Baby

for good. Baby’s contentment with Sister gave him a purpose. His mission faded with his lost memory. He no longer expected the expiration that should have accompanied the Emergence of his offspring. Clearly, immortality was with him.
    ###
    Netty, Baby and Wil all adjusted nicely to each other’s company. Wil slept out on the straw bed in the kitchen. He and Netty discussed the possibility of adding a small addition to the cabin as they built the new pie oven. It seemed a fine idea. Wil rigged Maggie and the horse that pulled Netty’s vegetable wagon to a plough to make their work so much easier. The plough turned over existing vegetation leaving a furrow to plant in. Better yet, it created two furrows at a time. Netty trailed behind to plop in the new seed and Baby smoothed over the new soil. They were very efficient. The orchard needed little work, except for removing the old canes from her raspberry and blackberry bushes. Wil had taken over responsibility for the Jerseys. He did all of the milking, which freed Netty up to keep ahead of her baking orders. In his spare time, Wil found numerous repairs that would keep him busy for the next few years.
    Wil and Netty would sip tea and laugh, telling each other stories from their childhood, well into the night after Netty’s delicious dinners. Baby watched carefully from his spot on the rug. When they realized it was time for bed, Netty would call Baby to her, bend down to pick him up and give Wil a chaste kiss goodnight.
    ###
    Wil wondered about Netty’s reluctance to take the relationship any further. He compassionately chalked it up to her turbulent time with her husband. He was a patient man. They had their whole lives ahead of them. And he was nothing, if not a gentleman. After all, he was raised by a God-fearing Catholic Irish mama that expected nothing less of him.
    ###
    Netty and Baby lay down on the bed. Netty had yet to get undressed. She dreaded being reminded of her changes. She clearly was growing a tail. It looked just like Baby’s tail. Did that mean I can cure things like Baby can? She did not know how to even try. Did Baby know I would change like this? She had tried to ask him, but he remained silent. Baby did not talk much.
    She wondered how this would affect her relationship with Wil. She was nuts about him and felt he must feel the same. But she feared his repulsion. The changes to her body made her a freak. It might be too much for him. She did not want to lose the part of him she did have. And what to do about the issue of Robert. She wondered why he had not shown himself. She made a few discreet inquires and discovered that a wife’s inheritance belonged to the husband, too. Her timidity prevented her from inquiring about the process of divorce. She knew for sure that would bring Robert down on her to claim the farm. He had admitted to murdering her mother. She knew he would not hesitate to do the same to her. She thought it would be best if she left things as they were.
    ###
    The spring moved into the summer, moved into winter, and moved into the spring again. They become the destination of choice for most of the town. Netty outgrew the new pie oven and was making plans with Wil for a huge new project; a bakery. It would be behind her old animal hospital, allowing them plenty of privacy at the cabin. And they would need it, because they had made the monumental decision to hire some full time help for the new bakery. Wil wanted to hire some field hands for his plan to expand their crops. Once these projects were completed, they both prayed their success might extend far enough to cover the extravagance of a truck. Other farmers found the money to make the envied purchase allowing their hard work to lighten with the new convenience. God knows what a boon a truck would make for the farm business.
    Wil and Netty’s relationship, surprisingly, did not progress as he hoped. He tried not to let disillusion pull him down, but her behavior did not seem normal to him. He knew her feelings for him ran deep. He often caught her studying him when she thought him unaware. He would see such a look of longing. When she caught him looking at her, she would blush and smile, making him feel hopeful. They knew one another very well now. Sometimes, he would start to say something and she would nod, finishing his sentence. They laughed together constantly, mostly over his silly grade school jokes. Her laughter, the best reward for a hard day of work. Although