Page 276 - It Ends with Us

I look down and water is trickling down my leg . My pho ne is still

ring ing on the kitchen counter. I walk—o r waddle—t o the kitchen
and ans wer it.
“Hel lo?”
“Hey, it’s Lucy! Qu ick question. Our order of red roses was
damaged in shi pment , but we’ve got the Lev enb erg funera l today and
they specific ally want ed red roses for the casket spray. Do we ha ve a

backup plan?”
“Yea h, call the florist on Broadway. They owe me a favor.”
“Okay, tha nk s!”
I start to ha ng up so I can call R yle and tel l hi m my water broke,
but I hea r Lucy say, “Wait!”
I pull the pho ne back to my ear.
“About thes e inv oices . Did you want me to pay them today or

wait . . .”
“You can wait, it’s fine. ”
Again, I start to ha ng up but she yel ls my na me and starts firi ng off
ano ther ques tion.
“Lucy,” I say calmly, int erru pting her. “I’ll ha ve to call you about all
thi s tomorro w. I thi nk my water just broke. ”

There’ s a pause. “Oh. OH! GO!”
I ha ng up right when the first sign of pain sho ots thro ugh my
stomach. I winc e and start dialing R yle’s nu mber. He picks up on the
firs t ring .
“Do I need to turn around ?”
“Yes .”
“Oh, God. Rea lly? It’s ha ppeni ng ?”

“Yes .”
“Lily!” he says, ex cited . And then the pho ne goes dea d.
I spend the nex t few minu tes gatheri ng ev er ythi ng I’ll need . I
alrea dy ha ve a ho spital bag, but I feel kind of gross, so I jump in the
sho wer to rins e off. The second burst of pain comes about ten
minu tes after the firs t. I bend for ward and clenc h my stomach, let ting

the water bea t down on my back. Right when I nea r the end of the
cont raction, I hea r the bathro om door swing open.
“You’re in the sho wer?” R yle says. “Lily, get out of the sho wer, let ’s
go!”