Chapter One: New Beginnings

Ila

I held a hand on my swollen belly as I watched Shem and the girls pick berries. It had taken over a year of trying and two miscarriages before I finally conceived and past my tenth week. It was heartbreaking, feeling that stab of pain and waking up in a pool of blood, indicating the loss of a baby. The first time I knew I was with child, but the second time I did not. Shem was incredible during those times, cooking and looking after the girls so I could rest. Now I was thirty-one weeks along. I was thrilled that I did not lose it! My belly was huge, but Mother assured me that it was not twins again.

"Mama, look!" Adah yelled.

I walked over to where they were to see a beautiful blue butterfly perched on Adah's shoulder.

"Be still, as not to disturb it." I told her. "Come look Evi, look how beautiful it is."

Evi climbed into my lap and gazed at the butterfly.

"What color is it?" Shem asked the girls.

"Blue!" Evi exclaimed.

Unfortunately, Evi's voice startled the butterfly away. Adah began to sob so Shem lifted her in his arms and rocked her. Evi got upset as well, but only because she wanted her father's attention.

"Buggy come back!" Adah cried.

"It is alright Adah, it had to go home." Shem told her.

"Mama!" She cried.

I put Evi down and took Adah from Shem. Evi ran over to the berry bush while Adah snuggled her head into my chest. It was a little hard to hold the girls with my belly, but I managed.

"Dada eat this now!" Evi said, shoving a raspberry into Shem's mouth.

"That is yummy Evi." Shem told her. "Next time ask dada bug."

"Oh Shem she was just excited." I told him.

I shifted Adah, who had fallen asleep, to my other side and walked over to a shady tree and sat down. Adah let out a sigh before falling right back to sleep with her head on my shoulder. Shem sat down next to me and pulled me close to him.

"She is a force to be reckoned with." Shem said, motioning toward Evi.

"Just like her father." I replied, kissing him.

Later that night, after the girls were fast asleep, I curled up outside with a cup of tea. Quiet was hard enough to come by now, but I knew it was going to be worse in the next two month. I was also worried about having to give birth again. I hardly had false labor this time, thank goodness. Giving birth to the girls was incredibly traumatic and it took weeks for me to recover. Thankfully this time will be different, I kept telling myself. We will be on land, Shem will be with me, and my child will be safe. I did not even realize I had begun to cry until I felt someone wipe my tears away. I looked up to meet Shem's beautiful hazel eyes.

"Are you alright love?" He asked me.

"Just hormones." I replied.

"I know you are nervous, truthfully I am as well. Three children are going to be hard, but we can do it." He told me, staring into my eyes. "You are an incredible mother Ila."

"You think so?" I asked him tearfully.

"Of course I do, I have no idea why you doubt yourself so much love." He replied.

"Maybe it is because I pale in comparison to you." I suggested.

I climbed into his lap as best I could and kissed the side of his face.

"You are. Perfect. In. Every. Way." I said in between kisses.

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Shem

To say I was relaxed was a bit of an understatement. Ila was a month away from giving birth and both of the girls were starting to act out. Evi seemed to be throwing tantrums left and right while Adah just wanted to be held. Ila was exhausted from dealing with both of them so Mother had decided to stay with us for a little while, at least until things calmed down a bit. It was great that she was here because I was busy most days building a new cot for the baby since the girls still used theirs. It was nice distraction, especially on mornings like this. Ila was busy getting milk from one of the goats while Mother was trying to get the girls to eat their breakfast, some bread and honey. Adah was trying to get outside to find Ila while Evi was screaming at the top of her lungs, refusing to eat.

"Adah come sit down with Naama." I said picking her up.

"No, my mama!" She cried.

I held her in my lap while I tried to get her to eat. Mother had completely given up on Evi and was letting her tire herself out. When Ila came back in a few minutes later, Adah flew out of my arms and launched herself at her mother. I grabbed the bucket of milk out of Ila's hand as she rocked Adah in her arms.

"Sh, it is alright my love." Ila told her. "Let's finish your breakfast."

While Ila dealt with Adah I grabbed Evi, who had calmed down a bit, and took her outside. Putting her down on the grass next to me, I began to finish carving the cot.

"Dada mine." Evi said, motioning towards the cot.

"No that is for the baby in Mama's belly." I told her.

"No. Mine." She stated.

I talked to Evi while I continued my work. She could not hold a conversation but she used a lot of her own words. She told me about her toys and the bugs on the ground. She loved playing with ants and beetles, which Ila was not too fond of.

"Evi would you like the rest of your breakfast now?" I asked my daughter.

"Yes." She said firmly.

I brought her back home and watched as she scarfed down her food.

"Well someone was hungry." Ila said with her hands on her hips.

"She worked up an appetite talking." I told her.

"Why don't you go play with Naama and Adah?" Ila said to Evi.

Evi took her cup of milk and ran with it to the other room. I walked over to Ila and wrapped my arms around her.

"Someone is affectionate today." She said to me.

"Well let's just say I had a very good night's sleep." I replied with a wink.

She pushed me away as she went back into the kitchen. I followed her to see she was making jam. So far she had made three jars.

"What is that for?" I asked her.

"The girls will be three in a few days; I want to make them a nice treat." She replied. "Did you forget?"

"Of course I did not forget, I just try not to remember that they are getting older." I told her.

"Well whether you like it or not they are going to grow up." She told me, caressing my face gently.

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