We all stood up and, as Maggie and Myra took the dishes into the kitchen, Mama grabbed my hand and said, “Show me the bedroom, Mr. Jim.”

We walked together down the little hall. I opened the bedroom door and led Mama in, as she smiled and said, “Oh, what a sweet little room!”

Maggie and I, but mainly Maggie, were in charge of decorating the house, but the antique bed was my “find.” It was an old oak bed built around the late 1800s. It was solid and heavy and had a tall headboard. We loved old handmade cotton quilts too, and there was always one of these treasures covering the bed.

Maggie and Myra soon joined us and as Maggie entered the room she said, “So tell us, Mama, how does the room feel to you?”

“I was just saying how much I like the room, especially the bed, such a strong bed. It’s the perfect bed for a birthing,” Mama said.

“So Maggie, you and Jim you go to the bed, Jim you first. Jim you sit down on the bed with your back against the headboard and Maggie you are gonna sit back on Jim and let Jim hold you.”