she was pregnant. Her profile, however, would lead anyone to think she was expecting triplets. She felt wonderful, if ponderous, and as long as she wasn’t required to touch her toes all was well.
Since Annie was so well, Charlton was as happy as a man could be. His home was happy, his expectant wife a joy and his farm was doing well. The Farmer’s Almanac promised a good year for crops.
June 6th, 1866--Dover Pennsylvania
Sarah’s garden was the talk of the family, and quite a few friends as well. Everything she planted was half again as big as anything anyone else was growing. She was questioned about fertilizers and soil conditions. How did she do it?
It had always been this way for her. Her garden was always the most bounteous around. The fruit trees she planted with her own hands would bear fruit a full two years before others planted at the same time. Flowers grew larger, more vibrant blossoms.
Root crops did remarkably well for her, too. The carrots she harvested reached from the tips of her fingers to her elbows, and stayed tender and sweet, too. Sarah never had to fight plant diseases and garden pests. Her roses were never plagued with aphids; her garden never had weevils or hornworms or any other infestations. Something in her hands of light gave added energy to everything she touched. Her garden was a testament to the force of her own life.
She was cutting heads of cabbage, intending to brine a batch of sauerkraut. Towzer D yipped from her post on the other side of the garden gate. The fat tail thumping the ground told Sarah that family was approaching.
It was Eliza, out of breath. Eliza had been running, to fetch Sarah; Annie was in labor.
Annie would not consider calling a doctor or a midwife. She believed that between Momma and Sarah, they could take care of everything. Much to Eliza’s frustration, Sarah put the cabbage inside and went to find Hixson.
Eliza felt that everyone should be running: there was a baby on the way! Sarah told her to calm down, there was plenty of time.
“Why don’t you just send Towzer D to get him?” Eliza asked.
“I only send her when I need him to come a-running. I can deliver messages myself. He shouldn’t have to run to me every time I want to just tell him something. It’d be like crying ‘wolf’ all the time.” To make Eliza feel better, Sarah did walk faster, to make it look like she was in a hurry.
After telling Hixson where she was going, Sarah told Towzer D to stay. Hixson called the dog to him. Sarah walked with Eliza back to Annie’s house.
Momma was already there when they arrived; she was helping Annie into a nightgown. This was not the time for binding clothes. Eliza was surprised that no one was bustling about. Annie was calm but excited. Momma and Sarah behaved as if this were any other day, Eliza thought.
Sarah assured Eliza that there was a long wait ahead. For the present, all they could do was keep Annie company. “It might be tomorrow before anything much happens.”
There wasn’t very much that Eliza could do for Annie. With the two grown women there, she wasn’t even needed to keep Annie company. She went to town to tell Emma the news, and returned at once.
Still, Eliza needed to keep busy. To fill the waiting time, she attended to the chores and to Charlton. He was trying to act like he wasn’t paying attention and that Annie’s labor was far from his mind. He didn’t fool anyone.
Until the time was closer, there wasn’t much Momma or Sarah could do for Annie either. They chatted, or rubbed her back, and encouraged her to keep walking. And they waited. Annie paced the room in a patient labor for hours.
Emma came over after the bakery closed. Caleb stayed behind to finish the day’s tasks. Emma brought with her a mineral oil she had infused with rose petals. She rubbed Annie’s feet with the scented oil. It was very relaxing: just what Annie needed. The slow hours were tedious.
Annie’s labor felt like it was all in her back and she was getting quite uncomfortable. Emma had a firm hand and offered to massage Annie’s back. She used the scented oil at first, and then paused. “I know what is needed here. I’ll be right back.” She left the room, leaving the others to wonder.
Emma heated a cast iron skillet, and filled it with dried field corn. She stirred the corn, warming it well in the hot pan. Then she poured the corn into a small sack, and wrapped it again in a dishtowel.
After a good, firm back rub, Emma pressed the warm pack against Annie’s aching back. The massage, the oil and the heat made her far more comfortable.
Just after sundown, voices rose in excitement. Annie’s time was close, now. The men were all in the kitchen, waiting. Eliza was told to heat four plates in the oven. These would be used to warm the baby’s bed. A new baby didn’t generate enough heat themselves yet to warm their own bed.
Eliza stoked the fire, put six plates in the oven and then two more. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing, she told herself. She sat with her father and brothers until the plates were warmed.
Eliza put the first four into the cradle, to start warming it. Momma teased her about the size of the baby she thought Annie was working on.
By nine that evening Annie was straining very hard, pushing with all her might. The contractions were close together and very strong. Sarah helped to support her, and comfort her between contractions. Emma and Momma got ready to catch.
Half an hour later, Annie was holding a wet, howling, perfect baby boy in her arms. Momma cleaned up the baby, Sarah attended to Annie, and Emma settled the room so Charlton could come in.
In the kitchen, they listened to the hollering and the moans, and finally the cries of a brand new set of lungs. The silence of the men revealed their anxiety.
When Charlton heard the baby cry and Annie’s joyful voice he beamed the joy of fatherhood. He could hear that both were well. He sprang to his feet and nearly ran when Momma called him in to the bedroom.
Charlton sat with Annie and their new son. Momma, Emma and Sarah left them alone to enjoy their first moments as a new family. They came out to find that Hixson, Poppa and especially Eliza had very mixed feelings.
Poppa asked first, “Are they both alright?”
“You have a handsome grandson, Poppa!” Momma was almost too happy to speak.
Eliza asked in an accusatory voice, “Annie was hollering. Couldn’t you have taken her pain away?” The expression on Hixson’s and Poppa’s faces reflected the same question.
A look passed between the women, a look of amusement. Sarah stood behind Eliza and put her arms around the girl. “That wasn’t really pain, honey. It was mostly just very hard work. Oh it hurts, yes, but it’s not a bad kind of pain. If I had taken it away, she would have been sleeping. Then she wouldn’t have been able to do the work it takes to bring a baby into the world.
“If something had gone wrong, I would have had to do something. But everything was exactly as it should be. That was the kind of pain a woman has to pay, to have the joy. She isn’t hurting now or thinking about how it hurt. She’s holding your nephew and feeling like the happiest woman alive.”
This was an idea Hixson had never considered. He hadn’t thought much more about childbirth than any other young man. He had never noticed that there were some kinds of pain that were good.
Thinking back, he recalled what Emma had told the parents of that little boy with the broken leg. He needed the pain to be a guide to him so he didn’t break it again. It occurred to Hixson that many times Sarah had not tried very hard to take away pain. When someone came to her with a strain or sprain, she didn’t put much of herself into the healing. Now he understood that she was making them more comfortable, but not eliminating the pain.
He was used to thinking of pain with a view to what he had seen in the war and more recently, what Sarah had endured. In normal circumstances, he realized, people sometimes needed a little pain to tell them what their limits were.
Charlton came out of the bedroom, beaming. “I would like to introduce you to Martin Overby Morris.” Poppa was so pleased. They had named the baby after the two grand
fathers. Overby was Poppa’s baptismal name because Overby had been his momma’s maiden name. Martin was Annie’s maiden name.
Poppa felt sorry, knowing that Annie would be missing her parents especially right now. It was a proud thing to show a healthy new baby to the grandparents. What a shame that Annie would never get to do that.
Eliza had never seen a newborn so closely before. She couldn’t believe how tiny he was. She gazed at his pinched little face, still red and blotchy, and stroked his tiny hand.
Overby was a fine baby, and a big one, too. Momma guessed him at about 8 pounds. He had a downy fuzz of light brown hair. Annie was feeling very well but exhausted. Momma stayed that night, to help.
Hixson and Sarah went home in silence. They each had a lot on their minds, and both were very tired. It had been a busy, exciting day.
Sarah lay in her bed, eyes open. Hixson had fallen asleep right away, but Sarah was restless. Part of her was still reveling in the joy of the day. Part of her was a little jealous. She wondered when it was going to happen for them. There was a sharp edge of worry to the wondering. What if I can’t, now? What if I’m damaged? What if I can’t have children?
Hixson rolled over and woke to see her still awake, eyes wide and looking at the ceiling. “Can’t sleep?” He murmured.
“I was just thinking.” She said.
“About?”
“Well, new babies I guess.”
“Are