Snowbound

by Christine Sterling

  He rinsed out the coffee pot and set fresh grounds in it to brew while he headed outside. Once that was complete, he donned his coat and hat, heading into the cold outdoors.

  The house was in the middle of a valley surrounded by ridges where tall pine trees stood. There was an undergrowth of brush forming a hedge on the ridgetop before it headed out to the slope below.

  Brawny loved the valley. It was secluded and he couldn’t see anyone for miles. He liked it that way.

  His brothers grew up running through the trees and rolling down the hills back towards the house. When it snowed, there was a perfect hill behind the house where they would sled.

  Brawny looked at the hill. It was covered in a light dusting of snow. He remembered when Pops brought home wooden toboggans for the boys. He showed them how to wax the bottom of the sled so it would race down the hill.

  Brawny and his brothers spent many an evening in the warm barn rubbing paraffin wax onto those sleds. The friction between the wood and the snow would cause the wax to slightly melt, resulting in a faster ride, his father told them.

  The five Winters’ children would wake up and race to the window, pressing their noses against the glass to see if there was enough snow on the ground. When there was, they would run outdoors and take their sleds up to the top of the hill. Brawny would tuck his feet under the curl of the wood and hold onto the rope as his brother would give him a push down the slope.

  He could still recall Pete screaming with delight as he sped by the trees with a swooshing sound. Jack would laugh and then start the next brother on their journey. It didn’t matter how wet their clothes became or how cold it was outside, they would be outside until the sun started going down.

  The best times were when Pops and Ma would come outside and slide with them. Ma would scoot up to the front of the sled and Pops would sit behind her, gathering her up in his arms.

  “Ready, Mary?” he’d ask, pressing a kiss against her cheek.

  “That hill looks so big. Don’t go too fast!” she would respond.

  “Don’t you know you are always safe in my arms?”

  Ma would laugh and then he’d use his legs to start them off. You could hear her laughter all the way up at the top of the hill as their sled reached the bottom.

  He would watch his father roll off the sled and stand before helping his mother up. She’d give him a kiss and then they would hold hands, walking back up the hill to go again.

  He didn’t know much about grownup relationships at the time, being only 8, but he did remember how much his father loved his mother. How Pops would do anything for his family. He wanted to have a love like that.

  He closed his eye and breathed in the cold air, sitting with the memory for a moment. The air smelled of decaying leaves from the forest and the smoke coming from the wood stoves.

  It reminded him of when he lived in Timber Town, but it wasn’t as crowded. In fact, there was no one else in the Valley but he and Ma.

  When he was old enough, he moved into Timber Town and shared a cabin with his brother Jack. His other brothers, Morgan, Samuel and Pete shared the cabin right next to his.

  That was until the earthquake. Jack and Brawny moved back in with Ma. He looked around the valley once more. This was home.

  He just wanted to find someone to share it with. His thoughts immediately strayed to the red-haired angel he dreamed about, but then he quickly dismissed it.

  She would never want him with the way he looked now. No woman would want him with just one eye and scarring on his cheek and neck.

  Even though it had been several months since the accident, his skin was still red and puckered from where the quicklime seared him. Ma told him that he was still as handsome as ever, but he knew better.

  Even the children ran away from him when he would walk through town. He sighed, knowing he was probably going to spend the rest of his days living with Ma and not venturing to town.

  He looked to the sky. Storm clouds gathered and were low to the ground. Specks of grayish blue peeked out between the darkness. He could still see the sun behind the clouds, but there was no warmth to be had. He pulled his coat tighter around him as snow started falling gently to the ground. The valley and ridgetop were eerily silent. Only the sound of his footsteps in the snow could be heard.

  As he walked by the window, he heard the sound of Ma coughing again. He needed to get this poultice done. The root cellar really wasn’t a cellar. It was more of a small building built into the side of the hill. One room big, the cellar kept cool no matter how much the sun would beat down on the hillside.

  Brawny opened the door and tied it to a post about two feet way. He didn’t want the door to close behind him. There were three steps down and Brawny stepped on a compacted dirt floor.

  Pops had built a wooden frame inside the room and shelves, which held different types of meats and vegetables. The room never froze in the winter, so Ma stored their extra canned goods out there as well.

  The shelves were empty now, apart from a few jars of canned fruit, furs his father would use to insulate any meat they stored there and a ham hanging from the ceiling.

  His eyes adjusted to the dim interior and he spied the basket of onions in the corner. Taking out three large onions, he also grabbed a jar of peaches from the shelf above it and left the dirt room, latching the door back in place.

  As he walked back to the house, he spied movement on the top of the ridge. There was a large bull elk moving between the bushes. Brawny could barely see his antlers sticking out of the greenery.

  Meat might be just what Ma needed to help her get over this cold. It had been a while since he went hunting; as his father provided what the family ate. After his father’s death, Jack stepped in. Now that Jack was gone, it was time he stepped up to the plate.

  He smiled at the thought of bringing Ma home a sled full of elk meat and stocking the root cellar again. There were still a few months of winter left and if he was seeing elk, it was because there must be something to eat up along the ridge. They rarely travelled solo.

  Brawny looked at the sky. It was turning a shade of gray and the clouds were low. The flakes were coming down in big wet clumps. It wasn’t long before the outside of his jacket was covered, and his hands were turning cold from the icy flakes.

  Brawny quickly got inside the cabin and placed the items on the table. He shucked off his coat and hat and dropped them on the chair, silently vowing to pick them up so they didn’t drip all over the floor.

  He got busy slicing onions and putting them in the cast iron skillet he took down from the wall. He remembered he needed to cook the onions slowly, but there was something else Ma always put in them. Darn if he could remember what it was.

  While the onions started to wilt, Brawny went and checked on Ma. She was still asleep in the chair where he left her. He walked in the room and folded the bed clothes back. Ma insisted on making the bed every day. It didn’t matter if she was feeling poorly or not.

  He gently touched her shoulder. “Ma?” When she opened her eyes, he pointed to the bed. “I’m making the poultice. Let’s get you in bed.” Mary started to stand but Brawny put his arm under her legs and one behind her back.

  He held her close to him, as if she was a child. She didn’t weigh more than one. Brawny was surprised at how light she was as he carried her, quilt and all and laid her down on the bed.

  He tucked her back in and went to get the poultice. “Don’t forget the mustard,” she called to him. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. Brawny stopped at the door and looked at her. “The mustard. There are mustard seeds above the stove.” Brawny nodded.

  That was the ingredient. He found the mustard seeds and added them to the onions that were rendering down. When the mixture was almost a paste-like consistency he scooped it up into a clean dish cloth and wrapped a second one around it.

  His eyes were watering, and he was sure that the onion-mustard mixture had burned everything in his nose up to his brain. He
carried the hot compress to his mother and pulled down the blanket to lay it on top of her bare skin. She smiled a weak smile and grabbed his hand.

  “Stay with me for a few?” Brawny nodded and pulled the rocker over to the side of the bed. “I remember doing this for you when you were a boy. Remember when you fell in the pond?” Brawny gave a low chuckle.

  “Jack dared Pete and I to race across the pond and back.”

  “That’s right. But you didn’t make it. Instead you went through the ice.” His mother coughed again, moving the poultice, and the smell of onions and mustard mixed in the air.

  “How was Jack to know that it was too thin in that area?”

  “Oh, your father laid into him something terrible. I don’t think he could sit for a week afterwards.”

  “I remember, Ma.”

  “We were so worried about you. Didn’t know if you were going to live.”

  “But you took care of me. Made me one of those nasty things,” he said, pointing to the lump under the cover.

  “Yes, I did.” She closed her eyes for a moment and flipped her hand around trying to find his. Brawny grabbed it and held it tight for a moment. “But I won’t always be here for you.”

  “Ma.” Brawny released her hand and rubbed his eyes. Maybe the onions were causing them to burn. “Stop talking like that.”

  “Just promise me that you will find a nice girl and get married? I worry about you.” Mary opened one eye and looked at him.

  “There are no nice girls for me anymore, Ma.”

  “Why ever not? Braun Maxwell Winters, I didn’t raise you to think like that.” He knew he was in trouble if she used his full name.

  “I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I have this patch where my eye used to be.”

  Mary gave a little laugh that grew into a coughing fit. “It… makes… you… dashing,” she said between coughs.

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  “Just promise, Brawny, that you will consider it.” She waited until Brawny nodded before closing her eye again. “Now leave me. I need to rest.”

  “I’ll leave the door open so I can hear you. Plus, it keeps the room warmer.” Mary nodded and Brawny went back to the kitchen.

  He sat at the table eating the jar of peaches for dinner and sipping coffee. His thoughts were interrupted by Mary’s coughs. He made a silent promise that if she wasn’t better in the morning, he was determined to go get the Doc.

  Chapter 4

  March 1, 1900

  Chelsea looked out the window of the apothecary sipping tea. The apothecary was one of her refuges when she needed a break as the storefront was always warm and inviting. Hattie kept a pot of water simmering on the wood stove in the corner. The wood stove provided heat from the damp and cold air outside, and the water provided humidity for the dry air inside. It was an added bonus that Chelsea could run over in between patients and make herself a cup of tea before returning to the medical clinic next door.

  She sipped her mint tea again and studied the clouds that were passing by. The sky was the color of the stormy waters of Lake Erie right before a good storm came through. The ground and air was cold enough that perhaps they might get snow.

  Chelsea gave a little giggle and drained her cup, placing it in a bucket under the counter where Hattie kept her herb jars. She made a note to wash the cup later. She didn’t want Hattie going to any extra work on her account.

  Just as she thought of her friend, a soft cry pulled her out of her thoughts, and she saw Hattie coming down the steps that led to her apartment. Baby Anna was wrapped up in some sort of scarf that looped around Hattie’s neck and tied around the waist.

  “Hattie!” Chelsea said, rushing over to her friend and taking her arm. “You shouldn’t be up. You just gave birth yesterday.” As if in agreement, another soft cry resounded from the scarf.

  Hattie brushed Chelsea’s hands away. “If I have to stay in that bed one more minute, I think I might scream.” She looked up at the herbs in little jars on the counter and pulled one down. “Here you are, my lovelies – fenugreek and fennel.”

  “What are you doing with those?”

  “Anna is having a bit of a problem eating. It is like she doesn’t get enough, so I thought I’d make some tea to see if I can increase my milk production.”

  “Give me those,” Chelsea said, “Let me make you some tea and you sit over there with that precious baby.” Hattie handed her the herbs, and Chelsea pulled out a pestle and mortar to grind the seeds for tea. “Do you want mint in it?”

  Hattie shook her head, tugging Anna from the bundle around her belly. “No, mint isn’t good for the baby. I’ll have to wait until I’m done nursing before I can have that again.” She gave the baby a kiss on the forehead and placed her on her shoulder, gently rocking her back and forth.

  Chelsea nodded and put the crushed seeds in a bit of linen before placing in a cup and pouring hot water from the kettle on the wood stove. She stirred it to let the seeds brew, watching Hattie intently.

  Hattie was a natural mother. It was as if her entire life she was waiting for this role. Chelsea, on the other hand, was terrified by the thought of children. She couldn’t work the pediatric wing in the hospital and was thankful that the trip to Oregon came before her required rotation in the children’s clinic.

  It really wasn’t children so much, but babies. She didn’t see babies in her future. She didn’t see much of a future involving anything but her work.

  It had been nearly four months since she ran into Brawny at the meeting in the mine office. They didn’t speak and the next time she saw him was when he came into the office after being burned badly.

  She wanted to take care of him, but Robert shooed her away. She wanted to pepper his face with kisses and tell him everything would be alright, but she couldn’t.

  Her medical journals hadn’t prepared her for seeing the first-hand effects of a chemical burn. Given that it was someone she loved, she couldn’t even look at him, lest he see the pain in her eyes.

  “What are you thinking about so intently?”

  Chelsea came out of her reverie and shrugged. “Nothing much. Just what a beauty Anna is.”

  Hattie leaned the baby back so Chelsea could look at her. Blue eyes peered out at her and a milk bubble leaked out of her lips. “She is a beauty. Her father will have to beat all the boys off with a stick.” She gave the baby a kiss on the forehead before returning her to her shoulder.

  Chelsea let out a laugh. “Yes, I imagine Robert will.” She removed the linen tea bag from the cup. “Milk?”

  “No. I’ll just drink it plain.”

  Chelsea nodded and brought the cup to Hattie. “Here, you hold her while I drink that.”

  “Uhm… no, I don’t think I can do that.”

  “Why ever not? It is just a baby.”

  “That’s exactly why. It is all small and tiny and so delicate.”

  “Oh goodness, Chelsea, you act as if you are going to break her.”

  “Maybe later?”

  Hattie laid Anna across her lap and reached for the tea cup. She took a sip of the tea and grimaced. “Blech, that is nasty.” Chelsea raised her eyebrow. “It is very bitter.”

  “Do you want honey?”

  Hattie shook her head and took another sip, making the same face as before. “No. That is another thing I can’t have for a bit.”

  “Do you have any sugar?”

  “Oh, heavens no, sugar is so expensive.”

  The door to the apothecary opened and Lacey Lou popped her head inside. “I thought you might be here. Enjoyed your cup of tea?”

  “Very much so,” Chelsea responded. “I was about to head back over.”

  “Marty fell carrying someone’s bags to the hotel and needs to be examined by a doctor. Doc Childs is over in Chinatown, so can you do it?”

  Chelsea nodded. “Did you do a quick exam?”

  “Yes, but you know Marty. He wanted anyone else but me. I didn’t feel any broken b
ones, but I still need you to check.”

  “I’ll be right over. Just have him wait a minute.” Lacey Lou popped back out of the door without another word and disappeared around the corner. “I guess that means I need to get back there. What are you going to do? You shouldn’t be down here alone.”

  Hattie waved her away. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to put Anna in her papoose cradle and then I’m just going to organize my herbs. I’m running low and I’ll asked Mr. Zhang to pick some up the next time he goes to New Harbor.”

  “You should consider growing those herbs you use so much. I’m sure you can get seeds.”

  “The garden area is so small, I can only do so much. I wish…” Hattie looked wistful.

  “Wish what?”

  “I wish that I had enough land to grow everything I need. I’d like a place for the children to run. Town is nice, but it doesn’t beat being out near the woods.”

  “I hear you. I would love to have a house outside of town, tucked between the woods, but close enough that I could get to town if needed.”

  “Then we should work on that. Both of us.”

  Chelsea didn’t want to encourage her friend, but if it was Hattie’s dream so be it. She just knew that she wasn’t going to be able to have her dream for a long time.

  Chelsea picked up the empty cup and placed it back in the basket under the counter. “Okay. I’ll be back in about an hour to make sure you aren’t overdoing it.” She grabbed her wrap and headed to the door. “Do not do those dishes. I’ll do them as soon as I get back.”

  Hattie nodded and Chelsea walked back to the clinic. Even though it was less than 50 paces door to door, Chelsea already had a dusting of snow covering her as she entered the clinic. Big fat, wet flakes clung to her cheeks and eyelashes. She looked up at the sky to see the clouds moving closer.

  This storm was going to be intense.

  As she hung her wrap on the hook by the door, she looked around the clinic. The room was small but functional. It was also sterile. There was nothing inviting about it, like the way the apothecary invited visitors in. Instead chairs lined up against the wall. Everything was either chrome or white, and the smell of pine oil lingered in the air.