by Al Lacy
“Yes, thank you,” Dottie said. “Doctor, where’s Jerrod?”
“Jerrod’s at the asylum,” he said quietly. “We’ll talk about him after Dr. Olson has examined you.”
The sounds of the ambulance attendants coming through the door of the outer office met the doctor’s ears. He pulled his hands free from hers, stood up, and said, “The ambulance is here.”
Dr. Carroll told the attendants about Dottie’s paralysis so they would be extra careful when they placed her on the stretcher. He also told them to notify Dr. Glenn Olson that Mrs. Harper wanted to be in his care. He once again assured Dottie that he would be at the hospital as soon as he could.
At City Mental Asylum, the policemen delivered Jerrod Harper into the hands of Dr. Verle Huffman, the assistant to Dr. Carroll. When the officers gave Huffman Dr. Carroll’s instructions, he immediately led them down the hall that was lined with padded cells.
Jerrod heard the screams and cries coming from the cells and strained against the handcuffs that held his arms behind his back. “No-o!” he yelled. “You’re not puttin’ me in here! No-o!”
Dr. Huffman called for help from his attendants. It took four of them to wrestle Jerrod into a padded cell, hold him so an officer could remove the handcuffs, and then put both his wrists and ankles in shackles. When the police officer and the attendants backed out of the cell, Jerrod lunged at them, but fell hard when the chains reached their length. Jerrod strained against the chains, his eyes wild as they closed the door.
“I’ll get outta here!” he roared. “I will! And when I do, I’ll kill her! Do you hear me? I’ll kill her!”
Dr. Olson had just emerged from Dottie’s hospital room and started down the hall when he saw Dr. Carroll coming toward him. He stopped and waited for Carroll to draw up.
“Hello, Glenn,” Carroll said. “Have you examined Mrs. Harper?”
“Yes, Matt, and I’ve got good news.” “I can use some of that.”
“Her spine has been bruised, but from what I can tell, not permanently injured. I’m reasonably confident she’ll get all the feeling back below her waist. As for walking, it will take some therapy, but I believe she’ll walk as good as new in time. She already has some feeling back in her legs and feet.”
“Well, praise the Lord!” Carroll said. “That dear lady has been through so much.”
“I understand that her husband’s been placed in the asylum?”
“Yes. She brought him in for me to begin treating him. Has she told you what he did last night?”
“Yes. Awful.”
“Well, I told Jerrod that for the sake of his family and himself, he needed to be admitted to the asylum. He went crazy. Mrs. Harper doesn’t know yet, but before it was over, we had to call for several policemen to subdue him. Jerrod managed to get his hands on a gun and shot and killed one of the officers.”
“Oh, no.”
“I just came from police headquarters. I had to sign papers declaring him insane. Otherwise, as you know, he would hang.”
“Yes,” said Olson, shaking his head slowly. “Poor man. That Civil War was an awful thing. It left so many men scarred in both mind and body.”
Carroll sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Now I have to go tell that dear woman that her husband will be in the asylum for the rest of his life.”
“You want me to go in there with you? She’s in room thirty-one.”
“Would you? This won’t be easy. I can use all the help I can get.”
“All right.”
The two doctors entered the room, and Dr. Carroll told Dottie how happy he was with her prognosis. She was able to smile and tell him about the feeling she was already getting back in her legs and feet.
Dr. Carroll then told her that Jerrod had killed a police officer. When she got over the initial shock of it, he explained about signing the necessary papers for the police, declaring Jerrod insane … and that Jerrod would be kept in the asylum for the rest of his life.
Dottie wept as if her heart would break. Both doctors held her hands and tried to be as much comfort as they could. When her emotions settled down, Dr. Carroll prayed with her, asking the Lord to give her extra strength and to watch over her and the children.
Dottie then asked if someone could notify Will and Maudie Reeves that she was in the hospital. She wanted to see James and Molly Kate. She also asked if they would let her pastor know what had happened.
Dr. Carroll told her it would be taken care of immediately.
It was early afternoon when Reverend Howard Yates arrived at the hospital, along with Will and Maudie Reeves and James and Molly Kate. Mother and children had a tearful reunion, and Dr. Olson came to assure them that with therapy Dottie would soon be well.
Dottie wept as she told them about Jerrod killing the policeman, and that he would be a permanent resident in the asylum. Yates read Scripture and prayed with them, doing what he could to bring comfort.
Maudie assured Dottie the children were welcome to stay with them until she was out of the hospital and able to care for them. Will told her he would get their neighbors to join in and take care of her crops. He would take the animals to his place and keep them fed.
Dottie cried as she thanked them for their kindness.
Will and Maudie told Dottie they would bring the children to see her as often as they could. Reverend Yates assured her that he would look in on Jerrod, for which Dottie thanked him.
James and Molly Kate were given a few minutes alone with their mother. After hugs and kisses, they were taken by the elderly couple to the Reeves wagon, and they headed for home.
It was almost suppertime when Will Reeves entered the house to find James and Molly Kate helping Maudie set the table. The kitchen was filled with the scent of food cooking.
Will breathed deeply through his nose and said, “Smells like fried chicken to me!”
“You’re right, Grandpa!” Molly Kate laughed.
Will winked at Maudie, who was standing by the stove, and said, “James … Molly Kate … I have a surprise for each of you.”
The little girl clapped her hands. “What is it, Grandpa?”
James grinned from ear to ear, expectantly.
“Well, I have them out here on the back porch, but before you see them, I want to say something. C’mere.”
He put an arm around each child and said, “Grandma and I love you both very much. You know that, don’t you?”
Both nodded, sending smiles to Maudie, who stood looking on with tears in her eyes.
“Well, because we love you so much, Grandpa’s been in his workshop making something very special. You’ve both had … a lot of sorrow in your little lives lately, and Grandma and I want to give you something to be happy about.”
The children looked at each other and smiled.
“All right,” said Will, heading for the back door. “Ladies first. We’ll give Molly Kate her present first.”
“Give James his present first, Grandpa. He’s the oldest.”
“You sure?” Will said with a chuckle.
“Uh-huh. I want James to get his first.”
The old man looked at James. “What ya say, boy?”
James shrugged and said, “Who am I to argue with a woman?”
Maudie laughed.
“Okay!” said Will, opening the door. “Oldest first!”
The children waited with anticipation dancing in their eyes while Will went out on the back porch, closing the door behind him. Seconds later he came back in, pulling a bright-red wagon by the tongue. White lettering on the side said: James Harper Express.
The boy’s eyes lit up and bulged from their sockets. “Wow!” he exclaimed, running to the old man and throwing his arms around him. “Thank you, Grandpa! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Molly Kate looked on with joy to see her brother so happy. James ran his hands over the smooth wood of the wagon, then ran to Maudie and embraced her, expressing his thanks all over again.
He r
eturned to his new toy and looked at Molly Kate. “I’ll pull you around in it,” he said with a grin.
“Thank you,” she said, then looked at Will, who was back at the door.
He smiled at her and said, “Molly Kate, I know you love dolls. You must have a dozen or more at home. You always have at least two with you when you come to stay with us. You do love dolls, right?”
“Oh, yes, Grandpa,” she said, trying to imagine what he had for her out there on the porch.
Will looked at Maudie, winked again, then set his eyes on Molly Kate and said, “Well, sweetheart, I’ve got something for you like you’ve never even seen before. Are you ready?”
“Yes!” she said, nodding rapidly. Her little heart was racing.
Will slipped through the door and closed it behind him. Maudie was about to burst, knowing what was coming.
When the door came open, there was nothing but darkness on the back porch. Then suddenly Will came around the edge of the door carrying the biggest doll Molly Kate Harper had ever seen. The sight of it stole her breath and made her eyes pop.
The doll was the same size as Molly Kate and had hair the same length, style, and color. The dress she wore was exactly like one Grandma Maudie had made for Molly Kate on her last birthday.
What captivated the child the most, however, was the doll’s face. Will had carved the head from the wood of a balsam fir and had captured the features of the little girl. The doll was a near-perfect replica of Molly Kate.
Molly Kate stood in breathless wonder. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Her little hands were pressed against her cheeks.
Maudie moved up behind her, put an arm around her, and said, “What do you think of her, honey?”
“Oh, she’s wonderful, Grandma! Grandpa’s an artist!”
Both grandparents received hugs and kisses and excited words of thanks.
Will then went to the porch and returned with a stand he had made for the doll so Molly Kate could stand her up anywhere she wanted. James sat in his wagon, toying with the tongue, and Molly Kate held her doll.
“What are you going to name her, honey?” Maudie asked.
The child looked up sweetly and said, “Well, since she’s my size and looks just like me, there’s only one name that would fit. I’ll call her Molly Kate!”
Grandpa, Grandma, and big brother all had a good laugh.
19
IT WAS MIDMORNING the next day when Breanna Baylor drove out of San Francisco with a rented horse and buggy and headed for San Bruno. She was filled with mixed emotions. More than anything, she missed the man she loved and thought of him riding southward toward Arizona.
The good-byes to her friends in the wagon train and to her namesake, baby Breanna, had been extremely difficult, and she was still feeling the pain of parting from them. On the other hand, excitement ran through her with the anticipation of seeing her sister once again and meeting Dottie’s family.
Since Breanna did not know the location of the Harper farm, she decided to drive to San Bruno and ask around until she found someone who knew the Harpers and could tell her how to find them.
It was almost eleven o’clock when she turned onto San Bruno’s main street and guided the horse to the hitch rail in front of the San Bruno Bank. Two elderly men sitting on a bench stopped their chatter to watch the young woman as she stepped out of the buggy and approached them.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Breanna said. “I wonder if—”
“Why, Dottie Harper!” said a woman emerging from the bank. “How are you, dear? It’s good to see you.”
“Myrtle,” her husband said, “that’s not Dottie.”
Myrtle studied Breanna’s features. “Well, it has to be.”
“No,” Breanna said smiling. “I’m not Dottie Harper. I’m her sister, Breanna. I arrived in San Francisco this morning in a wagon train and rented this horse and buggy. Dottie doesn’t know I’m coming. I was going to ask these two gentlemen if they could direct me to the Harper farm.”
“Well, we can do that, ma’am,” said Myrtle’s husband. “By the way, we’re Clarence and Myrtle Nolan, friends of Dottie and Jerrod. Our farm is about three miles south of theirs.”
Clarence and Myrtle shook hands with Breanna, then Clarence said, “We’ve got more business to take care of here in town, Miss—are you a miss or a missus, ma’am?”
“I’m a miss, sir. Breanna Baylor.”
“Oh, yes,” Myrtle said. “Dottie did tell me her maiden name was Baylor.”
“Anyway, as I was sayin’,” proceeded Clarence, “we’d lead you to Jerrod and Dottie’s place if we were goin’ back right now, but we’ve still got business to tend to here in town.”
“That’s all right,” Breanna said. “If you can tell me how to get there …”
“Oh, sure.”
Clarence Nolan drew Breanna a map on a slip of paper Myrtle had in her purse. Breanna thanked him, bid them goodbye, and headed out of town. She followed the map, passing fields and orchards, and was soon guiding the horse down the road that led to her sister’s farm. She finally caught sight of the big three-story house she recognized from photographs Dottie had sent her. She had admired the turret with the cone-shaped roof and the wide, sweeping porch in the pictures, and now actually seeing them was a thrill.
Breanna liked the big trees that towered over the house at the back and both front corners. It looked like a pleasant and comfortable place to live. She longed for the day when she and John could have a house and a family of their own.
Breanna was a bit surprised when she pulled into the yard. There was no one in the fields or anywhere around the house. Perhaps they were all inside. She climbed down from the buggy with her heart in her mouth, mounted the porch steps, and knocked on the door. When there was no answer after a time, she knocked again.
Still no response.
Breanna left the porch and walked around to the back of the house. There were no animals in the corral. She knew from Dottie’s letters that they had a cow, a couple of riding horses, and a team of work horses. When she looked in the barn and found no trace of the animals, an uneasy feeling came over her.
She stepped onto the back porch and tried the door. It was unlocked. She opened it slowly, peered into the kitchen, and called out, “Hello! Anybody home?”
Silence.
It wasn’t in Breanna to enter someone’s home without an invitation, not even her own sister’s. She closed the door and walked back to the front of the house. The horse bobbed its head and nickered at her.
Before climbing back into the buggy, she looked around and saw the nearest neighbor’s house. She could see part of the road that led to it and could tell that the road she had come in on would have to connect with it on the other side of the peach orchard she had passed.
She put the horse to a trot and headed that direction.
In Molly Kate’s room at the Reeves house, Grandpa Will was attaching the big doll to her stand so the little girl could place her at the window. Molly Kate wanted the doll to be able to look outside.
Maudie was in the kitchen baking pies, and James was in the front yard playing with his wagon. With one leg inside the wagon and the other on the ground to propel it, James was having a grand time running it in a wide circle, guiding it by the tongue.
Movement caught his eye. He stopped and scrutinized the horse and buggy coming his way at a good trot. He could tell there was only one person in the buggy, and as it drew closer, it was obvious that it was a woman. A few seconds passed, and James’s eyes widened.
“Mommy! It’s Mommy!” he shouted.
He dashed to the house and into the kitchen. “Grandma! It’s Mommy! She’s coming up the road in a buggy!”
Maudie looked up from the pies she had laid out on the cupboard and said, “Honey, it can’t be your mother. She’s still in the hospital and will be for some time.”
“But it is!” he insisted. “I saw her! Come and see for yourself!”
Will and Moll
y Kate entered the kitchen.
“What’s all the excitement about?” Will asked.
“It’s Mommy!” the boy said. “She’s coming up the road, driving a buggy!”
“Let’s go see about this,” said Will. “You sure it’s her?”
“Yes!”
Molly Kate was wide-eyed. “Really, James? Is Mommy really coming?”
“Yes. C’mon, I’ll show you!”
Will and Maudie followed the excited children out the front door and reached the porch just as the wagon was pulling into the yard.
“See there!” James cried. “I told you it’s—” Suddenly he realized it was not his mother, but the lady was almost his mother made over. Then it struck him.
“Molly Kate,” he said, “you know who that is? It’s Aunt Breanna! It has to be her! It’s Aunt Breanna!”
Molly Kate stood in a mild state of shock, gawking at the pretty lady. Maudie and Will watched James dash off the porch and run up to the buggy, shouting, “Hi! I’m James! You’re my Aunt Breanna, aren’t you?”
Breanna stepped down, opened her arms, and said, “I sure am, James!”
While hugging the boy, Breanna looked at the little girl and smiled. “Hello, Molly Kate. Do you have a hug for your Aunt Breanna?”
Suddenly Molly Kate bounded off the porch. Breanna let go of James and took her into her arms. After she had hugged her for a moment, Breanna put an arm around both children and looked at the older couple. “I think I can name you two. You’re Grandma and Grandpa Reeves, right?”
“Right,” Will and Maudie said together, smiling broadly.
“Dottie had told me about you in her letters. I just didn’t realize you lived so close to them.”
As the elderly couple stepped off the porch, Maudie said, “Dottie has told us so much about you, my dear. My, don’t you two look alike? You could almost pass as identical twins!”
Will shook hands with Breanna, and Maudie embraced her. Then Breanna said, “Dottie has no idea I was coming to California, so this is going to be a real surprise. I went to their place and couldn’t find anyone home, or even any animals in the corral. Where are Dottie and Jerrod?”