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“Y-yes.” Rainee gasped for air.
Holding on to the slippery head as best she could, Selina ran her hand under the cord and carefully slid it over the baby’s head. Selina silently praised God that the cord had stayed attached and in one piece. If it had broken, Rainee could have bled to death. “Okay, now push, Rainee. And don’t stop until I tell you to.”
Rainee pushed and pushed and in moments the baby was in Selina’s hands.
The doctor burst into the room and without asking took the baby from Selina. Within seconds, the baby howled. Selina went to Rainee’s side and dipped a cloth into the cool water and blotted the moisture from her face and neck.
“Thank you, Selina.” Rainee reached for her hand and gave it a weak squeeze.
“You’re welcome.”
Knowing Rainee was in good hands with Doc Berg, Selina washed up and then slipped out of the room. Her nerves were plumb worn out just thinking about what could have happened to Rainee if that cord had broken. That thought set her body to shaking again.
Michael sat on his mother’s porch swing with his niece Rosie. Yards away from them, Emily visited with her grandmother, who was watching the girls while Rainee had her baby.
Michael wondered how things were going with Rainee. In a few minutes he’d go and see, but for now he was just enjoying the sunshine and spending time with the bubbly child sitting next to him.
“Did you see what I made, Uncle Michael?”
He glanced down at his niece and the doll she held up for him to see, all wrapped in a handmade, large-stitched and slightly crooked quilt.
“You sure did a nice job on it, Rosie. It’s very pretty.”
“It sure is.” She toyed with the quilt around her doll for several long moments before she looked up at him. “Aunty Selina’s favorite color is blue, you know.”
“Yes, I know it is.” Did he ever. That was why he had ordered blue-patterned china, and had their…his…bedroom decorated in blue.
“Mine’s pink. And that’s okay. ’Cause Aunty Selina said it was.”
“What do you mean Aunty Selina said it was?” Michael couldn’t wait to hear this one.
“Well, when she came to visit Grandmother, she really liked the blue squares Emily had picked. Made me feel a little sad. Like I didn’t choose a pretty color or something. But then Aunty told me God made all different kinds of colors for us so we could each have our favorite. That He made each of us different, too. And that I was perfect and just right like I am.” Rosie’s little chest puffed out.
“You sure are, munchkin.” He kissed her on top of the head.
“Know what else she said?”
“No. What else did she say?”
“She said that it was okay to like different things and to be different. I like that.” The smile beamed like the bright sunshine around them. “You wanna know why, Uncle Michael?”
“Yes, I do.”
“’Cause, I always wanted to be like Emily, that’s why. She’s so smart and pretty. Always does things just right and I don’t. But after Aunty Selina told me that, I know it’s okay to not do things the same way Emily does. Doesn’t mean I’m not as good as Emily, just different. And that’s okay.”
Out of the mouths of babes. “It sure is.” This was a lesson he needed to learn, too. It was okay if Selina was different. He just needed to learn how to live with those differences.
Sitting here, listening to his niece chatter on, the desire to have children of his own overpowered his emotions. He glanced over at Haydon’s house. He couldn’t sit there any longer, wondering how things were going.
He excused himself and went to Haydon’s. When he stepped inside, Selina was closing Rainee and Haydon’s bedroom door. One look at the worry lines on his wife’s face and her tired eyes sent concern rushing through Michael. Concern not only for his wife, but also for Rainee. He went to her side. “You’re trembling. Is everything okay in there?”
Selina nodded. “Everythin’s fine now. It was a good thing I was here, Michael, or things could’ve been really bad for Rainee. Doc Berg only just arrived a minute ago.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“The cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck.”
Michael gasped.
“Iffen that cord had broke, Rainee could’ve bled to death, just like my cousin.” She shuddered.
“Thank God you were here to help.” Michael opened his arms and Selina sank against him. “Thank you for saving them.” He hugged her to his chest.
“No. Thank the Good Lord. All I did was what He told me to do.” She stepped back from his arms, and he wondered why.
