Falling in Love With Her Husband (38 page)

took out my pocket watch. “So your last contraction just

ended?”

She nodded. She turned her attention back to the

clothes.

I couldn"t think of anything to talk about, so I just

stood there and stared at my watch. When she paused and

gripped the sides of the wringer, I knew she was in pain

again. I forced myself not to snap at her. “You"re four

minutes apart, Ann.”

I didn"t wait for her response. I simply grabbed my

coat and boots and rushed out to Lightning. The horse was

hungry but he"d have to wait. My first stop was at Barbara

and John"s house. Barbara immediately jumped on her

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horse and headed over so I could go into town to get the

doctor and her parents.

“When did her labor start?” the doctor asked as he

collected his bag and coat.

“Around four in the morning. She was supposed to

tell me when her contractions were five minutes apart but

when I got up, they were already four minutes apart.”

“I hope I make it there in time.”

He didn"t say anything else, and I didn"t feel like

asking him if she was in danger because she waited too

long. Again, I wished I had asked for the details but

shrugged off the thought and went to tell her parents.

“We"l leave shortly,” her father said.

Her mother was too excited to talk.

I rode the horse hard back to the house. I was

anxious to find out how she was doing. Lightning protested

when I didn"t feed him, but I ignored him and went into the

house. On my way from the barn, I shook my head at the

sight of the clean laundry hanging on the line. I hoped

Barbara had talked some sense into Ann. She real y didn"t

need to be doing work when she was about to give birth.

Barbara ran out of the scullery room, looking

irritated.

“Is she alright?” I asked, alarmed.

“Oh, she"s fine. She"s just stubborn, that"s all. Did

you know she was hanging up laundry when I got here?

She nearly doubled over in pain when I came up to her.

She kept saying that she needed to focus on something

else, but I made her lie down. She real y shouldn"t push

herself so hard. That baby is eager to come out. I don"t

know if the doctor will get here in time. I may need your

help.”

She grabbed a bucket of water and turned to go

back to Ann.

I hadn"t realized I beat the doctor in getting back. He

probably didn"t know about the shortcut. I wished I had told

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him because by this time, Ann wasn"t holding back her

screams, and quite frankly, I didn"t want to go through this.

But I followed Barbara into the room. I had never seen a

woman in labor and from the look on Ann"s face, I could see

that the pain was intense.

“Here.” Barbara handed me some clean towels. “I"l

hand you the baby. Its head is starting to come out.”

The room started to spin around me. I felt like I was

going to pass out.

Fortunately, the doctor entered the room at that

moment. “I"l take over from here,” he told me.

I didn"t argue with him. I handed him the towels and

left the room. I hadn"t expected it to be so hard to watch

Ann like that. I wished I could take the pain for her.

“I see the head,” the doctor said.

How could he be so calm?

“You"re doing good, Ann. When I say to push, push,”

he told her.

I felt sick. I had to get outside. As soon as I stood

on the porch, I took a deep breath. The cold air settled my

stomach. Ann"s parents climbed up the porch steps. I was

thankful for the distraction from listening to Ann scream.

“I think this is a situation where we should be out of

the way,” her father said as her mother ran into the house.

He sat in the chair.

I was too nervous to sit. Ann had stopped

screaming.

“It"s not easy for us men either, though the women

do all the work,” he acknowledged. “Are there any chores

that need to be done?”

It took me a moment to remember the horses. “I

haven"t fed the horses yet.”

The sound of a baby crying interrupted my thoughts.

“Todd! It"s a boy!” Barbara called out from the front

door. She walked out. “Ann and the baby are doing fine.

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She practically gave birth all by herself. I can"t believe she

progressed that fast. I wish my labors were that easy.”

I smiled, relieved and glad it was over but also

anxious to see Ann and our son.

“Ann"s mother is washing the baby and the doctor is

taking care of Ann. We"l bring the baby out after the doctor

says it"s alright.” She quickly went back into the house.

“I"l feed those horses for you,” he offered.

“Thank you.” Feeding the horses was the last thing

on my mind. I wanted to see what the baby looked like and

make sure Ann was feeling well.

After what was five minutes but seemed like forever,

Ann"s mother came out holding a swaddled tiny baby in her

arms. “He"s precious.” She smiled as she gently placed him

in my arms. “He has ten little fingers and toes and little bit of

light brown hair on his head.”

I was surprised that he was asleep after all the crying

he had done just a couple minutes ago. He seemed small

and fragile. He yawned. I laughed. It was an amazing

experience to know I was holding my son.

“Did you and Ann decide on a name?” she asked.

I looked at her in surprise. “Didn"t she tell you?”

“She said she wanted to wait until after he was born.”

“Nathaniel Alexander Brothers.”

“What a nice name.”

The doctor came out of the house and shook my

hand. “Congratulations! Mother and child are doing fine.

Ann can have as many kids as you two want. She handles

labor very well. In the future though, notify me when her

contractions are about seven minutes apart. She gives birth

faster than most women. Now I already talked to her about

not waiting so long next time, so you don"t have to worry

about that. Ann is ready for you to see her. Good day.” He

nodded to Mrs. Statesman who smiled in return.

“I"m going to tell Ann"s father the news,” she said.

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I walked into the house, careful not to disturb

Nathaniel who was still sleeping. I couldn"t stop smiling.

Barbara came out of the scullery room. “I just

finished cleaning up in there. I"m going to take the dirty

blankets and clothes to my home and wash them and bring

them back so Ann won"t worry about it. Knowing her, she"l

probably try to do more laundry before the day is over. The

doctor made sure she understood she has to take it easy for

the next two weeks. I don"t know if she"l listen, but between

me, Mrs. Carson and her mother, we should be able to do

enough of the work so she can relax and focus on the baby.”

“I appreciate that, Barbara. I know she can be

stubborn.”

She laughed. “She wanted to see you right after the

baby was born but kept telling us to wait until she was

presentable. She said you looked like you were going to

faint when you thought you were going to be there for the

birth, and she wanted to spare you from seeing anything

else. She really does love you, Todd. Anyway, would you

tell Ann I"l be back this evening with a meal for everyone?”

I nodded.

After she left, I went into the scullery room where

Ann was lying on a couple of blankets on the floor. I sat

next to her and lightly tapped her on the arm. If she was

asleep, I"d let her stay that way. But she opened her eyes

and smiled at me.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her.

“Wonderful. Barbara was right. I don"t even

remember the pain. As soon as he cried, it was all worth it.”

“I didn"t think it was possible, but you are more

beautiful than I"ve ever seen you.”

“I"m a mess.”

“You"re my wife who just gave me a son. You"re the

most beautiful woman in the world.” I leaned over and

kissed her. “I love you.”

Tears fil ed her eyes. “I love you too.”

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This time I didn"t mind it that she was crying.

***

That Christmas, Ann wanted to have her parents and

Ginny over so she could do the entertaining. The house

was filled with a lot of warmth. The smell of ham, potatoes,

and cake filled the air. Her mother held Nathaniel while Ann

and Ginny took care of the cooking. Her father and I got the

sleigh ready for a ride. Shortly before dinner was ready,

there was a knock at the door. The women were so busy

talking, I doubted they even heard the knocking. When I

opened the door, I paused, stunned.

My parents stood on the porch.

My father cleared his throat. He had his hat in his

hands. “May we please come in?”

For a moment, I couldn"t speak. Final y, I stepped

aside so they could enter the house.

“May I join the women?” my mother asked.

I nodded. “Of course.”

Ann"s father smiled and led my mother to the kitchen

so my father and I could be alone.

Feeling awkward, I closed the door. “Would you like

to sit?”

“Yes, I would.”

He’s as nervous as I am.
I took a deep breath as I

sat across from him. I couldn"t think of what to say, so I

waited for him to speak.

“I came to apologize,” he slowly began. “I feel like a

fool.” He shifted in the chair. “Wil you let me into your life?”

I fought back the swell of emotion that came over

me. “You have always been my father. I would like to have

you back in my life. I am sorry for the way I left. I was afraid

you would talk me out of it if you knew.”

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He smiled. “Yes, I would have, but that would have

been wrong. You were right. You have to follow your path,

not mine.”

“Thank you.”

Ann and my mother stepped into the parlor. My

mother held Nathaniel in her arms.

Ann smiled. “It"s good to see you, Mr. Brothers. Will

you be staying here for a couple of days? We have a guest

bedroom.”

My parents and Ann looked at me.

“It would be nice to talk,” I replied.

My father nodded. “Yes, we wil stay for three days.

Thank you.”

“His name is Nathaniel,” she told Father, smiling at

the baby. “May he see him?” she asked me.

“Of course,” I softly replied.

“We"l leave you two alone,” Ann said.

We nodded as they left.

Father grinned. “I remember the day you were born.

I held you in my arms and you looked so much like this little

one. Where did the years go?” He sighed. “In the end, it"s

family that matters. It"s not what you do with your life, it"s

who you do it with. The job at the bank isn"t worth losing my

relationship with you.”

“I appreciate that. And who knows? Maybe he"l

want to be a banker. He might even want to work in

Virginia. But it has to be his choice.”

He wiped the tears in his eyes. “You are a good

son.”

We spent the next ten minutes talking about what I

was doing and what was happening back in Virginia.

I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye.

Ann stood by the parlor doorway, smiling at us. When she

realized we saw her, she announced that dinner was ready.

I waited until Father entered the kitchen so I could

have a moment alone with her.

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“How did it go?” she asked.

“Very well.”

“I"m glad. We"ve all been praying for a reconciliation.

What a great Christmas gift. It makes the hat I gave you fail

in comparison.”

“You had people praying for me and my father all this

time?”

She nodded. “I wanted to see you two on good

terms again.”

I hugged her. “The greatest Christmas gift I have

ever received is your love. You have made my life

complete. Merry Christmas, Ann.”

“Merry Christmas, Todd.”

We kissed before we entered the kitchen.

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