Stay.The word struck a chord inside me, reverberating through my bones.
“Very well, but you better make yourself useful and stop standing there gawking like a fish,” Eurycleia huffed. Penelope’s legs were bent upward now, and the old maid was peering between them. “The baby isn’t ready to come just yet.”
Penelope let out a quiet whimper.
“What should I do?” I asked Eurycleia.
“I need to fetch a few things. I want you to keep her distracted. She needs to stay calm until it is time to push. What are you staring at me like that for? Go stand beside her. Go on. Closer! She’sgiving birth, you silly child. She isn’t infectious.”
Awkwardly, I approached Penelope, hands fidgeting at my sides.
“Lost your tongue, girl?” Eurycleia snapped as she bustled toward the door.
“I…I’m trying to think of what to say,” I admitted.
“It doesn’t matter what. Justdistract her.”
Memories gulped for air, our history so knotted between us, choking me into silence.
“Talk to me about that day,” Penelope whispered. Her eyes were closed, her sweat-dappled face lined with pain.
“What day?” I whispered back.
“My favorite day.”
I felt the memory wrap around my heart and squeeze tight. For a moment, I struggled to know where to start, but then I saw another spasm of agony steal across Penelope’s face, and I forced myself to say something.Anything.
“It…it was near the end of summer,” I began, shifting uneasily.Penelope’s eyes were still shut, so I closed my own, the words coming a little easier in the darkness. “I had wanted us to do something you’d never done before. Something you would remember when you left Sparta. I decided we should go for a swim in the river. You were unsure at first, but I somehow managed to convince you. So we snuck away, and when we reached the river, you didn’t want to go in at first. But then I took your hand, and we jumped in together.” I found myself smiling, though my throat felt tight. “We spent all day there, swimming and laughing and lying on the bank looking up at the sun. And I remember having this feeling in my chest… It’s hard to describe, really. But for a moment, I felt…infinite. And then you turned to me and said this was your favorite day, and I remember thinking I had never heard anything more wonderful, and all I wanted was to have a thousand more days just like that.”
I opened my eyes and realized Penelope was watching me, her gaze burning like twin silver flames. She said nothing, but the silence was a living thing between us, as bright and electrifying as a bolt of Zeus’s lightning ripping open the sky.
In that moment, time seemed to hold its breath, and it felt as if the whole world had faded to nothingness around us. But then another tremor of pain gripped Penelope, and reality came crashing back into brutal clarity.
“It’s time,” Eurycleia said, appearing beside the bed.
I nodded, shaking away the lingering emotion.
“I’m going to need you to start pushing, mistress. Can you do that?” Eurycleia’s calm voice was at odds with my racing heartbeat. “A nice strong push for me. Yes?”
Penelope’s eyes slid to mine, and I saw how afraid she was.
“You can do this,” I said.
“Will you stay?” Her words tugged at my heart, so achingly vulnerable.
I nodded, and her fingers twitched as if in silent question. After a slight hesitation, I took her hand in mine and squeezed.
“You can do this, Penelope,” I said, firmer now. The resolution inmy voice seemed to seep into her, determination flaring.
“Ready now? After three,” Eurycleia instructed. “One, two,three…”
The cry that ripped from Penelope shuddered through me, her hand gripping mine so tightly my fingers crunched. As I watched her face contort, I felt a swell of fear mingled with pride, and I willed every ounce of energy from my body to spill into hers.
Please, Eileithyia, Great Goddess of Childbirth, watch over Penelope…
She collapsed backward onto the pillows, gasping for breath.
“Excellent work, mistress,” Eurycleia praised. “Now take a few breaths, then we must go again. Come on now. A nice deep breath.”
