by Emily Woods
“Come here, my love,” Michael whispered into Hilda’s hair as he pulled her closer. “You will be fine, my wife. I will be back before you know it!”
“I hope so,” Hilda sniffed, pulling Michael’s hands to her waist and staring into his dark eyes. “Sleeping alone will be terrible. I love being next to you in bed.”
Michael grinned wolfishly as he pulled away from his wife and looked up and down at her beautiful figure. He felt the hot, sharp tug of desire in his belly as Hilda looked up at him, and Michael lowered himself next to his wife, taking her face in his hands. He kissed her hard on the mouth, and Hilda melted into his embrace, letting out the softest moan as Michael’s lips pressed firmly on hers.
“I love you,” Michael breathed into his wife’s ear as she moaned even louder. “This week will fly by, and I will be back by your side before you know it. For now, though, I can’t stand another second of you out of my arms, and I will show you just how much I will miss you….”
“We don’t want you here!” Kristina screeched as Hilda beckoned her into the dining room. Carol had just brought the hot plates of roasted duck and mixed vegetables into the dining room, and Hilda was looking forward to a pleasant meal after the first long, lonely day without her husband.
“Please sit down, Kristina,” Hilda said kindly as she gestured at Kristina’s chair. “Your food will get cold, soon.”
“We don’t care,” Johnny declared as he stomped into the room. “We don’t care about you, or the food! We want you to leave!”
Hilda struggled to keep the smile on her lips, but she was determined not to let the children get the best of her as she sat at Michael’s usual position at the head of the table. While her husband was away, she was in charge of the children and their behavior, and Hilda knew that she needed to be loving, but firm.
“The three of you had best take your seats and hush your mouths,” Hilda commanded as the children stared at her. “You have treated me quite rudely since I arrived. Let me tell you how things will be here from now on: you will each be courteous and respectful toward your father and me, and that is non-negotiable.”
Kristina’s chin quivered, but she obeyed Hilda and took her seat. Francis followed his sister’s lead. Johnny, however, remained standing, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes dancing with rage. “I’m not doing what you say,” he told Hilda in an even voice. “You are not the boss of me.”
Hilda rose from her seat and went to stand in front of Johnny. “I am the boss of you,” Hilda stated as she stared into Johnny’s eyes. “You may not love me or like me, but you children will respect me. If a child in the south spoke to their parents the way you speak to your father and me…..”
Hilda did not finish her sentence, but it was clear that Johnny understood her point. He ran to his seat and sat down, quietly folding his napkin in his lap.
“Thank you, children,” Hilda said sweetly as she returned to her chair and folded her hands. “Now, let us pray.”
Hilda and the children enjoyed the time together; at dinner, they laughed, joked, and for the first time, Hilda felt as though she had finally earned their affections. When the meal was through, the children bid Hilda a goodnight as they left the table to go to their rooms. As Hilda sat alone in the dining room, she thanked God for working in the children’s hearts. She knew that being firm with them was the right thing to do, and Hilda folded her hands to give thanks for the progress that had been made.
Her happiness was short-lived, though. As Hilda quietly glided to her bedchamber, she heard whispers in Kristina’s room. She peeked into the room to find the three children on Kristina’s bed, their heads bent together as they conspired.
“I was just pretending to be nice!” Kristina giggled as Hilda’s heart sank. “I hate her. She is silly and I hope she leaves soon.”
Johnny nodded at his sister. “I think we did the right thing,” he said to his siblings. “If we are really nice to her, then she won’t figure out our plan!”
Kristina grinned. “It’s a good plan, I think! Francis, Johnny will smack you on the face, and then we’ll tell Papa that she did it while he was away! Papa will feel terrible, and he’ll make her leave. He’ll believe us over her. He’ll feel so bad that he’ll have to buy us presents every single day!”
Hilda clasped a hand to her mouth in shock. How could the children think of such a terrible thing? Her heart pounded in her chest, and she thought of her husband’s face when his children came to him with the false accusation. What would Michael say? Why did the children hate her so?
When Hilda reached her bedchamber, she sank to the ground and began to weep. “Lord,” Hilda cried out as the tears poured from her eyes. “Lord, I thought the children needed a firm, guiding hand! Please, Lord, show me what they truly need! Show me how to win their hearts while still being a firm, Godly mother to them.”
In the middle of the night, Hilda awoke to the sounds of screaming in the corridor outside of her bedchamber. “What is going on?” Hilda thought to herself as she tucked her nightdress into her hands and stumbled out of bed.
“Help!”
Hilda walked into the corridor to find Kristina sobbing. “Help!” Kristina begged Hilda. “Something is wrong with Johnny! You have to help him!”
Hilda immediately sprang into action. She tucked her long hair behind her ears and followed Kristina into Johnny’s room. She lit several candles so she could properly see the child, and when she had a full view of him, she gasped. Johnny’s face was ghostly, with dark circles running deep beneath his eyes. He was sweating profusely, and Hilda placed a hand on his forehead.
“He’s burning up,” Hilda said quietly as Kristina cried beside her.
“Save him! You have to help him! I already lost my Mama. I can’t lose my brother,” Kristina screamed.
Hilda knelt beside the bed where Johnny lay shivering. She turned to Kristina. “Go downstairs immediately and fetch Carol,” she ordered the girl.
Kristina shook her head. “It’s Tuesday! It’s Carol’s night off, and she’s visiting her sister!”
Hilda sighed. “That’s fine. I have taken care of many sick children before. I will handle this myself. I need you to help me though, Kristina. Can you do that?”
Kristina nodded solemnly.
“Good,” Hilda said.
“Is he going to die?” Kristina asked, her eyes large and her body shaking.
Hilda thought for a moment. “Why don’t you pray for him?” Hilda asked Kristina. “Praying for him is the first step in his healing. You can kneel just beside the bed while I tend to him!”
Kristina dropped to the floor and began to pray, her little voice breaking as she begged God to save her brother. Hilda uncovered the boy and stripped off his sweaty nightclothes, tossing them aside and then turning to Kristina. “Kristina, I need cool towels and some rags. Can you go fetch some for me?”
Kristina nodded and dashed out of the room, returning only moments later with what Hilda had asked for. “Good girl,” Hilda said, taking the cool clothes and placing them on Johnny’s forehead.
The night passed slowly, and Johnny’s fever began to fade. Hilda breathed a sigh of relief as his temperature decreased, and the color slowly started returning to his face. “Come on, Johnny,” Hilda whispered to the boy. “Just drop that fever, sweetheart. You can do it! You are a strong boy.”
Kristina dutifully fulfilled each of Hilda’s requests. She helped to change Johnny into a set of clean nightclothes, brought clean sheets up from the laundry room, and wiped the sweat from Johnny’s brow as Hilda took a short break to use the powder room.
“You have been a wonderful helper, Kristina,” Hilda whispered as Kristina smiled weakly. “I am so proud of you. You have been a true servant to your brother, and I am so impressed.”
Kristina shyly looked at Hilda. “You really care about us, don’t you?”
Hilda nodded. “I do,” she murmured. “I love your father, and I care deeply for all th
ree of you. I know this night has been scary, but I hope it shows you that I am truly devoted to taking care of your family, Kristina.”
Kristina began to cry. “I just miss her,” she whimpered and Hilda picked her up and cradled her. “I miss my Mama. She would have taken care of Johnny tonight, and now, she isn’t here.”
Hilda stroked Kristina’s hair, feeling the child’s body shaking as she sobbed. “There, there,” Hilda comforted Kristina. “I know you have had so many difficulties over the last few years. I can only imagine how much you miss your Mama, Kristina, and I am so sorry she is gone.”
Kristina coughed, and Hilda patted her back. “I just want you to know that I am here for you,” Hilda whispered into Kristina’s ear. “I am here for you, and even if you hate me, or call me names, I will care for you.”
Kristina glanced up at Hilda and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Don’t leave us,” Kristina wept as Hilda rubbed her back. “Don’t leave us. Everyone always leaves! Papa left to go to war, Mama left to go to Heaven, and now, Johnny might leave to go to Heaven, too!”
Hilda pulled Kristina away and looked into the child’s teary eyes. “I’m not going anywhere,” Hilda informed Kristina. “No one who has left you has wanted to leave, Kristina. It broke your Papa’s heart when he had to leave for the war, and I can only imagine how devastating it was for your Mama to realize that she would not be here to watch you grow up. I want you to know that they both love and loved you so very much, sweetheart, and no matter what, I will stay here with you.”
Kristina buried her face in Hilda’s bosom, and Hilda hugged the child to her. “I love you, Kristina,” Hilda murmured to the girl as Kristina cried in her arms. “I love you, and I will never leave you. As long as the Lord wills it, I will care for you and your family.”
Suddenly, Johnny began to cough violently, a loud hacking that sounded as though the devil were making the boy do it. “Johnny!” Kristina cried out as she broke free of Hilda’s embrace. “Johnny! It’s alright, Johnny, we are here!”
Johnny did not open his eyes, but he began to vomit, filling the bed with a sinister-looking black liquid that smelled of stale fish. “He’s throwing up, Hilda!” Kristina shouted.
Hilda bit her lip. The color was draining from Johnny’s face again, and as she laid a hand on his forehead, Hilda knew that his fever had risen dramatically over the last few minutes. Hilda could sense that something was terribly wrong. She had nursed dozens of babies and small children back to health before, but she had never seen such a vile display of vomit. She said a quick prayer, and then grabbed Kristina by the shoulders.
“Kristina,” Hilda said cautiously. “Johnny is getting very, very sick. Do you want to leave the room and go on to bed? It might be frightening for you, and I don’t want you to be scared.”
Kristina paused, but then, she looked into Hilda’s face and held her head high. “I’m not scared,” Kristina declared. “I have been praying for Johnny, and I know that the Lord is watching! I will help you, Hilda!”
Hilda and Kristina went to work to clean Johnny up. He had finished vomiting, and they removed his soiled nightclothes and sheets. “Kristina, go fetch a pail of cool water. We are going to fill up a tub and lower his fever once and for all!”
Kristina did as she was told, and she returned to Johnny’s room with a bucket of cool water. “Here it is,” she told Hilda.
“Excellent,” Hilda answered. “We are going to wash his face and his neck once more, and then, I am going to need you to be strong. Can you be strong, Kristina?”
Kristina nodded. “I can be strong.”
“Wonderful,” Hilda replied. “We are going to carry him to the washroom and bathe him. The cool water will help him. I cannot carry him alone, so I will need you to help me.”
Once Johnny had been placed in the cool tub of water, Hilda looked at Kristina. “I need you to keep praying for him,” she told the girl as Kristina obediently sank to her knees and folded her hands. “Pray for his health, pray for his strength, and pray for his recovery, Kristina. I think that we are past the worst of this, but he will need all of your prayers as we carry on through the night.”
Hilda bathed Johnny as Kristina prayed repeatedly. “You are doing a lovely job,” Hilda complimented Kristina as she gave Johnny’s hair a final scrub. “I will need your help lifting him from the bath. Can you be strong again?”
Kristina nodded. “God makes me strong, and I can be strong to help my brother!”
“Very good,” Hilda affirmed as Kristina picked up Johnny’s feet. “You are being such a good helper, Kristina. I am so pleased with you.”
Hilda and Kristina carried Johnny back upstairs and into his room. “Lay him on the couch and I will freshen his sheets,” Hilda ordered. “His fever is down, Kristina, and it has been for nearly an hour! I think he is finally coming out of it.”
With Johnny’s condition improving, Hilda finally felt the heavy tug of exhaustion. She peered at the clock on the wall. It was nearly seven in the morning, and she and Kristina had been up all night caring for the boy. Kristina looked weary. She had dark circles beneath her eyes, and her hair was tangled on her shoulders. Hilda felt her heart swell with gratitude for the little girl. Kristina had not been an easy child to get along with before, but tonight, when Hilda needed her, Kristina had served her brother and been an asset to Johnny’s care.
“Kristina?” Hilda whispered. “Kristina, let’s put him back in the bed now.”
The pair lifted the boy and tucked him into the bed. Hilda felt his forehead. Johnny’s fever appeared to be getting better, and Hilda breathed a sigh of relief. It had been hours now since the terrible vomiting spell, and Hilda had a feeling that Johnny’s condition was rapidly improving.
“Is he going to get better?” Kristina asked Hilda, her eyes still filled with worry.
“I don’t have all of the answers,” Hilda admitted to the child. “But his fever is completely gone, and he has not thrown up in hours. He is sleeping peacefully, Kristina! Look at how your prayers helped your brother! I believe in my heart that Johnny will make a full recovery, and that he will be playing and laughing again in no time at all, sweetheart.”
A look of relief filled Kristina’s face, and Hilda felt another surge of gratitude for the girl. “Thank you for your help tonight, Kristina,” Hilda said to the girl. “You helped save Johnny’s life!”
Kristina rose from her position beside Johnny and ran to Hilda. She wrapped herself around Hilda’s legs. “Thank you for taking care of him,” Kristina said as she began to cry. “Thank you for loving him, and loving us, and loving our family. I’m sorry I was bad before. I love you, now, Hilda.”
Hilda shook her head and bent down to look into Kristina’s eyes. “You were not a bad girl, Kristina,” Hilda assured the child. “You made some poor choices with your words and actions toward me, but you were not a bad girl. You are a good girl with a good, Godly heart! I saw that heart in action tonight, and I will never forget how brave and strong you were!”
Kristina smiled shyly at Hilda. “Hilda? I love you. I want you to stay in our family and take care of us forever!”
Hilda laughed, thrilled that finally, she and Kristina had made a connection. “I want that more than anything in the world, Kristina,” she whispered as she pulled Kristina in for a tight hug. “I want to love you, your father, and our family every single day for the rest of my life.”
6
When Michael returned home from his business trip, he could sense that something was different in his household the moment he stepped through the door. The house was tidy and quiet, and Michael breathed in the familiar scent of his home with a smile on his face. His shoulders sagged as he thought of his children, though. He hoped that the children had behaved decently for his new wife while he was away, and his stomach churned at the thought of Hilda’s feelings being hurt.
“Children? Hilda?” Michael called out in the foyer. He glanced down at his watch. It was past the
time the children went to school, and he looked around for a trace of his family. “Children? Hilda?”
Michael’s head turned in the direction of giggling. He could hear Kristina’s laughter wafting through the hallway, and he walked toward the noise. “Children?”
Michael found his three children sitting together in the informal parlor, a comfortable, intimate living area just off of the kitchen. Michael raised an eyebrow. The children never ventured into the room anymore. It had been the place where they read with their late mother, and Michael wondered why they had chosen to spend time in there today.
“What are you doing in here, children?” Michael asked as he walked through the door.
“Papa!”
Michael’s heart warmed as his three children called out his name in unison. Francis, Johnny, and Kristina leapt from the couch and ran into his arms. “Papa! Papa!”
“Well, this is a surprise,” Michael laughed as he kissed his children’s foreheads. “It’s wonderful to see you, children! I missed you!”
“Did you miss me?”
Michael turned to see Hilda sitting in an armchair in the corner. Her face was bright and her eyes were happy; she looked radiant with her long hair strewn about her shoulders, and Michael’s chest swelled with pride as he looked at his beautiful wife.
“Of course I missed you,” Michael murmured as he walked to Hilda. He helped her rise from her chair and then tucked her into his arms. Michael placed a hand on Hilda’s tiny waist, and as their chests touched, he could feel her heart beating furiously. Michael drew Hilda even closer, and he began to kiss her, slowly at first, but then with more and more passion as Hilda’s eyes closed.
“Papa! No kissing!” Kristina giggled as she ran over to her father and Hilda and wrapped her arms around their legs. “No kissing! Pay us attention!”
