Forever Torn

C6: Life in Linkuva (2/2)

Then one day in January of 1924 things started to change. He had been playing with Lily one day inside her home and they were crawling around upstairs exploring when they had heard voices from downstairs, voices with a strange raised tone to them. Not exactly shouting or arguing but something peculiar about them nonetheless.

'Lily, what's happening?' he had asked his cousin, scared all of a sudden.

Lily who was now five years old and significantly bigger than him, liked to take charge – sometimes Orca thought she babied him as much as she sometimes did Sammy, but he didn't really mind as he loved Lily with all his heart.

'Stay here Orca,' she told him. 'I will find out and come back and tell you.'

Then she crawled quietly away to spy on her parents and his parents.

He waited by the upstairs banister, his heart beating a mile a minute. What was going on!!??

Presently Lily snuck back upstairs with a thoughtful look on her face and settled in down beside him at the top, tucking her knees up to beneath her chin.

'What? What is it Lily?'

Lily's face crinkled into a frown. 'I don't understand Orca.'

'What don't you understand? Tell me, tell me!' he asked excitedly as he knelt to face her.

It took a moment for Lily to respond and when she did she puffed herself up as if to make a grand announcement. 'Your Mama is going to have a baby!'

Orcik didn't know what he was expecting to hear but it probably wasn't that. He took a moment to think about it. A baby? A little brother or sister? He wouldn't be the littlest anymore. This was good news, surely?

Lily seemed to read his mind. 'Everyone likes babies. MY Mama says I'm going to have another little brother or sister in the next year or so and she's always saying how I was a beautiful baby and smiling and everything and we all love Sammy.' She paused, 'So I don't understand why everyone looks so sad because your Mama is having one.'

Orcik considered 'I don't know,' he concluded at last. 'Maybe they're happy with just me.'

Five year old Lily nodded sagely. 'My Mama said our new baby had to wait until we had enough money because Sammy was too expensive and I heard Papa say he was too early. Maybe your new baby is coming too early as well and that's why everybody's sad. Do you want to play outside now?'

Orcik nodded and both children scampered away grinning, all talk of babies forgotten.

Downstairs a mood of gloom had descended over the house and Dovid wore a worried expression written plainly over his handsome features.

'This is my fault,' he said at last, causing Abraham to shake his head sadly and Ete to rise and cross over to him so she could lay a comforting hand on his forearm.

Golde was laying on the couch in the other room and they had lowered their voices as not to disturb her rest, but she knew full well they were talking about her.

Ete was saying. 'It is the will of God and you know how stubborn Golde can be when she puts her mind to it.'

Dovid shook his head. 'Do you know Ete, that she only ever asked me for two things. The first I was happy to give her, happy to take her home and make a home for myself here as well. I do not regret that, but as God is my witness, I should never have touched her again rather than risk the possibility of a child.'

'There are ways,' Abraham began haltingly, his face reddening with embarrassment.

His brother in law saved him his blushes by cutting him off with a raised hand, abruptly saying. 'Yes I know and we used them but it would have been safer not to even take the tiniest of risks, not with her health at stake.'