A Child's Christmas Wish

by Erica Vetsch

Jerking like a statue suddenly come to life, Oscar shook himself. “Wait here and I’ll bring the wagon around.” He held out his hands. “Don’t do anything until I get back.”

  He vaulted the porch railing and rounded the church. He would be back soon, so why was Kate feeling so scared and abandoned right now?

  * * *

  The baby was coming.

  That was the only thought Oscar could muster as he urged the horses into a steady trot. Every few seconds, he checked back over his shoulder to where Kate lay on the straw. Inge patted her hand, and Kate protested that she wasn’t sick. The pain wasn’t bad, and they were all overreacting.

  And the panic he’d been suppressing grew claws and hiked its way up his rib cage.

  Martin leaned close. “Do you think I should ride into Mantorville for the doctor?”

  “No, you should stay at the house and do whatever the women need—heat water or keep the fire stoked or... I don’t know. I’ll go for the doc.” Oscar slapped the lines again. If he had known she was going to start the baby, there was no way he would’ve let her take so much as a single step out of the house tonight. What had he been thinking?

  He’d been thinking of how blue her eyes were, and how, when she asked him for anything, something in his chest sort of burst from its bonds. He found himself wanting to do everything he could for her.

  He had found himself thinking about that kiss. The first kiss he’d shared with a woman in two years.

  Putting the brakes on that thought, he concentrated on getting them home quickly and safely.

  “Daddy, is Miss Kate sick?” Liesl clung to the seat back.

  “No, Poppet. She’s not sick.”

  “Why do you need the doctor, then?”

  How much should he tell her? “It seems it might be time for Miss Kate to get her baby, and doctors can be right helpful when it’s time for a new baby.”

  Liesl’s face brightened. “Oh, good. I’ve been praying forever.”

  They turned onto the farm road, crossed the bridge and swung into the yard. Rolf greeted them with a deep woof, coming up off his place on the porch. Martin went to help Inge, and Oscar plucked Liesl up and set her on the porch. “Go on inside and hang up your coat. I’ll bring Miss Kate.”

  He rounded the back of the wagon. Kate had her head down, and he reached out with his gloved hand to touch her chin and lift her face. “How are you doing?”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit scared.” Her pupils were so big her eyes looked dark.

  “Me, too, but you’re going to do great. I’ll get you settled in the house and head out for the doctor. And Mrs. Frankel will be here soon. She’s done this plenty of times.”

  Her lips trembled, but she nodded.

  “Are you having any pain now?” He didn’t want to jostle her or try to pick her up if she was hurting.

  “No.”

  “Then put your arms around my neck, and we’ll have you inside in a flash.” He gave her a wink that belied how jittery his insides were behaving.

  Inge had the lamps lit, and Martin was stirring up the fire when Oscar came in, heading straight for the stairs. The minute he had Kate in her room with Inge coming along behind, he headed back out the door.

  Martin met Oscar on the porch with a lantern. “Do you want to take the team, or do you want to saddle a horse?”

  “I’ll take the team, just in case the doc wants to ride back with me.”

  “Take your time. It is very dark, and the roads might be bad.” He fastened the lantern to the wagon seat beside Oscar to help light his way.

  “Right.” Oscar knew he wouldn’t be able to take his time. But he wouldn’t be foolhardy, either, because an injured horse or broken wagon wouldn’t help Kate, either.

  The road to Mantorville was rutted and well-traveled, which helped him see where to go. A few clouds had drifted in from the north, muting the stars.

  Thankfully, Dr. Horlock was at home, though Oscar felt bad taking him from his family on Christmas Eve night.

  “Don’t worry,” the doctor said as he wrapped well against the cold. “Babies seem to like to come on holidays and at night. My family is used to the hours I keep.”

  Dr. Horlock told Oscar to go ahead while he followed on his saddle horse. “That way you won’t have to bring me back later, especially if this is false labor.”

  A couple miles from Mantorville, the doctor caught up with Oscar and passed him, and when Oscar arrived back at the house, Martin met him at the door.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Fine, I suppose. Mrs. Frankel is here, and the doctor. I’ll put the horses away for you. You have to be cold. The fire’s roaring in there, and I’ve boiled enough water to fill a lake.” He smiled, but his voice was tense.

  “Where’s Liesl?”

  “She’s in the kitchen. Didn’t want to go to bed until you got back.”

  Oscar bounded up the steps and into the kitchen, a blast of heat smacking him in the face. Liesl stood on her chair by the sideboard, moving the wood blocks on the tablecloth.

  “Hey, Poppet.” Oscar unwound his scarf, pulling it and his hat off together. “I think it’s time for bed.”

  She pursed her lips. “But will the baby come soon? I want to see him.”

  He picked her up, tossing her as high as the ceiling would allow. “It takes a long time to get a baby, and you need your sleep. Anyway, it’s Christmas Eve, and if you want to wake up to your presents, you need to get to bed.” He set her on the chair, then turned around and squatted. Liesl climbed onto his back for the ride upstairs. “You keep calling the baby ‘him.’ You do know that it could be a girl, right?”

  She laid her head on his shoulder, her arms around his neck. “Yes, but I think it will be a boy. I asked Jesus for a boy baby.”

  “I’m just praying that he or she will get here safely, and that everyone will be healthy.” Oscar helped Liesl with her bedtime routine. He left the hall lamp burning and her door half-open. “Good night, Poppet. Sweet dreams, and I will see you in the morning. You did a beautiful job with the singing, and I was very proud of you.”

  As he passed Kate’s room on his way back downstairs, he paused. When the door opened, he started. Dr. Horlock came into the hall, wiping his hands on a towel, and as he closed the door, Oscar glimpsed Kate’s dark hair on the pillow, and Mrs. Frankel bending over her.

  “How is she?”

  “She’s doing well. It sounds like she went into labor early in the afternoon, but didn’t realize it. Attributed it to backache. It happens that way with some women. But she’ll be a while yet.” He indicated for Oscar to precede him down the steps. “Time for some coffee. And Mrs. Amaker says there are enough cookies and treats in the house to feed an army of doctors.”

  Oscar nodded. “I am beginning to learn that the way Mrs. Amaker shows her love and care is through sweets. I don’t know how I haven’t gained ten pounds in the last couple months.”

  Dr. Horlock took a chair at the table, leaning back, relaxed, but Oscar couldn’t sit still. He paced from the front window to the workshop door, into the parlor and back to the stove. Martin came in from the barn, brows raised to see the doctor in the kitchen.

  “Is it over, then?”

  “No. It will be a while yet. The women will call me when I’m needed.” Dr. Horlock sampled a square of Brunsli.

  “You don’t think that fall she took last week did her any harm, do you?” Oscar leaned on his palms on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “Or being out tonight?”

  The doctor shook his head. “I was recently going through the medical records that my predecessor left when I took over his practice. Kate’s situation is nothing like what happened to your wife.” He glanced up. “I’m sorry about that. But there is no reason to think history i
s going to repeat itself here. Kate is in fine health, the baby has been quite active and she has suffered no ill effects from the little tumble she took. I imagine that in a few hours the house will be filled with some rather loud squalling, and you’ll wish for some peace and quiet.”

  It all reminded Oscar so much of that night, two years ago, when he’d paced the kitchen, waiting and waiting for the sound of a baby’s cry. The house seemed to close in around him. His heart thundered in his ears.

  “Oscar, maybe we should go into the workroom.” Martin took his elbow. “We have a few things to be finishing before morning. It will be good to keep our hands and minds busy. Herr Doctor, you are welcome to join us.”

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stretch out on the settee in the parlor for a while. It’s going to be a late night.” He rose, stretched and sauntered into the parlor.

  Oscar’s hands fisted. How could the doctor be so casual?

  “Come, Oscar.” Martin nudged him into the workroom and brought one of the lamps from the table.

  It was just as well that there was no intricate work that needed to be done. Oscar felt as if his mind was wrapped in cotton wool. Martin gave him a carved piece and a bit of sandpaper, but over and over, Oscar’s hands fell to his lap and his mind refused to focus on the work.

  How had he come to be in this place in his life? He, who had vowed never to open his heart to anyone else, to never be this vulnerable to hurt again? Then Kate Amaker had dropped into his life and everything had changed.

  “It’s hard, isn’t it?” Martin asked.

  “What?” Oscar blinked.

  “To wait. When we care so much about the outcome.” Martin set down the piece he was working on. “The past two months have been very difficult, waiting. Waiting to see what God would have us do. Waiting to hear from my brother, waiting for a door to open so that we could stay in Minnesota. Now waiting for the baby. But through it all, there is the certainty that God is big enough to take care of us, no matter where we are or what happens to us. Things don’t always work out the way we would hope, but if our expectation is always that God will reveal Himself, and that what He does is for His glory and our good, it makes the waiting easier.”

  Steps sounded, coming down from upstairs, and Oscar ducked into the kitchen. Mrs. Frankel went to the stove and poured water into a basin. “Doctor, it’s about time.”

  Dr. Horlock rose from the couch, wide awake, and headed up the stairs.

  “Is she all right?” Oscar asked Mrs. Frankel.

  “She’s doing just fine. Won’t be long now.” She tossed a couple of clean towels over her arm and picked up the steaming basin.

  From that point on, Oscar couldn’t even pretend to work. He paced. He stared out the window into the darkness. And he faced up to the truth he’d been avoiding for the past month.

  He loved Kate Amaker, and he didn’t want her to leave.

  After what seemed a couple of lifetimes, a baby’s cry drifted down from upstairs, and Oscar sagged into one of the kitchen chairs, his head in his hands.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kate had an entirely new perception of what it meant to be tired, and yet, she was too excited to sleep. Inge helped her sit up, stacking more pillows behind her back.

  “Well done, Kate.” Mrs. Frankel laid the blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. “All clean and ready to meet Mama.”

  Blinking away the tears that clouded her eyes, she looked down into the face of her son. Round cheeks, button nose, cap of dark hair. His tiny hand opened and closed, impossibly small fingers, each with a perfect miniscule nail.

  “I’d guess he’ll go about seven and a half pounds.” Dr. Horlock rolled down his sleeves and buttoned the cuffs. “Strong little heart, and as you’ve heard, a very sturdy cry. I don’t envy you when he gets wound up in the middle of the night telling you he’s hungry.” He grinned. “Mrs. Frankel, you are welcome to assist me on any delivery. I’ve never seen a better midwife.”

  “Practice makes perfect, both the having and the delivering. I imagine I’ve assisted at more than half the births in this county over the past fifteen years.”

  Inge leaned over and kissed the baby’s head. “You did a beautiful job. Thank you, Kate. This little one gives me hope. It has been a long time since I had hope. Can Martin see him?”

  “Yes.” Kate couldn’t even look up she was so captivated. “I can’t wait to introduce them.”

  “Come along, Doctor.” Pasty Frankel finished straightening up the room. “We’ve earned some rest, and they don’t need us hanging about.”

  “Right. And I know where there are some excellent cookies downstairs.” He followed her out of the bedroom, and in minutes, Martin was in the doorway.

  One look at the baby, and he was digging for his handkerchief. “Bless you, Kate. He’s a handsome boy.”

  “Would you like to hold him?” Kate’s heart threatened to overflow at the sight of his tears.

  Nodding, Martin sat on the side of the bed. He took the baby into his arms, and Inge rounded the bed to stand beside him, her hand on his shoulder.

  “I wish Johann could see his son. He would be so proud.” Inge cupped the little head in her hand.

  Kate nodded. “He would already be making big plans for the two of them, wouldn’t he?”

  “We must be making plans, too.” Martin looked up. “But not tonight. Tonight we will rejoice in God’s goodness to us.” He raised the baby in his arms and kissed him on the head. To Kate it seemed like a benediction spread over her son.

  “Kate?”

  Oscar stood in the doorway, his hands shoved into his pockets.

  His hair stood on end as if he’d rammed his fingers through it many times, and one of his shirttails hung out.

  He’d never looked better to her.

  “Come in.”

  Stopping after only a couple of steps, he said, “I don’t want to intrude.”

  “No, come and meet your latest houseguest.”

  Martin rose from the side of the bed and held the baby out. Oscar looked to Kate for permission, and at her nod, he took the baby in his arms.

  Another rush of tears came to her eyes. What was it about a strong man holding a newborn that made her insides melt? Or was it this strong man holding her newborn? Even as he cradled her son protectively, she felt protected. He had cared for her family and given her a safe place to have her baby. How could she ever thank him?

  Oscar met her eyes, and something powerful passed between them. Her breath grew shallow.

  “Inge, it is very late, and I think you should rest.” Martin threaded his wife’s arm through his.

  “Yes, I am tired. Kate, I will leave my door open a crack. You will call me if you need me?” Inge went with Martin to the door, leaving Oscar holding the baby.

  Oscar pulled the rocking chair up beside the bed and sat down. “I don’t even know...is this a boy or a girl?” He rocked gently. “Liesl prayed for a boy, but I have a feeling it won’t matter once she lays eyes on this baby.”

  Kate smiled, resting her head against the pillows. “It’s a boy.”

  “What are you going to call him?”

  A tinge of sadness nudged her joy. “Johann. After his father. Johann Martin Amaker, but I think I will call him Joe. Maybe Joey for now, and Joe when he’s older.”

  “Kate.” Oscar looked up quickly, so many words crowding into his eyes. “Don’t go.”

  She frowned, puzzled. “I’m sorry?”

  He looked as if the words had surprised him, too. His Adam’s apple lurched, and he shifted the baby to snuggle against his chest.

  “I don’t want you to go to Cincinnati.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to go, either, but I don’t know that I have much choice in the matter.” Though sh
e’d give almost anything to stay, they hadn’t found a way to make it feasible. “In a week the farm will be sold, and in less than a month, we’ll be on our way to Ohio.”

  Oscar shook his head. “No. There is a way you can stay.” He slid off the rocker to his knees beside the bed, still cradling Joey to him. “Stay here with me and Liesl. Marry me. I know I’m not Johann. I’ll never be adventurous and exciting, but... I’m steady and strong. I’ll take care of you, and I’ll treat Joey like he was my own.”

  Kate put her fingertips to her lips. He was asking her to marry him? The man who hadn’t wanted her in his house in the first place, the man who had kept everyone at bay and didn’t want any reminders of past hurts? His eyes bored into hers. Her heart leaped, but...part of her held back. He hadn’t said the one thing she would need to hear to make her say yes.

  “And Martin and Inge, too. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to stay and sending them away. I realized a while ago what it has done for Liesl to have them in her life, to have that sense of more family than just me.” His eyes pleaded with her.

  They had been good for Liesl. He wanted her to stay for his daughter?

  “And you’ve all been good for me, too. You’ve brought me back into the community, into living again.”

  Which made her happy, but it wasn’t enough. How could she say yes when he’d given no indication of how he felt about her?

  “Kate, please. I’ve done something very foolish.” A sigh surged through his chest, lifting Joey as he inhaled. “I’ve fallen in love with you. If you leave, I don’t know that I can bear it. I know it hasn’t been long since Johann’s death, and the loss of your house, and a new baby, but I can’t help it. I love you.”

  There it was. His heart, laid bare.

  “Oh, Oscar.” Tears welled and overflowed, and she reached for his hand. “You mean it?”

  He clasped her fingers. “I never meant to fall in love again. I didn’t even think I could, and then, before I knew it, I was a goner.” He sat on the side of the bed and leaned forward, resting his brow against hers. “Please say you care about me at least a little bit.”