She had turned forty years old earlier that month.
This would be Lilly’s last baby. Her belly was gigantic. She had never been
this big with any of her previous five pregnancies, and she was miserable.
2 When she wasn’t pregnant, Lilly Reynolds was a small
person. She was barely five feet tall (if she wore thick-soled shoes). Even so,
what she lacked in height, she made up for in personality. Lilly had opinions
about everything, and she wasn’t afraid of sharing them with anyone who would
listen. Her husband, Will, was more than a little henpecked; but he loved her
dearly.
3 They had just returned from a bumpy ride into town
when the labor started. The pain was sharp, and Lilly was sweating profusely.
“I’ve got to lay down, Will,” she declared before going to bed.
4 “Wick, run and fetch the doctor,” William shouted at
his son. “Lizzie, get your mother a cold cloth for her forehead.”
5 Then he reached down and scooped little Myrtle up
out of the floor. “Now you be a good girl for daddy and don’t bother your
mama,” he cooed as he kissed her on the forehead and gently set her back down
on the ground.
6 The labor was long and hard. In fact, the doctor had
begun to despair of being able to deliver the baby vaginally. When it was
finally over, mother, baby and doctor were all exhausted.
7 Fortunately, the baby slept a lot. She was too tired
to fuss and cry. “Eunice Mae - that’s her name,” Lilly declared.
8 “Can I see her?” Myrtle asked as she tugged on her
daddy’s pant leg. “Why sure you can!” Will exclaimed with delight and
amusement.
9 As he led the little girl into the room to see her sister, he held his index finger over his lips to make sure that she didn’t wake the baby. “She sure is pretty,” Myrtle declared as she peered down into the face of her chubby little sister for the first time. They would be close friends for the rest of their lives.
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