Irma and self took it in turns to see to the baby, but he was such a good little thing, sleeping from ten at night till six in the morning. As it was now bitterly cold, and only the end of Autumn, I was glad when it was Irma's turn to get up in the mornings.
I think that small as he was, the baby was aware that his mother was not the one that was holding him to feed anymore, as when I was giving him his bottle, he stared at me with a puzzled look on his little face, or so it looked to me, and that more than anything made me cry a lot!
Jan who had calmed down a lot after Maria, Nina's sister arrived, and the two of them had a long talk about the past with all its joys and sorrows, could at this stage not look at, or hold the baby, as he would just burst out crying, and I must say, the sight of that small baby lying so peacefully between his snug blankets was breaking my heart also.
Ronalee was a rock during this time, and came every day to bring something to eat, or just to give all of us a hug!
Nina's mother just sat on the veranda staring out at the scenery, but Maria soon perked up a bit, and we started at least to smile again at her anecdotes of her and Nina's antics as children. I felt so sorry for Nina's mum, who must have felt terrible at this stage, as Nina so badly wanted her parents to see the homestead, but there was just always some or other problem popping up to prevent them from visiting.
People were coming and going all the time, and as Irma and I was now looking after just about everything on both homesteads, I was tired out, having just recovered from a terrible bout of flue.
Andreas was becoming quite agitated every time somebody came to see them, and then he asked if he could stay at my house, as he was feeling embarassed  because his mum died. I think that because people come in, hugging and telling him how sorry they were, shedding tears for him, he felt smothered, and as he was so young, he didn't know how to cope with it, and of course with his leg in plaster, he couldn't get away!
 Although Nina did not believe in any church, seeing herself as a Pagan, Jan had decided to have a short send-off  in the Uniondale church, for his own, and also Andreas's sake, and the reverend did a beautiful sermon, and looking at Ellinor, Nina's mum's face that was now so peaceful, I knew that he had done the right thing.
The day after the funeral Ellinor and Maria left, and as it goes, people started to go their own ways again, with their own little heartaches and joys, and problems, and soon we were all alone, but for Ronalee, who stayed a rock during this time. Luckily Irma was still there, and Jan's old and trusted friend Peter came to stay for a while, and invited Jan to his farm, to get him a way for a bit.
By now of course I knew that I could not go and work, so I phoned Tony, and although he was a bit thrown, he understood, ans assured me of a job whenever I wanted to go back.
The resillience of the human race is actually fantastic, for as soon as all the visitations and stuff was over, and we were alone again, things got back to almost normal, and Jan even started to smile again now and then!