| Chapter 8: Confusion
Sully had dropped Michaela off at the clinic and continued on out to the new homestead to get in a good day’s work. Michaela told him she would try to get out of the clinic around noon to bring him something for lunch. Michaela walked into the clinic to find her mother and Colleen standing at the exam table folding linens and bandages. The young doctor was immediately caught off guard and didn’t know what to say to the situation. “Hey Dr. Mike,” Colleen said with a smile. Michaela looked from her to Elizabeth who looked surprisingly happy to see her youngest daughter. “Your ma was just helpin’ me finish foldin’ these things.” “Alright. Thank you, mother,” Michaela said slowly, half expecting to wake up any moment. Michaela caught a glance between her mother and Colleen and wondered what it was. “I’m just going to check on Charlotte.” Michaela started upstairs, stealing a backward glance at the two. When she had disappeared, Colleen pulled on her jacket and helped Elizabeth with her coat. “I don’t feel right about this,” Colleen whispered to the woman that would be her grandmother one day. “It’s alright,” Elizabeth whispered, having softened up to the children since the evening before at Sully’s meeting. She put a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Your older brother has his instructions?” “Yes,” Colleen said with a nod. “And Miss Dorothy is upstairs to talk with Dr. Mike.” “Good. We have plenty of time then,” Elizabeth replied. She and Colleen went outside and waited as Horace drove up in his surrey. As soon as he arrived, he helped both ladies into the surrey and drove off toward the old homestead. “I still don’t feel right about this,” Colleen said softly. “Sneaking around Dr. Mike’s house . . .” “It’s for a good cause,” Elizabeth reminded her. “I think it’s real nice how you want to do this for her.” Elizabeth smiled a little at her future granddaughter. “Well, I’m not sure what you’ve heard about me, but despite all of that, I do love Michaela. I suppose we’re both handfuls and it’s just hard for us to get along. I want to get to know you children because some day, we’ll be a family. I want to get to know Mr. Sully because some day, he’s going to be my family too.” Colleen smiled at Elizabeth and gave her a little hug. “Ladies, do you have everything you need?” Horace asked. “Yes Horace,” Colleen replied, and they continued on in silence. They passed Matthew as they were leaving town. Horace nodded to him, and he took off on his horse toward the new homestead where Sully was building. *~* Dorothy was sitting with a sleeping Charlotte upstairs at the clinic. They had been discussing the meeting with Sully from the evening before, but Charlotte had been a bit drowsy and had nodded off. Dorothy had been sitting with her, waiting for Dr. Mike. Once she heard the footsteps of the doctor coming up the stairs, she stood and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. “Hello Dorothy,” Michaela greeted her with a surprised smile. “Michaela, can we talk?” Dorothy asked quickly but carefully as not to alarm the young woman. “Of course. Why don’t you wait for me downstairs, and I’ll be down as soon as I check on Charlotte.” “Alright,” Dorothy agreed. She walked downstairs. Michaela entered Charlotte’s room and saw her sleeping peacefully. She decided that she didn’t want to wake her, so she closed the door and started down the hallway. She found one of Brian’s toy carvings on the floor and smiled. She picked it up and held it delicately in her hands, running her fingers along the beautiful woodwork. Sully had quite a talent for carving and building, and she was more than thrilled that he was building their new home. She could hardly wait until May to marry him, and she was thinking about asking Sully if they could move the wedding up, even though she’d given him several reasons not to do so. Oh, but would it really be more work to marry sooner? She was so busy thinking about Sully that she nearly forgot about Dorothy waiting downstairs. As soon as she snapped out of her thoughts, she made her way down the stairs to find Dorothy pacing the exam room. “Dorothy? Are you feeling ill?” “Oh, no it’s nothin’ like that,” Dorothy promised. “I was just wonderin’ if you were gonna need any help on your weddin’ dress? Grace, Myra, and I would be more than willin’ to help you with it.” Michaela’s eyes widened. “Dorothy, we’re several months away from the wedding.” “Oh, I know, but I thought it would be nice to get started on the dress and have it finished early.” “Well, I could really use the help with it,” Michaela said slowly. “Good!” Dorothy exclaimed! “Why don’t we all meet at the church tomorrow? The Reverend is willin’ to let us all borrow it twice a week for a few hours. Oh, your mother and sisters want to help too.” “They do?” Michaela asked with surprise. “Yes. Your mother wants to order you a dress, but we convinced her to let us make it,” Dorothy replied. “My mother actually wants to help?” Michaela was starting to wonder if she was dreaming an awfully long dream. Every since she walked in on her mother and Colleen folding linens and smiling together, she had become suspicious that she wasn’t really awake. “I think she feels bad for not supportin’ ya earlier.” “Well, I wish she’d talk to me about that,” Michaela replied, folding her arms in concern. She wondered why her mother told Dorothy this instead of her own daughter. Michaela sighed and decided that if her mother wanted to help her in any way, she should just let it happen. “You said my sisters wanted to help? They’re leaving next week.” “They want to help while they’re here. They’ll be back before the weddin’ to help too,” Dorothy said with a smile. “That’s another reason to start on it early. They do want to help. What do ya say?” “Well, I suppose we could get started on it. It might be nice to look at it and know that this summer, I’ll be married to the man I love.” Dorothy grinned at her new friend and hugged her. “That’s the spirit. I’ll go tell the ladies. It looks like you’ve got a lot of work around here to do.” “You’re right about that. Thank you Dorothy.” Dorothy nodded and left the clinic. Michaela sighed and walked over to the window. She watched Dorothy run over to the mercantile where Grace and Myra were. She watched as they began talking in hushed tones. She was even more surprised when Loren ushered them into the store and closed the door behind them. Michaela felt her jaw drop, and she was about to walk over there to see what was going on when the door opened and Maureen ran in. “Michaela!” she exclaimed. “Maureen? What is it?” “It’s Claudette! We were walking in the meadow and she tripped. She can’t move her ankle.” “Oh dear,” Michaela whispered. She grabbed her medical bag and hurried with Maureen into the meadow. Claudette was limping over to sit on the porch of the church. Michaela and Maureen rushed over to her. “Claudette, are you alright?” Maureen asked. “I’m alright. I think I may have broken my ankle,” she replied through gritted teeth. “Let me take a look,” Michaela said softly. She helped her sister remove her shoe, and the older woman bit her bottom lip with worry. “I trust you, Michaela, but are you sure you know what you’re doing?” “I’ve seen much worse than this before, and I’ve treated much worse too.” “How bad is it?” Claudette asked. Michaela tenderly examined her sister’s foot, and after a few minutes she took a deep breath. “Well, it appears that you won’t be dancing at the Halloween party tonight. Your foot isn’t broken, but it’s badly sprained. Maureen, help me get her to the clinic so I can wrap her foot properly.” Maureen nodded and the two of them helped Claudette over the small wooden bridge and into the clinic. *~* Matthew had finished sawing all of the lumber Sully had left. More lumber was arriving in a few days, so Sully had to work with what he had. Matthew had come from town to tell Sully that Elizabeth and Colleen had gone to Michaela’s homestead. The ladies had gone to find something Elizabeth remembered Michaela having as a child. It was a design she had kept in an old diary that she told her mother she wanted to have for the design on her fancy china at her wedding. Elizabeth recalled that being a truly special moment with her daughter. She wanted to get that very design, and she knew Michaela still had that old diary, because it no longer occupied it’s place on Michaela’s bookshelf at home. She only hoped that Michaela’s childhood dream, the one she had before she became interested in being a doctor, would still hold a place in her heart. Sully was grateful to the town for helping him make Michaela’s dreams come true. Loren was being helpful by giving Sully discounts on supplies he needed for the new homestead. Even Jake and Hank were being helpful by making sure none of the townsfolk let the surprise slip. Everyone was keeping quiet, and Sully was concerned that Michaela was starting to grow suspicious. But, as long as she didn’t know what was going on, the better the surprise would be in the end. “That’s the last of it,” Matthew announced as he dropped the lumber off at Sully’s side. Sully had managed to start building the main framework of the house, and he couldn’t wait until dinnertime. Michaela was supposed to bring dinner out to him after the party, but he had other plans. “Thanks, Matthew. You best get into town and get into your costume.” “The party doesn’t start for another three hours.” “Three hours? Alright,” Sully replied. “Why don’t you go spend some time with Ingrid.” “Why would I want to do that?” Matthew asked, his voice becoming almost high-pitched, his face flushing red. Sully chuckled. “I know you’re sweet on her.” “Sully,” Matthew groaned. “You’re fifteen. I remember what it was like. Go on.” Matthew thought about it for a minute before nodded and riding off into town on his horse. Sully looked up at the sky and decided that he had better get moving on his plan for the evening. This was something that not even the townsfolk knew about. It was his little secret. *~* It was getting dark, and the townsfolk were gathering at the party. Music was playing, and children were dancing and laughing. Brian was wearing a Frankenstein costume while Colleen was Rapunzel. Matthew had dressed up like an Indian and had gotten several laughs and pats on the back. Michaela was talking with Charlotte, who had insisted on coming to the party. While Michaela was dressed in her black witch’s costume with a pointed hat and all, Charlotte wore her own clothes and stood behind the punch bowl to help serve. Even the Quinn family had joined the party. They weren’t dressed up either, but they wanted to see the town have some fun. Claudette, though her foot was still sore, and Maureen weren’t uptight anymore, and were actually enjoying themselves with Rebecca. Marjorie was still acting a bit stuck up, and Michaela noticed that Hank had his eye on her. Josef had a smile on his face as he looked at Michaela with pride. Her beautiful hair was hanging down her back, brushed out and almost glowing in the lights of the torches that lit up the dance area. “You look beautiful, Michaela,” Elizabeth said, walking over to take her daughter’s hands in hers. Michaela was nearly taken aback, but when her mother smiled at her, she knew she was sincere. It just amazed her that her mother had a compliment for her, especially when they were out in the dry, humid Colorado air. Her mother didn’t take kindly to uncomfortable air. “Thank you mother,” Michaela said with a smile. “I want you to know that even though I don’t think you should be living out here away from civilization, you truly seem to be doing this town a lot of good.” Michaela was impressed with her mother’s change of attitude. “I’m glad you’re learning to deal with the fact that this is my home now.” “You’ll always have a home in Boston.” Michaela only nodded, and she smiled as Josef took Elizabeth’s hand. “My dear, would you join me on the dance floor?” he asked, kissing his wife’s hand. Elizabeth’s face lit up like a happy little schoolgirl, and she and Josef moved onto the dance floor. “Save a dance for me!” Michaela called out to her father. “Always, Mike!” he promised. Michaela watched as her father and mother danced like two young lovers, holding each other close. Horace and Myra were dancing, smiling lovingly into each other’s eyes. Hank’s attention seemed to shift back and forth from Marjorie to Myra, but he soon extended his hand to the reluctant Marjorie. Marjorie glanced over at Michaela who only shrugged. She knew Hank would do nothing to hurt her sister, because if he did, he’d have to answer to her, Josef, Sully, and several others who would be mighty angry with him. Besides, it was time for Marjorie to enjoy herself a little. Marjorie took a deep breath and finally accepted his hand. He led her to the dance floor as Loren took Dorothy around in a spin. Michaela began to feel lonely and wondered if she should have Grace fix Sully up a dish and some cider. She wanted to be with him now and not wait until the party was over. But when she saw how happy Grace was with her future husband on that dance floor, Michaela couldn’t bare to break her away from him. Plus, she knew the children wanted her to stay. She giggled as she saw Matthew desperately try to dance out on the floor with Ingrid in his arms. She watched as Ingrid began to laugh, and Matthew broke down and they danced foolishly but enjoyed themselves at the same time. Colleen’s face was lit up with a smile as she danced for the first time with a boy from town. Brian was running around with one of his friends, trying to sneak candy from the serving table. But, Charlotte would reprimand them every time they would try to sneak some sweets. Watching everyone enjoy themselves was getting to be too much for Michaela. She was about to walk off to gather some food for Sully by herself when she felt a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Sully standing before her in a newer suit. He was clean-shaven and his long braid was neatly placed against his suit. He looked like a dream! “Sully!” Michaela exclaimed. The music faded as the band took a break for a few moments. The town folk began to chatter about how lovely each other’s costumes were. Jake and Hank had spotted Sully in his attire. Jake tapped Hank’s arm and they both chuckled in amusement. “He sure ain’t gonna win the scariest costume,” Hank said, taking a puff of his cigar. “Are ya kiddin’?” Jake asked. “He’s in a suit! That’s scary!” The men chuckled and went to retrieve some punch for their respective dancing partners. Michaela was still staring at Sully with a dreamy look in her eyes. Sully had to fight off a laugh. “Can’t a man get dressed up and dance with his bride to be?” “Dance?” Michaela asked. “I’ve been learnin’,” he replied. “From who?” Michaela asked curiously. “Well, from just about anybody who didn’t mind their toes getting stepped on.” Michaela laughed and kissed Sully on the cheek. “I knew you wanted me to come tonight, and I didn’t want to disappoint you.” “You could never disappoint me.” “I hope you’re right about that,” Sully replied. He kissed her hand as a soft, beautiful song began to flow from the band’s instruments. Sully extended his hand, and Michaela took it willingly. They began to dance as they had done in Boston, but this time they knew that their dance could last forever if they wanted. |