“Do you understand,” I answered, meaning that was the definition of the word.
“No, I don’t understand. That’s why I asked. What’s capisce?” she asked again, this time with a slight tinge of frustration.
I was beginning to feel like I should start the ‘who’s on first’ dialog with her a la Abbott and Costello. “Depending on what inflection you use, capisce means ‘do you understand’ or ‘yes, I understand.’ Capisce?”
“Capisce!” Jenny declared. “Oh, and I got the eggs before my brothers could get them. Leo and Judah found one this morning and were trying to eat it, shell and all! But, don’t worry, I got it before they could put it in their mouths or even break it. But, they sure cried when I took it away,” she explained.
Before Jenny could catch her second wind on the tale of the two toddlers and the egg, I interrupted. “Would you ride over to your Big Sister Leah’s and ask her to come help me with Grannie? And, have your Big Brother James go to town to get Grandpa Jody.”
I liked to use family designations with the given names whenever I spoke with Jenny. She never dimmed in her delight of having a family. Pride may be a sin, but in this case, it was pure happiness, was based on the love of her new family, the close-knit group she had been deprived of in her younger years.
“Okay, I’ll take Prince Charles and ride over as fast as I can.” Jenny ran to me and grabbed me around the waist, “I love you, Mommy,” she said, then bounced over to Sarah. “I love you, Grannie.” Then she put her face down to her grandmother’s belly and spoke to the wee inhabitants within, “And I love you, too, my little aunts or uncles!” She waved broadly, grabbed a cookie off the plate on the table, saluted us with it, and bounced through the doorway, pulling the door shut softly in consideration of her napping siblings.
In all of about thirty seconds, Jenny was back. “Mommy, Mommy! Grandpa Julian is here, and he brought my sister Leah with him!” she shouted, obviously forgetting about her sleeping brothers and sister.
I scurried down the steps to intercept Julian and my eldest, and very pregnant, daughter. What was I thinking when I asked Jenny to go get her? Leah was huge and looked ready to foal at any time, too. “Leah,” I scolded aloud, “you shouldn’t be out riding!”
“Well, maybe not horseback riding,” she puffed as she approached the steps, “but I thought a wagon ride would be acceptable. I had Wesley ride over to get Julian so he could bring me here.” Leah looked right at me, and then I could see there was another reason she was here. “I wanted Sarah to, um, check me, that is if she’s up to it.”
Julian helped Leah to the porch bench seat then took the break in conversation as an opportunity to excuse himself. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll be getting back to the ranch. I sent Wesley back to Leah’s place since James is with Wallace, and Jody’s in town. He can take care of their stock while they’re gone. I don’t want to leave José by himself. We have two nannies ready to kid.”
“Well, I’d appreciate it if you’d stay here, for a few hours at least,” I asked. “Sarah’s water just broke, and I might need a hand. She’s ready to ‘kid’, too!” I joked nervously.
“You didn’t burn your hands, did you?” Julian asked, recalling his forced indenture as midwife at my delivery when Sarah burned her palms. She had grasped a hot pot while I was in labor. Julian, the man with the smallest hands among my three attendants—Jody and Wallace being the other two—was drafted into helping me bear two of my three babies that evening.
“No, my hands are fine. But, four hands are better than two,” I argued.
“Yes, and you have Leah here to help you,” Julian countered as he watched Leah move awkwardly from the bench into the house.
“Yes, and with her we have the potential for another ‘kid’ popping out real soon. Now really, Julian,” I argued, “How close do you think she could get to Sarah to pull out a baby? Did you see that gut, I mean baby belly? She’s almost as big as Sarah, and she’s only having one!”
Julian sighed, “Okay, once again, you’ve won me over with one part logic and two parts passion; I’ll stay.”
I walked with Julian to the barn to unhitch the wagon. Neither of us spoke nor needed to. I was glad I didn’t have to convince him to stay and that he hadn’t argued that he should be allowed to return home. I put out some hay for his horse while he took off the leather and brass accruements. “But, understand this,” he said suddenly, “I’m only here as the backup. I’m sure that between you and Leah, you’ll be able to take care of this. I’ll just boil water or help Jenny with the babies. Where is my godson by the way? I haven’t seen him in a month, at least.”
“It’s only been two weeks, but he misses you, too. James let him have that laminated photo of your portrait. He showed it to him when he was fussy. It calmed him right down. But, when he took it away, Judah screamed and cried so much that James let him have it back. He sneaked it away when he was asleep, but you’re not going to believe this, Judah searched for it when he woke up. ‘Poppi, Poppi,’ he screamed, and wouldn’t stop. I finally had Jenny ride over to James’s place to get it back. I made him a little pocket in his blanky to keep it safe. I’d like to take it out and put something less intriguing in its place, but he’d know the difference.”
“Yes, he’s pretty bright,” bragged Julian as he leaned on the ledge of the wooden half door, looking out at the corral.
“Yes, bright and passionate, just like his Poppi,” I replied with a smirk.
“Evie…” Julian scolded, his voice stretching the two syllables of my name into a mini lecture on propriety and good manners.
“I know, I know,” I replied, then moved over to plant a big kiss on his cheek. “But, there isn’t anyone here but the two of us. Now,” I whispered close to his face as I looked around to make sure that my second-generation silent spot, Jenny, hadn’t crept in without notice. “I want you to know that if I had come here as a gay man, I would have given José a run for his money…” I said lustily, and smacked him on the behind.
“Evie!” Julian blurted out, totally surprised and shocked. He hadn’t expected flirtation from a woman, any woman, much less his daughter-in-law. Julian had long ago accepted that I was unpredictable and had a very progressive set of morals, totally alien to this time period. But, I guess I had stepped over the line with the much too familiar fanny fanning.
I turned away from him, not wanting to hear a lecture or even see the stern look that would be the abbreviated version. “Julian, you’re hot,” I said sassily. “I just thought I’d remind you in case José hasn’t told…”
I froze. “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I paled, suddenly aware of what I had just said and done. I turned around to beg forgiveness, my mouth moving open and shut but the words stuck in my throat. The tears started to flow. “I, I don’t know why I said that. It was totally inappropriate. I, I guess I’m stressed. I mean, I meant what I said, but I shouldn’t have said it. I guess the filter on my brain mouth connection failed. Will you forgive me?” I asked with complete sincerity, my hands clutched together under my chin, essentially begging from a foot away, slowly lowering myself into a kneeling position.
Julian looked around and saw we were still alone and that I was not only distraught, I was panicked. He reached out and pulled me up from my half-lowered position, unclenching the hand I had tucked in front of my neck. He placed one arm lightly around my shoulders and pulled me close, but a respectable distance close. I heard my father-in-law tell me, “I don’t know why, but yes, I forgive you.” He released his open aired hug and looked me in the eyes, bringing up his thumb to gently wipe away the tears from my cheeks. He didn’t add anything to his words but leaned in again and placed his left hand on my right shoulder. This time, it was my peer who wiped the hair off my brow and gave me a firm and, if it was possible to be given there, passionate kiss on my forehead. His hands dropped to his side and he stepped back, ending his gesture with a nod, a wink, and a smile. I think he felt the
same way.
Ж
“I’m sure glad Leah decided to come and visit today,” Sarah told me when I came back in. She had set out a tray of fresh clouts, medical alcohol, and a small jar of oil on the little table next to the window.
“You forgot; Leah knows. She’s faster and more reliable than a cell phone. At least her powers aren’t affected by sunspots,” I added with a smile. “Now, if you think you could bend over low enough, would you check her? That’s why she came, or so she said. I’ve never done a pelvic and don’t know what to feel for.”
“Go get her,” Sarah instructed with a shrug. “She’s out there with Jenny and the babies. I’m doing fine, but I’m definitely feeling the contractions now.” My eyes opened extra wide at the new revelation. “But, I’m not ready for the breathing yet,” she answered in response to my slightly fearful stare.
I didn’t have to go far to find all of my girls in one place. Leah was making over the cute little spit curl that Jenny had put in Wren’s hair. “Jenny, I need to have Leah come with me. Now, she’s probably going to spend the night here so you’ll have lots of time together, okay?”
“’Kay,” she replied as she picked up Leo and ran her fingers through his sparse hair, obviously evaluating the chance of getting his hair into a fancy ‘do.
“Okay, up here, young lady,” Sarah called to Leah when we came in. “This is where your mother had her babies and where I’m going to have mine, God willing, and yours, too.”
“Well, I hope you have yours first,” Leah remarked as she adjusted her skirts. “I’m not ready for this, I mean…” Leah looked over to me with absolute terror in her eyes as she stopped in midsentence. I saw that she was ‘reading’ again.
She had done it many times before and told me about it just days after she got here. “It’s spooky, Mom, knowing ‘stuff’ about people. I don’t want to ‘peek’ into the private parts of their lives, but it’s just ‘there.’”
“But, it happens to you all the time, doesn’t it?” I knew Leah was psychic to a degree. Of course, there was no way I could know what it was like for her.
“I subconsciously tune out most everything, but this is different.” She leaned in to tell me what I already knew. “I ‘read’ about her in books!”
I nodded and added, “I did, too. I remember everything, I think. The first memories I had when I got to this house were of her and Jody, just like I had read in the Sinclaire novels.”
Sarah hadn’t noticed Leah’s insecurity. She had other concerns. She sighed and said in exasperation, “Now, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I thought I was ready. I’ll be right back. Damn, that’ll be the best part of not being pregnant. I’ll be able to hold my water for longer than twenty minutes at a time!” She steadied herself on the doorframe, then walked toward the privy with an exaggerated waddle that I was sure meant that one of the babies had dropped down further into the birth canal.
“What’s wrong,” I asked Leah when I was sure Sarah was out of earshot.
Leah said, “I almost asked her about her first delivery. God, I didn’t want her to have to recall it!”
“Well, she probably already has. I mean, she’s been frightened about this pregnancy ever since she found out about it.”
“Well, I definitely didn’t want her to know that I knew about the first one!”
“Yes, but since she knows that you have ‘the sight,’ she wouldn’t be shocked, at least not much, if you did know. Now, relax, okay?” I said, and helped her lie back on the chaise.
Sarah came back from her potty break. “Sorry for the delay. Looks like you’re ready.” She placed the stool at the end of the chaise between Leah’s raised knees. I held her hand as she sat down carefully.
She was willing, but not necessarily able, to perform Leah’s evaluation. She bent forward and found that her belly was in the way. She stood up again and nudged the stool with her foot to the side of the chaise where I helped her sit down again. She sat parallel to Leah, then reached in sideways, finally able to perform her awkward pelvic exam.
I stood at the head of the couch and looked in awe at Leah, my eldest, and very pregnant daughter, as she got checked. I didn’t remember her as an infant, but the bond was still there. And, now she was going to make me a grandmother. I watched as her hazel eyes widened in shock. I followed her stare. She was looking at her midwife doctor, Sarah.
Sarah never could hide her emotions, ever, and right now, she wasn’t even trying to.
“What?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you found a fist!” I hissed in fear. That had happened to me. Judah came out fine, but that wasn’t always the result.
“No, no fist,” Sarah said slowly, “but we have a lot of centimeters, about five.”
“How much effaced?” I asked.
“Um, fifty percent, I’d say. It’s kind of hard to get in there just right. I’m not used to doing an examination sidesaddle,” she said as she wiped off her hand.
“But, I could stay this way for days,” Leah argued, but with no one save herself. “Shoot, for all we know, I’ve been this way for days, weeks even!”
“Have you been having sexual relations?” Sarah asked clinically, her eyes unblinking and callous.
If I hadn’t heard the change in her tone, and seen that Sarah hadn’t moved, I’d swear another person had come into the room and swapped bodies with her.
Leah blushed, gulped, looked at me in embarrassment, and then up at Sarah.
“Never mind,” Sarah said coldly. “It doesn’t make any difference now, does it? But I hope you enjoyed it at least six weeks’ worth, because that’s the last time your husband’s…”
“Sarah!” Leah and I screeched at the same time, interrupting the completion of her description of James’s genitalia and report on their recent intimacy.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sarah said, then froze.
“Did I really just say that?” she asked after a very long moment, her face still scarlet in embarrassment.
“Well, you started to…” I replied, then paused, filling the air with an awkward emptiness. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who had an alter ego taking over with the stress of babies coming.
I took a deep breath to recover. “Hey, Leah, get up,” I announced to change the theme and atmosphere of the conversation. “Turnabout’s fair play, eh, Sarah? Let’s see if she can check you. I mean, Leah, you see how dilated and effaced, or whatever, she is, then scoot over and I’ll see, or rather feel, what all this measuring stuff is all about. I mean, I know what a centimeter is, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix, but I need a baseline…”
“Ugh,” Sarah carped, “the ultimate indignation: having my yah-yah felt up by my daughter-in-law and granddaughter.”
“Or sister and niece,” I suggested, “depending on which hat I’m wearing today. Actually, I’m feeling more sisterly than daughterly,” I said, then punched her in the upper arm.
“Well, that makes it easier. I forget sometimes that you’re really the same age as me.”
“Yeah, well try it from my point of view,” Leah interjected. “She’s my mother, my ‘biological, I came out from between those thighs’ mother, and she looks like she’s my little sister!”
“How about if I grab a few pieces of charcoal and draw old age wrinkles on my face, and maybe a wart or two; would that make you two whiners feel better?” I asked.
Sarah and Leah shared a look with each other, nodded, then answered, “Yes,” as one. Leah waddled over to the fireplace and kicked out a small piece of burnt wood. She leaned to the right, then to the left, and then tried to squat down to get it.
“Forget it!” I said after stifling my giggles for a full half minute. She looked like a monkey in a fat suit trying to reach a handful of nuts on the ground. “You’ll just have to remember who I am, because I am not painting on a mask. We don’t want to scare the babies when they come out now, do we?”
Leah tried one more time to squat down and grab the charcoal, then winced
and yelped, biting off a scream of pain.
“What happened? I asked.
“I think I pulled a muscle. I can’t move. Oh, shit! That’s what I get for trying to make you put on the mask. Shit, shit, shit! I can’t move!” she cursed through clenched jaws.
“Hold on,” I said. I ran to the door and called, “Jenny, come here, stat!” then came back to Leah’s side to see if I could help her move to the chair.
“No!” she screamed. “Sorry, I’ll just stand. It’s just a muscle spasm; it’ll pass.”
“How are you going to check Sarah then?” I asked.
“Uh, ooh, shit, I mean shoot. Jenny, what are you doing here?” she yelped, embarrassed at being caught cursing in front of her little sister, the great ‘appearing act,’ who had suddenly popped into the room.
“Mommy called me and told me to come stat. That means right away. I know lots of words. Mommy and Daddy teach me new words all the time. Daddy’s even teaching me Latin and José teaches me Spanish. “¿Como estas?” Jenny asked, showing off some of her new language skills.
“Tengo dolor, mucho dolor,” Leah replied haltingly. “That means I’m in a lot of pain. Would you help me to the chair, la silla?”
“Okay,” Jenny said, and moved in next to her arm. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Your face looks funny. Is the baby hurting you? Grannie says her babies kick her something fierce. But, they don’t hurt, not really.”
“No, my baby isn’t hurting me any more than usual. I just bent over the wrong way and pulled a muscle. Help me sit down over here, would you?” Leah asked haltingly in between yelps of pain.
It took Jenny and me a couple of minutes to get it accomplished, but Leah was finally seated. “Nobody talk for a minute, please,” she asked, her face flushed from the pain. She shut her eyes, cautiously straightened her back, then carefully set the back of her hands on her knees, or as close as she could get to them. She touched her middle fingertips to the ends of her thumbs in the classic yoga pose of peace. “Ah ohm, ah ohm,” she chanted between deep, calming breaths.
The Great Big Fairy Page 6
