“True enough. I was just telling you how much assistance I have done and learning I have gained.”
“All right. But you will get the doctor if something happens you do not know or something goes wrong, right?”
“Yes, but nothing is going to go wrong.”
“Why does it hurt so much? It didn’t hurt like this the last time,” she whined.
“Maybe because that was a false alarm. Now your body is trying to push the baby out and the baby doesn’t feel like coming out. Last time was clearly false labor. That can feel pretty real but it isn’t and that is why it stopped. I have no good answer, just that it does and always has.”
“That seems grossly unfair.”
“Most certainly.”
“How does this not rip a woman apart?” Julia asked in a swiftly rising voice that hurt her ears. “Something has to be wrong!”
“It isn’t. I’m sorry you were never informed about the whole process.”
“Why should I be? I was not supposed to be doing this until I was safely married.”
“True, but you are married now and it is time to stop fretting on how much it hurts or how hard the work to birth is, and just get on with it.” Abigail could tell by the wide eyes Julia stared at her with that some of her irritation with the woman had sounded in her voice.
Julia opened her mouth to say something that Abigail thought was probably another complaint and then screamed softly. Abbie felt her stomach and felt sure this time it was real labor. She looked across the bed at Rose who had come into the room and taken her seat.
“Real?” asked Rose.
“I certainly think so.”
“Good. My cousin had false labor several times before she got down to business, and it was a relief when she did. So we settle in for a long time.”
When Julia screeched again, Abbie winced. “I hope for the sake of my hearing it is not too long.”
Julia obeyed nearly everything they told her to do but her temper flared several times. Abbie was tempted to tell her what kind of messes she and Rose were having to deal with just to make Julia be quiet but decided that would be mean. She was not yet tired enough to be mean.
“I am so tired,” Julia said in a soft voice after about three hours of complaining and yelling.
“It is almost over,” Abbie said in as soothing a voice as she could muster. “Now comes the time when you need to start pushing.”
“You certain she is that close?” asked Rose even as she stood up.
“I believe so although this hasn’t taken as long as I thought it would.” She suddenly looked at Julia. “Did your pains come earlier than you said?”
“Don’t think so. I was sitting up here being careful and then my back hurt. I tried to ignore it but it kept right on hurting. I went to sit downstairs for a while and visit with everyone when all of a sudden I got a real pain. Rose told me that was a sign to get to bed.”
Abigail sighed. “That discomfort was early labor, Julia. You have been in labor for quite a while.”
With Rose standing in a position to be ready to take the baby, Abbie stood and held Julia’s hand in hers. Despite her growing questions about Julia’s sanity, Abbie was determined to see this birth completed. When Julia began to stare off into the corner of the room and smile, she still pushed with admirable strength when told to. Soon Rose joined in the encouragement and Abbie knew the baby would arrive soon. A healthy baby boy slid into Rose’s hands. They smiled at each other when the child let out a strong wail and then Rose placed the baby on Julia’s chest.
Suddenly there was clarity in Julia’s eyes and Abbie was certain that Julia actually saw her child. While Rose helped Julia attempt to settle the baby at her breast, Abbie tended to the cord and cleaned up Julia and the bed. Abbie waited tensely for Julia to have another spell. From what she could see of the other woman’s face, so was Rose. Then the blank eyes returned as the baby went to sleep and Julia held the child out to Abbie.
“His name is Jeremiah Robert Collins.” She smiled at whatever she could see in the corner.
“A good strong name.” Abbie tidied up the stem of the cord still attached to the child, tying it off before wrapping the baby in a small blanket. “He has a good head of hair for a newborn.”
When Julia said nothing, Rose nodded. “Have to see how long it lasts. Babes tend to lose it at first.” Rose looked at Julia who had fallen asleep. “She has lost her mind, you know.”
“Actually, I think it is broken. She’s lost too much. Her family, her home, and all that.”
“So have we all and more.”
“I know, but Julia doesn’t have the strength the rest of us do. When she lost Robert too, it broke her.”
“So what happens to the babe?”
“I don’t know. I can only hope Julia pulls herself together. Now I have to go downstairs and relieve Matthew. He is watching the children.”
“Want me to take the babe?”
“No need, but thank you. He is lying quiet and it is a small weight.”
“So, what do we do?”
“Wait and see.”
Abigail could tell Rose was not happy with that answer but she had no other. The child would either pull Julia out of her obsessive grief or not. They would have to wait to see what choice she made, then decide. As she had feared, the child was small and she was glad it had been born when the weather was warm and would be for a few months. She headed down the stairs to show the other women and was not surprised when Noah appeared at her side.
“Is it a boy?” he asked as he hopped down each step at her side.
“Yes, his name is Jeremiah Robert Collins.”
“That’s a big name for such an itty, bitty baby. And he is red.”
“That will fade and, yes, he is small but he will grow. Babies grow fast in the first year or so.”
“Probably so they learn to run quicker and get away from danger.”
She looked at the boy and shook her head in surprise at his remark. It was a surprisingly astute observation for such a small boy. Abbie had to admit she adored the child because he talked so well, was mischievous, and he seemed attached to her, but she was beginning to think there was a very clever brain hidden behind those big eyes.
“Puppies learn that fast, too.”
“They do indeed.” She reminded herself that she had a puppy she had to collect soon. Abigail walked into the main room and all the women got up and ran over to her. She let Maude take the baby and then went to sit on the settee. She was tired but knew she had to hold on until she was certain it was safe to leave the baby in Julia’s care. She also had to relieve Matthew, she remembered, and slowly pushed to her feet.
Noah edged next to her. “Why are they all making those funny noises at the baby?”
“Because he is a sign of hope. He shows that there is a future when this war can make us often forget that.”
He frowned and Abbie knew he was turning that over in his clever little brain. “Babies are always a sign of hope but, I think, more so in times like now.”
“Why isn’t he with his mother?”