Far From the Rowan Tree Day72

She gave a charming, irresistible smile. Her lovely Spanish eyes were soft and beguiling

Miranda carried on. “Please believe me officer,” she cried, “it’s all true. Look, I’ve got claustrophobics, agoraphobics, manic depressives, schizophrenics, potential suicides. You name it, they’re all here. Please believe me and do something. Come as quickly as you can. They’re OK at the moment but ...”

Just at that moment my stomach, which had been acting up all evening in a mild way, went into a serious lurch. It must have shown in my eyes because Miranda took her perfect glossy lips away from the phone for a moment. “You all right?” she said.

“It’s the baby. I’m going into labour I think,” I gasped. “And officer,” Miranda took her hand away from the mouthpiece and spoke into the phone again. “Please do something quickly as one woman has gone into labour.”

Apprehensive

We waited in the office for the return call. Five minutes felt like an hour, 10 minutes an eternity.

Miranda and Carmen made me as comfortable as possible in the desk chair. I was feeling fine again, only apprehensive.

Miranda’s long finger nails made a staccato drumming on the desk. At last the phone rang and we heard the officer’s voice again.

“Sorry for the delay,” he said, “but I’ve been in touch with the caretaker’s wife and she tells me her husband is off to Saskatchewan for the weekend and taken the keys with him.”

To this day I wonder how he could have been off to Saskatchewan so quickly and why he had taken the keys with him.

“But,” continued the officer, “the fire brigade is on the way and won’t be long.”

We all trooped to the lift again. There was no panic – all the women behaved calmly. It was Rose who saved the day.

For some reason that I will never quite understand, Rose had with her a goldfish bowl of small fish – guppies she called them. Some of them were very fat. Rose was quite convinced they were pregnant and about to produce. She was quite unaware of my plight and went on about the plight of the fish and what would happen if they gave birth in the Tower Building.

It was all ridiculous in the extreme but Rose had a way of making people laugh at the ridiculous.

Soon the fire engines arrived, their sirens singing loudly in the frosty air, the whirling lights splashing a brilliant orange on the snow-covered sidewalks.

The firemen found a bunch of laughing women behind the huge locked glass door. They soon had us out.

The chief officer was tall and handsome and enjoying his role as rescuer. “Hi Clinton,” said Carmen in surprised tones. “How are you?”

“Carmen!” he said, “Haven’t seen you for the longest time but what the heck are you doing here?”

“Never mind that,” she said. “It’s a long story but for old time’s sake how about a lift home? My friend here is in labour. It would be an act of mercy.”

Charming

She gave a charming, irresistible smile. Her lovely Spanish eyes were soft and beguiling.

“Hop in,” said the fireman. Easy enough for Carmen – not quite so simple for me but with the strong arms of the chief fire officer to help me, I managed.

“Quick as you can,” said Carmen, who was enjoying the thrill of it all, as I was also until another contraction hit me.

The driver of the fire engine must have noticed my discomfort as he went faster than ever.

“Sure I shouldn’t be taking you straight to hospital?” he said. “No, I’m fine,” I said as the contraction passed over. “Going by other births it will be a while yet and I want to tell my husband and get my suitcase.”

After that we flew through the night, sirens going, lights flashing, everything in our path making way for us – red lights ignored.

This was exciting. I was enjoying it. What a way to have a baby. The noise of the sirens didn’t alarm Ronald, he told me later.

We heard them quite often along our busy thoroughfare.

But he did become alarmed when the fire engine stopped outside our door and he saw me being led up the garden path by a fireman. He was at the door to meet us.

“What the ... ? You all right? The baby?” Ronald, who took most things calmly, looked deeply concerned. “Fine,” I said. “It’s just that it’s on its way.” “The fire brigade?” Ronald looked completely mystified until he was told the story. The spasm over, I was feeling perfectly all right again and invited the firemen and Carmen in for a quick dram.

All we had to offer them was a tot of Ranchmans Special Brew. I believe it is good whisky nowadays but at that time it was the cheapest firewater on the market.

Ronald and Henry, once a week, used to purchase half a bottle, time about, from the liquor store and put it in the topmost cupboard in the kitchen to save it for Saturday night.

Triumphant

The firemen quickly drained their glasses and disappeared into the night but not before Clinton and Carmen had exchanged addresses.

Carmen stayed a little longer to make sure I was all right.

What none of them knew was that we had no transport to take us to the hospital. At that precise moment I saw a car coming from down town direction.

It was a Pontiac and it was Henry. I gave a triumphant yell.

It wasn’t long before I was installed in Henry’s car with my ready-packed bag in the boot and Ronald at the wheel.

Henry’s work as a welder had turned out to be quite lucrative and he had been able to afford to buy a car about the same time as we got our new used one. Ronald drove along the empty silent streets.

“Let’s have some music,” he said. Henry was luckier than us in that he had a radio in his car.

Ronald turned the switch and we heard, for the first time, Andy Stewart singing The Scottish Soldier.