Neighbors Of Lancaster County: Amish Weddings Part 40

A nurse held the Bobbli by Rose's head. "We're taking her to the NICU. When you're able, you can go see her."

Rose hoped it would be soon. The nurse bent down so the little one was right next to Rose's face. She was beautiful. "Hi, Bobbli," she said, letting go of Lila's hand to stroke the little one's cheek as a flood of emotions choked her.

"Do you have a name picked out?" the nurse asked.

Rose shook her head. She'd talked with Lila about, if the Bobbli was a girl, naming her after their mother. In true Lila fas.h.i.+on, her sister had avoided discussing the topic, and Rose surmised Lila wanted to use the name someday, if she could have children.

"Abra," Lila said.

"What?" Rose turned her head toward her sister. Had she heard right?

"We could call her Abrie," Lila said.

Rose's voice shook as she repeated the name. The baby turned toward her voice. "I'm your Mamm," Rose said.

"We'll let you know what the lab report says about her lungs," the nurse said.

"Thank you," Rose managed to say as the nurse and baby disappeared from sight.

"They're putting her in one of those warming beds," Lila said. "And pus.h.i.+ng her out the door."

Rose felt as if her heart might break. It tore her apart to have Abrie taken from her, but she knew it was for the best.

"Denki," she said to Lila. "Abrie is perfect for her."

Lila nodded but didn't say anything more. Rose had never felt so connected to her sister, or to their mother.

Lila stayed with her as the doctor st.i.tched her up, as they wheeled her back to her room, and as she rested in her hospital bed with a pillow against her belly. Several times she asked when she could go see Abrie. The nurse told her to rest for a while, and then she'd need to drink and eat something.

"I'll go find Eve," Lila said. "And see if Dat's arrived."

Rose nodded and closed her eyes. Even in her excitement she was tired, exhausted.

The next thing she knew Dat, Beth, and Shani were in the room, along with Lila, and it was past eight. She'd slept for a couple of hours.

"Have you seen the Bobbli?" Rose asked Shani. "Is she all right?"

Shani said they hadn't but offered to go and check.

"Denki," Rose said.

Beth stroked Rose's hair, while Dat stood at the end of the bed, not seeming to know what to say.

"The Bobbli's beautiful," Lila said. "I'm guessing she looks like Rose and Simon did. Lots of dark hair."

"What did you name her?" Dat asked.

Rose hesitated for a moment. Would the name be hurtful to her father? And she hadn't said the full name out loud yet, not the one she'd planned on. Would Lila approve of the middle name? It didn't matter. She was the mother. It was her responsibility. "Abra," she answered. "Abra Elizabeth." After both of her mothers.

An expression of confusion pa.s.sed over Dat's face, but then he smiled.

"We'll call her Abrie," Rose said.

"That's perfect," Dat answered.

Beth didn't say anything, but her eyes were extra s.h.i.+ny.

"Where's Trudy?" Rose asked.

"Out in the waiting room," Dat answered. "With Adam and Zane. Your grandparents are there too."

That meant a lot to Rose. "Did you talk to Trudy?" Rose asked Lila. "And explain how I am and where the Bobbli is."

Lila nodded. Dat sat down, and Beth chatted away about how worried they'd all been. Rose knew they still were, about the Bobbli, but the sound of Beth's voice was comforting. The nurse came in, checked Rose's vitals, and then gave her juice to drink. "The anesthesia must be wearing off," the nurse said. "Are you ready for your pain meds?"

Rose nodded. She was definitely uncomfortable.

Shani returned and talked with the nurse quietly. Then the nurse said, "If you'd like you can go down to the NICU for a quick visit."

"Wunderbar," Rose answered, swinging her legs toward the side of the bed.

"Hold on." The nurse chuckled. "A transportation aide will wheel you down."

"Who else can see her?" Rose asked Shani as the nurse left the room.

"Your Dat and Beth. And Lila. For now. Depending on how long she stays in, others can see her, too, later."

"Did you see her?"

Shani shook her head. "I'd have to scrub to go in. I didn't take time for that. They said she's a fighter though. Believe me, they've taken care of babies much smaller."

Soon the transportation aide came for Rose. As he pushed her through the lobby, Rose asked him to stop. Trudy stepped up and gave her a hug, along with Mammi and Dawdi and then Zane.

"We're going to see the Bobbli," she said. "Will you be here when we get back?"

Her grandparents both nodded, and Eve and Shani said they'd stay too.

"May I go with you?" Trudy asked.

Rose shook her head. "Not tonight. But soon."

Trudy's face fell, but then Adam stepped to her side, and she gave Rose another hug.

The transportation aide began pus.h.i.+ng again just as someone called out, "Rose!"

It was Reuben, although she couldn't see him. Her heart began to race as the aide stopped and turned the chair a little. Reuben stood in the middle of the hall, holding a slender vase with two white roses.

"For you," he said. "And the Bobbli."

She nodded, unable to speak for a moment. Dat stepped forward and shook his hand. So did Zane.

"Denki," Rose managed to say. "We're going to the NICU. Will you be here when we get back?"

Reuben shook his head. "I'll leave these."

Rose thanked him again, touched by his thoughtfulness. Then she swallowed hard and told the aide to continue. She'd given up so much-but she had little Abrie. That was who she needed to concentrate on.

She wouldn't call Trevor, after all-and she wouldn't ask anyone else to either. There was no reason to. She was one hundred percent sure of it.

Beth, Dat, and Lila trailed along beside her. When they reached the NICU, the nurse showed all of them how to scrub up and put gowns on. They had to wear a cover over their head, and Dat had to wear one over his beard. Then they were allowed to head in to see the Bobbli, Dat pus.h.i.+ng Rose's chair.

"Good news," the nurse said. "The steroid shots worked. Her lungs are all right."

Rose sank against the chair in relief.

"This way," the nurse said as she led the way. They pa.s.sed other babies in the tiny warming beds. Then they pa.s.sed a woman, also in a wheelchair, wearing a gown and bathrobe too, holding a tiny Bobbli. A man stood behind her.

Rose realized, with all of them wearing the blue gowns, that maybe they weren't so obviously Amish. But then, by the way the woman and man stared at them, she smiled a little and figured they still were.

"She's right here," the nurse said. "We'll get you transferred to the rocking chair, and then you can hold her. We'll see if she'll nurse. If not, we'll show you how to pump. She'll need your colostrum."

Rose had read about that.

"Have you named her?" the nurse asked.

"Abra Elizabeth," Rose answered. "We'll call her Abrie."

"Great," the nurse said. "We'll fill out the birth certificate. We'll need your signature. Then we'll get it filed."

"Do I need to put the father on the certificate?" Rose asked. It was a question she'd wondered about but had thought she still had time to figure it out.

"No," the nurse said. "It's entirely up to you." Rose didn't sense any judgment in the woman's voice. Dat frowned, which surprised her-but she didn't have the energy to ask what he was thinking.

Rose could see the Bobbli now. She wore a diaper, but that was all-except for the tubes and wires hooked up to her. Once Rose was transferred to the rocking chair, the nurse wrapped the Bobbli in a blanket and placed her in Rose's arms. The tubes and wires were long enough to allow for that. The blanket was warm and the Bobbli incredibly light. Rose bent her head down and whispered, "h.e.l.lo, Abrie."

The Bobbli looked up, her eyes bright.

"How much does she weigh?" Rose asked.

"Four pounds one ounce. She's a good size," the nurse said. "And she's eighteen inches long. She's been on an IV to hydrate her so she won't be hungry, but maybe she'll still nurse-it all depends on how developed her sucking reflex is." The nurse placed a pillow on Rose's lap, which helped support the Bobbli.

Lila and Beth both stepped closer. "Ah, she's so beautiful," Beth said. Then she turned toward Dat, "Come on, Tim."

Dat stepped closer too. "She's so tiny. I didn't know a Bobbli could be so small."

They all hovered over the little one, speaking to her and to each other. Soon she started to root against Rose's chest.

"That's a good sign," Dat said. "Perhaps I should leave."

"Good grief," Beth said, "you're a dairy farmer."

Dat nodded. "But Rose might mind."

"Dat," she said, "that's the least of my worries."

"I'll help you," the nurse said. She pulled open Rose's gown and helped move the Bobbli closer. She rooted around more and then latched on. Rose gazed down at her. It all felt so much more natural than she'd expected it to.

"Oh, you're doing great," Beth said.

Lila sat down in Rose's wheelchair.

Rose couldn't take her eyes off her Bobbli. She'd never felt such love. Lila rolled the wheelchair closer. "She's wonderful," Lila said. "I never imagined feeling this way. I can't even imagine what this is like for you, Rosey."

It had been so long since Lila had called her that. And there was no bitterness in her voice at all. No jealousy. Only joy.

The nurse explained that it was a good sign that the baby could suck. "That reflex doesn't usually kick in until thirty-four or thirty-five weeks."

Rose still couldn't take her eyes off the baby.

"We'll need to regulate her temperature until she can do that herself. And make sure she's gaining weight. She'll be in here for a few weeks."

Rose was too enthralled to answer.

"You'll need to make sure you take care of yourself too. You've just been through major surgery. You need to eat well and get a lot of rest so you can feed this baby."

"We'll make sure she does." Lila reached forward and put her hand on Rose's leg.

Something beeped, and the nurse said she'd be right back.

"What are you thinking?" Beth asked in a low voice.

Rose thought she was asking her, but when she glanced up, to her relief, Beth was addressing Dat.

He sighed. "I just got a glimpse of the past that I'd never really thought about, that I wasn't part of."

Beth stepped to his side. "What's that?"

Dat's gaze fell on Lila. "What it was like for your Mamm when you and Daniel were born. Your Mamm was much stronger than I ever gave her credit for. You take after her." Then he turned to Rose. "And so do you. Don't either of you ever forget it."

Beth clasped her hands together but didn't say anything more.

Finally Dat did though. "It's amazing, isn't it, how the Lord brings healing. This Bobbli wasn't started the right way, but G.o.d will continue to use her to work his good. Just as he uses all of us."

Lila stood then, and with one hand on her cane, she wrapped her other one around Dat. He helped balance her as she hugged him.

Rose's watery eyes fell back on Abrie. She'd tell her about her father someday-but not today. She was grateful now that Trevor had never returned her phone calls, that he never came back to Lancaster County. It was for the best she didn't call him again. Dat had been right.

She wouldn't put Trevor's name on the birth certificate. There was no reason for Abrie to have the last name of Anderson if Trevor wasn't going to be in her life. Her name would be Abra Elizabeth Lehman. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it was settled. She'd never been so sure of anything in all of her life.