“It still alive?” Ed asked.
“Yup,” Jack muttered. “Won’t be for long, though, if we don’t get it out.”
Lily doled out more apple while Jack rummaged around in the pig’s nether regions. “Damn,” Jacksaid. “She’s tight in there. Being scared’s caused her to seize up, I reckon.” Jack moved around in anattempt to get a better angle. “Damn it, Ed, would you believe my hand’s too big to get a grip on the littlefella?” She groped around a few more seconds, then said, “Hey, Lily, would you come here a minute?”
“What for?”
“I want you to wash your hands, then see if you can get a grip on this piglet.”
Lily shuddered. Knowledge of animals’ insides was definitely not required in order to draw themfor a picture book. “I was having a hard enough time just feeding her this apple.”
“It’s either you try to do it or I kill this piglet so the others can get out.”
Lily rose and scrubbed her hands. She was squeamish as hell about getting so intimate with ahoofed creature, but as a vegetarian, she was supposedly devoted to protecting animal life.
Jack gestured toward the pig’s orifice. “Now if you can just wedge your hand in so you can get agood grip around the piglet’s middle, you can pull it right out.”
“Sorry, Minnie,” Lily mumbled as she shoved her hand into the sow’s vagina. “Usually I at leastbuy a girl dinner before we get to this part.”
As Lily groped around in the darkness, she suddenly felt the warmth and movement of a livingcreature. The piglet was wedged in tight, but she slowly worked her hand alongside it, and thenpainstakingly turned her wrist until she was gripping the animal just behind what felt like its back legs.
“Got it ... I think.”
“Okay,” Jack said. “Now pull, but go easy.”
Gripping the tiny animal firmly, Lily brought her arm back in a slow, steady pull. The piglet’scurly tail was visible first, then finally its wet pink ears and snout. “It’s breathing!” Lily cried, overcomewith the emotion of the moment. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
Jack glanced under the pig’s tail. “Looks like a girl.”
Ed looked at Lily and laughed. He apparently wasn’t used to seeing someone get so worked upover livestock.
“Well, it sure is,” Jack said. “Ed, I reckon you’ll have to name this piglet Lily ... after hermidwife.”
Ed grinned. “You’re plum crazy, Doc ... not changed a lick since you was a little girl.”
Jack grinned back. “Why don’t you get us some more hot water so we can wash up? I’ll stay tillall the piglets are born, but my guess is the rest of the delivery will go normally.”