Page 4 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
She found Yana doubled over, pacing the living room, their third oldest child, Kateryna, rubbing her mum’s back.
‘How are we doing?’ Zoe asked.
‘Four minutes,’ Yana said.
Yana had done this many times before, and she knew exactly how it worked. It was one of the reasons Zoe was happy to draw up a birth plan with her that she would definitely be more nervous about with a less experienced mother. For some, contractions four minutes apart might mean they still weren’t that close to birth, though labour would have begun. But in Yana’s case, Zoe was sure her instincts were reliable and that she’d been right to call.
‘Can I get into the water?’ Yana asked.
‘As soon as it’s ready. Denys is working like a trouper out there. Fingers crossed it won’t take long.’
Yana blew out a heavy breath and then nodded, grimacing as she did.
‘Another one?’ Zoe asked.
‘Yes,’ Yana panted. ‘My little Zoriana wants to come out now.’
‘If she can be patient for just a bit longer’ – Zoe opened her bag – ‘that would be very helpful. Right, while we’re waiting for your pool to be ready, let’s have a quick look at you to make sure everything is well.’
An hour later, Yana was wrapped in warm, dry clothes, with baby Zoriana in her arms and the rest of her children gathered around, gazing at the newborn, clearly all besotted – even the oldest teens, who pretended to be so cool and above it all. Denys was making his wife, who hadn’t eaten for over twelve hours, some food.
Zoe watched them all, a warmth swelling in her own breast. It was a bittersweet feeling – it always was. As much as she loved these moments, as much as they were the perfect eventuality that made her job so rewarding, she was always reminded of thefact that her own moment of holding a newborn son or daughter close had been robbed from her. Some days she found it easier than others to bear, but the love radiating from this family as they sat close together was so affecting, the emotions today had caught Zoe quite by surprise.
Yana looked up and smiled at Zoe. ‘Thank you.’
‘I didn’t do much in the end,’ Zoe said. She began to pack her equipment away. ‘You had it all figured out by the time I arrived.’
‘I’m still glad you were here,’ Yana said. ‘Perhaps I didn’t need you so much, but I felt safer because you were here.’
‘Well…’ Zoe drew in a breath and tried to exhale her troublesome emotions away. ‘I’m glad. It’s what I’m here for. I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow.’
‘I hope the snow is gone for you by then,’ Denys said, standing at the doorway with a bowl of soup on a tray. ‘It’s not easy to get around at the moment.’
‘You should see the hill I live on too,’ Zoe said cheerily. ‘I’m thinking of hiring Rudolph to get me up and down there.’
‘Rudolph?’ Denys asked.
‘You know, Santa’s reindeer. One of them, at least.’
‘Yes, sorry,’ Denys said. ‘I forgot.’
‘I’m sure you must be tired – it’s been a long day for you all,’ Zoe replied.
‘A happy one,’ Denys said as he took the baby from Yana while Alik handed his mum the tray with her soup on. ‘But,’ he added, turning to his wife, ‘perhaps this can be the last time?’
‘It can be the last time if you stop making me pregnant,’ Yana said, and the look of horror on the faces of their oldest children made Zoe burst into laughter.
‘At this point,’ she said, ‘I think I’d better leave you to it.’
3
Zoe had arrived home to Kestrel Cottage exhausted after Yana’s home birth. She’d promised to phone Alex if it was still early enough at that point to salvage their day, and even though it probably was, she messaged him to say she was too tired to be decent company and it might be better if they put off the tree decorating until the following day. Much as she wanted to see him, she reasoned there was no point if she was going to fall asleep ten minutes after his arrival.
The following morning was Monday, and even though she’d been on call over the weekend, technically it was a new work week. She never minded being called out, but sometimes, if there was a run, it could feel as if she hadn’t had a weekend at all. Today was definitely one of those occasions. She couldn’t stop yawning as she dressed, and let out an involuntary groan as she went to the window of her bedroom to see it had started to snow heavily again. To a point, it looked pretty, but it was making travel to her home appointments hellishly difficult.
Downstairs, the tree Alex had bought for her the previous day was standing in the porch to keep it cold and fresh until theycould get to it. No fear of it staying cold, Zoe mused wryly as she passed it on her way out.
She closed the gate and waved at her neighbour and landlord, Victor, who was bang on time to give her a lift down to the village.
