During the second week in April, Joel rode up to the house. Since Mary made it a habit to glance out the window while she cooked, she saw him as soon as he arrived. By the anxious look on his face, she knew that this visit constituted an emergency. She set aside her flour, baking powder and salt so she could rush outside to meet him.
Dave came out of the barn to join her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.
“Doctor Adams isn’t available and Cassie went into labor,” Joel anxiously replied. “I’ve never delivered a baby before. And you delivered Jessica and Tom’s girl.” He looked with pleading eyes at Mary.
“I’ll be right there,” she consented and ran to the house.
To her surprise, Dave followed her. Surely, he wasn’t going to prevent her from aiding Doctor Adam’s new assistant! Joel had much to learn about bringing babies into the world, and she understood the task.
She found her pants from the hanger in the wardrobe.
“I can take you in the wagon,” Dave insisted. “You shouldn’t be riding a horse in your condition.”
Taking her dress off, she hastily slipped her shirt and pants on. “The horse is quicker. Something has to be wrong. She shouldn’t be giving birth for another month.” She tried to button her pants but her stomach had expanded, making them too tight. She grabbed one of Dave’s belts to use to hold them up.
“I don’t know.” By the tone in his voice, she realized that he worried about the early birth too.
“I’ll be fine. You taught me to ride and said I do well on Susannah.” She secured the belt so her pants would stay in place.
“What if you fall?”
She glanced at him and smiled. “Or what if Susannah bucks me off?”
His cheeks grew red. “Oh, you figured out what that means.”
“It took awhile but the meaning became clear after overhearing some conversations.” She took off her shoes so she could put on durable boots and tied the laces.
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”
Touched by his concern, she kissed him. “I will. I handled the ride to Jessica’s when she gave birth. I’ll handle this one too.”
“Do you need anything?” He looked around the small dwelling.
“No. Cassie has more stuff than we do. I’ll use her things. I might stay to clean up. This might be a long process. I can’t guarantee when I’ll be back.”
“I understand that. I reckon Joel can get you anything you need. The doctor should be out soon.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you when everything settles down. I hope I’ll bring good news.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I won’t.”
After another kiss, he saddled Susannah and handed her a leather bag of food.
When she and Joel arrived at the Craftsman residence, he said he’d tie up the horses so she quickly jumped off and ran into the house. She flew up the stairs and found Cassie lying on her bed, twisting in the sheets and groaning. Running over to her, she felt her forehead, reassured that it was cool to the touch despite the perspiration on her brow. Mary hoped the strong chilly wind blowing through the open window would offer some comfort to the laboring woman.
“Cassie,” she began, “it’s Mary. I’m going to help you through this, alright?”
“Just get it out of me!”
Though Mary hadn’t gone through labor, she noticed that women in labor tended to be irritated, so she didn’t take offense to the woman’s sharp tone. She patted Cassie on the shoulder. “I’ll do everything I can to ensure a safe delivery.”
Joel bounded up the steps.
Mary hastened out of the room. “Where’s Neil?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Have you looked for him?”
“Of course, but it’s like he disappeared after he came into town to tell me she was in labor.” He looked green when he heard Cassie screaming again. Swallowing hard as he shifted his eyes from Cassie to Mary, he asked, “What do you want me to do?”
She ran off a list of supplies she needed. He nodded and nearly slid down the banister to get them. As she turned to the closet to see if a fresh supply of towels were on hand, she glanced at another bedroom and noticed that Neil slept in a separate room. The baby furniture decorated another room. Was it normal for married couples to sleep in different rooms if they had the room to do so? She thought back to her parents. They had slept in the same room, even when her siblings left to get married. Shrugging, she turned her attention to the closet and sighed with relief as she retrieved a couple of clean towels.
The next two hours tested Mary’s patience. Not only did Cassie scream so loud that Mary had to cover her ears, but she found reasons to order Mary around. She would yell out, “Close the window. I’m cold. Open it. I’m hot. The pillow needs fluffing. Get rid of the pillow. It’s lumpy. Put it back. I need back support. This cloth is too warm. Get me a cool one to press on my forehead.”
During the third hour, Mary urged Cassie to stand and move, supporting the wobbly woman who leaned against her. The exertion of rushing around caused her to feel weary and hot, but she determined to proceed as if Cassie wasn’t the most difficult woman she’d ever helped give birth.
“You expect me to walk? I’m in pain,” Cassie snapped another hour later, her feet scuffing across the wood floor.
“But the walking will help speed up the process.” She quietly grunted in case Cassie complained about that too. Despite the woman’s thin frame, it took most of Mary’s strength to hold her up. What was taking the doctor so long?
“I don’t know how much longer I can bear this,” Cassie gasped, clenching her teeth and banging her stomach. “Get out already!”
Startled, Mary held her hands to stop her and brought her back to the bed. “Maybe you should try squatting.”
“I’m never having children again. This is it! A baby just isn’t worth all this pain!”
She gently urged the groaning woman to squat by the bed and rubbed her lower back. Sometimes rubbing the lower back helped other women in labor, so she hoped it would ease Cassie’s discomfort too.
Joel appeared, looking as ragged as Mary felt. “Is there anything else?” He leaned his hands on his knees and gulped for air.
“Is the doctor here yet?” Mary silently begged him to say yes.
“No, not yet. I wish he’d get here. This waiting is driving me insane.”
She knew how he felt. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she simply nodded. “Joel, why don’t you go outside for awhile and get some fresh air? You can eat some of the pemmican I brought along. We need to keep up our strength.”
“Don’t you need a break?” He stood up and stretched his back.
She knew he was in no shape to tend to Cassie, so she replied, “Maybe later.” She paused before asking, “Did you find Neil?”
“No. But I haven’t had much time to look for him with all the things I’ve been gathering for Cassie.”
Understanding that looking for Neil had turned into a lost cause, she didn’t ask him to try again. So the father of the baby decided to abandon his wife and child when they needed him. He was even worse than she thought. Keeping her comments to herself, she applied pressure to Cassie’s back.
“That does feel better,” Cassie admitted between gasps and groans.
Relieved, Mary continued her work.
A half hour later, Doctor Adams climbed the stairs. Mary couldn’t recall a time when she was as glad to see someone as she was to see him.
“She’s getting close,” she reported as he set down his black bag and took off his hat. She continued to knead the muscles in Cassie’s back, her hands numb from their efforts to soothe the screaming woman.
“I heard you were good at this kind of thing. Apparently, the tale holds true. Thank you.” He turned to Cassie and urged her to lay back in bed, lifted her gown and checked her progress. “She’s ready to push.”
After Mary propped the pillows behind Cassie so she’d have an easier time pushing, she motioned to the doctor for a moment of privacy with him. He obeyed and followed her out of the room, ignoring Cassie’s loud protests.
“Tell me the truth,” Mary said. “Is she in danger?” She never assisted in a birth when the woman delivered early, so she needed to be emotionally prepared in case something went wrong.
“No. Everything is going as it should.”
His answer did little to assure her. The hesitant look in his eyes alerted her that something wasn’t quite right, though there seemed to be no concern to the health of the mother or child.
Reluctant, she followed him back in while Joel resumed his role of fetching things. The next twenty minutes, filled with piercing cries and pushing, came to an abrupt end when the baby came out, crying and kicking.
Mary nearly collapsed with relief.
Cassie limply rested on the bed, murmuring, “It’s over. It’s over. It’s finally over.” When the doctor went to hand the baby to her, Cassie shook her head. “I’m too weak to hold her right now. Mary, will you be a dear and hold her for me?”
Stunned, Mary mutely accepted the baby and gave her a quick bath while the doctor tended to the afterbirth. What just happened? Didn’t Cassie want to hold her child? Tears formed in Mary’s eyes as she swallowed the bitter lump in her throat. Each birth she tended to in the past was filled with glowing faces from new mothers who eagerly held their babies close to their bosoms and showered love on them. It was as if they got their second wind once they heard their babies cry. Even Susannah wanted to bond with her foal.
After she put a cloth diaper on the girl, she wrapped her tightly in a soft yellow blanket. Standing in the room, she didn’t know what to do for the sleeping child. The doctor had left so he could discard the newspapers that contained the afterbirth. Biting her lower lip, Mary ventured, “Would you like to see her?”
Cassie kept her eyes closed, as if she hadn’t heard Mary’s question.
The doctor strode into the room. “Cassie, you did a good job. You and the baby are healthy.” He turned to Mary. “I’ll take the baby to her father.”
Nodding, she handed the baby to him. She cleaned Cassie up and put a new garment on her. The process proved to be a struggle since the woman kept muttering that she felt exhausted. She laid Cassie on the bed and covered her with a clean blanket.
“You have a beautiful child. She has your dark hair. She also has curls.” Forcing a laugh, she added, “She looks like a doll.”
“I’ll see her later. I need to sleep for a moment.” Cassie yawned. “Giving birth wears a woman out. I’m glad it’s over.”
“But it’s worth it, isn’t it?”
“I’m not having another one, that’s for sure.” She swept her hair up so the nape of her neck settled on the pillow.
“You’re tired, Cassie. You don’t mean that.” Mary hoped to have a house full of children, just as Dave’s parents and her parents had.
“Mary, would you close the window? I’m cold.” She closed her eyes and settled into the bed, ready to sleep.
Stunned, it took her a good five seconds before she obeyed the request. Despite the fact that her sweaty clothes stuck to her from her day’s efforts, a shiver crawled up her spine. An image of Cassie flashed in her mind, and she didn’t see any beauty in it. Quietly making her way down the staircase, she wanted nothing more than to return home and make love to Dave. When they came together, she felt safe and loved, things she desperately needed at the moment.
As Joel got ready to hand her the reins of the horse, she overheard the doctor and Neil arguing over the baby.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Joel.
She entered the barn. Neil’s slurred speech testified to his drunken state, and the bottle of whiskey in his hand only condemned him further.
“I’m not holding it,” Neil spat at the doctor. “I don’t want any part of it.”
Furious, she stormed up to Neil and slapped him. The bottle fell out of his hand and shattered on the ground. He brought his hand up to his face, appearing mortified.
“Hold your daughter!” She stared at him, daring him to argue with her.
Yelling and swearing, she expected, but his bitter laughter confounded her. He flung his arms out and replied in words she could barely decipher, “That’s not my child.” He pointed to the baby and laughed again. “The doctor can vouch for me on that.”
Doctor Adams sadly nodded, still holding the infant in his arms.
Neil put his hands on his head. “Guess when I found out? Last month. Cassie told me she married me because she was expecting and needed to save her reputation. So there you have it. My perfect marriage, my perfect wife, my perfect life... They’re all lies. Deception! And I’m stuck until I die.”
She glanced at the rosy-cheeked child who did look big for being born early. “Do you think his mother will suspect the baby’s bigger than she should be?” she asked the doctor. The last thing the child needed was to be shunned because she was conceived out of wedlock.
“No,” the doctor said. “It’s been years since Gwendolyn’s been near a newborn.” His expression revealed his solemn sentiment over the events that transpired before their eyes.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Neil who seemed coherent enough to understand her. “You listen to me,” she ordered in a firm tone she wasn’t accustomed to using. “That baby needs someone to love her. She didn’t ask to come into this world, but now that she’s here, you have a responsibility to her, regardless of whether or not you were tricked into marrying her mother. This child did nothing wrong.” She took a deep breath to steady her emotions. “Cassie just turned her back on her, Neil. Don’t you do that too. Be a man and be this child’s father because, like it or not, you are the only one she’s got.” Her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes. She anxiously blinked, making them slide down her cheeks. She continued, “She needs someone who’s going to take care of her! She deserves that much.” Her sobs prevented her from saying anything else.
What she said that changed Neil’s mind, she didn’t know, but his face softened before he turned to the doctor. “I’ll take her.”
“I’ll make you a pot of coffee so you can clear your head.” Mary, still crying but glad he listened to her, passed Joel on her way out of the barn and returned to the house to perform the task.
Within the next hour, the coffee sobered Neil so he could adequately care for the child. His mother arrived shortly after that, ecstatic, and held the baby, already filling in as the loving grandmother. Mary was secretly relieved. At least someone would love the girl.
Assured that they weren’t needed anymore, the doctor, Mary and Joel rode off the property on their horses. Finding no solace in the horrific experience, they spent the ride to her farm in silence.
Dave stepped out of the barn when they approached the building. “Did the mother and child make it?”
The doctor nodded. “They are doing well.”
Dave didn’t look convinced as he helped Mary down from Susannah. His face held the unspoken question that she knew she would have to answer, but for the moment, she needed him so she wrapped her arms around him and softly cried on his shoulder.
“We better head back,” Doctor Adams told Joel before he nodded to Dave and turned his horse to ride off the property.
Joel quietly followed his employer.