Part 60

The movie marathon spread over two days. After all the girls still had school. And with Charlotte home from the hospital Sam's long term medical leave ran out and he had to return to work, and Debbie, despite looking fine, tired easily.

The days that followed were cookie cutter cut outs: get up, go to work or school, come home to homework and dinner, watch a movie. After the girls and Sam left Charlotte and her mom would have their coffee and sit and look through family albums, or plow through a scrap box or two, in between doctors appointments.

This morning, Charlotte dug out the bin of old family photos. "It was always my intention to put these in an album."

"I don't know, sweetheart. There is something exciting about digging into the pile and pulling out a handful of old relatives. Our family wasn't one to be tamed between the sheets... of a book."

Was her mother trying to make a joke? "Still maybe they should be labeled. Otherwise the girls and their girls will say this is somebody, but I don't know who."

Taking a deep swig of her coffee Debbie had to concede that one to her daughter. "Get a pen and I'll give you a hand."

For most of the day, barely stopping to eat, the two ladies labeled the back of the photographs with all the information they could remember. With each picture there was s story and after hours of listening Charlotte got out the old tape recorder and recorded her mother's tales.

"This is your great grandfather on my mother's father's side, George Brown. This picture was taken right after he bought the old farm up on Walnut."

"Did he live their when you knew him?"

"Oh he swore he'd died on that farm."

"Did he?"

Debbie nodded. "But not until I was married to your father. Grandpa said it was living so close to the land that kept him alive so long."

Charlotte's thoughts flashed forward and to her own mother's mortality and to the life she carried within her. She could do nothing about either. Her mother, showing slight signs of slowing, was determined to live each day fully. And the baby, although very active and growing, was still not developing as well as they hoped. According to Dr. Houseman, "the large head size is indicative of fluid collecting near the brain." Charlotte caught the word indicative and said, "But you don't know. He could just have a large head."

For the hundredth time in twenty doctors appointments spread over two months the doctor let out a sigh, "Charlotte I've seen more of this type of defect than I care to admit. If the baby makes it full term, he may not live for very long." Feeling as good as she was towards the end of her second trimester, she was not going to worry. Everything always works out for the best. She dug her hand into the bin before her and introduced herself to some more relatives.

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