Angel of the Cove (38 page)

Simon followed as John opened the door to his house and rushed
in. He'd never seen his brother so upset, and he was glad Anna had suggested John come for him. John stopped at the closed door to the bedroom and turned back to Simon. “Anna's in there with her. You think I need to let 'er know we're back?”

Simon put his hand on his brother's shoulder. “Don't interrupt Anna. She'll come out and let you know when there's any news. We just need to settle down and wait. That's gonna be the hard part.”

John nodded and sank down in one of the kitchen chairs. His hands shook as he laced his fingers together and rested them on top of the table. He turned frightened eyes to Simon. “I just got this real bad feelin', Simon. I don't know why, but I do.”

Simon walked over and gripped his brother's shoulder. “We'll pray through this night, John. Martha and the baby will be all right.”

At that moment the door to the bedroom opened, and Anna emerged. John was out of his seat in a flash and ran toward Anna. “Miss Anna, how's Martha? Can I see her?”

Anna grabbed his arm and steered him back toward the kitchen. “Let her rest a minute, John.”

She glanced up, and Simon's heart constricted at the look in her eyes. There
was
something wrong. He could see it in her face, and he could hear it in her trembling voice. John was too wrapped up in his concern for Martha to notice, but to Simon there was no mistaking the fact this wasn't going to be a normal birth.

Simon cleared his throat. “John, did you get a chance to tend to the livestock before you went to get Anna?”

A look of surprise crossed his face. “When Martha started havin' pains, I stayed with her and didn't go to the barn. Then when I got back from Granny's, I forgot.”

Simon put his hand on his brother's back and steered him to the back door. “Why don't you go check on things now? It'll take your mind off Martha for a few minutes.”

John glanced back at the bedroom door. “Yeah, I guess I'd better go to the barn. But you'll call me, won't you, Miss Anna, if you need me?”

Anna smiled. “I will, John.”

Simon stood at the back door and watched his brother walk
toward the barn. Then he whirled around and faced Anna. “All right, tell me what's wrong.”

She sucked in her breath. “How do you know something's wrong?”

He took a step closer. “It's obvious to me, but I don't want John upset. That's why I sent him to the barn. Now tell me.”

Anna's lips trembled as she looked at him. “The baby's in a breech position, and I haven't been able to turn him from the outside.”

Simon frowned. “Is this dangerous?”

“Yes.”

He swallowed. “For Martha or the baby?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “If it comes down to the two, I would try to save Martha first.”

Simon exhaled in surprise. “It's that serious?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

Simon walked back to the door and looked outside. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, then turned back to face Anna. “Do you want me to go for your uncle?”

“I thought of that, but it's miles there and back. Besides, he might not even be there. He could be anywhere in the mountains taking care of a patient.”

Simon came back to her and gripped her arms. “Then what are we to do?”

She looked up at him, and his heart sank at the fear he saw in her eyes. “John is too upset already to be any help to me. I want you to stay with me and help until this ordeal's over.”

He nodded. “I'll be here as long as you need me.”

Simon sat beside Martha's bed, his watch in his hand as he timed the contractions. He blinked his eyes in an effort to stay awake and peered at the time. Four o'clock in the morning. He and Anna had been at this for hours, and Martha had progressed little since he first entered the room. According to Anna, Martha must be approaching her fifteenth hour in this ordeal.

The door opened and Anna tiptoed back inside. She bent over and whispered in his ear. “John's fallen asleep at the kitchen table. I didn't disturb him. It's better if he doesn't realize how long this is taking.”

Simon nodded and stood up. “I think I'll stretch my legs for a few minutes. The pains are now about seven minutes apart.”

Anna frowned. “They're getting closer.”

Simon stretched his arms over his head and yawned before he walked to the far end of the bed. He glanced down at Anna's instruments laid out on the table. His foot hit a box on the floor, and it rattled. Anna, bent over Martha, seemed not to notice. He reached down and lifted the top. What he saw caused him to recoil in horror, and he dropped the lid back in place.

Anna turned at the sound and walked toward him. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

His teeth clenched as he glanced back down at the box. “What is that thing?”

Anna held her fingers up to her mouth to silence him. “Shh! She might hear you.”

He grabbed her arms. “Tell me what it is.”

She glanced back at Martha, took his hand, and pulled him from the room. They passed John, who was still sleeping, and stepped outside the house. Then she turned back to him. “Simon, you shouldn't have looked in the box.”

“Tell me what it is!”

Her trembling hand went to her head, and she smoothed her hair back from her face. “I don't even want to think about it, but I'm so scared. If Martha's not able to deliver the baby, I may have to use that horrible thing.”

Fear rose up in Simon. “How?”

She began to cry. “You have to dismember the baby with it so the mother can expel the body.”

“No!” he gasped. “You can't do that to Martha and John's baby.”

“I don't want to. But what if it means saving Martha's life?”

Her body convulsed with sobs, and Simon, feeling completely helpless, stared at her. Slowly he reached out and wrapped her in his
arms. She clutched at his shirt and cried into his chest. He pressed his mouth to the top of her head and kissed the golden hair he'd thought so beautiful the first time he'd seen her.

He stroked her hair and held her close. “Anna, don't cry. We're going to get through this. I'm going to be there with you every minute. And I'll help you with anything you have to do.”

She grasped his shirt tighter. “Oh, Simon, thank you. I couldn't stand it if I were alone tonight.”

He reached in his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief she'd wrapped around his finger that first afternoon and began to dry her tears. “Calm down. We've still got a long road ahead of us.”

They walked back into the house, tiptoeing past John. As Anna opened the door to Martha's room, she glanced down at the handkerchief in Simon's hand. She looked up at him. “You still have my handkerchief?”

He smiled at her. “I told you I would tell everybody you were a good nurse. Martha was the first one I told. Now let's go see about bringing my brother's child into this world.”

A groan came from the bed as Anna and Simon reentered the room. Remorse at leaving Martha alone washed over Anna, and she rushed to bend over her. “Did you think we'd deserted you, Martha?”

She smiled up. “I think I drifted off to sleep between pains. When I woke up you were gone, but I knew you'd be back.”

Simon patted his sister-in-law on the arm. “We just stretched our legs for a minute and checked on John. But we're back to stay for the duration now, Martha.”

She tried to push herself up in bed, but Anna restrained her. “What do you want?”

She glanced toward the door. “How's John doing?”

Simon chuckled. “He's doin' fine. Better than any of us. He's drifted off to sleep at the kitchen table.”

Martha smiled and lay back against the pillow. “Good. He worries so about me. It's best he sleep through all this.”

Another contraction hit her at that moment, and she gasped with
the pain of it. After it had passed, she relaxed and looked up at Anna. “How much longer you think this is gonna go on, Anna?”

Anna bent over and brushed Martha's hair back from her eyes. “This baby still hasn't let me know. As soon as I get the message, I'll tell you.”

Martha closed her eyes, a weak laugh coming from her throat. “You're so sweet, Anna. I cain't wait for us to be sisters.”

Anna's eyes widened, and she glanced up at Simon. He studied her with serious eyes. How she wished it were possible to be a part of this family.

Suddenly Martha's eyelids shot upward and she cried out. Anna rushed to the far end of the bed and her heart plummeted to the bottom of her stomach at what she saw.

S
imon heard the gasp from Anna's mouth and turned to see what had caused it. She stood at the far end of the bed, her face white. Martha struggled to raise her head from the pillow but fell back. He rearranged the pillow under Martha's head and turned to face Anna.

For a moment she stood there as if frozen in fear. Then, slowly, her eyes narrowed and her head tilted. As he watched, a transformation began to take place. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip and she took a deep breath. She squared her shoulders and straightened, her body language now giving the impression of someone who was in control of her emotions.

“Martha,” she crooned, almost as if she was singing a lullaby, “the baby's bottom is coming first. Now this is a problem, but Simon and I are going to get you through this.”

Martha gasped as another pain convulsed her body. “I…I know.”

Anna raised cool eyes to Simon. “Be ready to do whatever I say, Simon.”

He nodded and swallowed, in awe of the strength he now saw in Anna. She moved so that he couldn't see what her hands were doing, but she appeared completely absorbed in the mission before her.

Martha groaned. “Anna?”

“Yes, darling, take it easy. I need you to bear down with your contractions now.”

Martha writhed on the bed as another pain hit.

“That's good, Martha. I have her legs out now.”

Martha's eyes lit up. “Is it a girl?”

“It's a girl.” The muscle in Anna's jaw twitched and she took a deep breath. “All right, we have another little problem. Her arms are over her head and aren't going to deliver on their own. I'm going to give her body a half turn to try to deliver the first one.”

She worked in silence for a few moments, then nodded her head. “And now a half turn to get the other one. I don't mean to hurt you, Martha, but we have to do this as quickly as possible.”

Martha gripped the side of the bed. “D-don't w-worry 'bout m-me.”

Anna worked silently for a moment longer before she looked up. “Now Simon, I need you to help me with the head.”

He moved closer to Anna, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the baby's lower body lying with its stomach resting on Anna's upturned left arm, its head still enclosed. Her right hand rested on the baby's shoulders.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked.

She glanced up. “I have two fingers of my left hand in the baby's mouth. I'm going to apply some downward pressure on the jaw. I want you to press on the lower part of Martha's abdomen to help me deliver the head.”

Simon placed his hands where she directed and began to press down as Anna's right hand fingers gently flexed the back of the head toward its chest. Slowly the hairline of the head appeared. Simon's heart pounded as Anna raised her arm when the mouth and nose emerged. She looked up at him, a huge smile beaming on her face as a loud wail filled the room.

She nodded toward John's shirt, which hung on a chair next to the wall. “Put that on the bed for me.”

Simon rushed to do as she said and watched as she laid the child in it. Before he realized what was happening, she had clamped the cord and wrapped the baby in the tradition of the mountains.