75
I WILL GIVE BIRTH TO YOU, MY ANGEL
him now – new, even blazing feelings of warmth toward the sole woman in
his life – Inga.
***
Except for the rare trip to the city, Inga spent the entire nine months of her
pregnancy on the homestead. She planned out where she’d put the baby car-
riage and the crib, and she even made Victor plant a small grassy area where
their little son could walk. Her labor began a week before she was due. It
looked as if their future son was in a hurry to come into this beautiful
earthly space.
From the information gleaned in the childbirth classes, Victor knew what
a father needed to do to help during labor, but the only truly helpful thing
he managed to do was summon a midwife they knew and call the paramed-
ics, just in case. So, Inga ended up having to fill the bathtub with water her-
self, get a towel ready, and check the water temperature. Victor, meanwhile,
just rushed around the room. He remembered that there was something im-
portant he should be doing, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember
what it was.
Inga, not counting on her husband’s help, climbed into the bathtub on her
own. The contractions grew longer, but as she strained, nothing but joyful,
triumphant notes rang out in her beautiful voice.
Out of everything he’d heard in the classes, Victor finally remembered
one thing – he remembered about positive emotions. Glancing at the win-
dowsill, he caught sight of a flower Inga had planted. It was blooming. He
grabbed this pot with the flower and ran into the bathroom with it, repeating
in excitement:
“Look, Inga, your flower bloomed! Your flower bloomed! It bloomed. Just
