by Al Lacy
“That’s right,” put in Zediker. “He ain’t done nothin’ to make you hate him like you do.”
“He’s done enough,” Toomey said flatly. “There’s only one person on this earth I hate more than him, and that’s William Linden. One day, Linden is gonna die at my hand.”
Lewis looked at him. “Well, you can do it after the War is over, if you don’t get beat to death with Landrum’s whip before that. In the meantime, why don’t you wise up? You’ve got scars on your back and you’re chained like a wild beast. Didn’t Tyler tell you a week ago that if you started acting right, he would see to it that those chains came off?”
“Yeah.”
“Then use your head, man. Straighten up and save yourself some misery.”
Toomey thought on it for a long moment. “Okay, guys, you’re right. I won’t attack Tyler anymore. It’d be good to have these chains off. I’ll track him down after the War and give him his well-deserved beatin’. As for Linden, I’ll find the right time to take care of him.”
On Friday, December 23, at Memorial Hospital, Lieutenant Nate Conrad was sitting in a chair beside his bed, gazing out a nearby window at the snow-covered landscape. It had snowed every day for the past week, and even now snow was falling from a pewter-gray sky in big fat flakes.
Nate was healing slower than he had hoped, but at least he could now leave his bed for a few hours a day to sit in the chair with the help of one of the male attendants.
In spite of the slow healing process, Nate was a happy man. He and Millie were falling deeper in love every day. Though they were not allowed time alone in some private place, they had been able to talk in whispers to each other at times and express their love.
Despite the wool blanket covering his legs, Nate shivered when a gust of wind slammed against the window, driving the snow against it and obscuring his view. He gripped the arms of the chair as he painfully lifted his feet up and down, doing the exercises prescribed by Dr. Gary Medford. It was two days before Christmas, and Nate considered his ability to move his legs the best Christmas gift of 1864.
He could see it snowing outside. His thoughts went to Millie, who was busy with her other patients. Though their plans were only tentative at that point, he knew the day would come when he would make Millie his bride. A vision of her beautiful face came before him, bringing a smile to his lips.
I want to be able to give her a whole man, not one tied to a chair, he thought. I must walk again, but first I have to graduate to a wheelchair. And that can only come when I can operate these legs well enough to get in and out of it, as Dr. Medford said.
Clenching his teeth against the pain that stabbed his back, he concentrated on moving his legs up and down again. This time he did it for five minutes. He rested again for a few minutes, then began the exercises again. He kept it up for another five minutes.
Millie had been watching him from the far side of the ward. Tears made a path down her cheeks as she witnessed his valiant attempts to do his exercises.
“You can do it, my love,” she whispered, gripping one hand with the other. “And one day we will meet at a church altar and we can repeat our vows before a preacher.”
11
ON NEW YEAR’S DAY 1865, Lieutenant Nate Conrad was sitting in the chair next to his bed, doing his leg exercises. It was midmorning, and he was thinking of Millie Ross, who at the moment was in a meeting with head nurse Letha Phillips and some of the other nurses.
In the beds on either side of him were Captain Brent Stoffell and Sergeant Bob Kirgan. Both men had been there since mid-December.
Kirgan smiled at him. “I’ll say one thing for you, Lieutenant. You’re persistent. I can tell you still feel pain in your back when you exercise those legs, but you keep it up anyway.”
“Mm-hmm,” grunted Nate, keeping the legs in motion. “I want to graduate from this chair to one with wheels on it. Dr. Medford won’t let me do it until I convince him I’m ready. I can’t graduate from a wheelchair to crutches unless I first get in the wheelchair.”
“Any idea how soon you might get your wheelchair?” asked Captain Stoffell.
“Dr. Medford told me last week I was close. As you know, he examined me yesterday, but I couldn’t get a committal from him. I sure hope it’s soon.”
Kirgan looked down the long row of beds. “Hey! Lookee there, Lieutenant! Dr. Medford’s coming this way, and he’s pushing an empty wheelchair.”
Nate turned to look. “He sure is! But … maybe it’s for someone else.”
Stoffell chuckled. “We’ll soon find out.”
Nate’s pulse quickened as Dr. Gary Medford drew near and he wheeled the chair to a stop at his bed.
A broad smile lit up Medford’s face as he set his eyes on Nate. “Well, Lieutenant, guess what? Your time has come. I talked to Dr. Walton after examining you yesterday, and we’re in agreement that you are now ready for this wheelchair. Your back is healed sufficiently that it can take the pressure of wheeling the chair. A great deal of this is because you have done your leg exercises so consistently. You can now move around the ward and get to know the other soldiers who are confined to their beds.”
Nate’s face immediately showed the joy he felt.
“Dr. Walton told me that he is going to sign the official papers that will get you a medical discharge from the army. He and I agree there is no way you could return to active duty.”
“This is good news, Doctor. Of course, if I could, I would go back to the War, but my back is telling me I couldn’t do it.”
The doctor smiled again and ran his gaze to the men on both sides. “I’ve got some more good news.”
“What is it, Doctor?” asked Stoffell.
“Word just came by wire to Dr. Walton from a doctor friend of his at one of Washington’s big hospitals. The experts in Washington are saying there are some strong indications that the South is losing the War. These experts, which include President Abraham Lincoln, are predicting that the Confederacy will surrender within six months, seven at the longest.”
“Wonderful!” said Nate. “If anybody has his hands on the pulse of the War, it’s the president.”
Brent Stoffell sighed. “I sure hope he’s right. As soon as I get out of here, I want to go home to my wife and children.”
“I don’t have a wife and children,” spoke up Bob Kirgan, “but I’ve got a sweetheart who’s waiting at home for me. Plus my parents.”
At that moment, excited voices were heard at the beds nearest the front door of the ward as nurses began telling the patients the same news.
Nate looked that way. “Can I get in my wheelchair, now, Doctor? I’ve been looking forward to this for so long.” “Sure. Let me help you.”
Before the doctor could take hold of Nate, he was on his feet, steadying himself with the arm of the chair. “I’ve been getting myself out of bed and into this chair for quite some time, now, Doctor. I have to hang on to one, then the other, so if you’ll steady the wheelchair for me, I’ll get myself in it.”
Dr. Medford gripped the wheelchair. “All right. I’m watching. Just be careful.”
Using the arm of the chair to steady himself, Nate took hold of the wheelchair and eased into it. “Ah! This feels good!”
The doctor bent down in front of him. “Lift your feet so I can let down these footrests.”
Nate lifted his feet. The doctor let the footrests down. “I’m going to stay with you for a few minutes while you wheel yourself around. Go ahead.”
Nate gripped the hand rims and put himself in motion. Besides Stoffell and Kirgan, other men in the area were watching and began to cheer. He rolled himself one direction for a few seconds, then turned around and went the other direction. When he came back to his bed, Dr. Medford said, “You’re doing great, Lieutenant. Don’t overdo it. Especially this first day. You’ll need to work your way into it.”
Nate nodded. “I see what you mean. My arms are feeling it already. I’ve been laid up too long.”
“K
eep that in mind. Let me tell you this. My plan is to have you up on crutches by the first week of February.”
Nate’s eyes brightened. “Now you’re talking!”
“I knew that would perk you up. If you continue to do as well as you have in the last few weeks, you just might be able to go home by April.”
“That’s music to my ears, Doctor. Believe me, I’ll keep working at it.”
At that moment, Letha Phillips appeared, her gaze fixed on Nate. “Well, well, what have we here? Lieutenant, I’m so glad you finally have graduated to a wheelchair.”
“Me too, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Miss Ross will certainly be glad to see this.” The look in her eyes told Nate she knew that he and Millie had a special closeness.
Nate nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sure she will.”
Letha gave him a grin and walked away.
“I’ll leave you, now,” said Medford. “You can wheel yourself around a little more, but don’t go at it too long—more than a half hour.”
“I’ll go easy, Doctor. Promise.”
Medford patted his shoulder. “All right. And when you need to get back in bed, you have somebody help you. I don’t trust the brake on this wheelchair. That’s an order, understand?”
Nate saluted. “Yes, sir, General Doctor Medford, sir!”
Stoffell and Kirgan laughed. The doctor chuckled.
For the next half hour, Nate visited men who were confined to their beds. They talked about home, family, and the message of hope that had come that day, encouraging them that the War would soon be over.
Nate was wheeling away from a soldier’s bed, intending to return to his own bed when he saw a smiling Millie Ross coming toward him. He wheeled her direction.
“Oh, this is wonderful! I’m so glad to see you in this wheelchair!” said Millie.
“It feels great, I’m telling you. And guess what?”
“What?”
“Dr. Medford said his plan is to have me up on crutches by the first week of February.”
“Oh, darling, I—” Suddenly, Millie put a hand to her mouth, looking around to see if anyone had heard her. If they had, no one showed it. She bent low over him. “That’s really encouraging. I’ll do anything I can to help see that it happens.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard about President Lincoln’s prediction that the Confederates will surrender in six or seven months.”
“Yes! Oh, I hope he’s right.”
“Me too. Everyone in the North and the South needs to get back to a normal life.”
“So how long have you been wheeling around in the chair, Lieutenant?”
He grinned. “I like ‘darling’ better.”
Millie blushed.
“I’ve been wheeling around about half an hour. Dr. Medford told me not to overdo it. I was just heading back to my bed.”
“Good. Dr. Medford is right. Using your arms to put the wheels in motion is bound to put a strain on your back.”
“I can tell that. But … ah … there wouldn’t be as much strain if someone were to push me back to my bed.”
Millie smiled. “Just someone?”
Nate lowered his voice. “Well, just someone who has red hair, is strikingly beautiful, her initials are M. R., and she’s a nurse in this hospital.”
“Lieutenant Conrad, that kind of talk will get you a ride for sure.”
Nate grinned. “Do you think you might be able to get permission from Mrs. Phillips to let you wheel me out into the hall, since I’ve been confined in this ward so long?”
“Well-l-l … ”
He whispered, “If you could do that, we might find a place where we could talk more privately than right here, or at my bed where other patients, as well as nurses and their assistants, are so close by.”
A smile graced her lips. “I’ll wheel you back to your bed. You can stay in the wheelchair while I go ask Mrs. Phillips.”
“Those are welcome words. Let’s go.”
Millie wheeled Nate to his bed, parked the wheelchair beside it, and hurried toward the nurse’s station.
Brent Stoffell said, “Nate, I’m so glad you finally got your wheelchair.”
“Me too,” came Bob Kirgan’s voice.
“Thanks, guys. It’s a real encouragement. It means I’m just that much closer to being dismissed from the hospital. I can hardly wait to go home.”
Stoffell chuckled. “When you’re dismissed and you head for home, are you going to take Miss Ross with you?”
Nate chuckled back and put a surprised look on his face. “Hey, Brent, that’s a good idea! I hadn’t thought of that!”
Both men laughed.
“Yeah, sure,” said Stoffell. “Who do you think you’re kidding?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re not fooling us, Lieutenant Nathan Conrad,” said Kirgan. “It’s written all over both of you. You two are in love, aren’t you?”
Nate grinned. “Okay, so you guys figured it out. But we can’t show it openly, since I’m a patient and she’s employed by the hospital.”
“I can understand that,” said Stoffell. “But when you do leave here, you are taking her with you, aren’t you?”
“I sure want to, but since we’ve had no privacy at all, I haven’t even been able to ask her to marry me. This isn’t something you try to whisper when other people are as close as you guys. However, at this moment, she’s seeking permission from Mrs. Phillips to wheel me out into the hall. If permission is granted and we can find a reasonably private spot, I’m popping the question today.”
Both men smiled and were about to comment when Millie returned. “Letha granted me permission to take you for a ride in the hall as long as I have you back in that bed to rest inside half an hour.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
As Millie wheeled him away, the two soldiers grinned at each other.
When they passed through the door into the hall, Nate looked around. “Oh, so that’s what it looks like out here. I’d forgotten.”
Millie chuckled.
As they moved slowly along the hall, Nate pointed to a spot up ahead where there was a large bay window. “How about if we pull over at the window?”
“Sure.”
Millie rolled the wheelchair up close to the window. “How’s that?”
“Perfect.” He glanced outside at the snow-blanketed hospital grounds. “It’s nice to get a different view than I’ve had in the ward.”
People were moving up and down the hall in a constant stream.
Nate looked up at the redhead. “Since time is short, and we can finally talk without someone listening, I … I want to ask you a question.”
She smiled and leaned against the windowsill. “What is the question?”
Nate started to take hold of her hand, but checked himself, remembering there were people passing by.
“I wish we could hold hands too. Go ahead with your question.”
Nate’s heart was fluttering. It came out quickly. “Millie, when I get out of the hospital, will you marry me?”
Tears filmed her eyes. “Nate, darling, I’ve been living for this moment, and I’ve already said yes in my heart. Now, I’ll say it with my lips. Yes, I will marry you.”
Joy had Nate’s face beaming. “Oh, Millie, my sweet, I love you so much.”
“And I love you so much.” Love light was glowing from her misty eyes.
“I sure would like to seal it with a kiss, sweetheart, but this will have to do for now.” As he spoke, Nate took hold of her hands, making it look like she was helping him adjust his position in the wheelchair. Quickly, he planted a kiss on each hand.
Millie brushed a tear from her cheek and put both hands to her lips as if to lift the kisses from them. “Darling, if President Lincoln and the other Washington experts are correct, the War will be over in June or July. I wish it would end today, but if … if it ended early in June, we could have a June wedding.”
<
br /> “How about an April wedding?”
“Hmm?”
“When Dr. Medford brought me my wheelchair, he told me that Dr. Walton is going to sign the papers that will give me a medical discharge from the army, and he also told me that he thinks I’ll be able to go home by April.”
“He did? Oh, that’s wonderful! Well, if that’s the case, of course it will be an April wedding. I assume you want to get married in Harrisburg.”
“Well, actually, I was thinking that we’d get married right here in Frederick as soon as I’m released from the hospital. The wedding will be a small one, of course, but at least Paula and Nancy could be there.”
“I’d like that.”
“All right, it’s settled. I’ll take you home as my blushing bride.”
Millie moved to him, leaned over, and took hold of his hands. “Here, let me help you adjust yourself again.”
Nate grinned as she kissed both of his hands. He pressed the places where she had kissed them to his lips. “Okay, it’s sealed with kisses now.”
Tears of joy brimmed in the eyes of both of them. For the moment, Nate and Millie were content to just look at each other, reading the love that dwelt there.
After a moment, Nate said, “I wanted to be at least up on crutches before I asked you to marry me, so you’d see that you wouldn’t be marrying a man who couldn’t walk at all; but I just couldn’t wait any longer.”
A fresh wave of love warmed Millie’s heart. “I’ve watched you work tirelessly, exercising your legs as Dr. Medford had urged you to do, but I had already made up my mind that if you asked me to marry you, I was going to do so regardless of how long it would take you to walk again. And even if I knew you would never walk again, I would still marry you.”
“Oh, I wish I could hug you.”
“I wish you could too. But our day will come, darling.”
“It can’t come too soon for me. I can hardly wait to show you off to my friends in Harrisburg.”
“Darling, speaking of Harrisburg …”
“Yes?”
“I assume there’s a hospital.”