She hadn't looked at herself in the mirror since she'd readied herself to pick up the girls that morning. Her hair was disheveled, and her face looked as though she'd just run across a field. The state of her dress was worse than she'd hoped but not as bad as she had expected. A large circle of dark moisture settled at the side of her thigh from lying on her left side for the majority of her rest. She hadn't noticed until now that Ray had slipped of her coat at some point between her entering the house and resting. It hung in her closet.

Not sure if she was prepared to change her clothes and fully immerse herself in the events that were to come, Livy stood in the mirror for a while longer. She fiddled with her hair, straightened her skirt, pinched her cheeks. She no longer was the girl in Denver who walked to class and chatted with her peers about Troy and Ephesus, and she couldn't bring that girl back. Now she was just the woman in the mirror with a damp dress and wild hair.

She took the brush she kept on her dresser and began to brush her hair into something manageable. As she did, curls turned to waves and frizz became flat. In the mirror she took one last look at her swollen figure. She turned to one side and then the other, taking in every angle of how her body had morphed in the time she'd been in the farmhouse. Yet another tear escaped her eyes, though this one stung.

As she turned to return the brush to its place, another pain rushed through her. Stronger than any she'd felt so far. The brush fell from her hands with a loud clamor as the handle hit the ground and Livy sank to the side of the bed, her head against the mattress for support and her arms above her head. Below, Livy had no sense nor care of how her body was positioned. All she knew was she had the floor and the bed for support.

"Livy?" Ray urgently knocked at the door. When she didn't answer he knocked again and slowly opened the door. Seeing the state of his wife, Ray rushed to her side on the floor and positioned her so that her arms were around his neck and her head against his chest. They sat there, Livy's head on Ray's chest, for nearly two minutes before Livy was able to return to her feet.

"Stronger?" Ray asked. Livy nodded.

"And closer together. Only about seven minutes between the last two." Livy didn't realize Ray had been timing. Ray didn't realize that Livy had not been doing the same. Livy nodded again.

Slowly helping his wife from the floor, Ray said, "Better change before the next."

As he made his way for the door, once more Livy found herself speaking without thinking of what she was saying.

"Ray." The man turned his head to her, his eyes ready to listen to anything she could say. "Could you help me?"

There was something that felt freed in Livy. She acknowledged the embarrassment she still felt and yet a sense of peace in knowing the man who was her husband was not only going to stay to help her but wanted to more than anything else he could be doing in that moment. Had she asked him to jump, he would have jumped twice as high as she expected him to. If she told him she needed ice from the edge of the world, he'd be off without a second thought.

Ray softly closed the door and took a step towards his wife.

"There's buttons on the collar and then a zipper on the side and back," Livy explained. Slowly Ray undid the buttons and lowered the zippers. The air between them buzzed with awkward palpability. On any other occasion these actions might have created tension of the romantic sort. On this occasion, though, Livy longed only to be free of the maternity dress's constraints and knew she would only be able to do so with the help of the man she was married to.

Pulling the dress over his wife's head, Ray quickly folded it and turned toward the door.

"Ray," Livy said softly. She somehow knew he wasn't embarrassed at her indisposed state and was more concerned with her comfort. "Could you help with my stockings as well?"

Without hesitating, the man kneeled down and unclipped the stockings that had kept his wife's legs warm in the winter winds. He folded them delicately and placed them on the bed next to the dress.

Without asking what was needed next, Ray began opening drawers until he found nightgowns. He pulled one from the drawer, raising his eyebrows to ask if it would do. Livy nodded with a smile that grew slightly when Ray continued to pull socks from the drawers as well.

Again, embarrassment grew in Livy's throat as she realized the state of undress she was in and the state she would need to get to.

"Ray…" she began. "I know I shouldn't ask for your help for this. We can call Martha and she can help me finish." Livy knew Ray would do whatever he was told.

"I can get her if that's what you'd prefer." He said this with only sincerity in his voice. "Would you prefer Martha?"

Livy shook her head. Ray nodded his.

"I won't look if you don't want me to," he said softer yet. Livy nodded.

"There's a zipper here and then two clasps," Livy instructed. "The zipper sticks so—"

Ray lowered the zipper with ease.

"Do you need any…" Ray motioned to Livy's underwear. "Do you need anything to wear under the…uh," Ray's speech trailed off.

"No…I…uh," Livy wasn't sure how to respond.

"Right…because…" Ray responded. The couple stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"Do you need—" Ray began, asking if Livy needed help slipping out of her undergarments.

"Yes…I can't quite bend to—"

"Do you want me to close my eyes?" Ray said, almost at a whisper.

Livy's thoughts paused for what seemed like a lifetime.

"Only if you want to."

Livy didn't know if he did or not.

As quickly as her undergarments came off, Ray slid the nightgown over her head and knelt to put the socks on his wife's feet.

I hope you are enjoying the story. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading!