The last night of their stay was a rainy one. Their tent was proof against the downfall, Joshua had made sure that it would be, but Rosa huddled tight against her husband just the same. As the rain danced its carefree rhythm on their tent, Rosa whispered to Joshua that she needed him intimately. At first Joshua was a bit taken aback since Rosa had never initiated intimacy before…and, further, they were a scant few yards from her parent’s door…but pushed past that and rolled over to kiss his wife passionately. As the rain gave witness, they celebrated their passion and at the same time, unknowingly, they gave spark to another bright life there on the rich Mexican earth.
The farewells the next day were lingering and tearful. Rosa’s mother and sisters were reluctant to part with John who had endured the week of constant attention with his almost unnatural forbearance and calm (he had even favored his Grandmother with an occasional shy smile, something that thrilled Maria beyond words.) Though anxious to be on the road for home, Joshua patiently waited as the parting dragged on into the mid-morning. It was in fact Rosa who finally announced that they must be on their way.
Maria hugged Rosa one last time. Then she kissed John and came over to Joshua. Joshua bent down to meet the old woman and she kissed his cheek softly and murmured something that Joshua later understood was “take care of my child” (though he wasn’t quite sure if she was referring to Rosa or to John.)
Joshua helped Rosa up onto the wagon and then handed up John, who was starting to doze in his basket. He shook hands with Juan, who lingered in the gesture taking Joshua’s massive hand into both of his own. And then they were off.
Rosa looked back waving and smiling as the wagon gingerly negotiated the muddy lane. And then they rounded a corner and Rosa settled back in her seat after making sure that John was comfortably sleeping.
Joshua looked at his wife from the corner of his eye wondering if she was regretting leaving her hometown. Rosa, as if she could hear his thoughts, thanked him for bringing them and then added it would be good to get home.
Save for a broken wagon wheel that took Joshua a half-day to repair, the trip north was also fairly uneventful. Joshua was happy to be out of Mexico. Despite the warmth of his welcome with Rosa’s family, Joshua had never felt more isolated and different…something he, as a white man in a white country, had no frame of reference for. He understood that it made him extremely uncomfortable and it gave him a new awareness of exactly how strong his wife was. If it were possible Joshua found that he loved Rosa more than ever after having spent time in her hometown with her family.
Rosa was surprised…pleasantly so…how much her house felt like home. She had been very happy in her hometown but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling of being a visitor even in her father’s house. This town…this house…this man and this child…they were her home now. And, despite a vague pang of guilt and loss in regards to her former home down south, Rosa found that she was happier than she could ever remember.
Joshua and Rosa settled back into the comfortable pattern of their lives. The news…first intuited by Rosa and then confirmed during one of the doctor’s stops in town…that Rosa was with child again only added to their joy.
Joshua was more relaxed during the second pregnancy…at least to a degree. He continued to work as hard as always and tried to hover around Rosa less than he had during the time she was pregnant with John. He took time out to add another room to their house (“more room to grow in,” he had joked to Rosa, “if we keep making babies at this rate this house is going to have 15 or 20 rooms one day.”)
Rosa for her part kept herself busy taking care of John and the house. She took only scant moments here and there to wish that the child inside her be a girl (a thought she did not share with Joshua who had already voiced his hope for a second son.)
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