A Flicker of Light (10 page)

             
A maddening desperati
on engulfed Petra as the
torture of another contraction took hold of her
,
sending shooting pains, like lighting, through her
body. S
he cried out as she
once again
began to push. The pressure became overwhelming, and suddenly Petra felt relief as the tender skin of her womanhood tore apart
,
giving way as the baby came flooding into the world in a sea of blood and fluid. A lusty cry from the lips of the newborn child
soon
filled the room. A
lthough Petra continued to pant,
trying to catch her breath for several moments as the midwife removed the afterbirth and began to sew the tender vaginal skin with a sterilized needle, she forgot her soreness. The baby was here!  In a whisper, barely audible, she asked, “What is it - a boy or a girl? Is it healthy? Is it all right?”

             
The old midwife had responded to that question many more times than she could remember, but she stopped her work for a moment and with a smile she told Petra that she had given birth to a healthy, perfect little boy. At least this time, Rita
VanStrom
could relax and admit to herself that f
or a while she’d been worried - a
fraid
that she might lose Petra. But t
oday she delivered good news. Not only was the mother fine but the child was perfect. Often it had
fallen to her to inform a mother of an abnorm
al
ity, or the curse of a
stillbirth
. After all, she was
the first one to see the infant;
it was her job. 
And when bad luck reared it
s ugly head it was she who w
as
forced to steel herself and listen as
the mother cried out, “Why me?
W
hy my child?”

             
During Petra’s entire labor, poor Daisy
had
paced
outside the room. The mutt knew her family, and she
’d
felt the tension
in the air
. Something was going on, but she was not sure what it was.  She
’d
listened closely. For hours she
’d
heard groaning and grunting that left her filled with worry. But then a strange crying noise, one she’d never heard before
,
rang through the house. It was followed by quiet lau
ghter and from the sounds of
Sie
land
’s
and Petra’s voices the dog knew that whatever had troubled them earlier was over
,
and it had ended well. Her tail flicked and fluttered as her loyal canine heart sang with elation.

             
Siegland
bathe
d the baby with care. She lovingly
observed the tiny hands and feet as
she tenderly washed between his
fingers and toes. She kept her touch soft
,
and ever so careful
,
as she used a damp washcloth to clean his little bald head. She found herself enraptured by the tiny ears and eyelashes. Finally, after she had wrapped him in a blanket, she handed the infant t
o his mother. Petra was
beaming with joy.
Pure bliss radiated from her as she smiled down at the tiny
,
red
,
wrinkled infant and then looked back up at
Siegland
, “He’ll call you Grandma, if that’s all right with you.”

             
Siegland
could not answer for fear that she might cry tears of happiness. Her throat closed and she smiled. Then
Siegland
marveled at the girl she had come to love like a daughter, and nodded her head.

             
“You’re tired, sweet child. Sleep. I’ll watch him. Nothing wil
l happ
en to him while I’m around,”
Sie
gland
assured her
.

             
Worn out with the pain and the ordeal of the birth, Petra fell into a deep slumber and slept for nearly five hours.

             
After Petra awoke and
Siegland
propped her up with pillows,
Sie
gland
dressed the baby in the diapers that she had made and in a little outfit that she had knitted for him. Then she carried him to his mother to nurse. A hearty baby, he instinctively found the nipple, grabbed on and began sucking. Watching his enthusiasm, Petra turned to
Siegland
and said, “He’s just like his father.” Both women laughed.

             
“The midwife, she told me that some babies don’t know how. So it takes ‘
em
longer, but our little f
ellow, he knows. Look at him…
”

             
The two women laughed again. Then Petra looked down into the tiny face, so small and determined, and she saw
that
the blood of her Viking ancestors had come through in her offspring. “Yes, he does know, doesn’t he?”

             
Klaus came in from the fields at noon and gawked at the tiny, vulnerable child. His thick fingers reached into the tiny wooden cradle he had built, and he touched the baby’s palm. With a strong and sure grip, the infant wrapped his pe
rfect little hand around Klaus’
finger and Klaus melted.

             
Siegland
left
,
and then came back into the room carrying a large tray filled with scrambled eggs, ham and toast. She sat on a chair beside Petra. Asleep in his cradle beside the bed, the little boy with his chubby cheeks and bald head looked like a cherub. After placing the tray on a pillow in front of Petra,
Siegland
looked into the crib in awe at the wonder of this beautiful child. In silence, so as not to wake him, she touched his cheek with a feather-like finger.

             
“So, what did you finally decide to call him?”

             
“Well, I thought Hans for his father and Eric for mine.
So, maybe Hans Eric Jorgensen?
  What do you think?”

             
“I think, yes, very
good
. Sounds like that man who is writing the book that you read to us.”

             
“Oh,
you mean Hans Christian Anderse
n. Yes, I suppose it does have that same ring. I think I like it. Do you?”

             
“Yeah, I do, but I am also thinking that maybe you should say that you’re
Klaus’
brother’s daughter from Poland
, and that your
future
husband is stationed at the Russian front. I mean that’s just in case the Nazis are coming and questioning; then you could use the name
of
Bruch
mei
e
r
.  We could say that you are planning to be married, but were separated by the war before you got a chance
.
These things happen.
”

             
“Does Klaus have a brother
?”

             
“He did,
but
Frederick
died
ten years ago
.”

             
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

             
“
It’s all right. It’s been a long time
. Besides today
we are happy.
We have you here with us
now
.
And we will have a good time with the new babe.”

             
“I could always use Hans’ last name,
Kurman
. We never got married, but I think it would take a lot t
o look that up.
But if Klaus had
a
brother
, we could say that I am his niece
,
and I have come to wait for my
future
husband and ha
ve the baby here in the country,
” Petra said weighing her options.

             
“Klaus’
brother lived
somewhere in Poland, so this will be perfect. We will say that you came here to live with us while you are waiting for your future husband to come home.
Only if we have to say anything -
that’s what we will say, eh?”

             
Petra nodded, “Yes, good -
I
mean, if it’s all right with you.”

             
“Yes, of course, I think it’s very good. So maybe he will have the name of
Bruchmeier
, like he will be my real grandbaby?”

             
“Yes. Hans Eric
Bruchmeier
.”

             
“I like that very, very much,”
Siegland
beamed.

             
With trepidation in her every step, Daisy entered the room. She slowly ambled over to Petra’s bedside, unsure of how she would be received. Petra reached down and patted her head. The old dog nuzzled her hand then walked over to look into the cradle. Immediately Daisy loved the new member of the
Bruchmeier
family. She decided that the
baby Hans would be hers and she would raise him like her very own puppy.

             
That night Petra felt strong enough to get up and walk around. Her bottom was still uncomfortable from the tear and stitches, but otherwise she’d recovered well.
Siegland
made sure that she sat on a pillow when she came to the living room, where she stayed for a little over an hour. The family watched as Petra covered her breast with a towel and nursed little Hans until he’d gone off into a sweet slumber. Realizing how tired Petra looked,
Siegland
insisted that she go back to her room and get some rest.

             
Petra fell into a sound sleep
,
and for the first several hours the infant remained quiet
, but a few minutes before two o’clock
, the child awakened with a loud shriek. Petra heard it and woke instantly. Hurriedly, so as not to disturb
Siegland
or Klaus, Petra picked the baby up and lay him on a small table that Klaus had built for her to use to change him. Her hands shook as she took great care wit
h the large pins that held his
diaper. The love s
he had for the little boy felt
stronger than anything she had ever known.

             
After she’d removed the urine-soaked diaper, she rocked him in her arms as she carried him into the bathroom where she cleaned his bottom with a warm, wet towel. Then she took him back, and powdered and re-diapered
him. Fresh and comfortable again in his mother’s arms, little Hans felt his mother carry him to the rocking chair in the living room. Daisy quietly accompanied them. The old dog wanted to be a part of everything that had to do with the baby, and she stayed with the two throughout the night. The room smelled of powder and laundry soap as Petra sat down in the rocker. Then, in the dark, she took the baby to her breast. Reaching down, the new mother kissed her child’s soft head and took in his sweet baby smell. As the infant suckled, she watched the stars
flicker
,
giving light to the night sky and thought how
lucky she was that
some miracle of God had brought her to these kindhearted, generous people.

Chapter 10

T

he sound of movement in the kitchen alerted Petra. She thought she heard a paper rustle, perhaps a rat. Her heart pounded in her ears in alarm. Going back to the baby’s room, she placed him in his cradle. Still hungry, the infant screamed in protest, so she picked him up again. If in fact she saw a rat scurry across the room, where would she put the baby while she went after it? Certainly not on the floor, and she could not put him on a chair. He might fall off. Again she heard the sound of the paper moving, only louder this time. Frightened that an even larger animal had entered the house, Petra put the baby back in the crib and closed the door to protect him as he cried out. She cringed as the wailing broke through the quiet house. She did not want to become a burden and disturb the family, but she knew that she must go to the kitchen to uncover the cause of the noises.

If a dangerous person or animal had entered, she felt it her responsibility to do what she could to keep them all from harm. The creaking of the front door stopped her cold as she stood listening. Then a thud followed and she realized someone had shut it. Not making a sound, she
stood listening with her heart beating in the dark hallway. Someone had entered the house. Did she dare go forward, or should she quiet the child? If the intruder heard little Hans, might he not come and kill him, or kill them all? She felt a drop of milk escape from her nipple and roll down her stomach, and she shivered in response. The baby finally began to quiet down, and she went forward, still keeping out of sight to see who might be in the house. Perhaps carrying a pair of scissors might be a wise idea, but the only pair she knew of was in the sewing table drawer in
Siegland’s
room, and she did not want to awaken and frighten her. Resigned that she had no weapon and not sure what she would do with one if she did, she went forward with Daisy at her side. Terror struck her as she considered that an intruder might kill the old dog. She had no doubt Daisy would stage as much of an attack as her old body could muster.