The only doctor in town was also the only doctor in the next two closest towns and so on the day Rosa’s water broke he was miles away. A woman from down the road…the wife of a farmer…doubled as the town’s midwife and Joshua road out to get her while a couple of neighbor women stayed with Rosa.
Her experience with helping deliver babies hadn’t really prepared Rosa for the experience of being the one delivering the child. She tried to be strong…especially when she knew Joshua was outside on the porch being kept company by some of his friends from town…but at times the pain was all but unbearable and she cried out despite her determination not to do so. But just when it seemed like the pressure was never going to end, she pushed with all the strength she had left and the stubborn boy quit her body and surged into the outside world with a mighty wail that both startled and tickled his father and his father’s friends.
Joshua had resisted Rosa’s suggestion that the boy be named after him…every man should have his very own name, he argued…and he flatly dismissed her casual suggestion that the boy bear the name of Joshua’s father. In the end they settled on John, a solid Christian name that also just happened to be the American version of Rosa’s father’s name.
After the midwife and the other women had cleaned up Rosa and little John, Joshua had been allowed into the bedroom. Joshua just stood at the foot of the bed beaming at Rosa and his newborn son. At first he refused Rosa’s offers to hold his son for fear his rough hands might unintentionally hurt the child but, eventually, he sat in the chair next to the bed and allowed the midwife to hand John to him. Joshua held the boy gingerly but securely and just stared at him for a long time.
John’s skin was almost as tan as Joshua’s and his hair dark as Rosa’s. His eyes stood out against his olive complexion…they were blue and gray, more one than the other depending on the light. When the baby grew agitated, the midwife announced that it was probably time for him to nurse again and Joshua grew flustered, his face blushing deeply, and handed the baby back to the woman and hurriedly excused himself from the room.
In the days that followed, the household slowly adjusted to a new equilibrium. Joshua continued to work mostly at home despite the fact that Rosa was up and back to her chores the day after giving birth.
Joshua regarded John with wonder and pride but he continued to hover away from the boy as much as possible. Joshua would get close to the baby’s crib every once in a while but he never ventured to pick up the child. He never changed the boy’s diaper and he usually absented himself when Rosa was nursing the child.
Rosa was content to have John sleeping in a crib in their bedroom but Joshua insisted that the boy should be made to sleep in the nursery next door. Joshua put his foot down on this matter partially because he sincerely thought it was the right thing to do and, partially, because he was loathe to be woken from his much needed sleep broken by John’s need to nurse or be changed during the night.
Rosa seethed about the decision for a while, not wanting to be separated from her son at night, but she dutifully obeyed her husband’s order and didn’t raise a fuss when Joshua moved the crib into the nursery. Rosa was restless the first couple of nights, her ears cocked for the slightest sign from John, but she soon settled into a comfortable routine as she realized that the baby was fine and well within earshot should something occur.
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