Let Today Be

[Ruth Tatting]

It was not the first time that Ruth had seen Mrs. Picket. This far along in her pregnancy, though, she felt as though she was in constant contact with the midwife. It was definitely twins, and while she had no way of knowing their genders, she had been considering who in the family was left that they could name them after.

In her family's comfortable flat above the high street shop, Ruth smiled at the familiar woman who had just arrived. "I think everything is going quite well, Mrs. Picket. I feel them moving frequently, and everything seems as expected."

  

[Eitanna Picket]

Eitanna smiled as she entered the flat above the clothing shop. She had been taking care of the woman and her pregnancy for months, but lately they seemed to meet all the time. They needed to, because it was getting close to time for her to pop out the babies. She smiled and bowed her head a bit. "Mrs. Tatting." She greeted. "That is amazing to hear. It will not be long now." She had on a long charcoal grey and maroon bustled dress. There was a shawl, matching her dress going over the thinner fabric on her shoulders and neck, though she was still covered even if the shawl was removed. The bodice of her dress was tight and went up over her shoulders, chest and neck, though there was only one layer of maroon there. The maroon coloring reached past her waist and down over her bustle, ruffling in the back while the charcoal gray skirt flowed straight down under that. A matching hat and charcoal grey gloves covered her head and hands from the cold. She had just gotten here, so she hadn't ditched any of her outdoor items yet.

She took off her gloves now and held them in both hands in front of her as she looked at Ruth. "Movement is good, how about your symptoms?" She asked curiously. Because she was responsible for safely getting the children out of Ruth, she needed to pry farther into her personal information than most would be allowed. They had started a little on figuring out the best birth plan for Ruth, but they hadn't gotten far before the meeting ended and they had to put it on pause. "If it's alright with you, Mrs. Tatting, I would like to go over your birth plan this visit. There's a lot to plan and put into place before the birth if we want everything to go smoothly." She smiled warmly at the woman, glad to be able to share in this experience with her.

  

[Ruth Tatting]

"The nausea has returned, but it is manageable," Ruth answered. "I also have some back and foot pain, and am tired, but nothing that I did not expect." This was, after all, her second time carrying twins.

As for the rest ... "Things go as they wish to go," Ruth said. She found the whole concept of planning things to be somewhat dubious.

  

[Eitanna Picket]

Eitanna nodded. She was secretly thankful that Ruth wasn't one of those patient. Way too often, women thought that they could control every aspect of their child's birth and ended up angry and disappointed, usually with Eitanna. "I agree, but I always do my best to carry out a patient's wishes. Some things do go as planned. As she smiled, her eyes crinkled adorably. "Would you like to go somewhere private for this meeting?" She wondered, looking at Ruth patiently.

There was, after all, some sensitive topics to discuss.

  

[Ruth Tatting]

"Here should be fine," Ruth said. The parlor was not somewhere that they'd be interrupted. "Mr. Tatting is at work, and the children are in the nursery playing." The eldest children were supposed to be doing their schoolwork, but she doubted that they were. No when they had been informed that Mama would be busy and to stay with Nanny.

  

[Eitanna Picket]

Eitanna nodded and looked around she hesitantly placed her gloves aside. "Do you have any concerns or questions for me, Mrs. Tatting?" Obviously, the questions may be a little less discreet than was allowed in public or even around anyone else. "I know you have done this before, but every child is unique and they come into this world in their own way. Does everything feel okay, not too much pain anywhere?" She asked, looking genuinely concerned about her patient. She needed the details so she could be prepared and know what she was getting into. Giving birth was tricky business and they needed to be as prepared as they possibly could be.

She waited for Ruth to offer her a seat before sitting. She smiled a bit. "Luckily, your owl knows the way to find me, so if anything happens, I can make sure my stepdaughter is okay and tell Mr. Picket that I'm leaving before coming down here. "Feel free to wake me during the night if you need to. My husband will completely understand." She offered this to any patient. She needed to be available to take care of them.

  

[Ruth Tatting]

"No questions," Ruth said brightly. This was her fourth time, and the first had been twins as well. "Everything seems quite normal, very much like the previous three times — although I am a bit larger than I was with Maud or Edgar."

The owl did know where to find Mrs. Picket, and Ruth smiled as the midwife assured her that she could wake her in the middle of the night. "It's only a little longer now."