One Child

by Barbara Cameron

  Jason watched them leave the room, then he turned to David. “I can’t take a chance that she’s in labor. You can’t argue with that.”

  David laid his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Like Sarah says, let’s not panic until we have to. Sarah has been with women who have given birth. She’ll know what we should do.”

  Jason ran his hands through his hair till it stood up on end. “I’m a nervous wreck.”

  “No need to be. Here, let’s get that coat off, okay?”

  “But . . .”

  David calmly began unbuttoning the coat, and Jason let him, as if he were a child.

  “I just don’t want anything bad to happen.”

  “I know.”

  After hanging up the coat, David followed the other man into the living room. Kate and Sarah were sitting on the sofa, talking quietly.

  Jason immediately went over and hovered over Kate. There was no other word for what he did, David thought—he hovered.

  “How about we fix some kaffi, Jason?” he suggested.

  “Huh?”

  “Kaffi. Let’s make some kaffi.”

  Jason looked at Kate, and she nodded.

  Jason followed David to the kitchen. “I’m telling you, I felt her stomach, and it was definitely doing something.”

  David opened one cabinet, then another, then another.

  “You don’t know where the coffee is?” Jason said.

  “Sarah always insists on making it.”

  “Boy, no equal time in the kitchen here, huh?” Going to the cupboard above the stove, Jason found the canister of coffee.

  “How did you know where it was?”

  “Kate keeps it right by the stove too.” Jason paced as David dealt with making the kaffi. “So what do we do if she’s in labor? The cell’s still not working. And the electricity’s still knocked out. There’s not a single streetlight on.”

  “There are no electric streetlights in this area.”

  “Oh. I thought they were just out because of the power outage.” Jason jingled the change in his pockets and kept looking toward the doorway.

  David wasn’t sure that adding more caffeine to the situation was a gut idea, but he figured letting the two women talk without Jason hovering was a gut idea. He measured kaffi into the stovetop percolator. “Sarah made chamomile tea for Kate earlier. See if you can find the tea bags.”

  “Oh, good idea.” Jason went back to the same cupboard and found them. “Kate’s been missing coffee, but she seemed to like this earlier.” He opened the box, chose a tea bag, and placed it in a cup. “The pregnancy’s been hard on her, what with her job and all.”

  “What work does she do?”

  “She’s an attorney.”

  David nodded. “She must be very busy. I hear the Englisch like to sue each other.”

  Jason gave a bark of laughter. “Oh, I’ll have to tell Kate that one. She’ll love it.”

  “Isn’t it true?”

  “Well, certainly people sue each other a lot. But isn’t that true everywhere?”

  David shook his head. “We don’t believe in it.”

  “How do you resolve conflict?”

  “We seldom have disagreements, but when we do, we talk them out. Ours is a small community, and we see each other a lot. We go to church in each other’s homes, socialize, do business together. Marry within the community. So people learn to get along with each other.”

  “What about getting justice?” Jason leaned against the counter.

  “Justice is God’s work, not man’s.”

  “You seem pretty laid-back, but everyone can’t be like you.”

  David shrugged. “Most are.”

  “That’s hard to imagine. Most of the people I know are pretty stressed.” Jason looked toward the doorway. “Sarah seems so calm. Is she always like that?”

  David smiled. “I call her Serene Sarah.”

  “What does she do? For work, I mean. Or is she a full-time homemaker?”

  “Sarah is a teacher, and she also helps me with the business side of my work. Bookkeeping, invoices, that sort of thing. And she takes care of our home.”

  When the kaffi was ready and the water had boiled for tea, David found sugar and cream and set everything on a tray the way he’d seen Sarah do when they had guests.

  When the men entered the room, Sarah said, “I think Kate might be having Braxton Hicks, Jason.”

  “I think we heard that term in Lamaze class, but I don’t remember what it is.”

  “Sort of like practice contractions. Sometimes women have them for weeks before the baby comes. They help her get ready for the birth.”

  “So I didn’t need to panic?”

  “I told you,” Kate told him.

  Jason looked at David, then Sarah. “I’m sorry for getting you guys up.”

  “It’s all right,” Sarah told them. “We understand that it’s an anxious time for you.”

  Jason checked his cell phone again.

  “Jason, give that thing to me,” Kate said. “It’s just making you nervous.”

  When she continued to hold out her hand, Jason finally put the cell phone into it. “I’m just thinking about you,” he told her.

  “I know, sweetie,” she said, patting the sofa beside her. “You’re my hero.”

  David and Sarah exchanged a glance, and Sarah tried not to smile as David lifted his brows. Interesting how Englisch couples—at least this couple—seemed to get along.

  “Pregnant women have power,” Kate said with satisfaction, watching as Sarah gathered up the coffee mugs and put them on a tray. She glanced at Jason and David sitting and talking at a small table in the corner of the room. “He actually gave me his cell phone. He never lets go of that thing.”

  Sarah left the room without replying. She set the tray on the counter in the kitchen and turned to see that Kate had followed her.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No. Why?”

  “You left the room kind of abruptly.”

  “I—just wanted to get these washed up.”

  Kate took a seat at the table. “I think I upset you by saying ‘pregnant women have power.’ I was just joking, Sarah. I don’t push my husband around.”

  “I know.” Sarah scrubbed at a mug.

  “It was just my way of saying that Jason’s been doing extra things for me because it hasn’t been easy, this pregnancy.”

  Drawn in, inspite of herself, Sarah turned. “You’ve had problems?”

  Kate nodded. “When I had trouble getting pregnant, we went in for testing, everything you can think of.” She stopped. “Well, maybe you haven’t heard of it all. The infertility runaround, I mean. It doesn’t sound as though there’s as much trouble with infertility in your world as there is in mine.” She was silent for a moment, pondering that.

  “Well, anyway, I know some people wait years and years before they figure they need to do more than try,” Kate continued. “But I’d had some trouble with endometriosis, and I’m thirty-five. I took hormone shots and everything. Didn’t do any good. Finally we went for in vitro.”

  When Sarah looked blank, Kate explained that it was a surgical procedure to implant fertilized eggs.

  “Then the fun really began,” Kate told her. “I got pregnant, but I was so sick. Months of exhaustion, nausea, moodiness, you name it. I barely made it into the office. Jason ran himself ragged for me. Anything I wanted—you know, the cravings for ice cream in the middle of the night and all that. That’s what I meant by pregnant women have power. He did whatever would make me happy. The last couple months, things have settled down. I’ve been tired, but I’ve been feeling good. That’s why even though my due date isn’t that far away, we went to see my mom for Christmas.”

  Infertility treatments, thought Sarah. She wanted to ask more about them, but she didn’t want Kate to guess why. It seemed easy for the other woman to share personal information, but that wasn’t Sarah’s way . . . especially with someone who was Englisch.
>
  Anyway, it didn’t matter. These treatments were likely expensive, as Englisch medicine tended to be. And David would probably say that it was interfering with God’s will. But medicine was of God, so wouldn’t these treatments be too?

  “So tell me, how did you and David meet?”

  Sarah blinked at the change in topic. “I’d known him a long time. We went to school together.” She sat down at the table. “He invited me for a ride after a singing.”

  “A singing?”

  “That’s where teenagers get together. They sing hymns and gospel songs, talk, have something to eat together, that sort of thing. Then sometimes a boy will ask to take a girl home in his courting buggy.”

  “Courting buggy. Sounds nicer than cruising—that’s where guys drive around in their cars, hoping to persuade a girl to get in for a ride. But I guess whether it’s a courting buggy or a car, guys get the girls to go for a ride, huh?”

  Sarah smiled. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “David isn’t the way I pictured an Amish man.”

  “Well, they’re not all the same any more than Englisch men are.”

  “I think you’re the calmest person I ever met. There’s something very soothing about you.”

  Sarah smiled. David called her Serene Sarah, but he was calm and quiet himself. Well, they both had been, until the night she miscarried.

  Yawning, Kate stood. “May I dry those mugs for you?”

  “No, thanks. Why don’t you go back and sit by the fire?”

  Kate glanced at the clock. “I can’t believe we’re all up at two thirty in the morning. We’ve been very selfish with you and David since we got here tonight.”

  “You don’t need to apologize.” Sarah watched Kate rub her stomach. “Everything okay?”

  Kate nodded. “I think I’ll see how the guys are doing.” Waddling just a little bit, she went into the other room.

  David threw another log on the fire and frowned. Firewood was getting low. “I’m going to go get some more wood.”

  “Can I come?” asked Jason. “I’d like to help.”

  “Let’s see if your jacket’s dry yet. What size shoes do you wear?”

  “Eleven.”

  “I have a spare pair of boots you can borrow. They’re a little big, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Where are you going?” Kate asked as they walked through the kitchen.

  “We manly men are getting firewood,” Jason told her with a grin.

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “Have fun.”

  The moon was so bright they nearly didn’t need the big flashlight David carried. He handed Jason one of the canvas slings he’d brought, then bent to brush the snow from the wood.

  “There’s nothing on these, is there? Like spiders?”

  “I think they’re probably in a much warmer place right now.”

  Carefully, Jason picked up a piece of wood and examined it. Looking relieved, he began putting pieces in a sling. “I know you think I’m a wimp.”

  David straightened. “What? Why would I think that?”

  “Because I gave in to Kate and handed over my cell phone and my watch. I mean, men control their women here, don’t they?”

  “Control?” David stared at him.

  “Well, I mean, men are the heads of their homes here, aren’t they? Isn’t there something in the Bible about that?”

  “Being the head of the home isn’t the same as controlling,” David said. “It means being the spiritual leader. The Scripture you may have heard is from Ephesians: ‘Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ But for whatever reason, most people don’t read the verse before it that says, ‘Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,’ and the one after it, ‘Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.’”

  He bent to pick up more firewood and place it in the sling. “So you see, it’s not about control, but sacrificial love and respect. But you’re not saying that Englisch men are never guilty of trying to be the boss, are you?” He glanced over at Jason’s sling and nodded. “I think we have enough. Let’s go inside.”

  They put the firewood in the basket by the fireplace, discarded their coats and boots, and got themselves some kaffi. Seeing that the two women were still talking, David turned to Jason. “How’re you at checkers?”

  “Not too good.”

  “Let’s play a game.” He got out the board and set it on a small table in the living room. “Red or black?”

  “Red.”

  As they played, Jason continued the discussion. “You tend to have pretty traditional roles here, don’t you? The men work, and the women stay home.”

  David studied the checkerboard; he knew he was tired, but he’d have sworn something had changed. Rubbing at his eyes, he pondered his next move. “Stay home and work very, very hard, especially if there are many children and especially if it’s a family that farms. I’m a carpenter and just do a little farming. But Sarah works outside the home as a teacher. I suppose we do have traditional roles at home, since she still takes care of the house more than I do and I handle the outside.” He was thoroughly boxed in on the checkerboard. With a sigh, he made a move and lost another two checkers to Jason. “What about you?”

  “Me?”

  “The two of you work. Do both of you take care of the house and the outside?”

  “Yeah, Jason, do you?”

  Jason jumped and turned to face his wife. “You sure sneak up on a man.”

  “Answer the question or be held in contempt,” she said, her lips quirking in a grin.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking at her warily. “No, I don’t do enough around the house.”

  “And isn’t it true that we have a lawn service, so you don’t do anything outside?”

  “You’re right.”

  “I rest my case.”

  Laughing, Jason held up his hands. “I throw myself on the mercy of the court.” As he lowered his hands, a red checker fell from his sleeve. “Oops.”

  “Jason!”

  Sarah finished the dishes, drying them with a cloth before putting them into the cabinet. Shutting it, she stood there for a long moment, thinking about all that had happened that night.

  When she turned, David was standing there.

  “I thought you were playing checkers with Jason.”

  “He won three games.”

  “Kate said he’s competitive.”

  David laughed. “He cheats.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” David grinned and told her what had happened. “I was wise to his tricks before that. After all, your brother is a master cheater at checkers.”

  “That’s what he says about you.”

  “Only when he loses.” David yawned and checked the clock. “I think I’ll go play another game, see if I can beat him.”

  He smiled and kissed her, then walked back into the living room. “How about another game?” she heard him call.

  Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table, wrapping a present, when Kate wandered in a little while later. She sat at the table and watched as Sarah wrapped a plastic container of chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls.

  “Who’s that for?”

  “One of my cousins.” She smiled at Kate. “I made a lot of peanut butter balls. I have a lot of cousins. Do you want some? I have plenty.”

  “No, I’m full, thanks. I think I’m going to lie down on the sofa if you don’t mind. Aren’t you going back to bed?”

  Sarah glanced at the kitchen clock. “I might stay up. I just thought of one more present I need to wrap.”

  “Isn’t that always the way? ’Night.”

  Sarah paused, then she got up and went to the pantry to retrieve a white pottery canister. She wrapped it, found a name tag, and wrote Kate’s name on it. Then she put it back into the pantry to give to Kate when she and Jason left.

  When s
he looked in on Kate and Jason after she finished putting away the wrapping paper, scissors, and tape, Sarah found them holding hands and talking quietly as Jason sat on the floor next to the sofa.

  Did they realize how lucky they were? she wondered. Oh, not in material things. Sarah didn’t care about that. But this Christmas, Kate and Jason were looking forward to being parents.

  Sarah shook her head. She was determined not to be envious of them. Not tonight, of all nights. To be envious was wrong. But oh, how she longed for a child. Just one child. That would be enough.

  Chapter Seven

  Sarah woke and found herself sitting at the kitchen table. It took her a moment to remember that she had put her head down on it. She glanced at the kitchen clock and saw that it was 5:00 a.m.

  There was a stillness . . . almost a hush to the air. Snow swept in gentle drifts against the window instead of gusts. But it was more than that. It was as if the air itself held something expectant.

  Before she could move, Kate came into the room and stopped, staring at her wide-eyed.

  “Well, it’s déjà vu all over again,” Kate said. “Have you been sitting here since I went in the other room?”

  “Yes. I remember telling David I’d be up in a minute, and then I put my head down for a moment. It’s been a busy week. Yesterday, I lay down on the bed for just a little while . . . and woke up an hour later.” She got up. “How about some hot chocolate?”

  “Great.” Kate pulled out a chair and sank down into it. “Jason is asleep on the sofa. Men never seem to have trouble sleeping. Have you noticed?”

  “David does a lot of physical labor, so he doesn’t usually have any trouble.”

  “Jason works hard, but there’s no physical labor involved. He mostly sits at a computer.” She sat down and put her feet up on the seat of the chair next to her. “A lot of women at work say they have trouble sleeping at night. If we all got together, we could rule the world.”

  “I don’t think women want to rule the world, do you? We just want to be surrounded by people we love, our friends and family.”

  “So how many people are you expecting? Providing the weather gets better, I mean. How many people are in your family?”

  “Well, let’s see. David has seven brothers and two sisters, but they may not all come. I hope my parents will come, if they’re feeling recovered from a really nasty bout of flu. And I have three aunts and four uncles, thirty-five cousins—”