Chris called in to say he thought Melodie could use a nice sponge bath now, before he strode into the bathroom to take both babies from me. He sent me out to tend to the new mother while he gave the newborn twins a more complete inspection.
As I bathed Melodie and then slipped a fresh pink gown over her head, she awakened to stare at me with blank, disinterested eyes. "Is it over?" she asked in a weak, weary way. I picked up her hairbrush and went to work to unsnarl her damp, stringy hair.
"Yes, darling, it's over. You have delivered." "What is it? A boy?" There was hope in her eyes, the first I'd seen in many a day.
"Yes, darling, a boy . . . and a girl. You have just given birth to beautiful, perfect twins."
Her eyes grew huge, dark, full of anxieties so numerous she seemed about to faint again. "They are perfect, with everything where it's supposed to be."
She stared at me until I hurried to show her the twins. She stared with the look of utmost amazement before she smiled faintly. "Oh, they're cute . . . but I thought they'd be dark like Jory." I placed the two babies in her arms. She gazed down at them as if all this was totally unreal. "Two," she whispered weakly again and again, "two!" Her eyes fixed somewhere in space. "Two. I used to tell Jory we'd stop having children when we had two. I wanted a boy and a girl . . . but not twins. Now I have to be both mother and father to two! Twins! It's not fair, not fair!" Gently I smoothed back her hair. "Darling, this is God's way of blessing both you and Jory. He has delivered to you the complete family you wanted, and you won't have to go through this again. And you're not alone in this; we'll do all we can to help you. We'll hire nurses, maids, the best. Neither you nor they will lack for anything." Hope came to her eyes before she closed them. "I'm tired, Cathy, so tired. I guess it is nice to have both a boy and a girl, now that Jory can't make more. I just hope this will make up for a little that he's lost . . . and he'll be pleased."
With those words she fell into deep sleep, even as I finished brushing her hair. Once her hair had been so lovely; now it was dull, lifeless. I'd have to shampoo it before Jory saw her. When next Jory saw his wife, he'd see again the lovely girl he'd married.
For I was going to reunite this pair if it was the last thing I did.
Chris stepped up beside me and took the twins from her arms. "Leave now, Cathy. She's exhausted and needs a long rest. Time to shampoo tomorrow."
"Did I say that aloud? I was only thinking about it."
He laughed. "You did only think it, but you were also fingering her hair, and in your eyes your thoughts shone clearly. I know how you feel about clean hair-- the remedy for all depressions."
Kissing him first and hugging him tight, I left him with Melodie, then went to shake Jory awake. He came back from dreams, rubbing at his eyes, squinting at me. "What's up now? More trouble?"
"No trouble this time, darling." I stood and grinned at him until he must have thought I'd lost my mind He looked so perplexed as he shoved himself up on his elbows. "I have belated Christmas gifts for you, Jory, my love." He shook his head in a bewildered way.
"Mom, couldn't that gift have waited until morning?"
"No, not this one. You're a father, Jory!" I laughed and hugged him again. "Oh, Jory, God is kind. Remember when you and Melodie planned your family, you said you wanted two children, first a boy, then a girl? Well, as a special gift, sent straight from Heaven, you have twins! A boy, a girl!"
Tears flooded his eyes. He choked out his first concern. "How is Mel?"
"Chris is in there now, taking care of her. You see, ever since the wee hours of yesterday, Melodie was in labor and she didn't say a word."
"Why?" he bemoaned, his hands covering his face. "Why, when Dad was here all the time and he could have helped?"
"I don't know, son, but let's not think about that. She'll be fine, just fine. He says she won't even need to go to the hospital, although he does want to drive the twins in for a checkup just to be safe. Such tiny babies need more care than full-term ones. And he also said it wouldn't hurt if Melodie. had the attention of an obstetriciitn. He had to cut her, an episiotomy he called it. Without the surgery she would have torn. He sewed her up nicely, but it hurts, Jory, until the stitches come out. No doubt he'll bring them and her back the same day."
"God is good, Mom," he whispered hoarsely, swiping at the tears as he tried to smile. "I can't wait to see them. It will take me too much time to get up and go to them--will you bring them here to me?"
First he had to sit up to be ready to receive the twins into his arms. I turned to look at him from the doorway, thinking I'd never seen a happier-looking man
During my absence, Chris had fashioned cribs out of two drawers pulled open and lined with soft blankets. He immediately wanted to know how Jory took my news and smiled when he heard of Jory's delight. Tenderly he put both babies in my arms. "Walk carefully, my love,' he whispered before he kissed me. Then I was hurrying back to my eldest son with his firstborn. He received them as tender gifts to cherish forever, staring down with pride and love at the children he'd created:
"They look so much like Cory and Carrie did," I said softly in the warm glow of his dimly lit room. "So beautiful, even if they are very small. Have you thought about names?"
He flushed and continued to admire the babies in his arms. "Sure, I've got names all ready, although Mel failed to tell me there was a chance of twins. This makes up for so much." He looked up, his eyes shining with hope. "Mom, all the time you've been saying Mel would change after the baby came. I can't wait to see her, to hold her in my arms again."
That's when he paused and blushed. "Well, at least we can sleep together, if nothing more."
"Jory, you'll find ways . . ."
He went on as if he hadn't heard. "We constructed our lives around a plan, thinking we'd dance until I was forty, and then we'd both go into teaching or choreography. We didn't include the chance of accidents, or sudden tragedies, no more than your parents did, and on the whole, I think my wife has held up rather well."
He was being kind, overly generous! Melodie had been his brother's lover, but perhaps he didn't want to believe that.
Or, more likely, he understood her need and had already forgiven not only Melodic but Bart as well. Reluctantly Jory allowed me to take the twins away.
>