Seven: Miracle
Kurti was getting less food over himself and more inside. This, as far
as Astrid was concerned, was a minor boon. He'd never made projectiles
out of it, thank God, preferring to try and cram everything down his
throat at once, instead.
"Done, Mama," he said, showing her the empty bowl.
"Do you want more or do you want out?" she asked. Silly question,
really. There was only one possible answer before the third helping.
"More?"
"What do we say?" prompted Johannes.
"More please."
"Good lad," he got up and dished out another bowl for Kurti. Things
*should* have been a little bit easier on Astrid since he'd moved onto
solids, but she'd been feeling poorly, lately.
Just a few months of normalicy returning, and now this. Kurti was
threatening to approach the 'terrible two's and she did not need to be
ill at *this* stage in his life.
"Astrid?"
"Ach... It's probably some stomach bug that's going around," she
dismissed. "It passes in an hour, or if I eat something light. It'll go
away in a week."
Johannes sighed at her. "That's what you said last week," he said.
"Very good!" Kurti clapped as he got his new bowlful. "Thankyou,
Papa."
Johannes ruffled his hair. "Good boy." He sat and held her hand.
"Astrid, you need to see the doctor about this. It's been a fortnight
already. We don't know how long it's going to go or even what it is...
Astrid... I'm worried about you."
Kurti slowed up eating. "Mama? Are you sick?"
"It's only a little," she assured him. "It's probably nothing at all.
It just comes and goes."
"Mmmmm..." said Doktor Schmidt. He listened to Mama's heart. "A little
off your food, you say... Hmmm." He shecked her blood pressure.
Kurti sucked his tail-tip. He was kind of scared that Mama was going
to be sick. That sort of thing just didn't happen.
Doktor Schmidt took out some of Mama's blood with a big needle.
Kurti flinched in sympathy and clung all the tighter to Papa and
whimpered.
Mama just calmly taped a band-aid to her boo-boo. "It's all right,
fuzzy-love. It's just a little prick."
That what they said about *his* needles, and he cried all the way
home.
Doktor Schmidt dropped some of the blood into a vial, and added a
chemical that smelled kinda funny.
It turned blue, like Kurti's fur.
"Uh-*hah*!" He grinned. "Congratulations, Missus Wagner. You're going
to have a baby."
"But -- *how*?" Mama said. "We tried for fifteen years!"
"Maybe you tried too hard, yes?" Doktor Schmidt smiled, and wrote out
some notes on a card, which he gave to Mama. "These are some midwives in
your area, they'll keep tabs on you when I'm not around."
"But--" said Mama.
Papa was grinning. "Two little miracles," he said. "First our
beautiful Kurti and now this..."
"But I didn't pray..."
"Maybe you were in God's 'in' box, ne?" Doktor Schmidt poured out
glasses of water.
"I don't believe it," said Mama. "How could it happen? After we tried
and tried and prayed and prayed and... Oh, Johannes..."
Papa hugged Mama. "This is wonderful. After all this time."
"Just as good as the day we found Kurti..." Mama started crying.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Where did I come from?"
"Aw, love," Papa hugged him and kissed his forehead. "We really don't
know. One day, your Mama and I--" a little pause. A tiny hint of
sadness. "--found you on our back doorstep."
"There was no note. No clue about where you came from," said Mama.
"And no sign of your real parents."
"But *you're* my real parents," he said.
"No, love; we adopted you," Mama tried to explain. "This baby is our
first child."
"Adopted? What's that?"
Papa sighed. "It's when a man and a woman want to be a Mama and Papa
to someone, but they think they can't do it by themselves. So they take
in a baby and raise it as their own."
Kurti started feeling really scared. "Now you're *getting* your own
baby," he said. "Does that mean you won't want me any more?"
"Of *course* not, darling. We *love* you," Mama took him from Papa's
lap and gave him a hug. "We *couldn't* give you up. Not ever."
Kurti still cried. He had a real mother, somewhere, and she didn't
love him enough to have kept him for her own.
"Don't cry. Don't cry," Mama soothed. "We'll *always* love you."
"But - my other Mama... My other *Papa*..." Kurti sniffed.
"I'm sure they had their reasons," said Papa. "And I'm sure they were
good ones. Try not to worry about it, huh? We'll always be here for
you."
Kurti got up from bed and opened his window, staring out into the
dark. "God," he said, "Please take these kisses to my other Mama and
Papa? Just in case they miss me? Please keep them safe and fed and
warm."
And he started blowing kisses at the woods until the little hole in
his heart felt better.
"Kurti?"
Papa was in his doorway.
"I was going back to bed, honest," he said.
"So what were you doing up if you were going straight back to bed?"
asked Papa.
Kurti leaped back under the covers. "I was just sending some kisses to
my other Mama and Papa. In case they missed me."
Papa tucked him in. "Ach, you have such a kind heart," said Papa.
"Don't you ever change it."
Kurti smiled and closed his eyes as Papa kissed him goodnight.
"Goodnight, Papa. Give Mama an extra hug for me?"
"I will. Goodnight."
Kurti was getting less food over himself and more inside. This, as far
as Astrid was concerned, was a minor boon. He'd never made projectiles
out of it, thank God, preferring to try and cram everything down his
throat at once, instead.
"Done, Mama," he said, showing her the empty bowl.
"Do you want more or do you want out?" she asked. Silly question,
really. There was only one possible answer before the third helping.
"More?"
"What do we say?" prompted Johannes.
"More please."
"Good lad," he got up and dished out another bowl for Kurti. Things
*should* have been a little bit easier on Astrid since he'd moved onto
solids, but she'd been feeling poorly, lately.
Just a few months of normalicy returning, and now this. Kurti was
threatening to approach the 'terrible two's and she did not need to be
ill at *this* stage in his life.
"Astrid?"
"Ach... It's probably some stomach bug that's going around," she
dismissed. "It passes in an hour, or if I eat something light. It'll go
away in a week."
Johannes sighed at her. "That's what you said last week," he said.
"Very good!" Kurti clapped as he got his new bowlful. "Thankyou,
Papa."
Johannes ruffled his hair. "Good boy." He sat and held her hand.
"Astrid, you need to see the doctor about this. It's been a fortnight
already. We don't know how long it's going to go or even what it is...
Astrid... I'm worried about you."
Kurti slowed up eating. "Mama? Are you sick?"
"It's only a little," she assured him. "It's probably nothing at all.
It just comes and goes."
"Mmmmm..." said Doktor Schmidt. He listened to Mama's heart. "A little
off your food, you say... Hmmm." He shecked her blood pressure.
Kurti sucked his tail-tip. He was kind of scared that Mama was going
to be sick. That sort of thing just didn't happen.
Doktor Schmidt took out some of Mama's blood with a big needle.
Kurti flinched in sympathy and clung all the tighter to Papa and
whimpered.
Mama just calmly taped a band-aid to her boo-boo. "It's all right,
fuzzy-love. It's just a little prick."
That what they said about *his* needles, and he cried all the way
home.
Doktor Schmidt dropped some of the blood into a vial, and added a
chemical that smelled kinda funny.
It turned blue, like Kurti's fur.
"Uh-*hah*!" He grinned. "Congratulations, Missus Wagner. You're going
to have a baby."
"But -- *how*?" Mama said. "We tried for fifteen years!"
"Maybe you tried too hard, yes?" Doktor Schmidt smiled, and wrote out
some notes on a card, which he gave to Mama. "These are some midwives in
your area, they'll keep tabs on you when I'm not around."
"But--" said Mama.
Papa was grinning. "Two little miracles," he said. "First our
beautiful Kurti and now this..."
"But I didn't pray..."
"Maybe you were in God's 'in' box, ne?" Doktor Schmidt poured out
glasses of water.
"I don't believe it," said Mama. "How could it happen? After we tried
and tried and prayed and prayed and... Oh, Johannes..."
Papa hugged Mama. "This is wonderful. After all this time."
"Just as good as the day we found Kurti..." Mama started crying.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Where did I come from?"
"Aw, love," Papa hugged him and kissed his forehead. "We really don't
know. One day, your Mama and I--" a little pause. A tiny hint of
sadness. "--found you on our back doorstep."
"There was no note. No clue about where you came from," said Mama.
"And no sign of your real parents."
"But *you're* my real parents," he said.
"No, love; we adopted you," Mama tried to explain. "This baby is our
first child."
"Adopted? What's that?"
Papa sighed. "It's when a man and a woman want to be a Mama and Papa
to someone, but they think they can't do it by themselves. So they take
in a baby and raise it as their own."
Kurti started feeling really scared. "Now you're *getting* your own
baby," he said. "Does that mean you won't want me any more?"
"Of *course* not, darling. We *love* you," Mama took him from Papa's
lap and gave him a hug. "We *couldn't* give you up. Not ever."
Kurti still cried. He had a real mother, somewhere, and she didn't
love him enough to have kept him for her own.
"Don't cry. Don't cry," Mama soothed. "We'll *always* love you."
"But - my other Mama... My other *Papa*..." Kurti sniffed.
"I'm sure they had their reasons," said Papa. "And I'm sure they were
good ones. Try not to worry about it, huh? We'll always be here for
you."
Kurti got up from bed and opened his window, staring out into the
dark. "God," he said, "Please take these kisses to my other Mama and
Papa? Just in case they miss me? Please keep them safe and fed and
warm."
And he started blowing kisses at the woods until the little hole in
his heart felt better.
"Kurti?"
Papa was in his doorway.
"I was going back to bed, honest," he said.
"So what were you doing up if you were going straight back to bed?"
asked Papa.
Kurti leaped back under the covers. "I was just sending some kisses to
my other Mama and Papa. In case they missed me."
Papa tucked him in. "Ach, you have such a kind heart," said Papa.
"Don't you ever change it."
Kurti smiled and closed his eyes as Papa kissed him goodnight.
"Goodnight, Papa. Give Mama an extra hug for me?"
"I will. Goodnight."