“The baby’s in the birth canal,” Mack told her friend.
“What would you like me to do?” Grace asked.
“Hold on to her hand and count off the seconds when the contractions come.”
“No…don’t leave me.” Mary Jo couldn’t do this without Mack at her side.
“I need to deliver the baby,” he explained, his words so gentle they felt like a warm caress. “Grace will help you.”
“I’m here,” Grace said.
“Okay.” Reluctantly Mary Jo freed Mack’s hand.
Grace slipped into his spot. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Mary Jo said.
“How would you do that?” Grace asked, clasping her hand.
Somehow she found the strength to smile. “I squeeze hard.”
“You aren’t going to hurt me,” Grace said reassuringly. “You squeeze as hard as you need to and don’t worry about me.” She reached for the damp cloth and wiped Mary Jo’s flushed and heated face.
“I…don’t have anything for the baby,” she whispered. That thought suddenly struck Mary Jo and nearly devastated her. Her baby wasn’t even born yet, and already she was a terrible mother. Already she’d failed her child.
“That’s all been taken care of.”
“But…I don’t even have a blanket.”
“Maryellen and Jon are stopping at their house for diapers and baby blankets and clothes for a newborn.”
“But…”
“Maryellen still has all of Drake’s clothes, so that should be the least of your worries, okay?”
“Okay.” A weight lifted from her heart.
Another pain approached. Mary Jo could feel herself pushing the infant from the womb. She gritted her teeth, bearing down with all her strength.
Grace, her voice strong and confident, counted off the seconds. Again, when the pain was over, Mary Jo collapsed on the bed.
In the silence that followed, Mary Jo could hear the sound of her own harsh breathing. Then in the distance she heard the laughter of children.
“The kids…”
“The grandchildren are outside with Cliff,” Grace said.
“Laughing?”
“Do you want me to tell Cliff to keep them quiet?”
“No…no. It’s…joyful.” This was the way it should be on Christmas Eve. Hearing their happiness gave her hope. Her baby, no matter what the future held, would be born surrounded by people who were kind and encouraging.
Giving birth in a barn, the stalls below filled with beasts, children running and laughing outside, celebrating the season, hadn’t been part of Mary Jo’s plan. And yet—it was perfect.
So perfect.
This was a thousand times better than being alone with strangers in a hospital. None of her brothers would’ve been comfortable staying with her through labor. Maybe Ned, but even her youngest brother, as much as he loved her, wouldn’t have done well seeing her in all this pain.
Mack had been with her from the first, and now Grace.
“Thank you,” she whispered to them both.
“No, Mary Jo, thank
“We’re so honored to be helping you.”
“I’m glad you’re with me.” She smiled tremulously at Grace, then Mack. How she wished she’d fallen in love with him instead of David. Mack was everything a man should be….
Another pain came, and she locked her eyes with his for as long as she could until the contraction became too strong. She surrendered to it, whimpering softly.
“The head’s almost there,” Mack said when the pain finally released her. “Your baby has lots of brown hair.”
“Oh…”
“Another pain or two and this will be over,” Grace promised.
“Thank God, thank God,” Mary Jo said fervently.
“You’re going to be a good mother,” Grace told her.
Mary Jo wanted to believe that. Needed to believe it. All night, she’d been tortured with doubts and, worse, with guilt about arriving at this moment totally unprepared.
