Thanks for the reviews and I appreciate the honesty! In case anyone was wondering Niamh is pronounced N-eve. Enjoy
Wendla's Chapter
February 20th, 1892
I was somewhat getting used to be being a mother. Let somewhat be the key word in that sentence. I spent a good three weeks in bed, not even holding her. The idea of having a baby is so far from actually having one. I thought about the days when my friends and I would talk about when we would have children. I thought about that and laugh. Even with Ina and her children, we were related and I would help take care of them but there was something about the actual experience of having your own child that was so scary but wonderful at the same time.
First of all, the physical pain was paralyzing. I remember talking about wanting to feel something but this made me feel everything and I wasn't sure if I liked feeling that much.
However, I loved Niamh so incredibly much. For all the mayhem her conception and her being caused, she was the perfect baby. She didn't cry all too much and she was a good sleeper. She was so beautiful and had the cutest personality that as time passed the pain was all worth it. When Melchi and she would interact, I got this feeling of total happiness.
Last week, Mr. Gevova knocked on our door. I was a bit shocked because Mr. Gevova was known to be a bit of a hermit since he left Spain. We had met him and tried to exchange pleasantries but he never answered back. He said nothing as he stood in the door way and I opened the door for him to come in and with him he had a crib. It was mahogany wood and was beautifully carved. I looked at him inquisitively.
"All of my children are gone now," he said. " I want you baby to have it."
I could feel my eyes tearing and wrapped my arms around Mr. Gevova's large frame. After the embrace, he smiled and left. I was beyond touched by his kindness. Niamh had been sleeping in our bed until then. I was happy she would be able to have her own little bed.
I went back to work at Mrs. Howard's. She and her husband had returned from England and Mrs. Yosef offered to watch Niamh. I did fall back into the rhythm of working again and had a new appreciation for. On the one hand, I would've loved to have been with Niamh but it was also nice to have a break, even if it was spent working for someone else. One night before Mrs. Howard left for a special dinner, she walked me to another room to talk.
"How's your baby?" She asked, in her forced and rather pretentious "American" accent.
" She's fantastic. Thank you for asking."
"What is her name?"
"Niamh," I said and was answered by a look of consternation " It's Gaelic for light."
"That's just darling. You know, if you liked, you could bring her here one-day. I would love to see her."
"That's very kind of you but that would be a nuisance for you."
"Oh, nonsense. Bring her, say, in a couple of weeks."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, walking out of the room confused.
"Yes, frau," I replied.
My mother was rather irate with me. I had eaten the fudge that was meant for the Winter Fair and before dinner no less. I walked into the parlor, silent and sat down. My father was sitting in his chair, reading the paper, and smoking a pipe.
"Well, do something with yourself, Otto." my father said shortly as he handed me the paper.
I was reading with nothing really catching my eye. I scanned it, hoping to find a picture to fixate on because I read all day at school and just wanted to stare in to space. I saw myself staring into familiar eyes and glanced at the headline reading, "The Income at Ellis Island." There were four pictures, each a simple headshot. On the top row, there was an old wrinkled man and a middle-aged woman next to it. The last row was Melchior and Wendla. I folded the paper in half.
"Father?" I said before he tilted his head towards me. "Do you think anyone else in town got this paper?"
" I purchased it in the city. I sincerely doubt anyone else in town would have it," he answered matter-of-factly before turning back to his paper.
I folded the paper quietly into my pocket. I left it there until I ran out of the house after dinner to find Georg.
Georg sat by the stream, now frozen. He hated the cold but he had decided Anna was his muse and since she had recently taken to being in the woods as much as possible, he followed her. He would watch her with her clumsy but well-intentioned attempts at ballet steps. He watched how her brown boots would peck at the snow and when she would fall, he paid attention to the way she would position herself before she hit the ground and how she would shake it out. He held his sheet music paper and a pen in his raw hands trying to get the feeling of Anna onto the paper. Unfortunately, Anna, to Georg, felt so all over the place now, that it was difficult to capture her.
Georg felt a tap on his shoulder, which took him by such surprise that he made a huge pen mark on his music. He turned around to see Otto. His face was ruddy and his shortness of breath was shown by the short puffs coming from his mouth.
"Georg!" Otto exclaimed. "You'll never believe what I found."
"Not unless you show me," I answered.
He took a surprisingly carefully folded piece of newspaper from his pocket and unfolded it. Frantically, he pointed to the pictures. I heard myself gasp when I saw Melchior and Wendla, in the blank and white ink, bleak as winter. Anna turned around and ran over to see what the fuss was all about. She saw them and covered her mouth with her mitten-covered hands. She paced around a bit. Otto and I looked on with great curiosity and a bit of concern.
"Alright," she finally said, more composed. "We can't tell anyone about this. You both hear me?"
We both nodded in silence because we were afraid of what Anna would do if we didn't agree.
"Otto, may I please have it?" She asked sweetly.
He handed it over as if he was surrendering over weapons to authorities. She placed it in her pocket just as easily as she danced in the snow.
"When was the last time you saw Ilse?" She asked.
"I don't know," we said in unison.
March 11th, 1892
"I don't know," I said, when Melchior questioned Mrs. Howard's motivation to having Niamh at her home.
" Did you ask Oona about it? She's work with this woman much longer than you and has many more children."
"Oona said she's never done this before."
I looked over to the bed where Melchi was sitting with Niamh on his lap. She was grasping his finger tightly.
"Do you want to go to the evil lady's house?" Melchior asked Niamh in a comical impression of Mrs. Howard.
"Melchior," I said in a half chuckle, " she's not evil. She's helping us to stay fed and besides, Mrs. Yosef deserves a day off."
In all honesty though, when I told Mrs. Yosef that I was taking Niamh to work, she looked a bit heartbroken. I think she enjoyed playing Grandmama with Niamh.
"Fine," Melchi said. "Have it her way. But let's meet during the day. There's a matinee so I can meet you and take Niamh home before you start the night shift."
"Alright," I said, before quickly giving Melchior a peck on the cheek and taking Niamh into my arms.
Mrs. Howard usually slept until noon so I put Niamh in a basket with a lot of fabrics so Oona and I could start of the day. From the dressing room, we could hear Mrs. Howard yelling at the cook, Rose, in the dining room. We had finished organizing the room by twelve-thirty. Just like every other day, we walked into the kitchen to scrape something together for lunch. I had the baby with me so she had to be fed too. Oona and I found something to eat and then I excused Niamh and myself so she could eat. We went into the bathroom and from there I could hear Mrs. Howard yelling at some other servant. Niamh finished and we exited the bathroom and walked down the hall to go back to the dressing room to get things ready for tonight.
"Wendla!" Mrs. Howard's voice echoed throughout the corridor.
She appeared out of some other room. She walked right over. She had never really said my name before.
"Oh, she's precious. Just precious." She complimented with a rather detached tone.
Before I could say thank you, Oona zoomed down the hallway.
"Could you take…the baby?" She said, addressing Oona.
Oona took the baby and kept going. Mrs. Howard led me to the same room as before and we sat.
"She's gorgeous," she said.
I nodded and offered thanks.
" So, did I ever tell you that Mr. Howard and I cannot have children?" She didn't leave time for me to answer. " It's very sad, I know. You're lucky. You and your… are both so young and I know times are tough. So I'd like to make a bargain with you."
"I'm sorry, ma'am," I said "but a bargain for what?"
"Dear, well for your daughter, of course."
She said it so simply and I could feel my blood pressure rise and my face get red.
"Pardon?"
'I'd like to help you out, you know. She must be such a burden on you and I would gladly compensate you."
"Let me make some things clear," I said, standing up now, as my voice rose. " The mere fact that you would suggest buying my daughter from me suggests that you are an awful person. Thank high heavens you can't have children. The answer is obviously no."
"Wendla," she said calm but standing also " this would be in favor of your daughter's life, not to mention your job. Please make the right decision."
"Fine, I will. I quit. Good day, crazy cunny." I said and marched out of there.
I sprinted down the halls, grabbed Niamh and told Oona I would explain later. Finally, I saw Melchior. He saw my frantic state and took the baby. I explained, talking as fast as I could.
"She wanted to buy Niamh?" He asked for confirmation.
I nodded and felt my angry façade crack, unleashing tears. Melchior hugged me close to his body. The shaking subsided and I looked up to see tears running down his face and Niamh asleep in his arms.
"Let's go home," I said.
We latched hands and Melchior held Niamh with his other. We got home only for there to be no water. The apartment was drafty because we couldn't find anything to burn. I wrapped Niamh tight in a blanket. I went to place her in her crib but I couldn't let go of her. I went to lay done placing her between Melchior and me.
The next morning I awoke to still no water and frosted windows. I picked the baby up and put her in the crib. Melchior heard my stirring and woke up.
"Melchior," I said seriously, " I should have taken the bitch up on her offer. This is no life for a child. What happens when I can't feed her anymore? We can barely get food for ourselves, let alone another person. This is crazy."
He stood and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"Wendla," he said, matching my seriousness. " Never saying anything like that again. This isn't perfect but do you really think Niamh would be happy living with the Howards. Look, I know this isn't what a little girl dreams of when she thinks about her home and family but we can make it work. Do you hear me?"
"Yes," I said, realizing how stupid my statement was.
I hugged him and he eventually returned the embrace. He kissed a trail on my neck and the cold and the waterless apartment seemed to slip away.
Reviews are the jelly to my peanut butter!