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Chapter 6: The Letter Michaela made her way into the telegraph office where Horace was sitting in his usual chair and sorting the mail. “Good morning, Horace,” Michaela said with a smile, hoping to get one in return. “Mornin’, Dr. Mike,” he replied, not looking up. “You only got a letter today. It’s from Boston.” “Oh, alright,” Michaela said, delighted that someone in her family had finally gotten word and replied about the pregnancy. Horace handed her the envelope and went back to his work. “How are you feeling today?” “Just fine,” he replied. Michaela swallowed hard, knowing that wasn’t the case. She knew Horace had to work some things out for himself though. She sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. “If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.” Horace didn’t act as if he’d heard what Michaela had said. She turned around and left the telegraph office reluctantly, hoping that something or someone would come along that could help Horace in the way that he needed. But all she could do for now was offer to listen to him. As she was starting across the street toward the clinic, she opened up the letter and began to read it. Dear Michaela, Your father and I have just received the wonderful news that you and Sully are expecting! We are offering our warmest thoughts and wishes to you and your new family. Your sisters are also sending their love along with this letter. Your father and I will be arriving on the twentieth of April by stagecoach, assuming there will be no delays at the train station. Your sisters wish to come along, but they have other obligations with their families. We will see you soon! Love, mother and father Michaela put the envelope away with a smile on her face as she walked into the clinic, but as she shut the door and glanced at the calendar on the wall, she realized that the twentieth was tomorrow! She didn’t have the house prepared yet, and she would have to have Brian and Matthew share their room again in order for Josef and Elizabeth to have room. Perhaps they would be content with staying at the clinic again. Michaela didn’t need the added stress of making sure the children were comfortable with sharing rooms, and she knew it would be an easier transition for Brian if he didn’t have to give his room up. After putting her medical bag on the bench beside the door so she wouldn’t forget it on her way home, she sat down at her desk and pulled the letter out again. A few minutes later, Sully walked in with a bouquet of fresh wildflowers in his hand. “Sully! They’re beautiful!” she exclaimed as he shut the clinic’s door behind him. “What makes you think they’re for you?” he asked with a wink. Michaela knew he was joking, and she held her hands out. He placed them in her hands and she brought them to her nose. “They smell wonderful. Where did you find them?” “They were the first blooms of the season,” he replied. “Really?” “Yep.” Michaela walked over and poured water into a vase before sticking the beautiful arrangement into it. “This adds the perfect touch of color to this drab office.” She yawned a little and Sully smiled at her. “How are ya feelin’ today?” “Very good. Every since the baby started kicking, I’ve felt more alive for the first time in a long time.” “Oh? I believe that’s what you said after our first night as husband and wife,” Sully replied with a grin. “Sully!” Michaela blushed. She quickly sat back down at her desk. Sully leaned across to give her a kiss. The kiss grew deeper by the moment, and soon, Sully had pulled Michaela out of her chair and into his arms. They held each other as their kisses grew more impassioned. “Mmm,” Michaela mumbled against his mouth. Sully pulled away from her lips for a moment. “Hmm?” “Not here!” she whispered with a laugh. “Patients upstairs?” he asked, planting another kiss on her lips. “No,” she replied. Sully scooped her up in his arms and started up toward the recovery rooms. As Sully was starting up the first step, a shout from outside the clinic halted him in his tracks. “Dr. Mike!” It was Grace! Sully put Michaela down and they both rushed out of the clinic to see what the commotion was about. “Grace?” Michaela asked. “You’ve gotta come quick! It’s Myra!” Hank, who had come out of the saloon to find out what was going on, felt his heart skip a beat when Grace mentioned Myra’s name in that frantic voice. “What happened?” Michaela asked urgently. “We were havin’ lunch, and she just doubled over in pain! Somethin’s wrong!” Michaela stepped into the clinic, grabbed her medical bag, and rushed across town with Grace. Sully and Hank were following closely behind. Myra was slumped across the table at Grace’s Café. “Help me get her to the clinic,” Michaela ordered. Sully picked the young woman up. “Be careful with her,” Hank begged in a desperate voice. Michaela looked at him and she thought she could see tears starting to form in his eyes. She had never, in the short time she had been in Colorado Springs, seen Hank Lawson shed one little tear over anyone. She knew he was in love. *~* Sully, Hank, Jake, Grace, Robert E., Dorothy, Loren, and even Horace were waiting outside of the clinic for word from Dr. Mike or Colleen. Horace made a point to stay as far away from Hank as he could, and Sully was keeping an eye on the both of them. Horace hated that Myra had broken off their courtship because she fell for Hank, but he knew that he couldn’t just do nothing. He had to do something to let Myra know that he didn’t hate her, and he figured that waiting for word from the doctor would be the first step. “How long have they been in there?” Hank asked. “What if she’s dyin'?” “Dr. Mike’s gonna take good care of her,” Grace assured the man that she normally wouldn’t speak to unless he was having a meal at her café. “That woman better not go cuttin’ on her,” Hank warned. “Myra might need surgery,” Dorothy replied cautiously. “Michaela’s a good doctor, and she’ll make sure that nothin’ happens to her.” “What’s takin’ so long?” Hank asked. Horace looked up and watched the man as he began to pace along the porch. He knew then that Hank cared for Myra. If Hank loved Myra and Myra loved Hank, what could Horace do? There was nothing he could do to get in the way of that, and he wanted Myra to be happy most of all. He figured that if he could accept that, he might start to feel a little better. A few minutes passed and the door opened. Michaela stepped out with a look of worry on her face. “What’s wrong with her?” Hank asked. The rest of those waiting stood and looked at the doctor with concern in their eyes. “Myra has a growth.” “A growth?” Loren asked. “What kind of a growth?” Michaela swallowed hard. “I believe it’s a tumor the size of a peach pit.” “What does that mean?” Horace asked nervously. “It means that I’ll have to operate, and if I have to, I’ll need to remove the ovary it’s on to reduce the risk of a relapse.” She saw confused eyes staring in her direction. “In case the tumor is cancerous, I may have to remove the entire ovary.” “You’re gonna take somethin’ out of her?” Hank asked. “Will she live?” “There are always risks, but there is a chance that she could be experiencing internal hemorrhaging due to the growth. I won’t know until I operate, but the chances that she could die because of this growth are very high. If it is indeed cancerous, the sooner it’s removed the better.” Hank swallowed hard and he wasn’t sure if he should believe what he was hearing. Myra couldn’t die. He wasn’t a praying man, but if he was, he’d pray to God not to take her away from him. “Can I see her? Is she awake?” Hank asked, swallowing the lump in his throat. “She’s awake, but she’s very tired due to the medication.” Hank walked into the clinic. Colleen was standing at the operating table, preparing the instruments Dr. Mike had asked her to find. “She’s upstairs, Hank,” Colleen said without having to ask him what he wanted. She pointed toward the door and he hurried upstairs to see Myra before her surgery. When he stepped into her room, he saw that she was lying no her back with her hand over her stomach. She was in a gown Michaela had put on her for examination, and she looked so fragile. Her face was pale, and he could see that her breaths were quick and heavy. “Myra,” he whispered. Myra looked over at him and Hank could have sworn that a little of the color came back to her face. She smiled at him a little. “Did Dr. Mike tell ya?” “There’s a whole crowd of people out there worried about ya. The doc told us all what’s wrong. Don’t get mad at her, ‘cause we probably woulda forced it out of her eventually.” Myra chuckled a little. She reached out for Hank’s hand, and he didn’t mind when she squeezed it hard. “Despite the problems we’re havin’, I’m glad you’re here.” “There ain’t no more problems,” Hank replied. “What?” “When I heard what happened to ya, I felt like I was gonna lose ya, and I realized that you matter more to me than anything. First thing I’m gonna do once you get to feelin’ better is let all the girls outta their contracts. I’ll put ‘em all on the next stagecoach to Denver so they can find other jobs.” “You mean it?” Myra asked. “You’re really doin’ this for me?” Tears welled in her eyes, and she bit back a cry. “I mean it. I’ll just start chargin’ more for my whiskey.” He winked at her and Myra chuckled. “I do love you, Hank.” Hank smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Myra's lips. “I’m glad to hear that.” *~* After Myra’s surgery, Hank went to sit with her after hearing the news that she had survived the surgery. Michaela had to remove the ovary that was carrying the tumor, because it was a bit larger than she had expected. Luckily there seemed to be no sign of its spreading, and there had been no internal bleeding. Myra was a lucky young woman! After the surgery, Sully and Michaela walked over to Grace’s for dinner. Michaela informed Hank to let her know as soon as Myra woke up. She hoped the effects of the anesthesia would wear off within the next hour or so. After that happened, she knew Myra would be in a great deal of pain when she woke, so the doctor would need to be there to give her something for it. Sully noticed that Michaela’s thoughts were in another place as Grace brought a slice of pie for him and two for Michaela who was bound to be starving. “Michaela? There’s pie right in front of you and you ain’t eatin’ it. Are ya thinkin’ ‘bout Myra?” “Hmm? Oh!” she realized that Sully had been speaking to her. “I’m sorry. It’s been such a long day.” “Yeah. It sure has. You better eat to keep up your strength.” Michaela started to take a bit of her dessert when she remembered something she had to tell Sully. “Oh! I completely forgot!” “About what?” “I received a letter from mother and father today. They’re supposed to arrive tomorrow on the stagecoach.” “Tomorrow?” “Yes,” Michaela replied with a sigh. “It’s been a hectic day, and I was going to ask Brian if he’d mind moving into Matthew’s room for awhile.” “Would they mind stayin’ at the clinic? It’s not that I don’t want ‘em to stay at the house, it’s just that we’ve only got the baby’s room as a spare room. I’m thinkin’ that if our family grows anymore, I’m gonna have to add on to the house.” Michaela smiled. “Well, let’s just focus on getting this one into the world before we start thinking about any more.” “You still want more, right?” Sully asked hopefully. Michaela smiled and nodded. “Of course I do. I’m sure mother and father won’t mind staying at the clinic.” “They ain’t stayin’ till the baby’s born, are they?” “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Michaela said with a laugh. “You don’t mind them being here do you?” “Of course not. Your parents are great. It’s just that it’d be nice to have a little privacy. With them at the house, it might be a little difficult for us to get some alone time at night. They’d be right across the hall.”” Michaela smiled knowingly and the two continued to eat their dessert in silence. Sully couldn’t help but thinking about their encounter at the clinic earlier before Myra’s surgery. As he watched Michaela, her eyes met his. They both began to think about earlier, and Sully knew Michaela was thinking about it because her cheeks began to turn a little red. Michaela quickly finished her dessert. “You ready to go home?” The truth was plain on Michaela’s face, but she knew she had to wait for Myra to wake. “Yes,” Michaela replied, “but I must wait for Myra to wake up.” Sully swallowed hard and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go get the kids. They went fishin’, so maybe by the time we get back to town, she’ll be awake.” Michaela nodded. She and Sully stood and kissed each other softly before leaving money on the table for Grace. Michaela started off for the clinic while Sully went to the livery to get the wagon. When she arrived at the clinic, she found Hank just starting out the door. “She’s wakin’ up,” Hank said nervously. “She sounds like she’s hurtin’ awful badly.” “I’ll get her some morphine for the pain.” Hank nodded and walked back upstairs to hold Myra’s hand while Michaela prepared the proper dosage. *~* That night, the children had all gone to bed, and Michaela was finishing the dishes. Sully was outside putting the wagon in the barn, which was quite a chore trying to fit it inside with the wagon the children had kept after Charlotte died. After the dishes were dried and put away, Michaela sat down by the fire to get started on a christening gown she wanted to make for the baby. She knew it was a bit early, but she wanted to have it finished and out of the way before the baby came. She started with the pieces she had already cut out a few days earlier, and before too long, her head lolled back onto the back of the chair and she fell asleep. When Sully came in from the barn, he saw Michaela sleeping soundly. He didn’t want to wake her, but he knew that if he didn’t, her back would be sore in the morning, and those mood swings would come into full effect, making life miserable for everyone around. He knelt beside the chair and gently pulled the sewing materials out of his wife’s beautiful hands. He put them aside and gently rubbed her belly. “Michaela,” he whispered. “Hmm?” she asked gently, her eyes not daring to open. “Come on up to bed.” “Mhm, in a minute,” she whispered. “Just finishing some sewing.” He knew she was completely out of it, and he had to laugh to himself. “Come on,” he whispered. He gently picked her up into his arms and carried her up to bed. |