He had some experience working with animals in the logging camps. Horses, oxen, and mules were the primary work animals, but dogs and chickens were common as well. They were usually treated for injuries not illness. Here it seemed to be reversed. Many animals were coming in with intestinal issues. It was easy to speculate there might be an underlying issue. Something for him to investigate later.
Frank’s next patient was already settling into the waiting area. The smaller animals were carried right in the front door by their owners. The larger ones stayed outside, thankfully. He never knew when he walked out to greet his next patient if it would be one with feathers, fur, or flesh. He didn’t have time to check the schedule and familiarize himself with their charts beforehand.
Washing his hands quickly and scanning the exam room to make sure everything was tidy and ready for the next patient, he stepped out to see who was next.
“Oh! Good morning, Sir. Or is it afternoon now? I’ve been so busy today, it seems I lost track of the time.” He reached his hand out and waited for Allie’s pa to stand and accept it.
“Afternoon…but just barely, Frank.” As he shook Frank’s hand, he pulled out an envelope from his back pocket. “I have a payment here for my account. Could I leave it here for Doc?” He held out the envelope expecting Frank to take it.
Frank ran his hand through his hair. “Ah…well…I think you should probably wait and bring it when Doc and his wife are back next week, Sir.” He did not want to tell him that the bill was already paid, or basically it was anyway. After this week of working it would be. No, he was a proud man and Frank knew that he wouldn’t accept his money. If Doc tells him it’ll be better.
“Well, if you think that’s best, I sure can do that. Would you write a note to let him know that I was here and will pay next week? You can put it in Allie’s file where the balance owed is.” He stuffed the envelope back into his pocket.
“Will do. Thank you, Sir” Frank stepped over to the table that held the schedule to scratch a note onto a piece of paper.
“Thanks, Frank, I better head back home. Nothing is watering itself these days.” He grabbed his hat from where he’d left it on the chair behind him, put it on his head, and moved towards the door.
Frank looked up from the note he was writing. “Take care, Sir. Tell Allie and…well…everyone I said hello, please.”
Allie’s pa continuing out the door and snickering. “Will do, Frank. Will do.”
Shaking his head, he finished his note and walked over to the file cabinet that sat in the opposite corner from the overstuffed book case. He hadn’t opened this cabinet before. Helping Doc with the patients was one thing, but this wasn’t even Doc’s area of expertise. Mrs. Leman, Doc’s wife, handled all of this for him. Doc was a fine doctor but, like Frank, he couldn’t stomach the accounts.
One glance into the cabinet showed that Mrs. Leman was an organized person. The files were categorized into two sections: paid and owing. Then they were organized alphabetically by last name. It didn’t take much time to find Allie’s, even though it was filed under her maiden name. That was probably because that’s how most around here knew her.
Most people hadn’t met her husband before they married and moved away. Those that did had only a brief week or two of history with him. No one knew his capabilities. Pushing all of that aside, focusing on the task at hand, he removed her file from its resting place and spread it open on the open drawer.
Mrs. Leman was very thorough. She not only had the total amount owing, but she had an itemized list of what procedures were done. Frank dropped the note in and shut the file quickly, but he wasn’t fast enough to miss confirmation of what he had speculated all along. All the dots had come together, and he now had proof of his speculation. Allie had miscarried, and Doc had to finish the process her body didn’t manage on its own.
Suddenly, he felt as if his shoes were made of lead. He couldn’t move. It all made sense. He didn’t want to think that had happened, but all the signs pointed to it before. He wanted to unsee what he just saw. Now what? He couldn’t tell Allie, but he couldn’t keep his knowing from her either. Could anything about this summer just be easy? The door behind him opened and in walked a very familiar voice.
“Hello Frank. How are you today?” Gladys came bustling through and made her way directly behind him.
Closing his eyes, he quickly said a prayer asking to make this quick and send her away. That was a rude thought, he knew, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Turn around and face it. He forced himself to comply with his brain.
“Good afternoon, Gladys. What brings you here today?”
Holding a brown paper sack out and fixing her doe-like eyes on him, she increased the pitch of her voice. “I brought you a little lunch. I know you’ve been working hard and I want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself.”
Frank had to figure out a way to stop her advances, but he didn’t know how to do it nicely. Maybe the truth was the only way to go. Not the full truth that would stop it all at once, but small truths to shut down each one. Maybe after a few rejections, she would get the big message and stop trying.
“Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness, but my ma already saw to my needs. I must be getting to it, too, as right now is my only break in the day.” He tipped his head and moved towards his bag he brought with him this morning.
“Well, I suppose, since your ma already provided, I could eat this and join you for lunch then.” She smirked and took a seat against the wall.
How was she always one step ahead of him? He forced himself to unclench his teeth. “All right, if you wish, but I haven’t much time until the next patient. He took the seat next to her and opened his sandwich. Fortunately, he was able to eat a bit in silence. Maybe she only wants someone to eat with and there isn’t another agenda.
He was just about finished with his sandwich when she seemed to be working up the nerve to talk about something. She kept opening her mouth to speak and then stuffing it with food again. It’s a bit amusing to watch, at least. Lunch isn’t completely ruined. Just as he was popping the last bite into his mouth the door burst open to reveal an out-of-breath and much worked up woman.
“Where’s the doctor? We need a doctor.” The lady was panting and bent over trying to catch her breath.
Frank stood and brushed the remaining crumbs from his mouth as he swallowed the half-chewed bite of sandwich…willing it to go down so he could talk. “I’m here! Please, come take a seat. Would you like a glass of water?” He was motioning her to sit.
“No, hurry! Please! My boy…it’s my boy! He was walking beside me when a wagon broke loose from the horses and came over right on top of him.” She spun around and headed back the way she came.
Frank followed quickly behind, leaving Gladys to herself. Lord, when I asked you to make it quick, I did not wish for a child to be injured for it. He looked up as he ran and made a mental note to ask for forgiveness for that one later. That lady was quicker than he’d guess from her appearance. He was working to keep up. It didn’t take long before he saw a crowd had formed ahead of them.
He saw many familiar faces in the group and directed the first few men to keep everyone back. The boy was sure to be frightened and having all these people around wouldn’t be helping it any. After securing the area, he knelt next to the boy, who looked to be around 5 or so, and began his initial exam.
“Son, I’m going to move you around a bit. You just let me know if anything hurts okay.”
Frank began at the boy’s head and proceeded down to the abdomen. First, he made sure there were no injuries to the most vital areas. The boy was writhing in pain and frightened, but he didn’t change his behavior in any way to indicate the source. Moving on to his arms didn’t reveal an injury, either. One leg was beneath the other, but not in an obviously out-of-place position. But, when he attempted to move them apart, he knew he’d found the issue. The boy yelped, and his mother’s cries intens
ified.
“It looks like we have ourselves a broken leg. I’ll need to take him to the office and remove his pants to be certain first though. Ma’am, will you step back, please? I need to get some of these men to fasten him to a board, so we can transport him back easier?”
Frank gently touched her shoulder to get her attention. She nodded and backed away after she kissed her son’s forehead. He needed this to be as easy as he could make it. Setting a leg isn’t pleasant for either patient or doctor. Trust earned now would help when setting the leg. Having her boy see that she trusted him was a big start.
It didn’t take long for the men to fasten up a platform suitable to do the job and in no time, they were rolling him on it and headed down the street. Moving him onto the board was painful, but it was nothing compared to what was going to take place back at the office. He was relieved he didn’t see Gladys. He needed to focus all his concentration on this boy. Having her here wouldn’t help.
“Okay, men, please, leave him on the board and place it on top of the exam table. I’ll need one or two of you to stay to help hold him. The rest of you can go work on getting the team and wagon put back together and fixing this problem so it doesn’t happen again. Thanks for all your help today.”
As the men followed his orders, Frank was rolling up his sleeves and washing his hands. Walking over to the boy he held his hand out and introduced himself.
“What’s your name, son?”
The boy didn’t shake his hand, he probably didn’t see it. His eyes were scrunched tightly closed. He did manage to squeak out that his name was Thomas.
“Alright, Thomas, here’s what we need to do.”
The boy’s ma was making her way in and Frank motioned to a chair for her to sit on. She did, and started wringing her hands, but remained silent.
“First, I need to cut off your pants, so I can see better. Your ma is right over there, son.”
He used his eyes to point to her direction. Then he grabbed his scissors and began quickly cutting away. It didn’t take long to confirm that his leg was fractured. The bone felt like it was broken in two.
“A clean break. Nothing we can’t fix.” Frank sounded as chipper as he could for all in the room.
“Ma’am, I am going to write you a prescription for some medicine he will need when we are finished here. I’ll do that now and you can go fill it while I tend to him.”
He moved to the desk, scribbled out the note, and handed it to her. She silently took it and after another look at her son, she ran out of the room. He was relieved to have her gone. What he had to do would hurt and he didn’t want her to try to intervene. The men that stayed were well known by Frank. He grew up with them.
“Clyde, will you go find some straight sturdy sticks please. Make sure they’re about…oh…this long,” Frank requested, showing the length to him with his hands.
“Bill, I need you to go get acquainted with young Tom, here. You’re going to be helping secure his trunk and arms while I work. He needs to like you.”
Bill immediately walked over and started telling jokes to get him to relax a little. Bill had always been good with kids. Frank knew this and that’s why he chose him for this job. Clyde returned with a handful of very fine sticks.
Frank instructed Clyde he would be securing Tom’s other leg. Any grown man should be able to control a five-year-old boy, but when a body was under this much stress, they could have more power than anyone would realize. Frank wanted to be safe.
“Tom, I have to do something now that is going to hurt. I need you to be brave for me, okay?” Frank looked him in the eyes and waited briefly for the boy to find some bravery.
“Okay, I’m going to count to three. I need everyone ready. Tom, you just relax and know it will feel better soon.”
Frank positioned himself and began counting. It was all over in a blink. The bone cooperated, thankfully. Tom screamed, but quickly calmed back down. Clyde and Bill were able to keep him still and backed off a little when Frank was finished. They stayed that way for a bit while they made sure that Tom had calmed down enough so he wouldn’t move. Meanwhile, Frank was preparing the plaster mixture.
Now that everything was quiet, he could hear movement out in the other room.
“Clyde? Will you tell whoever is out there that I am busy and will be for a while? They are going to need to reschedule.” Clyde willingly obliged. His face showed that he needed to calm down a bit himself.
Frank wanted to keep Bill talking with Tom a little longer. His attention was making a great difference.
Working as quickly as possible, Frank applied the plaster cast. Tom’s ma returned and went straight to her chair. After a few moments, she was relaxed enough to come stand next to Tom and stroke his hair. Bill took that as an opportunity to quietly step out of the room. Before he left though, Frank stopped him and made sure he wouldn’t go too far. Clyde and Bill would need to carry Tom home. Applying the cast didn’t take nearly as long as it used to, but it still was a process that required a bit of patience. When he finished, he secured it all with the sticks that Clyde had brought in earlier and wrapped it all in a soft cloth to keep the sticks in place. This way the cast could dry and harden thoroughly, and Tom could head home instead of waiting here until that point.
The cast stretched well above and below the break to make sure once it had dried it couldn’t shift. Instructions were given to Tom’s ma, and Clyde and Bill were called back in to help get Tom moved home to his own bed. He would be able to get up with crutches in a couple of days, but resting was the best thing for him now.
With that emergency finished and the exam room clean again, Frank was able to get back to his day. Looking at the schedule book, he saw where Clyde had moved a couple of appointments to later in the week. He only had a few more people to see before he could head home. He loved the rush of adrenaline when emergencies occurred, but he was always tired afterward. Heading home was all he wanted to do, and he was glad that would be happening soon.
Frank welcomed the next patient and got back to work. The day continued, and everything went smoothly. It wasn’t until Frank was locking up that he remembered the information in Allie’s file. Dread settled in and he decided to push it all aside for now. He needed to sleep first and think on this with a fresh brain tomorrow. Home and sleep, and maybe some of Ma’s fine cooking, that was all he needed right now.
CHAPTER 28
Working three days a week and doing all five days of chores at home in the remaining two was exhausting. It was paying off though. She had already received her first pay. Mr. Ashton gave it to her before he ducked back into the printing room, where he spent most of his time.
After giving some to her parents, there wouldn’t be much left to tuck away, but it was more than she had a week ago. She was working on the next chapter of her life. What that chapter would look like was anyone’s guess at this point.
She had spent some time reflecting on what Frank had said, but she wasn’t sure how to go about it. The last time she remembered truly speaking with God, she had been angry. She realized she was still angry. Blaming God for putting her in this mess was easy, but as Ma pointed out—not too subtly—Allie’s finger might not have been pointing in the correct direction. Should she have pointed that finger at her own chest instead? It was all too confusing to work out in one afternoon.
She had just finished sweeping up and putting the broom away when the senior Mr. Ashton walked in.
“Allie, I’d like to talk with you in my office if you have the time. I know you’re ready to head home, but it will only take a few minutes.”
“Sure! I’ll be right there, Sir.”
Mr. Ashton turned and headed for his office behind the frosted glass door. She took off her apron and brushed off her dusty skirt. She hung her apron next to the broom in the cleaning closet and headed for his office.
“Please sit,” Mr. Ashton boomed, as he was going over some papers cluttering the top of his desk. Allie did as he
instructed and waited for him to speak.
“Allie, I just wanted to let you know that we appreciate all that you are doing around here. The place looks great. You’re doing a fine job,” he paused.
“Thank you, Mr. Ashton. I am really enjoying it here.” Allie sat up a bit straighter, welcoming the praise she didn’t expect.
“Yes…well…, I do need to let you know that we have been getting reports of possible layoffs all around this region. The railroad, mine, and timber industries are being forced to halt operations in some locations due to the fires.”
“I see. I fail to see what this has to do with me though, Sir.” Allie started fidgeting.
Mr. Ashton stood and walked to stare into a picture hanging on his wall. “If those reports turn out to be true, I may have to let you go, so I can help at least one man out. I could give him your job. It doesn’t pay much I know, but many men are going to be desperate for anything to help take care of their families. You have your pa and ma to look after you. I know you’ll fair well, but I need to do what I can to help others.”
Allie couldn’t breathe. She knew this was all too good to be true. She wanted to get up and run from here, but she remained quietly in her seat.
Mr. Ashton turned and saw her rigid posture and expression. “Ah…now…Allie, I’m not saying you don’t have a job right now. This is only if the number of layoffs they are projecting actually happen. Maybe we will have a storm roll in that douses all the fires and we won’t need to worry about this. Put it out of your mind for now. I just wanted to give you some notice should the need arise, but I can see it upset you. Go ahead and head on home. I’ll see you next week.”
Allie stood and gave a brief nod before turning and fleeing into the fresh air. She needed to breathe. The walls felt as though they were closing in on her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take very long to compose herself. Gladys was making her way towards her. This was the last person she wanted to be with right now. She would rather be alone…but anyone was better than this.
By His Hand Page 13