Mountains of Trouble by Clare Bills

Author:Clare Bills [Bills, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby

*Cora

“Come on, Flossie. Push. The baby’s head is crowning. You’re almost there. Push!” Delivering babies never felt routine to Cora. She’d been working as a midwife ever since she finished her nurse’s training five years before. No clinics had openings which would have allowed her to work predictable hours and hopefully move away from the farm. Instead the only available opening was the county midwife. She was grateful for the work, but needed someone to keep an eye on four-year-old Helen. Babies arrived after long and unpredictable hours. Staying with her parents was the practical solution then and now that they were in the middle of the great Depression, independence seemed a lofty dream.

“The head is out! One more big push, Flossie. That’s it. Keep pushing!”

The baby was born, and Cora quickly cleaned her up.

“She’s a girl! And she looks perfect. Another beautiful baby, Flossie.”

She placed her in Flossie’s waiting arms and watched as Flossie kissed her head and counted her fingers and toes.

“Thank you, Cora,” Flossie said as she fell back against her headboard. “Such a relief.”

“What will you call her?”

“Haven’t got a name yet.”

When Flossie was stable, Cora went downstairs to share the happy news with Flossie’s husband, Arthur.

“Another perfect little girl!” Cora told him beaming.

“Thank God,” Arthur exclaimed and took the stairs two at a time to see for himself.

Cora flopped down in a chair for a few minutes. She loved her work, but it was exhausting. And each delivery reminded her of the child she lost.

“I’ll take you home then,” Arthur said when he came downstairs.

The horse-drawn carriage seemed to hit every bump along the roads, adding to the pain in her shoulders and back. When it finally pulled up to the farmhouse, she stepped carefully out into the dark evening, avoiding mud and horse droppings.

“Thank you again for all your help Cora,” Arthur Watson said. “We’ll pay you somethin’ as soon as we can. You done real good today. That new one looks right fine.”

“I had little to do with it. I’m happy Flossie and the baby are doing well. I’ll be by tomorrow to check on them.” Arthur tipped his hat and was gone.

Cora hurried to the house, pulling her long black coat closed against the chill of the autumn night. When she reached the porch, she set her heavy leather bag down. She stretched upward to get the kink out of her back and rubbed her neck for a moment. She never relaxed while assisting with a birth, in case of complications. There was so much joy when everything went well, but the fear of losing a baby, or a mother, or both, kept her vigilant.

Exhaustion was descending on her. It was nearly time for supper, and she braced herself for Ma’s temper. She was eager to see Helen and hoped they might have a peaceful evening.

The hubbub of supper preparations drew her into the kitchen.

“Mama,” Helen raced to her and hugged her tight around the waist. Cora kissed the top of her head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.