19) Mama

A Chapter by Kelly M.

Autumn seemed to have come and gone far too quickly in April's opinion as she stirred awake that morning, surprised to see soft, gentle snowflakes tumbling to the ground. Her eyes took on the shine as that of a gleeful child and she climbed rather cumbersomely out of bed, her bare feet pattering towards the window where she openly stared in front of her. She began to clap her hands in excitement of their first winter snowfall, but then quickly caught herself, reeling to see if she had startled Drew awake. She was relieved to find him still asleep under the covers and quietly retraced her steps until she found herself at the edge of the bed. She knelt down where his motionless figure lay quietly and gazed into the handsome face before her. Brunette hair falling carelessly over her shoulders, she couldn't help smiling affectionately at her husband who was totally unaware of her presence beside him.

"I love you," she whispered to him, her hand gently interlacing with his limp one and an enchanted smile transforming her face.

Gently, she eased her large frame into a standing position. And in a quick motion, she whisked the hair back from her slightly sweating forehead.

"My, my!" she exclaimed, barely under her breath. "You can surely be a handful, little one."

It was something April often did-- talk to her baby throughout the day. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to her. Besides, she'd say when Drew would tease her of it fondly, "The baby needs some good company once in a while, now don't you?" she'd say, patting it fondly.

April added to her past comment with, "Now, what do you say about a morning walk, hm?"

With that, April hurried into her shoes in an awkward sort of fashion and didn't waste time in grabbing a shawl to wrap around her shoulders. Then she slipped quietly out the door and breathed in deeply of the crisp air, sighing in contented peace.

"I'll miss you, autumn," she said softly, "but, oh, how excited I am for winter and the Christmas cheer it will bring to this small town."

She let out a small sigh. How happy she was. And how she looked forward to this darling child. She had continued to faithfully count off the days and was nigh to bursting in anticipation. She just knew-- she had this uncommon feeling-- that when her baby was bundled into her arms, she would have a touch of all the joy Mary had experienced when baby Jesus had been placed in her arms.

Something overcame her then, as though on impulse. She just couldn't help herself. She lifted her head to the sky, held out her arms and twirled around, laughing and giggling like a schoolgirl. Soon, she was so exhausted that she plopped herself onto a snowdrift and wrapped her arms around the precious bundle she carried and lay her head gently against it.

"How I wish you could share this moment with me right now. But, then, you are, aren't you?" She smiled.

~*~

"Mama, Mama!"

A twitter of joy passed through April. Mama. How she loved the sound of that. It had been a name that she had often dreamt of hearing in the past. She'd never forget those days of wishing and hoping and nearly bargaining with God to give her a child. Hadn't everything turned out for good? It seemed to her she had been doubly blessed for not only was she, herself, with child, but she had been given three adorable children which were now her very own. How mysterious are the ways of the Lord, she marveled.

Before allowing her thoughts to wander further, her eyes drifted to where Kate was standing on wobbly legs, pointing and squealing with excitement.

"Looky-- over there! The sky's fallin' 'part!" Her eyes were wide with the horror of the very thought.

April couldn't hide her small smile of amusement, but before she could set Kate's record straight, Ella took on the role of older sister.

"No, no," Ella shook her blond curls, talking in a grown-up, matter-of-fact voice. "It's only snowflakes. God makes it rain snowflakes in the winter time to make it pretty."

Kate tipped her head to give her sister a hard look. "How do you know?" she asked challengingly.

"'Cause I do."

Kate didn't sound satisfied, but shrugged it off carelessly. Then, her face softened into a downcast gaze as she pressed her small hand against the fogged glass.

"Will we have to stay 'side for a long time?" Her voice was a gentle whisper.

Ella moved to place an arm around her younger sister and smiled cheerily. "No, we can play outside lots and lots. The snow is really fun to play in. We can make a snowman and throw snow at each other."

Kate's face immediately brightened and she clapped her hands. "Yay! Let's go right now!"

With that, she flopped herself right down on the hardwood floor and began struggling into her shoes. Scamp scurried over to where she sat and began to lick her face and hands, his tail wagging. Kate just giggled and cried, "Scamp, no! You're mussin' my hair." With that, she patted her hair into proper place.

"Jon'than! Jon'than, we're goin' outside! Wanna come?"

The teacher inside of April gently corrected Kate's prattle, but she didn't bother to make her thoughts known. No, she thought. I can let it go this once.

~*~

After April had bundled the three of them into warm sweaters and scarves, she shooed them off, her hand covering a smile. They looked like large, clumsy pumpkins, teetering and tottering towards the tantalizing whiteness beyond, struggling to keep their balance in all the smothering layers. But, before long, they forgot about trying to stay afoot and plopped into the snow, giggling and screeching with glee. The twins especially seemed to enjoy themselves in this new and wonderful experience. Even Kate had been so curious as to scoop up a pile of snow and give it a good taste test. April had chuckled to herself when seeing Ella, who had spied her sister and leapt over to her, gently removing the snow from Kate's hands and giving her a heart-to-heart talk on the matter of eating what could be "bacteria-ized".

Her laughter was hushed then as Drew came nearer and slipped an arm around her waist. She relaxed in his embrace and laid her head against his shoulder, and whispered to him, "We're blessed, did you know? Ever so much."

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© 2013 Kelly M.

Author's Note

:)

I know that the chapters have been rather slow, but the drama should pick up a bit more soon. I hope you loved this chapter:)

I'd appreciate your reviews with much gratitude!