The Silent Harp

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Now, let me put your mind at rest,” he said as the Winslows stood before him. He was wearing a green smock with short sleeves, and his arms looked muscular. “Clayton isn’t critical, but he’s been seriously injured.”

  “What happened?”

  “You’ll have to get the details of the accident from the police. It’ll be in the report, but medically he’s going to be all right.”

  “What’s wrong with him, Doctor?” Sharon demanded.

  “He’s got some broken ribs and his right wrist is broken, both of the big bones. His leg was badly cut, so he’ll be in a wheelchair for a time. He’s going to need a lot of care.”

  Relief washed over all three of the Winslows, and Lucille said, “Can we see him, Doctor?”

  “Right now he’s still out from the anesthetic. It’ll be a while before he comes around.”

  “Will he have to stay in the hospital long?” Leland asked.

  “I think he should stay for a few days, and then he can probably make it at home with some good nursing.”

  “We had Seana Morgan take care of Mother when she was ill,” Sharon said. “She’s one of your nurses here.”

  “Yes, I know Seana well. She would be fine if she’s available.”

  ****

  The world was a great pool of blackness, but from somewhere far away Clayton heard voices. Slowly they became more distinct, and he opened his eyes and saw his parents standing beside his bed. He tried to speak but found his lips were very dry. When he did manage a few words, his voice was a whisper. “Hi, Mom, Dad.”

  “How do you feel?” Lucille said. She gently pushed his hair back from his forehead.

  “Terrible.”

  “You’re going to be all right,” Sharon said from the other side of the bed. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “You had a bad accident, Clayton.”

  “I feel like I was beaten up with sledgehammers,” Clayton whispered.

  “You were very fortunate. The car was totally demolished.”

  “What about Sarah?”

  “She was thrown clear. Got some scratches and bruises, but she’s all right.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  Clayton closed his eyes, and the three thought he was asleep. But in a few seconds he opened them again. “I don’t want to stay in this hospital. I hate hospitals.”

  “You’ll have to stay for a few days, son,” Leland said. “But we’ll take you home as quick as Dr. Fremont says it’s okay. You’ll have to have some nursing.”

  They could all see that Clayton was in some pain as he grimaced and said, “You know, when I saw there was going to be a wreck, I got an instant course in life. I’ve always heard that your whole life flashes before you in a situation like that.” He lifted his right hand and stared at the cast, then reached over with his left and grabbed Sharon’s hand. “I’m no one to be giving advice, but don’t miss out on a minute of life, sis. We don’t have that much time.”

  Sharon felt a sudden sense of urgency in his words. She thought about her conversation with Hannah and whispered, “I’ll try, Clayton.”

  ****

  The accident changed the household almost completely. They all recognized from the police report that it was a miracle Clayton wasn’t killed instantly. When he was brought home from the hospital, a room on the first floor was prepared for him, and Seana was there to help get him settled in. The ambulance driver helped bring him in on a stretcher, and when they put him on the bed, he groaned involuntarily.

  “Careful there,” Seana admonished. “This is no sack of potatoes you’re moving!” She got Clayton settled and dismissed the ambulance team.

  “You’re feeling pretty bad, I can tell that. I’ll give you something for the pain.”

  “I’ve never felt so helpless. I can’t even turn over by myself.”

  “That’s why I’m here. Now, we’ve got a job to get you well again.”

  “You know, I told my mom and dad that just before I had the wreck, my whole life flashed before me. And you know what I thought of what I saw?”

  “What did you think?”

  “Not much,” Clayton whispered. He looked up and tried to smile. “You’ve done something with your life, but all I’ve ever done is spend money and have fun.”

  “Well now, we’ll have to talk about that, won’t we?”

  ****

  Clayton slept well that night, due mostly to the medication Seana gave him. When he woke up, she was right there, and he was surprised at how easily she could move him around. She pulled him up into a sitting position, putting pillows behind him. Although it was painful, he tried not to show it.

  After she helped him with his breakfast, she put the dishes aside and came back with a basin of hot water. “Now it’s time for your bath.”

  “Couldn’t that wait until I get well?”

  “No, it can’t. Now, lean forward.” She stripped his hospital gown off and washed him as impersonally as if he were a block of wood. After she washed his upper body, she yanked the sheet up, washed his legs, and then handed him the washcloth. “There. You take care of the rest of it while I get your shaving things.”

  “You’re not going to shave me!” he said with alarm.

  “You don’t intend to grow a long beard, do you?”

  Clayton finished the washing, and when she came back with fresh water, she worked up a lather with his shaving brush in a businesslike manner and lathered him up. Taking the straight razor, she came at him abruptly.

  “Have you ever shaved anyone before?” he asked anxiously.

  “Many a time back in Wales.” She put her hand on his head, turned it to one side, and then paused, a flash of humor in her eyes. “Of course, they were all dead men.”

  “Dead men!”

  “Yes, we did our own funerals over there, and I shaved many a corpse. Not a one of them complained,” she said, her lips turning upward in a smile.

  Clayton laughed heartily, even though it hurt him. “All right. I’m glad to have an experienced barber.”

  Seana shaved him competently and then dabbed shaving lotion in her hand and smoothed it over his face. “Now you’re all nice. Smooth as a baby’s bottom.”

  Clayton hardly knew how to react to her. “You have a way with words—and with patients. I’m glad you’re here, Seana.”

  “It’s getting you well I’m here to do. And then no more car crashes.”

  “I’ll do my best, but with a nurse like you, it’s not really so bad.”

  “And what will you have me do now? You’ve got all day.”

  “Maybe you could play some music or read to me.”

  “All right, but I get to choose the music, and I get to choose the book.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Open Door

  As September gave way to October, Sharon found herself getting more and more confused about her feelings for Temple. Both Clayton’s accident and her conversation with Hannah had caused her to spend some time reflecting on her life, yet she was uncertain of where her feelings were leading her.

  Late one Thursday afternoon she had given up on work and was sitting in her studio in the overstuffed chair reading a book. She discovered that she had read the same page twice without making any sense of it when she heard a familiar sound. A distant roar that seemed to swell as it drew nearer pulled her head up. Jumping out of the chair, she ran to the door and outside. As she saw the motorcycle approaching, her heart surged with gladness, and she realized that she would always feel that peculiar kind of joy whenever Temple Smith came into her vision. She ran forward as he braked the cycle, threw the kickstand down, and came off in one easy motion.

  “Temple!” she cried and ran toward him. He had taken off his Stetson and goggles and turned just in time to find her running toward him, a smile on her face and light dancing in her eyes.

  Sharon surprised herself by throwing her arms around him, and he lifted her off her feet in a bear hug and kissed her soundly.

 
Temple released his hold and she stepped back, her face flushed. “Well now, I reckon absence makes the heart grow fonder,” he said with a grin.

  “I . . . I’m so glad to see you.”

  “So I can tell.”

  Flustered, Sharon reached up to tuck a curl back in its place, knowing that her face was pink. She had never shown such outward affection to anyone, not even Robert that she could remember. “How’s your mother?” she asked quickly.

  “She’s fine. I wish you could meet her, Sharon. She’s the best woman in the world.”

  Sharon was still embarrassed over the greeting she had given him and laughed shortly to cover it. “That will make it hard on your wife if you always feel like that.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Sharon waited for him to speak again, but his gaze was fixed on her in a penetrating way. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen, and they seemed to swallow her as he took her shoulders and pulled her closer. She did not resist, and at that moment it seemed to Sharon that she had ceased to be the same woman. She could not explain it even to herself, but a wall had suddenly fallen that she had built over the years, and she stood helpless before him with an unfamiliar weakness that she found not at all unpleasant.

  “Sharon, I’m not a young man anymore. I don’t have as much time as I once did—so I’ll come right out and say what I have to say.”

  Sharon could not move from his gaze. She felt his strong hands squeezing her shoulders and saw the determination that was so much a part of him. “What is it, Temple?”

  “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He hesitated, and she saw in him a vulnerability she had never noted before. He had always seemed so strong and self-sufficient, but now there was a strange pleading in his eyes she could not miss. “I want someone to lean on,” he went on. “Someone to be with me always. And I want someone I can support when she needs it. That’s what marriage is—two people so close that when one of them hurts, the other one knows it and comes rushing to the rescue.”

  Sharon whispered, “That’s what I’ve always thought too, but I could never say it.”

  “I know I love you, Sharon, so either have me as a husband—or tell me that you don’t love me and you can never marry me.”

  Time seemed to stand still for Sharon. She had thought constantly about Hannah’s words, “Don’t waste the woman that’s in you.” She reached up and put her hands on Temple’s shoulders, conscious of the hard, lean muscles beneath them. In her mind’s eye she saw a flashing image of a pair of balances, and she knew that the decision she made in this instant would control the rest of her life. Then another image came of a woman she knew was herself walking down a long empty road. It was a lonely picture. But then she saw a third image of herself walking that road with Temple by her side—only the road wasn’t lonely anymore.

  “Can you give me a little time, Temple?” she whispered.

  “I don’t have time, Sharon. Neither do you.” He hesitated, then said gently, “I’ll come back tomorrow. If you’ll have me, I’ll be the happiest man in the world. If you won’t, I’ll be okay, but I’ll always know that I missed something true and wonderful and good.” He kissed her firmly on the lips, then turned and walked away.

  Sharon watched as he mounted the cycle, kicked it into a roar, and without looking back wheeled the machine and shot down the driveway.

  She watched him go, feeling like a wounded, dazed soldier. She had never had such turmoil in her spirit, and with a sob she turned and ran to the house. She dashed past the maid, who stared at her in amazement. Sharon knew that tears were streaming down her face, but she didn’t want to speak.

  She went up to her room but could not rest, so she walked the floor. She was still there an hour later when Ruth came to tell her that dinner was ready.

  “Tell them I don’t feel well—that I’m not coming down.”

  “Yes, Miss Sharon.”

  Sharon moved to the window and stared out as darkness fell on the manicured lawn. The moon was already visible, but she took no joy in the crescent shape.

  “I’m so confused,” she cried aloud. “God, show me what to do!”

  ****

  Sharon awoke with a start, completely bewildered until it all came rushing back. She had paced endlessly and then knelt and begged God to show her what to do before collapsing on her bed and falling into a fitful sleep.

  She heard a light tapping on the door, as if someone were tapping with their fingernails.

  Sharon rose and fumbled for the light before opening the door. When she found Seana standing there, she said, “Is it Clayton? Is he worse?”

  “No, it’s something else. Can I come in and talk to you?”

  Sharon was still not completely awake but murmured, “Yes. Come in.” She allowed Seana to come inside and shut the door. “What is it?”

  Seana seemed uncertain, one of the few times Sharon had ever seen her like that. “Are you in some kind of trouble, Seana?”

  “No, it’s not that. You may think I’m strange, but . . . from time to time God puts a burden on my heart to pray for someone. When that prompting comes, Sharon, I have to pray until it’s lifted. Sometimes it takes a long time, days maybe, and I fast and seek God.”

  Seana’s voice was barely above a whisper, but there was an intensity in it as she said, “Tonight God put you on my heart. I prayed and prayed, and God gave me a word to say to you. I know you may not believe in things like this, but I feel God has something He wants me to tell you. You are having difficulty, aren’t you?”

  “Well . . . yes, I am.”

  “I thought you might be when you didn’t come down to dinner tonight.”

  “What do you think God wants you to tell me?”

  “It’s a Scripture verse from the book of Revelation. A single sentence.”

  “What is it, Seana?”

  “‘I have set before thee an open door.’ That’s in the third chapter of Revelation, verse eight. I wasn’t sure at first if it was just my imagination, but after I prayed some more God assured me that I should tell you, and He also gave me the words, ‘Do not fear to move through it.’ I’m not sure what that means, but I had to tell you.”

  Sharon stood still as the words sank into her spirit. “‘I have set before thee an open door. Do not fear to move through it.’“ She could hardly speak but managed to say, “Thank you, Seana. I believe that is from God.”

  As soon as Seana left, Sharon went to her bed, feeling weak. She fell beside the bed and cried out, “God, don’t let me do the wrong thing. Show me what to do. . . .”

  ****

  An hour after dawn Temple stopped his cycle in front of the Winslow mansion and put the kickstand down. He paused for a moment, letting the engine idle. He had slept little, and now as he sat looking at the house, he felt depressed and empty. He raced the engine briefly and thought about leaving—then shrugged his shoulders and cut the switch. He had not gone more than a dozen steps toward the house when the door opened, and Sharon stepped outside. She looked tired, and yet when she came closer, he also saw a peaceful light in her eyes. She stood before him and put out her hands. He took them and waited.

  “I want to be your wife, Temple, and I want us to be together always.”

  Temple felt as if something had exploded within him. He had been afraid that she would come out and tell him good-bye forever. He smiled and drew her into his arms, and she came willingly. He held her close, breathing in her sweet fragrance, certain that his desire for her would never fade.

  He kissed her then, and when he lifted his head he said, “Are you sure you want to marry me? You don’t know very much about me.”

  “I wasn’t sure until last night, but God gave me assurance. I believe in you, Temple. Nothing you can do will shake that.”

  “All right, then. Are you ready to tell your parents?”

  “Yes. I know they’ll have some trouble with this, but let’s get it over with.”

  “If
this is what God wants, He can work it out.”

  The two found Leland and Lucille having breakfast. Sharon said, “I’m glad you’re up, Mother, Dad. We have something to tell you.”

  Apprehension appeared on their faces as they looked up and saw Sharon holding Temple’s hand.

  “I know this may come as a shock to you, but Temple and I love each other, and we’re going to get married.”

  Lucille gasped and Leland patted her hand and rose to his feet. “Are you certain this is right for both of you?”

  “I’ve never been as sure of anything in my life,” Sharon answered.

  Leland turned to Temple. “Do you love my daughter?”

  “More than I could ever say, sir.”

  Leland paused, at a loss for words. “Can you support a wife?”

  “I know this is hard for you,” Temple said slowly, “but Sharon will never know anything but love and kindness from me. As for supporting her, she’ll never miss a meal as long as I’m alive. I know you wanted a different kind of man for your daughter, but I think God has given us to each other. I hope you’ll learn to accept me.”

  Sharon looked up at Temple proudly. There was much that she didn’t know about him, but that did not worry her, for she trusted him implicitly. She prayed that her parents could learn to trust him as well someday. She left Temple’s side and went over to kiss her mother’s cheek. “I’m so happy, Mother. Please try not to be upset.”

  Lucille studied her daughter’s face. A long moment passed, and then with a hand not quite steady, she touched Sharon’s cheek. “If this is what you want, then this is what we want for you. I can see the happiness in your eyes.” Lucille’s long illness and brush with death had changed her, and no longer did society’s expectations hold first place in her life. “We’ll have to begin making wedding plans and talk about dates.”

  Sharon laughed with joy as she reached for the hand of the man she loved. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take another big wedding, Mother. I’d like to get married in this house if you’ll let us—and as soon as possible. What do you think, Temple? Could you be ready in two or three days?”