“We can leave tomorrow,” he promised, blinking away his own tears.
ELI
It was a cold morning, but December was still a good time of year to catch a few lethargic bass. With the right kind of bait, the fish would be eager to bite. Located a mile downstream from the winter camp was a small lake with a few warmer pockets where the fish tended to congregate. After two hours spent shivering on the edge of the water, Eli and Jed walked home with a full basket. When they arrived at camp, Lily ran up to Eli with her chubby arms held out.
“Fishies!” she squealed as Eli scooped up the toddler.
“You like that, Lily?” he asked. “We can have fish tonight.”
He lifted the lid of the basket and showed her its contents. She wiggled out of his arms, giggling, and ran to Goldie, babbling about fish in an indecipherable baby language. He scanned the camp, noting Ada’s absence.
“She’s not up yet?” he asked as he handed Rosa the basket.
Rosa shook her head. “I haven’t seen her all morning. She didn’t come out for breakfast, but we left some for her.”
“She wasn’t feeling well yesterday,” Eli said. “Maybe some extra sleep will help.” He and Jed put their poles away. After washing his hands, he sat by the fire and worked on his doll heads.
Last summer had been another good season for sales, making it necessary for Eli and Ada to increase their inventory again. All the merchants had been able to travel to the markets that year, including Ira’s family. Goldie stayed at the vardo with her two younger children, but Sammy, who was almost nine, ran their table with his father. Ira and Goldie’s children were growing up quickly! It was hard to believe it had already been four and a half years since Eli and Ada had first met the caravan. Yet, at the same time, it seemed as though they had always been with them.
After several minutes of carving, Eli decided to check on Ada. He set his project aside and walked over to their vardo. Once inside, he pulled back the curtain that divided the bed from the rest of their home and gently rubbed her shoulder.
“Hey, are you going to get up today?” he asked. Ada stretched and asked what time it was. “It’s after ten,” he said. “Rosa left some breakfast out for you.”
Ada covered her nose with her blanket. “Ugh, you smell like fish!” she complained. “I don’t think I’m hungry.”
Eli laughed. “Wow, Miss Grumpy! I just got back from fishing with Jed. I guess you do need more sleep.” He started to walk to the door, but Ada threw back the covers.
“No, I’ll get up.” She got out of bed and wrapped herself in a shawl. Eli held the door open for her.
“Well, there she is!” Hattie called out.
Ada took a few steps toward the fire and then hesitated. She turned and reached for Eli as her eyes rolled back, and she began to fall. He caught her and called to Rosa. As he lowered her to the ground, Rosa and Hattie ran to the couple. The rest of the merchants jumped up as concern for the girl swept through the group. The women knelt beside Ada as her eyes fluttered back into consciousness.
“Are you okay?” Eli asked. “Rosa, what’s wrong with her? Is she sick?”
“Let’s get her back to bed,” the woman suggested. Helping Ada up, the three of them walked her back into the vardo. Rosa sat her on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead while the other two looked on.
“I don’t think she ate supper last night,” Hattie said as she opened the cupboards. She found some bread and tore off a large piece. Ada shook her head and put the back of her hand up to her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. As Eli rubbed her back, her face turned a slight shade of grey. She stiffened and tried to push him away. Her eyes popped open, and there was a quick glance between the older women. Hattie grabbed a bowl from the counter and shoved it into the girl’s hands. Ada leaned forward, but the feeling seemed to pass.
“Eat some bread,” Rosa ordered. “I think it will help.” Ada nibbled at the bread and her color slowly returned.
“Is she sick?” Eli asked again.
Rosa shook her head. “No, she doesn’t have a fever. Ada, is it possible you’re expecting?”
“Expecting what?” Eli said. Hattie snickered, but he didn’t see what was so funny about any of this!
Ada’s eyes widened. “Oh, Rosa…” she began, turning pale this time instead of grey.
“Wait, a baby?” The color faded from Eli’s face.
“Now he gets it,” Hattie said, laughing louder.
“Ada, are we going to have a baby?” he asked. A grin spread over his face as he sat down.
Ada looked at Rosa, who smiled and asked some questions related to her symptoms. Rosa then said she was sure of it; they could expect their baby to arrive sometime toward the end of July or early August. Eli laughed as he hugged Ada, and her energy seemed to return. They began discussing what ought to be done regarding the next market season.
Rosa insisted they stay in the winter camp with her. “Someone else can sell the dolls, Eli. Ada is having your baby here.” He nodded, and they continued to talk of the future as they held each other. “Keep eating that bread,” Rosa encouraged. “It will settle your stomach. I’m sure everyone is worried. Should I tell them about the baby, or would you like to?”
They asked her to tell the others and chose to stay in their vardo. They wanted to let the news sink in for a bit. Rosa and Hattie each gave them a hug before leaving the couple to their planning.
When they were alone, Ada glanced at Eli. “You don’t mind missing the markets?” she asked.
Eli smiled and shook his head. “We’re having a baby, Ada! I couldn’t be happier.”
ADA
It was March twenty-sixth, Eli’s twenty-first birthday. Ada had been full of energy earlier, but by this time of night, her swelling body was usually tired. When Eli first noticed how drained she felt in the evenings, he insisted they start going to bed early. Of course, they always stayed awake and talked for an hour or two longer, but being alone in the vardo was relaxing.
“Thank you for the raspberry tart,” Eli said as he propped himself on his elbow next to her.
She leaned closer to him. “They weren’t fresh raspberries, though,” she said with a slight hint of regret. “Preserves were the best I could do.”
He put his hand on her growing belly. “Well, at least they weren’t under-ripe,” he said, winking. She thought about the time he brought her berries while they were hiding in the woods. She recalled their sweetly sour taste, and her heart warmed at the memory. “No, it was perfect,” he reassured her. The baby pushed against his touch. He smiled and rubbed her stomach.
“He’s wishing his daddy a happy birthday,” she said.
“He? Do you think it’s a boy?” Eli asked.
Ada shrugged. “I don’t really know. Hattie said I’m carrying low, and Bea said that proved I’m having a boy. But Rosa told her not to fill my head with silly wives’ tales. I guess the only way to know for certain is to wait until the baby is born.”
“Then we better have two names picked out,” he said. “I thought a pretty girl’s name could be Ruth Ann.”
Ada smiled. “After our mothers. I love it. And if we have a boy, we could name him after our fathers.”
“I thought of that, also,” Eli admitted.
“William Arthur,” she said. As they smiled, the baby kicked again. “Oh, ho! He likes the name!” Ada laughed. “Maybe it is a boy.” Eli continued to rub her stomach and coo through her nightgown at the baby tumbling inside her. “I think you love my big, fat stomach more than me,” she teased.
“I love this baby,” he said. “And I love you, too. You’ll be a good mother, Ada.”
Her face grew pensive and she glanced down. “Sometimes I’m scared, though,” she confessed. “I know I shouldn’t be, but I want to protect our baby from all the awful things out there. It feels overwhelming when I think about what might have happened to us. Even our parents couldn’t protect us.”
“And we couldn’t protec
t them,” Eli said, sitting up. “We can’t think about those things, Ada. It’ll just shut us down and stop us from living. I know it’s hard, but we have to trust God.”
“I do trust Him, but that doesn’t always make the fear go away. I have a head and I have a heart, but they don’t always agree. Sometimes my feelings don’t match my thinking.”
“Well, that’s one of the things we need to pray about,” he pointed out. “Can I pray for you now?” She nodded. They closed their eyes and put their foreheads together. Eli placed a warm hand on her stomach. “Lord,” he began quietly. “You are a good Father, and we know you love us. Thank you for this baby! Please give us the wisdom to be the best parents we can be. Help us keep our child safe and show us how to trust you with the things we can’t control. Please bring peace between our hearts and our minds, so our focus can always stay on you. In Jesus’ name, we lay our hearts, our minds, and our baby at your feet. Amen.” Eli smiled at Ada as she leaned in and kissed him.
“Thank you,” she said. They turned down the lantern and snuggled into bed. Ada slept comfortably in Eli’s safe arms and God’s peaceful embrace.
Ada carried a basket of clothes down the path leading to the river. Normally, the women washed their clothes together, but she didn’t want to wait. Even though the others would be doing their laundry in a few days, she was restless and decided to do hers today, hoping to get her mind off the uncomfortable clenching in her middle. It wasn’t exactly painful, but it was distracting enough to stop her whenever it happened. It was only the end of April; she wasn’t looking forward to another three months of this!
She mentioned the sensation to Rosa, who said it was probably just her body practicing for the delivery. It was fine, as long as it didn’t hurt. After asking her a few more questions, though, she suggested Ada take it easy and rest, as a precaution. Perhaps Ada was imagining it, but something in Rosa’s eyes looked concerned, more than her calm voice portrayed. It was difficult to ignore the nagging suspicion that Rosa was worried.
Washing a small basket of clothes might help her refocus her thoughts. The delicate items needed cold water, and she could easily wash them in the river. It shouldn’t use up too much of her energy. At least this was something she could still do. Eli already did more of her work than she wanted; she would feel bad if he had to start doing their laundry as well.
When Ada reached the river, she placed the basket on the ground and knelt on a large rock hanging over the creek. She grabbed an item out of the basket and scrubbed soap into the garment. After rubbing the fabric together to loosen the dirt, she rinsed it thoroughly in the water. As she placed it on the rock, her insides tightened up again. She sat back on her heels to wait it out. When her muscles had relaxed, she noticed an area farther down the river that was more convenient for washing clothes.
She put the wet item back in the basket and stood up, but her foot slipped and splashed into the river. She landed hard on her heel and it sent a shock through her whole body. Her heart skipped a beat. That was close! The thought of falling and landing on her stomach made her shiver. Maybe she shouldn’t be out here by herself. Before she could step out of the river, a surge of intense pain grew in her abdomen and spread out, engulfing her completely. She doubled over and grabbed her belly. Her eyes dimmed at the height of the pain, and a low moan escaped her as she rode the slowly subsiding wave to its end.
A seed of dread began to grow in her mind as she picked up the basket and walked toward camp, giving up her plans to launder anything. Farther along the path, another rush of pain swept over her, forcing her to stop. She held onto a tree for support and fought the panic that threatened to grip her. This did not feel right! Once again, the pain receded, and she continued to work her way back to camp.
She walked faster, but it only triggered another flood of pain, this time so intense that she dropped the basket and feared she might fall over. Tears came to her eyes, blurring her vision.
“Please, God, make it stop…” was all she could manage to pray. She needed to get back to camp; she needed to find Rosa. As the pain faded, Ada stumbled forward again, leaving the overturned basket behind her.
ELI
Eli held up the wood and studied the design he was carving. He was making a cradle, and this would be the headboard. He could have left it plain; he knew he should be working on merchandise for the markets, but he didn’t want to. He was excited to be a father and it influenced what he chose to work on.
In less than a month, the caravan would travel the summer markets. He and Ada would stay at the winter camp with Jed and Rosa, like they had done when Eli built their vardo, but this time they would be having their baby!
Tony agreed to help the couple sell their merchandise at his table. Two weeks ago, they had packed up most of it and were storing it in his and Grandma Mae’s vardo. Eli wasn’t concerned about adding to the merchandise; whatever sold was fine with him. He had other things on his mind, and he didn’t care about the money. He was already going to be making less than he did last summer since he was planning to give half of it to Tony for helping them. His focus was on the baby’s arrival.
Many of his other projects had fallen to the wayside that spring, including the one that took him into town every week. But they were safe where they were; he could pick them up again in the fall. The cradle, however, was a project that couldn’t wait.
As he sat by the fire with his back toward the river, he continued to carve on the wood held between his knees. Rosa and Jed sat across from him, whispering together. Suddenly, there was a shift in their mood, causing them to stand.
“Oh, no!” Rosa gasped, looking past Eli. He turned to see Ada holding herself up against the shed as she cradled her stomach. The color had drained from her face, which twisted in a grimace of pain. Eli’s gut plummeted as he jumped up, dropped the headboard, and ran to her. When he got to her side, she seemed to recover but was shaky and weak. She leaned into him as Rosa reached them.
“When did your contractions start, Ada?” she asked, holding onto her other arm. She motioned Eli toward their vardo.
“While I was at the river. I slipped on a rock just before they started. Is this my fault?” Speaking the question aloud caused an onset of new tears.
“No, honey. Of course not!” Rosa reassured her. “Did you fall?” Ada shook her head.
“She can’t be having the baby yet,” Eli said. “It’s too soon. Can you stop it, Rosa?” His voice wavered.
“We’re going to try,” she promised. Jed held the door open and they helped her to the bed. Rosa grabbed Eli’s arm and led him a few steps away. “You need to be calm,” she said in a low voice. “Try to help her relax. I need some things from my vardo, I’ll be right back.” He nodded and went back to comfort her.
“Eli!” she said and held her breath while another wave of pain gripped her. He felt helpless as she squeezed his hand. The pain faded and she let out her breath in short gasps. “I’m sorry,” she said between her panting. Eli rubbed her hand.
“Look at me,” he said. “You’re going to be okay.” He didn’t sound convincing, but she hung onto every word. “Breathe with me.” He inhaled and exhaled slowly as she followed his lead. Jed started a fire in the woodstove and lit the lanterns. Rosa and Hattie reentered the vardo, each with an armful of supplies.
“Oh good! You started a fire,” Rosa said as Hattie set a pot of water on the stove. They placed the supplies on the table, and Rosa handed a small, brown bottle to Eli. “Rub this onto her stomach; it’s lavender oil. It might help stop the contractions.” She turned to Jed. “Time for you to leave, my love.” She held onto his arm and steered him toward the door. As Jed stepped out of the vardo, Eli heard Rosa whisper: “The best help now is for all of you to pray.”
While Rosa washed her hands, Eli turned his attention back to Ada. She uncovered her round belly for him. Her skin was hot to the touch, and as he rubbed oil onto her stomach, he felt it clench tighter than an angry fist. She moaned thro
ugh another contraction. He wanted to make it all end! He wanted to take away her pain, but he knew he couldn’t.
Rosa, Hattie, and Eli continued to soothe her as the minutes stretched into hours. Rosa had Ada kneel in different positions in an attempt to relieve the pressure that might be causing her early labor. Nothing seemed to help. Hattie brought a warm mug to her and placed it in her hand, encouraging her to drink.
“Sip on this, Sweetie. Nettle leaf tea has been known to slow down labor,” she explained. Ada nodded and brought the mug to her lips.
“Try not to tense up,” Rosa said in a soothing voice. “We need to stop your contractions.”
Ada closed her eyes and let out a slow breath as Eli rubbed her shoulders. She tried to sip her tea, but her face scrunched up again; another contraction took over. Eli shook his head in frustration and took the mug away before it spilled. He caught the concerned look that passed between Rosa and Hattie. As he set the mug down, his hand trembled.
“All right, Ada. It’s time to let me check you,” Rosa said. “Eli, maybe you should wait with the others.”
“No, I’m not leaving,” he insisted.
She considered him for a moment and then nodded. “Fine. But you’ve cut yourself with one of your tools. Go wash your hands.”
He looked down; the side of his knuckle on his left hand was gouged and covered in dried blood. The tool he was using earlier must have slipped when he saw Ada stumble into camp. He had been too distracted to notice. He poured some warm water from the stove into a basin and washed his hands. The soap caused his knuckle to sting, but it was nothing compared to what Ada was feeling. He closed his eyes, trying to push away his emotions. Ada wouldn’t be able to calm down if she knew he was upset.
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