Nisa was glorious in pregnancy. She radiated joy. She and Sorcha got along very well; I think he was a bit taken with her. Sorcha introduced himself to her as my friend, which she accepted, though she looked at me differently from then on. He sat with her in the evenings when she came home from work and talked with her about pregnancy and childbirth. He had seen a lot of both. Dirva likely had, too, but he kept his knowledge to himself. Sorcha asked her what she had planned for the birth, for the newborn. She had few answers.

“I don’t know,” she said. “There’s a healer down the street in case we need her. Do you think we will?”

“Probably not, but it’s always good to have a midwife on hand. You got a midwife?”

“Midwife?”

“You know, the one everyone goes to when it’s time.”

“That’s the healer.”

“Ah, no, healing and midwifery, those are two different things. Midwifery, it’s a lot of care work, you know, keeping you comfortable, keeping you calm, that sort of thing. Tell you what: I’ll be your midwife.”

Nisa laughed. Dirva cast a wary look at me, then Sorcha. Sorcha seemed not to notice. He smiled and felt Nisa’s belly. She let him. “You’re a man,” she said.

Sorcha looked up in mock surprise. “What? Really?”

She swatted his shoulder. “I am a married woman.”

“So I’ve heard. And I’m a man who’s delivered babies.”

This was news to me. “You have?” I asked.

Sorcha nodded. “Was a girl back in the squat house. I was on hand for two of Falynn’s little ones. Was a time I thought about going into midwifery proper. I had Falynn bring me along when he had pregnant patients.” He smiled at Nisa. “Turned out perfect every time. I’ve good luck with babies.”

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a midwife,” I said.

“I did. Still do a bit. Picked the violin, though. Anyway, Nisa, I’m here and I’m not doing anything else, so if you do want some help when the time comes it would be my pleasure to provide it.”

Nisa laughed and cast a curious look at Dirva. “I’ll think about it.”

Later that night, as we lay together on the bedrolls we’d rolled out side by side, I thought of Shayat. Memories of her body and her voice came to me at odd moments, taunting me. The thoughts of her sometimes got away from me, and I had a tendency to dwell on her. It nagged at me that she was in the city, probably at Parvi’s shop only three streets over, but that we lived separate lives once again. I spoke to Sorcha to take my mind off her. “You know I’ve never spent much time with pregnant women. Or babies.”

“Right, you and your small families.”