Historical setting: 589 C.E. Druid Largin’s village on the Loire
Ana is most anxious to meet Tilp and examine her. She wants to assess the limits of her skills against the likely problems with this birth. As we speak in whispers not to wake her, Thole tells Ana of his worsening fears for Tilp’s well-being.
“She sleeps in the daytime now.”
Ana answers, “That isn’t unusual for an expectant mother, Thole. It’s not a worry.”
“I have to tell you Ana, she is growing very large in the middle of her. Perhaps it is a boil that will need to be pierced before the baby can be born. They try to tell me this is normal. But she was always so much smaller than the mom’s you see with fat bellies.”
“That would also be normal. You probably don’t need to worry over that. You would want to have her bigger in the middle when there is a baby there. You’ve surely seen pregnant horses.”
“But she isn’t a horse or a ewe or any of those other kinds of mothers who naturally grow large in pregnancy. She is human.”
“Thole when I see her I will tell you if it’s a worry. From the things you tell me it hardly would seem unusual.”
“No, Anatase! It is all very unusual! You’ve got to believe me.”
“How is she feeling?”
“She says she is fine, but she would never tell. She tells me she is fine even when she is vomiting. How can I believe her?”
“Is she still vomiting in the mornings?”
“Why did you guess it was in the mornings? Do you know of this sickness already?”
“Really, Thole, it isn’t unusual at all. Lots of women get morning sickness the first few months.”
“No, this was not about the pregnancy. She was sick every morning before we even made this plan.”
“Is she better now? Lots of times it gets better as the months go on. But it’s not a deadly worry. After I see her and examine her I will tell you what is usual and what is not. If something would be amiss I will know what to ask about when I visit the monastery at Poitiers where the sisters are surely the most knowledgeable. By the grace of God we will see her through this. Now, you mentioned that she would be due around your own birthday in December, is that right?”
(Continues Tuesday, August 30, 2022)
Lazarus Ink 