Page 42 of The Pretender (Mifflin County Mysteries #3)
I ’ M REALLY SCARED , M OM .” R OSA ‘ S chin trembled as she reclined on the downstairs guest bed, where she’d been placed when they got home from the hospital. “I don’t want anything to happen to my unborn baby.”
Mom took a seat beside Rosa and rubbed her legs gently. “The doctor will keep a close eye on things, and he did say that there’s a good chance that the baby will be fine if you do everything he suggested.”
Rosa heaved a sigh. “How long do you think I’ll have to be on full bed rest?”
“I don’t know, dear one. Guess it all depends on whether the bleeding subsides and how well you obey the doctor’s orders not to be up and around for anything except use of the bathroom or to take a shower.
Once the bleeding stops, I’m sure you’ll be allowed to be on partial bed rest, which means it will likely be okay to sit, stand, or even walk around for short periods of time.
Of course,” Mom added, “you won’t be able to resume regular household duties—at least not until the doctor says it’s safe to do so. ”
“Thanks for allowing me to move down here to the guest room and for bringing down all the things I need as well.”
“It wouldn’t be good for you to go up and down the stairs,” Mom responded with furrowed brows. “Also, having you here will make it easier for me to tend to your needs, and you won’t have to share a baadschtubb with your siblings upstairs—just me and your daed in the bathroom down here.”
“True. And since Dad’s not home when he’s working at the store, I’ll only have to share the downstairs necessary room with you and Tena.”
Mom grinned. “Good point.”
“It’s gonna be hard to lie around in bed all day.” Rosa leaned into the bed pillows Mom had plumped up for her. “It’ll be boring, and I’ll end up feeling sorry for myself.”
“You can read or write letters to your friends—maybe even send one to Anthony,” her mother suggested. “Do you have his address?”
Rosa shook her head. “No, and I’ve never been to his place. All I know is that he lives in an apartment a few blocks from his parents’ restaurant.” She discovered she was crying, and she rubbed at the tears on her cheeks. Great—now I’m crying. Mom probably thinks I’m nothing but a big baby.
“It’s okay, Daughter,” Mom said, stroking Rosa’s face. “You have every right to shed a few tears today. “But fear not, Rosa, once the word gets out about you being bedridden, many people will pray for you.”
“I hope God will listen.”
“Of course He will. Our Father in heaven hears every believer’s prayer, and He always answers too, although sometimes His ways are not our ways, and His answer might not be what we want.”
Rosa bit the inside of her lower lip. “What are you saying, Mom? Do you think God wants my baby to die? Would He cause me to lose the child in order to punish me for becoming pregnant out of wedlock?”
“I’m not saying that at all.” Mom clasped Rosa’s trembling hand. “The fact is the Lord knows what is best for each of us, and if by some chance you do end up losing the baby, God will give you the strength to deal with it.”
“I don’t want to deal with it.” Rosa’s voice caught on a sob as she placed her free hand against her protruding belly. “I want this child growing inside of my womb, and with every ounce of my being, I shall pray and ask God to stop the bleeding and allow me to carry my little one to full term.”
“I will pray for that as well.” Mom rose from the bed.
“I’m going to the kitchen to fix you a cup of herbal tea.
Hopefully it will help you relax so you can take a much-needed nap.
” She started across the room but paused at the door and turned around.
“Is Anthony’s phone number posted somewhere out in the shed? ”
“Jah, I wrote it on one of the empty index cards and put it in the small wooden box where all our important phone numbers are kept.”
“Well, good. Sometime today, either when Tena gets back from the errands I sent her on a while ago or Susan returns home from work, I’ll ask one of them to put in a call to Anthony so he’ll be aware of what’s happened with you.”
“That’s really not necessary, Mom. Anthony is just a good friend who cared enough to try to solve my concerns about returning home. I had told him that as an unwed mother, I would probably not be accepted here.” Tears clogged the back of Rosa’s throat, and she was unable to say anything more.
“Rosa, my dear daughter—we would have accepted you back without you and Anthony pretending to be married.” Now it was Mom’s turn to tear up, and she sniffed a couple of times.
But it was no use—a few slipped out and splashed onto the bodice of her solid-gray dress.
“I am sorry, Rosa,” she said. “It looks like we’re both letting our emotions get the best of us today.
But on the other hand, it’s not good to keep things bottled up inside. ”
Rosa had to admit that her mother’s statement was correct. Even so, there was no way she would reveal to Mom or anyone else in the family the way she truly felt about Anthony.
When Susan arrived home after another boring workday and entered the house with her father, she was surprised to find out from Tena that Rosa had been put on bed rest due to unexpected bleeding.
While she took no pleasure in knowing that her sister could lose the baby, Susan couldn’t help wondering if, should she lose her child, Rosa might abandon her family and strike out on her own again.
Susan felt certain that the only reason Rosa had returned home in the first place was because she needed her family’s help to raise the child that had been conceived out of wedlock.
“Where’s your mamm?” Dad asked Tena. “Is she with Rosa?”
“I don’t believe she’s with her at the moment,” Tena replied. “When I got home from running errands this afternoon, Mom was in one of the downstairs guest rooms with Rosa, but then she went to the other guest room to check on Alvin, so she’s probably still with him.”
“Oh boy! This is not what your mother needs right now.” Dad sank into a chair at the kitchen table with a groan. “She’s been running herself ragged waiting on Alvin and making sure that he does his homework, and now she has Rosa to take care of.”
Tena stepped up beside their father’s chair with one hand anchored against her hip. “Aren’t you even concerned about Rosa, Dad? Don’t you realize that if the bleeding doesn’t stop, she could lose her baby?”
“Of course I’m concerned. It’s just that—”
“Since I don’t have a job outside of the home, I’ll be here to help Mom take care of Alvin and Rosa,” Tena was quick to say. Then she glanced over at Susan. “I’m sure that Susan will also help out whenever she’s not working at the store. “Right?”
Susan bobbed her head. What else could she do, with both Tena and Dad looking at her with expectant expressions?
“Good to know.” Dad reached behind his head and began massaging his neck.
Susan figured he was probably feeling as stressed as she was right now, only for different reasons. She didn’t need more work piled on her right now. Between her hours at the Meat and Cheese Store and her chores at home, Susan had enough work to do.
It’s not fair , she thought. I never get any time for myself.
Susan couldn’t remember the last time she’d done something fun.
It was probably back when Ben and I were a couple—before I knew what he was really like.
Guess I should have listened to Norman’s and Salina’s warnings about Ben Ebersol.
But I was so taken with him—and thought I was in love.
Was it any wonder that I didn’t believe anything negative that was said about him?
Susan’s shoulders slumped as her gaze fell to the floor.
“Susan, did you hear what I said?”
Her head came up. “Huh? What was that, Dad?”
“I asked you to go see if your mamm needs any help with Alvin, while I go check on Rosa.”
“Oh … umm … okay. I’ll go see her right now.
” Susan darted out of the kitchen and went straight for the smaller of the two guest rooms. She found Alvin sitting at a small study table Dad had brought into the room the day Alvin came home from the hospital.
Mom stood beside him with a book in her hand.
“Sorry. Did I interrupt something?” Susan asked, quickly moving to her mother’s side.
“Not really,” Mom replied. “I was reading one of the assignments to your brother that his teacher sent home with Tena when she went by the schoolhouse earlier today.” She turned her head toward Susan. “I presume Tena told you and your daed about the situation with Rosa?”
“Jah. It’s too bad. What brought it on, do you know?”
“No, but the doctor said it could have been one of several possibilities that started the bleeding. He’s put Rosa on full bed rest for now, and I moved several of her things to the other downstairs guest room, because in her present condition, she shouldn’t be going up or down the stairs.”
“That makes sense. Will she be staying there until the baby’s born, or do you think she night miscarry?” Susan questioned.
“She’ll be staying in the room down here for as long as necessary. I hope and pray, as we all should, that Rosa will carry her baby to full term.”
“Jah, of course. We all wish that.” Susan considered the best way to form her next question. “Umm … since Rosa will be staying down here, probably for the next few months, and her room upstairs will be sitting empty, would it be okay if I moved my things in there and took over her room?”
Mom opened her mouth as if to respond, but Susan cut her off. “Even after the baby comes, it would make more sense for Rosa to remain in the downstairs bedroom, where she wouldn’t have to go up and down stairs. Don’t you think?”