Free Gold Hill by Claudia Hall Christian

lovely young
man,” Camila said. “When I heard about Blane, I went to see
Delphie. Was he going to help me? My ladies? Sure enough. He’s been
a miracle. Even the worst, most difficult pregnancies, he is there
to make it all better – during and after.”
    “ What does Blane do?”
Valerie asked.
    “ Acupuncture,” Camila
said. “The little needles keep the pain away. Only healthy ladies
and happy babies. Let me take a look.”
    Valerie put her feet in the
stirrups and scooted down.
    “ Jake and Delphie get to
see Mom all the time,” Valerie said. “I haven’t seen her since she
died . . . She practically raises Katy, that’s
Jake’s daughter. But me . . .
I . . . ”
    Fat tears fell from
Valerie’s eyes.
    “ You don’t want to lose
her again,” Camila said.
    “ I can’t lose her again,”
Valerie sobbed in earnest.
    “ It seems to
me . . . ,” Camila’s voice came from between
her legs. “I’m going to feel around a bit.”
    “ Okay.” Valerie said
between sobs.
    “ It seems to me that if
your mother almost raises your brother’s daughter and Delphinium
sees her all the time, she must be here a lot.”
    “ Sure.”
    “ But you can’t see
her.”
    “ I can’t see her,” Valerie
said.
    “ And seeing her is the
only thing that matters?”
    “ No,
but . . . ”
    “ Do you feel your mother?”
Camilla asked.
    “ Um . . . ” Valerie said.
    Camila’s head peeked out
over Valerie’s legs.
    “ How do you know your
husband loves you?” Camila asked. “I know your husband loves you. I
could see it all over him. You?”
    “ He shows me every day,”
Valerie said.
    “ But what about when you
are at work in on a movie and he is here painting?” Camila asked.
“What happens when he can’t show you?”
    “ I just know.”
    “ So why don’t you ‘just
know’ that your mother loves you and is around all the time?”
Camila asked.
    Camila disappeared again.
When her head appeared again, her face held the
question.
    “ Why don’t you know your
mother is around all the time?” Camila repeated.
    “ I can’t see her,” Valerie
said.
    “ Bah, seeing is not so
important,” Camila said. “You think about it. I’m going to speak
with Blane. Are you all right with him helping you?”
    “ I love Blane,” Valerie
said. “I was hoping to help him today.”
    “ With the blood from the
cord,” Camila said. “Yes, we will save more than one life
today.”
    “ More than one
life?”
    “ Your baby will die if she
doesn’t enter this world soon,” Camila said. “You think. I’ll be
right back.”
    Valerie stared at the
ceiling for a while and closed her eyes. When she opened them,
Celia was leaning over her.
    “ I am always here, Val,”
Celia said. “Why would I be anywhere else?”
    “ But . . . ”
    “ There’s not been a moment
of your life that I haven’t been watching,” Celia said. “It’s much
easier now.”
    “ I’m scared,” Valerie
said.
    “ Every woman is scared the
first time,” Celia said. “Blane will help. Camila is a
God-send.”
    “ I can’t lose you again,”
Valerie wept.
    “ You’ve never lost me,”
Celia smiled.
    “ Never?”
    “ Never.”
    “ Val?” Mike peeked his
head in. “Are you ready?”
    “ You’re sure?” Valerie
asked her mother.
    “ Never.”
    “ I’m ready,” Valerie
said.
    “ Let’s have a baby,”
Camila said. Tanesha moved into the room to help.
“Blane?”
    Like a fresh wind, Blane
followed Mike into the room. Samantha moved to the other side of
Valerie. Blane picked up Valerie’s wrist to take her Chinese
Medicine pulses.
    “ Is it okay now?” Delphie
asked.
    “ Delphie!” Valerie held
out her hands and Delphie rushed in the room.
    “ Where’s Dad?” Valerie
asked.
    Sam Lipson stuck his head
into the room.
    “ Hi Daddy!” Valerie
waved.
    “ Men out,” Camila said.
“Except Blane.”
    Mike kissed Valerie’s cheek
and went out of the room.
    “ We take everything