Chapter 15

"Happy Birthday to you," the song finished and Ivy just stared at everyone with her large, green eyes taking in everything. Gabby leaned over and said, "Blow, Ivy, blow it out." Ivy puffed out her cheeks and blew on the single candle, it only flickered. Gabby looked at me and together we leaned over and blew out the candle as everyone cheered. Bet and Addie had made 2 cakes. A large 2-layer white cake with chocolate icing and a smaller 1-layer cake for Ivy to eat all by herself. Ivy clapped her hands mimicking all of the other children around the table, then she reached out and grabbed a large handful of cake and shoved it in her mouth, getting a large portion of it up her nose and on her forehead. Everyone laughed as she kept shoveling cake. I could see Gabby wringing her hands in her lap, knowing it was just killing her to see Ivy getting chocolate all over herself and her clothes. I patted her on the shoulder and said, "It will all come out in the wash."

When everyone had finished eating, the children all went outside to play tag and hide and seek. Of the 10 children who came to the party only 2 were close to Ivy's age, Isaiah Montgomery who was 4 months older than Ivy and son of the local dentist in town and Charlotte Brown, who was 2 weeks older than Ivy and the daughter of the local Baptist preacher. Ivy had attended both of their birthday parties earlier this year so they were all familiar. Ivy, Isaiah and Charlotte all sat on their mother's laps watching the other children from the porch. The rest of the children were friends from James and Gabby's church and some were patients of James'.

While the mothers were talking, the three babies watched intently, taking in all of the running around of the other children in the yard, every so often looking at one another and laughing. Not understanding what was going on but enjoying it all the same. All of a sudden Ivy stiffened and started screaming, grabbing at her nose and flailing. I rushed out on the porch to see what was wrong. Gabby had turned Ivy around holding her up and searching her all over. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I don't know," Gabby replied, "She just started screaming and flailing." "Were there any bees around, did she get stung?" I asked. "I didn't see any but let's take her in and check her anyway," Gabby said as she stood up. Isaiah and Charlotte both were watching Ivy as their mothers were shooing the children off the porch that had come running when they heard the screaming.

James and Gabby took Ivy into the exam room and pulled off her party dress, slip and underclothes. Bet and Addie came running in from the kitchen where they had been cleaning up the after the party and making small packages of left over food for the guests to take home. "What happened?" Addie hollered over Ivy's loud screaming. Gabby looked at her with tears in her eyes, "I have no idea." All of a sudden Ivy got quiet, looked up at the faces staring down at her, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. "Wake her up James," Gabby demanded. When I gently shook Ivy, she would open her eyes to stare at me and then drift back to sleep. I listened to her heart, took her temperature and looked into her mouth. "I don't find a single thing wrong with her," I said, "Maybe she's just tired and needs a nap. I see that some of the parents have arrived and the children are slowly leaving so I think it will be ok. Take her on up to the nursery and stay with her." "I believe Addie, Bet and I can handle everything until everyone is gone. You stay with her and let me know if anything changes." I placed the sleeping Ivy into her mother's arms and directed her upstairs.

Bet and Addie went back to the kitchen to finish the packing the leftovers and I went out to the porch to explain what had happened. Isaiah and Charlotte just looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Suddenly several of the kids started screaming and pointing at Jeb Markham. He was on his knees on the ground with his hands over his face. I leapt off the porch and ran to where Jeb was, when I placed my hand on the boy's shoulder, he looked up at me with his hands covering his face. "What's wrong?" I asked him while trying to pull his hands away. Jeb just kept shaking his head and trying to pull away. Finally I got the little boy calmed and eased his hands from his face. I looked shocked but asked Jeb what had happened. "Well you see, I wuz running around the trees trying to tag Sam and when I turned around to go the other way I run slap into that tree so hard it made my nose bleed," Jeb said. "Well let's go in and get some ice for it. Looks like it took a hard lick and will probably be bruised up by tomorrow. What will your mother say?" I asked. "Aw heck," Jeb replied, "She won't care. I'm all the time comin' in the house banged up and bleedin'," he said as I escorted him up the steps to the porch and into the house.

Later that evening Gabby and I were sitting on the porch watching the sunset. Ivy had gotten her bath and was up in her nursery, with Bet sitting by her bedside watching her like a hawk. Gabby broke the silence, "You know, Ivy is a year old now." "Yes," I replied, realizing which direction the conversation was going. "And we live so far from town," she said. "Not that far," I replied. She glanced over at me, then turned her head back and resumed rocking in her chair.

"James, I don't see why we can't have another baby!" she stated, quite bluntly. I sighed, this conversation kept coming up more and more frequently lately. I had explained to her that with the trouble she had with her delivery with Ivy she might have more complications this time. "Gabby, I have discussed this with you," I said, "I just worry about your health. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." Gabby slowly slipped something out from under her folds of her skirt and handed it to me. To my surprise it was one of my medical books and had a piece of paper book marking a page. I looked at Gabby, sighed and took the book from her. I moved the lamp closer to my side of the table next to my chair and flipped the book open to the marked page. After a few minutes of silent reading, I closed the book back and handed it back to her. "Gabby, you need to understand, just because you have had one child that doesn't mean that the next one will be easier. It doesn't matter if your hips are spread and your body has changed with the birth, each pregnancy is different. Why after awhile a woman with more than four kids would have to walk around with a basket between her legs to catch the baby when it fell out." Gabby smiled at me and stood up and said, "Well, I'm going on up to bed and seeing as how warm the nights have been I believe that I will just sleep without my gown tonight. Why I think I will probably just throw those old bed clothes off and open the windows," she winked at me as she went into the house. I listened to the sound of her heels as she walked across the floor and up the steps, smiling to myself.