Full House
$10.00 for a signed copy + $5.00 priority mail shipping!
Excerpt
Bethany thought she’d been excited when Tarah’s pregnancy test came back positive, but the moment they cut the cord and placed the tiny little girl in her hands, she felt a joy so deep, it left her breathless. It had all been worth it! She took the baby upstairs to the bathroom, washed her off in the sink and carefully examined her while she washed Tarah’s blood off the newborn. Wrapping her in a soft pink towel, she carried the baby into the nursery and she whispered into the baby’s ear before she laid her in the crib closest to the nursery door.
“You are Eve, in honor of the first woman.”
It struck her that she felt almost god-like and she liked it. This girl will be the first of many. Bethany lightly traced her index finger along the soft, barely visible eyebrows, gently touched the infant’s button nose and traced the outline of the salmon-colored heart shaped lips. The mother of five sons, she became fixated on baby girls. The only reason she kept getting pregnant back in the day was because she kept trying for a girl. That hope died with Elam. When he was born, she consented to a tubal ligation. They simply couldn’t afford another kid. Bethany decided she didn’t want any grandsons long ago, but had yet to devise a backup plan should that situation occur.
She’s so tiny, so perfect. Bethany stood over the crib and watched Eve sleep.
Her sons’ screams snapped her out of her moment of glory. Mama kissed the tips of her index and middle fingers and brushed it against Eve’s forehead. She then rushed back down to the cellar to see what all the commotion was about.
“Mama, hurry, another baby’s coming,” Caleb shouted as she ran to the cot. Together, they pulled the second baby from Tarah’s womb and Bethany saw the male genitalia. She hid her disappointment and took the twin boy upstairs to the bathroom. Bethany placed him into the water she previously used to wash his sister. He hadn’t made a sound and his calm unsettled her. When she turned him over to wash his back, he suddenly began to cry and without thinking she pressed his body to the bottom of the basin, forcing his face into the bloody water as she hummed “Lead Me into Life Eternal.” It was almost symbolic, like a baptism and funeral all wrapped up in a couple of minutes. It surprised her at how quickly his useless struggling began and ended.
“Now, you’re blessed to be with your Heavenly Father. You have come to Him without sin,” Bethany whispered. Humming “Jesus Loves the Little Children”, she left him face down in the water, went to her linen closet, grabbed one of the old towels she used for housecleaning and wrapped the small, limp body in it. Then she took the baby boy back down to the cellar.
“This little one didn’t make it,” she informed them. Seeing the disbelief on her sons’ and Tarah’s faces, she proclaimed, “I did everything I could to save him, but the Lord knows best. What we have to do now is make sure he gets a proper burial.”
Tarah lunged, fought against her handcuffs, screamed “No!” and collapsed. Bethany gave the infant’s body to Ardon. She then sat down on the cot and placed Tarah’s head in her lap. She reached into her apron pocket, pulled out an ampoule of ammonia and waved it under her nose to bring her back to consciousness.
“You need to wake up and pray with us for your son’s soul,” Bethany advised as she watched the girl’s eyes blink open. She softly stroked Tarah’s hair as she began to recite, “God gives many women babies, when they leave is not their choice. Some He sends for a lifetime and others for a day. And some He sends to fill your womb, but there’s no need to stay.”
♥♦♣♠
Tarah thought Bethany would have come up with a suitable Bible verse, not some puerile poem. Softly, she recited Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” She knew Bethany murdered her son. She’d heard him cry. Her exhaustion was replaced with an anger she’d never felt before.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“Upstairs, sleeping like an angel. You’ll see her in the morning. Now you need to rest. Don’t you worry, we’ll take care of everything.”
“You are Eve, in honor of the first woman.”
It struck her that she felt almost god-like and she liked it. This girl will be the first of many. Bethany lightly traced her index finger along the soft, barely visible eyebrows, gently touched the infant’s button nose and traced the outline of the salmon-colored heart shaped lips. The mother of five sons, she became fixated on baby girls. The only reason she kept getting pregnant back in the day was because she kept trying for a girl. That hope died with Elam. When he was born, she consented to a tubal ligation. They simply couldn’t afford another kid. Bethany decided she didn’t want any grandsons long ago, but had yet to devise a backup plan should that situation occur.
She’s so tiny, so perfect. Bethany stood over the crib and watched Eve sleep.
Her sons’ screams snapped her out of her moment of glory. Mama kissed the tips of her index and middle fingers and brushed it against Eve’s forehead. She then rushed back down to the cellar to see what all the commotion was about.
“Mama, hurry, another baby’s coming,” Caleb shouted as she ran to the cot. Together, they pulled the second baby from Tarah’s womb and Bethany saw the male genitalia. She hid her disappointment and took the twin boy upstairs to the bathroom. Bethany placed him into the water she previously used to wash his sister. He hadn’t made a sound and his calm unsettled her. When she turned him over to wash his back, he suddenly began to cry and without thinking she pressed his body to the bottom of the basin, forcing his face into the bloody water as she hummed “Lead Me into Life Eternal.” It was almost symbolic, like a baptism and funeral all wrapped up in a couple of minutes. It surprised her at how quickly his useless struggling began and ended.
“Now, you’re blessed to be with your Heavenly Father. You have come to Him without sin,” Bethany whispered. Humming “Jesus Loves the Little Children”, she left him face down in the water, went to her linen closet, grabbed one of the old towels she used for housecleaning and wrapped the small, limp body in it. Then she took the baby boy back down to the cellar.
“This little one didn’t make it,” she informed them. Seeing the disbelief on her sons’ and Tarah’s faces, she proclaimed, “I did everything I could to save him, but the Lord knows best. What we have to do now is make sure he gets a proper burial.”
Tarah lunged, fought against her handcuffs, screamed “No!” and collapsed. Bethany gave the infant’s body to Ardon. She then sat down on the cot and placed Tarah’s head in her lap. She reached into her apron pocket, pulled out an ampoule of ammonia and waved it under her nose to bring her back to consciousness.
“You need to wake up and pray with us for your son’s soul,” Bethany advised as she watched the girl’s eyes blink open. She softly stroked Tarah’s hair as she began to recite, “God gives many women babies, when they leave is not their choice. Some He sends for a lifetime and others for a day. And some He sends to fill your womb, but there’s no need to stay.”
♥♦♣♠
Tarah thought Bethany would have come up with a suitable Bible verse, not some puerile poem. Softly, she recited Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” She knew Bethany murdered her son. She’d heard him cry. Her exhaustion was replaced with an anger she’d never felt before.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“Upstairs, sleeping like an angel. You’ll see her in the morning. Now you need to rest. Don’t you worry, we’ll take care of everything.”
