The hospital environment was weighing heavily on Emily. From behind the wall came the cries of newborns, and the young woman irritably pressed her palms to her ears. But it did not help. The piercing infant wails gave Emily a splitting headache. Right now, she longed for only one thing—to get out of the maternity ward as soon as possible and pretend that none of it had ever happened.
But the elderly midwife, Aunt Valerie, returned and began persuading her once again:
– Emily, dear, maybe you will change your mind after all. You have such a wonderful little girl. She looks so much like you! Just look at her, or you will regret it later.
– No! I have already made my decision. I signed the refusal papers. The rest is your responsibility. Please leave me alone, – and at that moment the young woman burst into sobs. – Tell me, where would I even take her? I have nowhere to go with her, do you understand, nowhere!
– What do you mean, nowhere? You live somewhere, after all. You are not homeless, – Aunt Valerie replied sternly, narrowing her eyes. – Do you have parents?
– Only my mother, and she is no longer young. She needs help herself. And here I would show up with a child. The whole village would start laughing. Do you really not understand? – Emily said through sobs.
– All the better—let them laugh. At least it will be cheerful! – the midwife joked with a smile, then paused for a moment and added:
– What difference does it make what people say? They will always find something to gossip about. But you will have a daughter. You would never forgive yourself afterward. You would think about her for the rest of your life.
Emily cried even louder. The elderly midwife realized she was on the right track and continued with enthusiasm:
– Just look at what a pretty little nose the baby has. Exactly like yours. I can already imagine what a beauty she will grow up to be!
– But I have absolutely no money! I need to buy clothes, diapers. I do not even know what to do next, – the confused young woman muttered.
– That is what you are worried about! We have a special fund here to help mothers in need. We will buy everything your little daughter needs. We will see you to the station and put you on the train. So calm down and think instead about what you will name the baby.
– I have already thought of one—Faith, – Emily replied quietly, smiled, and wiped away her tears.
– That is wonderful! What a lovely name! Come on, feed little Faith now, and I will check back a bit later, – and with that, Aunt Valerie finally handed the infant to the mother.
Emily carefully took the baby in her arms and felt an overwhelming surge of tenderness. No, now she would never part with her sweet little Faith, not for anything in the world!
– Well? – the doctor asked excitedly. – Were you able to convince the mother after all?
– Yes, yes! I am so happy, – the midwife replied cheerfully. – Such a weight has been lifted from my heart. I think everything will turn out well for them.
Midwife Valerie Thompson kept her promise—she bought everything the child needed and accompanied Emily to the train station. The young mother could not take her eyes off the baby. She held her tightly to her chest, gazed at her, stroked her head, and whispered tender words.
– You see? And you were so worried, – Aunt Valerie said with a smile.
– Thank you so much! Now it is even embarrassing to think that I wanted to give up my daughter. I do not know what came over me. I was very frightened, thought I would not cope, – Emily said quietly and blushed.
– Do not worry! I understand everything; your situation is truly difficult. But all problems will be solved, and good times will come. You could have lost your daughter forever. You would have been deprived of the most important thing in life. And I made a terrible mistake in my youth, a fateful one. I still cannot forgive myself!
– Aunt Valerie, what do you mean? – Emily asked in surprise. – For me, you are an example of kindness. How could such a person make a mistake?
– All right, there is still time before the train. I will tell you the truth, – the woman said and wiped away the tears that had welled up. – Life was very hard for me. I lost my parents early. They paid pennies at work. And suddenly an unwanted pregnancy! At first I was lost, cried for a long time, pitied myself, poor thing. Then I went to doctors. But no one wanted to help. It was already too late. Then, to my misfortune, I turned to a village herbalist. She helped me terminate the pregnancy. True, it did not pass without consequences. Since then, I could no longer have children. I found a good man, got married, lived together for several years, thought about a child. But the gynecologist diagnosed infertility.
– And there was nothing that could be done? – Emily asked, upset.
– No, treatment was useless; the doctors gave no hope, – the woman continued her story.
– So my husband could not bear it. He loved me, but still left. Met someone else, married, and I was left alone. I decided to become a midwife. I have no children of my own, but I help others be born.
– I sincerely sympathize with you. You are such a kind woman. Thank you so much for not letting me make a mistake, – Emily said in a hushed voice.
– All right, do not dwell on it. That is my fate, I suppose. If anything, you know where I work. If it gets hard, be sure to come; we will figure something out together.
Having settled in her seat, Emily looked out the window. The midwife standing on the platform took out a handkerchief and began wiping her tears. The young woman tapped on the glass, then smiled and waved. Aunt Valerie waved her handkerchief and shouted loudly:
– Goodbye! Take care of Faith!
The journey to her native village turned out to be very difficult. Due to intense worries over the past few days, Emily had hardly slept. So she arrived home exhausted and worn out. With one hand, the young woman held the child tightly; in the other, she carried a large bag of things.
– Emily, hello! We have not seen you here for a long time! – shouted the neighbor standing by the fence.
– Hello, Aunt Susan! Do you know if my mother is home?
– What, you still do not know anything? Your mother passed away. It has been six months already. And I see you arrived with a child. Oh, it is going to be hard for you now!
From the terrible news, Emily’s head spun. She barely made it to the house. But she could not lose heart and cry— the baby had fallen asleep in her arms. “Do not worry, Faith. You are here, so I will manage.”
***
Faith grew up a healthy and very cheerful girl. But one day she became sad.
– Darling daughter, what is wrong? Did someone offend you at school? Tell me, I will go and sort it out.
– All my friends go to their grandmothers for holidays, and they are always awaited there eagerly. And what about me? I will be ten soon. And I still have not seen my grandmother, – the girl answered sadly.
– Our grandma lived here, in this house. But she has been gone from this world for a long time. What can you do, darling.
– And what about the other grandmother? – persistent Faith did not give up. – After all, every child should have two grandmothers.
– You know, darling, we do have another grandmother—Grandma Valerie. She works in the maternity hospital. Tomorrow we will go visit her.
Alas, at work they did not find Valerie Thompson. It turned out that the midwife had long since retired. Her health no longer allowed her to work. Fortunately, Emily managed to get the elderly woman’s address from the nurse on duty.
As they approached Aunt Valerie’s house, Emily thought anxiously, “What if we are already too late?” But her fears were unfounded. The woman was holding up cheerfully and had hardly changed outwardly.
– Emily, is that you? What a surprise! And this, I understand, is Faith? What a wonderful girl! Come in, come in, we will have some tea; I just baked pancakes, – the old lady bustled about joyfully and led the unexpected guests into the room.
The tea party lasted a long time. The women talked heartily, and Faith played with the cat all evening.
– You know, Emily, I do not want to let you go at all! Maybe you will stay with me? You will find good work; there are so many opportunities in the city.
– The city is nice, of course, but I am used to the village. I have a vegetable garden there, chickens. How can I abandon the household? Maybe you should move in with us instead? – Emily asked hopefully.
– And why not! I have dreamed all my life of living in the countryside, – exclaimed Valerie Thompson, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.
– Grandma, my dear grandma! – Faith cried joyfully. – You will come to live with us forever?
– Yes, granddaughter, forever.
Emily helped the old lady pack huge suitcases, and the next day they already arrived in the village. All three were incredibly happy. Emily felt the support of a close, dear person. Valerie Thompson was no longer lonely. And Faith finally had a beloved grandmother.
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