Blue Dahlia

time you opened your mouth the last couple of weeks. I’ve been an awful bitch.”
    “No. Well, yeah. It’s okay.”
    She laughed and edged closer to try to see what he was doing. It just looked like he had a bunch of stems tied together. “I guess I had the jumps. What am I going to do, how am I going to do it? Why do I have to feel so fat and ugly all the time?”
    “You’re not fat. You could never be ugly.”
    “That’s awful nice of you. But being pregnant doesn’t affect my eyesight, and I know what I see in the mirror every damn day.”
    “Then you know you’re beautiful.”
    Her eyes sparkled when she smiled. “I must’ve been a pitiful case if you’re obliged to flirt with a pregnant woman who’s got a bad disposition.”
    “I’m not—I wouldn’t.” He wanted to, at the very least. “Anyway, I guess you’re feeling better.”
    “So much better. Mostly I was feeling sorry for myself, and I just hate that poor-me crap. Imagine your mama and Stella throwing me a baby shower. I cried all over myself. Got Stella going, too. But then we had the best time. Who knew a baby shower could rock?” She pressed both hands to her belly and laughed. “You ever met Stella’s stepmama?”
    “No.”
    “She’s just a hoot and a half. I laughed till I thought I’d shoot the baby right out then and there. And Mrs. Haggerty—”
    “Mrs. Haggerty? Our Mrs. Haggerty was there?”
    “Not only, but she won the song title game. You have to write down the most song titles with ‘baby’ in it. You’ll never guess one she wrote down.”
    “Okay. I give.”
    “ ‘Baby Got Back.’ ”
    Now he grinned. “Get out. Mrs. Haggerty wrote down a rap song?”
    “Then rapped it.”
    “Now you’re lying.”
    “She did . Or at least a couple lines. I nearly peed my pants. But I’m forgetting why I’m here. There you were, just trying to help with the best surprise I ever had, and I was bitching and whining. Crawling up your ass, just like you said. I’m really sorry.”
    “It’s no big. I have a friend whose wife had a baby a few months ago. I swear you could see fangs growing out of her mouth toward the end. And I think her eyes turned red a couple times.”
    She laughed again, pressed a hand to her side. “I hope I don’t get that bad before ...”
    She broke off, a puzzled expression covering her face as she felt a little snap inside. Heard it, she realized. Like a soft, echoing ping.
    Then water pooled down between her legs.
    Harper made a sound of his own, like that of a man whose words were strangled off somewhere in his throat. He sprang to his feet, babbling as Hayley stared down at the floor.
    “Uh-oh,” she said.
    “Um, that’s okay, that’s all right. Maybe I should ... maybe you should ...”
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Harper, I didn’t just pee on the floor. My water broke.”
    “What water?” He blinked, then went pale as a corpse. “ That water. Oh, God. Oh, Jesus. Oh, shit. Sit. Sit, or ... I’ll get—”
    An ambulance, the marines.
    “My mother.”
    “I think I’d better go with you. We’re a little early.” She forced a smile so she wouldn’t scream. “Just a couple of weeks. I guess the baby’s impatient to get out and see what all the fuss is about. Give me a hand, okay? Oh, Jesus, Harper, I’m scared to death.”
    “It’s fine.” His arm came around her. “Just lean on me. You hurting anywhere?”
    “No. Not yet.”
    Inside he was still pale, and half sick. But his arm stayed steady around her, and when he turned his head, his smile was easy. “Hey.” Very gently, he touched her belly. “Happy birthday, baby.”
    “Oh, my God.” Her face simply illuminated as they stepped outside. “This is awesome .”

    SHE COULDN’T ACTUALLY HAVE THE BABY, BUT STELLA figured she could do nearly everything else—or delegate it done. Hayley hadn’t put a hospital bag together, but Stella had a list. A call to David got that ball rolling even as she drove Hayley to the hospital. She called the doctor to let him know the status of Hayley’s labor, left a voice mail on her father’s cell phone, and a message on his home answering machine to arrange for her own children, and coached Hayley through her breathing as the first contractions began.
    “If I ever get married, or buy a house, or start a war, I hope you’ll be in charge of the details.”
    Stella glanced over as Hayley rubbed her belly. “I’m your girl. Doing okay?”
    “Yeah. I’m nervous and