I turned off the hose filling the baby pool, my sister walked around the corner of the house, and my three-year-old son burst into tears. 

"No, L.T." I said. "Auntie is just here to visit. Mommy isn't going to work today." He eyed her skeptically and we all began playing in the water. It was a warm Friday in April. Two minutes later the phone rang.

"My water just broke! I'm at the park with Martin and Al is flying!" It was my best friend, Karen. Her husband, Al, was a pilot for a regional airline.

"I'll be right there." I looked at my sister who, having heard everything, nodded while my son burst into tears. 

"L.T., Sam is coming a month early. I need to go help Karen get to the hospital." I ran into the house to look for towels and something to line the seat with. I realized I was shaking. In a leap of brilliance, I grabbed the yoga mat. 

Five minutes later I pulled up at the park. Karen sat at the edge of the sandbox surrounded by five sympathetic-looking mothers while their children played unaweres in the sand.

Karen looked up at me, a bit frantic. "We aren't ready yet! We haven't even gotten the baby clothes out of storage!" The other ladies and I helped her up and walked her to my car where she sat on the yoga mat and towel-lined seat. I buckled Martin into L.T.'s carseat and handed him one of the many toys littering the back seat. 

"Al's mom will meet us at my house to watch Martin," said Karen. "I called the airline and they will tell Al my water broke when he lands and get him onto the next return flight." We drove the few blocks back to her house. 

Martin grew anxious as his mother ran back and forth packing a bag for the hospital. 

"Martin," I said. "Do you want me to tell you a story about a firetruck?" He nodded. Luckily my skills for making up stories tailored to the interests of little boys was quite good, and by the time I finished Al's mother had arrived. 

Karen bent down in her soaked maternity jeans and kissed her son. "Your sister's coming, Martin. Nana's going to watch you while I go to the hospital." Martin started to cry as I carried Karen's bag down to the car. 

"Are you feeling any contractions?" I asked. 

"No," said Karen.

"It would be so much more exciting if you were," I chuckled. "Second babies can come flying out. Sometimes with only one or two contractions."

Karen was still reeling from the accelerated timeline her daughter had just set into motion. "Why are we having a second baby so soon? Martin still isn't sleeping through the night." she asked.

"Too late now," I laughed.

Thankfully Sam didn't come too quickly. We arrived uneventfully at the hospital and got Karen checked in. Al called, already en route home. He'd left his phone on while flying and had heard it ping repeatedly, so he wasn't surprised Sam had decided on an early arrival. 

I made it home by lunchtime to play in the pool with my son and enjoy my Friday off of work.