As her first pregnancy progresses, Sarah faces the
transition into home life from her busy role as a Head Sister at a prominent
Brisbane hospital.
Autumn set upon them, and the early mornings had a nip to
them before the sun rose. Sarah kissed Jack goodbye when he left for work, then
returned to bed. During the day, she set about tidying, cooking and cleaning,
and in the afternoon Vivienne came to visit.
‘Now, you sit down,
Sarah,’ she insisted, ‘I’ll make the tea.’
‘Put some out on
the cooling rack on a plate,’ Sarah suggested
She sat down at the
kitchen table, leaning back in the chair.
Vivienne filled the
tin kettle, and unscrewed the lid to the tealeaf jar.
‘How are you feeling
today?’ she enquired, spooning the leaves into the ceramic pot.
‘Tired,’ Sarah
replied. ‘I’ve never felt so tired in my life. I’m not used to it at
all.’
‘Well, you make
sure you look after yourself. Don’t work too hard around here.’
‘I know, I know. I’m
just not used to being at home all day, that’s all. I’m bored.’
Vivienne nodded. ‘I
can imagine it must be a big change from the hospital.’
The kettle began to
whistle, and she poured the water into the pot and took it over to the
table.
‘So how are things
at work?’ Sarah enquired. ‘Oh, great,’ Vivienne replied, pouring the tea into
the cups. ‘We’ve had quite a few new nurses start recently, so I’ve been
training them up. Larry and I have been looking into missionary opportunities
as well.’
‘Oh yes?’
‘We found one in
Papua New Guinea that we are interested in. They open and run churches and
schools over there.’
‘How long will you
be gone for?’
‘If we decide to
take it on, we could be gone for a few years.’
Sarah adjusted her
hands around her teacup.
‘Wow, Viv.
That sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I’m so happy for you.’ She
paused thoughtfully. ‘I do hope I get to do something like that someday soon.
I’ve mentioned it to Jack quite a few times, but his response has always
been brief and dismissive.’
‘Well, I can
understand that. He has a baby to look after soon, as well as you.’ She
waved her finger at Sarah. ‘You just have that baby first. It’s out of the
question until then, anyway.’
After Vivienne had
gone, Sarah sat in the living room, thinking over her sister’s news. Amidst all
the events of the past year, she had almost forgotten her own dream of becoming
a missionary. Now that she was married she would only be allowed to undertake
the work with her husband. Yet she still held onto hope that Jack would want to
do it with her one day.
The hospital room
was plain with a single bed in the middle, where Jack and the nurse helped
Sarah lie down.
‘Are you
comfortable?’ the nurse asked.
‘Yes, thank you,’
Sarah replied. ‘Now, Mr. Brooker, the waiting room is down the hall. This is women’s business,
not a place for men.’
Jack nodded,
bending down to kiss her on the cheek.
‘I love you,’ he
said softly. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
‘I love you too,
Jack,’ Sarah replied.
The nurse bustled
him over to the door.
‘We’ll call you
when the baby is ready.’
Jack sat down in
one of the chairs, resting his head in his hand. There were two other men,
one reading a newspaper, the other lost in a thoughtful trance. Jack glanced at
the clock on the wall. He got up from time to time, casually pacing the room,
foraging for cups of tea and biscuits.
The doctor lifted
up a small, slippery body, its cries piercing the air. Sarah felt the warm mass
upon her breast.
‘It’s a little boy,
Sarah.’
She looked down at
her baby, tears welling in her eyes. She forgot the pain straight away. Now
that life had come from her very body, she felt like she could do anything. It
was a moment even more special than her wedding. There was nothing else in life
that equaled.
Her baby was so
fragile and precious, curled up on her chest seeking shelter from the bright,
cold and noisy world. His face was pinched up, his eyes squeezed shut, his
gummy mouth open wide as he cried crankily.
He was taken away,
and once bathed and cleaned up the nurse returned him to Sarah. She held him
wrapped up tightly in a blanket. She was proud and relieved that she had given
birth to a boy as her eldest child. It would be well accepted in the family and
in the church.
She was taken back
to the ward, and Jack joined her shortly after. He kissed Sarah on the head and
stroked his son’s soft hair. His name was Paul.
Sarah carefully
passed him to Jack, who gently rocked Paul in his arms. She sat back and
watched, smiling. In the midst of their newfound happiness, she wished that
Jack had been able to experience the joy she’d felt the moment Paul had been
born. She knew that he was surely hiding his disappointment about missing out
on the arrival of his first child. But she was so glad to have him by her side
after so many hours apart.
Their families
arrived at the hospital and gloated over Paul. When they had gone home and the
fuss was over, Sarah was alone with him again. He looked up at her with big
blue eyes, absorbing the new world around him.
She stroked his
cheek, the skin so soft and smooth. She had cradled many babies before, but
this was so radically different to anything she’d ever experienced. This baby
was hers.
