I gave mushrooms to Odum, who stood outside the longhouse before work. I said, “I saw light through the barn roof.”

Ava called, “Bring food to wife. Ava have stew. Waiting on pig.”

Odum handed off the basket and ran to start a fire. I Followed to the door and watched him trot to the cooking pit. When I turned to Ava, she gave me an unwelcome look.

Ava said, “Not work. Feel bad.”

I said, “That's fine. Stay home until after the baby. Rest and take care of yourself.”

Odum ran back to report, “Make fire. Go work now.”

Ava did not answer. She backed into the house and closed the door. I followed Odum to the corner of the longhouse where he stopped and faced the green wheat. He lowered his head. He took a deep breath and started for the ranch at a dead run. Ava certainly kept her husband busy. Between his work and caring for his wife, Odum had become haggard.

I shifted to him, touched his shoulder, and took the two of us to the ranch. Odum stumbled and threw his hands over his face.

“Stop,” said Odum. “Make eyes roll around.”

“Sorry,” said I. “Slow down. No need to do this alone.”

Odum watched me raise the ladder. My foot on the bottom rung, I turned to look at the beaten husband. He said, “Odum run all the time. Feed. Work. Feed. Work.”

I said, “When I'm done here, I'll bring some fish.” I began to climb as I spoke. “I'll bring some vegetables from the garden, and I'll hide a melon under the hay.” I stopped near the top and looked down at Odum. “Can we meet in the usual spot, or should we move it to the longhouse?”

“Trees,” answered Odum. “Put chair for Ava. Many pillows for comfort. All good. Odum eat melon first, then carry food to wife.”

I climbed two more rungs and stopped. I said, “Be good to your wife. Do what she says, and patience will get you through. Be glad; you'll have more to do after the baby comes, so enjoy the easy part.”

Odum threw up his hands and turned away. As he walked around the corner and out of sight, I could hear him complain. “Only get easy part in hard work. Hide under hay with melon.”

I walked carefully on the steep roof. A short inspection discovered a hole in the matting. It seemed the birds had worried a flaw in the fibrous medium that covered the slats.

“GM,” I called. “Can we make tar?”

The GM answered, “We do not currently have a sufficient quantity of pitch. There is only the small sample you brought from one of your outings.”

“I guess I'm going back out,” I said.

Being slightly leery of heights, I sat and slid cautiously to the ladder. I only seemed to think of the possibility of accidents at the last moment.

I limited Odum's workload to the ranch; he had enough on his hands with an angry wife. As Ava swelled like a threatening rain cloud, and her thunder cracked, our hairs stood on end. I took on the role of provider for my friends in their trials. People change, and times change.

My schedule was strained, and I longed for more time away from the ship. I enjoyed a quiet moment as blood drained from a wild goat. I leaned against the wall watching the cof drink in energy for the GUF. The internal mists swirled, and I sighed as my quiet time was nearing its end. Back to it, I thought.

I wrestled the body from the cof to the cart and rolled it from behind the GUF. I could have continued down the long tunnel and taken the lift behind the ranch; I just didn't have the time. Instead, I touched the animal and shifted to the barn. I took the body in my arms to lift it from the straw to the hooks for skinning, but I had a problem. It was slipping through my arms.

I voiced my impatience with a loud grunt and shifted the body to a hanging position. Odum would find it; I had to go. I shifted to my apartment to wash and change from the bloody clothing. Then I went immediately to the garden and picked a ripe melon for Odum. After hiding it in the hay, I stood and shook my head, wondering why I continued when Ava no longer strayed from the longhouse.

I filled a basket for Ava. Basket in hand, I shifted to Hope and added mushrooms. I went to the fisheries and pulled two fish from the traps. With that, I went to the longhouse, exhaled, and walked to the exterior kettle where Odum had placed a work table. I dropped the vegetables and mushrooms into a bucket of rinse water and laid the fish on the table.

It was then, with mild surprise, that I noticed Ava from the corner of my eye. She sat uncomfortably on the longhouse bench with one foot up and one foot on the ground. Her robe was too loose for my comfort.

“Finish,” said Ava in a strained voice. “Do. Ava too fat to move.”

I answered over a discreet shoulder, “Don't you think I'm doing enough?”

“No,” grumped Ava. “Fat and ugly because of you.”

I ignored her accusation, saying instead, “I can bring Odum to help.”

“Ava have finger on Jeez,” said Ava. “Not get to run when Ava unhappy.”

“I'll do the fish,” I said. I took up the knife and asked, “How're you and Odum doing?”

Ava snorted derisively and said, “Odum hide in barn. Know Ava wear royal robe.”

Ava's reasoning brought a smile to me as I shook my head in wonder. Scraping the scales from one of the fish, I turned and said, “I'll have a word with him.”

It was quiet as I scraped the fish. The only sounds were birds and Ava's troubled breathing. Rid of the scales, I removed the heads, sliced open the fish, and heard the soft padding of Odum's feet. Odum made haste through the wheat and ran to Ava, with but a cursory glance my way. He held half a melon, broken unevenly, and as he knelt by Ava, he laid it aside.

“How wife of Odum?” asked Odum as he tugged Ava's robe closed.

“Stupid monkey,” answered Ava. “Ava hurt all the time. Ava alone at longhouse. Husband hate fat Ava.” She sniffed back an impending tear.

Odum said, “Bring melon. Ava like melon.”

Then, Ava cried. I pulled bones from the fish as I heard the volume grow. She wailed unabashedly. Odum, in an attempt to comfort his wife, patted her arm until she pulled it away in anger. Ava gasped and sniffed in spasms, trying to find a way around her helplessness. Her words came broken and childlike.

“See what men do to poor woman?” she stammered. “Put in hole, then, hide in barn.” Ava grunted, her pain and fear evident. She bawled. “Should beat men over head. Raise big lump.” It took Ava considerable effort to speak through her sobbing.

Odum stroked Ava's arm and seemed at a loss. “Don't cry,” said Odum. “Eat melon. Be happy.”

Ava's crying grew louder. I was through with the fish and inclined to shift away. As I rinsed my hands, Odum sat behind Ava and took her in his arms.

“Ava not cry,” said Odum. “Odum stay. Be good husband,”

Ava gasped and sniffed, managing to say, “Ava want to die.” Then the weeping returned.

Odum gave me a pained and pleading look. I wiped my hands and said, “Help her inside. Feed her melon. I'll take care of the ranch. You just stay put and take care of your wife.”

I stooped to put wood beneath the kettle, then I touched it with a finger and a small flame arose. As Odum helped Ava into the longhouse, I thought, might as well do the stew. I filled the kettle and stood over it watching still water. Then I cut the fish and dropped it in, I added diced mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, and onions. I searched for spice but saw none, then threw up my hands; add spice-finder to my load. That's where patience comes in. We're never tested with easy diversity, but rather, chafing monotony.

Odum ran from the longhouse to retrieve the melon. Seeing me by the table, he came quickly to my side and leaned in close with an urgent whisper. “Odum in fire,” he said. “Not able to finish work.”

I smiled encouragement. “Take care of Ava,” I said. “I started a stew but I'll leave you to spice it.”

Ava's voice poured from the longhouse, a torrent of need. “Monkey.”

Odum shook his head and trotted back. I watched the door close before I shifted. It's hard to explain; I felt sad for Odum, but I also felt glad that I was not Odum. My feelings of sympathy were mixed with a sense of guilt, and I also understood that Ava endured the most unyielding labor a woman could face. Her pains and sorrows were beyond the reckoning of mere men.

In the barn, I called out, “GM.”

“I am here,” was the answer.

I said, “Be father for a while.”

The image of my father appeared, bringing ease to my heart. He said, “You must be in need.”

“It's Odum and Ava,” I said. “Ava's pregnancy is making Odum crazy. That, in turn, affects my well-being.” I stood before the goat holding the knife in my hand. “Neither Odum nor I know what to do. Whatever advice you can offer will be appreciated.”

“Son,” said the apparition. “You're fortunate I lived such a long and eventful life. I've delivered hundreds of children. They usually jump right out in your hands. The child is the easy part.” I began cutting while the image of my father stood close to observe. “Men,” continued father, “always fail women on at least one level. I can tell you how to connect.”

I shuddered to think what Odum might be going through. My time, however, was tight; I did all the work, and I provided a constant supply for the inhabitants of the longhouse. I was exhausted. Often, I fell in my bed asleep before I hit, but that was not the worst of it.

“Son.” said the GM, standing over me in father's image. “Wake up.”

I looked up through heavy eyes; I saw my father standing over me, calling me from blissful sleep. I licked dry lips and sat up to stretch. As I yawned, I noticed I was in the barn; I had fallen asleep in the hay.

“If you want to set traps,” said the GM, “you must hurry.”

I bolted to my feet. “Right,” said I, but that was more a goad for myself than an answer to the GM.

I made haste to tend the animals. I gathered food for the longhouse and hurried to the exit. I kept cages near the door, along with various other supplies for the outside. Father's image appeared beside me.

“Not taking Apple this time?” asked the GM.

“No,” I replied, stooping to unlock the wall box. “I'll set some cages beyond the perimeter and come right back.” I removed the armband that held my pen and wand. I put it high on my left arm, then reached for my guns. I stood and placed them in my belt before choosing cords, stakes, cages, and a mallet. “I'd love to take Apple out,” I said. “I just don't have the time. I still have to clean the fisheries, build new mushroom bins, and finish breaking down the AP trees.”

I shifted to the tall grass beyond the cleared area and walked through to the trees. I quickly staked two cages and shifted back to the ship. The GM stood there smiling like my father. Don't ask me why, I returned the smile. I shifted to the mushrooms and took up my hammer. The wood and pegs were there and I made quick work of the construction. I dumped in the growing materials from buckets and tapped in the mix.

Next, were the fisheries. I used a long pole to drag algae from the ponds. The image of my father followed me from pond to pond. It was hard work under the watchful eye of the GM. I shook the sweat from my face and turned to the GM; I was about to ask it not to be father when it looked into my eyes.

“I would help,” said the GM, “but, you know.”

I dropped the pole and said, “That's enough here. Let's go to the falls.”

With the image of my father appearing to sit on the bench, I jumped in the water, diving to the bottom, reaching for the deepest refreshment of the pool. I came up to float with my eyes closed. I was content.

The GM said, “I used to love to swim. Before I became atomic, and no longer needed to breathe, I could hold my breath underwater for a fourth of a turn.”

I dried slowly by the AP trees. I sat there and looked at the work I wasn't doing. I sat alone, having finally asked the GM to leave. That's when I heard Odum yelling as he approached, desperately calling my name. He ran into the clearing and fell to his knees. He was panting heavily, as I likely sat in the last place he checked.

“Jeez come,” he wheezed. “Ava hurt bad. Water everywhere.” His words came in ragged spurts followed by heavy breathing. “Odum stupid. Jeez help Ava.”

Because of the information I had earlier heard from the GM, I felt prepared. I touched Odum, and we shifted to my apartment. Still on his knees, Odum rolled back on his hands and bemoaned the shift.

“Hurry,” I said. “Take these bottles of water.” I said to the GM, “GM.”

“I am here,” said the GM.

“Measure Ava's contractions,” I instructed.

I took towels and scissors and placed them in a metal basin. I turned in a circle wondering if there was something more I needed; but, no, I had it all. I reached for Odum, saying, “Let's go.” Odum turned his head and closed his eyes; he really didn't like shifting. 

Then, we were in the longhouse. The door and windows were sealed, and the single room was permeated with a foul odor. Ava lay on the bed yelling in a panic.

The GM said, “Four apart, lasting sixty.”

I instructed a stunned Odum. “Open the door and the windows.”

Perhaps it was my tone of voice; Odum put the bottles down and ran immediately to the task I had set. Ava, on the other hand, lay in her open robe with one leg raised. She yelled in both pain and anger.

She said, “Cramp bad.”

Odum hurried back for my next command. I said, “Put some pillows behind her.” Odum made haste.

I said to Ava, “Your time is near. I'm going to ask you to breathe. In and out.” I placed her knees upright and saw bloody mucus. I said, “When the pain comes, breathe out and push.”

Odum stood apart, wringing his hands. I said to him, “Sit beside her. Hold her hand. Talk to her.”

Odum knelt beside the bed and took Ava's hand. His husband voice was tremulous as he said, “Monkey here for Ava.”

The pain came and Ava moaned loudly. She took many short breaths. I told her, “Breathe out and push.”

Ava pushed with a great howl of pain and fear. I could see her open out. When the pain subsided, and Ava threw back her head, She answered Odum. “Ava here because of monkey.”

I poured water. I took towels and passed one to Odum, who raised up on his knees to wipe sweat from Ava's face. I took a commanding but comforting tone as I said, “You're very brave, Ava. Be strong; a little more and you'll be done.”

The pain came; I could see the head. “Push,” I said.

Ava pushed and screamed. She made a fist in Odum's hair and pulled him violently. Odum joined Ava in a chorus of raised voices. In the end, it was just as the GM had said. The baby jumped out into my hands. I snipped, tied, and spanked. As the baby made her first sounds, Ava raised her head to look between her knees. She was a mess; she cried and laughed at the same time. Odum stood back rubbing his head. When he saw me wrapping the infant in a towel, his eyes widened. The tiny life cried with such an amazingly loud voice, I think we all looked on in awe. I stood and walked to the head of the bed, where I placed the baby in Ava's beckoning hands.

I stood back and shared a smile between Odum and Ava. Eyes still wide, Odum knelt close. I made the announcement. “You have a girl.”