“Now you know as well as I do that it hurts like heck. If their in the cabin I’ll have to hold it all in so they won’t be scared. Believe me Robert…I do not want to hold it in.”
She moaned to punctuate that statement as another wave of pain began. Her husband literally flew from the house scooting the protesting children rudely in front of him. They whined loudly on deaf ears. Whatever he did say shushed them instantly. Xzan perched nervously on the rocker beside the bed. She felt each contraction as if it were her own though of course not severely as her friend. When it was time she rose beckoning Doctor Berry who had fallen asleep reading a medical journal in front of the window.
Shauna had already raised her legs. When the sheet was whisked away Xzan was startled to see the top the baby’s head already crowning. With two pushes a little boy so tiny she was apprehensive to hold him was shoved unceremoniously Xzan’s arms. The doctor was preparing to catch the second baby. He’d half expected twins even thought he hadn’t heard two heartbeats. His ears weren’t as good as they used to be. He presented the second baby in Xzan’s hands just as she laid the first in the crook of his mother’s arm. They were both flabbergasted when Shauna began moaning in pain again screaming for them to take the baby and began pushing a third time. Within seconds another boy identical to the first two popped out squalling in fury as the doctor spanked his behind while holding him upside down to clear his lungs.
Warily the Doctor and Xzan hovered near the exhausted mother waiting to see if she had anymore surprises. Shauna grinned weakly. Relieved Doctor Berry began dealing with the afterbirth. The narrow cradle next to the bed was filled to the brim with a trio of crying boys. Each had a thatch of dark hair that stood straight up and dark baby blue eyes. They were perfectly formed. Though red and scaly like all newborns Xzan thought they were the most beautiful babies ever born.
After the mother had been cleaned up, had donned a fresh nightgown, was laying between clean sheets and had been given a private moment to welcome her sons in to the world, Xzan slipped out to go in search other rest of her family. They weren’t far, milling anxiously around the barn they were elated when she told them they could go in. She didn’t break the news that there were triplets. Let the mother do that. She had definitely earned the privilege. Xzan sat on the porch taking deep breaths smiling to herself when she heard the loud whoops from the father and then the startled infants wailing. Another miracle in this vast wilderness. She walked to the well to draw some fresh water. It was time to feed this hearty crew.
*****
Jeremy, Eric and Kevin Fenierre. The babies were all on different schedules no matter how hard the family tried to train them otherwise. Their poor mother was frazzled to the bone. She had tried to get them to eat and sleep at the same time. They simply refused to cooperate. A constant reminder that even though they might look alike they were three distinctly different little people. One was always awake, hungry or unhappy and would undoubtedly cry waking the other babies.
The family helped Shauna as much as possible but with the crops being harvested, meals that needed to be prepared and the endless cloths used for diapers that had to be boiled there just wasn’t enough hands to go around. Xzan was there around the clock the first few weeks. But as soon as the schoolhouse was finished and she began teaching classes her time became extremely limited. She was too busy teaching then in the evening grading papers, creating lesson plans that in truth she could have used some help of her own. The evenings she did manage to spare a few hours Shauna was so weepy it made Xzan glum.
She felt for the older woman. Shauna was undoubtedly suffering from lack of sleep and being cooped up with three crying babies all the time. Her body was also going through massive changes to heal itself after childbirth. Xzan discovered what a wonderful husband Robert really was. She observed him coming in so beat he could barely move then patiently taking charge of the triplets and the other children while his wife worked on other things. He reminded her of Papa. The way he had treated Mama. Thinking about her parents made Xzan unbearably homesick. She wondered if they would ever write her. By now they had received her letter and would have sent one in return. If so maybe she would get it soon. She brightened happily at the possibility.
*****
“Mrs. Colby?” Todd waved his hand impatiently.
Xzan looked up absently form the stack of papers she was grading.
“Yes, Todd?”
“I have to leave at noon. My Pa needs me in the fields.”
She sighed nodding her head in acceptance. She had started off with thirteen full time students but as the weeks had progressed that number had been reduced to five. It was becoming more difficult to teach her pupils. The children were learning at different rates and she couldn’t even give a decent test because none of them ever finished their work long enough to prepare for it. They were needed at home. Survival had to come first. She understood the necessity but the teacher in her was frustrated by the inability to do her job properly.
The town had rallied together to rebuild the schoolhouse from top to bottom. It was cheerfully decorated with blue gingham curtains, a new chalkboard, desks and benches and a pot-bellied stove in the center of the room for the frosty winter months. She had taken the desk from her library at home to use at the school along with the other supplies she had thankfully had the foresight to bring from England. Books, slates, quills ink and paper. The children had everything they needed to get an education except the time to be there as a group to learn.
She had even solved the problem of hunger among her poorer students. Poor people were such a proud lot. She had learned the hard way not to offer money or assistance directly. She was either blasted by indignant fathers who would rather die than take charity or in one case Mr. Tompkins had stayed drunk for three days on the money she gave his family for food. Still she couldn’t bear to see any creature go hungry. So she had created “Food for Thought.” Every day she brought something different for the children to eat. Encouraging them to describe its color, shape, texture and taste. Explaining it’s nourishing qualities. The children who had brought lunches added what they had to a picnic fare everyone could share.
The Johnson twins were skinny as rails and came to school with yellow bruises. Mr. Johnson never marred their faces but Chastity had a permanent limp and Prudence was blind in one eye. They both claimed to have been born that way. Only nine-years-old, Xzan was outraged by their obvious abuse. She took it upon herself to speak with the Sheriff about it. Women and children were considered a man’s property. There was nothing he could do. It broke her heart. She especially babied the twins praying they would make it to adulthood without any more infirmities trying to show the shy introverted little girls as much kindness as possible to make amend for their rough treatment at home.
Thad Thompkins was the baby of the bunch. Barely five only a few months younger than Lorena. Jeremy was six. Sylvia seven. Richard had just turned eight. Ellie was ten, Cathy and Sarah were eleven, Sean was fifteen now, Geral sixteen, Winston seventeen, Lucas eighteen, Melissa nineteen and Jason twenty-one. The fact that she had students who were older than she was didn’t seem to bother Xzan or them. They were there for the same reason as the smaller children. To learn. They treated her with the same respect they would have given to an older teacher.
At noon with only one student left Xzan sent Jeremy home deciding her time would be better spent helping the Fenierre’s. Shauna was in dire need of rest at this point. Cooped up with the triplets and still having physical problems related to childbirth she complained that her guts felt like they were falling out. Xzan was going to send her to town on a shopping spree and watch the babies for her. She might even do some cleaning in her absence. There was nothing that lifted a woman’s spirits as having a little windfall to buy something frivolous.
However when she arrived Shauna was glowing happily and had no desire to leave her nest feeling for the first time in several months pain free and lighthearted. Xzan played
with the boys for awhile chatting with her friend and then wandered on down the road towards her own home. It was still very early afternoon. The house was spotless. An easy feat when you lived alone. Reading didn’t appeal at the moment. She wasn’t particularly hungry. Listlessly strolling through empty rooms she was overcome with claustrophobia. Locking her door, she all but ran to the stable in town and rented a horse from Mr. Perston. mounting the beast she headed out of town giving it its head.
It had been a long time since she’d ridden. She relished the freedom of feeling the wind blowing through her hair laughed happily exhilarated by being one with nature. The countryside was breathtaking. Autumn leaves were falling in a profusion of oranges and golds. Animals were attaining fluffy winter coats appearing fat and contented. She spied a squirrel cracking an acorn and holding the shell in both tiny paws while nibbling furiously on the core.
Dismounting breathless, elated by her brisk ride, she flopped down joyously beside the brook breathing deeply and just listening to the incredible sounds of life around her. The rippling water, fish splashing and swimming in abundance, birds chirping joyously. She closed her eyes allowing the peace to wash over her and cleanse her soul. She longed for her beloved piano. It had been forever since she played. The odds were that she would never play again. That was the saddest part of leaving her home and family.
She was half-asleep when another sound crept into her awareness. A feminine giggle. Sighs. Her eyes popped open in embarrassment when she realized the lovers must be close by and unequivocally believed themselves to be totally alone. Rising gracefully taking care to be as quiet as possible while shaking out her pink skirts Xzan was about to leave them to their privacy when she heard a startled gasp behind her. Blue eyes widened as they met familiar brown ones.
“ M…M…Mrs. Colby.” Jason stammered in horror. A dull flush crept slowly over his pale features. Beside him Melissa turned an even brighter shade of red as she hurriedly fastened her bodice.
Xzan pretended nothing was amiss. Even though she knew Melissa was supposed to be engaged to the locksmith in town Greg Peters. What her students did in their personal lives was none of her concern. The young couple were in shock. They didn’t know what to say. She could tell they were distraught over the possibility that she would tell their secret. Coolly as if they were all at a social function she smiled calmly.
“I see you finished your work early today. It’s certainly beautiful out here. I couldn’t resist a little sunshine myself. See you tomorrow.”
No lecture. No insinuations. Jason and Melissa visibly relaxed. The schoolmarm would keep their tryst to herself. Xzan pondered their relationship as she rode back to town. Wondered if it was a dalliance or if the two had fallen in love. She hoped that whatever it was it didn’t end in tragedy. With an unwanted pregnancy, a shotgun wedding or worse a gunfight if Greg caught wind of the indiscretion.
*****
It rained the next day. Unable to work in the fields all of her students arrived early. Xzan was overjoyed to see them. But as the day wore on her happiness changed to pure frustration. Jason and Melissa had obviously quarreled. They threw each other looks of daggers in class openly cutting each other when they had an opportunity. Thad was feeling ill and cranky. He refused to do his lessons whining every time she corrected him. Noticing the small boy seemed a little flushed, she approached him feeling his forehead just before noon. He was burning up. More sympathetic with his conduct now that she realized he genuinely felt bad she had one of the twins walk the little boy home. His mother would hopefully bathe his fever and put him to bed where he belonged.
Chastity didn’t return immediately. When the nine-year-old did arrive her eyes were red-rimmed from crying and she was clutching her abdomen. Prudence ran to her sister and they clung to each other fearfully as they spoke in hushed tones. Xzan hurried to the girls a sickening feeling of dread in her stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. If so it was her fault Chastity had been put in that position and she was devastated by the thought that the child had been hurt even inadvertently by her hand.
She wrapped her arms around both children whispering, “What happened? And don’t try to cover it up. I want the truth.”
Chastity lowered her cornflower blue eyes frightened.
“I’m afraid to say Mrs. Colby. My Pa…would…kill me.”
“Then let me guess,” Xzan ventured more gently “he saw you out of school and punished you for playing hookie. Is that it?”
Chastity nodded slightly refusing to elaborate. Xzan saw to the child’s needs. Then she gave the class an assignment that would keep them busy for awhile putting Melissa in charge. She tapped Sean, Jason, Geral, Winston and Lucas on the shoulders as she passed their desks beckoning them to follow her as she left the schoolhouse. The young men all large in stature and strong from working on farms followed their miniscule teacher curiously. Once they were out of earshot from the other students she told them what she wanted them to do. Grins lit up their faces. None of them particularly cared for Kenneth Johnson.
It was a brisk five-minute walk to the Johnson farm. Chastity would have had to pass it to walk Thad home. Xzan knew that the old man would be in the barn near the road to have seen his daughter pass that way. She marched up to the brawny man fired by injustice backed by her small army demanding coldly;
“Mr. Johnson I want a word with you sir.”
Short with massive shoulders and well developed biceps the farmer turned around belligerently. Pale brown eyes were bloodshot and his nose was red and swollen from years of overindulging in alcohol. He was skunk drunk now reeking of the fowl smell of moonshine. Having been forced by the town’s council to send his daughters to school in the first place he was none too happy to see Xzan on his property. Glaring at the dainty woman whom he loathed for her high and mighty ideas concerning his children’s education he cocked an eyebrow in response lips curled downward sourly.
“What do you want?”
He leaned toward her spitting out a wad of chewing tobacco close to her skirts. Xzan felt Sean tense beside her ready to spring on the older man for his rudeness. She reached out a restraining arm. She only intended to use force as a last resort.
“I’ve been to the Sheriff over the way you abuse Chastity and Prudence Mr. Johnson. Evidently the law doesn’t care about women or children. I’ve come to appeal to your heart. Surely you don’t want your daughters to be maimed for life or to die at your hand. No father could be that much of a monster.”
Her words cut like a knife. The old man roared in fury.
“Get off my land Missy. Don’t you dare interfere twixt me and mine.”
Xzan stepped forward as did the lumbering males behind her refusing to be chased away. Momentarily Mr. Johnson looked unnerved and then renewed his attack.
“I said get off my land!”
“I’m not leaving Mr. Johnson until I am damned good and ready.”
She heard Sean’s shocked intake of breath. He’d never heard a lady curse.
“Just what do you think your doing?” the old man cocked a menacing eyebrow.
Throwing muscular arms across a massive chest he took on the stance of a brick wall. Xzan mimicked him. Folding her own slim arms across her bosom then tapping her tiny boot on the ground as patiently as if she had all day.
“I’ve had enough. I’m warning you once and only once. If you ever…hurt those children again…you will pay dearly for it.”
Mr. Johnson snickered. “And just how do you expect to do that Missy? With your troop of little boys? I can whip them all with one hand tied behind my back.”
“Is that why you pick on defenseless little girls a third your size?” she taunted.
That was his last straw. The man lunged towards her, fist swinging wildly bellowing obstreperously in fury. Xzan stepped aside agilely. He landed on his face in the dirt. The boys galvanized into action began giving the monster a dose of his own medicine. They left him alive in a bloody he
ap, eyes swollen, nose bleeding and rasping for air. Xzan felt no remorse. Only elation. She turned around before departing feeling no pity for the man.
“If you ever touch those children again this will seem like a love tap Mr. Johnson. I will not sit back silently and allow the helpless to be victimized any further. Do I make myself clear?”
Beaten but not defeated he defied her.
“No man or woman will tell me how to run my house. You better watch out bitch…I’ll get you back for this. Some night when you’re alone…sleeping in your bed.”
Xzan laughed. “You don’t frighten me. I’ve survived encounters with the devil himself. Don’t underestimate me…Mr. Johnson. From now on you will pay ten fold for every evil act you commit.”
With a swish of blue linen skirt she strode leisurely out of his sight unconcerned by the hate radiating on her back. The young men whooped in delight sore from the brawling but exuberant. Xzan shushed them seriously .
“I appreciate what you did. I hope none of you are too battered. I’m not promoting violence. I don’t want you to make a habit of handling things this way. I just think it was time for him to feel some of the pain and humiliation he’s inflicted. I pray to God I didn’t make a mistake. Chastity and Prudence still have to go home tonight.”
It was a sobering thought. The boys became subdued. Finally Sean reassured her.
“I’ll follow them home and stay around where they can’t see me. It anything happens I’ll step in.”
“Sean…alone in a drunken rage…that man could hurt you too. Men like him feel no pain. They’re too numb. If he didn’t drink he would probably realize what he’s done and hate himself for it. As long as he’s drunk he feels no remorse at all.”
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