Chapter 3
Almanzo paced the floor of his front room. Why was it taking so long? Was Beth okay? Would the baby be okay? How much longer could it possibly be? Laura's loud wails of pain came more often. He wanted to race up the stairs, barge into their bedroom and hold his dear wife, reassure her all would be fine. But how could he reassure her when he wasn't even sure himself?
Charles watched Almanzo, seeing the anxiety he had known more than once; the anxiety caused by being a mere man who couldn't hope to understand the complications of childbirth. All Charles had known, and all Almanzo knew was that his poor wife — the one he loved like no other — was wracked with pain, and her life and the life of their unborn child hung in a delicate balance which only God had control over.
Almanzo heard Laura yell. Her screams filled the house. He ran for the stairs, but Charles' strong arms held him back. The seasoned father looked with compassion at his son-in-law. "They'll be fine."
"I can't sit here listening to her screams any longer," said a frustrated Almanzo. "I feel so useless."
Charles nodded. "Get your coat. We'll go for a walk."
The men wandered up the road alongside the barn. They walked in silence for a few minutes, each man thinking his own thoughts.
A shrill call broke the silence. "Almanzo! Almanzo!" yelled Eliza Jane.
They raced back to the house. Almanzo grabbed his sister by the arms. "What's wrong, Sis?" he said with fear in his voice.
Eliza Jane smiled. "Nothing's wrong Papa. You have a beautiful baby girl!"
"A girl…a girl," he said with excitement.
Almanzo looked at his father-in-law. Charles smiled and released his boyish, infectious laugh into the night air. The two men hugged.
"Congratulations Pa!" said Charles.
"Congratulations Grandpa!" Almanzo replied. He turned toward his sister. "I guess you're an aunt once again." Eliza Jane nodded and hugged her little brother.
"Can I see them?" Almanzo asked her.
"Doc Baker will be down in a minute, then you can go up."
An exhausted Laura smiled when Almanzo came in. He carefully sat down on the bed and leaned in to kiss his wife. A small, wrapped bundle lay snuggled into the crook of her arm.
"Meet Rose Wilder," said Laura.
Almanzo picked the tiny package out of her mother's arms and held her close. The warm, little bundle felt so good against his body. He laid her down in his lap and uncovered her arms. Almanzo rubbed Rose's miniature hands between his fingertips, feeling her silky, smooth skin.
"She's so beautiful," he whispered. Looking up at Laura he continued, "Just like her Ma."
Laura smiled at Almanzo, overcome by love and exhaustion. Rose hardly seemed real to her, but Laura's not so swollen belly told her she wasn't dreaming. Laura fought the sleep that was trying to overtake her. The last thing she remembered was Almanzo rocking the baby in his arms and the words, "Rosie Posie."
A couple hours later, Almanzo brought a crying Rose to her mother. "I think she's hungry," he said.
Laura took over and settled baby Rose against her breast. Almanzo came around the bed and sat on the other side of them. Laura gazed up into his eyes.
"So, are you happy?" she asked.
"Of course I'm happy. Rose is healthy and so are you." He kissed her tenderly.
"Isn't it amazing? Today a new life has been brought into our home and we are no longer just husband and wife, but parents too."
Almanzo patted the soft down on Rose's head. "It's wonderful." He gazed into Laura's brown eyes. "Not that being your husband wasn't enough, but I'm ready to start my new job as Papa."
"My pa told me your job is going to get harder as she gets older. You're going to be the one sitting on the front steps with a shot gun to greet all her beaus."
They laughed together as Rose drifted off to sleep.
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Eliza Jane sat down at Laura's writing desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Uncapping the ink bottle, she dipped in the pen and began.
Dear Harv,
Almanzo and Laura's daughter was born today. Rose Wilder was named after the prairie flowers Laura loves so much. Both mother and daughter are doing well.
As for me, I am teaching in Walnut Grove until the Christmas break. Then I will return to St. Louis and back to my old teaching job. I hadn't realized how much I missed Walnut Grove until now. Maybe I'll feel the same affection for St. Louis one day.
I hope you are well.
Fondly,
Eliza Jane
She picked up the paper to review what she had written – short and simple. She wrote out the envelope and placed the folded letter inside. She left it on the desk next to her bag so she would remember to bring it with her on her way to school tomorrow. She took the lamp off the desk and carried it with her into the bedroom.
Eliza Jane changed into her nightgown and unrolled her hair. As she began to brush it out she thought about Laura and Almanzo and baby Rose. She was overjoyed for her brother. 'How wonderful it must be to have a child,' she thought. It was a feeling she feared she would never know. Harv had rejected her, and she wasn't sure she would ever be willing to give love another chance. Eliza Jane stared at her reflection. In a few short weeks while Almanzo and Laura would be reveling in watching Rose grow, Eliza Jane would be on her way back to St. Louis, to an uncertain and lonely future. She wandered away from the mirror and laid down on the bed. Her face buried in the pillow, Eliza Jane wept for all her hopes and dreams that seemed to be slipping away.
