The Romancing of Evangeline Ipswich (10 page)

However, as wonderful moments always seem to do, this one came to an abrupt end all at once.

Jennie gasped and looked up to Evangeline.

“Evie?” she said. “Something’s wrong, I think.”

“What do you mean?” Evangeline asked, tossing her cards aside and leaning forward to place a hand to Jennie’s forehead.

“Well, I’m embarrassed to say,” Jennie began, blushing, “but I think I wet the bed.”

“Really?” Calvin said, fairly leaping up from his place next to his wife.

Quickly Evangeline climbed off the bed, went to Jennie, and lifted her covers.

“I think maybe it’s your waters, Jennie,” Evangeline said, attempting to remain calm—especially in appearance.

“My waters?” Jennie exclaimed as a look of panic suddenly owned her expression. “But it’s too early! The baby isn’t due for at least two more weeks!”

Evangeline forced a smile. “Lots of babies come early or late, Jennie. Don’t worry.” She looked up to Calvin, though she continued to speak to Jennie. “Calvin will just run on over and fetch Doctor Swayze, and he can have a look at things. Isn’t that right, Calvin?”

Calvin was as pale as a sheet, eyes wide with worry and fear.

“Y-yes…yes, that’s right,” he stammered. Forcing a smile of encouragement to Jennie, he stroked her hair and said, “I’ll just run on over to fetch Doc Swayze, all right?”

Jennie nodded, though Evangeline noticed the tears welling in her eyes. “All right,” she managed.

“I swear, Jennie,” Hutch said, stroking his sister’s cheek with the back of his hand. “The things you’ll do to keep me from winning at rummy.”

Jennie laughed a little, smiling at her brother with appreciation.

Jennie’s smile faded almost instantly, however, and she said, “Evangeline…I don’t feel good! And there’s…there’s some pain starting.”

Again Evangeline spoke in the calmest voice she could muster, forced a soothing smile, and said, “Well, good! That means that maybe the baby really is on its way! He’s tired of waiting to meet his mama and daddy.” Still forcing a smile, she nodded to Calvin, reiterating, “You best fetch Doctor Swayze, Calvin. You’ll want to be back so that when the baby comes you can be the first after Jennie to hold it.”

Calvin nodded and without another word headed out of the room.

Evangeline then looked to Hutch and asked, “Would you run to the kitchen and fetch a bowl of cool water and a cloth for Jennie’s forehead, Hutch. Please?”

Hutch did not look as entirely undone as did Calvin, but Evangeline read the worry in his eyes all the same.

“You bet,” he said with a nod. Looking back to Jennie, Hutch also offered an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right back, Jen. You just try to relax, all right?”

Jennie nodded, saying, “I will.” But once Hutch had left the room, her hand struck Evangeline’s with the force of a rattler striking as she took hold of Evangeline’s hand. “I’m in a great deal of pain, Evie,” she whispered.

“Having a baby is a painful experience, Jennie. You know that, don’t you?” Evangeline asked.

“I do,” Jennie nodded. “But this pain…I’m not sure it’s what it should be. It doesn’t seem to be subsiding at all. And my back hurts so much that I’m sure I’m going to throw up.”

“Well, I’ll get a bowl for you, just in case,” Evangeline said. “But don’t worry, Jennie. Calvin will bring Doctor Swayze, and soon enough your baby will be here, and we can all cuddle and hold it, kiss it, and rock it, and—”

Jennie cried out in agony, startling Evangeline and bringing tears to her own eyes. Thoughts of her own mother—the sounds of her crying out when she’d been having Evangeline’s baby brother, Gilbert—pounded through her mind mercilessly, driving remembered and renewed heartache through her body. Her mother and baby brother had died not long after Gilbert was born, and Evangeline’s secret fears that the same might happen to her treasured friend Jennie and her baby caused her hands to begin to tremble.

Still, she knew she had to be strong—for Jennie—for the baby. And she said, “Breathe, Jen. Just take long, easy breaths. Doctor Swayze will be here any moment.”

Jennie panted a bit, inhaled a deep breath, and then exhaled a heavy sigh. “It’s passing now, I think. I think it’s passing.”

“Oh, good!” Evangeline said. “Good. Now just try to relax.”

Evangeline knew that the pain was doing just what Jennie felt it was doing; it was passing. But she further knew that the pain would return—perhaps stronger the next time—and she didn’t know what to do to prepare Jennie for it.

Hutch arrived with the bowl of water and the cloth.

“Just wet the cloth and wring it out for me please, will you, Hutch?” Evangeline asked. She was still holding Jennie’s hands and trying to keep her calm.

“Of course,” Hutch mumbled. He did as Evangeline had instructed and then handed the cool, moist cloth to her.

“There you go,” Evangeline soothed as she placed the cloth to Jennie’s face a moment. “There. Doesn’t that feel good?”

“It’s coming on again, Evie!” Jennie cried out, however. “I can feel it coming on!”

“It’s all right, Jennie,” Evangeline said. “It’s the natural way of things, so try to remain as calm as you can. The pain will come, and then it will go again, all right?”

Jennie nodded, and Evangeline could see that she had gritted her teeth—determined to be more courageous through this next pain.

Goose bumps suddenly erupted over Evangeline’s shoulders and arms as she felt Hutch’s warm, callused hand slip beneath her hair and rest at the back of her neck. Looking up at him, she could see the deep concern on his face. He was worried about his sister.

“Thank you for coming here,” he said quietly. He grinned a little, adding, “Can you imagine Calvin and me trying to do this on our own?”

Jennie’s sudden burst of laughter surprised Evangeline. “What a…what a nightmare that would’ve been,” she puffed. “I can just see the both of them passed out cold on the floor.” She laughed again, adding, “Did you see Calvin leap off the bed when I said I thought I’d wet it?”

A nervous giggle erupted from Evangeline then—a strange sound to accompany her admiration of her friend. Even in the throes of excruciating pain, Jennie was still able to find mirth.

As Jennie’s laughter turned to tears born of more pain, Hutch moaned with sympathy for his sister.

Looking up to him, Evangeline said, “Dig your heels in, Hutch. It may be a long night.”

It has been nearly three hours since Calvin had returned to the house with Doctor Swayze and his wife. And Doctor Swayze was concerned. He felt that Jennie’s body should be further along in being ready to deliver the baby. Yet he had assured Hutch and Evangeline that they should remain calm and that all would be well.

Evangeline still sat on the floor just outside Jennie’s bedroom. Jones’s head was in her lap, and though she gently stroked the velvet of one of his ears with reassurance, even Hutch’s dog knew that Jennie was enduring overwhelming pain on the other side of the door.

Hutch had taken to pacing back and forth up and down the entryway, to and fro. Every few minutes, Jennie would cry out, moan, or strain aloud, and Hutch’s brows would furrow as he looked to Evangeline for reassurance. Each time he did, Evangeline would nod at him—a silent reminder that such sounds of agony and trauma were to be expected.

Yet even Evangeline was not so certain all was well in the room where Jennie struggled to deliver her baby. Even with the help of Doctor Swayze and his wife—even with the fact that Calvin had demanded to be present, to hold Jennie’s hand and attempt to offer her comfort—Evangeline thought Jennie’s cries sounded too desperate.

All at once the door to the bedroom burst open, and a frantic, disheveled Calvin appeared.

“Hutch,” he breathed. “Fetch the Reverend Lloyd. Hurry!”

Evangeline’s eyes filled with tears as she saw Hutch’s jaw clench, even as he nodded his assurance to Calvin that he would do what he’d asked. Without even pausing to retrieve his coat and hat, Hutch fairly bolted out the front door.

“Calvin?” Evangeline breathed.

Calvin took a deep breath and said, “She wants to talk to you, Evangeline.”

Nodding, Evangeline kindly pushed Jones from her lap and stood up. The dog whimpered, and she looked down at him, forcing a smile and saying, “Everything will be fine, Jones. Don’t worry.”

Of course, Evangeline knew that everything would obviously not be fine. Calvin had asked Hutch to fetch the local clergyman, and now Jennie had asked to talk to Evangeline. Her heart told her all was not well.

Slowly, she entered Jennie’s room, her heart filled with dread. Jennie was lying on her left side in the bed, pale and weak looking.

“Evangeline!” she whispered—and Evangeline did not miss the extreme anxiety in her voice. “Please come here…quickly!” Jennie breathed.

Evangeline looked to Doctor Swayze, who nodded. “It’s going to be a difficult birth,” he said. “Long and arduous, I’m afraid.”

Dr. Swayze was a good-looking, middle-aged man with brown hair and round-framed spectacles. Yet Evangeline thought he looked ten years older in that moment than he had when he’d first arrived several hours previous.

Mrs. Swayze was sitting on the foot of the bed, folding clean washcloths. She did not look up to greet Evangeline, and Evangeline’s heart sank to the very pit of her stomach.

“Evie, hurry!” Jennie begged.

Racing to her bedside, Evangeline knelt next to her friend. Forcing a comforting smile and tenderly brushing the perspiration-saturated hair from her forehead, she said, “Jennie, you’re doing a wonderful job. Having a baby is no easy thing.”

“The doctor thinks the baby is very big,” Jennie breathed. “Or…or that something is wrong,” Jennie told her. “And I want to beg a favor of you…please.”

“Anything, darling. You know that,” Evangeline whispered, trying hard not to cry. She knew exactly what Jennie was going to ask—that she stay in Red Peak and care for her baby if Jennie herself should lose her life in bringing the baby into the world. Tears welled in her eyes, and Evangeline fought to keep them from spilling. But she couldn’t, and they escaped into warm, salty rivulets over her cheeks.

“I want you to marry Hutchner,” Jennie whispered. “I can’t think of him being alone here…alone in the world if I go.”

“Jennie!” Evangeline quietly exclaimed. “Doctor Swayze says you’ll be—”

“Please, Evie!” Jennie begged as more tears flooded her cheeks. “A woman knows things…feels things…senses things that a doctor can’t. And I need to know that Hutch won’t be alone. And more than that…that he’ll have you to care for him.” Jennie’s whisper dropped to a mere breath as she added, “That he’ll have you to love him, Evie.”

Evangeline was awestruck! She wondered if Jennie were in her right mind. She looked up to Calvin—Calvin standing strong but frightened for his wife’s well-being. He nodded, his silent gesture that he wanted Evangeline to agree to Jennie’s request.

For a moment, Evangeline thought,
Where’s the harm in promising it?
If her friend were indeed preparing to make her way to heaven, then who was Evangeline to refuse her last request? It wasn’t as if Hutch would have to go through with marrying her, after all. And did he even know what Jennie was asking of Evangeline?

At that very moment, Hutch strode into the bedroom with a clergyman in his wake. He too knelt beside Jennie, kissed her hand, and said, “I’ve brought Reverend Lloyd, Jen. But you’re gonna be fine. Do you hear me?”

Jennie weakly caressed her brother’s whiskery cheek and smiled at him. “Hutch,” she began, again in a whisper. “Will you do something for me, Hutch?”

“Anything, Jen. You know that,” Hutch answered.

Evangeline watched as moisture filled Hutch’s eyes—as emotion caused his hands to begin trembling where he held his sister’s.

“I want you to marry Evangeline, Hutch,” Jennie began. “Promise me you’ll marry her. I don’t want you to be without her…and I don’t want her to be without you. Promise me you’ll marry her.”

Evangeline held her breath—waited for Hutch’s response—wondered if he would be as astonished as she had been at Jennie’s request.

“All right, I promise,” he said, however. Evangeline felt her mouth gape open with astonishment.

But Jennie’s requests were not finished. “Marry her now, Hutch—right here, so I’ll know you’ll both be cared for…so I’ll know you’ll be together. It’s why I had you fetch Reverend Lloyd.”

Evangeline couldn’t breathe for a moment! Was she dreaming? Was Jennie actually demanding that her brother marry Evangeline?

“All right,” Hutch said without pause.

Evangeline closed her eyes a moment—concentrated on simply trying to draw breath.

But she was startled from her weakness of mind and body when Jennie cried out in sudden returning agony!

“Please, Evie! Please!” Jennie cried through her pain. “I need to know that it’s done! I need to have that peace!”

“Of course, of course!” Evangeline assured her, brushing tears from her own cheeks.

Hutch took Evangeline’s chin in one of his strong hands, forcing her to look at him. “You’ll do this thing with me, won’t you?” It was a demand, not a request. “For Jennie.”