The HOPE of SPRING by Wanda E. Brunstetter Read Free Book Online Page B

approach to childbirth, which this method emphasized. By practicing
     deep breathing and having Laurie’s support as labor coach, Meredith would be able
     to deliver her baby without using drugs or going through surgery, unless she experienced
     a problem during labor. She also appreciated the emphasis on having a healthy baby
     and what she could do to eat right and stay in shape.
    Meredith was glad she was no longer housebound and looked forward to going to the
     farmers’ market with Alma in a week. Today was Friday, and Alma was baking bread,
     while Meredith sat at her Grandma King’s old treadle sewing machine, making another
     head covering. Some women in their community used converted machines, run by a battery,
     but she preferred the old-fashioned kind. There was a sense of satisfaction that came
     from pumping her feet up and down to get the needle moving. Sitting at this older
     machine made Meredith think of all the things Grandma had made for her family over
     the years. Grandma and Grandpa King lived in a rural area of Kentucky, with Dad’s
     brother Peter and his family, so Meredith didn’t see them that often. Before they’d
     moved there four years ago, Grandma had given Meredith her old sewing machine, saying
     her fingers were stiff from arthritis, and she couldn’t sew anymore.
    Meredith glanced toward the kitchen door, listening to Alma hum while kneading her
     bread dough. Alma didn’t have any children or grandchildren to pass things down to,
     but she’d been generous in sharing some personal items with those in their community.
     Just this morning, when Alma came over a few minutes before Laurie left for the market,
     she’d brought Meredith an old wooden cradle that had been hers when she was a baby.
     Meredith appreciated the gift but felt bad that Alma hadn’t been able to use the heirloom
     for her own babies. If Luke were still here, their firstborn’s cradle would have been
     made by him.
    But she couldn’t let her what-could-have-been thinking take over her life, and when
     thoughts like that entered her mind, she’d just have to let them go. She had to be
     positive. This cradle would be special, too, because it was from Alma. She could feel
     Alma’s love and encouragement, and appreciated all that the woman did to help out.
    Meredith’s gaze went to the cradle sitting in one corner of the living room. Tears
     sprang to her eyes. In just three short months her own baby would be lying in that
     cradle, and she could hardly wait. She hadn’t told anyone, but she secretly hoped
     it would be a boy with his father’s blond hair and beautiful turquoise eyes. Of course,
     if she had a little girl with strawberry-blond hair like hers, she would love her
     just as much. The fact that the child would be a part of Luke brought Meredith some
     measure of comfort.
    “Are you ready to stop for lunch?” Alma asked when she ambled into the living room
     sometime later. “I’ve heated the leftover stew from last night, and we can have some
     fresh bread to go with it.”
    “That sounds
wunderbaar
.” Meredith stopped sewing and patted her protruding stomach. “I didn’t even realize
     I was
hungerich
until you mentioned food. That bread sure smells good. Now my belly won’t stop growling.”
    Alma grinned and pushed a wisp of gray hair back under her covering. “I’ll see you
     in the kitchen then, because just smelling the bread baking, along with that savory
     stew on the stove, has made my stomach rumble, too.”
    Meredith smiled as Alma headed back to the kitchen. She was glad Alma had remembered
     to turn her hearing aids on today so they could communicate easily. More times than
     not, Meredith ended up with a strained voice from talking loud enough for Alma to
     hear. But she never said anything about it, for Alma was such a sweet, caring person.
    The slightly plump, rosy-cheeked woman was in her early seventies, and her cooking
     and baking skills made Meredith feel her