Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Around four o’ clock in the morning on the first Friday in February, Gabriel was busy loading up all of their reenactment items for their long trip to Yale, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Kate was helping Mae bring her dresses into the living room so that they could be loaded into the truck. She was very heavily pregnant, and her baby had dropped, which meant she was close to giving birth.

Mae set her crinoline on top of Kate’s luggage and nudged her daughter-in-law in the arm. When the younger woman turned and saw the yellow baby blanket in her hand she replied, “I have a very strong feeling that we might have a baby soon. You’re breasts have swollen and the baby’s dropped. That’s why I’m taking this.”

“What about the carrier?” She questioned.

“It’s already packed.”

Soon after everything was loaded up, Gabriel returned from the truck after loading the horses into the trailer. He walked over to Kate and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before replying, “You ready to go, honey? We’ve got a long ways to go.”

“I think we are. Let’s go!”

Once both vehicles were on the highway, Kate turned on the map light and leaned her seat back, picking up the book she had been reading about motherhood. She tuned out the exterior noises as she resumed reading the chapter she had left off on while Gabriel turned onto the interstate. Every now and then he’d glance over at her and smile at the sight of her large belly.

“Is my baby moving, sweetheart?” He questioned.

Kate looked down at her belly and smiled warmly, “Not right now. I think it’s asleep, and I don’t blame it.”

 

Later on, Kate had her eyes closed as she rubbed her belly, thinking about how soon she’d see her baby and get to snuggle it to her. Just imagining the feeling of her baby in her arms made her heart pound. When she looked out of her window she could see the light of early dawn peeking above the horizon. At that hour most people would just be getting ready for work, but they had already been on the road for about two hours and were just rolling through the outskirts of Paris, Texas. From the looks of it, not very many vehicles were on the road.

When they exited the highway onto 271 North, Kate jumped, bringing her hands to her belly. The sudden action made Gabriel worry, but she calmly said, “I’m all right, Gabe. The baby just woke up and gave me quite a kick.”

“Okay. I was just worried,” he took the map he had printed off the night before and glanced at it, “Looks like we take the Indian Nation Turnpike until we get to Henryetta, and then it turns into Highway 75.”

“Where do we go from there?”

He looked at the map again, “Once we get to Tulsa we go through Sand Springs and Mannford, and from what this is saying, Yale is just on the other side of Mannford.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I’ll have to do something to entertain myself. Maybe by the time my butt goes numb we’ll be there,” Kate decided to do some more reading, but instead of a magazine, she picked up one of Gabriel’s favorite novels, The Killer Angels. Hopefully it would keep her occupied for several more hours until they made it to Yale.

 

It was around ten thirty that morning when they pulled into a park and were directed to the back where the other re-enactors were starting to set up their tents. Gabriel drove down a small path covered in mulch chips before turning around and backing the trailer up beneath the shade of some tall evergreens. After parking, he unloaded the horses and tied them up to one of the trees, and then he helped to unload all of their gear, including the tents and poles, before taking the truck and trailer to the re-enactor’s parking. Kate stayed at camp to help the others set up their camp while he went to park.

“I can’t believe you actually came, Kate,” Ava commented while setting up the cots inside hers and Sean’s tent.

“Well, Gabe and I are praying this little one holds off until we get back home, but I’m not so sure since I can feel it moving around a lot more.”

“Don’t fret, Kate. No matter what happens these next few days I’m gonna be by your side,” she gave the pregnant woman a squeeze before heading back outside with her friend right behind her.

I’m so glad that I have such a wonderful friend, Kate thought as she sat down in one of the canvas chairs and watched Gabriel and Sean get the campfire started. It wasn’t long when she noticed the rest of their cavalry unit starting to arrive. Some of them were already dressed in their uniforms, which seemed odd to her.

 

As the orange glow of the sun disappeared behind the trees, the 1^st Texas Cavalry was sitting around the campfire to keep warm in the growing cold. They chatted about previous battles and upcoming ones. Kate sat beside her husband with a heavy blanket wrapped around her. All of a sudden, she felt the baby give her a sharp kick in her ribs.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, “Boy, I’ll be glad when this little one comes. I don’t need any broken ribs.”

One of the men straightened up and asked, “Aren’t you due soon, dear?”

“Any day.”

“Well, congratulations… for when you do have the little one.”

“Thank you. All of you have been very supportive.”

 

Inside their tent, Kate pulled on her warm chemise while Gabriel kicked off his shoes and shoved them under his cot before going over to her after seeing her hug her belly. He started to become concerned for her and wanted to help in any way he could.

“Are you okay, honey?”

She looked up at him and smiled, “I’m fine. I just ate too much dinner,” however, she knew that was a lie just to ease his nerves and to keep him from hovering over her every waking moment. Is this the start of a long and painful labor? But just as the thought came to her, the discomfort she had felt only moments earlier had vanished.

Not completely convinced, Gabriel left her side and fell back onto his cot, pulling the layers of blankets up to his shoulders, “Stay under your blankets, Kate. It’s going to get very cold, tonight.”