| Chapter 10: Dreams Can Come True
“Charlotte?” Michaela tapped on her friend and patient’s door, and she heard a noise from inside. “Come in, Dr. Mike,” the older woman invited. Michaela walked in with a glass of water. “I thought you might be thirsty.” “Yes, thank you,” Charlotte responded, accepting the glass of cool water. Michaela sat down in a chair next to Charlotte’s bed. The woman was starting to wither away slowly. Her hair was becoming lighter as the gray grew into place. Her skin was pale and starting to wrinkle. She had lost a tremendous amount of weight, and Michaela was very worried. It pained her to realize that Charlotte wasn’t going to be around for the wedding. She was sure the poor woman wouldn’t last until May. “Charlotte?” “Hmm?” the woman asked, her wonderful spirit still sparkling in her tired eyes. “Have you spoken to Brian lately?” “Yes,” Charlotte replied with a nod. “He came to see me when you went to eat lunch. “I don’t know how to help him, Charlotte.” “It’s hard to help somebody deal with losin’ someone,” Charlotte replied. “I told him somethin’ that I thought might help. I hope you don’t mind.” “What’s that?” Michaela asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Charlotte smiled a little bit and shook her head. “He’s so worried that I’m gonna be mad at him for callin’ you ‘ma’.” Michaela wasn’t sure if she’d heard correctly! “What?” Michaela asked. “Oh Charlotte, I didn’t tell him he had to call me that, I assure you.” “I know you didn’t. He asked me if it was alright.” “He did?” “Yes. He really loves you, Dr. Mike. He asked me if I would be mad at him for calling you ‘ma.’ He even had an explanation planned out. He told me that it was because Colleen and Matthew had had a mother longer than he had, and he wants to have one too.” “Oh,” Michaela replied quietly, looking down. She had had no idea that Brian wanted to think of her as his mother too. It was going to happen, she would be a mother-type figure for those children, but she never imagined they would want to think of her like that. She didn’t want to be just a replacement. She really did want those children to be her children in her heart and possibly in theirs someday. But, she wasn’t expecting them to call her ‘ma.’ “I don’t want you feelin’ bad, Dr. Mike. You’re going to be their mother, and if they wanna call you ‘ma,’ I’ll be thrilled!” “You don’t have to say that.” “Just because I’m dyin’ don’t mean those kids have to be miserable. I’ve seen the way they look at you. They adore you, believe me. They ain’t gonna give you trouble when the time comes for them to live with you.” “I just find this entire situation unorthodox. I’m trying to build a life and a career for myself while planning a wedding that is months away. I’m caring for a friend who wants me to take her children. You’re already telling the children to think of me as their mother too, and I’m overwhelmed!” Charlotte chuckled a bit. “I know most folks wouldn’t take to lettin’ their children get close to somebody else as a parent. But I ain’t like most folks. Besides, you need to get used to bein’ overwhelmed, because once you have a family, especially mine, you’re gonna be overwhelmed at least twice a day.” The two women laughed together, and Michaela felt something lift off of her. Her guilt for becoming close to her friend’s family was slowly slipping away. She could see how much Charlotte trusted her, and all she wanted to do was make her proud. “I’ve always had a dream that I’d have a bunch of children, and a husband who’d us all very much.” “Dreams can come true, you know?” Charlotte asked. “Your dream already is comin’ true. So is mine.” “Yours?” “My children are gonna have a ma and a pa that will look after them once I’m gone. There’s not many folks who can say the same. I am grateful to you, doc. You’ve been a wonderful friend, and you’re going to make a wonderful mother.” “Thank you for the vote of encouragement,” Michaela replied with a laugh. Her eyes became misty and she frowned a bit. “I have the feeling that once you’re gone, I’m not going to know what to do. I’m going to be lost.” “First of all, everybody’s lost when they’re first startin’ out. Children don’t come with instructions, but Lord knows there were times I wish they did. But you’re doin’ just fine from what I understand. I’m up here in bed all day, and I ain’t heard of nothin’ bad happenin’. Brian came up here and told me you wouldn’t let him go to the new homestead without my permission, but he also told me he understood that you were just protectin’ him.” “He did?” “My boy’s a smart one. He understands people better than they might think.” “I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Michaela noticed Charlotte starting to doze off, so she left the room quietly and was surprised to run into her mother in the hall. “Mother! You startled me,” Michaela whispered, catching her breath. “I’m sorry, Michaela. I was wondering if I could have a word with you?” “Of course,” Michaela replied, dread knotting up in the pit of her stomach. She began to wonder if this was when everything was going to fall apart. Perhaps her mother’s nice gestures and kind words lately had been nothing but a gimmick; some part of the secret that everyone in town seemed to be hiding. Either way, she followed her mother into the room that her parents had been occupying. “What did you want to speak to me about?” “Well, I just wanted to apologize,” Elizabeth began. “Apologize? Are my ears deceiving me?” Michaela asked. Elizabeth sighed heavily and shook her head. “Honestly, Michaela, if you won’t let me apologize to you, I don’t know what else I can do to prove to you that I care.” “I’m sorry,” Michaela replied, feeling extremely guilty and suspicious all at the same time. “Go on.” “Over the last few weeks, I’ve gotten to know Mr. Sully. I know I disregarded him when you first brought him home for lunch, but I see now that you love him and he loves you. The look in his eyes when he sees you is the look that Josef used to have when he saw me.” Michaela took her mother’s hand. “He still looks at you that way, mother. I can see it.” Elizabeth smiled along with her daughter. “I hope the two of you can be as happy as your father and I are. I know you’ll have one benefit in your marriage that Josef and I didn’t have.” “What’s that?” “You aren’t a nagging housewife. You are doing something with your life, and you are willing to let him have his own opinions.” “Mother,” Michaela began, swallowing hard. “I want you to know that even though we have our differences, I love you. You’ve contributed to a lot of who I am today.” “At least it’s good to know that I’ve had some influence on your upbringing. You always had your father wrapped around your little finger.” Michaela smiled and hugged her mother. “Thank you for supporting me. That is what you’re doing, isn’t it?” “Yes. For once in my life, I’m going to do the right thing and support my daughter. I hope it isn’t too late to start.” “Of course not.” “Now just let me make it clear that I will never understand why you want to live here. But as long as you’re happy, and you’re making a difference in people’s lives, that’s what matters.” “Oh mother,” Michaela replied, pulling her into another hug. The door opened, and Josef walked in. A look of delight and surprise flashed over his wrinkled features. “Now this is something encouraging,” he said with a clap of his hands. Michaela and Elizabeth chuckled as they pulled apart. Michaela wiped the tears from her eyes and walked over to hug her father. “Thank you both for being her; for supporting me.” She left the room and Josef looked at Elizabeth. “What was that about?” “Let’s just say that our daughter and I are starting to see eye-to-eye.” *~* The day seemed to pass by quickly, and Michaela was missing Sully. But, she knew that she shouldn’t expect to see him every day, because he had other things to do with the house and such. He also went to visit the reservation often. Michaela couldn’t expect him to be around at all hours of the day and night. She had just gotten home from town. After she left the clinic, she had met the other ladies at the church to work on the wedding dress. It was coming along beautifully, but Michaela couldn’t believe her wedding was so many months away. May seemed like an eternity, and she wanted so very much to start off the new year with a new husband and family. But, she supposed she could wait. She knew Sully was definitely worth it. Michaela heard a noise coming from outside, and she walked over to the window. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, but she was still cautious. She still hadn’t completely adjusted to the quiet country nights in Colorado Springs. She heard something out on the porch, and she swallowed hard. She knew that someone was definitely out there. She slowly tiptoed over to the door and opened it. There was nothing there, but a piece of paper on the porch captured her eye. She slowly stooped down to pick it up, and then stood quickly to look around her for signs of an intruder. When she didn’t see anything suspicious, she looked down at the piece of paper. She opened the door to the homestead a bit to let some of the candle light filter out and illuminate the paper enough for her to read it. It read: Meet me in the barn. Love, S. A smile spread over Michaela’s face, and she knew that Sully was waiting for her. She quickly walked into the house and ran a brush through her hair, feeling as happy as a girl going on her first stroll with a handsome young suitor. With one last look in the mirror, she walked out of the house and toward the barn. She could see shadows bouncing off of the walls of the inside of the barn, and she knew Sully had candles lit. “Sully?” she asked, stepping into the entrance of the barn. She smiled when she saw Sully standing in the barn wearing his usual buckskins, surrounded by candles. Normally she would have been concerned, because it was a fire hazard, but tonight was different. Tonight the only thing she could focus on was Sully. “You got my note.” “Well, I couldn’t help but get it. You made enough noise putting it on my doorstep.” She grinned a big white smile, and Sully laughed. “Yeah, I figured you probably woulda heard. I couldn’t just stand out here all night. I had to get you out here.” “What is all of this?” She stood on the other side of the barn, feeling those usual feelings that she felt when she was near him. “I figured you’d been workin’ hard today and you could use some holdin’.” “Oh?” Michaela asked. Sully held his hand out, and Michaela walked over and took it. They settled down on the picnic blanket that Sully had placed on the cold floor of the barn. Sully put his arm around her protectively and she leaned against him. “I also figured you could use some relaxin’. I know you’ve been frettin’ lately. You’ve been worried.” “I think I have good reasons to be.” “You don’t need to worry, Michaela,” he replied, rubbing her shoulders with his firm, strong hands. Michaela sighed and relaxed her body against his chest. “That feels nice,” she whispered. Sully smiled and he could feel her breath start to quicken. She turned in his arms to look up into his beautiful eyes with her own. Sully felt breathless as he looked into her beautiful sparkling eyes. He realized that part of her beauty was the fact that her eyes were two slightly different colors. He loved that about her, thinking that it enhanced the beauty she already had. “I almost forgot,” Sully said quickly, pulling his hands away from Michaela’s shoulders. She was disappointed, wanting to feel more of his hands on her. She didn’t think she could wait until May to be with him seeing as the slightest touch ignited a fire deep inside of her. Sully pulled something out of a pouch and kept it clenched in his fist. “What is it?” Michaela asked curiously. Sully grinned at her and decided to play around a little bit. “You have to get it from me,” he replied. Michaela grabbed his hand and tried to pry his fingers open to see her surprise. Sully was clenching his fist so tight that his knuckles were white. He chuckled at the look of determination on Michaela’s face. When she couldn’t get the surprise out of his hand, she decided to play with him as well. She brought her face up an inch away from his and planted a passionate kiss upon his lips, letting her tongue slip into his mouth. She kissed him with such force that he fell onto his back and his free hand began to rub Michaela’s back. As he did that, his clenched hand started to relax. Michaela took the opportunity to pull away, grab his hand, and pull out her surprise. “You tricked me!” Sully laughed out loud as Michaela sat up eagerly to look at Sully’s gift. Michaela’s jaw dropped when she saw a beautiful gold locket. It was shaped like a heart and had a tiny clasp. She pried it open with her fingernails to find that when it opened up, the inside was inscribed with the words ‘My heartsong.’ Tears formed in Michaela’s eyes, and Sully brushed them away when they began to fall. “It’s true,” he whispered. “You are my heartsong. I love you.” He leaned in to capture Michaela’s lips. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him. She didn’t want the moment to end, and before she knew it, the kiss had heated up and she was lying on her back with Sully staring down at her. “Sully, I never thought I could be this happy. You’ve made me so happy.” Sully smiled down at Michaela, as her cheeks flushed into a beautiful shade of rose. He leaned in to kiss her again, when an ‘Ahem’ was heard from the doorway of the barn. Michaela and Sully looked over to see Josef standing there with a slight look of embarrassment on his face. Michaela quickly pushed Sully off of her as if she were a young girl being caught with a boy by her father. It was different because she was an adult, but it still felt the same, because she wasn’t married. She and Sully stood up, and she gave him an apologetic look. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Michaela’s face was nearly purple, and Sully wasn’t quite sure if Michaela was actually breathing. “Uh, no. We were just . . .” Michaela’s voice trailed off and Josef chuckled. “Ah yes, I know what it’s like. Young love.” “What are you doing out here this late? Is it mother?” “No. Actually your mother wanted me to drop these apples off to you. She didn’t want me to go alone, but she also wanted you to get them before they began to bruise. So, here I am. I’ll just leave them in your house and let you two get back to . . .” He cleared his throat. “Oh second thought, Sully, may I speak to you outside?” Sully swallowed hard and walked out of the barn, feeling afraid of Michaela’s father for the first time. Michaela felt embarrassed, but she knew that her father wouldn’t say anything to embarrass Sully. She knew that soon Josef would be heading back to town, and she would be left alone with Sully again. While that thought made the fire inside of her begin to burn again, it quickly subsided when she realized how awkward it might be. Outside, Sully felt at a loss for words. “Dr. Quinn, I didn’t mean any disrespect by what happened back there.” Josef started to laugh. “First of all, it’s Josef, son, and second of all, I know you didn’t. I know my daughter well enough to know that she won’t do anything she’s not ready for until she’s properly married. I just wanted to ask you if you could escort me back to town. I’m not too fond of the woods this late at night.” “Oh, of course, Dr., I mean Josef,” Sully replied, relieved that Josef wasn’t going to lecture him. “Couldn’t you have asked me that in there?” “In front of my little girl? I wouldn’t want her thinking her father’s afraid of the dark, now would I?” Josef winked at his future son-in-law and patted him on the back. Sully helped him into the surrey he had borrowed from Horace, and went into the barn to tell Michaela good night. “I best be getting home,” Sully said quietly. “I’m gonna drop your pa off in town.” “What did he say?” Michaela asked with a disappointed sigh. “Nothin’. I just remembered that I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.” “Alright. Thank you very much for the locket. It’s lovely, Sully.” “Just like you,” he whispered, giving her a tender kiss. When they broke apart, they laced their fingers together for a moment before Sully pulled away, leaving Michaela to blow out the candles from their beautiful few minutes of perfection. |