West From Fair Hill (A Refuge in Fair Hill Book 3)

by Faith Elizabeth Cummings

  But before he could answer, she was seized with another contraction.

  She delivered the afterbirth, but the contractions continued.

  “I think I was right,” Barbara said smiling at her aunt after another examination. “There’s another baby coming.”

  Alan dropped into a chair, seeming to lose strength in his legs.

  “Barbara, are you saying twins?” he asked as she took the now sleeping baby and put him gently in the cradle nearby.

  “yes, and thee needs to help Aunt Sheila.”

  He resumed his position behind Sheila and held her again as she gave birth to the second child. this one was a girl, and just as healthy as her brother.

  Barbara repeated the same Actions as before, then laid the baby on her mother’s chest.

  “We have a daughter too.” Sheila said wearily. “You can name this one, but please not Sheila.” she added, looking at Alan.

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” Alan said looking down at mother and child.

  Barbara took the baby, washed and wrapped her in pink.

  “Well, they’re both beautiful!” She said handing Alan the baby.

  “Here’s thy daughter.”

  Alan held her close for a moment, looking down at the small face, unbelievingly.

  “We will call her Hope,” he said after a silence. “She is Hope.”

  Sheila smiled her agreement as she delivered the afterbirth, and Barbara cleaned her up with gentle hands.

  Alan helped Sheila to a chair while the bed was changed and remade. She was put into a clean nightgown by Barbara, and was soon propped up in bed, with a baby on each arm.

  ‘I wish we had a camera.” Alan said gazing at the scene fondly.

  “We have an artist. Shall I go and get him?” Barbara asked as she finished tidying the room. “Thee is going to need our cradle anyway.”

  They all laughed then, and Barbara left them to go to her farm for Paul.

  Paul entered, sketchbook in hand, but stopped speechless on the threshold of their room. “I didn’t tell him.” Barbara said laughing with Alan and Sheila at Paul’s reaction.

  “No, she surely didn’t.” Paul agreed. “This is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen, Aunt Sheila, Uncle Alan, this is a huge miracle.”

  “Yes, it is.” Sheila agreed. “Meet Alan and Hope.” she said.

  Paul took a chair near her and began to draw the scene before him. When he had finished, he showed Sheila the picture.

  “Very well done.” she said happily. “Can you send a copy to your family for me?”

  “Yes, I’d be happy to. Congratulations.” he said squeezing her hand. “I’d give thee a hug, but thee is pretty well occupied at the moment,”

  He then rose and hugged Alan warmly. “I’m very happy for thee both.” he said fervently.

  “It seems that Barbara and Sheila knew that it might be twins and didn’t tell me.” Alan said teasingly.

  “I didn’t want to get thy hopes up and then dash them if I was wrong.” Barbara defended herself.

  “And I didn’t quite believe it could be true.” Sheila said laughing.

  “Well, this is one of the best days of my life.” Alan announced. “So I don’t care if you kept it to yourselves.”

  “I brought the other cradle. Paul remembered. “I left it downstairs. It will have to be cleaned up a bit before thee can use it.”

  “Bring it up and I’ll fix it.” Barbara told him, so he went and brought it up to her. She cleaned it up well, then lined it with blankets as the other one was, and they put the babies in each one.

  Sheila drank some hot tea and broth, then fell asleep as they all went downstairs.

  “Mike and Lyddy will never believe this.” Alan said as they sat in the kitchen and Barbara fixed a meal for Alan.

  After he had eaten, Paul and Barbara returned to their family, and Alan wrote a few letters to Fair Hill before doing his chores and then coming up to get some rest. He found Sheila and the twins sleeping peacefully, and soon joined them.

  The next morning, they were wakened by the cries of two hungry babies. Alan was just lifting the first from the cradle when Barbara appeared at the bedroom door.

  “I thought they might be stirring about now.” she said bustling in. “I want to make sure they will nurse.”

  She handed one of the children to Sheila and showed her how to nurse the child. She then did her best to calm the other twin, until Sheila had finished feeding the first one. Then they switched and Sheila fed the second one, who happened to be Hope.

  “Thee will need help for the first few days, maybe even weeks.” Barbara told Sheila. “But thee will be fine. I’m proud of how well thee is doing.”

  “Sheila gave her a smile. “I am sure I can do this, with your help and Alan’s.” she said confidently.

  “Lyddy can help too, and she will gladly come to thy aid.” Barbara assured her.

  The next few weeks were busy ones, as the harvest was finished, and everyone had their work to do. Sheila managed to help as much as possible while taking care of two healthy babies. Lyddy and Mike were eager to help and glad to welcome the two newest children into the community. The Meeting too was excited to have them, and everyone rallied around the Scotts. This was a chance for Alan and Sheila to give back too, by helping those who helped them.

  As September ended, and October came with its crisp days and coming cold, Sheila and Alan were drawn more and more into the Mapleton community. It seemed to them that they had always been here. The life before seemed like a dream, or a story of someone else. Working together to raise the children, and melding their lives with the community brought them closer to one another and to everyone around them.

  Sheila sat in her living room one quiet afternoon, the children asleep upstairs, and some handwork in her hands. She thought of how things had changed for her in the past few months. She reflected that her life had a purpose, and she had true friends around her, who honestly cared about her. She marveled at how much her life had changed since that dark day years ago when she had first become so ill.

  Back then, her days were full, but it seemed that they were full of emptiness. The activity around her then was shallow and meaningless. But these days were different. Everything she did had a reason, a purpose, and most of what she did was for someone else, as well as for herself. She felt needed and loved, not for what she could give financially, but for who she was, and how she could contribute to the common good of their family. And the best thing of all was that at the center of her life and all of those around her was Jesus. He ruled and reigned over her life, and she knew that it would always be that way. When she surrendered everything to him, he heaped blessings on her like warm quilts in January. She was His and all of those she loved were His. Through Him, Their lives had been changed, and would never again be the same. She breathed a sigh, containing two words, which summed up everything she was feeling.

  “Thank you!”