Riverbreeze: Part 3 (15 page)

Evelyn made a move to fix him a plate, but stopped when Robert snapped. “You don’t deserve to have any of this food! Your wife, along with Elizabeth and Abigail, prepared a fine meal today to celebrate the eve of Jesus’s birth. Did you forget that, Jamie? Have you even thought about your wife in these past two weeks and how she feels?”

“She understands.” Jamie said, sitting up and giving Evelyn a pleading look.

“She doesn’t understand!” Robert yelled back. “Every day she worries about you; I worry about you! This has got to stop!”

There was a short silence as Robert stood glaring at his brother, breathing heavily, waiting for an answer. Robin started to whimper, frightened by all the yelling. Elizabeth got up and took him out of his highchair to hold him close and soothe him. She swayed in place, patting his back. Abigail bowed her head and stayed quiet. Smart woman.

Finally, Jamie turned to straddle the bench. He reached out to Evelyn with an open hand and she moved back to stand directly in front of him. She placed her hand in his. “I am sorry.” He said sincerely, but then in desperation, added, “But you know how I feel.”

At that selfish remark, Robert snorted in disgust, threw down his napkin, and turned sharply to leave. He couldn’t stand to be in the same room with his stupid, stubborn brother any longer. It was a shame really, he thought. A goddamn shame that Jamie couldn’t see what he was doing to his wife.

“Wait.” Evelyn said to Robert. “Please stay for one moment longer. Elizabeth and I have some news to tell both of you.”

Robert’s eyebrows shot up. He looked at Elizabeth who was also caught by surprise. “Now?” She whispered to her sister.

Evelyn nodded, her eyes imploring.

“All right.” Elizabeth said, starting to smile. “You first.” She flicked her eyes in Robert’s direction once, a secret smile on her lips.

Their eyes met for those few seconds. Robert’s heart started to pound. Elizabeth was standing there so mysterious, with Robin in her arms, now quiet because she had been a good mother and had comforted him. He had a feeling he knew what this news might be, but it wasn’t Elizabeth’s turn yet so he turned back to Evelyn who had gotten down on her knees in front of her husband.

“Evelyn, what are you doing?” Jamie asked, trying to get Evelyn to stand back up.

But she didn’t rise. Instead she held on tight to his hand. “Jamie, I’m asking you to stop going to the Matthews’ place…No, please listen to me…” She quickly said when he started to protest. He shut his mouth and she continued, “I’m begging you to stop going to the Matthews’ every day…”

As Robert watched this, he still felt Elizabeth’s gaze on him. He didn’t look back; he was too afraid or too happy or too excited; he didn’t know what he felt, so he listened to Evelyn as she continued, “You’re in danger of making yourself gravely ill, and I need you now. I need you to be healthy and strong, for me…and our baby. I’m with child, Jamie, and we need you.”

Immediately Robert turned towards Elizabeth and in a choked voice, asked, “You’re with child too?” At the same time he heard Jamie ask Evelyn the same question. “You’re with child?”

Robert, though, didn’t care what Evelyn’s answer was. His eyes were locked with Elizabeth’s as she nodded, a beatific smile on her face.

All of a sudden he felt like shouting for joy, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to frighten Robin again. Instead he returned Elizabeth’s smile, a smile so wide if felt like his face might split in two. He wrapped his arms around her and Robin and picked them both up and swung them around, he was so happy. They laughed together and when he put Elizabeth down, it was then that he heard Jamie finally promise Evelyn that he would stay home and take care of her and himself.

But Jamie almost ruined the moment again when he added, “I’ll only go once a week.”

Evelyn opened her mouth to object, but Robert broke in, anger in his voice, but resignation too. He knew that Jamie would not give up, and he realized that he could also show some generosity by offering his own services, so he said, “We’ll trade off, Jamie. I’ll go every other week. You, one week; I the next and we’ll also make a schedule for the other men to help. How does that sound?”

Jamie shook his head at himself, but smiled. “I should have thought of that myself. Thanks, Rob.”

Finally
, Robert thought.
Finally, he’s come to his senses, but look what it took. Evelyn
pregnant! Elizabeth pregnant
! It shouldn’t have surprised him that they would do this together too. They did everything else together, so why not their pregnancies? It was surely a miracle.

* * *

Robert couldn’t sleep that night. He went to bed like normal, holding Elizabeth until she fell asleep, which didn’t take long considering her condition. That’s what had given him the idea that she might be pregnant, her recent tiredness and a certain glow to her face. Robin was also sleeping deeply in his trundle bed with the dogs at his feet. The celebration afterwards had lasted long past his bedtime.

It was very cold in the room, but Robert slipped out of bed anyway, not wanting to disturb Elizabeth with his tossing and turning. He crept to the fireplace and sitting on a stool, built up the fire until the logs crackled and snapped and it was roaring hot. He had to move back a few paces which still left his front warm, but his back cold. The beagles padded over to him then and he petted them for a minute, shaking his head at how easily these cute, little dogs had stolen his heart.

How different his life had become since Elizabeth had come into his life. As much as he had resisted in the beginning, he wouldn’t change a thing now. But he was afraid, so afraid. What would he do if Elizabeth died as Kathleen had? He wouldn’t be able to bear it, to lose another wife and possibly a baby too.

But Elizabeth was so confident that she would survive and deliver healthy children, five of them to be exact, over the years. Evelyn was just as confident, but Robert could see the slight doubt and worry in Jamie’s eyes despite recent events that should have proved to both of them that their dreams could be believed. It took faith and Robert didn’t know if he had enough faith.

His faith in God had vanished when Kathleen had died. For two years he was so angry at God; he hadn’t understood His plan. But the day Elizabeth had saved his son from a fiery death he had come to the realization that Kathleen had had to die in order for him to be available to marry Elizabeth. And after that day, he had sworn never to doubt his wife’s ‘gift’ ever again.

So, was he still afraid? Yes. Was he still worried? Yes. Any husband who loved his wife would be. But at that moment he chose to have faith, faith in his wife and some faith in God. In fact, after watching the fire slowly burn down, he got down on his knees and he did something he hadn’t done in a long, long time. He prayed. He thanked God for his wife, and his healthy son, and his stupid, stubborn brother and his wife and Abigail and the two servants, and all the rest of his family and friends and even for the dogs. He thanked God for his life and he asked Him to bless his family and friends and to especially bless this new life…these
two
new lives, on second thought.

And suddenly the world was a bright and hopeful place again.

With peace in his heart, he climbed back into bed, kissed his lovely wife on her cheek and settled down to sleep. Tomorrow was Christmas Day and they had plans to visit with Maureen and Phillip and their children where there would be more celebrating and sharing of good news.

* * *

A surprise greeted the Bassetts that Christmas morning. It was snowing, big, wet heavy snowflakes that stuck to everything, every tree limb, every bit of foliage, every inch of land and every rooftop. It was beautiful!

Robert woke up first, despite his restless night, and after slipping out of bed and peeking out the window to check the weather, (which he did automatically every morning), he knew he wanted to take Robin outside straightaway to play in the freshly fallen snow.

After taking care of his morning business, he woke Robin up with kisses to his warm cheeks and told him it was snowing! “What’s dat?” He asked.

Robert scooped him up and brought him to the window to show him. Robin’s eyes opened wide and his little mouth made an ‘O’. “Oooo!” He gasped.

“Do you want to go out and play?” Robert asked him in a whisper.

He nodded his head enthusiastically. “Mama go too?”

“No. We’ll let Mama sleep, all right?” Robert answered, looking back at Elizabeth who was still sleeping soundly. It made him smile to see her all peaceful and cozy under the covers. And his smile grew bigger when he realized that Robin would soon have a little brother or sister to play with.

After Robin used the second chamber pot for which Robert praised him excessively, Robert dressed in his buckskins and bundled Robin up in several layers of clothing. Then they went downstairs and out the back door, bringing the dogs and the one full chamber pot with them. (Robert had emptied one into the other, leaving Elizabeth an empty pot, albeit a soiled one.)

While Robert emptied the chamber pot beyond the kitchen garden fence, the dogs scampered ahead, Robin following them. Robin laughed and laughed, scooping up handfuls of snow and throwing it up into the air. Then he would stop every once in a while to lift his face to the sky to feel the feathery snowflakes land on his face. “Try to catch a snowflake on your tongue.” Robert suggested, now standing by the garden gate.

Robin did, delighted with this new challenge. When a few snowflakes landed on his eyelashes, he blinked and rubbed at his eyes, but he didn’t give up until he thought he had caught several flakes on his tongue. Then, impatient for more, he just scooped up a handful and licked the clump. When he got tired of that, he chased after the dogs who were leaving yellow and brown spots in the pristine white snow.

“Be careful!” Robert warned him.

Robert stood in the falling snow, watching his son for those few precious moments. Robin would be three years old in six months, a good age to become a big brother, he thought. And thinking about the new baby, who would be born in late August or early September, he estimated, he wondered who the baby would take after. Robin favored him, but this new baby could favor Elizabeth. He imagined Robin playing in the dooryard with a little sister or a little brother with ginger hair and green eyes. He wasn’t too sure he wanted a little boy with ginger hair, but he knew he shouldn’t be picky. A healthy baby is all that should matter, which directed his thoughts to food.

He scanned his garden, completely covered by snow. Everything had been harvested except for a few heads of cabbage. There would be no more fresh vegetables for the rest of the winter and even into early spring. He still worried that there wouldn’t be enough food to last through the winter. Yes, there were several barrels of carrots, turnips, potatoes and parsnips in the root cellar, and he and Jamie could go hunting and bring home enough meat, and there was enough corn meal and wheat flour, and goats and a cow to provide milk for cheese and butter, but to feed eight people for the next three to four months…he didn’t know if what they had in the cellar would last.

Perhaps he could eat less to give more to Elizabeth and Evelyn; perhaps he could give the servants less, (he knew some unscrupulous men who fed their servants just enough to keep them alive), but he would feel too guilty watching Nathan and Dolnick slowly starve. But who was more important? If he had to make a choice, he would definitely give the servants less in order to feed his wife, and his son, and Jamie’s wife, more.

Robert and Robin had only been outside for about ten minutes when Jamie came out. He was also dressed in his buckskins, his slouch hat on his head and a chamber pot in his arms.

“Good morning! Enjoying yourself?” Jamie called out, a big smile on his face. He joined Robert at the garden gate, where he set the pot down.

Robert smiled too. “Good morning. Robin wanted to go out right away.”

“’Tis not too cold.” Jamie commented, looking around the place and up at the sky.

“Stand here for awhile and you’ll start to feel it.” Robert quipped.

Jamie just smiled. He nodded his head in the direction of Robin. “He seems to be having a lot of fun.”

Robert looked fondly at his son and said, “He is. His first snow.”

“Remember our first snow here?” Jamie asked in a mischievous voice.

Robert laughed. “Yes, our first winter in the colony. We went mad like it was the strangest of things.”

“We were young.”

“And free to be happy again.”

“That too. Have you shown him how to make a snowball yet?”

“No.” Robert said pointedly.

“Come on.” Jamie said, pulling on Robert’s sleeve. “Let’s show him.” And before Robert could react, Jamie had moved back, scooped up a handful of snow, made a ball and threw it at Robert where it landed right smack in the middle of his chest.

Well, Robert couldn’t let his little brother get away with that! He scooped up a large handful of snow, made his own snowball and threw it at a laughing, dodging Jamie. The fight was on!

* * *

“Look at them. They’re like little children.” Elizabeth said, standing at the bedroom window with Evelyn close by her side. They had gotten up shortly after their husbands had gone outside and now they were in the bedchamber that Evelyn shared with Jamie. They had an arm around each other, warding off the cold as they watched their husbands play in the snow, along with Robin and the dogs. The brothers had included Robin in the snowball fight, although they had gone easy on him, throwing tiny snowballs and with less force.