Samuel grabbed her attention when he turned a sober face toward Titus. “Lord, is my father an angel?”
Abigail buried a smile, wondering how he would respond. Titus shrugged. “I know not, Samuel. But what I do know is that he is of God.”
It seemed to satisfy the boy. He snuggled closer to Titus, resting his head against the man’s solid chest, and looked perfectly content. Titus looked down on the golden curls for a moment in seeming stupefaction, then slowly put an arm around him to anchor him.
Another miracle. She reached out and grasped his free hand. “The pain is easing. Praise Jehovah.”
True to Tabitha’s word, the labor was still not quick. But it progressed steadily, and as the night waned, the excitement grew. With the first light of dawn, the mew of new life sounded, followed by shouts of joy.
“It is a son!” Tabitha held the uncleaned babe up for the others to see.
Abigail laughed in exhausted contentment and reached out to hold her baby. Still squalling beautifully, the newborn came to a rest in her arms. His face was red, his cap of black hair going every possible direction, but Abigail was very certain that she had never seen a more perfect creature in all of her life.
After a moment of study, she opened her other arm. “Come, Samuel, meet your little brother.”
Samuel scurried from his place in Titus’s lap onto the bed, crawling to Abigail’s side. He looked in awe at the tiny infant. “He is even littler than I.”
Abigail grinned. “He will grow, just as you will.”
Tabitha reached to take the baby back. “I will clean him. Titus, Samuel, you should leave now. Abigail and the child will need to rest.”
This time, Titus did not argue. He picked up Samuel and stood over her bed. “You did well, Abigail. The Visibullises live on.”
Abigail smiled at him in gratitude, then watched the two leave. She looked back to Tabitha. “Thank you. I do not know what I would have done without you.”
Tabitha smiled in return, bathing the baby gently in a basin of warm water. “Our Father in Heaven brought us together, Abigail. I am just as grateful to him for it as you. I witnessed a miracle.”
Abigail nodded, drawing in a deep breath. She could not take her eyes from the tiny, squirming form her new friend held. “He is perfect.”
“Indeed he is.”
They let silence remain after that as Tabitha finished cleaning the baby, then was ready to assist her patient with the afterbirth.
After all was taken care of, the baby suckling happily, Tabitha took her hand. “My child, you cannot stay here. There is no food in the house, very little oil, and you would be alone. Titus would probably insist upon staying with you, but he has much to do to prepare for his voyage back to Rome. You and the babe and Samuel will need someone to help you these next few days.” She smiled. “I want you to come home with me.”
“Tabitha,” Abigail said, touched, “that is very kind. But if I leave, and then the others return. . .”
“Do any of them read? We could have Titus write a note, or leave a message with a friend.”
Abigail smiled in spite of her concerns. “They read. We all do, except Dinah.” She contemplated for a moment, then nodded. “We will write them, and I will go with you. I thank you for your generosity.”
Tabitha’s smile was bright as she stood. “I will go inform Titus and see if he can find a mule for you to ride. You are too weak to walk, but as I said, there is no more food, and you need to eat. The sooner we get you settled, the better.”
Within an hour, Titus had brought over his horse and helped Abigail and the baby onto it, and they had packed all she would need for the next few days. Abigail penned a note explaining that her son had been born and she had gone with the midwife, detailing how to find her. She put it on the kitchen table as was the habit in their house, securing it with one of their many pottery bowls.
They set off. Before the day was more than two hours underway, Abigail was settled comfortably in a cozy room in Tabitha’s house.
*
Simon was needed at the inn, so Andrew set off with Dinah to find Abigail when she had not shown up by the appointed time on the first day of the week. They headed straight for their house, finding it as they had left it, secure and empty. Entering through the front door with a sigh, Andrew shook his head.
“It feels abandoned.” He motioned toward the hall with the bedrooms. “But I will check the rooms.”
“And I the kitchen.”
They went in their separate directions, though the search did not take long. Andrew found Dinah again moments later.
Sorrow lined her face. “The note was still on the table.”
Andrew sighed. “And the beds all made and unslept on. Where could she be?”
A knock sounded then, and both jumped, then rushed to the door. Andrew opened it to a familiar slave boy. “Laertus.”
“Julia sent me to see how everyone fares.”