Chapter Four
Buck heard Lark fussing in the room upstairs. He took the stairs two at a time and walked softly into the room. Lark had toddled over to her mother's bedside and was crying as she clung to Paulina's fingers.
Lark looked up at Buck as he walked into the room. "Want mama," she sobbed as she pointed to Paulina.
Buck picked up the tiny child and she wrapped her little arms around his neck. "I know you do, Little One," he said as he rocked her. "Mama's just sleeping, but she's gonna be as good as new soon. You'll see."
"I'll watch over Paulina, if you want to take care of Lark or catch a nap," Rachel said walking in the room behind him.
Buck nodded. He took the two year old back to her bedroom and laid her gently on her bed. He changed her, dressed her in her night gown, and tucked her into her bed. He was glad he managed to distract the sleepy little girl enough to possibly get her to go to sleep.
"Storwy pwease," Lark insisted.
Buck smiled at her. "Would you like a Sendeh story or the one about White Crow?"
"No, mama storwy," Lark said.
Buck smiled. Lark did seem to like the stories Paulina made up better. Mostly, Buck thought that was because of the way she told them. Paulina really got into the telling of the story. She used large gestures and different voices for all the characters.
"Pwincess Me, pwease," she said smiling.
"Oh, you think I should tell you a Princess Lark story?" Buck teased.
Lark giggled as Buck tickled her.
"I probably won't tell it as well as your mama," Buck said and drifted his gaze toward his bedroom. He got lost in worry as he watched Rachel close the door.
"Storwy papa!" Lark pouted.
Buck looked back at his daughter and could see her brow furrowing. If he did not start the story soon, there would be crying. The poor little girl had been through so much today.
"Ok, ok," Buck said. "Once upon a time there was a little princess named, Lark and she was lost in the woods…"
This was the only one of the countless "Princess Lark" stories he really remembered. This one was Paulina's way of telling Lark about when she was pregnant with the little girl and the day she was born. The story was about the princess finding her family and living happily ever after. Buck had to smile at Paulina's imagination. He and Paulina had been married for almost a year before they finally found out she was pregnant. Paulina really wanted children and though Buck was scared, he wanted to give them to her. They had a lot of fun trying, but there was also a lot of pain. Paulina felt like a failure every month that went by and she looked at Lou with envy. Kid and Lou had nearly three by the time Buck and Paulina got married. Buck assured her he was happy and she was all he would ever need, but she still did not think she would be content without children. He remembered the day Paulina told him she was pregnant like it was yesterday.
It was a warm fall day and Buck was just finishing up the building of a corral. Paulina had been working on some apple butter the last few days, she had needed more jars so she went into town. She said she had some other errands to run too. Buck could see the buckboard approaching as Paulina returned.
Paulina always smiled when she turned the corner onto their property, but today she was positively beaming. Buck grabbed his shirt off the fence and slung it over his shoulder as he went to meet the buckboard.
"What has you so happy today?" Buck asked as he helped Paulina down from the wagon.
"It's happened, Buck!" she shouted. "We're going to be parents! I'm pregnant!"
Buck smiled, threw his hat in the air, and whooped. He did not realize how much he had wanted children. He pulled Paulina into a hug and whirled her around.
"Did the doctor say when our son would be born?" Buck asked. It would be the first time he taunted her about the sex of the baby.
Paulina laughed at his assumption. "He said our child, who might well be a daughter, would arrive in the spring, probably sometime in April."
Buck then knelt before her and placed a hand on her womb. "Hello, Little One," he whispered.
Paulina sunk down to her knees and kissed Buck. "I'm so happy," she said. "I love you."
Buck moved his hands up to hold her face in his hands. "I love you too, Paulina Cross," he said. "You're gonna make a great mother."
Buck really did think so. Before they were married, almost a year ago now, Paulina would sit with Kid and Lou's children from time to time to give Lou the time and space she needed. Their children Peter and Ellie were already calling her "Aunt Paulina" by then. Lou was heavily pregnant with the youngest, Seth, by the time the wedding came around and the doctor put her on bed rest. Paulina stepped in and took charge of the children those last couple of weeks of November, so Kid could work. Paulina looked truly happy caring for children.
The rest of this fall into winter, the pair began preparing for the arrival of their own child. Buck put the finishing touches on the nursery. It seemed they had been trying so long for a child and not having any luck. Things for a baby did not seem like a priority when they were settling into their new place. It was now. They both made and collected things for the baby, Buck made some furniture for the room and Paulina didn't really sew, but she did most of the decorating. Rachel had taught Paulina how to knit back when Lou was expecting her last baby, so Paulina did try her hand at making booties. Rachel and Lou made much of the baby clothes and diapers. They had almost everything they would need to care for their baby. Now all they had to do was wait.
Buck smiled when he thought back to conversations they had about naming their little Lark. They had a bit of time to kill and had many conversations, but somehow they always took on a playful nature.
"Buck, how do your people name their children?" Paulina asked. "I mean do they have names that are common. Do they have the Kiowa equivalent to John and Mary?"
Buck smiled. "No, not really," he said. "I guess there are common birds and animals that appear in names, but I guess mostly we just let nature inspire us."
"I was thinking about picking out baby names before she gets here," Paulina said. "What do you think of the name 'Elizabeth'? Do you think she'll like it?"
"You mean 'he'," Buck corrected with a teasing smile. "I don't think our son will like the name 'Elizabeth'."
Paulina laughed. "Alright, Buck you suggest a name for the baby."
"I've always thought wolves were nice in a name," Buck said. "I'd name 'him' something with a wolf in it."
"I don't think our daughter will like the name 'Howling Wolf'."
The thought made Buck laugh even now. Perhaps 'Howling Wolf' was really a better name for Lark, especially when she was cranky.
"I'll make you a deal," Buck said confidently. "When our son is born, I'll let you name him."
"I agree as long as you agree to name our daughter when she is born," Paulina stipulated.
"Ok, it's a deal," Buck said almost wearily. He hoped for a boy, he didn't know if he could pick a nice girl's name.
The day Lark was born was perhaps the scariest day of Buck's life, next to today. He had just come home from working with Teaspoon and everything was so still around the place. Paulina did not come out to meet him like she usually did. Of course she was very heavy with child at that point in her pregnancy. Rachel was due to stop by that evening so Buck had not been concerned. Rachel was coming by nearly every day for a while now to help Paulina while Buck was away working as a deputy in town. She had to help Lou with something. Buck could not even remember now what it was. Paulina convinced Rachel that she would be fine. Buck made it a point to be home early that day. He had a bad feeling about that day and did not like her to be alone now that she was so close to giving birth.
Instead of taking care of his horse, Buck went straight into the house. Paulina was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. Her water had broken, she was in labor, and had been for a while.
"Oh, Buck, thank God you're here!" Paulina cried out.
Buck rushed to her side. "Paulina, how long have you been like this?" he asked panicked.
"The baby's coming, Buck!" she screamed as a contraction hit her. "I feel like I want to push."
"Hold on, Paulina," Buck said. He tried to take a deep breath and think. It had been almost ten years since he had delivered a baby, but he was a little more prepared this time. He was in his home instead of a covered wagon in the middle of nowhere.
Paulina screamed again. The contractions were very close together. Buck grabbed some cushions off the chairs and tried to make his wife more comfortable.
"I just need to look," Buck said in his most calming voice, which was shaky because this was his wife and he was scared. He lifted her night dress. He could see the top of the baby's head. He looked up at his wife's face quick and then looked back down. It was time to push. Buck quickly grabbed some towels from the kitchen. There wasn't time to get the ones they set aside for this moment.
"Alright, Paulina," Buck said looking his wife straight in the eye. "When the next contraction hits you're gonna push."
Paulina's expression scared him so much. She was scared. She began to nod as she realized that it was time. "I'm scared, Buck," she said.
"Everything's going to be fine," Buck reassured her. He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Our baby's almost here."
The next contraction hit her as they were holding hands. She squeezed his hand tightly and wouldn't let go.
"Paulina, let go of my hand," Buck begged almost in a panic. "I need my hand back, sweetheart. I have to use it to catch the baby."
Buck was able to transfer her hand to the banister on the stairs just in time to keep the baby's head from hitting the floor. He cleaned the baby's mouth and she began to cry.
"Is it alright, Buck?" Pauline asked out of breath. "Is it alright?"
"She looks just fine," Buck said with a gigantic smile on his face. "It's a girl, Paulina! We have a daughter."
It was at that moment that Rachel walked through the door to see the new family. She dropped whatever it was that she was carrying and rushed over to help.
"Buck I think you should carry Paulina upstairs," Rachel said after she had come back from cleaning up the baby. "I'll see to her once she's in bed."
"Wait, Buck needs to name the baby," Paulina said grabbing Buck's arm. "It's a girl. That means you get to name her."
"We can do it later," Buck said. "I don't have a name in mind."
"But you have to," Paulina insisted. "She needs a name."
Buck recognized his wife was delirious with the euphoria and exhaustion that comes after just having given birth. She would not be put off. He needed to figure out at least a suggestion for a name.
"Ok, hold on," Buck said and walked to the door. He opened it and went outside and stood on the porch. He heard the song of a bird and smiled. He knew that bird. It was a meadowlark. He walked back in the house.
"If you call her wolf anything, I will kill you," Paulina said seriously just as Buck opened his mouth to make his announcement. Rachel started to laugh as she gathered up some supplies.
"How about…Lark?" Buck asked, "Lark Elizabeth."
Paulina started to cry. "That's beautiful, Buck. I love it."
"And they lived happily ever after," Buck concluded. Lark was asleep again. He kissed her on the forehead and made sure the blankets were pulled up to her chin. A lot of happy things had happened in Lark's two short years of life. Buck really hoped for that string of things to continue.