Chapter 18: Elle

Mrs. Bradger arrived at eleven pm. The large garage door was open so she brought her bag and made her way into the house. There wasn’t always room for pleasantries or standing on ceremony in the role of midwife. In fact you soon learned to be as rude as you needed to be to keep mother and baby safe. Nothing else mattered. Mrs Bradger had seen it all, or so she thought, in a ten year career, birthing hundreds of children across Chareen and neighbouring districts. Even a few in Hills over the years although the demographic was older here. She managed to hide her shock then, if only just, at the presence of a naked man beside the two other women who were not the mother. She got down to examining Jules trying not to think about the thing that was swinging around between Mike’s legs a few feet away.

“Sometime in the next day or so for sure. Given your size, sooner than that I’d say. Contractions could start any time.”

“Exactly as I thought,”

Jill said.

“We’ll need a three shift, four hour rota. You and I can lead a shift Margaret and Gwen can take the third, when she gets here.”

Whoever this woman was, she was clearly taking charge. Irene Bradger didn’t argue, she just said,

“Put me on the second shift but call me if anything changes whether I’m on or off.”

“Very good.”

Jill was satisfied.

Mrs Bradger setup what was needed but found she had very little to do. The very large naked man, Mike, was helpful and attentive, providing everything she asked for.

“Jill said you would need these.”

Irene supposed she must be dealing with nudists which was confirmed when a tall woman came rushing in, peeling off her dress to reveal a killer body for a woman of fortyish years.

“Hi Gwen. No need to rush. You’re running third shift in eight hours so get some food and some sleep once you’ve said hello.”

“Thanks Jill. I came as soon as I heard we were close. Matt’s just setting up the food in the garage.”

Gwen went to see Jules, crouching naked beside her and stroking her in a very familiar way. Irene wondered if they were related somehow. Not closely from the look of them. She wondered out to the garage to see what ‘Matt setting up the food’ meant and found herself in a small crowd of naked or rapidly disrobing people preparing to cook flatbread on a portable grill. What was going on?

“You must be Mrs. Bradger.”

The Asiatic girl with the beautiful eyes wore a lose tracksuit and seemed completely at ease despite the presence of four or more naked men in the garage area.

“Yes. I’m the midwife,”

she managed.

“What is going on here?”

“We’re having a vigil, waiting for baby Elle to join us,”

the girl said. Irene reassessed how old she thought this woman was, only for her to unzip the lose blue top and shrug it off, exposing her entire upper body. Not only confusing the age question further but shocking Irene into a temporary silence long enough for the track-suit bottoms to be stripped off, leaving the stunning woman completely naked.

“A naked vigil?”

Irene stammered out.

“Of course. Elle will arrive naked into the world and we will be in sympathy.”

Well I guess that makes a kind of sense, Irene thought.