The First Birth
They hadn’t done such a wonderful job of splitting up the groups, and so six of the invitees were from her drawing class. Which meant that when her wristcom went off, so did the six other daughters and the teacher. Quite the chorus.
“Have fun, girls,” Teacher said.
“I ordered a skimmer!” Leah called. “Five minutes out!”
“Leah,” Jellia said, “I think we should make this a two-fer. You look ready to pop yourself!”
“Oh, stop!”
The skimmer had seats for eight, but Jellia had never ridden with this many and it made her a bit nervous. And she had no idea how she was supposed to feel. Her kesh-mates were all thrilled and took this as a normal part of life. Ska-drek was solidly pleased. But how was she supposed to feel?
She patted her tummy. Happy. That was how she was supposed to feel. Happy and eager to get pregnant herself.
At least she didn’t have to say anything. The daughters were all chatting busily, and there were two other skimmers behind them with other daughters from the school.
When they got there there were already five daughters on the lawn, all of whom ran over and kissed congratulations. “Your ska-drek left about five minutes ago,” one of the daughters said. “He was grinning!”
She didn’t get all of the kisses done before the other two skimmers arrived but these ska-u, probably because they had been at school with her, didn’t seem to feel greeting necessary and they all ran in the house after her.
“We’ll go to the kitchen, you go see your ska-drek-a!” Leah said. “Lydia, you go too.”
Not quite understanding, Jellia hadn’t anything better to do so ran upstairs, stopping at Ska-drek-a’s door, which was open. “Come in, Kesh-i-u,” a woman said from the room. “She is in the shower.”
Jellia hesitated just a second, but Leah was already into the combination room and she followed her. Ska-drek-a was indeed in her large shower, bending over, the water playing on her back.
“Oh, it must be posterior,” Lydia said. “This is going to be a long party.”
Three more daughters came in and stared, then left. Finally Ska-drek-a turned around and she and Lydia made their bows. Mother grinned. “Thank you, Darlings,” she said, bowing the slightest bit back. “I’m afraid I won’t be very good company.”
“Would you like me to rub your back, Ska?” Lydia asked and Mother, startled, agreed. Soon Lydia was in the shower with her and Jellia went downstairs, passing three women on the stairway.
“Well?” Leah asked, when she came into the kitchen.
“Lydia says she’s posterior,” Jellia said. “She’s rubbing her back.”
“Oh, I hope I don’t have a posterior birth,” Leah said, swallowing the cracker she held and moving past Jellia, followed by four other Ska-u. Jellia did not understand what was going on here.
One by one the daughters came back. Lydia came back after a while, her hair wet; and about a half an hour later Carlita, from the Garden Party, also came down, her hair wet. Was everyone rubbing Mother’s back? Should she?
But Leah didn’t seem to think so. She kept Jellia busy greeting and moving food around. A kesh came racing down and said that Mother wanted some cheese and bread, and Jellia insisted on taking it up.
“How are you doing, Mother?” she asked when she came up. Mother had a light robe on and was bent over a chair.
“Oh, the cheese. Good… oh… set it down, push!” she screamed and the ska who was there pushed on Mother’s back.
Jellia set down the cheese and bread and fled. This was awful!
“How much longer?” she asked Lydia the next time she came back from Mother.
“It takes what it takes. But the midwife says to turn the screeny on.”
They all went into the great room and Jellia used her wrist comp controls to turn the huge screeny on. She thought at first that it was broken or something, cause the screen was all kind of a brownish grey, but then everything seemed to resolve itself and soon everyone was staring at a wonderfully sharp picture of an upside down kesh… along with all sorts of bones and things.
“Well, its a him not a her!” Leah said, as that fact became very evident as the baby turned.
“Not very descended,” Lydia said. “See the bones there?”
Jellia saw the bones but did not see how to judge how far descended the baby was. But she was thrilled with every single movement. Oh, she couldn’t wait to see him and hold him and watch him eat!
“Got any games?” a kesh asked a few minutes later.
“Oh, yes. That cabinet there,” Jellia pointed and soon the Kesh-u had several games out. Someone found toss ball and about ten daughters went outside with it.
Jellia was afraid that this would be some kind of violation of code and custom, but then she noticed a couple of the older ska-u joining in on the game.
Indeed so many people were playing the games that Jellia worried Ska-drek-a was alone. But when she went upstairs she found her in the shower with two kesh-i-u… one holding her up and the other rubbing her back. The kesh-i-u saw her and winked, but Mother seemed to be in another world.
“So, did you ever go to a birth party on Ephemera?” Lydia asked her a while later as the two sat on the couch watching the baby and the kesh-u playing board games.
“Oh, stars no. Oh, good grief. I never learned much about it but one thing I knew was that only the midwife and the progenitor could be there. Indeed, they never told anyone anything until it was all over, signed, sealed, and delivered. Ok, bad pun.”
“Really?”
“Really and truly… code and custom.”
“Wow… how… well, ok, some ska-i-u would like that. But, wow… not to have a birth party!”
“Hey, Jellia, I found some sausages in the status box,” a ska called.
“Umm, sure. Whatever you want. I guess people are getting hungry?”
Jellia made to get up but the kesh pushed her back down. “We’ll do it. Why don’t you go see your ska-drek-a again?”
Jellia went back upstairs and when she got to the bathroom she saw a kesh just starting the shower. “Oh, good, your turn,” she said and Jellia quickly got undressed and went over to Ska-drek-a. Who put her arms on her and let her lead her into the shower. It was good that we had this huge fresher, Jellia thought.
The other ska was behind her and Mother would scream and she would push. And push.
“Ok, time to try something different,” the midwife said when she came in. You all stay here, I’m going to run the bath.
When she had it full the ska and Jellia walked Ska-drek-a over to it. She was leaning hard and kind of gave a scream about halfway there but, when they finally got her in (which was very awkward!) she looked up and smiled. “Oh, yes, this is better. Oh, maybe I can just go to sleep and wake up with the baby.”
Jellia was there at least another hour, holding her, but then another ska came in and we switched place. Then Jellia went downstairs and looked at the baby on the screeny. That was amazing.
Jellia was getting rather sleepy, it was the middle of the night, when Lydia came in, looked around, saw her, and said, “You should come now.”
She got up, stretched, and went upstairs. Mother was in the bathroom again, but this time she was squatting on the floor and panting. “Not long now,” the midwife was saying, and Jellia perked up.
“Want some brew?” Creia asked, handing her a cup. “I saw you get up and figured you needed a bit of pep.”
Jellia sipped at the brew. She actualy didn’t like brew, especially dark brew, but it did pep one up.
Suddenly Ska-drek-a screamed and Jellia almost dropped the cup. “That’s right, push!” the midwife said.
“She’s pushing!” Creia said, and rushed off. Jellia was miffed. What did that even mean?
Creia came back and kesh after kesh followed her. “Oh, look, one of them said, “you can see her head!”
Jellia looked back at Ska-drek-a and then felt herself turning bright red. Sure enough, between Mother’s legs was a little patch of hair… and then it went back inside. She could absolutely not believe she was here for this!
Mother screamed again and Jellia, fascinated despite herself, watched at the patch of hair came out again, even bigger.
The midwife crouched between Mother’s legs. “Now is the time,” she said. “Let’s do this in one last push.”
Mother screamed again, Jellia stared again, and, finally, the baby emerged… and everyone cheered. She could hear echoing cheering from downstairs where they were, no doubt, watching it all on the screeny.
Mother panted and the midwife helped arrange the baby on her breast. Jellia stared at the cord still attatched to Ska-drek-a.
“When does that come out?” she whispered to Lydia.
“In a few minutes. That is called the ‘placenta’ or ‘afterbirth’. It attached to the inside of your ska-drek-a…
Jellias ears burned as Lydia, in a normal voice, explained what the placenta had been doing for the last nine months, how it would detach, and how it would come out next. But the other kesh all ignored her or listened eagerly. No one else seemed the least bit embarrassed.
Finally that last bit was done and her mother was helped into a light robe and, seconds later, Leah led ska-drek in.
“You have born me a son,” he said, coming over, picking him up, and holding him out toward us, right out of code and custom. I had read up on this.
“That I have done,” Mother said… not exactly the right words but, close enough.
“By mutual agreement, his name shall be Robert David Kiladi,” ska-drek said.
“My mutual agreement, we shall call him Bobbin,” Mother replied.
Ska-drek looked at Jellia and she came forward, her heart pounding. “Hold your brother,” Ska-drek said, and handed the squirming mass to her. She couldn’t believe it. Never, back on Ephemera, had she dreampt that she would ever have a brother! One the daughters in her class on Ephemera had had an older brother, but she had been lower class, much lower class. Bright, but lower class. And she had hardly ever spoken of him.
“Pass him on,” Iloh said, eventually, as shshe stared at him, and I passed him to Leah who squealed, kissed him in no particular mode (on the top of his forehead while holding him! How could that be a mode?) and passed him on to one of Mother’s friends… who kissed him in the same way. So maybe it was some sort of mode.
Jellia felt Illoh’s hand on my shoulder and let him lead her downstairs… past all of the Kesh on the stairs all waiting their own turn to come up and hold the infant.
“Well, Daughter, are you content?”
But she didn’t get to answer as Gregory was there hugging her. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
“Yes, ska-drek, I am content indeed. And bizarrely eager for my own which you wouldn’t think after all that I just watched.”
She looked at Gregory accusingly, “You will have to try harder!”
He grinned back at her. “I am available now, I suppose,” he said, and she blanched and he and Lydia both burst out laughing. The kitchen not being exactly empty.
Lydia came over and kissed, Sister-to-Sister, “That was a hard birth, Jellia. But be not too dismayed, your ska-drek-a will remember very little of it in the joy of her new kesh.”
“Whew,” I said, sitting down and take a bit of sliced salami and a piece of flat bread. “I wonder how she felt about everyone I invited. She didn’t comment at all.”
“And they were all very helpful,” Lydia said. “With a difficult birth it is nice to have so many volunteers to rub her back and all.”
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Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid
and
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.
Arthur also has a substack, and a website.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von