Boaz's Wager Read online

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  In September, Eva felt her baby kick and stopped cutting the tomato. Last month was the first time she felt the movement, and even now, it was so new she couldn’t resist placing her hand on her belly and seeing if the baby would kick again. In this case, the baby didn’t so she turned her attention back to the worktable and finished making the sandwiches.

  “Rachel’s here!” Leroy yelled from the other room.

  “I’m in the kitchen, Rachel,” Eva called out. She pulled two more slices of bread from the breadbox and looked at her friend as she entered the kitchen. “I hope you brought your appetite.”

  Rachel rubbed her enlarged belly and smiled. “I did, even though I ate just an hour ago.”

  Eva waved her to the chair. “It’s to be expected. You’re eating for two. Have a seat. We’ll be eating soon.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want any help? I don’t mind pitching in.”

  “I only have your sandwich to do. The rest is already done.”

  “Alright.” Rachel sat at the table. “Did you feel any more kicks yet?”

  “A couple, but some are so light, I almost miss them. You?”

  “Mine are becoming more frequent, but I’m a month further along than you, so I think that’s to be expected.”

  “Too bad we won’t both be giving birth in December. It’d be like having twins,” Eva joked as she gathered all the sandwiches and put them on their plates.

  “Well, that’s what you and Boaz get for not trying to conceive sooner.”

  Eva set the plates on the table and turned to pour tea punch into everyone’s cups.

  “How is Boaz doing? Is he worried?”

  “From time to time, he asks me how I’m feeling, but his first wife didn’t have any trouble the whole time she was expecting. She only had trouble when she gave birth.” Eva glanced at her friend. “I don’t know if he’ll really start to worry until I go into labor. He’s already told the doctor he wants him here when I give birth, and given everything Boaz has been through, the doctor has agreed.” After Eva brought the cups to the table, she added, “I hope I have an easy time of it like my mother did. And I’m not just saying that because I’m the one going through the birthing process.”

  “I know. You want it for Boaz’s sake.”

  Eva nodded and smiled at her friend. “I am glad we get to share this together. I wasn’t with Leroy and Hannah when they were babies. It’ll be nice to have you to talk to about babies and caring for them. I know Heather would help me, but I’m not close to her like I am to you.”

  “I feel the same way you do, Eva. You’re the best friend a person can have.”

  Touched, Eva’s smile widened. “Thank you, Rachel.”

  “You and Boaz should come over to my house next week. Herb got more music in that he’s been itching to play, and you’re the best audience he’s ever had.”

  “Since Boaz won’t mind, I happily accept.”

  Rachel chuckled. “Yes, it’s nice to know Boaz feels safe around a violin.”

  Doing her best to hide her own giggle at how silly it’d been that Boaz used to fret over Herb’s playing, Eva hurried to tell Leroy and Hannah it was time to eat.

  ***

  “Are you afraid Eva won’t make it through childbirth?” Herb asked one evening in early December when Boaz had taken Eva over to Herb and Rachel’s so they could see Herb and Rachel’s infant daughter Edna.

  It took Boaz a moment before he could answer his friend because, from time to time, he did find the fear creeping up on him. Shifting in the parlor chair, he finally answered, “I’ve come to realize that I can’t control what happens. Every morning when I wake up, I make the decision to act in hope.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Well, I can’t take full credit for it. I once had an irritable friend who told me if I didn’t get my act together, I was going to miss out on the best life had to offer.”

  “As your irritable friend, I’ll say your welcome.”

  Boaz caught the smirk on Herb’s face and grinned.

  Eva and Rachel came into the parlor, followed by Leroy and Hannah. Rachel tucked the blanket around her daughter and sat next to Herb on the couch while Eva sat in the chair next to him. Boaz’s gaze went to his wife’s belly, thinking that before the year ended, his own family would be bigger. And God willing, Eva would be with him to share the joys their newest child would bring.

  Leroy came over to him. “Pa, babies are gross.”

  Surprised, he turned his attention to his son. “Babies are gross?”

  “They make awful smells and they cry a lot.”

  Eva chuckled and leaned over to rub Leroy’s hair affectionately. “I’m sure you did the same thing at that age.”

  “Which is why I grew to be a big boy,” he said, pride in his voice.

  “One day Rachel’s daughter will be a big girl.”

  “Like me?” Hannah asked, turning her gaze to Eva.

  “Yes, just like you.”

  “Is your baby going to smell and cry, too?” Leroy asked, looking at Eva’s belly.

  “I’m afraid so,” she replied with a chuckle.

  He shook his head and crossed his arms. “Why can’t you have a big boy or girl instead of a baby?”

  “That’s not how it works,” Boaz said. “Besides, just the other day you stepped in some horse droppings while crossing the street and today you yelled at the top of your lungs when you were playing in the house. My ears are still ringing from the racket you made. Though,” he added with a mischievous grin, “it wasn’t nearly as bad as listening to Herb play that fiddle of his.”

  “Don’t you dare say that,” Eva playfully admonished. “If you’re not nice, Herb won’t play for us tonight.”

  “Fortunately for you, Eva,” Herb began as he stood up, “I won’t hold your husband’s lack of taste against you.”

  Chuckling, Boaz motioned to Hannah who had remained silently by his side. “Want to sit on my lap while he plays?”

  With a nod, Hannah crawled up on his lap and settled against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and glanced at Leroy who let out a sigh but sat on the floor next to Eva. Boaz knew the boy didn’t care much for listening to the music, but to his credit, he knew to mind his manners. He didn’t understand the appeal of the classical music any more than Leroy did, but Eva and Hannah seemed to enjoy it so he was happy to oblige them and pay attention as Herb played.

  Afterwards, Herb and Eva would discuss a group of their favorite composers as they usually did. Rachel would yawn at some point because, while she enjoyed the music, she couldn’t care less about the lives of the people who created it. Boaz would take that as his cue to suggest he and Eva leave. The routine was a familiar one and one they were comfortable with. And it was one that worked very well.

  Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. Soon she’d be asleep, and holding her while she slept was one of the nicest things he experienced. With a smile, he settled back into the chair and thought over the possible names he and Eva had discussed naming their child.

  ***

  It was the third week in December when Eva went into labor. After Boaz got the doctor, he spent the next two hours watching Leroy and Hannah as they played. He alternated between letting them play in the parlor and taking them outside. Since Rachel came over to help, Boaz held her daughter, trying to stay confident that everything would turn out alright.

  At one point, he made Leroy and Hannah a sandwich, acutely aware that the doctor and Rachel were talking to Eva in soothing tones. He couldn’t make out what they were saying in the bedroom, and he wasn’t sure if the fact that he couldn’t hear Eva was a good thing or not. His first wife had screamed a lot. So maybe it was a good thing.

  Besides, if there was a problem, the doctor or Rachel would be coming out to tell him. He released his breath. Yes, if there was anything wrong, someone would come out of the room and let him know.

 
He handed the sandwiches to Leroy and Hannah then picked up Rachel’s daughter from the bassinet and bundled her up tightly in a thick blanket. “Let’s go back outside.”

  He had to get out of the house, even if it was only for ten or fifteen minutes.

  “Do you think Ma will get that baby soon?” Leroy asked as they headed out.

  “Yes.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take?”

  “I don’t know.” They stepped onto the porch. “But before the day is over, you’ll have a baby brother or sister.”

  “I want to hold the baby,” Hannah said as Leroy bit into his sandwich.

  “You can but you need to be careful,” Boaz told her and sat in the chair. “Don’t hold her unless either your ma or I are with you.”

  She nodded and bit into her sandwich.

  Boaz patted the baby on the back and took a deep breath. Soon. Soon he’d know what was happening with Eva.

  Just as Leroy and Hannah finished their sandwiches and went back to the yard to play, a tiny cry came from inside the house. He jumped up from the chair and got ready to open the front door when Rachel beat him to it.

  As soon as he saw her smile, he knew everything was good. Eva was fine and so was the baby.

  “You have another daughter, Boaz,” Rachel said.

  “And Eva?” Even if he knew she was fine, he still needed to hear it, to be sure.

  “She’s crying but it’s because she’s happy. As soon as she heard the little girl cry, she said she couldn’t help it. You know, when she was a teacher, none of us thought she had a tender bone in her body because she was so strict. But we both know differently.” She held her arms out to her daughter. “I’ll take her while you go in and see Eva.”

  “Can we come, too?” Leroy asked, running over to them, Hannah on his heels.

  “Yes, but you need to be on your best behavior,” he replied.

  “We will.”

  Boaz let the children into the house and followed Rachel to the bedroom. Before they reached the doorway, Boaz turned to Leroy and Hannah. “Be quiet and stand nicely when you’re in there. Understand?”

  They nodded and Rachel patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll get some hot chocolate for everyone.”

  Thanking her, he led the children into the room. The doctor was wrapping up the newspapers but Boaz’s gaze went to Eva who was laughing as she looked up from the swaddled infant who was yawning.

  “How are you feeling?” Boaz asked.

  “Good. Well, a little sore, but the doctor said that’s to be expected.”

  The doctor glanced his way and gave him a reassuring smile. “Your wife did wonderful, Boaz. It was a quick, easy birth. You and Eva can have as many children as you want.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded and picked up the wadded up ball of newspapers. “Really. You have nothing to worry about.”

  Boaz waited until he left then turned his attention back to her. “Was it really an easy birth?”

  Eva motioned for him to sit next to her on the bed. “From what the doctor and Rachel said, it was. I have nothing to compare it to. But I didn’t think it was difficult.”

  “Good.” He sat next to her, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He drew her into his arms and kissed her. “Good.”

  “You already said that, Pa,” Leroy said as he crawled up on the bed.

  “Take off your coat and boots,” he replied. “You don’t want to make a mess on the blankets.”

  “It’s alright, Boaz,” Eva assured him. “I don’t mind. At least for today. But in the future, we leave our coats and boots by the front door,” she told Leroy.

  “Yes, Ma.”

  Hannah took off her coat and boots then proceeded over to her. “Can I hold her?”

  Boaz glanced at Eva then wiggled away from her so there was enough room for Hannah to sit between them. “Come on over here.”

  The girl ran around the bed and he picked her up in his arms. He gently set her down, mindful to go easy for Eva’s sake. When Hannah was settled, Eva placed the girl in her arms.

  “What’s her name?” Hannah asked, glancing from one to the other.

  “Annie,” Leroy spoke up. “Let’s name her Annie!”

  Boaz looked at Eva. “What do you think?”

  Eva shrugged. “Well, it is one of the names we kept going back to. I think it fits. Do you like it?”

  “Yeah, I do. Let’s name her Annie.”

  “I like Doris,” Hannah argued.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Boaz began as he rubbed his daughter’s back. “The next time we have a girl, we could name her Doris.”

  “We’ll do that,” Eva agreed.

  Hannah smiled in satisfaction and peered down at Annie. “She’s cute.”

  “Yes, she is.” Boaz brushed Annie’s cheek, his heart swelling with pride and joy. It was everything he had hoped for and more. His gaze went back to Eva and he whispered, “I love you.”

  She returned the sentiment and they turned their attention back to the newest addition to their family.

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