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Chapter 3: Angel Horace still hadn’t woken up by the time dusk fell, but Grace promised to stay with Myra at the clinic in order to watch over him. They promised Dr. Mike to come get her as soon as he woke up; if he woke up. He was still in critical condition, so all anyone could do was hope and pray that he would pull through. Sully, Matthew, and Sully were cleaning out the stables in the barn while Colleen sat milking the cow. Michaela, however, was taking a nap upstairs. She felt guilty for giving into her tiredness when she could be sitting with Horace, but Sully had to practically drag her away from the clinic so she could come home and rest. The sound of an infant crying woke Michaela from her slumber. She looked around to see that the room was dark. It was past sunset. She walked over to the window, peered out into the pale moonlight, and saw Matthew and Brian throwing hay at each other. She shook her head and realized that the infant crying was probably her subconscious preparing her for waking in the middle of the night. A voice from behind startled her. “Michaela.” The voice was followed by an infant’s whimper. Michaela whirled around to come face to face with a young, pale figure with black hair. She wore a plain blue and white dress and held a bundle in her arms. “Who are you?” Michaela demanded. The figure swallowed hard, her eyes sparkled with tears. “What do you want?” “You know who I am,” she whispered. “You’re married to my husband. You’re carrying the child that should be mine!” Michaela’s heart nearly stopped. She wondered if she was still dreaming, but she couldn’t move her hands to pinch herself. “Abagail,” Michaela whispered. “That’s right.” Michaela looked at the bundle in Abagail’s arms. She could see the child’s face, and it was as ghostly pale as its mother’s. “Hanna.” “Yes. This is Sully’s daughter.” Hanna had hair as black as coal like her mother had. She was beautiful! “I’m dreaming. I have to be.” “You’re not dreaming, Michaela.” “What do you want?” “He’s forgotten us. He doesn’t come to visit us on Sunday anymore.” “What?” Michaela asked. “He promised the night Hanna and I died, that he would come to our graves every Sunday. He broke that promise the day he married you.” “He hasn’t forgotten you. He speaks of you often. It just hurts him . . .” “He broke his promise! He came to the graveyard on Christmas day and he told me that he would always love me, but that you were the woman he knew he had to spend the rest of his life with. Now you are carrying his child! He has forgotten about me and our daughter!” “No!” Michaela exclaimed. Tears were forming in her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was going crazy or not, but she sure felt like it. “Sully is so worried about this baby. He’s worried that the same thing will happen to us as what happened to you and your daughter.” “It won’t.” “What?” Michaela asked. Abagail’s eyes stared into hers as if she was looking into her soul. “There will be no deaths when you give birth, only life and hope for the future.” Michaela felt a weight being lifted while at the same time, she felt a burden replacing it. She knew that she needed to ask Sully why he no longer came to Abagail’s grave. “Abagail, Sully hasn’t forgotten either of you. I have seen him sitting up late at night, staring into the fire. I know he’s thinking about what he lost, but at the same time, he’s thinking about the future.” Abagail began to cry. She fell to her knees with the child in her arms. “The cradle.” “Cradle?” “Before I died,” Abagail began, “I made Sully promise me that he would finish our daughter’s cradle.” “What?” “I didn’t know the baby was going to die. I didn’t know little Hanna wouldn’t get to grow up into a woman. I told Sully that I wanted him to make sure her cradle got finished. Hanna was early, and he still hadn’t put the finishing touches on her bed. He promised me, but he forgot! He never finished it!” “Abagail, I’m sure he had a good reason. I’m sure it was too painful.” “He broke his promise.” The door started to open, but Michaela didn’t notice. Before her eyes, Abagail and her unborn child disappeared. “Abagail wait!” “Abagail?” came her husband’s voice. Michaela turned, her eyes spilling tears. “Did you say her name?” “Oh, Sully,” she whispered. She was trembling and Sully pulled her into his arms. “What is it?” he asked. “Shh, what is it?” “Abagail came to me,” she whispered. She immediately regretted saying it. She wasn’t sure how Sully would react, or if he would even believe her. “What?” he asked incredulously. “I woke up to an infant crying . . . and Abagail was there with your daughter.” “Michaela,” he said, swallowing hard and shaking his head, “you must’ve been dreamin’.” “No! It wasn’t a dream. I know it wasn’t. She was kneeling on the floor crying, right there!” Michaela pointed to where she had last seen Abagail. “Oh, Sully, please don’t think I’m crazy. I know what I saw.” “Michaela, you’re real tired. Maybe you just think you saw . . .” “No!” Michaela exclaimed. “She was upset because you never come to the graveyard anymore.” “What? How did you . . .” “Abagail told me that you came to the graveyard and told her that you’d always love her but I was the woman you had to spend the rest of your life with.” Sully and Michaela moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “I did say that. I don’t visit them anymore because they ain’t my life. You and the children are my life.” He put his hand on her stomach. “This baby’s my life.” Michaela smiled at him and she hugged him. She wasn’t quite sure if he believed her or not. Then something came to her. “The cradle,” she whispered. “What?” Michaela pulled away and brushed the tears away from her eyes, wiping the perspiration from her upper lip. “The cradle. You promised Abagail that you would finish the cradle.” Sully stood and he looked down at his wife, not sure of what he was supposed to be feeling. “How did you know about that?” “She told me, Sully! I’m not crazy! I’m not making it up. She told me you promised to finish Hanna’s cradle, but you never did because Hanna died.” Sully sucked in a deep breath, and his eyes clouded over with his tears. “How could you know about it unless . . .” “She was here, Sully. She was right in front of me. I can’t explain it, but it’s true.” Sully knelt on the floor in front of Michaela as she sat on the bed. He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed her trembling hands and looked into her eyes. “I believe you. Nobody besides me knew Abagail had said that,” Sully replied. “It was just between the two of us, and I know I never mentioned it.” “Sully, you should finish her cradle.” “What?” “Hanna’s cradle. You should finish it.” “Why?” “Because Abagail thinks you’ve forgotten about them. She says you broke your promise.” “Michaela, I can’t just finish that cradle. It’s too hard. It ain’t right.” “Why not?” “Because I’ve got another child on the way, and finishin’ a cradle for a child that’s dead don’t seem like the right thing to do.” “Hanna was just as much your child as this one.” “You think I don’t know that? Why is this so important to you?!” Sully yelled, standing up and pacing the room. Michaela jumped at Sully’s anger. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him so angry or upset. “I can’t finish that cradle, Michaela!” “I’m sorry, Sully. I’m sorry I’ve upset you. But, I know that if you made a promise to me, I would want you to carry through on it. I know Hanna’s gone, but her memory and her spirit is living on. If you finish that cradle, she and Abagail can both rest in peace.” Sully walked back over to Michaela and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry I snapped at ya. I need to go do some thinkin’. I’ll be back late.” Michaela nodded and felt the urge to cry again. “I love you.” “I love you,” she replied quietly. Sully left the room and shut the door behind him. Michaela felt a chill and wondered if Abagail was still with her. *~* Horace was still sleeping, and Myra was watching over him while Grace napped in another room. There had been no change, and Myra was beginning to wonder if Horace had given up. Maybe he didn’t want to live. She knew he had wanted to drink his problems out of his mind, but he had gone too far. A gentle knock on the door startled Myra out of her thoughts. Maybe it was Grace coming to check on her. But the face that appeared when the door opened wasn’t Grace’s. “Hank? What are ya doin’ here?” Myra asked, rubbing her tired eyes. “I thought ya might like some company.” “That would be nice.” “How’s he doin’?” “No change,” Myra replied. “Dr. Mike ain’t sure he’s gonna make it.” “I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen.” “I know,” Myra replied. “We all make mistakes. We shouldn’t blame one another.” “Our ourselves,” Hank pointed out. Myra swallowed hard. She leaned over and put her hand on Horace’s forehead. His skin was still clammy. That wasn’t a good sign. “Hank, I need to talk to ya ‘bout somethin’.” “Okay.” “Not here. Not in front of Horace.” Hank nodded and followed her out of the room. “Alright. What’s goin’ on?” “Earlier, you said somethin’ that I wasn’t expectin’ to hear.” “You mean when I told ya I love ya?” “Yeah,” Myra replied. “Did you really mean it?” “’Course I did,” Hank replied. Myra took a deep breath. “I love you too.” Hank smiled at her, and Myra practically melted. He leaned in to kiss her, and she accepted his kiss for a moment before breaking away from him. “What’s the matter?” “I’ve been thinkin’.” “’Bout what?” “About your business. I ain’t really got a problem with the saloon.” “That’s good, 'cause that’s really all I know how to do.” “What I’ve got a problem with is the girls.” “What are you sayin’?” “I’m sayin’ that if you’re gonna make money from havin’ girls entertain different men, I can’t be with ya.” “Myra . . .” “I know it’s a lot to ask, because that’s part of runnin’ a saloon these days. I wouldn’t mind the girls workin’ there, but I don’t like what goes on in the back.” “Myra, you’re actually asking me to get rid of the biggest part of my business?” “I think it’d be a good thing to do.” “I can’t do that.” “Hank, before we even continue our relationship, you gotta decide what’s more important.” Myra walked back into Horace’s room to sit with him while Hank stood in the hallway, not knowing what to do next. *~* The old homestead had been abandoned for months now, and cobwebs had settled into every corner of the house and barn. Sully opened the door and could still faintly smell the stables before they’d been cleaned. Sully leaned against the door of the barn, and he lit a lantern to place upon a stable post. The light from the lantern illuminated the barn enough for Sully to make his way over to the cradle that had been sitting there since the night Hanna and Abagail died. He brushed the dust and the cobwebs off of it and picked it up. He took it over to place upon a large wooden crate, and he knelt down to run his hands over the smooth wood. The cradle was actually finished except for the final touch Sully wanted to add to it. He had intended to carve Hanna’s name into the front of it. She was to be the first Sully child to sleep in it, but she wasn’t supposed to be the last. Abagail and Sully hadn’t known for a fact that they were going to have a daughter, but they had both had the same vision of having a little girl, and they decided that they were going to prepare for one. Sully still remembered the pale look on Abagail’s face and the tears in her eyes when she asked him to finish the cradle. Michaela had been right. In order to put Abagail and Hanna both at rest, he had to keep his promise to finish the cradle. The one promise he couldn’t keep, however, was the promise he made to visit the graveyard every Sunday. Sully took out his knife and he began to carve Hanna’s name into it. He and Abagail had wondered about which way to spell their daughter’s name, and they had decided to spell it without the last ‘h’ because it was less common. With each letter he carved, more memories of Abagail’s pregnancy came flooding back to him. With each letter, he felt a little more at peace with his family’s passing. It was as if he was finishing up their unfinished business, when it was in fact his own business he hadn’t finished. When the work was done, Sully knew what he had to do. He picked up the cradle, which was surprisingly lightweight, blew out the light in the lantern, and he headed off into town. He passed all of the trees that he and Abagail had sat under during picnics, and they all seemed to be easing his pain. But the one thing that could take away most of the pain was the family he had waiting for him back at the homestead. They were the most important part of his life now, and going back to do something for the family he once had seemed to be a foreign experience. He finally made it into town and crossed the deserted streets into the churchyard. By the time he reached the graveyard, the wind had become chilly and he was starting to shiver. He placed the cradle down on Hanna’s grave and knelt down beside it. “Hanna, it’s your pa. I know I ain’t been comin’ ‘round anymore, but that don’t mean I love you any less. You’ll always be your papa’s first girl, and even though we didn’t get much time together, you were the light of my life for nine whole months. When you were born, I was so proud to be your pa, and I missed ya so much when you were gone. I will always love you and your ma. You both have a special place in my heart that nobody can ever take away.” He turned to Abagail’s grave. “You were the first lady I ever loved. You were beautiful and sweet, and I will never forget about you. Michaela is completely different from you, and I love her more than life itself. She and I are havin’ a baby soon, and I want ya to know that just because I’ve moved on, I ain’t forgot about ya. The reason I’m not comin’ around anymore is because I have a new family and a new life. I have to put them first now, but I will never forget what we had. Never.” Sully stood and turned around to walk away from Abagail and Hanna for the last time. He saw Loren standing a few feet away. “I didn’t wanna eavesdrop,” he said quietly. “But I saw ya headin’ across town, and I thought you mighta been a burglar. I’m sorry.” “It’s alright. I was finished.” “You finished my granddaughter’s cradle.” “Yeah.” “What made ya decide to do that?” “A lot of things,” Sully replied. He took a deep breath and realized how long he’d been gone. “I need to get back to my family.” Loren nodded in understanding. “Abagail would have appreciated what you’ve done.” Sully nodded. “I know.” He walked off after that, leaving Loren with his daughter and granddaughter. *~* Michaela sat in a rocking chair at her bedroom window. She was looking for any sign of Sully coming home. She felt terrible for asking him to finish that cradle, and she hoped that she hadn’t upset him too terribly. “Thank you,” came a voice nearby. Michaela stood and looked over toward the fireplace. Abagail was kneeling by the fire, rocking Hanna’s cradle with her hand. “He finished it,” Michaela whispered with a slight smile. “He did,” Abagail replied with a smile. “I know now that he’s happy with you and your children.” “Thank you, Abagail.” “Thank you for giving him a family, Michaela. Don’t worry about this pregnancy. Everything will be fine.” Abagail and Hanna disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and Michaela felt the tears beginning to fall again. The door to the bedroom opened and Sully walked in. He smiled at his wife when she walked over to hug him. “I figured you’d be in bed.” “You finished Hanna’s cradle.” “How’d you know?” “I just know,” Michaela whispered. She kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry, though. I shouldn’t have been so demanding.” “It’s alright. I made my peace with Abagail and Hanna.” “I know,” Michaela replied. She and Sully walked over to sit on the bed. Michaela swallowed hard and took Sully’s hands in hers. “If I ever get too demanding, please just let me know. I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” “Michaela, I love you so much, and I’m happy you talked me into finishin’ that cradle.” “You are?” “Yeah. I feel a lot better now that it’s done, and tomorrow, I’m going to get started on our baby’s cradle.” Michaela smiled and hugged her husband. “I love you too,” she whispered. Michaela and Sully fell asleep in one another’s arms later that night, and both of them had the same dream, a vision including the birth of their first child. The vision neither showed the child’s face nor revealed whether it was a boy or girl, but it did promise a safe and healthy delivery. |