Everyday Hero: The Volunteers - a Darling Bay Short Story (2 page)

“Ruby, tell me what’s happening.”

“No.” Not in front of Noah. The nicest, cutest guy she’d met in months. Okay, years, maybe. This couldn’t happen now. “I just have to … ” She was covered in sweat, instantly.

Inside the cupcake, she hit the power button and gripped the handles. “I have to go,” she gasped.

“Let me help. There’s something obviously very wrong.” Noah had his phone in one hand and his other hand firmly on top of the frosting.

“Just let me go, please. If I can get back to Josie’s I’ll be okay.” But as soon as she’d rolled four feet away, another contraction hit her. They weren’t supposed to come this fast. This was her first birth. It was supposed to take hours. Days. She stopped moving and concentrated again on panting through the pain.

She needed Greg. But she’d left her phone in her purse at Josie’s.

“How can I help?” Noah asked again. He kneeled next to her and started touching the metal container of the cupcake-mobile. “How do I get you out of here?”

“I need you to call someone,” she gasped.

“Tell me the number.”

She did, and then Noah held the phone to her ear. “Here you go.”

She counted the rings until Greg answered. “Greg, it’s happening. I’m at the marina. I need you here. Now.”

Greg said, “Are you serious? This is it?”

“I’m having the baby. Hurry.”

***

Noah had thought appendicitis. Or maybe gallstones. A kidney problem. Something painful, sure. He’d gotten that much.

But she was having a
baby
?

Disappointment was sharp and disconcerting. And it was something he didn’t have time for.

“Out,” Noah said. “How do I get you out?”

Ruby moaned and said something he couldn’t understand.

“What?”

“Lever. There’s a lever in the back. Pull.”

He finally found it. The cupcake’s top made a loud click and then sprang open like a garbage can.

Ruby moaned again. Her eyes were closed and she was hunched over in a way that made him nervous.

“Can you stand?”

Keeping her eyes closed, she shook her head.

He had to get her out. “You can do it. Just stand up for a second, and I’ll lift you out.”

Her eyes flew open. “You can’t
lift
me.”

“I can do anything you need me to, cupcake.” He meant it. He wasn’t going to be able to ask her out, obviously, but he could help her until she didn’t need him anymore.

She stood in the tiny car, her body trembling.

“Okay, I know we just met and all, but I’m going to wrap my arms around you now, okay? Here I go.”

Carefully, so carefully, Noah put his arms under hers. He lifted. “Now you step over the cupcake edge, okay?”

“I can’t. I can’t lift my leg that high.”

“You can’t have a baby in this thing, I promise you that. You can do this, Ruby.”

She got one leg over while he held her, and then the other. She was out. “Hold on to the back of the bench, okay? Just for a second.”

Ruby panted while he stripped off his jacket and laid it on the grass next to the sidewalk. “Okay, just lie down here.”

She moved to the grass, both hands at her belly as if she could keep the baby inside her with force of will.

Pregnant. The woman of his dreams was pregnant with another man’s baby, a man who was on his way here right now.

Well. Noah had little to no experience with the woman of his dreams, having never met her before—though he’d been searching—but he knew one thing. You had to be good to her, even if you could never have her.

That he could do.

Quickly, he dialed 911. Lexie answered.

“Lex, it’s Noah. I’m at the marina across the street from Mabel’s Cafe. I need an ambulance.”

He heard her typing. “Okay, tell me exactly what happened.”

“We’re having a baby.”

A very short pause. “I didn’t even know you were dating, dude.”

He smiled. “Me neither.”

“You got this or you want me to talk you through it?”

“I’m good. Just get ‘em here fast.” Ruby was panting again, and from what he’d studied, Noah didn’t think she had much more time.

He kneeled at her side, reproaching himself for wanting to push back that errant strand of hair that covered one eye. “How are you doing?”

She ripped the strawberry off the top of her head. “I’m about to push a baby out of me in front of the whole town, how do you think I am?”

Noah gave in to the urge and reached forward, tucking the hair over her ear. “I think you’re about to do an amazing thing, and I’ll help as much as I can.”

Her eyes widened then, her face contorting into a grimace. She threw back her head and dropped to her elbows. She roared, “I am
not
going to let a hot firefighter look at my
vagina
!”

Despite himself, Noah felt his chest inflate a bit. She thought he was hot. “I’m just a volunteer. Okay, Ruby, pardon my forwardness, but I’m going to lift your skirt now.”

***

Women often died in childbirth, didn’t they? Ruby comforted herself with this thought as Noah bent to look between her legs.

The only action she’d seen in months. It would have been funny—hysterical, really—if it hadn’t been happening to her. In front of Mabel, who’d left the cafe, and Thom Grandy who had gotten off his boat carrying a load of white towels. “Thought you might need these, Noah. And here’s a knife.”

Noah looked grateful. Then another contraction hit her, and the world narrowed to a sliver of pain so small she couldn’t see through it. She was vaguely aware that her underwear had been cut off, but she didn’t care. She could be naked in front of the world now and it wouldn’t bother her. If only she could stop the pain that was everything, everywhere.

“Greg, where’s Greg?” she mumbled when the pain had receded to something she could contain, if only for a second or two.

“I bet he’s almost here,” said Noah.

“Don’t
look
,” she said. From her vantage, Noah had grown even sexier. Wide at the shoulder, that floppy dark hair coming down over his forehead as he looked up at her with something that looked like … joy?

“Cupcake, I’m looking, and this baby’s almost looking back at me. I can see the head. You’re crowning.”

She locked eyes with Noah, and for one moment, they were together—connected in a way she’d never felt. She held onto his gaze as long as she could. Then she was splitting in two, and the sound of the ambulance screaming in the background was drowned out by her own wail. No one could live through this. It wasn’t possible. She knew it.

“One more push, I’ve got the shoulders.”

“
No
!”

“One more. You can do this, Ruby. You amazing, wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, strong, incredible woman you.” Noah kept saying the words to her, over and over again, until she took a huge breath—all the air in the sky—and pushed one last time.

***

Noah caught the baby.

He caught a
baby
. Most people caught striped bass in this marina. He’d caught a freaking
newborn
.

Where was the ambulance? What if the baby didn’t breathe—Noah didn’t have the right equipment—what would he do? His terror was short-lived as the little man opened his mouth and gasped like a big old fish on a hook and then let out a sound like an angry wet cat.

“It’s a boy,” he said. “Did you know that?”

Ruby’s laugh floated down to him. “No. We wanted to be surprised. Oh, it’s a boy. A
boy
.” She sounded proud and happy, as she should. And exhausted.

As Noah struggled to decide whether or not to use his shoelace to tie off the umbilical cord as he’d been shown. The problem was, that shoelace had seen some awful things today, and he didn’t want it to touch a newborn. Just then, Rescue One pulled in.

Bonnie Maddern was the first off the rig. “Noah! What do you have there?” She kneeled next to him, putting her hand confidently on Ruby’s leg. “Hi, mama. We’re going to take good care of you, okay?”

Noah handed the baby to Bonnie, strangely reluctant to let go of the naked, squirming bundle.

The rescue crew swung into action, and before Noah could even take a deep breath, Ruby had been put onto the gurney and wheeled to the ambulance, her baby on her chest. There were tears on her face, and as Ruby’s eyes met his just before the back doors of the ambulance closed, he realized that he had tears in his own.

Every single cell in his body wanted to race to her, to jump up next to Bonnie and insist on riding with her to the hospital. Noah wanted to hold her free hand, and then later, he wanted to watch her sleep. He needed to know she was okay.

But he couldn’t. He didn’t even know her. He was no one.

A man driving a red convertible screeched to a halt in the no parking zone just as the ambulance pulled away. “Ruby! Where are they taking her?”

Wasn’t that obvious? Where did ambulances usually go? “Well, since Darling Bay only has one hospital, I’d place my bets on that.” This must be Greg. Of course he drove a red convertible. Naturally.

“Is she okay?”

Noah softened a little. The man sounded terrified. “Yeah, she did great.”

“And the baby?”

“Squalling like a stuck pig by the time they pulled away. Handsome little fellow you got there. I got to deliver him.” Noah couldn’t keep the note of pride out of his voice. Every volunteer firefighter’s dream was to deliver a baby, but the ambulance usually got there before they could actually do it.

“A boy?” Greg broke into a grin with the wattage of the sun. “A boy, you said?”

“I did.”

“What did you say your name was?” Greg looked at Noah for the first time.

“Noah Mercer.”

Greg launched himself at Noah, grabbing him in a hug so tight it almost hurt. “Thank you, man. Thanks.” He pulled away and thumped Noah on the back several times. “I gotta get to the hospital, but thank you. Thanks!” One more back thump and then Greg was in his car and tearing away from the curb before Noah could even say that he was welcome.

Nice guy, really, the convertible aside.

Maybe even a good guy.

Noah just hoped Greg was good enough for a woman like Ruby.

***

The next day, Noah was back in Mrs. Finch’s kitchen. “I hate to tell you this again, but you can’t put spoons in the disposal.”

“Oh, that’s right dear, you did mention that once or twice. Cookie?”

“No, thank you.” Plumbers didn’t eat in clients houses. Ever. It wasn’t the best practice, and in the worst case, it could be dangerous. But over the years that Noah had been working on Mrs. Finch’s ancient garbage disposal, she still hadn’t stopped offering him food. She was lonely, that was all. Noah had a couple of customers like that. He usually saw them at least once a month, with some kind of minor—often made-up—problem. A water heater that was rattling in the middle of the night, or a toilet that was making funny noises after the flush.

What they wanted was to chat, and women of that age liked a little snack along with the talk. Fine by him. Noah didn’t mind giving them the extra time.

“Just one cookie. Snickerdoodles. I made them for you especially.”

Noah smiled. “Okay, just one.”

While her back was turned, Noah slipped the cookie to Clancy, the Great Dane who’d peed on him yesterday morning. “All is forgiven, buddy. It ended up being a pretty great day.”

Mrs. Finch turned back around, gesturing for him to sit at her kitchen table. “So I heard you delivered Ruby Elliot’s baby.”

“Word spreads fast.”

“Honey, I heard that within about twenty minutes. It just took me a full day to remember that I knew how to break a garbage disposal to get you over here.”

Noah laughed out loud at her honesty. “You could have just called me. Asked me to come over on my day off.”

She brightened. “You’d really come over? Just to chat with me? Would you eat my cookies then instead of feeding them to Clancy?”

“I’d love to.” Noah chastised himself for not dropping by more. He’d change that, starting now.

“Tell me about it,” said Mrs. Finch, leaning forward. “Was it shockingly gory?”

“No.” Surprisingly, it hadn’t been. Noah had been trained to expect blood—a lot of it—along with the whitish vernix that went with childbirth. But in the moment, he hadn’t noticed any of it. All that mattered was Ruby—that she was okay—and the baby. When that little thing had landed in his hands … everything had disappeared and it was just the three of them, in that small, intimate circle.

That perfect circle.

“What did they name the baby?”

“I don’t know.”

To Clancy’s great delight, Mrs. Finch dropped her cookie on the floor in astonishment. “You don’t
know
? Did you not
ask
?”

“I haven’t seen them.” He’d thought—for a moment—about going to the hospital. But how did a guy do that? It wasn’t like he could just waltz into her room and say,
Hey! You’re amazing! Leave your husband for me!
Noah wasn’t a total jerkwad. He believed in doing the right thing. Chasing a married woman wasn’t one of them. He wished that Ruby had been wearing a ring yesterday—maybe if he’d seen that first, he wouldn’t have fallen head over heels the very moment after falling into the gutter.

“Well, you have to go.” Mrs. Finch’s voice was firm.

“Nah, I’m fine. They need to have their time.”

She stood. “March, young man.”

“Excuse me?”

She picked up a blue pocketbook that matched her hair. “Will you drive or should we walk? It’s only a mile, but we’d get there faster if you let me ride in that big truck of yours. Do you have a CB radio?”

Confused, Noah said, “I’m a plumber. Not a trucker. We’re … what?”

“We’re going to the hospital. I want to know the name of that darling baby, and I want to see her face when Ruby sees the man who delivered her child.”

Had Ruby felt anything at all? Noah
didn’t
want to see her face—he had thought she’d been flirting with him, too, but that was before her husband pulled up. He’d just gotten it wrong. Really wrong.

“Now,” Mrs. Finch said. “It doesn’t do to argue with a woman of my years. I could drop dead at any minute and although I know you know CPR, that would be a bit much for a volunteer firefighter to have to deal with, both a birth and a death in one week, am I right?”