Love's Abundant Harvest (28 page)

Lucy shook her head. “I wish I was a married mother of these two; they deserve that,
not to suffer because of my mistakes.”

Frieda's heels clacked across the room, loud enough Lucy knew she meant business.
“Don't you fret, Luce.” The door opened and closed.

“What have I done? Should have kept my mouth shut.” Lucy huffed out a breath and
rubbed her tight belly. Just as the contraction melted away, she heard the door again.
Manny's face appeared, and he smiled as he slowly took her hand.

“I'm glad you asked that I come in, but I'm not just here to hold your hand. The
minister is outside. I've asked him to marry us. With your permission, of course.”
His grin faded slightly as he waited for her response.

Lucy covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Tears of joy and fear, comfort and
love streamed down her cheeks as she became aware of her desperate affection for
this man who had been so patient with her and would surely be so with their two children.

“It's okay if you aren't ready. I can wait. But those two little ones aren't gonna
wait, so I thought I'd give you the opportun—”

She moved her hand away and touched his cheek. “
Jah
, I'm ready. I have been, but
was just too stubborn . . . scared or something, I'm not sure.” She patted his cheek.
“I'm sorry, Manny.”

“I know. It's all right. Everything's just as it should be right here, right now.
I can't ask for more.”

His smile could have lit up the room, which just made her cry even more.

He put a hand on her head, stroking her hair. “Are you ready for the minister?”

She nodded, not daring to try and talk with all the emotions going inside her. She
didn't deserve this, him, or everyone who had helped her through the difficult time
she'd had with Sam and now her two little ones.

The door opened once more, and Minister Eben walked over and stood between them.
He gave Lucy a small smile. “You're having a busy day, now, aren't you?”

When she laughed, her belly contracted again. She put a hand on her tummy and breathed
out, hoping there was time. “
Jah
, I sure am. Hope I can make it through this.” She
wanted him to hurry, which made her a little bit sad, but the babies might come any
minute. The pressure increased, and her body told her to push.

The minister opened his Bible. “Well then, let's get to it.” He cleared his throat,
spoke out of both the Old and New Testaments, and said the wedding prayer. The small
number of people speaking was good. Lucy couldn't speak during some of it because
of the pain. Hymns were sung without the
Ausbund
. It was plain and simple as most,
only much shorter because of the situation.

“Are we finished, Eben?” The doctor spoke to him as if he knew him, and the minister
gave him a nod to continue with Lucy's needs.

“Do you know him, Doctor?” Lucy's curiosity had gotten the best of her, but she also
wanted to know. What was it about this man that seemed a bit mysterious?

“Yes. Let's time your contractions.” He went about
getting his instruments without
a moment for her to say a word to Manny. “Hand me the stethoscope, Fannie.”

Fannie
opened her mouth and frowned.

“Of course you will.” Frieda said as she stared Fannie down. Thank goodness the two
of them were together. There was no one else who could tell Fannie what to do, except
for this doctor who seemed to have picked her out of the group.

Fannie tilted her head and took deliberate steps to the dresser where his bag was.

“Lay these out for me on that table next to Lucy.” He handed Fannie a box full of
rubber gloves, light blankets, and a bar of soap.

“Excuse me, Doctor.” Manny moved in closer and kissed Lucy's cheek. “Now, are you
going to let me stay in here?”

The doctor interrupted. “You're not going to have
a choice. Stand back.”

Fannie took her hand as Lucy's back arched and she groaned. It was all she could
do not to scream. Immense pain forced her to go with what her body was telling her,
and she pushed . . . hard.

“
Gut
, Lucy.” Fannie squeezed her hand harder.

The next thing she heard was fussing from Frieda, but she kept her distance, which
Lucy appreciated. She wanted Manny to be the first to hold them. She had carried
them for nine long months. Now it was his time to bond with them.

“Good. Now one more.” The doctor concentrated on the last little one with intensity.
Lucy felt a twinge of concern, creating even more of an effort to push. She worked
through the pain and looked first in Manny's eyes. There were both sadness and gladness
in his face as Frieda and
Rosy took the babies to clean and dry them off. One cry
was loud, almost screeching. The other sound was weak and intermittent, causing alarm
to seep into her mind.

“You did it, little sister.” Fannie soothed her forehead with a cold cloth. She had
a calming way about her that Lucy felt she needed right now, and it was exactly what
she wanted.

When the doctor came over to her, he looked her straight in the eyes. “Your babies
are alive and well. Although your youngest is
nay
-
nay
, crippled. But both of their
vitals are good.”

Hearing the doctor's words brought a mix of emotions. For him to use a Pennsylvania
Dutch slang word told her it was something she needed to understand. But she wouldn't
let herself go there. She had two babies. One would just need more care, and she
could do that, especially with all the love that would be around him . . . or her.
“Are they boys or girls?”

“That's the response I was hoping for.” The doctor almost smiled. “Your strong son
will be a great help to your little daughter.”

Lucy thought she saw a flicker of sadness in his eye, but he didn't seem the type.

“We will work to make her stronger to the best of her abilities.” Fannie chimed in
with words that sounded more like a nurse's response than a sister's, but was just
what Lucy wanted to hear right now.

Mammi
held up the fat-bellied boy. “He came, and he came from muck and mire crying.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy felt left out. Manny held the tiny girl, beaming from ear
to ear.
Mammi
wasn't walking fast enough for her. She motioned with her hands
for
him to hurry.
Mammi
carefully lowered the little guy into Lucy's arms. She took in
all the senses. His brown eyes blinked away a tear, and Lucy wiped it away with her
finger.

“He's just beautiful.” She couldn't stop staring at him, enjoying the moment.

Fannie was talking to Manny as she cleaned up the girl. She tenderly handed her back
to Manny. He walked over holding the tiny girl and sat down beside Lucy with a nod
toward the little boy. “I was thinking we might want to name him after your
daed
.”

Lucy didn't even try to stop the tears from falling again. Manny's gesture was so
like him and her
daed
. “I'd like that. His name is Timmy. Is that okay?”

“That's just fine. And this little one?” He couldn't take his eyes off the infant.
He stroked her face. Her head was quite small and she had distinctive facial features.

“Do you have a name in mind?” She leaned forward to see the little one's thin legs.
She almost started to cry, and then looked up at Manny, who hadn't taken his eyes
off the tiny one. At that moment Lucy knew God had given them this child to raise
because he knew they would have the love she needed from them.

“My
mamm's
name was Rhoda.” He moved the baby's hair off her forehead.

“Didn't she pass away from cancer?” It came back to her now as they were talking
about it, and she had a sudden feeling of remorse for him losing his
mamm
before
she could see her grandbabies.

He nodded and let Rhoda touch his fingers with hers, so small next to his. “
Jah
,
a while ago.” He nodded toward
little Timmy. “Are you going to give someone else
a turn to snuggle with him?”

“I've hardly had a chance to get a good look at Timmy, with him getting passed around.”
She looked down and studied his little face. She moved the strands of hair from her
face to get a better look.

She took in his features and held one hand to her lips. Although he was a newborn,
he looked older than his few minutes of life and much too familiar. He had the features
of her deceased husband, Sam.

M
anny watched Lucy scoop up Rhoda and hold the babe to her chest. The rocking chair
creaked as he slowly rocked Timmy. The little guy wasn't much bigger than his sister,
but was stronger. Rhoda's wailing kept them both up at night. With Verna gone, he
didn't know what they would have done if not for Lucy's
mammi
. Frieda cooked and
cleaned along with Rosy and Nellie. Fannie helped too, but did more of the scheduling,
food preparation, and finances. He wasn't sure whether he liked it, but he wasn't
going to complain. He'd tolerated Verna. Fannie couldn't be much different.

“What are you thinking about?” Lucy was staring at him. She might even have said
something, but he was heavy in thought. He hadn't bargained for all these women around
every minute of the day in a house he didn't live in . . . until now.

“Still getting used to all this.” He didn't want to say more. There was no reason
to give her one more thing to think about. They would be on their own soon enough,
and he'd probably be begging for them to stop by and help.

“If you need some time, one of the girls will take him.” Her eyes flickered toward
Timmy and then away. It concerned him that she hadn't held him other than to nurse
him since she'd given birth a couple days ago. Granted, Rhoda was the one who needed
the most care, and that
was probably all there was to it. Even though he wasn't their
real
daed
, he felt like he was.

“
Nee
, I've done the morning chores and don't need to go back to my place until the
afternoon to get the milking done. Emma dropped by with an update on Caleb. The finger
isn't as good as new, but the doctor says he'll be able to use it just fine.”

“Oh, I'm so glad.” Lucy hugged little Rhoda even closer to her chest.

Even though he was only gone for an hour or so, Manny actually appreciated the time
alone. But he was always glad to come back to Lucy and the babies. He studied Lucy's
face and wondered whether she'd had a minute to take a breath outside or be alone.
He doubted it but thought she should. “Why don't you take a step outside? It's crisp
out there, but it might do you some good.”

Lucy tilted her head and stared at him. “This has to be hard for you, getting married
and fathering two babies in one day. You must have a million thoughts going through
your head.”

“Only a hundred. My mind isn't in full gear yet.” Manny tried to grin, but he found
even that took too much effort. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd never been so
tired. He had baled hay, threshed wheat, chopped tobacco, and more, but none of those
chores caused the ex
haus
tion he was feeling at that moment. When he studied her face,
Manny knew she needed him to reaffirm that he had made the right choice. So did he.

“This is where I'm supposed to be, with the people I'm to be with. There's no looking
back or second thoughts. We both made a choice, and I'm glad we made the one that
we did.”

Lucy lifted her hand over her face and wiped away a tear. It was then he knew he'd
said the right thing, finally. She'd been so upside down and around in circles with
him the last couple of weeks, he wasn't sure what to think. But now he could see
the emotions flowing, relieving her of all the worry and stress she'd surely been
under, from Sam to the babies and her
mamm
and
daed
.

Manny gathered Timmy closer to his chest and walked to her. He sat on the footstool
at her feet and then looked down at her. “You sure are attached to her.”

“
Jah
, such an innocent little thing. Starting out with challenges the minute you
come into this world just doesn't seem fair.” She still had her eyes on Rhoda.

“Nothing's fair in life. You've said that now a number of times yourself. The Lord
giveth and the Lord taketh away.” But something was different this time. Maybe it
was because it affected the little one now, not just Lucy with all she'd dealt with.
Having a babe to bear the burden with would make things different.

“I wish I could take it all away from her, lessen the load she'll have as she grows
older.” Lucy stroked the baby's cheek and smiled slightly.