On Horseback

Chapter 26: Birth

Being pregnant really wasn't all that scary. I would go through my regular daily routines and end off with a hot cup of tea. The only downside was that I still craved the fodder, so I wasn't allowed to go into the barn until the baby was born. It wasn't like I would be going in there after the birth, anyways.

The baby was due on Winter 20th. That was still a long time away. Jack and I had plenty of time to prepare for the baby's arrival. We had also begun to pick out names that we liked, and names that we didn't like. It was probably the most difficult task out of them all, including the fact that we didn't know if it was going to be a boy or girl yet.

I would visit the library every few days and say hi to Maria, who was still mad at me. I would grab a few maternity books and read them until the library closed, and I would quickly check them out, and run home to continue reading.

When the autumn began, I was feeling more and more tired. The laundry wouldn't get done, meals wouldn't get cooked and the dust-collectors of the house would build up more dust than usual. Jack told me to just rest and that he would get to all of those chores eventually. It was hard for me to believe him, though, especially when he had to tend to the farming.

Popuri was the most supportive girl in the village. She was my sister-in-law now, which officially made her a part of my family. Whenever she came over to our house, she would bring Mint and let me play with her. Mint was a quiet child, but when she wanted something, she would quickly become the noisest child I've ever heard!

When I finished with Mint, Popuri would read me some of the books that I got from the library, and she would read me some of the books that she bought over in Silver Sapphire. I didn't particularily enjoy those books in the long run, but I shouldn't really be complaining. If it teaches me about maternity, then hey, the book's for me.

Towards the end of the autumn, it was almost impossible for me to leave the house. Jack was really worried, because I limped a lot and would throw up every other day or so. He brought the midwife over to our house, and she took a look at me.

"Well, Ann," the midwife began. "You seem to be doing fine. Let's see...uh huh...yes, yes...that's good. Hm, strange. You look perfectly well, so if you've been throwing up occasionally, then it's because you've been under much stress. You should go to bed at seven o' clock every night until the day of your child's birth, and drink lots and lots of healthy fruit juices. Okay?"

I slowly nodded. "Yes. I'll remember."

A winter breeze began to pick up in the northern part of Flower Bud Village. Without a doubt, there would be snow on the ground early this year, unlike the previous year, which went five or six days into the season, or something like that.

Waking up in the morning was even harder now. I wouldn't be able to bend my knees until later in the day, and my eyes would be filled with tears very frequently. My life was ruined. How was I ever going to survive the pregnancy?

On the morning of Winter 19th, I woke up with a massive headache. Jack got out of bed first, and quickly got changed into his work outfit. I was still lying in the bed, hearing the weather channel and the news channel. I even heard static for a few seconds, but then the television flipped off. After a loud yawn, Jack told me to rise and shine.

I didn't get out of bed.

"Ann?" Jack questioned me. He didn't know how much I wanted to reply to him, but I just couldn't. I was unbelievably weak. "Ann? There is no time for fooling around. The greenhouse is full of will-be-harvested-crops today, and I want to get that job done now. The baby is due tomorrow. Do you even remember that?"

I didn't answer. Jack finally pulled the covers off of me, and saw me staring right into the wall. He let out a little screech, and fell onto the floor. I hope I didn't look that frightening. Heck, I was the farmer's wife. I turned down Cliff for him. Poor Cliff too, why did he leave the village just because I said no?

But I really shoudln't be thinking about that right now.

The door to the house opened and slammed so fast, that I was pretty sure that I didn't even see it open up. After a minimum of ten minutes, Jack came running back with the midwife following, and my entire family. "Get out of the way!" the midwife cried, pushing Jack out of the way and leaning down towards me.

Popuri came over as well, and looked at me. "You can make it Ann. You are the strongest of all the women in Flower Bud. Maria's just a librarian, Elli's just a baker, Karen just harvests grapes and I...I'm a flower freak. I don't even help out on the ranch. But you, Ann, you! You take care of animals. You bathe them, you scoop their litter and you...you had to choose between marrying either Jack or Cliff."

Out of no where, but perhaps from Popuri's touching words, I let out an enormus bellow, and my father shouted, "Ann! Is it time for her baby to come out? Is it?"

The midwife nodded. "Gray and Jack: I want the two of you out of this house right now. Hall: I want you to make a cup of tea for Popuri and one for yourself. This is going to take a long time, that's for sure. It might not even be time for the child to come out yet. But from the current looks, it probably is."

The only memory I have of screaming is when Popuri spilled a bit of her boiling tea on the blanket, which was strong enough to go through the bed. Otherwise, I remember nothing. My father was reciting encouraging words and the midwife was telling me to stay at ease and push every so often. This was so difficult that words couldn't fit.

At 2:45 p.m., the Jack and Gray stormed into the house. I had just let out the biggest scream in my life, and it must have worried the two of them. Popuri looked over at them and said, "I don't know. This isn't looking too good. We're just hoping she survives."

When Popuri finished that sentence, the midwife screamed, "PUSH!!" and I complied.

The miracle of life had just occurred. A splendid, healthy baby had been born and a new life had been created. The child that I gave birth to was now mine. It was mine. My child. My first child. My first and which would probably be my only child.

But...

I screeched at the top of my lungs. My father hid his face and Popuri gasped when she saw what was happening. My child had indeed been born, but I was not finished the process. There was another set of legs poking through my body. The midwife was completely shocked. No wonder I wasn't handling the pregnancy too well...I had had twins.

The second child was brought out and my head collapsed onto the pillow. It was all over. And I had two kids. That was good, because I was never getting pregnant again. It was a horrible thing to go through, and what would happen if I were to have twins again?

"Give them names," I said, almost mumbling.

The midwife gave one child to Popuri and one to Jack. The two of them smiled at the little bundles of joy. Jack said, "This one is cute. I know the perfect name, too. How about Amber?" From the bed, a smile crossed my face. I had one girl. What was the other?

Popuri looked like she was about to cry. "What a sweet child. I know you don't want me naming it anything weird Ann, so I've decided on the perfect name: Carlos. That was the name you always wanted to give a baby boy, wasn't it?" Another smile crossed my face. That was a fact, not fairytale.

I had two new kids: Carlos and Amber.