Chai Tea Sunday Read Online Free PDF Page B

I had purchased. I just couldn’t seem to contain my baby excitement and it showed through my shopping bills.
    The store manager confirmed everything would arrive that afternoon, and within hours of Eric’s last brush stroke, the doorbell rang and two burly men sporting late-afternoon stubble and sweat marks down their backs carried all of Ella’s furniture into her room.
    Eric and I spent the rest of the day taking our purchases out of boxes and putting everything away. I washed all of her clothes in Ivory Snow while Eric surrounded himself with tools and bolts in order to put together the glider.
    I removed the delicious smelling baby clothes from the dryer and neatly folded her onesies and jammies before putting them into drawers. Ella’s closet was a sea of pink, including the little dresses I had purchased on my own and the outfits that so many of our generous friends had given to us at our baby showers. Her change table held little white baskets lined in lilac and green bubble cloth, which we had filled with unopened baby creams and newborn diapers.
    â€œIt’s exactly as I imagined it,” I sighed, stepping back from Eric to admire Ella’s sweet baby room. Every detail had been finished. I sat in the glider, holding the pillows that had been customized to match the decor of the room, and imagined myself rocking my baby girl to sleep at night.
    â€œI love it too.” Eric kneeled beside me, putting the pillow aside and taking my hand in his. I leaned towards my husband and somehow managed to kiss his forehead. My bulging baby bump had become a source of restraint for me, and even the smallest movements were proving difficult.
    As my body tilted forward, the cross necklace that Eric had given me at Babouch leaned with me, and then gently hit my throat as I returned to a sitting position. I touched the delicate necklace with my fingers, happy to have it fastened securely around my throat. I hadn’t taken it off since Eric had given it to me. It served as a constant reminder of the adversity we had faced and, with it, the marital strength that had ensued.
    â€œAnd now we wait,” Eric said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m going for cookies. Want some?”
    â€œAlways.”
    â€œYou stay comfortable and I’ll go get some Christmas cookies and two glasses of milk so we can toast Ella’s new room.”
    Eric jumped up and took a final look around before heading downstairs to get our well-deserved afternoon snack. As I sat back in the chair and watched him retreat downstairs, my heart filled with warmth at the thought of how lucky we both truly were.
    And then I felt it.

5
    A twinge of pain hit my lower abdomen, followed by a light gush when I shifted in the glider. Uncertain of what was going on, I waddled to the bathroom and quickly noticed a pale pink streak of blood lining my underwear. My breath quickened. I wiped myself with a tissue, and found more streaks of light red.
    â€œ
Eric
!” I cried, suddenly feeling nervous and sick to my stomach. “Can you come here? I need you.”
    Hearing the urgency in my voice, Eric appeared almost instantly. He held the plate of cookies in his hand.
    â€œIt’s blood. I’m spotting and I don’t know why.” I held the tissue up to the light and panicked again when I saw it.
    Eric took one look and set the cookies down. He left to get the phone. I could hear him talking to the nurse who was clearly telling him to bring me into the hospital.
    â€œThey want to check you out, hon,” Eric said. He rubbed my back and wiped away my tears. “Just think. This could be it! Remember what they told us in our prenatal class. Early labour often starts this way.”
    He guided me to our closet and I threw on the first outfit I could find. Eric grabbed the packed hospital bag that was waiting patiently beside my dresser, packed two months earlier, and held my hand as we walked down the