Twice Loved at Armageddon

Twice Loved at Armageddon, Part XVII

On their way back to Palestine, Farah thinks she is pregnant.  But she is deathly ill.  When she closes her eyes, Scott cries out to God in grief but soon is thankful for the time they had together.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Their ship took thirty days to reach Akko.  It was necessary for the galley crews to row the entire way.  On their final day before their arrival Scott and Farah walked the deck as was their custom.  They had left their companions Naboth and Ruth to share their cabin in the rear.  They had expressed incredible relief to think it would be possible to see their homes again so soon after months of despair.

   Scott looked forward to better food than the wine, cheese, and bread they had daily aboard ship.  He then looked at Farah and asked her what she would like to eat once they arrived.  She looked at him as if holding back something. 

   After she hesitated, he asked her again, “What do you look forward to having?”

   She thought more as Scott’s impatience started building.  He paused. “Forgive me for such a silly request.  It doesn’t matter, my love.” 

   After a time, she smiled and said, “You know you once spoke about how women in my condition crave the strangest things at the most inopportune times.  What’s that strange combination of food I heard you once talked about women wanting? What did you call it?  Oh, yes, I have it now!”

Ice cream and pickles

   Scott paused.  He asked himself if he heard what he thought he heard.  His change from annoyance with Farah to overwhelming joy was instant.  His face took on a broad smile as his eyes lit up.  He patted her stomach with gentleness. The crew got the message and began laughing and cheering. Scott reached for her and lifted her high over his head and twirled her around and around.  No one in the ancient world had ever heard what came next.

   “Wow!”

   He put her down and kissed her in front of all of them.  They cheered again.  In his excitement, he said, “Oh, I hope it’s a girl!  I hope we have all girls.  I hope they all look just like you!”  He picked her up again and spun her around.

   So relieved was she to hear, she added, “In a few months I’ll no longer look like your supermodel.”

   He cried with joy, saying, “How did I miss your glow all of this time!”  He couldn’t stop kissing her.  He took her to a bench on the ship where he hugged and kissed her for moments at a time until the ship reached Akko.

   They spent the night in Akko after the evening meal with Naboth and Ruth, who were becoming fast friends.  Then they retired to their rooms.  Scott and Farah sat up on the bed.  He held her as they leaned back against the wall.  Well into the evening he talked to her about bringing little girls up in his world.

   He said they were a delight to watch grow up.  They would play with Barbie dolls, wear pigtails, parade around every year in Easter outfits, and go to school.  He spoke of how boys ask to carry little girls’ books.  As they grew up, they would call them at home on the phone.  They would talk to boys for hours.  When they became young women, he would try to scare every boy into proper behavior.

   “Even a grown-up daughter,” he told Farah, “never stops being daddy’s little girl in my world.  Daddy never stops loving his daughter.  Then one day, she comes in and says she will be a wife like you.  They marry and then have beautiful daughters for their proud grandfather and grandmother, not for themselves.” He was speaking in jest. “We’ll show them our love all over again.  You’ll be the most beautiful grandmother.”