Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  By the time he returned, she was sound asleep which he thought was just as well because so often she made it very difficult for him to resist making love to her, even in her condition. It was warm and cosy in the bedroom, Zelma had lit the fire earlier and Patrick sat in the chair and watched her sleeping as he had done before the first time they had gone to bed together. She was tired and ill then as she was now and through the town expecting too much of her. He was going to extract a promise from her that she was going to rest for the next couple of days and let everyone run around her instead of the other way around. She always kept her promises.

  Patrick was up early the next morning, but waited for Liza to wake. She was sitting up eating breakfast when he asked her to promise that she would stay at home and rest at least until Christmas Day. “I’ve got to go to the doctor’s old house and help Gabriel, Kathy and Joe sort it out. Dr Bridges hid lots of money around the place, but he can’t remember where.”

  Patrick pursed his lips and said, “You know I never normally interfere with whatever you do but I have to this time. You have to rest for both your sake and the baby’s. You know that the doctor is worried about you and so am I and so are a great many people including the colonel who organised that the doctor called yesterday. You may not like it but I’m going to see both Gabriel and Kathy to tell them that you have to rest and hope that they can carry on without you. When I get to the fort I’m going to see Ada and get her to keep a close eye on you and Zelma will cope with the boys as she always does. Dr Steele is calling on you again today, at least try to show him that you are following his recommendations. I love you Liza and I want to do everything I can to keep you safe and well. I wish I could stay at home with you today, but that’s not possible unfortunately.”

  Liza tidied herself up, straightened the bed clothes and got back into bed, planning in her mind what she would have to do with the doctor’s old house to make it habitable. Zelma was looking after the boys in Gabriel’s house and she presumed that Gabriel was helping search for the doctor’s money. Kathy popped in to see that she was all right saying that she would call back later and give her an update on what they were finding. Mid-morning Liza was delighted to see Ada who was surprisingly accompanied by Bea. They had come under instruction of Patrick to ‘keep an eye’ on her.

  Bea looked tired but not as unhappy as she had the day before and Liza smiled broadly as she felt that at last life was getting back to normal and it was wonderful to see the two of them out and about together. Liza lay back on her pillows and looked at her two friends who were talking with the ease of people who have known one another for a long time.

  ***

  When Liza had left the captain’s rooms the previous day, he had sat for a short while studying the stone which she had placed in the middle of his desk. It had dawned on him the significance of it, although he didn’t know the chapter and verse which it related to, but he knew that it was about people being without sin casting the first stone, and he knew that nobody was without some sin.

  It pricked his conscience as he remembered the little Mexican girl who had enthralled him years ago and who he had bedded a couple of times before his unit had moved on and he gave no further thought to her. All he wanted then was to get back to Bea who was the love of his life. The girl was just a passing fancy when he was in rather an inebriated state and letting off steam after a long and weary battle.

  He suddenly put into perspective what Bea had done; she had done exactly the same as he had, even now he didn’t doubt her love for him and his for her, but all he could think was that she had ‘got caught’ and ended up pregnant by someone who had swept her off her feet when she was lonely. She had tried to put things right by doing something very dangerous to herself and it had, of course, gone wrong and even Kathy had been unable to ease the situation and finally Dr Bridges had to be called in to undo the damage, hence his shouting out her secret to all and sundry. He realised now why they had no children that they both would have liked.

  He was going to find it difficult to forget but not difficult to forgive, and she would also have to forgive him as the time had come for him to admit that he had been just the same.

  He picked up the stone and put it in his pocket and made his way to his quarters. Ada was still with Bea, but she immediately saw how things were and left them alone.

  Not quite knowing how to start, neither of them said anything for a while, and then the captain pulled out the stone that Liza had given him. Bea frowned at it and looked up questioningly.

  “It’s what Liza gave me,” he said as if it answered all questions.

  “Why would she give you a stone?” asked Bea.

  “Because she told me to cast it or discard it, and I want to discard it, Bea,” said the captain.

  It was obvious that Bea didn’t fully understand and the captain went on, “It’s a chapter from the Bible which is along the lines of ‘he who is without sin should cast the first stone’. I’m certainly not without sin, Bea. I have been with someone else since our marriage.”

  He got no further as Bea put her hand up to his mouth to stop him saying anything else. “I know,” she said. “Men are worse at keeping confidences than women are. I’ve known since soon after you got back from the Mexican border, but I was certainly in no position to criticise.”

  “Oh,” was all he could think of saying.

  A little while later he said, “We have a lot to thank Liza and her stone for.”

  “I’m going to keep it and put it in pride of place,” she said.

  Chapter 5

  Back at the fort, Patrick and Sean were discussing patrols and other details with Captain Graves and the colonel in the outer office where Ben carried out his administrative duties. There were reports of some unrest amongst the local Arapaho Indians, it was nothing to be too disturbed about but they appeared to have been stealing food from some of the farmers. The farmers understood that winter did mean that there was not too much food to be found, but they did wonder what they had done before the farmers had arrived. Patrick and Sean were commissioned to find out the problem and see if it could be resolved easily. It was not a patrol which would put them in any great danger, but they did have to be on their guard.

  Dr Steele called in and asked Patrick to see him when he was free. Looks of concern crossed all their faces at which the doctor said that it was nothing untoward but he needed some background information before he called on Liza that day.

  Sean said that he would get the patrol organised whilst Patrick saw the doctor.

  “It’s nothing to be worried about, Patrick, but I would like to know about some of Liza’s background and I don’t want to upset her by raking up her past but I do believe it could be relevant to seeing her safely through the birth of your child and of course, the wellbeing of that child. Do you know why her first child died?” asked the doctor.

  “It was born at around six months, so it would have difficulty in surviving,” said Patrick.

  “Do you know anything further about it? Has she told you any details? I know that this is a rather delicate subject for you but I think it would be more delicate if I were to ask Liza.”

  “On this you really will have to ask Liza because all I know is that the boy survived for just a short while as it would because it was so early. You do know that she had already lost her first husband and probably the trauma of that brought on the birth,” said Patrick, not really wanting to think about this particular time in Liza’s life.

  “That’s not necessarily the case, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask Liza. I suppose you don’t know what her brother died of, do you?” said Dr Steele.

  “Yes, I know that he was seven when he died of pneumonia,” said Patrick.

  “I’m sorry Patrick, I know I’ve upset you but it seems that there is nothing hereditary in those two losses which is a great relief and as you know, young Matthew created absolutely no problems for Liza. I just needed to know if I was going to have to
deal with something untoward, especially as I am a little concerned that Liza is not carrying as large a child as I would have expected at this time.”

  “Apparently I had a sister who died very young, but I have no idea why. In fact, I didn’t know until recently that I had ever had a sister. I believe my mother had difficulty feeding us after my father died, so I can only assume that it was due to some form of depravation,” said Patrick.

  “Is your mother still alive and what did your father die of?” asked Dr Steele.

  “My father was in the army and died fighting; my mother died in terrible pain due to some type of growth and before you ask, as far as Liza is aware her parents are still alive. Is this really necessary, doctor?”

  “No, it probably isn’t, but you must appreciate that if you were both still in Belfast your doctors would know all this information already; I’m having to piece together your medical backgrounds and if Liza hadn’t had such a drastically bad time of it a few years ago, I would not worry about such a natural occurrence as child birth. I just want to make sure that there are no underlying medical problems that I’m not aware of and it would appear that there aren’t,” said Dr Steele with a reassuring smile.

  ***

  Liza had a few visitors that morning, but Ada and Bea fended them off quite successfully, they were only to allow Kathy, Joe and Gabriel in to see her as well as Dr Steele who arrived shortly after his talk with Patrick.

  “I’m delighted to see that you’re taking my advice, Liza. At least a couple of days resting in bed will do you the world of good, in fact, you’re looking better already and I see you’re being well guarded by two staunch defenders; nobody will get past them,” said Dr Steele.

  He decided that now was not the time to ask Liza about the circumstances surrounding the death of her first child as it appeared that it had been too early for it to survive and why bring up the past for no good reason. She was now going to allow herself to be well-looked after until the birth and promised to cut down on the amount of tasks she undertook.

  Liza asked the doctor how long he thought it would take to get a reply to his enquiry about a new doctor and they both probably agreed that neither of them would get a reply until half way through January. She confided to the doctor what Gabriel, Kathy and Joe were doing at the doctor’s house and he was amazed that they were finding so much cash.

  “It would appear that he hardly spent any money throughout the years he’s been here in Benson. I suppose he could have had money before and just stashed it away. I know that there were times when he took payment in kind. You know; a cake here, a bag of flour there. But I suppose thirty or so years here would build up his funds, and really, if you think about it, there are very few poor families here. I’m not saying that they are rich, but most people would be quite capable of paying something towards his services,” said Liza.

  “I do hope that your doctor from New York will be interested. He sounds ideal, especially as he’s a family man. It does this town good to have new blood come into it,” said Dr Steele.

  “When I feel better after Christmas, will you come with me to the doctor’s house and advise me on what should be done in the surgery. I believe it is rather old fashioned and I’d like to make it as functional as possible for the new doctor. I presume that a new doctor will have much of his own equipment, but I believe that Dr Bridges just added rooms to the back of the house for living accommodation, leaving his front room as the surgery,” said Liza. “There may be a better way of arranging things. Also, Kathy and Joe have had to go through all his books and they’ve found money in several of them. I suppose all those are also out of date.”

  “Of course I’ll help you, but wouldn’t it be better to wait for the new doctor to arrive and he can sort out what he wants to keep and what has to go,” said Dr Steele.

  “Yes, that is a point, but I’d like the place to at least look welcoming when a new doctor finally arrives,” said Liza.

  Dr Steele looked at her for a while and then said, “Liza, have you already bought the house off Dr Bridges?”

  Liza nodded.

  “When did you find time to do that? Is that just another thing you did yesterday? No wonder you looked so ill. I suppose you also sorted out Dr Bridges’ finances and saw him settled with Mrs Henshaw. My God and that was before you sorted out the captain and his wife,” he said, whispering the last part so that Bea couldn’t hear.

  She whispered back, “Only they can sort themselves out.”

  He carried on quietly, “I saw you going into the captain and soon after you came out he was hotfooting it over to his wife, so don’t tell me you did nothing.”

  “It’s not my business,” was all Liza would say.

  “So, you are going to be doing nothing strenuous from now onwards. I understand that Kathy is organising Christmas lunch for you and I know that Zelma is wonderful at looking after the boys and she looks after you and Patrick well, so you should be able to rest and relax for a while,” said the doctor.

  “I sometimes believe that Zelma does too much for us and has no life of her own. I often feel guilty, but I really don’t know what I’d do without her,” said Liza.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about her; you know that she has the blunt mannerisms of an Indian and she would tell you if she was unhappy here, or if she felt you were overworking her. Liza, I remember how she arrived here and what we had to do to mend her. You looked after her and brought her back to life; you’ve given her a roof over her head and a purpose to her life. She loves those boys, and she loves you and Patrick, so I don’t think she feels she does too much for you. She enjoys being here and is accepted both in town and out at the fort, she has a much better life with you than where she was at the Indian village,” said Dr Steele.

  “Yes, you’re right; she’s quite capable of telling me if she’s not happy. So, you are telling me that I’m now doing everything right. It’s going to be hard staying here especially tomorrow being Christmas Eve, but I’m organised really, so I promise I won’t get up until Christmas morning. You don’t need to disturb yourself with me any longer. I’ll come out and see you for my usual check-up soon after Christmas and hopefully we’ll soon hear about a new doctor and you won’t be under such pressure from the people of this town,” said Liza.

  Dr Steele left saying that he was going to see Dr Bridges on his way back. He hoped that when he was back at the fort he could catch Patrick before he left for home as he wanted to tell him that he had not mentioned their conversation of that morning, and this he managed to do.

  Patrick arrived home, waved to Zelma who was in the kitchen and bounded up the stairs to see Liza. He found her propped up on her pillows with Matthew on one side and John on the other. She had an arm around each of them and they were taking it in turns to read to her and it was painfully slow but she was covering her frustration well. Patrick came over and kissed her on the head and ruffled both the boys’ hairs. He sat on his favourite chair and told them that he too would like to hear the story, the boys offered to start again, but Patrick said that he already knew the beginning so they should carry on where they had left off. Liza looked at him and smiled gratefully and the boys carried on reading a couple of paragraphs each until Zelma called up that their supper was ready.

  “I hear that Ada and Bea fended off visitors today and made sure you were fed and watered well. I saw Dr Steele today and he tells me that he’s pleased that you are taking his advice to rest up seriously. You know that he’s made no secret of the fact that he thinks that the baby should be a bit larger than it is, but overall, he doesn’t seem to be too worried about it. I know he’s told you the same thing, so we are going to have to make sure you are eating well so that you get enormous and I’ll fall off you when we try to make love,” laughed Patrick.

  He was making light of Liza’s lack of size and knew that Dr Steele was beginning to show some concern about her pregnancy, as was he but he was not going to show that he was also worrying. He gave
her another kiss on the head and went down stairs to keep Zelma and the boys company whilst they ate their supper.

  It was obvious to Patrick that Zelma wanted to talk to him when the boys weren’t around and he nodded to her to let her know that he understood her. When the boys had finished, Patrick suggested that they go and keep their mother company again and perhaps carry on reading to her as it helped her relax, which was really not the case but they felt that they were doing something to make her feel better.

  “Ada and Bea did a very good job today keeping all the visitors away. There were very many of them, mostly to wish her well, but quite a few wanted to ask her questions even though they knew she was unwell. I hope that either Ada or Bea will be coming tomorrow as I know that I find it difficult to be nice to people who have no thought for anyone but themselves and I know that would upset Liza,” said Zelma.

  “It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow and I know that both ladies have a lot to do to get ready for the following day, and also Kathy is needed at the store and she also has a great deal to do for Christmas. I’ll be home early tomorrow; the captain always lets married men off patrol then. We could lock the front door and leave Liza to rest alone, but I know her well enough to know that she would be up and doing something. I think I’ll ask Gabriel if he can come here and keep you company with the boys and Si. If possible, he could work quietly in the sitting room, but he would be able to fend off kindly but unwanted callers. I’ll call round in a minute and see if that’s possible,” said Patrick.

  “Yes, everyone is used to a lawyer’s abruptness, so nobody will take offence. I’ll make sure Kathy and Joe and one or two others like Ada, Bea or Angela are welcome, but all else will have to stay out and Gabriel can deal with them,” said Zelma. “Tell me Patrick, is Liza really as well as she should be. I know that Dr Steele appears to be worried no matter what he is saying to Liza.”

  “His only concern is that the baby doesn’t seem to be growing as it should, but he can hear its heart and see its movement. In some ways, it is going to be a blessing when the time comes for her to have it,” said Patrick.