Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!
PHOTO PROMPT © SANDRA CROOK
Country Matters
“You go and get the hay in, Jack. I’ll be alright.”
Lucy patted her round tummy, and smiled.
“Well, if you’re sure…?” said Jack.
Lucy waited until she heard Jack whistle the dog and slam the back door before she slumped down. The smell of the bacon she’d cooked for Jack made her queasy.
There was a sudden pain from her abdomen, and a growing sense of wetness. Surely not? Not now!
“Mum? Mum!” Her voice held panic.
By the time Jack had brought in the hay, Lucy was sitting cuddling her new-born.
“He’s got your eyes, see,” she said.
Autumn Leaves 
Good thing her mum seemed to be around. All’s well when all are healthy.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Gabi. Yes, mum was there and able to help deliver the baby, and, as you say, it’s alright when mother and child are both healthy.
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The hay must be got in. I’m glad it ended spendidly
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Thank you for your kind comment. Yes, if the hay isn’t made the business may fail.
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It’s good to see it all worked out so very well
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Thank you for commenting, Larry. The hay harvest is essential for a small farmer.
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Dear Penny,
How fortunate her mum was close by. I wish my labors had been that short. 😉 Sweet story. Your Jack was a lot nicer than mine.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
Thank you for your happy comment. Lucy’s labour wasn’t unusually short; days haymaking are long!
Yes, my Jack was a good man doing what he must to provide for his family.
Shalom
Penny xx
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Good take on the prompt. I like the way you rounded things off in the end.
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Thank you for your constructive comment, Athling. I’m glad you liked the rounding off at the end.
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Now that’s a streamlined way of giving birth. Nice when it works out that way.
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Haha! Love that comment, Jade! Yes, everything went smoothly – no need to call the doctor.
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🙂 Glad you enjoyed the comment. I know my 2nd son’s birth went way easier than my firstborn’s.
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Maybe Jack was best out the way, as it was an easy birth, he might have complicated things.I wish the mother and baby well, and Jack of course.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Jack farmed sheep; he was pretty used to birth!
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The hay in and the baby born all in time for tea. Not a bad day!
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Haha! You’re right; a good day’s work by all. Thank you for commenting, Keith.
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That’s a good day’s work – hay and a baby! I wonder at the pros and cons of hiding our discomforts from our partners. At least her mother was there to help though.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Yes, it’s sometimes hard to know how much to tell, and how much to keep to yourself.
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Many farming families are rather experienced at delivering, This was a good use of the prompt
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Thank you for your insightful comment. I guessed you’d probably know what I was talking about!
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glad jack wasn’t around, he would have fainted at the sight of blood. 🙂
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Thank you for commenting, Plaridel. Yes, everything’s different and more stressful when it’s the person we love going through an ordeal, isn’t it?
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Glad it ended well. She sounds like a very grounded individual.
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Thank you for commenting, Sandra. Lucy was, as you say, a very grounded individual. That’s pretty much essential if you’re the wife of a sheep farmer!
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Probably for the best he was out of the way!
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Thank you for commenting, Ali. I’m sure Jack was happier out in the fields!
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Back when childbirth was a matter of the course of life, and not a medical issue. Not that it was better then, just different. Jack must hve been a bit surprised at the “harvest” waiting for him in the house 🙂
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Thank you for your penetrating comment, Linda; you read to the heart of my story.
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Penny,
A speedy delivery, in fact, something very robust, earthy, uncomplicated and miraculous all at once. I loved the way you set this up so beautifully.
pax,
dora
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Thank you for such a lovely comment, Dora. New life is always miraculous. I’m delighted you liked the way I set up the story.
Pax
Penny
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I like the way the story unfolds, we just know that the baby will come after Jack strides off. Very heart warming Penny,
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Thank you for your encouraging comment, Francine. Yes, the baby was bound to come after Jack strides off – happens in real life, too, sometimes! xx
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The cycle of life on the farm: hay for the horses; bables for the farmers.
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Thank you for your kind comment, Lorraine.
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