B is for bowl. The harbour was like an enormous bowl with water in the bottom of it. The sides of the bowl rose away bush-clad and steep, and the town grasped at whatever land it could at the edge of the water. Sometimes in a roaring southerly, with the sea rising and pushing at the town, it seemed that the bowl would fill with water and cover them all. She knew it couldn’t really happen, but sometimes she imagined them living under water in the bottom of the bowl, the great kahikatea trees as slippery and supple as seaweed, fish swimming down Lambton Quay amongst the carts and horses and women with shopping baskets.
A lot of the letters of the alphabet picked up on Sarah's thoughts and feelings about her second pregnancy - Oscar - in 1842.
C is for confinement. Needlework freed her mind to wander, and it always seemed to wander to her greatest worry, her impending confinement. She was dreading it, not looking forward at all to the inevitable pain, when the baby took over and seemingly began to tear and batter its way out while she fought it for her own life. At the same time she was anxious for it to be over and both of them safe, God willing. Her mother had been the same every time, but at least she had Sarah, had the comfort of knowing that if God took her, Sarah would be there to look after the other children. When Ovid came, having Mother there had been a big comfort, knowing that if it all went wrong, she would take care of the baby. Here in New Zealand, with no family, her fears worried at her. She wanted to be practical, tell William that if she did not survive he should marry again as soon as possible, to provide a mother for Ovid, and the child if it survived her. But she couldn’t bear the thought that she might have to leave her dear William and Ovid, and when the tiny stitches blurred and tears fell into the fine cotton she wasn’t sure whether she was grieving for herself or for them.
D is for daughter. She hoped this baby would be a girl. William wanted another son, but she wanted a daughter this time. Men didn’t seem to value daughters in the same way as women did. Daughters were useful, of course, to help with cooking and housework and the smaller children; but really, a daughter was another chance, someone who could be a better version of herself, prettier, more accomplished perhaps.
Earthquakes were always going to make an appearance - can't live around here without them.
E is for earthquake. That last one had been a real rattler – it seemed to go on for an eternity while the china clattered on the shelves and the table rocked and swayed as she crouched under it, clutching Ovid for dear life. Her heart was still pounding as hard as if she had been running. Would she ever get used to these earthquakes? Did anyone? The Maori children from Pipitea Pa would run out calling “ru, ru”, giggling and laughing like it was something they enjoyed. But how could you enjoy it when the solid and dependable earth beneath your feet suddenly started to ripple and shake so that you couldn’t stand up, and you had no idea how long it would last, or what would come tumbling down?
