The Saga Begins [Nuworld 1] (27 page)

“I’ve come to recruit several young people to take care of some work I want done in town.” Tara looked from one man to the other.

“What work is that?” Darius dismounted his bike and reached Tara’s side within the next second, pulling her into his arms.

“Several of the buildings downtown are nothing more than rubble.”

“Which buildings?” Darius frowned at the news.

Torgo looked as if he was ready to respond to the question, but a quick look from Tara reminded him of the training she’d given him. A young warrior doesn’t speak to a superior unless spoken to directly.

“The building next to the grocery store is gone. It’ll need to be rebuilt. The pride of the Gothman people in town has been affected, as is normal during war. If we show signs of preparing to rebuild, it’ll boost their spirits. They need to see that life as they knew it will return soon.”

“That doesn’t sound like work for children,” Patha frowned.

“The Gothman women won’t do such work. I want some of the young people too young for fighting to work. The school’s been closed, and they need something to do. I need several Runner children, as well as Gothman children, to start hauling this rubble. It’ll allow them to get to know each other. And if the Gothman girls are allowed to work also, it will help them start to learn how to work alongside men, doing the same task.”

“Could you do this work?” Darius now addressed Torgo.

“Yes, I could.” Torgo stood tall as he spoke.

“And what do you think the mamas of these children will say when you tell them you want their children to do a man’s job?” Darius stroked Tara’s arm as he held her firmly next to him.

“I know what I would like to tell them. I’ve seen the kind of work these women do around the town. They could rebuild the buildings themselves with instruction. My first thought was to have the women do the work. It was Torgo who said they would fear what their claims would say when they returned. That’s when I thought of the children.”

* * * * *

“You can’t change the ways of a nation overnight, my lady. Whether they can do the work or not isn’t the point.” Darius rested his chin on the top of Tara’s head and moved his hand over her growing belly. She looked so pregnant. He was sure she’d almost doubled in size in the one week since he’d last seen her.

There was a folding chair by the trailer, and he set it next to Tara. Placing his hand gently on her shoulder, he made it clear she was to sit. “There are things in life that are simply viewed as men’s work,” he said with a smile. “Some of them I don’t believe you’d argue with. They are part of your culture too, they are. I’ve seen them now. A man will carry heavy items while the woman takes care of the children, yes. Your women may be warriors, but they don’t mind the chivalry of a man.”

Tara smiled and accepted the chair. “I still want the children.”

“Stubborn as they come,” Darius said to Patha, who nodded and walked into the trailer.

“The town people won’t go for it, Tara.”

“They will if you tell them to.”

“Could we ask your niece to help?” Torgo spoke up, forgetting about not speaking unless addressed.

“What?” Darius turned a foul expression on his younger brother.

“Nothing.”

Tara gave Torgo a sharp look. “The people will do what you say, Darius.” She was not going to give up. “They follow you blindly.”

Darius turned from her and walked toward the jeep, deep in thought.

“It’s true,” Tara said. “I mean nobody will even mention your brother Juro.”

He couldn’t believe she had just mentioned his dead brother’s name. There was a damn good reason why he was never mentioned. No one would be allowed to question why his brother had died, giving Darius right to lead Gothman. He wouldn’t have it.

He turned quickly as anger surged through him, then looked at Torgo and felt the emotion fade away. “Fine. I’ll issue the order.”

Darius scrutinized Tara for a second. She still looked tired, but she was clean and there was more color in her face. Her eyes glowed, and she seemed pleased with her victory, but he was looking deeper. He wanted to see some type of satisfaction with her oncoming mamahood. He knew she loved the life of a warrior. Would she love the life of mamahood as well? He wanted her to…desperately. The thought of her raising their child kept him going in this dreary and tiresome war, a war he wished would end.

“When’s your next doctor’s visit?”

“As soon as I get home.”

“Good. I expect a raving report.” He kissed her affectionately. “The Sea People are showing signs of weakening. This war should be over soon, it should.”

* * * * *

Tara was glad he approved her plan. She would have implemented it even if he had said no; she’d already made her mind up about that. It wouldn’t have been hard to tell the people he’d given a command. They wouldn’t have found out otherwise, not until the deed had been done. But going behind Darius’ back wasn’t how she wanted to do things. The two of them needed to be a team, not working against each other.

Balbo agreed to send his daughter to town; several other Runners also agreed to send their children. That was the easy part. Back in town, Tara took Torgo’s suggestions on which houses to approach. The women who answered the doors were reluctant at first, but realizing it was an order, they also agreed. The next morning, the young people would meet downtown and begin work.

As far as Tara was concerned, approaching the Gothman women was the easy part of the day. Reena’s exam awaited her, and Tara didn’t look forward to it. Driving back to the house, she felt tired and in need of a nap. It was not part of her nature to admit fatigue, and she kept her attitude positive and cheery in an effort not to show it.

Reena was ready for her and scooted Torgo out of the house, telling him he could return after the exam ended, but she wouldn’t have a man under the roof while examining a woman.

“Now then, I am going to see if your cervix is softening, I am.” Reena waited as Tara got comfortable on her bed and Hilda looked on.

The examination was uncomfortable but, regardless of what any doctor may say, there’s no way to examine female organs without some discomfort. Tara put all her attention into keeping her face expressionless. She’d handled gunshot wounds, broken bones and other injuries with dignity, but the unusual pressure she felt as Reena probed her with fingers made Tara want to yell and pull away.

Reena poked and prodded and pushed on Tara’s tummy. She would stand back and look at Tara and then continue with the prodding.

“That’s interesting,” she said once. “Well, I’ll be,” was another response.

Tara watched her and strained her neck to see what Reena was doing, although it was difficult with her big tummy in the way.

Finally, Reena stepped back and washed her hands.

Hilda handed Reena a dry towel and studied her friend’s face, then turned and patted Tara’s shoulder.

“Do you want anything, dear?” Reena asked.

“No.” Tara put her legs together and then began to sit.

“Stay there then. I’ll be right back, I will.”

Hilda followed Reena out of the room.

Tara strained to hear their words as they walked down the hall.

“Why?” Hilda asked.

Tara thought she sounded irritated. Why what, Tara wondered, but all she could hear were the two women descending the stairs.

She must have drifted to sleep, because Tara awakened to the sound of voices in her room. But they sounded so far away…she was content to ignore them. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was rather surprised to see Dr. Digo standing there looking at her with Reena and Hilda at his side.

“You needed that sleep, didn’t you, dear?” Reena smiled at her daughter.

“How long was I out?” Tara tried to sit up, but a cramp slowed her down. This was something she experienced often. She didn’t bat an eye at it, but slowed down until it had passed and then relaxed again on her bed.

“Do you cramp often?” Dr. Digo put on a pair of sterile gloves and unloaded the contents of a bag onto her dresser.

“I guess so. I don’t give it much thought.”

He lifted a suitcase she hadn’t noticed until then and opened it to display a portable landlink.

“How can I help?” Reena looked at the foreign equipment.

“A bowl of very hot water might help. This ointment is always cold for some reason. It would be nice if we could warm it up.” Hilda quickly left the room before Reena could.

It was obvious she was bothered about something and that alerted Tara.

“What’s going on, Doc?”

“I’m going to do a sonogram. Ever had one of those?”

Tara allowed Reena to adjust the sheets so just Tara’s protruding belly showed.

“No, but I’ve heard of them. Can you tell me if my baby is a boy or a girl?” Tara wasn’t sure why Reena sent for Dr. Digo, but she thought both women looked a bit worried. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m sure all is fine, but we’ll take a look to make sure. If you want, while we’re checking, we can tell if you are going to have a son or daughter.” He smiled at her and accepted the hot water as Hilda returned.

After plugging in cords to the machine, Dr. Digo spread the ointment over Tara’s tummy. The women watched as he turned on the machine, then placed a flat disc attached by a bunch of chords to Tara’s stomach.

“That won’t hurt the baby, will it?” Hilda looked more nervous than a cat.

“Goodness, no, ma’am.” Dr. Digo tried not to smile at the ignorance of the question. “Look at the monitor, and you’ll be able to see what’s inside Tara’s uterus.”

“For heaven’s sake,” Hilda breathed.

Tara couldn’t tell if Hilda’s response was a result of the extraordinary equipment or at the doctor mentioning a female reproductive organ so casually.

“I can’t tell what I’m looking at.” Tara watched the movement of the black and white picture on the screen.

“You were right,” Dr. Digo told Reena.

“I knew it.” Reena clapped her hands to her mouth.

“Knew what?” Tara looked at each adult hovering over her, confusion and fear settling hard in her gut. “Is everything okay?”

It hadn’t crossed her mind until that moment that anything could possibly go wrong with the pregnancy. She’d seen her fair share of pregnant women in the clan. Other than getting bigger, they never acted any different and continued with their lives just as before.

“I’ll tell you that in a minute. What I can say now is that Reena discovered you are carrying two babies.”

“Twins?” Tara let her head drop to the pillow in disbelief. “Are you sure?”

“Carrying two babies is a lot harder than carrying one.” Dr. Digo turned his attention to Reena and Hilda. “She is going to need to keep her activities to a bare minimum from here on out.”

“Oh no! I can’t do that.” Tara tried to sit up and cursed when her large belly stopped her, not only with its size, but with shooting pains that captured her breath momentarily.

* * * * *

Reena noticed the look of defiance she’d grown accustomed to seeing. “Now we know…and you’ll not go anywhere until these babies are born.” Reena let her daughter see where she got some of her stubbornness.

Tara opened her mouth to rebut.

Reena lifted her hand to make it final. “Her cervix is a lot thinner than I expected it to be. She shows all signs of a woman preparing for birth in a cycle. But I’m thinkin’ we don’t want those babies coming before they are done.” Reena spoke to the doctor, but caressed her daughter’s head, letting Tara hear the reality of what could happen if she disobeyed this order to rest. Reena might be conferring with the doctor, but she still watched him warily. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a man giving her daughter such a personal examination.

“Well, these babies are not ready to be born yet. We need to do everything we can to keep them in her for at least another cycle and a half. The longer, the better. I don’t have very good equipment to handle premature babies.” Dr. Digo leaned back against the dresser, aware of the fact that he would not be able to do an internal exam with the two old ladies present. “Tara, you’re not going to like this, but I want you to stay in bed as much as you can. If you move out of that bed, it should be to a chair. Do as little walking as possible. The more you move, the more those babies will move around in you, and the thinner that cervix will get. Now they haven’t turned yet, and that’s a good sign.”

* * * * *

Tara lay on the bed, not quite willing to let it all sink in. Everything had been fine this morning, and now her body was on red alert. Sitting still was not something she did well. She was glad to hear the babies were okay, but staying put for the next cycle and a half? She wasn’t sure she could do it.

Dr. Digo told them one of her babies was a boy, but he said the other was being bashful and he couldn’t tell its sex. As Dr. Digo packed up, the women stood anxiously watching him and helping to organize his things. Tara could tell they couldn’t wait to get out of the room and share the most exciting piece of gossip they’d come by in quite awhile. She was sure every soul in town would know before the day was out. She also knew they would not leave the room before the doctor did, for it simply wouldn’t be proper for the man to be in her bedroom unattended.