"Oh, good," Martha said as the two came down the stairs. "How are you feeling, Livy?"
"Well, I've been better," Livy said as Ray slowly set her down.
"Getting stronger?" Martha asked. Both Livy and Ray nodded in tandem.
"How far apart?"
"I'd say about six minutes or so," Ray said.
"Good. We'll time between the next two and decide if it's time to call the doctor," Martha said matter-of-factly.
"I'll make up the couch," Ray said, kissing his wife on the head as he headed into the living room.
"I was hoping you'd have the baby down here. Did Ray tell you he was born in the living room?"
"He did," Livy said with a smile. Martha took a step forward and quickly hugged her sister-in-law.
"Oh, Livy, I'm so excited!"
"Martha," Livy said as the two separated. "I can't thank you enough. Not just for the laundry and food, but for everything. Really."
Livy knew Martha understood. She'd helped her to see how Ray loved and how to love Ray in a way Livy would never have understood without her help.
"Don't you even think about it," Martha continued. "We're family and family do things like laundry and make roasts and keep marriages together." The two chuckled and walked into the kitchen together.
As they entered the room, Martha quickly turned and spoke more sternly than she had before.
"Now, be honest Livy, are you doing alright?"
"I think so," Livy responded.
"Do you have any questions? About anything? After three, I know the ins and outs of it all fairly well."
A warmth rose up in Livy she'd rarely felt until she'd joined the Singleton family. She felt loved—truly and completely loved.
"I…I don't know."
Martha hugged her once more and held her face the way only a mother knows how.
"You'll stay the whole time, won't you?" A tinge of fear pinched at Livy. Was Martha leaving?
"Of course I will," Martha soothed her fear immediately. "I'll stay as long as you need me to."
Martha pulled a small watch out of the pocket of her dress and looked at the time.
"Should be another coming on soon, don't you suppose?"
"I can feel it coming on now, actually," Livy responded, once again finding the doorframe for support. She tried to stifle the moans that left her body, but she found she no longer had control over the noises that escaped from her throat.
"There, there," Martha said, quickly running a rag under cool water and placing it on Livy's neck. "You go ahead and make as much noise as you like."
And Livy did. Shallow moan after shallow moan left her body. She felt like a growling pup protecting a coveted bone, but it seemed to ease the stabbing pain she felt surge through her.
The two women waddled, one foot and then the other, to the living room where they found Ray feeding the fire. The sofa had been made into a bed complete with quilt and pillow.
"Ray," Martha said, "You'll want to get a few sheets to lay out and a baby blanket. Last I checked there were still some in the wardrobe in my room." Ray nodded and jogged up the stairs, jumping two at a time.
"He's so excited he can hardly contain it," Livy said. "When I first married him, I knew there might never be love in this marriage. I'd expected it, really. But I was so scared he wouldn't love the baby. I was scared he'd look at it as a burden he'd accidentally taken on. I even had nightmares about it. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, I think Ray's loved this baby since the beginning."
"You might just be right," Martha said, grasping her sister-in-law's hands in hers and holding back tears. "Come, let's get you situated."
It took only a few seconds of lounging before Livy decided she'd rather sit on the floor for the time being. Ray returned with a few sheets and more than enough blankets for the baby.
"Martha, where do I put these?"
"Well, I don't know yet. That'll be up to Livy when the time comes."
"But what do you need them for, really?"
"Well, Ray, what do you think?" Martha rolled her eyes and looked toward Livy. "You don't want to be thinking about cleaning a sofa or the floor when you've just had a baby."
Ray nodded in his usual manner and left sheets on the table in the hall.
"I'll get back to the laundry then," Martha said. "Holler if you need anything."
"I could use a Coco-Cola, myself, actually," Ray said. "Livy, do you need anything?"
"Maybe a cool rag for your neck?" Martha suggested.
"That would be nice," Livy confirmed.
From the kitchen, Martha and Ray watched in hushed tones as Livy sat on the floor and rocked in discomfort. Ray turned to his sister, tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Ray, what's the matter?" Martha pulled him into an embrace.
"I just hate seeing her like this and not being able to do anything for her."
"I know, Ray, but it'll be over before morning. She's nearly there. And by tomorrow, you'll have a baby!" Ray nodded and stepped back from his sister. She quickly wiped his tears and handed him the cool rag for his wife.
"Another should be starting any second."
Livy sat on the floor the way children sit, on wide knees with her feet beneath her. She lay her arms on the couch and her head on her arms. She closed her eyes and felt as if, in only a second, she was drifting to sleep. There was no rest for the wicked, though, as she was soon rocking side to side and moaning once more. A cool rag found the back of her neck and strong hands the small of her back.
"That's five minutes," Martha said. "I'll call the doctor. I hope the weather holds until he can get here."