Mercedes' Mountain

Part 10

Chapter 13

Three months later on an early spring morning, Ethan sat next to me on the hospital bed, holding my hand and massaging my back to help me with the pain as I waited for the anesthesiologist to come and administer the epidural I had requested. I couldn't help feeling grateful that first time labor took longer, because we had to drive almost an hour to get to the hospital. Of course, having the baby along the way would have given us a grand story to tell our child when he or she was older.

It would have been impossible to put into words what I felt the moment our daughter entered the world. I found that my life was now filled with these kinds of moments. But now, at this moment, I was suddenly more than just someone's daughter. I was a mother with my own daughter to cherish. Weighing in at a healthy eight pounds, four ounces, she was a gift. And she was beautiful. We name her Ivy, after Ethan's mother, knowing Wyatt would be pleased.

Ethan never left my side. He stayed at the hospital with me until I was released the next day. When we left the hospital, we practically took a florist shop home with us. There were flowers from Ethan, Sonya, and Wyatt, and to my amazement and delight, countless ones from Mama and my sister and brothers. I was so grateful for their love and support, even if it was from a distance.

On our first night at home, Ethan and I stood and watched Ivy sleeping in her crib. A warm sense of contentment seeped into me at the feel of my husband's strong arms around me and the vision of our daughter before me. Her life was such a miracle to me. The life God had given me was a miracle to me.

As I gazed at our sleeping daughter, my mind became immersed in thought, once again bringing about the questions I'd silently harbored about life. And now that I was a mother, the questions burned in me even more. I loved my life and I was happy, but deep down, I still knew there was something more. I couldn't understand this need in me to find it. It was a need that I couldn't seem to shake. And with each bit of time that passed, that yearning seemed to grow.

I turned in Ethan's arms, looked into his eyes and softly asked, "Do you think God is happy with us?"

Ethan looked at me with question in his eyes, no doubt wondering where the question had come from. "I don't see why he wouldn't be," he answered. He touched my face. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, we don't attend any church, and though we share the same beliefs, we seem to have no religion." I paused. "Don't you think we need a religion now that we are parents? I mean, surely God will want us to raise Ivy in a church."

He looked over my shoulder at Ivy for a moment, his expression one of contemplation. After a moment, he asked, "Do you think we should look for a church to attend?"

I pressed my face to his shoulder and sighed. That question had been going through my mind for a while, and I didn't have an answer. "I don't know," I finally said.

He pulled back a little and looked into my eyes, pressing a hand to my face. "We will pray about it. Then we will wait for an answer. All right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Okay." I raised up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you so much," I murmured.

He tightened his embrace. "I love you, too." He pulled back a little and looked into my eyes, his eyes filling with tears. "Thank you for marrying me, and for coming up the mountain that day."

I smiled, my heart full of love. "Thank you for being there." He kissed me again then wrapped me in his arms once more. And there was no place else I wanted to be.

~~~~~~~~

The July sun was hot, but the breeze cooled my sunscreen coated skin as Ethan and I walked through downtown Asheville, pushing the covered stroller with three month old Ivy lying contentedly inside. The Belle Chere Festival, an annual summer event where people of diverse cultures displayed various arts, foods, and merchandise, was taking place. I had never seen anything like it. Ethan told me he came to the festival every year, but he had always come alone. He said he was glad he had a wife to bring along this year. I echoed his sentiments.