Chapter 12
“Hello, Carson. What brings you here today?” Kyra asked him with a smile. She already knew that Marta didn’t want to see him or get to know him any better than she already did. The last thing she wanted was anyone seeing her get big with child or in this instance with children.
“I came to see Marta, Kyra. There’s going to be a Fall Dance in town before it gets any colder. I was hoping that Marta would go with me.” Carson told her and looked at Marta as he spoke.
“I’m honored that you asked me, Carson, but I really don’t want to go to any dance in town.
I hope you still go and have a good time.
Thanks for asking me, but I just don’t feel up to doing any partying at this time.
” Marta told him and saw the disappointment in his face.
She felt miserable for making him so sad, but the last thing she wanted was to encourage him and then to find out she was pregnant with her rapist’s babies.
“I understand, maybe some other time. You all be careful this winter.” He told them and took off on his horse for home.
“I’m sorry, Marta. I know that you don’t want to encourage him when you’re going to start getting big with child.
Maybe by spring, you’ll feel differently about Carson, and be glad to see other people.
If not Carson, someone else.” Kyra told her and she hugged her.
They took their packages into the house, including all the flannel and yarn.
They had a lot of diapers to make between now and Christmas.
Marian finally received a telegram from the adoption agency telling her that a six-month old baby would be arriving on the train at noon tomorrow.
She had about given up hope of ever receiving a child from them.
She was ecstatic over the news. She didn’t know if her baby would be a girl or a boy, she just knew that she was getting a baby!
She screamed scaring her neighbors and rushed to get Tom to help her get a crib, a dresser, and lots of clothes from the resale shop.
She also bought some rattles and blocks.
Carrie helped her shop for what a six-month old baby would need to wear.
She bought bottles, cream for diaper rash, milk, baby powder, flannel to make a lot more diapers, diaper pins, Helen volunteered to help make some of her diapers, so did Carrie, and when Heather heard she took some of her flannel, too.
Marian was thrilled with all the help with her flannel.
She cleaned her house from top to bottom, Tom helped her put the crib, highchair and dresser together and into the second bedroom.
She hung colorful curtains and put all the baby clothes into the dresser.
She put the rattles and blocks on the floor for the baby to play with.
She couldn’t sleep that night just thinking about the baby on the train.
She tried out boys’ names, and she tried out girls’ names.
She couldn’t make up any to call the baby until she held them in her arms. She got up and went back to making diapers for the baby.
She had made over a dozen, Carrie had made a dozen, Helen had a dozen, and so did Heather.
That was four dozen to help her start with the baby.
She’d make more as she had time each evening when the baby slept.
She made up a mattress with fresh grass for the crib’s mattress and put a small oil cloth over it, in case the baby wet while it was sleeping.
She looked over the room. It was perfect.
She just had to make up the bottles, and she needed to find out the percentage of water to milk from the person bringing the baby to her on the train.
She was at the train depot at eleven o’clock waiting for the baby to arrive.
She couldn’t help it. Doctor Flynn came by to kiss her cheek and congratulate her on her finally becoming a mother and getting the child of her dreams. Marian was so excited that she didn’t even mind him kissing her in public.
“Oh, Andy! I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep last night.
I finally got up and just sewed on making diapers for the baby.
At least, it was something constructive.
I made bread this morning, so the house would smell good when I brought the baby home.
Do six-month old babies eat anything but bottles?
Do I need to fix different food for the baby?
” Marian asked him worried she needed different food for the baby and she didn’t have it in her house.
“If the baby has any teeth, you can start feeding them mush, mashed potatoes, mashed green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, that kind of things. You can always mix some milk with what you’re feeding the baby.
They still want the bottles, but they’ll drink less the more they eat.
Did you get a highchair?” Flynn asked her.
“I did, Tom put it together for me and helped me pick up a crib, a highchair, and a dresser. I bought baby clothes, flannel, bottles, cream for baby rash, baby powder, diaper pins…everything I could think a baby would need. As soon as I find out if it’s a boy or a girl, Carrie is going to help me get some winter garments for the baby.
I think I bought enough blankets to keep it warm for the winter and Marley is going to help me fashion a papoose carrier to carry the baby around while I work or walk to Marley’s house or the general store.
Can you think of anything I forgot?” She asked him.
“Christmas presents, but I’ll help you bring them over before the snow gets too high.” Andy told her and smiled. He was as excited as she was that she was finally getting a baby. He loved to see her this happy.
The train finally pulled in. Marian watched everybody getting off…
no one had a baby in their arms. She was about to give up hope when the very last person to get off the train held a small child in their arms. It was wrapped up so much with so many blankets, she couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl.
“Mrs. Garrison?” The man said as he came forward.
“That’s me!” Marian said and came forward with Andy at her elbow helping her to stay calm.
“I was looking for a single woman and not a couple. Is this your husband?” The man asked and smiled.
“Oh, no. This is Doctor Flynn. He’s a good friend. He’s going to check over the baby to make sure that there’s nothing for me to be worried about.” Marian told them. She reached for the baby in his arms. It was like holding air, the baby was so small and light in her arms.
“The child is small for her age, but other than that, she seems to be in good health. I need you to sign these forms to make the adoption legal. Perhaps you can have the doctor hold her for a few minutes. She has been drinking a bottle every four hours…one half milk and one half cooled boiled water. I have some diapers for you and a bottle for you, too. She’s drank the other two bottles on the way here.
” He told her and gave her a valise holding all her belongings.
It smelled like baby spit up and pee. Marian took it and set it on the boardwalk.
She gave the baby to Andy to hold and signed the papers quickly.
A girl…she had a baby girl. Looking at her, she saw that she had small light brown curls on her head and blue eyes. To Marian she was beautiful
“That’s it. She’s yours. Congratulations on your new daughter. Her birthday is January 18th. You get to decide on her name and make it legal. I’m catching the next train out of here.” He turned and left to get back on the train.
Andy handed the baby back to Marian and picked up the valise.
He walked her back to her home. Neither said a word.
At her house, Marian put the baby on the table and started unwrapping the many blankets that she was wrapped up in.
She took a small basin and filled it with warm water.
She was going to give the baby a bath and get rid of the spit up and pee smell she carried with her.
Doctor Flynn was going to examine her and make sure all was well with the baby.
To Marian, she was perfect…Doctor Flynn had to agree, but he also thought she was small for her age and a little on he dehydrated side.
He wanted Marian to give her some warm sugar water to drink.
He also wanted her to start feeding her the mush and such right away.
He found her to have three teeth, two on the top and one on the bottom.
She did have diaper rash from not being changed often enough.
Marian loved bathing the small baby and talked to her softly the entire time. The baby watched her and followed her with her big blue eyes.
“What do you think you are going to name her?” Andy asked her. He loved watching her with the baby. She was a good mother.
“I think she looks like a Mary…Mary Lee Garrison. My mother’s name was Mary, and my middle name is Lee.
She’ll carry some of us as she grows up.
Do you think that half milk and half cooled boiled water is acceptable for her to drink?
I didn’t really trust what that man said after looking at her little bottom.
I don’t think he changed her often enough. ”
“Me either. She was just another child to get rid of. Orphanages are often like that, especially with babies. Babies often don’t live through them.
You may find that Mary doesn’t cry very much.
She’ll be used to being ignored when she gets hungry or when she’s wet.
It’s the way orphanages operate, they don’t have enough help to take care of all the children they have and babies get left out.
It’s not right, but it happens.” Andy told her and saw her put cream on her bottom and baby powder too.
She dressed her in a clean diaper, a sleeper and baby booties.
She wrapped her in only one receiving blanket giving her room to move and breathe.
She went to the rocker and started singing to her.
“He didn’t tell me when the last time he fed her was. When do I feed her again?”
“I’d wait for an hour and then see if she’ll take a bottle.
If she will, getting an extra bottle won’t hurt her.
And it will give you a time to start giving her bottles through the days and nights.
She might like just laying on a blanket and watching you work around your home, too.
” Andy told her as he made to leave. “If you need me, give me a call. I’ll be back in a day or so to check to see how you are doing.
” He kissed Marian’s cheek as he left. He liked seeing Marian in the rocker with a baby in her arms.
Marian continued to sing to Mary. The little girl didn’t go to sleep; she seemed to like watching Marian.
She did give her a bottle in an hour. Mary all but devoured the bottle and took the four ounces down in little time at all.
Marian decided that she was going to start giving her more than four ounces at a time if she was that hungry.
She did fall asleep after she had burped.
She looked perfect in the crib with several blankets covering her up.
Marian started washing out all the dirty clothes and diapers in the valise the man had given her.
She couldn’t believe the smell from just a day in the valise.
She even used a little bleach to get rid of the rank smell.
They sure looked good on her clean clothes lines.
She also left the valise open to air out.
She went back in to wash out bottles and to make up some bottles for Mary.
She wanted to be ready for when she was hungry again.
She looked at the mantle clock above the fireplace.
She had been sleeping for over two hours.
She went ahead and started up chili for dinner.
It could cook as she took care of Mary. Between the chili and the bread, the little house smelled really good.
She also made up some mush to feed to Mary.
She was going to start feeding her the mush today when it was time to feed her again.
She started mending the clothes she had in the basket for Carrie and her resale store.
She didn’t want to let her down after she hired her in her store.
She had to make enough money to feed herself and Mary now she was going to have to get milk delivered every other day from the general store.
There would be days when she wouldn’t be able to get out of the house to work in the general store.
She wouldn’t put Mary’s health at risk if it got too cold.
She’d talk to Helen and George and see what they could work out about the milk and about her working in the store helping them out.
The papoose carrier would help, but she wouldn’t take the chance on her getting sick.