Chapter Seven
Ghosts & Babies
Chrissy was wrong in thinking this might not be a good day.-August the twelfth was a good day.-A wonderful day.-Johnny had put on the blue “pajamas", the blue shoe covers and the little white tie on mask and had come into the delivery room with her.-He had held her hand, encouraged her to breathe as they had learned during the birthing classes and had let her squeeze his hand until it was numb during the pain of childbirth.-They had decided they didn’t want any drugs or painkillers; she wanted to be wide awake to see the child she would bring into the world as soon as he made his appearance.-After nearly twelve hours of hard labor, Thomas Allan O’Reilly was born at three fifteen in the afternoon.-By that time, Penny was at the hospital and being prepared for her own delivery but she was able to see little Tommy, her grandson, for a few short minutes after he was born.-The proud grandpa was in attendance as well and prepared to become a new father for the fourth time a little while later.-He, too, held his wife’s hand and marveled anew at the miracle of birth.
For Penny it was a hard delivery and a long one.-Lorrie Anne Wroe wasn’t born until eleven twenty-three that night but it was still August twelfth.-Aunt Lorrie and nephew Tommy would have the same date of birth.-Both babies and both mothers were doing splendidly.-As for the babies’ fathers, it was really difficult to tell who was the proudest.-To listen to them, one would have thought they had single-handedly brought their babies into the world without even the help of the mothers.-Johnny had gone to the gift shop and bought regular cigars, a box for a boy and a box for a girl as well as several “bubble-gum cigars” so the twins would have something to show for the birth of their little sister and their nephew, Tommy Allan.-
The mothers had both decided to breast feed.-They figured that was the only way not to get bottles and formula all mixed up.-Their doctor had recommended breast-feeding as the best method for both of them.--Chrissy would use the blue diapers for boys and Penny would use the girlie ones with the pink bows.-That should eliminate mix-ups in that department.-Of course, there would be water and juice bottles but they would try to color code them as well.-They had put them into a room in beds beside each other.-That had been almost fun.-They had both had some uncomfortable periods after the births but they could empathize with each other and sharing things really did help.-
Andy and Candy were both a little jittery.-They couldn’t decide whether to be apprehensive, excited, or jealous.-
“They really do get an awful lot of ‘tention, don’t they?”-Candy observed.
“And they can sure cry loud, too,” Andy agreed.
“I bet Mama won’t ever have time to bake us any more sugar cookies.
“Prob’ly not.”
“Lorrie is a lot cuter than Tommy.-Tommy has such a mess of red hair.”
“Oh, I think it’s kinda cute.-And he’s got dimples, too.”-After all, he was their sister's baby.-So he had to be fairly cute.
“But Lorrie Anne is our sister, too.-That’s kinda weird isn’t it?-We have one sister who is a baby and another sister who has a baby.”
“You know, it’s only two weeks until school starts.-I just can’t hardly wait to be in first grade.”
“Me neither.”
“Have you kids finished your chores?”-Aunt Winnie was alright and she gave fabulous presents, but she sure was a stickler for chores.-If she was still here after school started, she’d probably be just as bad about homework.-“When you’ve finished your chores, I’ve got one more for you to do.”
The twins groaned in unison.
“Oh, I’m sorry.-I just thought Fritter and Jolene probably needed some exercise but if you don’t want to—“
“Oh, yes, we’d be glad to give them exercise, Aunt Winnie.-Can we do it right now?”
“Let’s see; I believe it was Andy’s turn to empty the dishwasher and put the dishes away.-Candy was supposed to put out fresh water and feed for the chickens.- Let me check.-No, I believe the dishes are still in the dishwasher and I don’t think the chickens have been fed and watered, either.”
“We could do those jobs right after we exercise the horses, Aunt Winnie.”
“And we’d do it good, too, and you wouldn’t have to tell us again.-Please?”
“Sorry.-Nope.-First things first.-Chickens, dishes, and then horses.”
“Well, okay.”-It didn’t take long to get the first two done.-But the rest of the evening was spent saddling and riding Fritter and Jolene.-There was no way to tell who enjoyed it more, the twins or Aunt Winnie.-They had just finished unsaddling the horses, rubbing them down and giving them feed and water when Ed and Johnny got home from the hospital.
“Guess what.”-Johnny was obviously excited.-“All four of them get to come home tomorrow.-Isn’t that great?”
“Guess what else?”-Ed chimed in.-“Now Johnny gets to learn how to change diapers.”-They all laughed.-The twins couldn’t imagine Johnny even holding a tiny baby much less changing its diaper.
“Can you change diapers, Dad?”-Andy wanted to know.
“Absolutely.-I used to change your diapers all the time.-When you were babies, your mother had a club meeting she went to each Thursday night.-I took care of the two of you while she was gone to her meeting.-I used to tell her that both of you waited to poop in your diapers until she had left for her meeting.-Every week.-Just like clockwork.-Thursday evening meant poopy diapers and me changing them.”
Aunt Winnie laughed loud and long; but the twins were a little embarrassed by the story.
“I’m way out of practice, though, so I’ll have to do some re-learning.”
“I guess I’ll need a refresher course, too.-I worked as a baby-sitter some when I was a teenager, but that’s been a long, long time ago.-Don’t go running off, Johnny.-You may as well stay here for supper.-I’ve got it just ready to take off the stove.-There are fried potatoes, pork chops, gravy, biscuits and a salad.-And I put onions in the potatoes before I fried them.”
“Ooh, that’s sounds too good to pass up, Aunt Winnie.-Thank you.-I’ll just help Pop finish feeding and milking and then we’ll be ready to eat.-Do you kids want to shell some corn for the chickens and put out some water for them?”
Together they informed him:-“We already did that.”
“Without any prompting?”-Ed could hardly believe that.
“Well, Aunt Winnie kinda told us we could ride the horses when our chores were done.-I unloaded the dishwasher and put the dishes away.”
“And I fed and watered the chickens,” Candy finished.-“So it’s all done.
“Well, I’m still proud of you.-It won’t take long for Johnny and me to finish everything else.”
“I’ll get the supper dishes cleaned up and we’ll be sure to have everything in order for tomorrow.-I’m so excited about being able to hold the babies.”-Aunt Winnie had surely been an answer to prayer in watching the children during the time their mother and sister were in the hospital.
Mid-August in Kentucky was usually hot and humid and therefore, miserable and the first half of August had definitely lived up to that billing.-However, August 15 this year had dawned unseasonably cool and the humidity was down in the tolerable zone as well.-Penny sat in the front seat with Ed on the ride home from Owensboro; Chrissy sat in the second seat of the Rendezvous with the babies strapped in their brand new car seats beside her.-Johnny lounged in the third row seat with all the paraphernalia, the flowers, and all the other stuff from the hospital.-The ladies’ overnight bags were between the third row seat and the hatch at the back.-It seemed simpler than taking two vehicles.
Arriving at the farm house, they saw Aunt Winnie, Andy, Candy, Grandmother Lydia, Bruce and Janet all waiting for them.-The new mothers weren’t allowed to carry anything into the house, not even the babies.-That wasn’t doctor’s orders; that was family wanting to get hold of those tiny newborns.-After a couple of days, Johnny and Chrissy would take Tommy and go on to their house; but for right now they were sharing.-
“Oh,
there’s something wrong with Lorrie Ann, Mama.”-Candy saw the baby’s little face get all red and squinted-up and she didn’t know what was going on.-Then Baby Lorrie let out a loud squall and began to shake her tiny fists and kick her feet and both the twins thought maybe she was having a fit or something.
“What’s the matter with her, Mama?”-Andy was alarmed, too.
Suddenly on the second floor, doors started slamming worse than they’d ever heard them before.
“It’s alright,” Aunt Winnie said loudly.-“She’s just in a strange place and a little frightened and probably hungry.”-The banging stopped almost at once and the twins settled down, too.
Penny took Lorrie and helped her find her nipple and soon she was sucking voraciously at Penny’s breast.-When Tommy started squirming, Chrissy decided he would be getting hungry, too.-So, she nursed him and he settled down immediately.-When they were finished eating, the mothers burped them and they both went right to sleep.-Then they put them down in their car seat/carriers and set them on the coffee table.-They were definitely the center of attention.-
They didn’t really look like twins but they were nearly the same size.-Tommy had weighed eight pounds and two ounces and Lorrie had balanced the scales at seven pounds and fourteen ounces.-Tommy had been almost two inches longer, though, than Lorrie Ann.-The dainty features of the little girl were topped by lots of longish, dark hair that looked as if it might curl.-Fiery red hair with blond highlights and almost invisible eyebrows were Tommy’s prominent features along with more than a hint of a dimple in both cheeks. Both pairs of eyes looked blue but that could change in a month or two.-Of course they were the most beautiful babies in the whole world.-