“They are indeed,” said Rose as she strode into the room. Rose walked over and sat in a chair on the other side of Julia’s bed. “So, child, your time is here.”
“It is. No one told me how much it hurts.”
“Don’t fight the pain and it will be easier.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does, Julia,” Abigail said. “If the pain is all your mind is set on, it makes it seem greater than it might be. I always tell people to take deep breaths and then let the air back out slowly.”
“And that works?”
Abigail shrugged. “Most times. I like to think it is because your head is now fixed on something else, not the pain.”
“I do not know how one can forget about this pain,” Julia muttered then tensed, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly until she relaxed a bit.
Rose wiped Julia’s face with a cool cloth. “You will forget all about it when you hold your child for the first time.”
For a while Julia tried not to fight the pain and breathed as Abigail had suggested, but then she returned to moaning. “Robert should be with me,” she cried and Abigail saw Rose roll her eyes.
“He is gone, Julia,” Abigail said, “otherwise I am sure he would be here so that you could crush all the bones in his hand instead of mine.”
“Sorry, Abbie.” Julia loosened her grip on Abigail’s hand. “I will try to stop.”
“Do not fret over it. At worse, I shall have a few colorful bruises. But you must keep your mind on birthing your child. It is important that you concentrate on getting this baby out and nothing else.”
“I know. I know.”
For a while Julia did as Abbie and Rose wanted. Abbie began to hope it would go well all the way to the end. Then Julia just stopped doing everything that had worked so well for her. Abbie feared something was wrong for a moment, but then Julia moaned again.
“You were doing so well, child. Surely you could see that,” Rose said to Julia.
“I could see that I was exhausting myself for nothing.”
“What do you mean, ‘for nothing’? You are bringing Robert’s child into the world,” said Abbie.
“It does not appear to want to come out now.”
“He or she will be along soon,” said Rose, weariness adding a little bite to her words.
Abbie could see Julia’s stomach move as if gripped by another contraction but the woman showed no sign of being aware of it. She stood up, framed Julia’s face in her hands, and stared into her eyes. They were glazed and Julia stared at something in the corner of the room. A faint smile curved the woman’s mouth and it affected Abbie strangely. She itched to slap it away. She glanced at Rose who was watching Julia and frowning deeply.
“Yes, he will. I am going to have a boy,” Julia said in a singsong voice. “Robert wants a boy.”
“Oh, hellfire and damnation, the girl thinks she sees her husband.”
“Well, I wish her husband would tell her to get back to business,” Abbie snapped, and Rose laughed.
“Never seen anything like it and I have tended a lot of births.”
“Julia!” Abbie snapped out and her friend turned those faraway eyes to her.
For a moment, Julia said nothing then closed her eyes. “I need sleep.”
“Julia!”
“It is all right, Abbie. Robert says our babe will need all my strength soon but not today.”
“Well, that is strange,” Rose said.
