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  I looked over at my daughter, who was unusually quiet and pale. She nodded, which made me ever more apprehensive. Very independent and self-assured, she normally didn’t accept help from anyone.

  I thanked James as he came around and held an umbrella over her car door. Opening it, he hooked her arm gently into his and pulled her to her feet before escorting her swiftly inside.

  I followed, making a run for it. Once inside, I looked around as we all gathered in the main hall. I couldn’t believe how wet and completely windswept we appeared after only being exposed to the storm for an instant.

  Making our way into the main room, we gathered around Annie’s roaring fire to dry off as James went to call the sheriff’s department to let them know we were cut off at the farm. With no cell phone service this far out on the island, James withdrew to Annie’s office to use her landline. When he came back to us, his face showed his concern.

  “I have good news and bad news,” he stated plainly. “The good news is I was able to get through to the sheriff’s department and let them know we’re trapped up here. The bad news is they’re already dealing with many power outages and a couple of serious accidents, so we’re a low priority. It may be hours before they can get to us.”

  There was a universal moan from everyone, and Doris took control.

  “I suggest you all call home from the office phone to let people know you’re okay and will be here until we can get through. At least we have power at the moment, but that could change at any minute with the way this storm is raging.”

  Going into emergency mode, Doris organized people to gather flashlights and blankets as Annie pulled out her emergency supplies and placed her first-aid kit on the table.

  James organized a group to fill bottles of water in the farmhouse kitchen, knowing that if we lost power, we would also lose the electricity that pumped the well on the property.

  I had just put the phone down with Martin, who had informed me the power was already out at our house, when the lights around me went out as well, and I was plunged into darkness. I sat motionless at Annie’s desk, feeling vulnerable. I didn’t know Annie’s house well enough to get myself safely back to the group in the main room. As I sat there, trying to figure out what to do, the office door opened and a beam of light illuminated the desk in front of me. It was Ernie. I knew his shuffled walk, even silhouetted in the darkness.

  “Your knight in shining armor is here,” he joked, “though I seem to have lost my horse.”

  He came over and guided me to the door.

  As we made our way carefully down the hallway, we heard Flora call out from one of the bedrooms. Ernie went in and found her too.

  “Come on, princess,” he said with a toothy grin that I could actually see in the shadows. We both linked arms with him, and he laughed. “Must be my lucky day, a woman on each arm,” he joked. He then broke into a song-and-dance number as he promenaded us to the main room.

  Just as we reached the door of the kitchen, Annie passed us in the hallway on a mission. She went to the sink and tugged at Dan’s arm.

  “Miss Marcy,” Annie said, breathlessly, “I think she’s had a turn.”

  Dan sighed and shook his head. He followed Annie into the main room. The three of us were right behind him. He walked over to Marcy, and as if on cue, Marcy appeared to pass out. Dan reached out and just managed to catch her before she rolled off the sofa and onto the floor.

  “We should get her into one of the spare bedrooms,” stated Annie.

  I grabbed one of the flashlights now piled on the table, and as Annie led the way, I helped Dan carry Marcy. She sighed pathetically, and her eyes fluttered slightly. We lifted her onto the bed as Annie lit a couple of candles in the room. As he bent forward, she seemed to miraculously revive and reached out to grab his hand, saying, “Don’t leave me, Dan.”

  Dan, red-faced and obviously very unhappy, reluctantly pulled a chair toward the bed, and I gave him a look that said That girl is working you.

  Annie said, “I’m going to see if anyone has any first-aid training.”

  “Don’t bother,” said Olivia, who had just appeared in the doorway. “I can check her out. I used to be a nurse for an elderly lady in Paris. I’m sure I can handle a fainting, healthy young woman.”

  She walked into the room, lifted Marcy’s legs up, placed them onto a pile of pillows, and started to take her pulse.

  A blinding flash of lightning illuminated the whole bedroom, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Marcy started screaming and clung to Dan’s arm like it was a life raft.

  As soon as Marcy was settled, I made my way back to the kitchen to check on Stacy and found Doris and Ethel handing out hot chocolate and crackers as snacks.

  “Thank goodness for a gas stove,” said Lavinia as she boiled kettles of water for drinks. Lottie spooned cocoa into cups.

  “This is hardly going to keep us going,” said Ernie, chuckling as he took a cup and plate of crackers from Doris.

  “We have to be smart,” said Doris. “We could be here for days, and we have a lot of mouths to feed.”

  I hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

  I took a cup of cocoa over to Stacy. I found her bent over, breathing in a labored way, her face flushed.

  “What is it?” I asked, setting the drink down on the floor.

  “I don’t know,” said Stacy. “The pain in my back is much worse, and it feels like I might be having contractions again.”

  “It’s probably all the excitement,” I said, trying not to panic. “We should find a place for you to lie down.”

  I grabbed Annie, who was just coming back from Marcy’s room. “I need to get Stacy to a bed.”

  James saw what was going on and came over. “Do you need some help?” he asked.

  “We need to get Stacy up into bed.”

  Between the three of us, we carried her upstairs. I knew she was sick because she didn’t complain once. On the way, I told James in a hushed tone, “We should call the sheriff again and tell him we have an emergency here.”

  James took another look at Stacy, nodded, and went off to the office.

  As we reached the top of the stairs, Stacy’s water broke. We all heard it and knew what it meant, but no one spoke for a moment.

  Stacy burst into tears, wailing, “I want Chris.”

  We got Stacy inside the bedroom, and I watched Olivia quickly come into the room and examine Stacy. She informed us as she worked methodically that she had nearly become a midwife in her twenties. She determined that Stacy was already seven centimeters dilated and that the babies would probably be born soon.

  I clung to Stacy’s hand and tried to think clearly.

  James arrived in the room and announced he had delivered a baby when he had been on a stint in the Peace Corps and told Stacy softly that she was in good hands and that soon she would be holding her sweet babies.

  Stacy cried out, her eyes wild with panic, so Olivia taught me how to work through breathing exercises with her. I just sat there, helplessly holding her hand, breathing in and out like a pair of bellows, trying to control my own panic and Stacy’s.

  News traveled quickly through the house, and pretty soon we got a visit from all the book club members.

  Doris was the first to arrive in the room with a pile of towels, Ethel by her side with a pile of sheets.

  “Ethel and I are here with supplies,” she said. “What else do you need?”

  “Maybe some ice?” answered Olivia. “And more light, if you can spare it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Doris. “I’m on it.” She and Ethel bustled away to do Olivia’s bidding.

  Ruby came floating in with a bag she had fetched from her car.

  “I have crystals, essential oils, flower essences, and whale music.”

  “How about drugs?” wailed Stacy as she cried out in pain from another very difficult contraction.

  “You won’t need any of that,” answered Ruby confidently as she started to hang he
r crystals from long strings around the bed. “You will be amazed how much good a few herbs and some music can do to help.”

  I looked at Stacy, who rolled her eyes and shook her head, saying, “I know exactly where I would like to stick it all, and that would definitely help.”

  She turned over and groaned as another racking contraction took hold of her body. It was so difficult to see my girl in so much pain, but I kept reminding myself—and her—that childbirth was a natural thing, and soon it would all be over.

  “The essential oils might help,” I said as we blew air in and out together, following the breathing exercises Olivia had given us.

  Gracie arrived in the doorway with a bowl of ice.

  “Doris sent this up,” she said. She was dressed in her favorite pink fairy costume. She scooted over to the bed and sat, doll-like, on the other side of Stacy. She gently took Stacy’s hand and stroked it tenderly. She started to tell Stacy one of her rejected World War II stories, and somehow this sweet, gentle creature seemed to quiet Stacy, who was already exhausted. Her breathing relaxed as she listened to Gracie’s calm and lilting words.

  At Olivia’s request, Annie arrived with her first-aid box and Doris with more light.

  Olivia started to pull out the first-aid supplies she needed as James helped her, placing things on a tray. They worked incredibly as a team, as if they had been doing this together for years.

  The twins arrived in the doorway with Ernie, and they all stood agog, hands placed on chests, brows, and cheeks, looking like a comedic version of the three wise monkeys.

  “We heard,” said Ernie, his eyes wide, “but we had to see it to believe it. Those babies sure know the perfect night to make their entrance.”

  “I’m off to pray,” stated Lottie with strong conviction.

  “And I’m off to boil water,” added Lavinia. “I’m not sure what the water’s for, but in every movie I ever saw where a baby was born, people boil water.”

  “And I think I will go and eat something,” stated Ernie firmly, apparently not wanting to be left out of the labor preparations.

  I kept rubbing Stacy’s back with the essential oils as Ethel crept in, seated herself in a corner, and took it upon herself to time the contractions with her show stopwatch. She updated us mechanically on how close they were getting over the dirge of the whale music.

  Flora arrived with more supplies and a pot of herbal tea, saying, “Lavinia said to tell you she thinks she has found out what all the hot water is for and is making tea.”

  Flora stepped forward, set the cup down, and placed her hand on Stacy’s arm. It suddenly struck me that they were very similar in age, yet so different.

  “I brought you my iPod if you need some other music,” she said quietly. “I hope it helps.”

  Stacy nodded her thanks. I was actually really glad, as the whale music was starting to hit a difficult Neptunian crescendo, and Ruby had entered into some sort of goddess ritual event. She waved her arms around, turning in small circles as she spiraled wafts of the red chiffon sari she was wearing and clanged together her finger symbols. I wasn’t sure if any of what she was doing was helping, though she was an interesting distraction for me to watch between contractions. Stacy seemed to be too out of it from the pain to notice, though Ruby did have her practical uses. She took over for me while I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, she had taken Stacy through some sort of yoga breathing technique that had actually seemed to calm her a little.

  About an hour later, Olivia announced that the babies were indeed about to be born, and Stacy sobbed, saying over and over again, “I want Chris. Where is Chris? Is it too early? They can’t come just yet. I want to leave right now and go home. I’m not staying here one more minute.”

  I looked at Olivia, who just nodded knowingly, saying, “She is in transition. She will be ready to push soon.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  CANDLELIGHT CONFESSIONS & A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

  Flora had just finished getting another washcloth for Stacy when she decided to go and find Dan. She hadn’t seen him for a while, and she was pretty sure that Marcy would be attempting to monopolize his time.

  As she walked toward the spare bedroom, the flashlight Flora had been holding suddenly died. She slammed it hard against her palm a couple of times but nothing happened, so she reached out to feel for the wall. She knew she was just a few feet from the bedroom.

  As she reached the doorway, she could hear Marcy sobbing, and she could see her silhouette in the bed reflected off the wall of the bedroom, captured by the candlelight. Unknown to both of them, Flora had entered the darkness and was about to communicate her presence when she was stopped in her tracks by Marcy’s words.

  Through a whimpering whine, she spluttered, “Please, Danny, I know we’ve had our differences over the last few weeks, but you still love me, right?”

  Flora brought her hand to her chest.

  She heard Dan seeming to struggle to find the right words. Then he said clearly, “Of course I love you.”

  Flora felt the shock in his words as that now-familiar icepick sliced its way into her heart again. The emotion was followed very quickly by anger. It was really clear to her now that he had just been playing with her emotions. She knew she hadn’t imagined it this time; she had heard the words quite clearly. Dan had just told Marcy he loved her. And there was no way he would be able to play this one down.

  Marcy responded to his words. “I always knew it. You’ve been playing hard to get with me, haven’t you? We’ve known each other for such a long time. We were just meant to be. So what are you going to do about that other girl?”

  Flora held her breath.

  Dan’s tone was measured in response. “My relationship with Flora is very different.”

  Marcy interrupted him. “You mean you just feel sorry for her, right?”

  She wasn’t going to wait to hear Dan’s answer. Her whole life, people had felt sorry for her, and she didn’t want to give him a chance to confirm her suspicions.

  So she blurted out into the darkness, “I thought you should know Stacy is about to have her babies.” She knew her tone was harsh and flat, but she didn’t care.

  And with that, she turned on her heels and fled, dropping the flashlight on the floor as she went. Flora didn’t know what had possessed her. She ran down the darkened corridor and straight out the front door. The weather that greeted her was wild. The heavy rain and wind was creating a river of dancing trees in the darkness. It reflected how she was feeling inside completely, and being out in the wildness of it all actually felt somehow comforting to her. She took in a long, deep breath of the cold, damp air, and forcing her body against the wind, she made her way toward Annie’s woods.

  Dan jumped to his feet when he heard Flora’s voice behind him. He focused on the dark doorway, but no one was there. He was sure it had been Flora. How much had she heard? He tried to think about the last thing he’d said to Marcy that would have made her disappear like that. By the hasty way she’d exited, it was obvious he’d said something wrong.

  He rewound the conversation in his mind. He had just been about to tell Marcy that his relationship with Flora was different, and even though he had love for Marcy, it was a friendship love. He was actually “in love” with Flora. What was the last thing she would have heard? Hadn’t he just said he loved Marcy? He could see how easily it would have been to misinterpret it. He needed to find her and let her know it wasn’t the way it sounded. He rushed into the corridor, but she’d disappeared completely.

  Grabbing a flashlight from the main room, Dan searched carefully through the farmhouse. It was large, and in the darkness, it took him a while to cover all the rooms. After searching everywhere twice, he realized that Flora was nowhere to be found. Suddenly a gripping thought overtook him. What if she’d gone outside?

  Maybe she was sitting out in a car or out in the barn with the dogs. Dan pulled the collar of his jacket up around his ears and opened t
he door. The storm was on the move, but there was still a pretty serious driving rain, accompanied by the distant rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning that illuminated the sky. Surely she wouldn’t have come out here.

  He scoured around the farmhouse, looking in cars and opening the barn door. Inside, Annie was cooing to all of her dogs as Bruiser followed obediently by her side. Annie confirmed that she hadn’t seen Flora, and as Dan closed the barn door, he looked around him.

  Even in the darkness, he could see a few miles across the pasture, which appeared empty. That meant the only other place Flora could have gone was up into the woods. Surely she wouldn’t have done that.

  From behind him, he heard a voice. He moved toward it. Someone was walking toward him with a flashlight. As he drew closer, he was disappointed to see it was two men. When they got close enough, Dan saw they were paramedics.

  One shouted out to Dan, “Is there someone here in labor?”

  “Yes,” Dan answered.

  “Can you show us where?”

  “This way,” responded Dan, who made his way back up toward the farmhouse as they followed him. “How did you get here?” asked Dan as they all arrived at the door.

  “By foot, from the road,” answered one of them ruefully. “The ambulance is way back, behind the trees.”

  Dan was anxious to eliminate places Flora could have gone.

  “Did you see a girl on your way up here?” he asked hopefully.

  They looked at one another and shook their heads. “Sorry, nothing on the road but trees.”

  Dan nodded and opened the door to the farmhouse. They entered just in time to hear Doris shout from the top of the stairs, “It’s a boy!” followed by the faint snuffling cry of a newborn baby.

  In the main room, the rest of the group cheered.

  Ernie met the new guests in the hallway.

  “Looks like you guys didn’t need us after all,” one of the paramedics commented.

  “Oh, there’s one more,” stated Ernie. “You’ll get your chance.”