by Zoe Matthews
“I guess you know about the letter and the raise in rent,” Barbara said with a small smile after she took her first sip of the tea.
“Yes,” Megan admitted. “I know I shouldn’t have opened it, but Mr. Manning was acting funny.”
“I suspected something like this was going to happen,” Barbara confessed. “After all, our contract is up. I just hoped it would have been a reasonable amount.”
“Well, we can’t stay here,” Megan said firmly and was relieved when her mother nodded her head in agreement. Part of her had wondered if her mother would insist on trying to figure something out so they could stay.
“I know. We’ll have to find something else. I just hate the idea of having to start over.”
“Yeah. I had a little bit of free time this morning and did some research on the Internet, just to see what’s available.”
“Did you find anything?” her mother asked, and the hope in her eyes made Megan feel worse.
Megan shook her head. “I contacted a real estate agent and left a message. Maybe someone who has access to information about all the buildings for rent in the Denver area can find us something.”
Barbara smiled her thanks and then sighed. “I hate the thought of moving so close to Christmas. It’s already October. The likelihood of finding a place in this area is slim. We are going to lose clients.”
“Maybe we can make a website and start selling at least some of our products through it,” Megan suggested. It was an idea she’d had a few years ago, but her mother was resistant to it. She wanted the shop to be more personable, and she didn’t want to have to worry about trying to operate an online business along with her shop.
“It’s something to think about, anyway,” Barbara replied. They were both silent for a moment before Barbara spoke again. “There is at least one thing good that will come out of all this.”
“What’s that?”
“We will no longer have to deal with George Manning.”
Megan nodded her head in agreement. “He gives me the creeps. He is one person I will definitely not miss.”
She stood and took the empty mugs to a small sink and rinsed them out. “Who knows, Mom? Maybe this move will be good for us. Sometimes something bad has to happen to cause a good change.”
“You’re right, dear,” her mother agreed. “It was a blessing that we found this building to rent five years ago, but it’s old, and Mr. Manning has caused many problems. Hopefully, we can find something better.”
Barbara stood and went to a small closet to pull out a broom. “Let’s get things cleaned up. If you would like, you can take tomorrow off to make up for being here by yourself for most of the day today.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Megan said with a smile. “I don’t need time off.”
“Take some anyway,” her mother almost ordered. “You’ve been here every day for the last two weeks. You need a break.”
Megan hesitated, then nodded in agreement. “Okay. I do have some things I need to do.”
Less than an hour later, Megan let herself into her small studio apartment, Apollo at her side. She set her bag down on the loveseat and went to the fridge to see if there was anything she could eat. Opening the door, all she could see was a half-gallon of milk, a few eggs, a small block of dried cheddar cheese, and a jar of green olives. She sighed and closed the fridge door.
“I guess I need to order Chinese again,” she muttered. “I’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
She picked up her phone and called in her order. Then she noticed that her best friend, Abby, had called sometime that afternoon and had left a message. She was puzzled because Abby never left a message unless it was important. They had an unofficial agreement that when one of them called the other, since their phones let them know of the missed call, they didn’t need to leave a message unless it was very important, and the call would eventually be returned. Without bothering to listen to the message, Megan quickly dialed Abby’s number, glad when her friend answered on the first ring.
“Finally!” Abby said without a greeting.
“What’s wrong?” Megan asked with concern, her heart beating quickly.
“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you want to go out tonight.”
Megan smiled to herself, glad that Abby was alright, but still confused as to why her friend had left the message. “What do you want to do?”
“I’m going out with Roy, and he has a friend…”
“No,” Megan interrupted firmly, knowing immediately that Abby wanted her to go out with her boyfriend’s friend. “I don’t do blind dates; you know that.”
“But you didn’t even let me tell you about him.”
She could practically hear Abby pouting over the phone. “I don’t want to know.”
Abby was silent for a moment. “When was the last time you had one of your dreams?” she asked quietly.
This time Megan was the one who was silent for a moment. “It’s been a few weeks now.”
Since her early teenage years, she had dreams of a certain boy. As she grew up, so did he. Now that they were both adults, the dreams started to feel incredibly real and emotional, and she sometimes wondered if he was supposed to be her future husband someday. The dreams used to excite her; the thought of dreaming about her possible future husband was thrilling and had made her feel special and unique. Now, she knew better- the man she dreamed about wasn’t real. The dreams were only a reminder of how lonely her life felt without love. But she always reminded herself that she had plenty of time to marry. After all, she was only 23.
“Really? Maybe you won’t have one again.”
After a few longer moments of silence, Megan spoke. “I hardly think about them anymore, if you want the truth.” She quickly changed the subject. “I have tomorrow off. I want to go hiking in the mountains. Can you come?”
Abby sighed with disappointment. “I have to work. I wish I knew a few hours ago that you were going to have tomorrow off because I also had the day off, but I was asked to cover for another nurse at the office.”
Megan smiled for the first time since Abby had answered her phone. Abby was a nurse at a pediatrician’s office and was excellent at her job. “Well, have a good time tonight.”
She could tell that Abby wanted to argue, but then she sighed in defeat. “I will. You don’t know what you’re missing, though.”
“I don’t do blind dates, Abby,” Megan said firmly.
Soon after she hung up the phone the doorbell rang, and Megan paid the delivery boy for her food. Sitting at the small kitchen table, she quickly ate about half of it, putting the leftovers in the fridge to be eaten the next day.
Megan fed Apollo some dog food, and then she decided to spend some time cleaning her small apartment. It was really a one-room studio, with the kitchen and dining area on one side of the room, and a small sofa on the other that folded out into a bed. The bathroom consisted of a small shower, sink, and toilet. It wasn’t much, but it was hers, and she loved it.
“And it only takes me an hour to clean the entire place,” she said to herself with a grin.
Later that night, she made plans for what she was going to do the next day. She had to go grocery shopping and return some library books. She also wanted to sleep in. She turned on her small flat-screen TV and started to watch a movie she had been wanting to see through a digital website, but the movie didn’t hold her attention. She kept thinking about the day’s events. Even though her mother hadn’t shown how concerned she was, Megan knew she was very worried about the future of the shop. The Greenhouse Shoppe had been her mother’s dream ever since Megan could remember and Megan wanted to do whatever she could to help keep the dream alive.
Megan liked to make lists and this time was no different. Pulling out her tablet, she started typing out a list of ideas she could do to help her mother. One of them was to find a way to purchase herbs wholesale at a cheaper rate than they were already getting.
After writing down a few ideas, she decided s
he would go on a hike in the nearby mountains after she finished her errands. Megan kept herself busy that evening because of one main reason. She didn’t want to think about the dreams Abby had asked her about.
****
Early October, 1902
“Why don’t you hold Johnny on your lap?” Dr. Keegan Callaghan suggested to the boy’s mother. The two-year-old didn’t want anything to do with him since the last time he was in the doctor’s office, Keegan had needed to stitch up a deep cut in his hand. “Taking out the stitches shouldn’t take very long.”
Mrs. Miller nodded, her eyes tired, and pulled the boy onto her lap. “Hush, Johnny. Let Dr. Callaghan do his job.”
The boy’s cries quieted into whimpers as his mother held him. Keegan worked quickly, and a few minutes later, all ten stitches were removed.
“It looks like it healed well, Mrs. Miller,” Keegan told her. He handed her a small jar of ointment he had prepared himself. “Spread this on his hand a few times a day. It should help the scar disappear.”
Mrs. Miller nodded as she slid the jar into the pocket of her faded dress. “Thank you, Doctor.” The woman stood, holding Johnny on her hip. “I’m afraid I can’t pay you right now, but my husband said he’d be in to settle the bill.”
Keegan smiled. “Don’t worry about it. We can work something out. I’m just glad you brought Johnny in. Cuts like that can get infected very easily without the right care.”
The woman smiled tiredly again. A few minutes later, she left, Johnny by her side. Keegan sighed as he cleaned up the mess from removing the stitches. It had been a long day, and he was glad Johnny was his last patient.
He was pleased that Mrs. Miller had brought Johnny into the office, but he knew she had been expecting the older doctor, Henry Thomas, to treat her son, and had been hesitant to let a younger doctor near him. But Dr. Thomas hadn’t been in the office since he had been called away to help a man who had broken his leg.
Keegan felt a little frustrated at some of the townspeople’s viewpoint that he was too young to be a doctor. He was 25 years old and had gone back East to the Harvey Medical College for two years, earning a medical certificate and training in doctor skills, as well as homeopathy. But in many people’s eyes, Dr. Thomas was a much better doctor because he had over thirty years’ experience. Keegan’s only experience was a few years working with Dr. Thomas while he was in high school before he left for Chicago, along with the few months since he returned. Having the certificate mattered little to some people. It was experience that counted.
Dr. Thomas didn’t seem too concerned that Keegan wasn’t being accepted as a doctor. He told Keegan that most people didn’t like change. As they were used to him being around, and they could see that Dr. Thomas trusted him, they would start to trust him too.
Treating Johnny was the first step, and he hoped that Mrs. Miller would spread the word that Dr. Callaghan really did know what he was doing.
Keegan sighed again as he stood, looking out of a window in the office. It had been a rainy fall day, so the weather was cooler than it usually was for October. But the sun was starting to peek through the clouds, and Keegan noticed how clean everything was after the rainstorm. It had washed off the dust that coated the buildings and windows, but the rain had also created mud puddles in the streets. He had been living in Denver since he was fifteen years old, although he usually spent a few months at his family’s ranch in the mountains during the summer. He loved this city and its people. He had wanted to be a doctor since he was a young boy. He finally was where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do. Now, he just needed to gain the people’s trust.
He turned away from the window and finished the cleanup. He knew Dr. Thomas wasn’t going to be back for at least a few more hours, so he tacked a note to the door letting anyone who needed a doctor know to come to his home which was located only a short distance away. After locking the door, he walked briskly towards his house.
As he approached his large Victorian house, he felt mixed feelings. He had lived in this house while he attended school as a teenager. The previous owners, Victoria Hilton, and her husband, Collins, had become close to his family. Victoria was the one who first introduced Keegan’s oldest brother, Patrick, to Kimberly, the woman he eventually married. Victoria ran a mail-order bride business that had been very successful and that was how Patrick and Kimberly had met. Collins had been her butler before they married. Sadly, Collins died two years ago. Victoria hadn’t lasted more than a few months and passed away as well. Keegan didn’t know much about love, and he knew that most doctors would scoff at his thoughts, but he really felt Victoria had died from a broken heart. The love between her and Collins had been real and strong. Collins had been her second husband, and she hadn’t wanted to live without him.
When the will was read after Victoria’s death, Keegan found out that she had left her house to him, which was a huge shock to everyone. Neither Victoria or Collins had had children, so Keegan’s family had become their family. He wasn’t surprised they wanted to deed the house to someone in his family, but why him? He wasn’t even married. Why didn’t Victoria deed the house to one of his brothers or his sister, Bridget? Or even Bridget’s in-laws, Douglas and Michelle? They had been caretakers of the house and grounds for quite a few years until they moved to the ranch after Douglas suffered a minor heart attack.
When Keegan thought of things logically, neither of his brothers would have wanted the house. They were perfectly happy running the family ranch deep in the Rocky Mountains and living with their wives and children.
His sister, Bridget, lived in Denver with her husband and children nearby in a nice house of their own. At first, Keegan tried to ignore the fact that he now owned one of the largest and nicest homes in Denver, but eventually he moved in since he did need a place to live. A few weeks later, a good friend from college, Dr. Nathan Young, moved in with him, hoping that the people of Denver would want another doctor. Keegan wasn’t sure if Denver would accept two new young doctors, but he was glad his friend was living in the large home with him.
Victoria and Collins left enough money in a special bank account that allowed Keegan to keep a housemaid, butler, and gardener on staff, and he rarely needed to worry about maintenance or upkeep. The housemaid also cooked for them, and Keegan had to admit it was nice to have enough money to pay people to take care of those jobs.
Keegan decided to change his clothes and clean up for dinner. While he was changing, he heard the front door open and knew that Nathan had arrived. His friend had spent the day searching the area around Denver for another doctor who might want a partner, and Keegan hoped that Nathan had been able to find a position.
Soon they both were seated at the large dining room table, eating a delicious meal the housemaid had prepared. After saying a blessing on the food, both were quiet for a few minutes as they enjoyed the first bites of roast beef and mashed potatoes with gravy.
“So? Any luck?” Keegan finally asked his friend.
“Not so far. I might be able to apply at the hospital, but if I got a job there, I would need to move. It would take too long to travel back and forth every day,” Nathan replied.
Keegan nodded his head. "You can take the next week or so and continue to look for work before you make a decision like that." He was quiet for a moment before he brought up a subject he had been rolling around in his head all day. “I want to go visit my family at the ranch for a few days. Why don’t you take my place at Dr. Thomas’s office until I return?”
Nathan hesitated and then nodded his head. “I can do that.”
“I should be gone no longer than a week. I’m sure Dr. Thomas wouldn’t mind if you took a few hours off to search for work.”
“Has he said anything else about turning his practice over to you?”
Keegan frowned. Nathan’s words reminded him of a conversation he had had with Dr. Thomas the week before. The older doctor had told Keegan he was thinking about retiring and assumed Keegan w
ould want to take over his business. Keegan didn’t feel he was ready to be in charge yet, and he hoped the doctor held off retiring for at least another year, maybe two. He knew many people wouldn’t be too happy with the change.
“Not since he told me about it last week,” Keegan replied. “But if it does happen, maybe we could be partners. There should would be more than enough work for the both of us. I can’t believe how busy we’ve been.”
“I was thinking the same,” Nathan responded. “But until it happens, I’ll need to find work somewhere else.”
“Well, you have a week’s worth of work, at least until I get back from the ranch.”
“When will you leave?”
“First thing tomorrow, I’m thinking. I haven’t been able to see my family since August.”