Blossoms of Love

  They were just as shocked as David was. Lamont got Sara to take the boys to his mother’s house for the night. When Sara got back he asked her, “Did you know Barbara was drinking?” Sara said, “Yes I knew. I wanted to tell you but Barbara begged me so hard not to tell you. I just couldn’t.” Lamont said, “You should have Sara. Do you know where she keeps her bottles? Sara answered, “No I don’t. She would go to town once a week. I guess that is when she would buy it. I never saw where she put it.”

  After searching their whole house, he went back to their bedroom. She looked at him. She looked so helpless and alone. She said, “I’m sorry Monty.” Lamont sat down on the side of the bed, “I’m mad as hell Barbara but mostly at myself. I should have known you were hooked when Jimmy saw you drunk.” He reached out and pulled her in his arms, “We’re gonna whip this thing. You’ve got to fight harder than you’ve ever fought for anything. It’s gonna be rough but you can do it.” Barbara cried, “Yes I can whip it if you’ll be with me.” Lamont said, “I’m with you all the way. I just wish you had told me. Don’t keep things from me. I’m your partner for life, you should share your problems with me. Together we can fight them.”

  That night was terrible. Her stomach began to burn and her nerves were edgy. By midnight she woke Lamont crying and doubled up in a knot. She cried, “I can’t stand it Monty.” Her body was clammy with cold sweat. He got a wash cloth and put it on her forehead. Barbara begged, “Just give me one drink Monty.” Lamont said, “There isn’t anything to drink.” It wasn’t long until Barbara was wild with pain. He could hardly hold her in bed. He wished he hadn’t thrown it all away she was in so much pain. She looked at him, “There’s just a little bottle in the rose bush at the back door. Please Monty, get it for me.” He got a flashlight and went to the rose bush. There it was. Enough for one good drink. He didn’t want to give it to her but what could he do? She was in a terrible fix. It was only a few minutes until she was calm and quiet. Lamont sat on the chair and watched her. She looked at him, “What have I done to us?” Lamont said, “You’re hooked worse than I thought. We can’t do this without help. We’ll go see Dr. Morris, maybe he can help us.”

  Dr. Morris told them Barbara could be cured but she would have to go to a hospital in Butte. Dr. Morris said, “It is a good hospital for drying out. There are three doctors that care for that part of the hospital. They built a wing off from the main floor and all they have is patients who are drying out from alcohol and dope. One of the doctors is a good friend of mine. I’ll see if I can get her in. The place is always full.”

  Dr. Morris got his secretary to call and then he talked to a doctor. When he hung up he said, “We are lucky. He is dismissing a patient today. She can be admitted this afternoon.” He wrote down a name, “Here’s the name of the doctor to see.” Lamont asked, “How long will it take?” Dr. Morris replied, “Well, that depends on you Barbara but you will be cured when you leave the hospital.”

  As she packed her bag in their bedroom, Lamont got the boys and told them he had to talk to them. They both sat down on the couch in the den. Lamont sat down across from them on a chair. The little boys knew it was something very important. Jimmy asked, “Is it about Mom?” Lamont said, “Yes it is. You see boys, your mother is a very sick person. She has to go to the hospital to get well.” Robbie said, “Daddy, didn’t Mommy get well before?” Lamont said, “Yes but this is a different sickness.” Jimmy asked, “How long will she be there?” Lamont answered, “I don’t know son but we want her to stay until she is well, don’t we?” They both nodded their heads. Jimmy asked, “Will you stay with Mom?” Lamont replied, “No. I’ll go see her on weekends.”

  When Barbara kissed the boys before she got in the car, Robbie cried and Jimmy looked like he would.

  On their way to the hospital Barbara said, “Monty, if I don’t get cured, I won’t be back home. I’ve screwed your life up enough already.” Lamont said, “You’ll whip it. It may take a while but you’ll do it.”

  The wing of the hospital was large and had two floors. The alcoholics were on one floor and the dope addicts on the other. A nurse took Barbara to her room. Barbara undressed and put a robe on over her gown. The nurse told Lamont he could visit her for a few minutes. Barbara looked around the room. It was nice with carpet on the floor and a big over stuffed chair near the bed. There were no mirrors and bars were on the window. Lamont came in the room. Barbara said, “It’s a nice room except for the bars on the window.” Lamont said, “I hate like hell leaving you here.” He reached out and took her in his arms. She clung to him. He said, “We’ve always whipped our problems, we’ll do it again.” He kissed her tenderly, “I’ll see you this weekend.” She said, “Thanks darling for being my friend and not only a husband.” He winked at her, “That’s the way it should be babe.” A nurse came in the room, “It’s time for you to leave Mr. Ellman.” He kissed her again and Lamont knew he would never forget how Barbara looked at him, like a lost, frightened child. “You’ll make it babe. You got to. You’ve got a husband and two boys that need you.”

  Lamont went to the doctors office at the entrance of the hospital. The doctor introduced himself to Lamont, “I am Dr. James Silver. I will be your wife’s doctor. I just finished talking with Dr. Morris. Your wife is a very special friend of his, I’ll take special care of her. Sit down Mr. Ellman, let me explain what we do here.”

  The doctor took time to go into detail what they did and how they did it. He also said, “Some of the patients will say we are mean to them. That is because we won’t let them drink and we watch them constantly. They will try anything to get that drink their body craves. Some alcoholics are as hard to cure as dope addicts. We will make your wife as comfortable as possible.” He got a chart that was lying on his desk, “I’ll need some information. Let’s see, her full name and age is here. How long has she been drinking?” Lamont said, “I don’t know exactly. I guess about a year.” Dr. Silver said, “I see. Did she drink constantly?” Lamont answered, “No, just some every day. That’s why I didn’t know. She didn’t drink when I was around.” The doctor said, “That’s good. These constant drinkers are harder to deal with.” Lamont asked, “Do you have any idea how long she will be here?” The doctor answered, “It depends on your wife. If she is really determined to stop drinking, then it won’t take as long.” Lamont said, “She does want to quit. I’m sure she will cooperate.” Dr. Silver said, “That’s a lot harder to do than just wanting to. She will have to be determined. I hope she won’t be here long.”

  When Lamont got to his car, before he got in, he looked at her window. He wished so much he didn’t have to leave her here. He got in the car and as he drove away he thought, “I had to put her here. I couldn’t help myself.”

  When he got home, Jimmy and Robbie were sitting on the steps waiting for him to come back.

  The next weekend, Lamont, Carolyn, and David went to see Barbara. She seemed terribly nervous and had lost some weight. She clung to Lamont. She didn’t want him out of her reach but she seemed in good spirits. When it came time for them to leave, David and Carolyn went on to the car. Lamont held her close to him, “Love me?” Barbara touched his face with her finger tips, “Oh yes, yes I love you.” Lamont asked, “Are they good to you?” Barbara clung to him, “No, they watch me all the time. If I walk outside, a nurse is with me. A nurse is with me all the time in this room. I can’t even think alone. If I have to go through what I did again this week, I think I’d rather die.” Lamont said, “We both knew it would be rough. Hang in there babe. You’ve got what it takes to whip this thing.” She sighed, “You thought I was in a bad way that night at home. That was nothing. You know Monty, I thought a person had to be a drunkard to be an alcoholic but that’s not true. It is the drinking every day. Dr. Silver said most social drinkers become alcoholics.” Lamont said, “I know. He told me the same thing.” The nurse came in the room, “Visiting hours are over.” Lamont kissed her, “I’ll see you next weekend babe.”

&n
bsp; As the weeks passed, the doctor told Lamont Barbara was improving. But for some reason it was slow. On weekends, Barbara always had a lot of company. There was always some of the Ellmans there.

  Just before Thanksgiving, Lamont and David went to town to get extra feed for the mates that would soon be giving birth. It was very cold. David suggested that they stop in a bar and get just one drink to warm them up. A man that Lamont had to fire for stealing on the ranch was at the bar with another man. They were both drinking heavily. The man that had worked for Lamont and David said to his friend, “Well well. This man use to be one of my bosses.” He looked at Lamont, “How is your wife? Is she still drinking up the booze like she use to?” Lamont and David ignored him. They ordered them a drink. The man looked at his friend, “You should see his wife. She could drink booze like it was water. I don’t blame her, she’s so ugly she would stop a freight train.” Lamont turned around and hit the man so hard he hit the floor and didn’t move. David knew Lamont would hit him again if he tried to get up but he didn’t move. David said, “Let’s go Monty.” The man groaned and moved his head. Lamont said, “Nobody talks about my wife like that.” David said, “Come on, he’s not gonna get up for a while.” The bar tender said, “Maybe you better go. I don’t want any more trouble. I think that guy will keep his mouth shut from now on.”

  When they were outside, David began to laugh, “Man, you sure hung one on him. If you didn’t break his jaw, you came close to it.” Lamont said, “Nobody is gonna talk about Barbara like that.” They got in the truck and lamont started it. David was laughing again, “Monty that guy didn’t know what hit him. I bet he thinks that freight train he was talking about was what hit him.” Lamont began to laugh, “I damn near broke my hand.”

  Lamont was sure Barbara would be home by Christmas. Dr. Silver wanted to keep her a little while longer because she didn’t have the confidence she should have. He was afraid she just wasn’t ready to leave yet. She didn’t have the self control she should have. So Dr. Silver let her go with Monty to a very expensive hotel on Christmas Eve night. They spent their whole time making love and talking.

  Christmas morning, Lamont called the boys and Barbara talked to them for a while. That helped her a lot to be able to talk to Jimmy and Robbie. When it came time for them to leave Barbara begged, “Don’t take me back. Let’s go home. I’m cured now I know I am.” Lamont kissed her tenderly, “Look babe, there’s nothing I would rather do. But you’ve gone this far, let’s go the rest of the way with Dr. Silver. It can’t be too much longer.” Barbara said, “The days are long and the nights are longer. All I want is to be with you and the boys.” He said, “Just hang on a little while.” She smiled, “You’re right. Dr. Silver is a good doctor. He knows best.”

  January came and Robbie was five years old. Then on Jimmy’s ninth birthday, Barbara called Lamont to come after her. She was coming home to stay. “I’ll be there just as soon as I can. You be ready.” Lamont replied. She laughed, “Don’t worry, I’m ready now.”

  Before they left the hospital, Dr. Silver wanted to talk with them. He asked them to sit down, “I’m glad you’re going home Barbara. I’m always glad to see a patient leave cured. The sad part of it is a lot of them come back. There is no guarantee you will stay cured. That is entirely up to you. I want to warn you, it will be tempting out in society. I advise you to stay away from social events where there is drinking. By all means, don’t have liquor in the house. If you ever take one drink Barbara, you’ll be hooked again. You’ve been an outstanding patient Barbara.” She smiled, “Me? I thought I was terrible.” Dr. Silver laughed, “Even if she did call me names. Good luck Barbara and please don’t come back.”

  On their way home, Barbara sat very close to Lamont. She said, “Don’t worry about me ever drinking again. I’ll never as long as I live. I couldn’t go through that again.” He smiled, “I don’t think I could either babe.” She smiled, “Well Mr. Ellman, it looks like you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.” Lamont teased, “I’ll just have to make the best of it.”

  When they topped the hill from the Ellman house and saw the two boys sitting on the steps to see her she cried, “My boys.” The car hardly stopped when Robbie and Jimmy were there. The boys hugged and kissed her before she could get out of the car. Jesse and Sara came to meet them. As Barbara got out of the car she said, “My how you boys have grown.” Jesse kissed her on the cheek and Sara hugged her.

  Later that day, the whole Ellman family was there to welcome Barbara home. Barbara said, “I want to thank each and every one for being so good to me. I really don’t know what got into me but I’m straightened out now. God and all of you have stood by me and I’ll never forget it.”

  All evening was just as it use to be except there was no liquor. The drinks were ginger ale, coffee, and hot chocolate. Barbara had never been as proud as she was now that she was one of the Ellmans. Barbara looked around and saw Lamont just looking at her with so much love in his eyes she wanted to go to bed with him right that minute. She thought, “Even though he was almost forty, he looked much younger.” Ellen interrupted her thoughts, “Come with me. I’ve got something real cute to show you.” She followed Ellen to the kitchen. Ellen said, “These off springs of the Ellmans are carbon copies.” Ellen opened the door. Some of the children were eating ice cream. Robbie had chocolate all over his face. Jimmy was acting like he was putting a spell on all of them eating the ice cream. Ellen said, “I bet we have a few stomach aches before bedtime.” Barbara said, “Jimmy looks more like Natalie every day.” Ellen said, “Yes he does. He’s a very happy little boy. That’s because you and Lamont have let him know he is loved.” Barbara said, “Yes we have. He really requires more attention and love than Robbie does. He’s a very sensitive boy too.” Ellen said, “He gets that from his mother.” Barbara said, “Well maybe Natalie would have been different if she’d had the love and understanding we’ve given Jimmy.” Ellen said, “Yes, that would have made a difference.”

  When everyone had gone, Barbara helped Sara get the house in order while Lamont and Jesse went to the stables to feed.

  That night as Lamont shaved Barbara said, “It was a beautiful party wasn’t it?” Lamont smiled, “Yes it was.”

  He showered and came into the room with a towel around his middle. Barbara said as she brushed her hair, “I saw you looking at me a lot when they were all here.” He went over to her, untied her robe, and slipped his arms around her body, “I was looking at you because I think you’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen.” She slipped her arms around his neck, “Monty my darling, you make me feel so beautiful.” He kissed her passionately, “We’ve won our battle again. We always will as long as we have each other and the blooms of our love will never die.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  A year passed and Barbara was so happy she glowed. Robbie was six years old now and Jimmy was ten.

  Spring came and Lamont took Jimmy fishing. Robbie couldn’t go because Barbara had to take him to the dentist.

  As they were waiting for the fish to bite Lamont said, “Son, I have something to talk over with you. Remember when you came out here I promised to take you back to see your mother’s grave? We can go this weekend if you want to. I’ll be busy in a few weeks so we’ll have to go soon.” The young boy didn’t say anything right away then he looked at Lamont and said, “I don’t want to go Dad.” Lamont was surprised at his answer, “That’s up to you son. I promised you and I wanted to keep my promise.” Lamont got a bite and caught a nice size fish. He took it off the hook and baited the hook again. Jimmy asked, “Is it bad of me to not want to go Dad?” Lamont answered, “No, it isn’t bad. A lot of people don’t like to go visit graves. I don’t myself. I have a brother buried on the ranch, and my father too. I never go there. It just makes you feel bad and very sad.” Jimmy asked, “Dad, did you really love my real Mom?” Lamont said, “Yes Jimmy, I did. She was the first woman I ever loved. After we were married for a while, we knew we c
ouldn’t stay married.” Jimmy asked, “Didn’t she love you?” Lamont said, “I think she did. You see, Natalie didn’t like the things in life that I did. She hated this ranch, even the house. We decided to go separate ways.” Jimmy sighed, “I don’t ever want to go back there again. Grandmother doesn’t like me.” Those words hit Lamont hard. How on earth could a grandmother not like her own grandson? Lamont asked, “Are you happy here Jimmy?” He answered, “Oh yes. I’m glad I cam here. I love you, I love Mom, and Robbie, Grandma Ellman, Uncle Jesse, and Aunt Sara.” The boy looked up at Lamont, “I especially love you Dad. I want to be just like you when I grow up.” Those words touched Lamont’s heart. He said, “I’m very glad you are my son.” Jimmy asked, “Do you love me as much as you do Robbie?” Lamont said honestly, “Yes Jimmy, I do. I can’t tell any difference.” Jimmy smiled, “I’m glad we had this talk.” Lamont said, “I am too. Sometimes it’s good to be together and have a man to man talk. I want you to always feel free to come to me and talk.” Jimmy said excitingly, “I’ve got a bite.” They went home with plenty of fish for supper.