Sleigh Ride (Homespun) (9 page)

George went next, opening his gift and slowly examining it.  “What is it?” he finally asked.  It was a small seed of some sort, but what kind he didn’t know.

“At the church picnic over the summer, you ate some watermelon and said how you wished you had some seeds to grow your own.”  John pointed to the seeds in his hand.  “Grow your own.”

George’s face split into a grin.  “Now, that’s a good gift!  Thank you!”

Millie grinned at the happy look on her husband’s face.  She’d planned on finding some watermelon seeds for her kitchen garden to surprise him this summer.  Now it wouldn’t be a surprise, but he’d get to look forward to watermelon for months.  “We’d better eat before this feast gets cold.  Charlotte’s been working on it all day!”

Charlotte watched with awe as the men each ate three huge platefuls of the food.  They talked and laughed while they ate, but no one slowed down.  Finally when no one could eat another bite, she got to her feet and began clearing the table.  Patience had worked hard to keep up with the dishes all day, so there weren’t nearly as many to deal with as Charlotte had worried there would be. 

Still, it took them a good hour to store all the leftovers and get all of the dishes done.  After dumping the dishwater out away from the house, she returned and dried her hands on her apron.  “Who’s hungry for dessert?  I made cherry pie and blackberry pie.”

“I brought an apple pie,” Bess added.

Patience and Charlotte put the pies on the table and Millie served everyone a slice of their preferred pie.  The men each had two slices.  “They’re going to have to roll me into church tomorrow morning,” John groaned.  “Thank you for including us in your Christmas dinner.  This is the best Christmas I can remember.”

“We’re happy you were here to share it with us,” George told them honestly.

After they’d gone, George read the story of Jesus’s birth from the Bible and they all gathered around to listen.  Once he was done, it was time for baths and for everyone to go to sleep.  They had church tomorrow.

Chapter Nine

The following week went by quickly.  Charlotte was counting off the days, knowing if Millie could just keep carrying the baby for another week, she’d have a chance.   Millie seemed more tired every day, and had started taking long naps in the afternoons.  Now that Charlotte had a little more experience with cooking, and had her own recipes, she was able to carry on without her.

Late on Friday night, the night of December 31
st
, just after they’d put the children to bed, Millie’s water broke.  Charlotte’s eyes widened at the timing.  It was as if God had heard their prayers to keep Millie pregnant at least until the first.  George left on horseback to fetch Ellie, while Charlotte began boiling water, knowing it would be needed for sterilization.

It was around five on New Year’s morning that the baby came into the world.  It was a sweet faced little girl, looking way too tiny to survive, who Charlotte carried into the kitchen to give her first bath.  Her eyes were wide as she stared down at this precious gift from God, thinking how miraculous it was she’d survived.  Once she was bathed, she knocked on the door where the midwife still was with Millie.  “May I bring her in to meet her mama?”

Ellie came to the door and cracked it just a bit.  “We’re not quite ready here.  Is George still in the barn?”

Charlotte nodded her eyes wide with concern.  “Is Millie okay?”

Ellie smiled.  “She’s doing well.  She’s just trying to deliver this little one’s brother or sister.”

“Twins?  Were you expecting twins?”

Ellie shook her head.  “No, but that doesn’t mean anything.  I’ve delivered them before.  Go rock that little girl.  If George comes in, send him right back out to the barn.  We’re not ready for him yet.”

Charlotte sat down holding the baby.  “Your name is Faith,” she whispered.  “
Your mama said she never knew what true faith was until she married your papa, so your name had to be Faith.”  She kept up the endless chatter to try to keep her nerves from becoming frayed. 

Finally Ellie came to the door of the bedroom holding the second baby.  “It’s a boy.”

Charlotte felt the tears spring to her eyes.  Millie had one of each now.  She put baby Faith into the cradle and went to get the little boy.  They’d been so certain of having a girl, she wasn’t even sure they’d picked out a boy’s name.  Charlotte took him and carefully bathed him just as she had his sister.  They were both so small they’d fit into the little cradle together.  George would need to get started on another soon, though.

Once
the baby was clean, she knocked on the door.  “Is everything okay?”

Ellie called, “Come on in.  Everything’s fine.”

She carried the little boy into the room and placed him in Millie’s arms.  Millie was sitting up in bed, looking exhausted but happy.  “What were you thinking having two?  No wonder you were so run down.”

Millie grinned.  “I’m not complaining.  I have enough love for two more.”
  She smiled staring at the baby in her arms.  “I have enough love for another twenty.”

Charlotte smiled.  “
I wouldn’t say that around your husband.  I don’t think he’s ready for you to be pregnant again anytime soon.”  She stood.  “Let me bring you your little girl, and then I’ll go get George.  He’s got to be going crazy with worry by now.”

She slipped on her coat and walked out to the barn.  “Millie’s ready to see you.”

George turned his eyes wide with fear.  “She’s okay?”  His voice was as close to panic as she’d ever heard from the calm even-tempered man.

Charlotte nodded.  “She’s fine.  Go see her.”

“Is it a boy or girl?”

“I think you need to ask your wife that.”
  Millie needed to be the one to share the surprise.  She knew George would be thrilled to have two.  He loved his children so much she couldn’t imagine him ever being unhappy about having more.

Charlotte and Ellie both stepped out of the room to give them time alone with their babies.

George’s eyes popped when he saw Millie propped up in bed with a baby in each arm.  He shook his head.  “I should have known you’d do everything your own way.  Two?”  His face split into a huge grin.

She grinned.   “One of each.  I couldn’t leave us uneven.”
 

He sat down on the bed beside her.  “Which is which?”

She indicated the baby in her left arm.  “That’s the boy.  We don’t have a boy name yet, you know.  This one is Faith.”

He took the little girl from her arm and held her.  “She’s so tiny.  Are they strong enough to make it?”
  He was almost afraid to hold such a tiny baby.  His other children had all been on the large side.

“Ellie thinks so.  She said twins almost always come early.  They’re small, so we’ll have to be extra careful about illness, but they should be just fine.”
  The happiness in her voice was a huge relief to George.

George took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like months.  “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Millie nodded.  “I’m sure having two in there was just too much.  They tired me out more than they would have if it had just been one.”  She stared down at the baby in her arms.  “What should we name him?”

“What do you think of the name Daniel?  I know we hadn’t talked about boys’ names yet, but that’s what’s been in my head.”

Millie smiled.  “I like that.  We can call him Danny now, and when he’s older, he’ll be Daniel.  Or Dan.”

George leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Millie’s cheek.  “Thank you for my children.”

When George opened the door to come out, he still had a dazed look on his face.  He smiled at Charlotte.  “She’s hungry.  I don’t think she’s told me she’s hungry in months.”

Charlotte grinned.  She and Ellie had talked for a while, before Ellie left.  Ellie had told her the importance of
Millie eating and drinking as much as she could during the next couple of weeks.  She was way too thin, and trying to nurse two babies was going to take a lot out of her.  Charlotte promised to do her best.

As she cooked breakfast, she thought about how hard it was to live in a place as rural as this.  If something had gone wrong during the birth, there was no doctor to call.  Millie could have died.  If she’d seen a doctor earlier in her pregnancy, they may have been able to tell her she was carrying twins, and let her know what to do differently.

There were too many “ifs” in her thinking, though.  It may have all worked out just the same if a doctor had been involved.  Charlotte couldn’t help but think of the years ahead of her if she married James.  She would work her fingers to the bone every single day.  When she gave birth, there would be no doctor and she may or may not survive.  Most women gave birth with no doctor, of course, but back in Boston, one could be summoned.  Here, there was no way that could happen.

Did she really want to spend the rest of her life in hardship?  She shook her head.  She didn’t.  Of course, there was nowhere to go.  What
would she do if she didn’t stay here and marry James?

She set the table and called the family in for the meal, surprised when Millie joined them at the table.  She’d been planning on taking her a plate.  “I can bring your food to you!”

Millie shook her head.  “I’ll eat here with my family.”  She’d already dressed and put the two infants into the cradle together.

George looked at the babies.  “I guess the boys and I are going to be making a cradle today.”
  He didn’t seem disappointed to have to push back anything else he was planning to do.

Millie laughed.  “They can share that one for a week or so, until they’re too big.”

George shook his head.  “No, we’ll get started on it right away.”

“I’m so glad Bess gave me those extra gowns.  I’ll need to make some more anyway, but at least we’ll have enough for the first few days.”

“I’ll get started on the first one as soon as we can buy some more cotton.”  Charlotte smiled trying to be happy about the extra work that twins would bring.  Could she really spend the rest of her life working like this?

The entire family missed church the following day, because the babies weren’t old enough to be taken out.  Afterward, John and Bess came by to check on them, assuming the baby had come.

“So, she had the baby right?” Bess asked from the doorway.

Charlotte opened the door wide.  “Come on in.  Yes, the baby is here.”  She knew Millie wanted to tell Bess about the twins herself, so she didn’t say anything.  Bess walked in and Millie was sitting quietly in her rocker with a baby in each arm.  Bess cried out and ran to her.  “Twins!  Boys or girls?”

Millie grinned at her friend’s excitement.  “One of each.”  The look of pride on her face said a lot.

“May I hold one of them?”

“Of course!”  Bess stooped down and took one of the babies from her arms.  “That’s our little boy.  His name is Daniel.”

Bess stared down at the tiny face.  “He’s so little.  Is there any danger?”

“Ellie suggested we keep them home until my actual due date, which is still another month away.  They’re just too small and fragile.  If they catch something it could easily kill them.”  Millie snuggled Faith closer to her.  “So we’ll be missing church for a few weeks.  At least the babies and I will.  The others may start back before we do.  It will all depend on how quickly I’m up to taking care of both babies.”

“I’m so glad you have Charlotte here to help.”
  Bess looked over her shoulder at Charlotte.  “She’s been a real blessing.”

“
She has.  I feel badly that she’s doing so much for me, but I really need her.  Hopefully I can help her out when her first baby comes along.”

Bess smiled.  “I hope that’s soon!  James still wants to come by for a sleigh ride this afternoon.  I told him to pick me up on the way, and I’ll stay her
e while they’re gone.”

Millie smiled.  “That’s a wonderful idea.  I didn’t want Charlotte to miss out, but I need someone here to help with the babies.  I’m not quite sure of myself with them yet.”

Bess shook her head.  “You shouldn’t be.  You expected to have one baby, and instead you had two.”  She looked at her friend with a critical eye.  “Please tell me Charlotte is poking food down your throat whether you want it or not.”

“Suddenly, food is all I can think about.  I’m just ravenous.  Charlotte’s bringing me snacks every couple of hours, and making sure I always have water or milk to drink.”
  She was happy to be able to alleviate everyone’s fears. 

“Good for Charlotte!”

Charlotte walked over.  “I heard you say you’re coming back while I go on the sleigh ride.  I’ve made plenty of food.  Why don’t you and John stay for lunch, and then John can go home and tell James I’m here.”

Bess nodded.  “That would be nice if it’s okay with you Millie.”

“You know I always love to have you over.”

Charlotte smiled.  “I’m putting it on the table now.  Millie, would you like to come to the table, or do you want me to bring yours to you there?”

Millie stood and put Faith into her cradle.  “I’ll come to the table.”  She took Daniel from Bess and put him into the identical cradle next to his sister.  She looked down at the sleeping babies.  “I wish I could sketch.  I want to remember them like this forever.”