Rose glanced at Esther Callen who was laughing as her son Michael danced comically with Joseph around the dance floor. She never had the chance to know Esther very well and was happy to be talking to her.
“Is it alright for Eliza to be dancing?” Rose asked.
Esther laughed gaily. “One should always dance at weddings,” she winked. “It is healthy. Besides Eliza feels that this baby will never come; maybe some hearty dancing will help bring about a quick labor.”
Rose could see Cade heading her way, but he was stopped as Jonathan, looking proud with his new bride on his arm, introduced him to his towering brother, Sean.
“Is labor as painful as it sounds?” Rose asked.
“Labor is very painful, but it is natural and good, and Mother Nature has a trick of making us forget the pain as soon as it is over. Of course, having a baby in your arms helps numb the pain as well.”
Rose laughed and focused back on Eliza dancing. “I always thought I would be one of those women with a dozen babies. When no baby came it hurt to even think about pregnancy or even hope for it. When I found Daisy though, that emptiness was filled to the brim with contentment.” She saw Cade laughing with Daisy on his hip as he walked away from Jonathan and Meg.
Esther nodded in understanding. “Motherhood has many faces, Rose. For Eliza, it was rescuing a baby from a mother who did not want her. For me it started after a man assaulted me. A child is perfect, but there is no perfect way in becoming a mother.”
“Do you think I will be a good mother?” Meg addressed them as she walked up. Her face was beaming and her hand gripped lovingly around Jonathan’s.
“You already are.” Rose clasped Meg’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “With the twins, with me, our entire family. You have been nurturing and kind from the beginning. Your children will be the luckiest children alive.”
Meg’s eyes filled with tears. She let go of Jonathan’s hand and took hold of Rose’s. “The joy I have right now. This wonderful—” she cast a loving glance at Jonathan, “love I have for so many. This marriage of my dreams, I owe to the scandalous woman in a blue dress, wanting milk for her baby.”
“It was a miraculous day,” Rose recalled, amazed at how much things had changed.
“The best day,” Meg added, before turning to her husband. “Shall we have our first dance as husband and wife?”
“Do I lead or do you?” He took her hand, placing the other behind his back in a regal fashion.
“Me of course.” Meg lifted her chin and Jonathan laughed while she led him out to dance.
It was not long before Rose found her way over to Cade. “Meg looks like she wants to eat that poor doctor alive. A honeymoon baby would not surprise me.”
Cade’s face became solemn. “Would it be alright if that did happen?”
“What do you mean?”
Cade stroked a curl from Daisy’s face. “I am happy with just Daisy; she is more than I could have hoped for, but what if Meg has many children? Would you be disappointed in the reality that we may not have the big family you wished for?”
Rose looked down at Daisy; there was no ache in her heart, nor bitterness, nothing to keep her from moving forward in love and faith. “No Cade,” she said sincerely. “Like you, Daisy is more than I could hope for. I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that I have you, and that together we can protect, love, and raise up Daisy in the way God would have us do.”
Cade smiled softly. “Have I told you lately how amazing you are?”
Rose grinned. “You do quite often.”
He leaned forward, his lips grazing her jaw. “Have I showed you lately how amazing you are?”
Rose closed her eyes, allowing the shivers to run up her veins. “Very often, and it never gets old.”