by Cyndi Raye
“Agree. Let me finish up here.”
Ellie waited on the porch. She was too nervous to move. Townsfolk waved to her. Across the street at the boarding house, Miss Addie peeked out the door. She waved to Ellie and gave her a nod.
Becky was pre-occupied playing with her little friend, Tamara, at the boarding house. Miss Addie promised to keep her out of the way until they got a chance to thoroughly scrutinize the Martins.
Ellie walked with James, her hand on his arm as they made their way to the train depot. Even though she pasted a smile across her face, nodding to passers-by, her heart raced as fast if not faster than the locomotive in the distance. A bellowing sound from the train’s whistle rent the air, causing Ellie to slow down her steps.
James urged her on. “We can do this, Ellie. Together. Follow my steps.”
She was so grateful for James. If he wasn’t the upstanding man she knew, she’d have to face this alone. “Thank you,” she told him, meaning it with all her heart.
He brushed a kiss across the side of her bonnet. “Be strong, Ellie. You daughter needs you to be.”
James knew the exact thing to say to give her courage. Whoever they faced on that train was not going to tear their family apart. She would not allow it to happen. “I will, James.”
“Let me do the talking, Ellie. You watch their responses, you are a good judge of character.”
She nodded, allowing him to help her up the steps to the platform. It shook so hard she thought she would unravel right there on the wooden structure. “Perhaps we should wait further away.”
“Nonsense. I want to see them the moment they depart from the train car.” James stood straight, his body shielding her from the entrance.
She peeked around his shoulder. “James! You told me to watch but your blocking my view.”
“Shh, Ellie. Here they come.”
Ellie sighed. James was as nervous as she. His grip tightened. They watched as several people left the train car, by-passing them completely. Ellie stared in to the windows of the cars, squinting her eyes to see if any more bodies were departing.
“I don’t understand,” James told her. “They were to be on this train.”
“It makes me happy. Less worries now. If they don’t show up, perhaps they didn’t care enough about Betsy to make the trip. Perhaps they changed their minds.”
“Ah hem!”
James looked down at her side. His eyes widened right before he almost smiled.
“Ah hem! Excuse me!”
A tiny male voice. What was going on? Ellie followed the sound of the little voice. She jumped back and yelped. “Oh my! I didn’t see you standing there.”
The tiny man’s brow rose before he gave her the biggest smile ever. “I’m sorry. You must be Nurse Ellie.” He held out his hand. “I am Mr. Martin and this is my wife.”
Ellie took his hand, confused. She looked all around but didn’t see anyone except the little man in front of her in a three-piece suit. A movement behind him caught her eye.
Mrs. Martin slipped from behind her husband, a shy smile on her face. “Greetings, Nurse Ellie.”
These were the Martins! How could that be? Right away she became angry. “What kind of joke are you playing on us?” she demanded. Her arms crossed her chest. “This is not funny. Do you realize how worried we have been. Fearing for the safety of our daughter!”
Mr. Martin looked confused. “Your daughter? Of course she is your daughter now. Why, Nurse Ellie, why do you think we are here?”
James stood by her side. “Mr. Martin, we are drawing a crowd. Perhaps we could take this conversation to our home.”
Ellie marched over to the bench and sat, her back straight. “No we will not. I demand an answer and I refuse to budge from this spot until we have one. Mr. Martin, who are you and why do you want Betsy? I’ll tell you right now you will be in for the biggest fight of your life?”
Instead of being offended, the tiny man looked from James to Ellie. He looked to his wife. “I believe I have all the information I need. Are you in agreement, dear wife?”
The shy woman nodded. “I believe so.” She started for the steps. “Is there a decent place to eat here? I don’t think there will be another train until tomorrow. I’m hungry.”
Mr. Martin slapped his thigh, laughing out loud. “The lady has spoken.” He began to follow his wife when he stopped in front of Ellie. “Nurse Ellie. I would like to invite the two of you to have dinner with my wife and I. She’ll hunt down the best place to eat. Shall we?”
All Ellie could do was nod as the little man ran to catch up to his wife.
She looked up at James, who seemed as confused as she. “What happened here?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea but I do know one thing. I doubt they are a threat to Betsy. Why, they are tiny people. She doesn’t have one tiny bone in her body. Who exactly is this Mr. Martin?”
Ellie stood. “I aim to find out.” She held her arm out for James to take. “Dear husband, let’s follow them to dinner. I won’t let these folks out of our site until we get to the bottom of things.”
“I doubt I can eat anything.”
“I feel the same but I want this over. Tonight.”
Ellie felt deep in her heart the Martins were not here to whisk Betsy away. They were an older couple, seemed well-off with his three piece suit and the elegant material of his wife’s dress and bonnet. Were they related to Betsy’s parents?
They walked a few paces behind the Martins. “I know what you may be thinking, Ellie. I studied this in medical school. Sometimes the genes of these little people by-pass their own children. Why, one of Betsy’s parents may be their child. We have to find out tonight.”
“Oh, we will, Doctor James. Between the two of us, we will leave no stone unturned.”
Mr. Martin paused. He turned and winked at Ellie as if he had heard her whisper those words.
She felt a shiver go up her spine. She wanted to like the Martins but with the overlying threat of taking Betsy away, it wasn’t possible. They needed to be gone. Tonight if it was up to her.
Jenna’s eatery was open. The two couples took a table in the back, where they were away from any prying eyes and ears.
James became impatient. “Mr. Martin, I appreciate dinner and all, but I don’t believe my wife and I can eat a thing. Not in the state we are in. Please, tell us why you are here.”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Mrs. Martin spoke up, wiggling her finger back and forth. “It is impolite to speak of business before dinner.” She gave them both a stern look.
“Then we are at your mercy,” he told them, squeezing Ellie’s hand.
She wanted this nonsense over. Would they have to suffer through a meal while these hungry tiny people ate just to find out about Betsy?
An hour later, Ellie sipped on iced tea. The Martins spoke of their travel from one end of the continental rail road to the other. They spoke of places they’ve been and how they planned to continue on their travel journey until they were too old to do so.
“Nurse Ellie, you may think I’m an old, rich tiny person without a care in the world but you are so wrong. Old, yes. Rich, yes. But my cares are so deep. I come from a humble beginning. I worked as hard as the next man for many years until my father inherited a fortune from his employer, an old man who had no other family. I, in turn, inherited my father’s fortune.”
So, they were rich folk, trying to come steal her little girl. Ellie stood. “If you think your money is going to buy Betsy a better life, you may as well forget it right now. We will hire a lawyer and fight you, Mr. Martin.”
“Let him finish, Ellie.” James tried to calm her down but it wasn’t working. She had her mind made up. There was no way she would allow anyone to up-root her Betsy.
Mr. Martin put out a hand. “Now, now. I understand you must be wondering why I am here.” He reached in his pocket to pull out a folded envelope.
“I don’t want your money, Mr. Martin. I’ve had enough!” Ellie began
to push her chair back until Mrs. Martin spoke up. Her tiny voice stopped Ellie.
“Nurse Ellie, we want to help you, not take Betsy away.”
“What?”
“It’s true. I fell in love with Betsy’s mother. Like you did with Betsy. Do you know where her mother came from? The same orphanage Betsy was in before you saved her.”
Ellie was stunned. She didn’t move until James helped her back in her seat. “I, I don’t understand.”
“I worked in the Orphanage, my dear. Then Betsy’s mama was brought in. Her parents died of fever, leaving her alone with no one. When they brought her in to the orphanage, I fell in love. I tried to help take care of her, she was a wee one. When I met Mr. Martin, he began to woo me, but I wouldn’t let him marry me unless he took Betsy’s mama too.
Since he had inherited such a large sum, it wasn’t hard to get her. We rescued many of the children in the home, placing them with families in need of children all over the country. My husband single-handedly is responsible for saving hundreds of children to a fate worse than death.”
Ellie had never heard of such a thing. “How is that even possible?”
“Oh, my dear, anything is possible when you are rich.”
She lifted her head. “I’m rich, too, but not with money. I love Betsy with all my heart. That makes me twice as rich as you.”
James took her hand. She swore there was another shiny tear in his eye. How she loved this man. A slow smile crept across her cheek. It didn’t matter what anyone tried to do, as long as Ellie had James and Betsy, all the other stuff didn’t matter.
Mr. Martin spoke up. “Now, if I may finish, I’d like to tell you that from the moment we saw you, I knew you were the right folks for Betsy. You see, we didn’t know she was still alive. We thought she perished in the accident with her parents, God rest their souls. We travel all over every single day, visiting the other children we rescued, making sure their lives are fulfilled and they are happy.”
“You travel the train all of the time?” Ellie was astounded.
“Yes, we do. We have a big responsibility to those children we rescued. Someone has to look out for each one. Their parents never know when we may pop in so they best be taking good care of them. It’s our job. I do believe it’s a divine intervention from the man above for us to keep track of those we saved.”
“And we get to travel to all these wonderful places and eat so much good food,” Mrs. Martin said. She stuffed a forkful of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
Ellie knew when a child was apprenticed to a home, most times there was no follow up. Many children were beaten or mistreated. Mr. Martin dedicated his whole life to making sure the ones he saved were not in any harm.
She looked at the couple through new eyes. “I’m so sorry I misjudged you both. I ask for your forgiveness.”
“You are forgiven. Now, Nurse Ellie. I understand you and your husband here have a fine medical practice.”
She smiled. “Yes, we do. I am thinking of extending our practice to do some midwifery. I love delivering babies.”
“Indeed. My job is to make sure Betsy has all the care and love she will ever need. I am sure the two of you have more than enough to give. However, there’s nothing like a nice fat bank account to be certain of her future. Especially if you want to send her to medical school to become a nurse or even a doctor. Imagine that, a woman doctor.”
He handed a folded piece of paper. James took it, staring at the amount and then folded it before placing in his pocket. “Thank you.”
Mr. Martin nodded.
Ellie wasn’t sure it was a good idea to take their money. “I am most grateful, however we don’t want your money.”
“Yes, we do.” James grinned.
“We do?”
He nodded.
She looked at the three of them, relief causing her to let out a breath she had been holding. If her husband said it was alright to take the money, then she would be okay with it too. Actually, she knew she didn’t have much choice.
“Thank you, Mr. Martin. Your gift then is appreciated.”
“It’s what God has sent me to do, Nurse Ellie, just as he gifted you with the ability to heal.”
As the two couples strolled towards the boarding house, Miss Addie peeked her head out the door. She watched everyone carefully, ready to lock the door if need be, Ellie was certain.
“Miss Addie, bring Betsy please. I want her to meet her grand parents.”
Miss Addie nodded in relief, swung open the door to let a jumping Betsy out. When Betsy saw her parents, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. She ran towards them until coming face to face with Mrs. Martin.
The little girls eyes were curious. Ellie’s heart melted.
“Hi. I’m Betsy. You’re little like me. Are you a little girl, too?”
Mrs. Martins booming laugh made Betsy jump up and down even more. “Oh, heavens no, child. I am a tiny person. I haven’t been able to grow any larger. Why, do you know how old I am?”
Betsy’s eyes grew bigger. “No. How old are you?”
Mrs. Martin whispered in her ear.
“Wow,” she said, not really knowing what she was so excited about.
“I’m your grandmother,” Mrs. Martin told her.
“You are?” Betsy looked to Ellie and James. When Ellie nodded, the little girl wrapped those tiny arms around Mrs. Martins neck. “Oh, gram-udder!”
They all laughed. Even a couple passing by smiled at them.
“It’s a beautiful night, is it not, my husband?”
James hugged Ellie close. “It is a beautiful life. I’m glad you came in to my life, Nurse Ellie.”
“Oh, James. I never thought I’d be so happy. I feel complete now.”
He shook his head. “Not entirely, Mrs. Winters.”
Ellie stepped back. “What do you ever mean.”
“We have so much space in that big house across the street. Perhaps it’s time to give Betsy a sister or brother.”
“I want one!” Betsy chirped, causing the whole crowd to laugh again.
“Let’s celebrate!” Miss Addie said. “I made some fresh lemonade. How about we sit on the porch and have a glass.”
“I’ll help, may I Miss Addie?” Betsy’s little voice tugged at Ellie’s heart.
“Of course. We will return shortly with delicious beverages.”
The sound of a lone horse clip-clopped down the quiet street. In the darkness of the night, with only a few gas lights to shine light upon the town, the shadow of a rider came in to view.
Ellie and James were on the porch with Mr. and Mrs. Martin when the lone rider stopped in front of the boarding house. He tipped his hat to the women. “Ladies. I’m looking for a place called Mill Ridge.”
James got up to speak with him. Using caution, the good doctor left the porch. “This isn’t Mill Ridge, you arrived in Wichita Falls.”
The stranger nodded his head, a slight movement Ellie and the Martins noticed because there was a dim light from the house shining almost directly in his path.
James chortled. “Your horse looks tired. There’s a stable down yonder at the end of the street. Someone is usually always there. You won’t be heading to Mill Ridge tonight any more, too dangerous at night.”
The rider watched the fine doctor. “How far to Mill Ridge from here?”
“About an hours ride.”
Ellie thought maybe the man should keep going and yet he looked tired. His face looked as if he hadn’t shaved for a long time. It was hard to see the length of his hair but she determined by his stance he needed a bath and a shave. Perhaps a night at Lily’s hotel would spruce him up. “There’s hot showers at the hotel and you can get some food at Jenna’s cafe. She is open until eight.”
The stranger turned to Ellie. “Much obliged ma’am. No sense in dangering my horse to make it to Mill Ridge tonight. I reckon’ I’ll take the advice of you kind folk. Good day.”
James returned to the porch, sitting alo
ng side Ellie, watching the stranger trot his horse towards the stables. “Wonder what business he’s got in Mill Ridge?”
Miss Addie had come out just in time to hear the last of the conversation, putting her two cents worth in the mix. “Not sure but if he’s here for trouble, Sheriff Nightingale will run him out. He’s gotten very protective of Mill Ridge since he and Sophie married.”
The stranger was forgotten as Betsy handed out drinks. “Miss Addie says we are having a sell-ah-bray-shun!”
“Yes, we are. Do you know why?” Ellie wanted to shout it out to the world.
“Why, Mommy?” She worked her way on to Ellie’s lap.
“Because we get to keep you forever and now you have grand parents to look out for you as well.”
“I know that,” she said, slurping on her drink like any three year old. She smacked her lips. “Don’t forget Miss Addie. She is my God-mother. Mommy, what’s a God-mother?”
They all laughed. James stared at his wife, making Ellie so aware of his love for her. She finally had everything she ever wanted. A good husband, a wonderful, loving place to live and a family maybe not related but thrown together through heartaches and life’s journeys.
“Mommy, look!” Betsy slid from her lap to stare at the sky. Her little hand reached out, trying to catch the far away shooting star that crossed the dark sky. It was so quick yet a little girl with hope in her eyes saw it bright and clear.
“Was that a sign,” she mouthed to her husband.
He wrapped a gentle arm around her. “Perhaps. If we have a child of our own, we will name her Star, for I feel like the luckiest man on earth and that shooting star just proved it. I have all I need or ever want right here.”
“Your not the only one, good doctor.”
“I love you, good doctor,” a little voice said. She hugged her Daddy’s legs and began to bounce on his feet, laughing out loud, filling the night with the sweet sound of young laughter.
Ellie smiled at Miss Addie who watched them with her all-knowing smile. Ellie swore the woman knew how everything would end.