Julia

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

         Morning came all too soon for Eric. The long trip through the mountains had really been hard on him.  When the sun peeked into this room, he thought that it was a dream and simply rolled over, wishing his eyes would close tighter.  “Didn’t my head just hit the pillow?” he mumbled to himself.  He threw the covers over his head in a last effort to block out the growing light and tried to go back to sleep.
         He did not succeed.  Just as his thoughts began to get fuzzy in that first, warm and comforting stage of sleep, he heard a nock on his door.
         “Mr. Norman, time to get up!”  It was Maryanne.  Now Eric knew that he was not dreaming because when he finally allowed his brain to begin functioning, he could smell bacon and pancakes frying in the kitchen.  Eric could never smell things in his dreams.  No matter how hard he tried, he never smelled anything which often would wake him up from even the most pleasant of dreams.  He never knew the reason for this, it was just the way he had always been and probably always would be.
         Eric got out of bed and got dressed, a little embarrassed at the fact that Maryanne had had to get him out of bed.  When he went into the kitchen, breakfast was ready and on the table.
         “How was your rest?” asked John.  “I hope the bed was suitable.”
         “Oh, everything was fine!” Eric replied.  “Everything was fine.  I’m just a little groggy from the trip yesterday.  It was a little rough and I need some more sleep but I will be fine.”
         “Good!  A little coffee and some breakfast will get you going in a jiffy!” said Maryanne.  She bustled about the small kitchen getting pancakes and bacon for the men.  She set a plate in front of Eric that was piled so high with food, he was afraid that even with his large appetite; over half of it would go to waste.
         As if reading the fear on Eric’s face, Mr. McClooney leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry.  I won’t eat all of mine either.  We give the leftovers to the pigs.”  Eric felt much better hearing that he would not offend anyone by what might seem a small appetite.  He began to work on the stack of buttery cakes in front of him with great eagerness.  The fluffy, golden cakes were so delicious, Eric thought they even rivaled his own mother’s cooking; something he had once thought impossible.  When Eric and John were done eating, Maryanne cleared the plates and the men headed for the barn.
         “I’ll warn you,” John said as he walked toward the barn with Eric.  “She’s not a pretty sight.  She is burstin’ to the seams and she can barely walk.  It makes me want to cry every time I see the poor girl.’  Even as Mr. McClooney said this, he wiped a tear from his cheek.  Eric had no doubt in h is mind whatsoever that the man truly cared for his horse.
         When Eric saw the mare, he understood exactly what John was talking about.  As they entered the barn, Eric could see a row of stalls containing cows, pigs, and horses.  As the men approached the last stall, Eric heard heavy breathing.  John held the lantern up for Eric to see.
         “Poor Sarah,” John sighed.  In the stall was a beautiful brown mare, with a white star on her forehead, and white streaks running through her mane and tail.  She was indeed in bad shape.  The twins in her belly were nearly full term and had stretched her to the limit.  She was so heavy that she could hardly stand.  “She spends most of her time lying down,” commented john.  As they stood in awe of the scene before them Eric could understand now exactly why John had asked him to help.  Not only was this Mr. McClooney’s first experience with foaling, but the poor mare looked absolutely ready to burst.
         Eric suddenly came to himself and sprang into action, becoming the sure breeder that he was.  “We need to make her comfortable so that the labor will go easier for not only her, but the colts as well.  Coax her to lie down if you can; just get her off her feet so that she is not too tired when she does go into labor.  If she is too tired, she may not be able to push them out.  Also, get some water to cool her off; it’s roasting in here!  The more comfortable she is, the better the labor will go.”  John began scurrying around, gathering all the things that Eric mentioned.  As Mr. McClooney began all the necessary preparations, Eric went over to Sarah and began to look her over.  Sarah lifted her nose to look at him and nickered.
         “Shh.  Easy girl.”  Eric cooed as he came near to Sarah.  “I’m here to help you.” S array turned her head to look at him.  Her eyes were soft and full of weariness and pain.  Eric went and felt her belly just as one of the colts kicked.  Sarah blinked as the small creature inside her expanded her stomach even more.  Her eyes rolled back and she seemed to wince.  Sarah began to groan and Eric knew that it would not e long now before things really got going.  He apparently had arrived just in time.  “John, get that water in here quick!  We need to get ready to help her. S he could g o into labor any minute.”
         Eric began to pile clean straw around the mare, so that there would be a soft place for the colts to land, being extra cautious not to startle her.  Just as John McClooney returned with a pail full of cool water and a few towels, Sarah was seized with her first serious contraction.  Eric could tell she was scared because she was showing the whites of her eyes.  He realized that not only was this John’s first time birthing, it was also a first for the mare.
         “Has she been healthy all during the pregnancy?  Has she eaten well and been exercised regularly?” asked Eric trying to get a feel for how smooth this was going to go.          
         “Oh yes.  She has been very good this whole time.  Even my neighbors have said that she is doing well for as big as she is.”
         “I am a bit surprised that she did not go into labor sooner than this.  When did you breed her?”          
         “Oh, she is definitely full term if that is what you are asking.”  John noted the look of surprise in Eric’s face.  He apparently had been imagining a rather early labor and was suddenly hit with the realization of exactly why the mare was so big.  “You are not the only one who is surprised either.  I was sure she would pop if she went to full term.”  Mr. McClooney watched as Eric continued preparations for the birth of the twins.  “Will she be all right Mr. Norman?  I don’t want to lose my horse.  We have been together for quite a while and she is the best I have.”  John talked about the animal with nearly the same affection he used when speaking of his wife.
         Eric simply smiled in response.  “Don’t worry John.  I have no reason to think that anything will go wrong.  By this time tomorrow, we should have three healthy horses here instead of one!”


         It was one o-clock in the morning, the lamp was getting low on oil, and there was still only one horse in the stall.  John and Eric had been up all day and well into the night, but try as they might, they could not manage to coax even one colt out of its mother’s womb.
         Sarah was exhausted, and it showed.  She had been patient and trusting with the two men, somehow instinctively knowing that they would deliver her babies safely.  But as the contractions had increased, her trust had turned to fear, and now was slowly turning into panic.
         “Something is not right.” Eric said as he looked at the sweaty breathless mare.  “I expected this to take loner than normal, but not this long.”  Eric quickly stripped his shirt off and got down on the hay next to Sarah.  This was going to take drastic measures.  “Easy girl.  It’s all right.”  Sarah looked back at him with pleading yet trustful eyes.  Slowly, Eric slid his arm into the birth canal and groped for the first baby’s head.  Suddenly, a contraction seized Sarah.  She jumped at the force of it.  Eric shut his eyes and clamped his jaw down as the muscles of the mare threatened to crush his arm.  When the contraction ceased, Eric pulled his arm out of the birth canal.
         “Everything is as it should be for the birth.  I think her contractions just aren’t strong enough. She has been stretched too far, and now she can’t push them out.”  Eric could se the worry on John’s face.
         “What do we do now?”
         “I will have to reach up and grab the legs of the first colt.  We will have to pull it out and hopefully what will relieve enough of the pressure on her and she can deliver the second by herself.”  Eric began to get into position.
         “What do I do?? inquired John who now looked nearly as scared as his mare.
         “When I get the legs out, grab hold and we’ll pull with her next contraction.”  John nodded his head and went to stand behind Eric.
         Once again, Eric began to fish for the tiny colt inside the mare.  “There’s the head, and…” he groped for the legs.  Grabbing hold he began to pull, easily at first, then harder as the next contraction came.  Muscles clamped down on his arm like a vice, and pain shot through his whole body.  Slowly the legs of the little colt began to appear.  “Pull!  PULL!” cried Eric.  John rushed over to Eric’s side and took hold of the tiny legs.  Together, both men heaved with the next contraction and out slid a little filly.
         Sarah heaved a great sigh as the filly finally slid out of her womb.  She looked behind her at this small miracle.  The colt had the same streaks through its tail as its mother did, but did not have streaks in its mane, nor did it have a star on its forehead.  Its body was brown and it had a white birthmark in the shape of a heart on its left lank.
         “Wow!” breathed John as his eyes began to glisten.  “What a beauty.”
         Yes.  It is beautiful.”  The filly began to struggle, trying to get its legs beneath it.  “A good strong horse it will be too.”  The filly got on its feet and looked around, then fell over.
         “Ha ha!  Yes it will be good, just as soon as it gets its sense of balance.”
         “Well, the rest of the labor should go well.  Her muscles are not as stretched, and the birth canal is wider from the first one.  We should have another wiggling little beast here shortly!”


         Morning came and birds were chirping merrily outside Julia’s window.  She never even heard them.  After she had brought Jason in the house, she had gone back to bed, and fallen into a light sleep.  However, the sleep did not last long.  She was awakened when Jason got up and went to the front door. After that, every time she would drift between consciousness and dreams, she would hear howling in her subconscious and would jolt back awake, thinking that Jason was at it again.  However everything she woke, she realized it was only in her mind, that the dog was being silent and thus she could go to sleep.  Except that, she couldn’t.  This went on for quite a while, until bout an hour before dawn she finally passed out from exhaustion.
         Julia woke up about four o’clock in the afternoon to the sound of Jason scratching at the front door.  She looked up at the clock on her wall and realized what time it was.
         “Oh no!” she grunted.  She realized that she had missed all her chores and that she would not be able to catch up on them today.  “Ohh...”
         She rolled out of bed and threw clothes on.  Groggy and still very tired, she walked out into the kitchen to make breakfast, or lunch, or whatever it was.  Jason was sitting next to the door looking toward her as she came in.
         “What do you want?” she snarled.  Jason merely sat there as if to say that he did not want a thing.  Julia gathered two eggs, bacon and coffee and began to cook her afternoon breakfast.  As she began to cook, Jason slowly trotted over and began to sniff at the food.  “Get out of my kitchen!” she barked.  He slumped off and went to lie next to the door again.  Julia finished making breakfast then set all her food on the table.  When she turned around to pour her coffee, the dog once again sneaked toward the table and snatched a piece of bacon.  Julia turned around just in time to catch him too.  It was the last straw.
         “Get out of my house!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.  “Get out!”  She chased Jason over to the door, threw it open and gave him a hard kick off the porch.  Jason scampered off a little way with his tail between his legs, then turned to look at the still screaming Julia.
         “First you come to my house, and then you ruin my sleep and make me miss all my chores, now you steal my food!  You had better go back to where you came from or so help me I, I… I’ll kill you!”  With that she slammed the door and went back to her food.  Julia ate in silence, letting all her anger fester and grow like a thorn in her foot.  She washed the dishes and put them away, then went out to feed the horses.
         When she stepped out onto the porch, she did not see Jason.  Good.  The mongrel must have gone home like I told him to! she thought in triumph.  Then she thought of the fact that he might get lost.  She felt slightly bad for screaming at him, but then decided that he definitely deserved it for all that he had done to her.  Besides, he wouldn’t get lost.  He could sniff his way home, that is, at least, as long as he could smell the trail over his own stench. However, as she neared the barn, she heard a scrambling and Jason came tearing out o it just as she got to he door.  He ran right past her and into the field toward the river.
         “Get!” Julia said as he went past her.  Jason ran past her and out into the tall grass, crossing the path to the river and slowly coming to a halt in the middle of the open space, where he planted himself and did not move.
         Julia went about her chores, mucking what she could of the stalls and feeding the horses.  When she was all done, she could not do anything more, however there was still about an hour of good daylight lift.
         “Hmm…” Julia thought to herself.  She did not want to just sit around and not do anything until bedtime, but what could she do until then?  It was then that she spied Jason.  He was still sitting out in the middle of the field, watching her.  “Why doesn’t he go home?" she asked herself. S he thought of the previous night and decided that she did not want to go through that again, yet she would not let him stay another night in her house while he was that filthy either.  She stood in front of the barn a moment longer as an evil grin spread across her face, then went into the house to gather a few things she needed to complete one final task while there was still enough light left to do it.
         When Julia came out of the house, she carried a basket filled with towels and soap.  Then she went in the barn to get a good sturdy rope.  She came out of the barn with a cheery smile on her face.  “Here Jason!” she called as sweetly as she could through her still heated anger.  Jason picked up his ears and looked at her.  Julia whistled and called again. “Here boy.”  The dog leaped up and bounded toward her, jumping up and down as he neared her.  “Not on me!” she exclaimed, a hint of her true anger slipping through to her voice as he put his muddy paws on her front.  “Let’s go.” She began to head for the river, Jason right on her heels.
         Julia led Jason to her secret place, then placed the basket down.  She stripped off her shirt and shoes then slowly took a bar of soap out of the basket.  She laid her clothes on the bushes, then looked around for Jason.
         He was playing in the pool.  Water splashed about as he swam and played.  Julia smiled.  “He is going to make my job much easier!” she took the rope and headed for the water.  Come here!” Jason trudged through the water and came at her with a bound.  “No, no, STOP!” Julia shouted as he began to shake dirty water all over her.  “Ahhh!” she growled then took the rope and tied it around Jason’s neck.  She then tied the other end around a tree so that he could not get away from her, but he could still get in the river.  “It’s time you had a bath!” she said.  “You are not going to stay one more night in my house if you are this filthy and stinky.”  Even though Jason had been in the water already, he was still covered in mud and other unpleasantries.  It dripped off his body in clumps along with the water.
         Julia walked over to him with the bar of soap in hand.  “Come here boy,” she said.  Jason complied, bounded out of the water to her, and began to shake mud and water all over her again.  She was mad!  She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, not bothering to try and keep herself clean as she worked on this gruesome project, jerked him over to the water and, straddling his back, proceeded to scrub him vigorously with the soap.  He howled and pleaded and even threatened to bite her, but Julia just scrubbed all the harder, not even bothering to be gentle.  Whenever the poor mutt tried to get away, she would grab his fur and yank him back - or if he were out of her reach she would take the rope and pull him to her.  Julia scrubbed until the sun was nearly gone, making slow but sure progress on the muck that covered him from head to tail, wondering as she went how anyone could allow their pet to become this disgusting.  It might only have taken fifteen minutes to do if not for all the running, howling, and squirming from Jason.  Eventually, however, he got the idea that he was not going anywhere, and so, held still and reduced his howling to a mere pathetic whine.
         When Julia was sure that she had washed all the mud off the pathetic dog and he no longer smelled like a manure pile, she gave him a few more splashes with the water to make sure his fur had been rinsed clean, and then got out to grab a towel.  No sooner had she let go of Jason, than he was out of the river shaking off droplets of water and getting Julia even more wet than she already was.  “No!” she cried as the dog proceeded to roll in the dirt and the weeds at the edge of the bank.  What little patience she had had at the beginning of this little project was quickly wearing thin.
         Jason continued to roll until Julia caught him and shoved him back in the water.  This time she spared no gentleness as she scrubbed him down once again, then walked him out of the water, holding onto his head high as she went so that he could not even sit down.
         Julia held Jason between her legs, squeezing his middle to make him stay put.  She vigorously toweled him off.  “Now, how do I gather my things and keep you from rolling at the same time?” she asked Jason.  HE simply whined a pathetic response.  She thought for only a minute longer, before tying Jason to a nearby tree.  She wound the rope under his middle to keep him from sitting in the dirt.
         Julia gathered her things in the basket and untied Jason. She began to walk back toward the house with him in tow. She kept the leash very short and walked fairly quickly to keep Jason from stopping anywhere to sniff or roll.  The instant she reached the house, she threw the door open and rushed inside.  It was then that she finally let go of the leash, much to the relief of Jason who pranced around the house as if to say “I’m free, I’m free!” Julia just glared at him.
         The rest of the evening, Julia sat around near the fire and just relaxed.  Jason curled up in a dark corner of the kitchen and went to sleep.  About an hour after sunset, Julia went to sleep herself, just glad that he day was over and hopeful that the night would go smoothly.


         Eric was right.  Within the next hour another squirming, blinking colt was standing next to Sarah.  “I never would have believed that it was possible!” exclaimed John.  “I could never have done it alone.  Thank you so much Mr. Norman.”  He stuck his hand out toward Eric, who took it.
         “You are very welcome John.  It was my pleasure to help you bring these little miracles into the world.”
         The young colts looked nearly exactly the same.  The first had a heart-shaped birthmark on its left flank; the second had one on its right flank.  Both had white streaks through their tails.  The two men stood and admired the beautiful colts.  After a few moments, Eric sighed and spoke, “Well, my work here is through; I am sure you can handle it from here.  I will stay the rest of tomorrow, to make sure that hey are all right, then I will go home.”
         “How much will you charge for this?  I need to know soon so we can work out some sort of payments.  I am a rather poor man you know and I now have two more horses to feed.”  There was a hint of worry in John’s voice.
         “Do not worry about payments for now.  If ever I need a favor from you, I will ask.  I am just happy that these fillies are alive and well.  It was almost payment enough to be able to witness this.  Besides, I understand your difficulty with money.  I was not always a successful man.”          
John looked relieved.  “I will let you go on to the house and go to bed.  I will come and get you if there seems to be anything wrong.
         “Thank you.”  Eric yawned and stretched.  He thought of the soft bed in his room and smiled to himself.  It was a very inviting thought.  He walked to the house, went into his room, and crawled into bed.  The long night had exhausted him and he was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.


         Julia awoke with the sun the next morning.  The sky was bright with the colors of the morning. S he lay in the comfort of her bed and enjoyed the sounds of the birds outside her window.  A soft breeze filtered into her room and ruffled the curtains.  It was going to be a beautiful day.
         After lying in bed for a few moments, Julia got up.  She put on a robe and went into the kitchen to start breakfast.  Jason was waiting for her in the hall when she first opened the door of her room.  “What do you want?" she growled as she ran a hand though her tousled hair.  Jason wagged his tail and panted, then trotted over through the living room and to the door.  There he waited for Julia to let him outside.  She walked over and opened the door.
         The dog leaped out and down the steps.  When he reached the ground he began to run around the yard, looking for a bush on which he might do his business.  First he would stop and sniff this bush or that plant, then he would run a little further and stop to roll in the grass.  Julia just watched with uninterest, then decided that he would not be done any time soon, and so, went back into the house.
         She made herself breakfast, then changed and got ready to do the morning chores.  When she went outside, Jason was sitting on the front porch, waiting for her.  Julia just ignored him and went about her daily chores.  The sun reached its peak quickly, and just as quickly it began it’s decent.  Julia worked hard all day and she was soon caught up with her chores from the day before.  Jason did not annoy her as much as the previous day, but he still seemed to be more of a nuisance than a help.  Julia wished that Eric had not brought the stupid dog here in the first place.
         That night, Jason insisted that Julia leave her door open.  He did not want to sleep in her room as before, yet he did not want her to be cut off from him.  After much frustration in finding out what he really wanted, Julia went to bed, once again swearing that as soon as Eric returned, she would get rid of the animal once and for all.
         As Julia lay in bed trying to go to sleep, she could not help but worry a bit.  Why was Jason acting this way?  Why did he insist on sleeping in front of the front door and with Julia’s door open?  She knew from experience that most animals had a sort of sixth sense. She didn’t know what “normal” behavior was for the dog, but still, he hadn’t acted this way the night before and that made her uneasy. S he had learned to read the body language of animals to try and discern what may be wrong.  They had instincts that many humans did not.  Eventually, Julia fell into a light sleep feeling suddenly more than very uncomfortable.