"You have a fine, healthy baby boy, sweetheart!" Olivia cried happily. She placed the baby on Elizabeth's chest, and Elizabeth lightly touched his back, marveling at the softness of his skin.
"My baby," she whispered. Right away the newborn stopped wailing and opened his eyes, gazing at her with unfocused dark blue orbs.
"Look, Paul! He knows me!" she said to her husband.
"Of course he does." Suddenly Paul was there, grinning from ear to ear. "He's beautiful. You did great, Liz." His voice was husky with emotion as he stroked his wife's damp hair. "I love you so much!"
"Are you hungry?" Elizabeth helped her new son to find a nipple, and he latched on eagerly.
Paul chuckled. "He has to have a name, you know."
"I think we should name him Paul Juergen Brimmer, Junior," said Elizabeth.
"I was thinking I'd like to name him Maximilian, for my father." Paul smiled. "His middle name can be Paul."
"Maximilian Paul Brimmer," said Elizabeth. "That's a nice name." They both watched their new son adoringly for a few minutes. "Now I know how my Mom felt when John-Boy was born," Elizabeth said after awhile.
"Now I know how my father felt when I was born," Paul replied.
"I can't believe I was so scared," said Elizabeth.
Paul laughed. "I told you there was nothing to be scared of!"
The summer days passed quickly and pleasantly for Elizabeth. Olivia stayed with her for a week to help with housework while she recuperated, and little Max, as he was called, grew quickly. Elizabeth spent many pleasant afternoons rocking on the front porch with her baby in her arms, talking or singing gently to him while enjoying the sunny weather.
Cindy brought Ginny by to visit every so often. The little girl could now walk with braces on her legs without a limp, and she could even run and was learning to ride a bicycle with training wheels. Elizabeth was very happy to see how well she'd progressed since Christmas.
One Saturday morning, Paul and Elizabeth were going for a walk over the bridge and beside the lake. Elizabeth pushed Max in his carriage. "My family is flying over to visit us in a couple of weeks," Paul announced. "They want to meet Max. You too, of course."
"That's great!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I've been wanting to meet them for so long!"
"And I've wanted for them to meet you for a long time as well."
Two weeks later, they drove to the new airport in an adjoining town. It had only been in use for a couple of years and still looked shiny and brand spanking new. Elizabeth wore her best dress and dressed Max in the cutest outfit she could find. "Do I look all right?" she asked anxiously as she and her husband stood together awaiting his family's arrival.
"For the dozenth time, Elizabeth, you look fine!" Paul laughed.
At last they saw his parents, Max and Elsa, and his younger brother, Mathias. Max looked much like an older version of Paul, except that he was almost completely bald. Elsa had curly light brown hair with only a few white strands and blue eyes, and Mathias was tall and slender with dark brown hair and eyes, like Paul's.
They were all very happy to see their older son, of course, and also greeted Elizabeth warmly. "Paul has told me so much about you," Elsa said as she embraced her daughter-in-law. "It's wonderful to finally meet you!" Max and Elsa both spoke fluent English with slight German accents, and Mathias had an American accent, like his older brother.
"How are things back home?" Paul asked his father.
"There is still much reconstruction to be done." Max looked very sad. "Berlin and many other cities are still in ruins."
All three Brimmers made a big fuss over baby Max, of course. "I don't feel old enough to be an uncle!" Mathias laughed as he held his young nephew.
"I was just about your age when I first became an aunt," Elizabeth told him. "I still remember John Curtis' birth just like it was yesterday."
"I can't wait to introduce you to Jeffrey," Paul added to his brother. Rose and her grandchildren still lived on Walton's Mountain, and Jeffrey and Paul still shared a close friendship.
After awhile, Paul drove the family home. He and Elizabeth had moved the crib into the living room and were planning to sleep there with Mathias and the baby while the older Brimmers stayed in their bedroom. Elizabeth had cleaned and scrubbed until all the furniture and appliances fairly shone, hoping that it would meet with her in-laws' approval and, to her relief, they all seemed pleased with her efforts.
That evening, she prepared an all-American meal of fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad, with peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Everyone complemented her on her cooking skills. Everything seemed to be going really well until the subject of church came up.
"I trust you've found a good Lutheran church that isn't too far away to raise your son in," Elsa commented.
"Actually, we just go with the Waltons to Elizabeth's mother's church," Paul replied. "It's Baptist, but it's still Protestant Christianity, so the beliefs are very similar."
His father was aghast. "Do you mean to say that my grandson has yet to be baptized into the church of our forefathers?" He sounded so upset that Paul and Elizabeth were afraid to answer him. "That must be rectified as quickly as possible!" the elder Max continued.
