Nurse Abroad(15)

Sarah turned back to the young mother, examined her, said, “Oh!” just as the woman on the bed said, “That’s funny ... I feel, I feel odd ...”

Sarah said in a matter-of-fact tone, recovering her professional poise, “Of course you do, there’s another one here. Isn’t that a thrill? Aren’t we clever, managing twins by ourselves? Did you know you were having twins?”

The girl calmed. “No, but I did think it was a more active baby than Josephine. Thought from that it would probably be a boy. Can you—”

“Can I manage? Of course. I once brought triplets into the world. Three boys, and as the mother already had four girls they were delighted. They are three years old now.”

Mrs. Granger mustn’t know how her heart had sunk ... that wasn’t going to be so easy a birth ... The other one had had all the luck ... her expert eye could detect that. “Draw in your breath a moment ...” She went quietly to the kitchen.

“Grant,” she said, “ring the doctor, tell him to get here as soon as possible ... there’s another baby, and it’s not coming well. I’m going to try to turn it. I’ll manage, but I’d like him here as soon as possible.”

She opened a door into the laundry, saw a clothes-basket, dropped in a couple of cushions, opened a cupboard she rightly guessed was for linen, took out a fleecy blanket, wrapped the baby, put him into it.

As Grant went to the phone, he said, “Sarah, if you need help call me. I’d not be embarrassed. After all, I’ve brought so many lambs and calves into the world I might be able to help.”

Sarah said over her shoulder, “I’ll call you if I must. See if the wee girl knows where her mother has the napkins and bassinet.” She vanished.

By the time another, much smaller baby lay on the bed there were beads of perspiration on Sarah’s forehead, and the mother was quite exhausted.

Sarah covered her up, called Grant. He came immediately, a pile of napkins under one arm, cot blankets under the other.

Sarah slipped outside the bedroom door, said, taking the things from him, “Bring the baby in the basket in here ... you’ll have to take over the other. The mother is in bad shape, I’ve got to get her right first. You’ll have to take over the other baby. I want you to slap her hard, with a wet towel... primitive, but all I can do.”

She was surprised at the speed at which Grant moved. She gave him his instructions, placing the baby on pillows on the wide window seat. “Now, keep at it,” she said.

The girl on the bed was almost past worrying, but not quite.

“Sarah, is my baby all right? The last one?”

“Yes ... Grant’s fixing her. In a moment you’ll hear her yell like fury. Now, over again.”

Suddenly they heard a weak, welcome wail, a wail that gradually increased. “Keep it up, Grant,” said Sarah, still busy with the ministrations. “You’re doing fine.” She had cleared the baby’s nose of mucus ... the lungs sounded clearer now. She finished with the mother, heaved a sigh. Nothing more she could do till the doctor got here.

She tucked Nancy down, patted her. “There, now you’re fine. You’ll see your lovely twins in a moment.” She crossed to the window-seat. “I’ll take over, Grant. You’ve been wonderful. Any chance of your getting a kettle on, and making us a cup of tea, a strong one?”

Grant said, “I’ve got two on, both should be boiling by now.” There was pride in his voice. “The only thing I could remember was that the old midwives always set the men to heating water.”

He went out of the room. Sarah continued working over the baby girl, but her worst fears were allayed now. In a few moments she wrapped the baby up and swathed it in a bunny rug, picking it up with nonchalant ease.

Nancy’s eyes were shadowed and deep-set, and her lips were bloodless, but as Sarah put the two babies beside her, the color suddenly flowed into the blanched face, and a joy that brought the tears to Sarah’s own eyes lit up Nancy’s.

Grant came in at that moment, with a tray. He stopped dead in the doorway, halted by the scene. It was probably something he would never see again. The joy of other looking on her child for the first time.

He though the look was oddly mirrored on Sarah’s face. He supposed nurses did feel like that ... sharing in the joy of birth.

Sarah turned. “Oh, good. I can do with it. It seems ages since we sat down for that quiet cup of tea, Grant.”

The baby boy went into the clothes-basket, the wee girl into the bassinet. Sarah slipped out into the kitchen to fill hot water bottles for babes and mother. Nancy’s teeth were chattering.

“That’s just shock,” said Sarah, pouring out the tea. No one would have guessed how her ears were strained for the sound of the doctor’s arrival. Nancy Granger had haemorrhaged too much.

Grant put a hand on Nan’s hair with a curiously reverent air.

“Good lass,” he said. “You’ve been brave. Thank the lord Sarah was here. I’d have been in a rare old flap if I’d been here alone. Can I bring Josephine in now? She’s been so good. I didn’t want to scare her, so I just said you were having a pretty busy time getting ready for the new baby who’d be here any time, and she was just to cuddle down in her cot.”

Josephine was thrilled, most amazed that she now had a brother and a sister. Sarah brought in a pink plastic baby bath, deftly bathed the baby boy, who yelled madly all the time. Grant, watching her, realized how often Sarah had done this. He would have been scared to death.

Sarah got out the baby clothes. Nan Granter had a lovely trousseau ready, and a plentiful one, fortunately. The baby, sweet and clean, was dressed in a tiny gown, wrapped firmly in a square of flannelette, and tucked back into the basket.

“You don’t think,” said Grant uneasily, “that you’ve got him too tightly wound?”

Sarah laughed. “Looks like it, doesn’t it? But he’s so newly born he’s not used to being unconfined, and would uncomfortable loose.”

She looked at the other baby, sleeping peacefully. “I’m not going to bath her. She’s better not handled too much at first. I’ll leave her where she is until the doctor gets here ... oh, I hear a car. Grant would you stay here while I see him?”

The doctor was middle-aged, grizzled, kindly. Presently he and Sarah came into the room, and no one would have guessed that neither of them felt very happy about the woman on the bed.

He stared at Nan Granger in mock reproach. “Two babies!” he said accusingly. “Really, aren’t you and Nurse Isbister ... or Sister, is it?—gluttons for work. Well ... now we’ll get you get into the Home.”

Nan said, “Oh, I thought perhaps I could have stayed here till morning..?”

The doctor shook his head. “No, we’ll get you in to the nursing home right away, and settled down. Besides, Gordon’s at that Federated Farmers’ meeting, isn’t he? I’ll call round and tell him after I get you settled. He’s due for a shock. What about Josephine?”

“She can go to Mrs. Branton’s in Cheviot. She was going to have her next month, anyway. Gordon’s sister is coming to keep house for him. Thank heaven our shearing’s over.”

The doctor looked at her over his glasses. “Probably the shearing was responsible for this early arrival ... country’s hard on women at times like these ... too much on your feet. Should have help. Well, let’s get cracking. We’ll use your station wagon. It’s the long seat type, isn’t it? Excellent. Grant will drive it, I’ll follow. Sister will bring the babies and Josephine. Put the wee one in the baby bath. The basinet’s too clumsy.” He grinned. “The nursing home will be very pleased with you. You’ve saved them a deal of work.”



Sarah was glad when they reached the nursing home. Grant took Josephine straight around to Mrs. Branton’s.

He came back, and went into the nurses’ sitting-room.

He said, to the one little off-duty nurse who was relaxing there, and whom he knew very well, “Well, it’s been quite a night for my partner. She was baking bread till two this morning. I guess nothing more will be expected of her tonight.”

Sandra Collins laughed. “Something more was expected of her ... Mrs. Granger needed a transfusion. Her type isn’t very common, but we have got a donor here, only she’s five miles out. Sister Isbister was the right type. She’s giving the blood now. They’ll bring her in here for a cup of tea after it.”

Grant stared. Weren’t they all matter-of-fact? All in the day’s work for the nursing profession. He’d never really thought of Sarah as a nurse before. After tonight he had an idea he wasn’t going to be able to see her as anything else.

He was prepared to see a wan, weary Sarah. She came in looking as vital as ever, chuckling over something with the doctor as they entered.

He said, “Good heavens, Sarah, you’ve not turned a hair. You must be feeling limp.”

She looked amazed, laughed. “Haven’t you ever donated blood? You don’t feel any different. You feel you should, the first time. You almost feel cheated that you don’t. But it’s not like the shock of a cut where you lose a lot of blood, you know; and you are lying down.”