the castle. And I was starting to realize that Pregnant Emily had a serious appetite. She ate most of the food, consuming all of her plate and even sampling some of mine.
I loved this new hunger burning inside of her.
Time passed.
She fell asleep in my arms.
And I wondered how her body would change with our baby inside of her. Those breasts would get bigger. Those hips would curve and widen. And surely, her belly would be round and full.
I smiled as I imagined placing my hand on her stomach and feeling the baby kick. I had only done it once with Valentina. My niece had been an active little child.
And now I will be feeling the movement of my own.
Chapter 11
The Funeral
Emily
On the day of the funeral, we all sat down for a family breakfast. Misha, Ava, her grandmother, Rolan, Valentina, Kaz, and me.
As soon as the food came out, my stomach punched into itself. I jumped up, raced to the bathroom, and threw up twice.
When I cleaned up and left the bathroom, I expected to see Kaz, but it was Mrs. Jones that met me at the door. “Are you okay, baby?”
“Oh, yes. I’m pregnant.”
With a warm smile, she hugged me. “I had no idea you were pregnant. You’re such a little thing.”
“I’m in the first trimester.”
“Oh yes. That’s why you can’t keep anything down. It will go away. Saltines may help. Keep some with you.”
“Okay. I’ll try that.”
“Stay away from eggs. That always triggered me.”
I thought about Paris, when Natalie offered to cook breakfast for everyone. “Yeah. I’ve learned that lesson.”
“Stick to the B.R.A.T. foods too—bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.”
“Okay. Never heard of that.” I made a mental note to stick to those foods, when I felt nauseous.
“Your mother must be so excited.”
“My mother passed away.”
Her voice wavered. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“My father too, but I’m fine. It was a long time ago.”
“You didn’t grow up with them?”
“No, ma’am.”
“You’re like Ava in some ways. Both her parents passed away when she was young. I raised her.”
“I wasn’t so lucky.”
Mrs. Jones patted my back. “I’ll give you my number, before you leave. Call me anytime you need some advice. A new mother should have an older woman she can talk to for advice. If not, then people will be up in your air telling you all types of crazy things to do with your baby. You’ll run yourself ragged trying to keep up with everybody’s opinion.”
She walked me back to the table, telling me stories of her pregnancy with Ava’s father.
The breakfast continued with less drama. Luckily, I had some of Baba’s tea with me. Once I sipped two cups of that, I was able to eat a croissant and half of a slice of bacon.
I can’t wait until this ends.
Later we dressed and headed to the church.
Kaz and I rode in our own limo following the long procession of cars.
As we drove along, I began to notice these odd little structures on the country roads. They were long wood columns. Some reached over five feet. A large box sat at the top of the column. A beautifully painted model of Jesus decorated the front half of it. Flowers and prayer candles lay at the foot of these columns.
I pointed at one. “What are those? We’ve passed a few.”
Kaz looked out of the window. “Some are wayside shrines. Others are column chapels.”
“Wayside shrines? Column chapels? I never heard of any that.”
“Well, the concept of wayside shrines descended from Slavic pagans. They were little houses, which were built for the souls of the dead.” He pointed at another one as we drove by.
I studied the new one. An elaborate crucifix sat inside a small shelter—complete with a tiny painted roof. A wood pole kept the shelter up.
“Slavic pagans cremated corpses in order to free the soul from the body, so that the spirit could travel into the afterlife,” he continued. “There were those that wondered what would happen if the soul became tired on his or her journey. Therefore, Czech pagans set up shelters at the junction between two or three roads for the comfort of spirits.”
“So, little spirit hotels?”
“Pretty much. When Christianity started to become more popular, the wayside shrines took on deeper meanings and transformed into Column Chapels.”
“Now, I’m understanding.” I gestured to all the candles and flowers on the ground. “People go here and pray?”
“Yes. You will see a lot of these on small country roads. Some have only flat painted surfaces, while other shrines