Home Is Wherever You Are

by Rose von Barnsley

  “Mr. Martin, what do you plan to do with the fifty thousand dollars that’s been donated?”

  My jaw dropped. “What?” I was shocked.

  “The fifty thousand dollars that’s been donated to you by various sources after your family’s story aired three days ago.”

  “Are you serious? People really donated that much? Holy cow!” I was floored. The reporters were all giggling about it. I finally pulled myself together. “Well, heck, maybe I can stay home for my wife and daughter’s recovery. That’s quite a relief. I was really stressing about it. I mean, one kid with two arms is hard to do, and I was going to have to leave my pregnant wife with one arm and three kids. I just didn’t see that turning out well, you know?” I said, causing a ripple of chuckles through the crowd.

  “So, Mr. Martin, you weren’t aware of the money?”

  “Well, no. I‘d heard about there being donations on the news, but I’d been too worried about my family to really pay close attention to it all.”

  “Are you aware that UT has donated scholarships to all four, or should we say three and half, of your kids, as well as you and your wife?”

  “NO FREAKING WAY! Addy’s gonna flip! She was taking classes before, and we talked about me going back some day. Wow! That’s just…WOW! Even my babies, that, that’s just amazing,” I said, completely touched.

  “Yes, the president of the school found out your wife was studying to be a social worker as well as adopting. After seeing how far you two will go and how deeply you love the children you take in, he said he just had to be sure you were all given the chance to get your degrees. He stated that he knew you’d do a lot of good with them.”

  I smiled so widely with grateful tears in my eyes. “You let him know, I promise to do good every chance I get.”

  That would be one promise I would gladly keep.

  Chapter 39 - The Good Life

  I stayed home with my family for the next three months. The first six weeks was to help care for my wife and daughter, and then the last six weeks was to welcome our son, Abraham, home. His appearance, though expected, didn’t feel planned at all. It didn’t matter that we had every route to the hospital planned, or the bag packed, or the fact that we took the Lamaze class. When my wife woke up, gripping my arm like she was going to rip it off, I panicked. I had never seen her in so much pain in my life, and I freaked out.

  Thank heavens Daniel only lived a few houses down. I ran down to his house in my underwear, banging on his door like a madman. He flung it open, and when he saw my appearance, he grabbed his gun, ready to kill anyone upsetting his family.

  “The baby’s coming!” I screamed in his face. I saw a few house lights come on next door, but I was too panicked to feel bad for disturbing the peace.

  When we were rushing back to the house, Joe Riley stepped out on the porch. “That’s a good pair for ya tonight. Always be prepared,” he said with a nod and then went back into the house.

  I was completely confused, but then Daniel’s chuckling caught my attention. He was looking at my boxers. They were covered in squirrels and said “Hold my nuts” on them.

  “You need to put some pants on, boy,” Daniel snickered at me.

  I ran back inside to find Addy standing by the kitchen table, hanging on to the back of a chair, trying to breathe through a contraction. Her bag was on the ground next to her. “This is it, this isn’t a practice run,” she groaned.

  We had been to the hospital two other times when she’d had contractions, but neither time did they become regular, or make her cry out in pain.

  Daniel kissed my wife’s head and helped me get her to the car. He would stay with the kids, until he got a hold of my mom and Leon.

  I peeled out of the driveway, with Addy gritting her teeth next to me. “How far apart are they?” I asked.

  “I don’t know!” she shouted at me. They were a lot closer than I thought they should be. We thankfully pulled up to the hospital just after she’d had a contraction, giving us a small window to walk inside. Of course, once she stepped through the doors, she was gripping my arm and doing her best to breathe through another one. The nurse hurried over with a wheelchair.

  The nurse got her set up on the bed and checked her. “You’re dilated to a three,” she informed us.

  I thought Addy would explode. “WHAT! That’s wrong! You check again and come back with a better number that’s not three!” she shouted, pointing to the machine that monitored the contractions.

  Another contraction hit, stopping her tirade. The nurse let her know that since this was her first baby, she would be in labor for a while.

  We had learned in Lamaze, the average first birth took up to fourteen hours. I think Addy was hoping to have slept through most of hers.

  Dr. Stewart came in to let us know she was here.

  “Your nurse is messed up,” Addy growled.

  Dr. Stewart looked confused.

  I answered her silent question before she could ask. “She said she was only dilated to three.”

  “You check again! That’s not right. It has to be more,” Addy cried. I went to her side and kissed her head.

  “I’ll check again, if it’ll make you feel better.”

  Addy nodded her head yes, as she cried softly, only to be stopped by another contraction. I held her through it, helping her breathe, as Dr. Stewart snapped on her gloves. Once the contraction was over, Dr. Stewart quickly checked my wife. “You’re making progress, honey, you’re at a loose four. That means almost a five, you’re halfway there,” she encouraged.

  It was no use, though. My wife burst into tears and started crying harder, only to be stopped by another contraction. “I can’t do this,” she said, looking up at me so defeated. “I can’t have this baby.”

  Dr. Stewart came up and took Addy’s hand once she removed her gloves. “I know you wanted to do this naturally, honey, but I think you should consider using some drugs. We can do some intravenous ones that’ll just dull the pain.”

  I nodded yes at the doctor and looked at my exhausted wife. “You need help to get through this, baby.”

  She turned her face into my side and cried, but then said okay, just as another contraction started ramping up.

  The nurse came in with an IV bag and started hooking it up to the one my wife already had. “This will help you relax, honey,” the nurse tried to comfort her.

  It was eight hours later that our son, Abraham Matthew Martin, finally made it into the world. My beautiful wife was exhausted, leaving me to hold my sweet little boy while she rested. He was so tiny, though the doctor said he was a good size at eight pounds three ounces. I sat down, resting in the little chair in the corner of her room, looking down at my son sleeping in my arms. He was perfect and just amazing.

  There was a light knock on the door, and my mother poked her head in. She saw Addy sleeping and tiptoed into the room and put her hands out, begging for my son. I handed him over gently. “He’s beautiful, Matthew,” my mother said with tears in her eyes.

  I got up, giving her the seat. She settled in, snuggling my boy, who squirmed in her arms, letting out a yawn. His tiny mouth made the cutest little pucker.

  “How are the kids? Were they okay when they woke up this morning?”

  “Genny was a little nervous you weren’t there, but I told her you’d be coming home soon with a new baby. She was excited. I’m going to swing by the store and buy her a new baby doll as well, so she can practice her baby holding skills. I know she has a baby doll, but I want to get her a more realistic one.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy with anything you give her. I picked out some stuff from the dollar store for the kids, so when people give us presents for the baby, we can help them not feel so left out. I think they’ll be alright.”

  “They’ll be fine, Matthew. Adam and Gabby both are old enough to understand and are excited to meet little Abraham. Leon is going to bring them in after dinner to meet their new little brother.”

 
We heard Addy cough, and I looked up just in time to see her cringe and grab her tummy. I hurried to her side, kissing her temple. “Are you okay, baby?”

  “Yeah, I just have a sore tummy,” she said, leaning back and letting out a sigh. “Now, where’s my little man?”

  My mom brought my son over and put him in my wife’s arms. He turned his little nose into her and then started rooting around with his eyes closed. “He smells momma and is looking for food,” my mother said. My wife started feeding my son, only flinching a little when he latched on. I was grateful she was nursing him. I had seen the price of formula, and it would cost a small fortune for that luxury.

  Two days later, I brought my wife and son home to a house full of very hyper children. Kelly had been telling them about being quiet and not jumping on their mom. Adam, ever the big brother, did his best to enforce this rule, usually by shouting, “BE QUIET! The baby is sleeping.” He would whisper the last part. Thankfully, the kids were able to be sent upstairs to play in their rooms, leaving the downstairs relatively quiet, other than the occasional thumping on the ceiling.

  We set a bassinette up in our bedroom. My mother told me my wife would heal faster if I let her sleep more often, so her body could rest and recover. I did my best to keep the kids busy and at bay. I did take them on a few calls with me to some child-friendly homes, but that ended up being a disaster. The girls fought and hit each other with their tools. Adam tried to break it up, but he ended up getting a tooth knocked out. Needless to say, the kids were a little high-strung, since their mom was out of commission.

  By her six-week checkup, Addy was doing well and had started physical therapy for her shoulder. Dr. Stewart introduced us to Dr. Smith, who just happened to need some work done around his house. He worked with my girl on the barter system. My mother would watch the kids, while I took her to her appointments. We would take little Abraham with us, because the three older kids were definitely a handful on their own. Addy said she would be fine once Gabby and Adam started kindergarten in the fall.

  At the end of her therapy, they wrapped her arm against her chest and gave her some pain medicine, so the work she had done wouldn’t hurt so much. I helped her get settled in bed and positioned the baby to eat. We had been doing this for a while, and it was getting tedious according to Addy. She wanted her arm back already.

  The state insured the children for us. Our income was low enough, and when it came time to pay taxes, I was grateful we’d had that fifty thousand dollars given to us, or we would have been in a world of hurt. I had set money aside to pay taxes, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Thankfully, we had four children to claim on our taxes as well, which dropped it a bit, but we still ended up paying twelve thousand dollars in taxes. I decided after that, I needed to take some accounting classes to be sure I was doing everything right.

  I enrolled in night classes and went after dinner. My mom would pop in on those three days and help Addy with the kids, while I went to school. She got them ready for bed, while Addy took care of the baby. When I would get home at night, I would stay up and do my homework.

  Come August, Addy was back to using her shoulder, and little Abraham was pushing six montha old and scooting around on his bum. Mrs. Baker wanted to help us out, so she spent a small fortune on school supplies for Adam and Gabby. She also bought a few little coloring books and preschool supplies for Genny, along with her own little backpack to keep it all in, so she wouldn’t feel left out. Kelly insisted on buying clothes for them all, which really helped us get through the back-to-school crunch. We were very blessed to have such wonderful friends.

  The first day of school, we took a bunch of pictures of the kids. Adam and Gabby ended up in the same class, which I didn’t mind. I knew he would look out for his sister, and she would look out for him as well. David was in second grade, but he went to the same school, so Darlene and Addy decided to carpool.

  Later that evening, Addy and I were sitting on the sofa watching television, having finally gotten the kids settled into bed. Abraham was almost asleep in her arms, still nursing away. I looked over at her, and she smiled back at me.

  “Four is good, right?” It seemed like we had more kids than most people. Not that I didn’t love each one, but some days, it just seemed like a lot of work.

  She giggled. “Long day, honey?”

  “Yeah.” The kids seemed extra cranky after a day at school. Little Genny was going crazy, because she didn’t have anyone to play with, and when they did come home, they weren’t in the mood to play.

  “Kelly and Jason have decided to try for a baby,” Addy informed me.

  “Yeah?” That wasn’t really surprising. Kelly seemed to have had a good time helping us shop for school stuff for the kids. She and Jason also babysat for us on Saturdays, so we could get our grocery shopping done without the kids. Grocery shopping with hungry goats would have been easier than shopping with four little kids.

  “Darlene’s little Georgie is getting older as well. They’re talking about having another one, too.” She was beginning to worry me. Little Abraham was only going on seven months.

  “Were done, right?” I asked.

  She shrugged.

  “Addy?”

  “Well, we haven’t been using anything to stop me from getting pregnant,” she warned, and my eyes widened in panic. I didn’t think I could handle another baby right now. Besides, I wouldn’t know where to put it!

  “Are you…?”

  She started laughing at me. “Matthew, thank heavens I’m not. The way you’re acting, I would’ve been a mess.”

  I let out a relieved sigh. “So, should I make an appointment for you to see Dr. Stewart?”

  “What kind of appointment?” she asked sharply.

  “You know, to get you on birth control or something.” I thought that would have been obvious.

  “Matthew, it took us nearly three years to get pregnant with Abraham. Do you really want to risk not being able to get pregnant when we’re ready to try again?”

  “Try again? Addy, we have four kids! We can’t have more. Where would we put them?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me and shifted our sleeping son in her arms. He let out a large belch, making me proud.

  I needed to take a softer approach if I didn’t want to end up on the couch. “Honey, I know you love children, but I just don’t know how we’re going to financially survive having more. We’re barely making it now. Besides, I thought you were going to go to school?”

  She let out a huff and looked down at the baby in her arms. “We can’t both go to school right now. Why don’t you get your degree in accounting, and when you’re done, Abraham will be old enough to go to work with you, and little Genny will be going to school by then.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to do anything to prevent you from getting pregnant again?” I asked gently this time. She might not have been pregnant now, but nursing had left her hormones just as volatile.

  “Well, if you want to wear a condom, I won’t stop you,” she said with finality.

  I guess I would be bagging it.

  Chapter 40 - Ebb and Flow

  Working while going to school was really taking its toll on me. Addy was at her wits’ end some days. Could you believe they gave kindergarteners homework? Apparently, Adam wasn’t very fond of writing, and she often broke down and begged me to sit with him. I didn’t know why it made a difference, but it did to him.

  I started taking Genny on more calls, and she was pretty well behaved, since her siblings weren’t there to beat with the tools.

  The dentist had said Adam was getting ready to lose the tooth Genny had knocked out, so he should wait for the new one to come in on its own. We had spent a small fortune for him to tell us we didn’t need him. Yeah, that was frustrating.

  Between me staying home for three months, taxes and doctor bills, our savings was dropping fast. My frustration peaked, when I went to start my truck, and it just sputtered. I dropped my head on the steering
wheel, feeling defeated. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I would probably have to replace the truck. I was worried about buying a new one and taking on another monthly payment.

  Kyle called, wondering why I hadn’t met him at our latest job site, and I told him my truck had broken down. He came by and picked me up, giving me a worried look. “You going to be alright, man?”

  I let out a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about the truck. It was lucky we just happened to be on the same job today, but usually, we’re at different houses.” We were re-siding Mr. Jones’ home.

  “I’ll just pick you up the next few days, until you’re mobile again.”

  I huffed in frustration. “Addy isn’t going to like getting rid of her truck.”

  “Why get rid of it? Can’t you just fix it?”

  “It’s a classic truck. I don’t have the proper tools, Kyle. Besides, I’m no mechanic, and I’m not experienced with engines. I suppose I could look up the manual or something at the library. In the end, it’d probably take too long, and there’d be no guarantee I could get it right.”

  “You could take it to someone.”

  “It’d probably cost more than the truck is worth to fix it. Dang thing probably needs a new engine,” I sighed, sliding down in my seat. “Honestly, I’m amazed it’s lasted this long.”

  The car was quiet for a moment, and then Kyle spoke again, but cautiously. “I could ask Darlene to look at it.”

  “What?” I asked confused.

  “Darlene, she’s a certified mechanic. She has all the tools in our shed.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked shocked.

  “Yes,” he said a little defensively.

  “How did I not know she was a mechanic?” I asked appalled. Had I been so self-involved that I had completely missed out on my friends’ lives?