“And they don’t let you keep your baby in those places. They keep them in a nursery and they’re always mixing them up. Giving the wrong baby to people.”

“Things can go wrong, you know.”

“Women have been having babies for millions of years without paying a thousand dollars to have an audience while they do it. How do you think there got to be so many people in the world?” She flung the brush down and pulled the loose hair into three strands. Her fingers twined and yanked, braiding quickly.

“I was thinking I’d have one of those boards that the Indians carried their babies in. That way I could keep him with me all the time.”

“You think it’s going to be a boy?”

“Yes.” She tied a piece of red yarn to the end of the braid. The rice had stopped steaming. She lifted the lid and with a fork added the meat chunks from the skillet.

“You ought to eat better,” I said. “I don’t think meat and tea and rice is all you need for making babies.”

She frowned again. “What should I be eating?”

“Well, greens. You’re always supposed to eat greens.”

“Lettuce?”

“And spinach. It’s all the iron or vitamin F or something. The darker green the vegetables the more it has.”

“Broccoli is pretty dark.”

“Yes. Also milk, I think, for bones.”

Her fingers prodded deep into her belly. “My baby’s bones.”

“And you probably shouldn’t take any drugs at all unless the doctor gives them to you.”

“No. I know that. I haven’t taken anything except marijuana since I stopped taking the pills.”

The kitchen felt warm and close. A wind chime with dragons on the panes moved slowly near the window. I could hear Sam’s excited voice outside, as he and Rennel returned from the woods. Carlotta reached for the leather thong and tied it tightly once more around her head.

The broken pencil question

My temper is getting worse. I don’t notice it when I’m here alone. It only wants to hit out at those who can feel and understand pain. I fume a little, sit staring more than I used to, perhaps, but I don’t really notice that I’m angry until someone comes to receive it. Poor Jean, my brother’s wife, got it today. It was her mention of the faith healer that did it. I was only feeling depressed before that.