Historical Setting, 629 C.E. Vosges Mts.
I plan to take my son-in-law up to the castle to beg a better bag of seed. He’s not gracious so already my lip is bloodied. The water pitcher is empty and he has no rag for washing up my wound. In another version of justice, I would just let my own fist follow my rage and bloody his nose, and then… That is exactly what I didn’t come here for.
“Will, I have the donkey cart all filled up with family things that belong in your home these days as we all prepare for your new baby.”
“My what?”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten that Layla is with child.”
I wipe my lip on my sleeve and draw back the cloth that covers the cart. Haberd’s oldest daughter crocheted some yarn into a ball for a baby toy. It looks like the work of a child just learning the ways of wool. That’s the first thing he notices and he takes it out and throws it on the ground, smashing it into the dust with his foot.
“You’ve brought me old trash?” he complains,
“Some is old.” I pick up the toy, “This was new. It was knitted to be a toy for your baby, a gift from a child to a child. Ana always wants baby things kept clean. But don’t worry, it will wash up clean and fresh before the baby is old enough to hold it in her hand.”
“Her? My baby is a son!”
“We don’t know yet. But whichever, the baby is sure to love a toy that can be tossed and picked up again, by you, when you are playing tender baby games with the tiny little fellow.”
“I don’t do that.”
“Oh, maybe you will. The baby will watch everything you do, for a chance to smile and grin to see his papa hiding his face, then peeking out smiling. That always seems to get any baby grinning.”
“That’s the woman’s work.”
“Layla will be tired. She has so much to do. The baby will be crying, and even when it is a tiny baby, her arms will be tired and she will need you to hold the baby, to walk around tenderly with the baby and be the safe strong arms for both Layla and the baby. They will depend on you to give them the kind of strong and gentle love you might never have known yourself. But you will see. Maybe the baby will teach you tenderness, or…”
(Continues, Tuesday, May 7, 2024)
Lazarus Ink 