THE FIRE WITHIN
Chapter Nine

Tomorrow came sooner than she expected. Thanks to Bill, Christa was living uptown in a single room--thanks to the Schermerhorns generosity.

Christa lay clean sheets on the bed. She was so excited, she could hardly wait. This would be the first time she would have him close to her in months.

She went out for a walk, not quite remembering when she was going to see him. She had forgotten to give him a time.

Tommy came running up to her.

"Christa." He hugged her.

"Tommy, how are you?" She smiled, happy to see him.

"Fine. Amsterdam told me to tell you that he would sneak into your room so he wouldn’t be noticed."

"Clever, Tommy." He had changed so much.

"Yeah. So, how are you?" He was happy to see her.

"I am great. My room is small, but nice, thanks to Bill." She noticed that he looked at her uneasily.

"Great, Christa. Your luck just keeps getting better and better." Tommy wanted to kiss her, but knew he couldn’t. She looked so big. Her stomach looked like she was ready to give birth any day now.

"Yeah. Let’s just hope it never runs out." She patted his shoulder.

"Well, I must go. I’ve got a meeting with some friends, so I will see you." He had to leave.

"Likewise, Tommy. Thanks for visiting." She knew something was wrong. She could feel it.

"Anytime, kiddo. Sorry it wasn’t longer." He hated to leave in a hurry, but he had to.

She smiled at him and went back to her room, waiting for her love. She ended up falling asleep.

*****

Someone knocked on the door.

She got up and opened it.

"Bill? What are you doing here?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Well, I thought I would come to see my niece." He went inside.

"Come in. Please." She sat on her bed.

"How are you doing here? Is everything all right?" he asked her.

"Quite good." She was half-asleep.

"I brought you some meat. The Schermerhorns are cooking it for you." She looked so beautiful, just like her mother. He noticed it now.

"Thank you, Uncle." She was nervous about what he really wanted.

"Well, I should get going now. I just wanted to see how you were." He didn’t have anything to say to her, so he decided to make it short.

"All right, Uncle. It was nice to see you." She walked him out.

"You, too, my dear." He wanted to hug her, but he didn’t.

She followed him outside and bid him adieu.

She walked back up to her room. She was getting hungry, and wondered when her love would show up.

She sat on her bed with nothing to do.

Another knock came on the door.

"Miss." Marie, a maid, had knocked.

She opened the door.

"Your food is here." She brought in the tray.

"Thank you." Christa watched the young girl put the tray on her bed.

"Miss, can I ask you something?" Marie asked.

"Sure." Christa felt close to her. She felt like she was a sister to her.

"Is Bill really your uncle?" She hated to be so rude, but she was curious.

"As far as my mother said, yes. Why?" Christa looked at her strangely.

"Just curious." Marie looked at Christa. She looked like Bill in a way.

"I will bring the tray down later. It will save you the trouble of having to come back here." Christa waited for her to leave.

"All right, Miss. As you wish." Marie respected Christa.

She sat on the bed, picking at her food, when Marie left.

Shortly after that, another knock sounded on the door.

"Hello," she answered.

"Christa." Amsterdam smiled and kissed her, closing the door.

She kissed him madly, but parted for a second.

"Let me put this somewhere." She got the tray, put it on the desk, and went back to him. "Now, where were we?" She felt happy being in his arms.

He took her in his arms and made love to her. He was happy to be there. He didn’t want to leave.

*****

She looked at him, cradled in her arms, but then her stomach started to growl.

She got up and ate. She craved strawberries, so they had given her some.

She got a strawberry and put it to his lips.

He moved slightly.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She teased him with the fruit.

The strawberry tasted good. He took a bite. He ended up eating it all.

"Are you hungry, Amsterdam?" She looked at him, feeling sorry that she was eating and he wasn’t.

"A little," he confessed.

"Want some? I never eat it all anyway." Christa offered her food to him.

"You sure?" He was hungry, but he didn’t want her to starve.

"Yes. Have some." Christa watched him. He was so thin.

Her tray had a slice of pork with mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and strawberries.

They cut the meat, serving each other. He lay there, full for once, not dying of hunger.

"Good?" she asked.

"Perfect." He was content.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." She touched his hair.

"So do I. Mind if I leave at nightfall?" he asked her.

"No. In fact, you can leave in the early morning." She wanted to stay with him as long as she could.

"I can, but do you mind?" He didn’t want to intrude.

"Not one bit. Whoa. What was that?" Something felt wrong.

"Hmm?" He looked at her.

"A pain. I got a pain just now." Christa realized this could be it.

"You’re nine months already?" he asked.

"Just about a week away," she told him.

"I can’t believe it has been that long." He wondered how it could have been that long already.

"Oh, my God. Another one." She began to cry.

"I should leave." He got up.

"No, don’t. Stay." She held his hand for support.

"All right." He got off the bed, seeing fluid. Her water had broken.

He quickly put on his clothes and helped her to be more comfortable.

"Put your dress back on, in case someone comes," he told her.

"Okay." She cried out in pain.

He was nervous.

She panted. He held her hand.

"Amsterdam I need you to do something very important. I need you to see if it’s coming out yet." Christa was not embarrassed. She just wanted it out.

"All right." He had never been so nervous in his life.

She opened her legs for him to see.

"I see something that looks like a head. Can you push, Christa?" he asked her, seeing the infant.

"Let me try." She pushed several times. It came out slowly, and he helped it through.

The infant cried.

He quickly tied the cord, grabbed his knife, and cut it. After that was done, he got a blanket, ripped it, and wrapped it around the baby. He wondered how he had known what to do.

Christa was amazed at how quickly it had happened. She was glad it hadn’t taken forever. She was a lucky one. She looked at the father and the baby together. She didn’t even know what it was.

He brought the infant to her so she could hold it.

She grabbed hold of the little bundle, almost in tears. It was so small.

"Amsterdam, it’s so small!" she cried.

"I know. Our son is so tiny." He was amazed. They had created something so beautiful.

"We have a son?" she asked.

"Yes. A boy." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"What are we going to name him?" she asked him.

"We could name him Michael," Amsterdam said.

"Michael? Hmm…sounds good to me." She didn’t care what she named him. She just loved that the baby was his and no one else’s. "Michael Vallon. Sounds like a good name to me," she said.

Her breasts were engorged with milk. She pulled down her dress, and the baby found it right away, as if by instinct.

The baby suckled on her nipple. It felt strange, because she couldn’t even feel the fluid going into the infant’s mouth. She looked over at Amsterdam.

"Christa, I’ve got to go. I know I said I was going to leave in the morning, but things have changed. Not that I wouldn’t love to stay here with you two, but I think I should leave before someone sees me," he told her.

"You’re right. No doubt they might have heard the baby’s cry. Can I get a kiss before you go?" she asked.

"Yes." He gave her a kiss she would remember always. He kissed the infant on the head, too. "Bye, my treasures." He was hesitant to leave, but knew that he had to.

"Bye, Amsterdam. We love you." She lay there with the infant, wanting him to stay with her.

He quickly went out the door and left.

*****

The maid had seen the stranger leave just as she was coming up to see Christa.

"Christa, are you all right?" She went inside.

"Yes, I am okay. But I may need a doctor." Christa stood there, feeling tired.

"Oh, Miss. Yes, I will get him right away." Marie saw the baby.

She went away, and came back with a doctor shortly afterward.

The doctor took care of the rest of the procedure and looked her over and the baby, too.

"So, doctor, what is the verdict?" Christa asked.

"You are fine, but you need rest, and the infant is okay, too. The maid said there was a man here. Is he the father?" the doctor asked.

"No, just a friend. He helped me through it. Thank God." Christa remembered Amsterdam. She wished he were with her now.

"Well, Christa, just continue feeding him, and you two should be all right." The doctor gave them a clean bill of health.

"Thank you, doctor, for all your help," she said.

He went outside and left.

Marie came inside again.

"So, how are mother and son?" she asked.

"Never better," Christa said.

"If you don’t mind me asking, who is the father?" Marie knew she shouldn’t ask.

"If you’re wondering if he’s alive, he is," Christa confessed.

"Was he the one who I saw leave?" Marie asked.

"No. That was a friend," Christa said quickly.

"What did you name him?" Marie looked at the infant. He was so cute.

"Michael Vall…sorry. I mean, Michael Ryan." Christa had almost told her he was a Vallon.

"Is that the father’s name?" she asked.

"No. Tommy Ryan is the father," Christa said.

"Ah…I know Mr. Ryan. He is courting a friend of mine. Wait ‘til she hears this." Marie knew him. She had seen him around a couple of times with her friend, Antoinette.

"Please, don’t. Tommy knows about the child, but I don’t want to break his relationship with her," Christa pleaded with Marie.

"He should be a gentleman and care for his family," Marie said, knowing she didn’t have any right to say what she felt.

"I know, but it’s me. I told him I didn’t want him," Christa lied.

"You did? Why in heaven’s name would you do that? Is he not a good man to stand by you?" Marie asked.

"Tommy is much more than I could ever ask for, but I just can’t stand him sometimes." Christa felt terrible telling this young girl so many lies.

"And this other friend?" She had taken a liking to Amsterdam when she saw him pass her on the stairs.

"He’s the one I am in love with. Now, Marie, if you don’t mind, I would like to get some rest." Christa didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

"Sure. Miss, would you like me to take the infant and put it in the nursery?"

"Nah. It’s okay. I will keep him with me." She hugged the infant closer to herself.

"Okay. I will check on you later." Marie headed to the door.

"Thank you, Marie, for being a good friend." Christa meant it. She had been a big help.

"No problem, Christa." She walked out and closed the door.

Christa lay down with the infant, feeling tired. She knew she should have told Marie to take him, but she wanted Michael by her side.

Chapter Ten
Stories