Tales from Bethlehem:
The Serving Girl's Story
By Stephen B. Bagley
It was the sheep. When they arrived, I knew something strange was going on. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
My name is Galhalonga, and I am a serving girl at Keloe's Inn. Let's get two things out of the way up front: First, my name is easy to say. It's Gah-ha-lon-ga. Easy pleasey. Second, I serve wine and meat. That's all. Some men think a serving girl is a Roman tart. That may be so for some -- not to name names because I don't gossip, but Florence at Nero's Inn of the Seven Seas has such things said about her and not just by me -- but I hold onto my honor. My boyfriend Gregor will marry me as soon as we have enough coin to start us in a trade.
Gregor is tall and lanky and sweet. He takes a bath once a month whether he needs it or not. I admit I sometimes have to provide the desire for his bath, but I figure that's my job as his intended. I should keep him clean and sober. He will make a good father for our nine children even though he seems to stutter a lot when I mention that. I hope the children don't inherit that or his nose. Really, his nose is fine, but his face is too small for that nose. That nose needs a large face. Like the side of a mountain, for instance. But I love everything about him, including his stuttering and beak.
It had been a busy night. Our inn was rafter deep with villagers and travelers. The Roman Emperor Augusta Caesar had said that everyone had to return to her or his native village so that they could be taxed. Yes, I know it makes no sense since people could be taxed anywhere, but that's what he said. Like most men, he needs to get a good woman to guide him.
So our inn in Bethlehem was packed. The other serving girl Dora Ruth and I never got a chance to rest our feet as we delivered platters of roasted lamb, roasted beef, roasted goose, and roasted eel to our loud patrons. (Linos, our cook, would roast the wine if he could.)
"Galhalonga, where is that dimwit?" the same such cook hollered at me.
I glanced around the common room. Gregor was nowhere to be seen. In fact, I hadn't seen him since Keloe sent him to show some people to our stable. Our rooms were full, but leave it to Keloe to figure out a way to make a few more coins. He had rented this young couple one of our stable stalls, supposedly because the woman was about to give birth, but it was really for the coins. The man would steal the gold from his dead grandmother's eyes if he could.
"I need him to get a cask for me," Linos said. "Find him and tell him to get back to work!"
I nodded, not wanting to bellow above the crowd like a common fishwife. I snatched a hunk of bread and a bunch of grapes and hide them in my skirt. My dimwit -- Gregor, I mean, would appreciate the food.
Outside the cold air was a relief. A thousand stars lit up the night. One seemed to dance in the sky above me. I had never seen anything like it, but I didn't spend much time looking at the heavens. There were too many things that needed to be done here on the ground.
I heard a noise. Gregor was standing outside the stable.
"There you are," I said. "What are you up to? You have cook so mad --"
"Shh," he said, reaching out and taking my hand.
“Now, I done told you that you won't be getting no sweetness from me until we're wed so --"
"Be quiet," he said. "Listen. Listen."
I stood there silent for a few moments. The night seemed full of strange meaning, like a dream where things make sense but you can't explain afterwards.
"What are we listening for?" I asked quietly.
"For the world to change," he said.
From inside the stable came a baby's first cry.
It's a sweet sound, that first cry, my mother always said. It's when you know those months of worry are over and then you can put those fears aside ... and shoulder new ones, she always added, with a mock glare at me and my sisters.
I looked at Gregor. His eyes were wet, and he seemed overwhelmed. Obviously he would of no use when our children were born, not that men ever are. They always act like they've done something important when a baby is born even though women do all the work.
I patted his hand. "Babies come all the time, dear. You need to get back in there before Linos comes looking for you."
"Can't you feel it?" he asked, his voice filled with awe.
"Maybe you should sit down for a moment," I said, leading him over to a bench. "I think cook has hit you on the head a few too many times. Here." I handed him the bread and the grapes. "You'll feel better after you eat."
He nodded and started chewing. I stood off to the side, watching the star. It was so bright that as I got my night eyes, I could see clearly. Even though my breath came out in clouds, I didn't feel cold. I had got too hot in the inn, I thought. Keloe needed to put in some windows. It would help the smell, too.
Something nudged my rear. "Stop it," I said, not turning around.
Another nudge. "Gregor, that's enough," I snapped. "If you feel good enough to be handsey, you feel good enough to work --"
The nudge became a push, and I fell. I rolled over, furious. I stared at the determined face of a sheep.
"You -- ewe!" I sputtered.
Gregor was laughing as he came over and helped me up.
"It was being baaaaaad," he said.
"Oh, stop it," I snapped. Everywhere I looked, I could see sheep, walking quietly toward the stable. Gregor and I moved in front of them, pushed by a tide of small, smelly bodies.
"Where is the babe?"
For a startled moment, I thought one of the sheep had spoken, but then I saw several shepherds, moving among their flocks.
"Babe?" I asked stupidly.
"We were in the fields, watching our flocks," another shepherd said. "And then ..." His voice trailed away.
Another shepherd took up his words. "And then ... an angel appeared. And spoke to us."
The first man said, "It said, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring you great tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.'"
The men all nodded. They didn't seem crazy. Well, not too crazy.
"He's in there," Gregor said, pointing to the stable.
The men came forward. One of them stopped and said to me, "And then the heavens were filled with angels. And they said, 'Glory to God in highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.'" His tears glistened in the starlight. He walked on.
Gregor pulled me after them. I followed him reluctantly, somehow afraid of what I would see. I felt my breath coming in gasps. I stopped moving, resisting Gregor, resisting what lay ahead.
"Don't be afraid," Gregor said, holding my hand. "You have only joy to gain." He looked at me as I stood there. "Or I can walk you back to the inn, if that's what you want."
"But you'll come back here, won't you?" I asked. "You won't stay with me."
He didn't reply, but I knew the answer. I could feel Gregor changing in some way that I didn't understand. Either I changed with him, or I would lose him.
My heart felt heavy, but I squared my shoulders and walked to the stable to make my way inside. The shepherds were gathered around a woman and man. Moving closer, I could see a newborn, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
I took a deep breath. This was all? It was just a babe. I couldn't understand what all the commotion was about ... and then the babe turned His tiny head and looked at me, His clear blue eyes meeting mine for a moment. A moment that stretched into eternity and beyond and the heaviness fell away and my soul filled with such possibilities and such joy that I couldn't keep myself from laughing like I hadn't laughed since I was a child or maybe ever.
Although many years have passed since that night, I tell you now that He knew me and smiled at me, the serving girl.
I don't know if the world changed then, as Gregor said, but I know I did.
Copyright 2009 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved.
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