-=*=-To Austria With Love -=*=-
Chapter XII
As the weeks passed and I got stronger I was allowed to do more and more. I had been pretty badly beaten by the fall down the stairs and moving was an adventure in pain for the first few weeks. I had been allowed to go home, but I had to have a bed in the parlor for some time before I would be able to climb the stairs. Neil bought me a couch-bed, which reminded me of the one in David's bunkhouse back in the Cove.
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Seeing my home for the first time was a delightful experience. Many things were so much different then what I had pictured in my mind! But yet I knew where everything was and everything was familiar to me. The whole house captivated me! I felt like a child seeing 'the whole lot' for the first time!
I was in a totally different country then where I had grown up. I felt as though I was in a fairy tale, I went to sleep… so to speak, in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains and woke again in the enchanting land of Austria!
Neil's face was aglow as he watched me, and helped me walk slowly around the house seeing all of our belongings for the first time. He had the most beautiful smile on his face as he looked at me and viewed the awe in my reactions to objects I had never seen before. This house was far from Neil's ancestral cabin in the Cove. It was different but I loved it all the same because it was *our* home.
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My husband held me more often then he had ever done since we had declared our love for each other back in the Cove, which now seemed so long ago!
"Neil," I began one day as he had taken me into his arms for the countless time that day. "You keep looking at me as though you're seeing me for the first time!"
"I feel as though I am." Neil stated. "For the first time since we've been married, I look into your eyes and I see a reaction. I can truly see the love you have for me in your eyes now. I thought I saw it before, and it's possible that there was a glint of it there, but now it's incredibly obvious!" He paused a moment. "I can smile at you now and you smile back at me. If I'm sad, you see it and you respond immediately! It all seems *new* to me!" He looked down and away from me a bit sadly. "Am I doing it too often?"
"Never!" I announced as Neil's face brightened immediately. "I love to look into your eyes too. I'd forgotten how expressive your eyes, and your face, are! I said it before, and it continues to be true today, if I could see only one thing again in my life, I would want it to be you. There are so many things about you I've missed, and that I've missed out on by not being able to see. I wish I could have seen your face on our wedding day… the day I accepted your proposal the second time… when I surprised you with my notes all over the house…" Neil had to laugh at that one. "I wish I could have seen the pride on your face as you gave your lecture at the university." I placed my hand on the side of his face; he was still smiling at me. "I would love to have seen the look on your face as you kissed me for the first time as my husband." I whispered. Neil cleared his throat and moved his eyes from me slightly, still smiling. "I know, I know." I said. "It's time to change the subject. After all, I've not even walked up the stairs yet… It's just that… I miss you Neil."
"I miss you also, Sweetheart." Neil said as he placed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
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I had been home for a few weeks when the headaches resumed again. They were bad, but not the excruciating ones I had in the past. Still, I had hoped to never have another headache as long as I lived. Maybe I was hoping for too much, but I had wished it none the less.
These headaches seemed to take so much out of me, though! I would have a terrible headache, and then I would sleep sometimes twelve hours because of it. I'd wake up with a dull ache behind my eyes, which also made me tired! Not only did they make me tired, but they also made me queasy! I hated even the thought of food! Berta was a marvelous cook, so I knew it wasn't the food that made me feel ill. It had to be these nearly constant headaches. I could tell by the look on Neil's face he was concerned as well. Finally, after three weeks of this I told Neil I could take it no longer and I had to go to the Doctor before anything went wrong again!
It petrified me to think I might ever end up back in that black world again. But the Doctor's told me they could promise me nothing about the future, we could only pray for that.
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The Doctor examined me and when he was finished he told me to get dressed. Then he went to call Neil into his office. I was to meet them there when I was ready.
Neil held my hand firmly, secure in his determination to stand by me no matter what the prognosis may be. He was just as scared as I was of the possible diagnosis.
"Mr. And Mrs. MacNeill…Neil and Christy…You have been through so much in the time you've been here with us in Austria. We have had to bring you so much bad news."
Neil squeezed my hand harder, afraid of what the Doctor was about to say next.
"It feels wonderful to be able to announce to you some wonderful news for a change!" He smiled a broad smile at us as Neil and I glanced at one another perplexed. "Christy, the headaches you're having are not caused by your head injuries, but by hormones this time."
We both looked at him confused.
"You're pregnant, Christy! I'd say you are about three months along. You were probably expecting when you fell down the stairs."
Neil and I looked at each other with surprise. Oh! How glad I was to hear that report, for Neil's sake especially! God had given me a glimpse into Neil's heart and had shown me the depth with which Neil wanted to be a father! I was so pleased to hear that yet another of his dreams was coming to pass! As well as my own. And to know that it was not my injuries that were causing these headaches made them that much easier to endure.
After the Doctor left, Neil drew me close and hugged me securely, rocking me back and forth. "Oh, Christy! I can't tell you how happy you've made me!"
I was smiling from ear to ear. This is exactly what I had been hoping for us! "See, didn't I tell you your assessment of my nausea at the Fuchs' home was correct, Doctor?"
"Yes, Christy, you've been saying that the entire time! I'm sorry I ever doubted your womanly intuition!" Neil smiled at me. "I'll never doubt it again!"
I raised my eyebrows as I looked at him, "Never!?!"
"Well, maybe *never* is too strong of a word, but I will certainly have a higher regard for it then I had before!"
"That's better." I admitted with a giggle.
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As we walked out of the Doctor's office building a thought struck me hard. Neil noticed immediately. "Why do you look so sad, Sweetheart?"
"Oh, it's silly really." I paused. "It's just that this isn't the way I always wanted to tell you we were expecting our baby."
Neil took my hand. "Maybe not, Christy, but I couldn't be any happier no matter *how* I was informed!"
"I'm glad to hear it." I thought for a moment then slipped my arms around his waist as I looked up into his face. "I always wanted to make your favorite meal and over a romantic dinner by candlelight, I'd tell you of our baby, then we'd 'celebrate' our good news!" I winked at him.
"We can still have a romantic dinner by candlelight, and I most definitely want to *celebrate* this wonderful news!" He winked back at me. "I love you Christy MacNeill!"
"I love you too, Neil MacNeill!"
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I made Neil's favorite meal, one of the few meals I'd ever made all by myself. I had never really prepared a full meal since our marriage. It was more difficult then I remembered! I had to stop and think of where things were in the kitchen and how to combine ingredients to get the effect I wanted.
Neil seemed to enjoy the food, but I think he was just being kind. It could have been the news of our baby that made everything seem so much better--even my cooking!
I made a mental note as I was attempting to cook, 'starting tomorrow I would have Berta give me cooking lessons'!
At least the company at the dinner table was far better then the meal itself. I knew it would be, my husband and I could always find something to talk about, even if we wound up arguing over it, at least we had something to say. But this evening we had no arguments. All went as I had planned in my mind since Neil and I had first declared our love for each other back in the Cove. Everything except the fact that Neil already knew we were expecting *before* the meal began.
Watching Neil's face as it lit up speaking of our child was a great joy to me. Oh how I loved to watch him! I had never seen him so ecstatically happy as he was right now.
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Neil continued to talk and think about Dr. Fuchs offer of a position in Tennessee. We sat one afternoon to discuss it once again.
"Neil? Do you ever wish you hadn't left the Cove?"
"Left the Cove? …Occasionally--maybe. Especially when I don't feel I fit in here. But I can do more good here, or at the new hospital, then I ever could if I remained in the Cove. Especially the way things are changing and people are moving out of the Cove. Besides…" He said, placing his hand on the firm, yet not quite noticeable expansion of my tummy, I smiled at him. He took my hand as well. "Besides, the Cove can't offer what I want for my family. This little girl is going to get the best education I can offer her, she's going to have *all* of the things I never had! And my wife is not going to become a 'mountain woman'.
"Christy, I've been thinking about what you said to me about practicing in the Cove--the decision I made in Dr. Gatlin's office. Now with the baby coming, I know I have to choose differently then I did when I first finished my internship. I believe you and the baby need more then the Cove can provide. Yet I'm still unsettled about what to do next."
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The following weeks found me feeling better all the time. I was excited for the baby to be born, but I wanted everything to go according to God's timing. This baby was going to be just fine. I knew it from the bottom of my heart that all would go well.
Neil was always bringing something home with him, nearly every evening! Either he brought baby dresses, or flowers for me, he was so generous and giving that I almost felt guilty at times for not being able to do more for him.
His answer to that was always the same. "You're carrying my baby inside of you! What better gift could you give to me then the chance to be a father again?"
I was amazed at how Neil could sit for hours with his hand on my tummy waiting for that slight flutter of life, which he was convinced, were those of his daughter.
By the time we discovered our baby was on the way Neil knew he'd be able to feel life soon. And he spent each moment he could with his hand on my tummy waiting…
His face lit up like a child on Christmas morning as he felt the first kicks against his palm. "That's daddy's big girl!" Neil declared to my tummy. I had to suppress a giggle at his adamancy that the baby was a daughter! Watching the sheer joy on his face and in his voice was a pleasure. I had suspected this kind of joy from Neil when God had given me a peek inside of his heart.
It thrilled my heart to see my husband in such high spirits. I thanked God daily for blessing me with the opportunity to actually *see* these amazing events take place! I wouldn't trade them for the world!!
As the months went by and the baby became more and more obvious to me and then Neil, followed by the rest of the world, I understood why Neil felt the way he did… This was truly *our* child! I was actually going to be a mother soon!!
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End of Chapter 12.
Chapter 13 Coming Soon!!
