Chapter Seventeen
Anna opened her eyes and the first thing she noticed was heaven looked pretty dark. Too dark. It wasn’t like anything she thought it would be. The next thing she noticed was her mouth was dry. Too dry. And her body... her body felt... worn out. She moved her legs and a mild pain pulsed everywhere.
Wasn’t heaven supposed to be comfortable?
“Oh, sweet Anna, look at you...”
Anna saw Jo sitting next to her, wringing out a cloth and placing it back to Anna’s head.
“Jo? Did you die too?” Anna asked.
Jo laughed. “Sweet Anna, nobody’s dead.”
“What?”
“Nobody died. You’re fine. And your baby, your son, is healthy.”
Anna pulled the wet cloth from her head. She forced herself to sit up. She looked around the room.
“Where? Where is he?”
Her lips shook and tears filled her eyes.
“With Thomas,” Jo said. “I’ll go get them.”
The minute it took Jo to come back with Anna’s family was the longest minute of Anna’s life. But when Thomas walked into the room, he stood holding Thomas Jr. and a newborn baby, wrapped in a warm blanket. Anna let out a cry and felt her entire body shake.
She had done it.
She had given birth to a baby.
A son.
She and Thomas’s son.
“Anna,” Thomas said as he stepped towards Anna.
Jo took Thomas Jr. from Thomas and Thomas then fell to one knee, showing Anna their son. Anna touched the baby’s soft, warm face. He moved his head and his eyes slowly began to open. The second Anna saw his eyes, she knew they were the eyes of life, the eyes of love, the eyes of hope.
“Oh, he’s so beautiful. Is he healthy?”
“Perfectly,” another voice said.
Dr. Hibert walked into the room with a woman beside him. She looked as aged as Dr. Hibert, a skinny and tall woman, looking at the picturesque scene of family.
“Why did it happen so early?” Anna asked.
“That’s your body,” the woman said.
“This is Elinore,” Dr. Hibert said.
“I came just after the baby was born,” Elinore said. “I took the baby and Dr. Hibert helped you.”
“I’m okay?”
“Anna,” Dr. Hilbert said. “Everything is perfect. It was just time. That baby wanted out!”
“I know that,” Anna said and laughed.
“You did it,” Thomas said.
“No, Thomas, we did it. Together.”
“So, do we have a name for this beautiful boy?” Elinore asked.
Anna looked at Thomas and Thomas smiled. Both Anna and Thomas looked at Elinore. Together they said the same name.
“Joseph.”
There was no doubt about it.
The baby deserved to be named after Jo, the woman who did so much for their family.
“It’s only right and fair,” Anna said looking at Jo now. “We’ll call him Joe for short and each time we say it, we’ll think of you and smile. For all you’ve done.”
“That’s too much,” Jo said. “You should name him after a male in your life, Anna.”
“Jo, the baby has a name now,” Anna said.
“That’s right,” Thomas said. “Joseph. Joe for short. It’s perfect.”
“He looks like Joe to me,” Dr. Hibert said.
“Okay, why don’t I talk to Anna in private,” Elinore said. “I want to talk about feeding the baby.”
“Jo can stay,” Anna said. “She’s been a wet nurse to Thomas Jr. since he was born.”
“Of course,” Elinore said.
Thomas handed Anna baby Joe, giving her the chance to hold the baby outside the womb for the first time. She sat up and held her son, feeling a complete feeling that she never felt in her life. Thomas kissed her, confessed his love again and again, then left the room with Thomas Jr. and Dr. Hibert.
Everything was perfect.
And everything continued to be perfect, or as perfect as it could be. Once home, Anna now became mother to two boys. Thomas Jr. moved beyond the stage of crawling, trying to stand and step. He made Anna nervous all the time and Thomas with a sense of pride in his eyes. He joked with Anna that by the time the summer crops came in, Thomas Jr. could help him work in the fields.
Baby Joe seemed to change everyday but his hair came in dark and stayed dark. His eyes started as a crystal blue color, reminding Anna of Abigail’s eyes. They darkened a little, settling to match the color of Anna’s eyes. It took a little while for Anna to get used to breastfeeding, even offering the baby to Jo more than once. But Jo refused, helping Anna until baby Joe finally took and continued to take to his mother’s breast.
Some of the nights were long, but Anna never complained. She knew Thomas’s first wife, Rachel, would have given anything to experience a long night of a crying, fussy baby. She thought about Rachel more than she ever would confess to Thomas, wanting to keep her promise to Thomas Jr. that he would someday understand what happened to his birth mother. And that no matter what, Anna loved him with all her heart. She was Thomas Jr.’s mother for all she felt in her heart and soul.
One morning after breakfast, Thomas had set out to work. Anna went into the bedroom and noticed something on the floor. It was a piece of paper and when Anna touched it, she almost instantly knew. The paper was old and dirty.
It was the letter from Josephine to Mary.
The letter that started it all.
The letter that Mary held as a secret, waiting for Anna.
The letter that quite honestly changed the lives of so many people.
To imagine a few words could do so much was almost overwhelming.
Without that letter, there would be no marriage. No baby Joe. Anna would have never experienced true love, true passion, carrying a baby, birthing a baby, and having the chance to meet someone so special as Jo.
As Anna unfolded the letter to read it again, she felt her hands shaking. She was almost as nervous as the day she read it for the first time. It seemed so long ago. And Anna, picturing herself in her mind, seemed so innocent and lost.
But now she felt like a woman. A strong, capable woman.
Anna looked at the letter and scanned pieces of it, holding a hand to her mouth as she did so.
My name is Josephine (you can call me Jo if you make me laugh once) and I’m writing not for the benefit of myself but for the benefit of a broken hearted, lonely man who deserves a clearer path in life... Thomas Jr. is a healthy baby, a beautiful boy with the brightest blue eyes, the happiest of smiles, and is perhaps a mirror image of his father... the moment I looked into his eyes and then into the tear filled eyes of the baby’s father, I knew I couldn’t leave them... I often find Thomas standing on the porch, looking into the distant night, lost...
Anna folded the letter shut and took a deep breath.
“Anna, can we talk?”
It was Jo’s voice and Anna knew what it was about. That’s why she didn’t turn around right away. She didn’t want to face reality.
Jo walked into the room and touched Anna’s shoulder.
“I wrote how I saw Thomas with tears in his eyes,” Jo said, “and how I knew I’d stay to care for Thomas Jr. and him.”
Anna finally turned around, tears in her own eyes.
“And now I see the tears in your eyes, Anna, and I know my job here is done.”
Anna shook her head. “No. Jo...”
“You’re a beautiful woman. A perfect bride. A caring wife. A nurturing mother. And a kind friend. But you, Thomas, Thomas Jr., and Joseph... you are a family. And that family can’t include me.”
“Yes it...”
“Would that be fair? Me to always be here? In the way? Would I be fair to myself to live that way? Would it be fair to all the other babies who are born without mothers to feed them?”
Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. “No. It wouldn’t, Jo.”
“T
hat’s why it’s time. And Anna, I maybe want to find love now too.”
“Can you tell me more about yourself? Right now?”
Jo smiled. “Telling anything would do no good. I’ve seen a lot in my life. I’ve lived a lot too. I, for a long time, had given up on love. That’s why when Thomas would first look at me, I hated it. I didn’t want to become a replacement wife because of my gift from God. I didn’t want to become a wife at all! But watching and you Thomas together, well, it’s done something to me. You, Anna, have a gift from God.”
“What gift?”
“The gift of hope. You came all the way to Kansas to a broken man. You fixed him. You allowed yourself to heal. You allowed yourself to love. You stayed patient with Thomas Jr. and you always cared for me. You were rewarded with Joseph. Your family. It’s all here.”
“And you’re going to leave?” Anna asked.
Jo nodded. “But I’ll always write.”
“Write? Won’t you stay in town? Find work?”
“I can’t be sure of what I’m going to do. Maybe I’ll write to your friend back in Massachusetts, Mary. See if she can help me.”
Anna smiled. “You want to become a bride?”
Jo laughed. “I’m not sure. I just know my time has come here... I have to leave.”
“We can take you to town,” Anna said. “Have one last...”
Jo shook her head. “I’m sorry, Anna, but I’ve made arrangements. My ride is outside waiting.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
Anna felt tears fall from her eyes. Jo embraced her and rocked her.
“This is the easiest way,” Jo whispered. “No need to make every moment our last and draw it out. I’ll always care for you, sweet Anna. And I swear I will write.”
“I will too,” Anna said. “And Jo... here...”
Anna pushed the letter to Jo’s hand.
“No.”
“Yes,” Anna said. “Because if you ever lose faith, I want you to read the letter you wrote to Mary. To know and remember just how much you changed our lives.”
“Okay, I’ll keep it.”
Jo stared at Anna and somehow the two women still found the ability to laugh. They laughed at nothing, literally nothing. But they still laughed, wanting to make sure the last few minutes together were spent laughing.
When Jo boarded the carriage and looked back at Anna and Thomas - and Thomas Jr. and baby Joe - she waved and smiled. Anna held her tears back and smiled, waving. She took one of baby Joe’s little hands and waved to Jo. She secretly hoped Jo would have a change of heart and jump off the carriage, but that didn’t happen.
The carriage started to move and a few minutes later, it was gone. Swallowed up by the horizon, taking Jo to another path. Her own path, the one she deserved.
Long after the carriage was gone, Anna still stood with Thomas, Thomas Jr., and baby Joe outside. Thomas’s strong arm held Anna close and tight. Thomas Jr. made noises and baby Joe started to get fussy. He was hungry.
Anna looked up at her husband as Thomas looked down at her.
They smiled at the same time.
“I love you, Thomas,” Anna said. “And I’m going to miss Jo so much.”
“Me too,” Thomas said.
Anna took a deep breath.
This was it.
This was her life.
Everything she wanted, she had.
She turned and switched baby Joe to the other arm. Thomas did the same and now the family of four stared at the house. Their house. The house where Thomas and Anna fell in love. The house where Thomas Jr. learned to walk. The house where they created the life that became baby Joe.
The house where true love healed them all and created a family, now and forever.
Don’t miss the next novel in the Mail Order Romance series: Finding Love West
Eliza knows her time at home has come to an end, but now what? After deciding to take a chance as a mail order bride, she finds herself in Kansas, and torn between two brothers. She’s married to Clyde, who is not the man his brother, Henry, is.
There’s secrets about Clyde… secrets that can become deadly.
There’s secrets about Henry too… those that can change Eliza’s life for the better.
But ultimately, it’s Eliza who has the biggest secret of all.
Just how far can love take a person?
Stay up to date with Karolyn James as Claire Charlins!
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West For Love (A Mail Order Romance Novel) (1) (Anna & Thomas) Page 18