Beulah's Brains: A McClain Story (The Alphabet Mail-Order Brides Book 2)
Page 9
“Do you need to?”
Samantha shook her head. “Not if you’re not feeling poorly other than the exhaustion. We can fix that up in no time, and you’ll be back to your regular, active schedule. Does that sound good to you?”
“It sounds wonderful,” Beulah said, feeling very relieved. “How many times a day should I drink it?”
“Once in the morning, and once around midday. You shouldn’t need it at night. You’re the new teacher, right?”
Beulah nodded. “I am.”
“I think you should do half days of school until after Christmas. That’ll give the medicine time to kick in, and then you should feel more like yourself for your teaching after. I’m sure the parents won’t mind.”
Beulah looked over at Mary, who nodded emphatically. “All right. I’ll let everyone know tomorrow.”
“Good girl. Now, I’m going to want to see you right after the new year, and we’ll talk again then. You have Mary to help you, and I can promise you that you’ll need no one else. She’s been through all this enough herself that she’s practically a midwife. And she’s been present for the birth of every one of her grandbabies.”
“Will you be there for me, Mary?” Beulah felt bad for asking, but she needed someone who knew what she was doing.
“You couldn’t keep me away.”
During her lunch hour on Tuesday, Beulah was struggling to stay awake so she could grade a few papers. One of Jack’s nieces, Alice, came into the schoolhouse, looking at her hesitantly. “May I ask you a question, Aunt Beulah?”
Beulah immediately gave her full attention to the young girl. “Of course you can.”
“Well, I know you study a lot, and I’ve seen books on the human body at your house when we’ve visited. I think I want to be a doctor. Do you think a girl can be a doctor?”
Beulah’s eyes lit up. “I do think a girl can be a doctor. In fact, I kind of think my sister Xenia, who disappeared, secretly went to medical school. She was certainly smart enough to do it.”
“Would you loan me some of your books? I want to learn all I can. I’m not sure my father will approve, but I know my mama will.”
Beulah grinned. “Then you can borrow any book you’d like. I think you’d make a fine doctor.”
After Alice had hurried back out to the playground, Beulah wondered if the young girl could be a doctor or not. She certainly hoped so. There were too many male doctors who acted like Dr. Murphy. The world needed doctors more like Samantha.
She sighed as she got back to work, her mind still a bit on Xenia. She hoped she was passing all of her classes. One of them should get to be a doctor, and if it couldn’t be her, why not Xenia?
Chapter Ten
Slowly through the month of December, Beulah returned to her normal self. Well, her normal self with a watermelon under the front of her dress. The babe was growing, and she was finally feeling like she’d had enough sleep. By Christmas, most things were back to how they had been.
On Christmas Eve, she sat finishing up a gift for Jack while he was out in the barn doing something. She suspected it was something for her for Christmas. She was knitting Jack a pair of warm socks for the winter to go with the new shirt she’d made him. She was sure he’d be happy she’d spent time doing something just for him.
She had just finished wrapping the present when Mrs. Buchanan came into the parlor from the kitchen. “I have your supper ready. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
Beulah smiled at the older woman, nodding. “Thank you so much for your help. I don’t know what I’d have done without you these past few months.” She knew that a nice bonus had been included for the other woman’s salary. “I hope you have a very merry Christmas.”
“You too. It’ll be different with a real family this year.”
As Mrs. Buchanan left, Beulah thought about what the other woman had said. She’d never felt as if she was lacking for sisters or parental figures. Sure, she’d never had true parents, and it was lovely to get some through her marriage to Jack, but she felt as if the people she had known in her time at the foundling home had been her real family. She had letters from the three girls she considered to be her sisters, and she had one from Madame Wigg. They were still sealed, and she looked forward to reading them on Christmas morning.
Beulah knew it wasn’t a traditional family she’d come from, but it had been a family nonetheless, and it was a family she loved.
When Jack came into the house a few minutes later, she met him at the table, and the two of them sat down for their supper. “You really do look better than you did for a while there,” he said.
“Are you saying I was something less than beautiful?”
“Never! I’m saying you were a very pretty sickly looking, beautiful woman.”
She laughed. “You are ever the sweet talker, aren’t you?” She would need to remember to teach each of her sons how to talk to a woman properly. They didn’t need to be as backward as their father was.
“That tea you’re drinking seems to have helped.”
“Oh, yes! I’m still sleeping more than I did, but I’m not sleeping an excessive amount, and I’ve learned that Dr. Murphy is not a man I will ever see in a professional capacity again.”
He nodded. “I had never heard of anyone seeing him for a pregnancy, but I didn’t know why.”
“I can tell you why. The man is insane. Our children will never darken his doorstep.” She took a sip of the milk she was having with her meal. “So everyone is coming here in the morning, right?”
Jack nodded. “You’re not expected to do anything but host it all. You don’t even have to cook because all of the women in the family will cook different dishes and bring them for lunch. All you have to do is stand there and look pretty. They’ll even clean up before they go.”
“So why meet here?” Beulah didn’t quite understand the whole thing, but she’d agreed because it was expected of her.
“Because this is where my brothers and I grew up. And my father as well for that matter. Holidays will always be here, in this house.”
“All right.” She ate a bite of her roast beef, enjoying the flavors. Mrs. Buchanan was a fabulous cook, even better than Beulah was, and that was saying something.
“If you’re amenable, I thought the two of us could wake up early and exchange our gifts, and then we’ll spend the rest of the day with my entire family. Even my brother who lives in Austin will be coming with his family. You haven’t met Joe yet, have you?”
“I haven’t. It’ll be fun to meet new people.” Now that she finally had the names of the rest of the family down, she was willing to meet a few more people. At first, they had been very overwhelming, but it wasn’t nearly as bad now. “I ordered several picture books for your nieces and nephews. Seventeen to be exact.”
“But I only have sixteen nieces and nephews,” he said, looking perplexed.
“Well, I had to get one to keep for our son.” She patted her belly, reminding him once again that there was a baby to be born in a mere four months or so. “What are we going to name him?”
“What about John? It’s a name I’ve always liked, and many have assumed it was my name, but my full name really is Jack, not John.”
She tilted her head to one side and thought about it for a moment. “John sounds good to me. Yes, we’ll name this one John.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you don’t mind. I have been thinking about names a lot, and for some reason, that’s the one that kept popping into my head. Besides, if I name this one, you can name the next.”
“Seven sons. You really believe we’re having seven sons.” She was still a bit flabbergasted when she thought about the number.
He shrugged. “That’s how it’s always been in my family. I suppose it could change without warning, but I really don’t see that happening.”
Beulah looked down at her huge belly. “So I’m going to do this six more times. We need to invest in a company that uses yellow dock medicinally
.”
He grinned. “Maybe we should. I don’t want you being that tired for all of your other pregnancies as well.”
The following morning, they had a quiet breakfast, and then they met in the parlor, where she’d set up a small tree. “I know it’s strange to have a tree in the house, but it’s something that I learned back in New York. It felt like a festive thing to do.”
He shrugged. “It might be odd, but I think I like it. This is our first Christmas together, and we can choose whatever traditions we want to carry on with. This is one I think is very nice.”
She pulled two packages, wrapped in brown paper and tied with strings, out from under the tree. She set them onto a small table in the middle of the room. “For you,” she said, her eyes lit up with excitement.
“Let me go get yours! It’ll take me two trips. You stay right here.”
Beulah couldn’t imagine anything he could have made her or gotten her that would take two trips for him to fetch, and her mind ran away with her. Perhaps he’d gotten her a wardrobe and a chest to keep it in. She giggled at the idea. He knew better. She was not a woman who cared about clothing very much.
She heard the front door open. “I’ll be right back!” he called, and then it closed again. The man was making her imagination do very strange things. What on earth could he have thought she needed that needed two trips to the barn?
When he came back, he said, “All right, cover your eyes. I’m bringing something in.”
Beulah laughed, but she covered her eyes, waiting to see what he’d bring. When he told her to open them, he stood beside a beautiful cradle, with carved animals at the head and foot. “Oh my! Did you make that?”
Jack nodded. “I love to carve things. Maybe that’s something you didn’t know about me.”
“It is. Why do I never see anything you’ve carved around the house?”
“I usually carve animals for my nieces and nephews. They bring them all when they play together, and it’s a veritable zoo.”
She grinned. “That sounds wonderful. Now you open one of your gifts.” She couldn’t wait for him to see the socks she’d knitted. Knitting had never been one of her favorite things, but she was willing to spend her time doing something she detested for him. Only for him.
He opened the socks and rubbed them against his face. “They’re soft. And the needlework is beautiful. Thank you.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You used some of your time to make something for me, and that means a lot to me because I know time is the most precious thing you have.”
“I’m glad you like them.” Her eyes went back to the cradle. “I’m going to be afraid to put a baby to sleep in that. It’s so beautiful!”
“It has to last through seven babies, so it had to be well-made,” he told her, a grin lighting up his face. He obviously liked that she was so impressed by it. “Okay, cover your eyes again.”
She smiled, covering her eyes. When he let her open them again, she let out a small gasp. “A bookshelf?” It was the most beautiful bookshelf she’d ever seen. It was eight shelves high and went almost to the ceiling. “For my anatomy books?”
“Yes! I thought you’d like a place to keep them all where they’d be easy to reference.” He pointed to the corner of the parlor. “The shelf will go there, and I made certain to match it to the rest of the furniture in the room.”
“It’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Jack.” The first gift had been beautiful and practical, but this gift . . . well, it showed he knew her. She got up and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. “You’ve given me so much, and it’s hard to believe that you made beautiful furniture for me, too. Now if I can just convince you to let me teach for as long as I want.”
He smiled, tracing her lip with a fingertip. “I’ve already decided to let you do just that. As long as you drink that special tea whenever you’re expecting . . . I think you can teach forever if that’s what you’d like.”
She looked up at him with wide eyes. “You mean it?”
“I do mean it. I trust you to do what’s best for you and whatever baby you happen to be carrying, and you know you’ll be carrying a lot of them. I love you, Beulah, and I want you to do whatever it takes to be happy.”
“You love me?” She stared at him in surprise, the words completely unexpected. “Even though I don’t do what you tell me to do?”
“I understand that having a thinking wife makes it so she’s not as obedient as a non-thinking wife. And I love that brain in your head. It makes you who you are.”
She laughed. “That was not the romantic declaration of love that I’ve been dreaming of, but it’ll do.”
“You’ve been dreaming of a romantic declaration of love?” he asked, surprised.
“I have. Because I love you, Jack. I love you so very much. That doesn’t mean that I’ll spend my life following you around like a lost puppy dog, because I’m an intelligent, thinking woman with a brain you love . . . but I love you with everything inside me.”
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. “That wasn’t the romantic declaration of love I’ve been dreaming about either, you know . . .”
“Whatever. It was the declaration you needed. Wasn’t it?”
He laughed and nodded. “It was. When my mother told me I had a bride coming, I prayed and prayed that she’d be the right woman for me, and I know God answers prayers, because He sent me you. There’s no one who could be more right for me than you are, Beulah.”
She rested her cheek against his shoulder for a moment before she remembered her other gift for him. “Oh!” She turned and picked up the gift and handed it to him. “It’s not a bookshelf, but it was stitched with love.”
He opened the present and looked at the shirt inside, holding it up to himself. It was a work shirt made of thick flannel. It would be perfect for the long winter days out on the range. “Thank you, my love.”
“You are very welcome.” She couldn’t believe that in just six months, she’d fallen in love with a total stranger. She needed to remember to thank his mother and write a letter to Madame Wigg to thank her as well. “I’m going to clean up the breakfast dishes before our company comes.”
He sighed. “I guess you need to, but I was hoping I could drag you back upstairs.”
Beulah laughed. “Not knowing we have company coming any minute. You’ve lost your mind.”
Jack shrugged. “It was worth a try!”
“No, it really wasn’t,” she said, grinning at him as she rushed to the kitchen.
When she got there, she found him right behind her. He had a dish towel and was ready to dry. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I can do it myself.”
“Of course you can, but a loving, considerate husband will help his wife with household chores when she is more than five months pregnant.”
“I guess he will.” With a smile, she washed the first of the dishes, saying a quick silent prayer of gratitude that God had answered both of their prayers.
Epilogue
Beulah woke as soon as the door to her bedroom opened, and she sat up in bed. “Who’s there?” she asked.
“It’s me. Tom,” her youngest son replied. “I had a dream!” Tom didn’t wait for an invitation, but he climbed into bed, squeezing himself between his parents. At five, he was a little old for his nocturnal visits, but since he was her seventh and youngest son, Beulah hadn’t been able to bring herself to stop him yet.
“What was your dream?” she asked, holding the little boy close to her.
Jack had rolled to his side and propped his head up on one elbow to listen. He was the most doting father she had ever seen, and it made parenting so much easier. “Tell us about it, Tom.”
“Well, I was old . . . almost as old as you two are, and I was in a mercantile. Not the mercantile here in town, but I think the one in Nowhere. Anyway, at that mercantile, there was a beautiful young woman named Penny, who was a seamstress, and she’s going to be my wife.”
“As sure as I am that the sun will rise in the morning. I can tell the future, Mama!”
“I see that. You’ll have to tell me about it every time you have a dream about what will happen, all right?”
Tom nodded. “I’m going back to my bed now. And I’m going to dream of Penny.”
Once the little boy had gone and the door had clicked shut, Beulah looked over at Jack. “Do you think that’s his power?”
“I do. He seemed so sure that the dream was prophetic, and that tells me it was. I never had a doubt that I was right when I thought people were lying to me. It’s the way of the McClains.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about him having the gift of foresight. Do you think it will serve him well?”
Jack shrugged. “All of our powers seem to be for the best. I’m sure Tom’s will be, too.” He reached out and pulled Beulah toward him, stroking her arm. “Are you sure you’re going to teach again? Don’t you think it’s time to stop?”
She shrugged. “I’m sure. Where would Mrs. Buchanan be without her job?”
“And where would you be without all the children?” Jack smiled. “As long as it makes you happy.”
“So happy.” Beulah leaned over and kissed him, content to be married to her Jack. Fifteen years of marriage, and she hadn’t killed him yet. She was sure it would last now.
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