War Brides: A Novel by Battle Lois

Author:Battle, Lois [Battle, Lois]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781101603659
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

THE NEXT three months were the most miserable of her life. She was coddled by Etna and the servants, Ricky wrote to her almost daily, but Richard made a point of not being around. And despite her longing, it was a relief not to have to see him. The projected date of her delivery came and passed. She had been like a prisoner, counting off the days until her release, but now she was like an insane person, trapped and tortured with no hope of freedom. Then, one afternoon in early April, as she sat in a garden chair with Etna’s mink coat draped around her shoulders and watched her mother-in-law potting iris bulbs, she felt the first spasm.

Etna fluttered around like a bird in a dust bath, ordering Faustina to fetch the overnight bag and call the hospital. Jackson, speechlessly efficient, assisted her to the Buick. He chauffeured her to the hospital, careening through stoplights, frantically honking the horn when they were stuck in traffic, while Etna, her battered garden hat still on her head, squeezed her hands and prayed.

Her most vivid memory of the birth was the exit sign over the door of the delivery room. The blurred figures in white ordered her to push, to breathe, to relax, to push again. She tried to follow their commands, but the pain was so great she couldn’t concentrate. A doctor she had never seen before was summoned because she wasn’t “progressing.” He snapped on his rubber gloves and ordered a spinal block. Behind his masked face she could see the exit sign. When he asked for the forceps, she lunged forward, straining to get off the table. A fiercely impatient expression came into his eyes. He moved over her, blotting out the sign. Hands forced her backward. No exit.

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