Red Dead Revelation I: A Good Thing (ArthurXEliza)

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Mother's Love

It's nearing the end of December. A storm blows outside, but the cabin is safe and warm. They've plenty of wood and canned goods, Eliza will just need to make sure the money lasts. She's knitting some baby clothes while Isaac does more sums. Eliza absentmindedly hums and sings a lullaby. The music is soothing and makes Isaac miss the evenings when Arthur would be reading the almanac or cleaning his saddle, Eliza would sing, and he would draw. They were all together. He gets up from the floor and walks up to his mother. He bends over and lays his torso across her lap and rests his head on her belly, which has grown a bit in size. She continues to hum and the music resonates with her body; he can hear it as his ear rests on her.

"I like when you sing, Mama."

She stops and looks down at her son. "You do?" she asks, her voice warm and soft.

"Yes." He lifts his head and stands back up. He begins to crawl into her lap and she quickly sets her knitting aside. "Daddy does, too!"

She arches her eyebrows, surprised. "I didn't know that."

Isaac lays his head on her chest and relaxes. "Yes, he told me."

She rests her chin atop his head and wraps her arms around him. "What did he exactly say?"

"He said...he said it made him happy. He said it was like the pretty birdies."

She kisses the top of his head. She knows being pregnant makes her emotional, but she cannot help but let a tear fall.

***

Christmas is tomorrow--got his lasso hanging by the fireplace. I have hardly had the time to think about times when I was little, but I find that holidays tend to bring out the memories.

I remember one Christmas we went to church, my folks and me, and the reverend was reading out the Nativity scene. I didn't fully understand the words, I was not much older than Isaac at the time, and the words used in the Bible are written a little different. But I do remember my father whispering in my ear--explaining things to me as it was being read. It was then that I understood. It was a beautiful story of love and peace in a time of trouble. I remember how I felt at the time--like I had discovered something truly special. I found my mother's Bible today--I think I might read some.

***

He loves his lasso, if it weren't so darn cold, I just might have let him mess around with it outside. I love him so dearly. He is such a good boy--he has hardly given me any grief.

I hope that this new one will be easy and if I do have a hard time I have a feeling Isaac will help me with some things. I still want him to be a kid himself, so I won't ask much from him. he has already insisted that HE be the one to teach them fishing. With that in mind, I'd say that is a high honor.

***

January. Eliza has never liked the winters, but she really dislikes being pregnant in winter. It makes doing chores more challenging, as she's fatigued and is carrying more weight. Plus, being in the cold makes her joints ache. And yet, she enjoys being able to go outside, otherwise, both she and Isaac are stuck in the cabin all day.

Eliza pours the one cup of hot coffee allowed for the day into a tin cup and sets it down at the table next to her journal. She begins to go through a list of baby names she wrote down and reads them aloud to herself.

"Geoffrey? No...Albert, no...Adam? Eh...no...Oh, maybe Jack? Erm...maybe not..."

Isaac's inquisitive nature gets the best of him and he walks over to her. "What are you doing?"

She takes a sip of her coffee and moves to let him have a look. She sets her cup back down. "Thinking of a name for the baby."

He looks them over. Some words he can read. Some of the names are too long and look strange to him. "But, Mommy, these are boy names."