The first baby, a girl, arrived swiftly. Her cry was strong and immediate, a sound of pure life that filled the room. Clara wrapped her quickly, efficiently, passing her to Marie while she prepared for the second twin.
‘Second baby’s coming,’ Clara said, her hands on Hannah’s abdomen. But something wasn’t right. The baby hadn’t shifted position.
Hannah’s eyes widened with fear. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong,’ Clara said, keeping her voice even as her pulse quickened. ‘But this one’s being stubborn. Marie, I need you here.’
Marie moved quickly to Clara’s side. ‘Breech?’
Clara shook her head. ‘No, the head is at an angle, it’s blocking the birth canal.’
‘You’re going to have to physically move the head,’ said Marie.
Clara nodded. She had been trained to do this and had dealt with it before, although it wasn’t particularly common. ‘Can you do it?’ asked Marie.
‘Yes.’ She looked up at Hannah. ‘I’m going to have to manually move the baby’s head to allow it to travel down the birth canal. I will be as gentle as I can. What I need you to do is to tell me when you feel another contraction coming on. I need to do this between contractions.’
‘It will be all right,’ reassured Marie. ‘Clara is the best midwife I know.’
Clara took a deep breath before she attempted the procedure. With one hand she felt for the baby’s head and with her other hand on Hannah’s abdomen, she worked quickly to try to reposition the head. ‘The little one just needs to tuck its chin down,’ she said, trying to sound calm and collected. ‘I need you to stay very still.’
‘Another contraction,’ said Hannah, panic in her voice.
‘Nearly there,’ said Clara. ‘Come on, little one, move your head down.’
Hannah whimpered.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Clara. ‘There. I think we’ve done it.’
Hannah grimaced as another contraction washed over her.
‘Almost there,’ said Marie, looking at Clara for confirmation. She nodded back. ‘One more push, Hannah. One more.’
Hannah bore down with a guttural cry. Everything happened so quickly. ‘The baby’s moving,’ said Clara. ‘I think we just need one more contraction.’
Poor Hannah, she looked exhausted. Marie was holding her hand, encouraging and reassuring her. Clara was right, on the next contraction, the baby was born.
‘A boy,’ Clara said, her voice shaking with relief as she wrapped him in a towel. ‘You have a son.’ She beamed at Hannah and then at David.
A few minutes later, Clara looked at Hannah holding one of her newborn twins while David perched on the edge of the bed with the other one. They looked the perfect family.
‘What will you name them?’ Clara asked softly.
Hannah looked down at her son, then across at her daughter in David’s arms. ‘Sarah,’ she said. ‘And Jakob. After David’s parents.’
‘They’re beautiful,’ whispered Marie, and Clara heard the catch in her friend’s voice. For a few precious minutes, here in the apartment, there was no war, no trucks waiting to take families away, no hatred. Only love for the new life and hope for a future.
Clara’s heart clenched as she looked on. This was why she was a midwife. Why she risked everything. These two tiny souls, these two precious lives that might not have existed if she’d stood by and done nothing.
She looked over at Marie, who met her gaze and smiled.
The moment of peace didn’t last long. Max and Paul were in the sitting room. Then she heard it. The sound that stopped her heart. Friedrich’s voice in the hallway, sharp with shock and anger.
‘What are you doing in my home?’
‘Don’t shoot!’ Paul’s voice cracked with panic. ‘Please, don’t shoot!’
Clara rushed out of the bedroom, Marie following her. ‘Friedrich!’ she cried. He wasn’t supposed to be home yet.
