack since . . . “I just need my inhaler. That’s all.”

Jumping to his feet instantly
, he asked. “Where is it?”

“
In my purse,” she pointed. Abel practically tossed an empty chair aside to get to it. “Please calm down, babe.” She tried in vain to stop the wheezing. “I’m fine,” she insisted.

She watched
, frowning as he rifled through her purse then pulled out her inhaler. He handed it to her, and as soon as she took a hit from it, she felt the instant relief. “You see?” She took a deep breath minus any wheezing. “I’m better now.”

Abel exhaled
, his already pale face visibly torn between still being terrified and relieved. He held his hand out to her. “Let’s go.”

“
You need me to go get her things from your house?” Roni asked.

“
No,” Abel shook his head, holding on to Nellie’s arm as she stood. “Everything’s already in the car. After the second trip this week, I didn’t bother to take it out. I figured we were close.”

Taking one step
, Nellie stopped as she felt another contraction coming. She made every attempt to stay calm and breathe normally. Panicking or getting worked up for any reason could trigger her asthma, and she
was not
going to ruin what should be an exciting and wonderful day for her and Abel.

She noticed Abel
making an effort also to appear calmer as he stopped and massaged her lower back. In a very calm voice, he leaned in and whispered. “I love you.”

Nellie nodded
, unable to respond as she leaned against his big chest. The stupid breathing techniques from Lamaze were not helping with the pain
at all
.

“
Do you know how far apart the contractions are?” He asked in that still soothing voice.

As the contraction ceased
, she took a long breath, looking up at him, and answered. “About five minutes now.”

His brows lifted as his eyes widened
, but he quickly caught himself and nodded. “We gotta get you to the hospital.”

In the midst of it all
, Bianca’s stunned face nearly made Nellie laugh. Her big doe eyes said it all. The reality of what being pregnant and eventually having to go into labor really meant, had just sunk in.

Roni assured them she
’d let everyone know they were going, including Abel’s mom, who must’ve been inside somewhere because they didn’t see her as they rushed out into the driveway. She’d likely be upset that she didn’t get a chance to see them off, but at this point, Nellie knew Abel was doing everything in his power to remain focused and keep Nellie calm. The last thing he’d be concerned about was his mother’s emotional state.

Ever s
ince what he now referred to as the worst two days of his life, he told her he wanted to be armed with the knowledge of how best to handle her attacks, but even more so how to avoid them.

She
’d told him the most important thing was to remain calm whenever she was experiencing trouble breathing. Nothing was more detrimental than freaking out. It only escalated things quickly.

They made it to the hospital without incident
, and Abel helped her up the ramp of the back entrance that they were told to use. Being as high profile as Abel was now, nothing would ever be normal for them again. So arriving at the regular emergency room was a thing of the past for Nellie.

The nurse recognized them
immediately, not just because of Abel’s celebrity but because she’d been there both times this past week when they’d had to be sent home. She took one look at Nellie’s body language and nodded. Without even asking, Nellie could already see it in the nurse’s eyes. She knew that this time they wouldn’t be leaving the hospital without a baby.

Massaging
Abel’s arm now as she was wheeled into the maternity ward, Nellie smiled. Even as she was hit with another excruciating contraction, she actually felt bad for
him
. He looked absolutely horrified, yet she could still see how hard he attempted to remain calm for her sake.

After changing into her hospital gown and being
hooked up to all the monitors, she noticed how somber he suddenly went. “What’s wrong,” she asked, reaching her hand out to him, feeling a wave of alarm when she noticed his red-rimmed eyes.

“
Nothing,” he shook his head quickly, took her hand, kissed it, and then shrugged. “All the machines and seeing you in this hospital bed just brought back memories.” His brows pinched, and he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I love you so much,” he whispered, just as the nurse walked in again.

The nurse checked the monitors then checked Nellie
’s progress in dilating. She added more towels under Nellie’s behind. “Everything’s as it should be. It won’t be long now,” she said with a smile. “And,” she said as she pulled her glove off and dropped it in the waste basket. “You’re dilating beautifully. Already close to eight centimeters. It paid off to wait a little longer this time before coming in. If all goes as well as it’s going now, we’ll be welcoming baby Ayala into the world very soon.” The nurse picked up a green stack of folded garments on the counter. “Here you go, Daddy.” She handed them to Abel. “It’s almost show time—time to get suited up.” She winked at Nellie. “You see. If we had kept you here yesterday morning, you would’ve felt like you’d been in labor for days. Now you can say you came in and handled giving birth like a superstar in under just a couple of hours. I’ll go get you some ice chips.”