Their Miracle Baby

The next time he woke, he was felt stronger, he was able to move his entire arm and open his eyes. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Venetia’s beautiful face looking down at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. He started to speak, but she covered his lips with her fingers.

“Save your strength, you’ve been really sick. You’re getting better, but it was close. Go back to sleep, I’ll be right here,” she said, tucking herself up close to him.

Over the next few days, Lewis’ strength returned slowly, much too slowly in his opinion. But his opinion didn’t seem to count for much. Venetia ruled his sickbed like a lioness overseeing his recovery. Most of this he experienced from behind closed eye lids, it took too much effort the first few days to even open his eyes.

But as he got stronger, the sight of Venetia bustling around the hut, her cheeks glowing kept him from losing his mind. He’d never been so completely debilitated and it was quickly becoming embarrassing to have even his most intimate bodily functions public knowledge. Each day he got stronger until he was finally able to make it outside alone.

Venetia was so excited that she jumped up and down when he made it back into the hut. “Tomorrow you’re going to leave for a while so I can clean this place up. We’ll have a special night just the two of us,” she said, adding silently, so I can tell you about the baby.

Venetia knew that Lewis was completely in the dark about her pregnancy. She’d asked everyone to keep it a secret until she could tell him herself. Now, she’d decided was the time, she’d waited long enough and holding her secret in was becoming harder and harder.

The next afternoon with some help, Lewis made his way to the fire pit while she cleaned their hut. With some help, she removed all the medical equipment and swept the floor, put down fragrant plants then covered them with a new pallet, covered with the soft blanket they’d been given the night of the heart ceremony.

The move exhausted him, but he was pleased with the fresh new look of the hut. He’d been staring at the same mess for days and was glad to see it gone. He couldn’t help but sleep for a few hours, but when he awoke, Venetia had dinner waiting. They shared the meal in silence, but Lewis could feel that she had something on her mind.

After she cleared away the plates, she cuddled up next to him on the fresh bed, loving the sound of his heart beat in her ear. “How much do you remember from the day before you got sick?”

“Not a lot. I remember feeling slightly off, but that’s about it. Why?” he asked, worried he’d forgotten something important.

“Well,” Venetia said, pulling his hand onto her stomach. “I stopped taking my birth control about a month before you got sick. I never thought it would happen that fast, but we’re going to be parents.”

Lewis sat stunned for a moment, trying to take in Venetia’s words, then he realized where his hand was resting and looked down at her stomach. Sure enough, her stomach was slightly rounded where the baby must have been resting.

Looking into her eyes, he pulled her to him and kissed her until she had to pull away to breath. “I don’t suppose the doctor has cleared me for more than kissing,” he said, trying to take off her shirt.

“The doctor thinks that as long as you’re careful that would be perfectly acceptable,” she said, just as eager as he was. “But I think you had better reserve your strength,” she added, helping him out of his clothes before taking hers off.

She mounted him just as she had all those days ago, before she almost lost him, the tears streaming down her cheeks mixing with the ones on Lewis’ face. Taking control, she rode him until with a strangled cry he spilled himself inside her, pulling her over the edge with him. Later as they lay, limbs tanged together, Lewis felt as if he’d been given a gift that was precious.

“I love you, Venetia. I promise to always take care of you and our child. Don’t ever let me forget to live in the present.”

“I love you too, Lewis.” she said, putting his hand on her belly, where the slight swelling held the promise of a happy future.

She knew that it wouldn’t always be perfect, but with the lessons they’d learned in the Amazon, they’d be able to survive all that life would throw at them. Their foundation was strong, forged in the pain that they’d caused one another. For two people who gave out cures for a living, it had taken a lot to cure them of their pain and disappointment. But tomorrow was a new day, a new opportunity to live life and love one another.