Those would-be contractions of mine had turned out to be something called “false labor.” I took it easy the following day just to be safe, but nothing ended up happening.
“I doubt the baby will be coming for a little while yet. Feel free to go about your life as you normally would,” advised the doctor.
Since pregnancy was the name of the game, it wasn’t the usual older male doctor checking up on me, but his wife. She was the same midwife who had helped Mimosa give birth to Daisy.
Not only did she specialize in delivering babies, but she was a veteran among veterans who had given birth to four children of her own, which afforded her sound judgment when it came to addressing my concerns or any changes in my physical condition.
If an expert like her thought it would be a little while yet, no doubt my meeting with Bitsy was still quite a ways down the road.
✦ ✦ ✦
The weather grew warmer with the change of seasons, and Flür National Day drew ever closer. As if the end of the year wasn’t a busy enough time already between our annual cleaning blitz, decorating for New Year’s, and the preparations for the big feast ahead, all the fuss over those false contractions of mine had put us a tad behind schedule.
“The doctor told me to go about my life as usual, so I’m good to lend a helping hand.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” Rohtas rejected my proposition outright.
“I can’t just put my feet up while everyone else is working so hard!”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Because I’ll lose my mind!”
“Well... I suppose you never have been the type to sit still.”
“See?”
“Fine. You can help out where you’re able. But don’t even think about pulling another stunt like you did the other day. You’ll put the rest of us in an early grave.”
“When I flipped backwards, you mean?”
“Precisely.”
“I have nothing to say for myself on that one.”
It was a fair criticism. I’d given myself quite the scare with that, and it must have been even more harrowing for the servants. I wasn’t about to put them through that a second time.
“How about I polish the silverware, then?”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Okie-dokie! I’ll make them shine like new!”
I could wipe windows and mop the floor all I wanted after I’d had my baby. Oh, and let’s not forget about fluffing the sheets! But for now, I had to be a good girl.
Not far from where we were polishing the silverware in the servants’ dining room, Cartham was planning out the menu for the remainder of the year into the new one. Mother and Father Fisalis would be visiting Rohze around that time, so he was putting even more effort into it than usual.
“Any requests, Madame?”
“I mean, there’s nothing you can’t make delicious! In theory I’d say whatever’s good, but I think I’d rather avoid anything too rich.”
“Noted! What about dessert?”
“Anything goes!”
“Ha ha ha! Got it.”
Cartham shot me a charming wink. No doubt he would devise a menu that was the perfect balance of simple, tasty, and healthy.
✦ ✦ ✦
Once I was done helping with the silverware, I decided it was time to go for my daily walk.
Among the servants bustling about with cleaning supplies in hand, I spotted a few carrying boughs of mistletoe.
“Oh, are we ready to start decorating?” I wondered aloud.
“It looks that way. We’ve finished cleaning all the major rooms.”
Just as Stellaria had said, the entrance hall, parlor, and dining room had all been cleaned to a shine, with not a speck of dust to be found. The proper order of things was to clean the public areas first before moving on to the guest rooms and other private spaces, so the cleaning crew had likely gone to work on the cottage and bedrooms by now.
With an eye for perfection, the servants went about hanging up the mistletoe.
“I wonder if the baby will be here in time for the new year. How perfect would it be if I could give my newborn a kiss under the mistletoe?”
“That’s a nice thought indeed, Madam.”
“That reminds me—His Majesty’s birthday falls on New Year’s, right? I’ll bet you anything he got tons of kisses. Oh, I’m almost jealous!”
“Well, who could say?”
Superstition had it that a kiss under the mistletoe on New Year’s brought good fortune. To receive that blessing so soon after coming into the world was sure to grant a lifetime’s worth of happiness.
✦ ✦ ✦
The end of the year rolled around amid all the hustle and bustle, and my parents-in-law made it to Rohze.
“Fennel urged us not to make too much of a fuss, so we tried to be discreet about our arrival.”
“Would you believe it? Why, he even scolded me not to act like a child in a candy store!”
It had been a while since I’d last heard news of Fennel, the old butler who worked in the villa. I was glad to hear he was doing well...but man, he sure could read his masters like a book, huh? It just went to show how long he’d been working for them.
“Anyway, how are you feeling lately? Is there any chance the baby might come during our visit?”
“Err, well... I’m not sure. I had some false contractions a few days ago, but nothing of note has happened since. I’ve been praying the baby will make it in time for the new year, personally.”
“That’s the dream, isn’t it?”
I gave my in-laws a brief recap of all the fuss over my false alarm.
“We don’t have any control over when it happens, so all we can do is wait and hope.”
“You’re right.”
Good things come to those who wait!
✦ ✦ ✦
At long last, New Year’s Day—which also happened to be Flür National Day—had arrived. Men and women of all ages and status had to gather at the royal palace to attend the “Rite of Audience,” where they would listen to the king give his New Year’s address, a few words in honor of our National Foundation Day, and various other celebratory speeches.
Though I had mastered the skill of sleeping with my eyes open, I still wasn’t the biggest fan of these kinds of events. To make matters worse, the ultra-prestigious Fisalis family had been assigned to sit directly beside the royal family—one of the most prominent seats in the house, from which we had no choice but to look out over the masses. Even sleeping with my eyes open...I mean, uh, spacing out was simply not an option there, and the nerve-wracking seating arrangement only drove me deeper into the throes of melancholy. Back when I’d lived with my family, our seats had been so far away that I was free to doze to my heart’s content; but alas, those days were no more. Part of me was beginning to wonder if I could get away with popping back home just for the one day.
What’s more, just the thought of having to attend with this baby bump was enough to make my stomach feel that much heavier.
It was just as I had started to worry about how I had nothing to wear but my casual dresses that Mr. Fisalis spoke up. “The baby could be born any moment now, so we’re better off leaving Viola at home,” he said—and lo, I had scored(?) myself permission to play hooky.
“Huh? I really don’t have to go?”
“No. As much as I wish I could bring you along, I’d be beside myself with worry if I did.”
“But if you still have to attend, what are we going to do if I go into labor partway through the ceremony?”
“I’ll ditch the rite and run straight home!”
“Saw that one coming!”
I laughed at his predictable response only for my in-laws to raise their hands without missing a beat.
“I’d leave too.”
“That makes three of us!”
Wait, really...? Leaving three of the most prominent seats empty sure sounds like a faux pas to me.
Now that we’d settled on leaving me out of the event, I saw the Fisalis trio off at the door.
“Weird... This doesn’t sit well with me, somehow.”
“What doesn’t, Madam?” Rohtas asked me.
“The fact that I’m hanging around at home while Cercis is off at an official function.”
“My, now that’s the last thing I expected to hear from you. You and the master are always whining about how you don’t want to go to anything, right up until the very moment you leave.”
Everyone else laughed at that remark of his, and it was too much of a bull’s-eye for me to even bother denying it.
“D-Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying I want to attend. It’s just, y’know, functions at the royal palace are always mandatory, so it feels wrong that I’m not going with him!”
“Is that so?”
Behind the grinning butler, I could see the maids looking at me with knowing smiles. Hey, guys, could you knock it off?
In fairness to them, I never had cared when Mr. Fisalis went out on his own (or with his girlfriend) toward the start of our marriage. Yet before I knew it, the two of us going out together had become the new normal for me. I’d never imagined that I’d be hit by a realization like that at a time like this.