I’d just finished cracking the eggs when Catherine came in with Grace, Ethan, and Sara in tow. As was his habit, Jack was still asleep.
“Where’s Daddy?” Catherine asked.
“He’s still sleepin’. He had a hard night, so I thought I’d make breakfast before wakin’ him up. I’m almost done, d’ya wanna go get him?”
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked. “He never sleeps late.”
“He had a bellyache, and it kept him up half the night.”
Catherine paused at our bedroom door. “Should we let him sleep a bit longer? It’s not like Daddy to be sick.”
“Nah,” I replied. “He slept well the last few hours, so I think he’s feeling better. Knowin’ your daddy, he won’t be happy to miss half the day sleepin’.”
As Catherine reached for the door, Will stepped out. He was dressed and his hair combed, but dark circles bagged under his eyes from lack of sleep.
“I was just comin’ to fetch you for breakfast,” Catherine said. “Victoria said ya didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Nah, I’m good. Ain’t nothin’ tough enough to knock me down for very long.” Will grinned, but his color seemed off.
“Your eggs and bacon are ready,” I said, setting a dish at his place at the table. “Toast’ll be outta the oven in just a minute.”
Will smiled weakly. I studied him, finding his skin tone slightly flushed, but attributed it to lack of sleep. He hadn’t complained about his belly in hours and, though I hated seeing him under the weather, I wasn’t overly concerned. Back then, my faith in Will was absolute. I was sure nothing could take him down.
Will pushed his plate away and folded his hands on the table. “Why don’tcha save this for Jack? I’m not quite ready to try anything on my belly just yet.”
“It still hurts?” I asked
“Nah—it’ll be okay. Just don’t wanna see my breakfast come back up.”
Not wanting to nag, I took the plate away and set it aside for Jack, who would be down soon and ravenous.
“Ya want some coffee?” I asked.
“Nah, darlin’. I think I’ll just head on out to the fields. Daniel and Joseph will be out there already if I don’t get a move on.”
Four-year old Jack stumbled to the table in stocking feet, clearly having just risen from bed. Taking a seat at the table, he grinned at Will. “Mornin’, Daddy. Mornin’, Mama.”
“About time ya got outta bed, little man.” Will smiled, then rose from the table and ruffled Jack’s unruly copper-colored hair before pulling me close in a hug. “I’ll be back around noon.” To the children he said, “Y’all best behave while I’m gone. Catherine, help Victoria with the children. She’s been up half the night with me, and we don’t need her gettin’ sick.”
Embarrassed, I squeezed Will back. “I’m not the one who was feelin’ poorly last night. You’re sure you’re better today?”
“Positive.” Will grabbed his coat from the peg by the door and threw it over his shoulders, then placed his hat snugly upon his head. “Back for lunch,” he said, his smile bringing out the dimple in his cheek.
“We’ll be here,” I told him.
My heart beat hard within my chest. After eight years of marriage, he still made my heart beat frantically.
“GRACE,” I SAID, frustrated. “I’m not gonna ask ya again. Will ya please help Catherine with Ethan and Sara, or I’ll put ya to real work. I can’t muck out these stalls and keep the babies from eatin’ manure at the same time.”
“Sorry, Mama.” Grace picked up her baby sister and took the hand of her brother.
“Don’t be sorry, just get ’em outta my hair so I can get some work done,” I grumbled below my breath.
I hated mucking stalls. Of all the chores I’d learned, mucking stalls was my least favorite. I hated the smell, and the hard labor. More than that, though, I hated the flies!
I stood to stretch my back and heard the sound of a truck approaching. I wondered at who could be calling on us. Most folks in these parts had work to do and not much time for social calls. Leaning the rake against the nearest wall, I wiped my hands on my skirt, and walked out of the barn to discover who was approaching.
Sitting behind the wheel was Joseph, or maybe it was Daniel. I still had trouble telling them apart from a distance. Whichever one it was, he was driving far too fast. I stepped into the path, prepared to give him a piece of my mind. What in the world was he doing out here when his daddy needed him in the field?
The truck jerked to a stop. Jumping out from the driver’s side, Joseph rushed to the tail bed. “Victoria, come quick! Daddy’s collapsed!”
“What?” My heart dropped low in my belly. “What d’ya mean he collapsed?”
“He just fell down and is unconscious!” he said.
Appearing now from the bed of the truck, Daniel stood and spoke to Joseph. “C’mon, Joe! We can explain later. Right now we need to get Daddy into the house!”
Turning his attention back to his brother, Joseph helped Daniel heave Will’s lifeless body out of the truck. Laying his body on a heavy blanket made moving him easier, but it was still burdensome work. Will was a large man.
“Catherine!” I shouted toward the house. “Catherine!” Hearing the door open behind me, I didn’t look to see who was there. “Hold the front door open, then make sure the sheets on our bed are pulled down! Quickly!”
I helped the boys as best I could, but I was really only issuing orders, while they carried Will through the house and into the bedroom.
“Mama?” said Grace. I could hear the panic in her voice and had no patience for it. My entire focus was on Will.
“Out!” I yelled. “Catherine! Come get these kids, and get them outta here! I need to worry about your daddy and can’t do anything with them under my feet!”
Rushing to Will’s side, I held his hand in my own and studied his ashen features. “Joseph, go get me a pot of cool water and a washrag. Daniel, tell me what happened, and help me take off his boots.”
“I’m not sure,” Daniel began as we removed Will’s boots. “We were out by the fence separatin’ our property from Uncle Earl’s. We were tryin’ to fix that line of fence that old mare knocked down last week. Daddy just looked up at us, and his face turned gray. We asked him if he was feelin’ okay, and he just collapsed. We tried to rouse him, but he wouldn’t wake up. Joseph had that old blanket in the bed of the truck, so we laid Daddy out on it and brought him here.”
“Here, Victoria,” Joseph said, setting the water and washrag next to me.
“One of you boys run into town and fetch Dr. Heusman. Tell him he’s needed quickly. Don’tcha dare take no for an answer,” I warned.
“I’ll go,” said Joseph. He was out the door before I could even respond.
Sitting beside Will on the bed, I bathed his face and neck with the cool rag. His skin was clammy to the touch, and his complexion had taken on a waxy appearance.
“Has he been conscious at all?” I asked.
“No,” Daniel replied.
“Will?” I said gently. “Will, wake up. Can ya hear me?”
Will didn’t move; he just lay there. Not knowing what else to do, I continued bathing his face and neck with the cool water. Time stretched endlessly as we waited for Will to gain consciousness, or for the doctor to arrive. With each ticking of the clock, the walls closed in around me until I could barely breathe. It was taking too long!
“Daniel—help me take off his overalls,” I said.
Heaving his body upright, we pulled the bib down to his waist, then lifted his hips to pull his pants down his legs. Covering his body with a light blanket, I glanced at the clock on the mantle. Twenty minutes had passed since Joseph left to find Dr. Heusman, and still no response from Will.
Finally, at nearly the thirty-five minute mark, Will regained consciousness. He’d recovered some color to his skin, but now he was too flushed. I ran my palm across his forehead and snatched it back quickly. He was near sc
alding to the touch.
“Victoria?” Will whispered and tried to sit up.
“Be still, Will.” I placed a hand on his shoulder to prevent his rising. “Don’t try to get up. I’m here. Ya passed out in the field and the boys brought ya home. How’re ya feelin’?”
“Not so good. I’m cold all over. And weak. I just feel very weak.”
“Don’t worry about that. Ya have a fever and Joseph’s gone to fetch Dr. Heusman.”
“Dammit, Victoria. I don’t need no damn doctor, and we don’t have the money for one! I just need some rest”
“Well, it’s too late. I already sent for him. We’ll just have to figure out how to get him paid for later. Ya don’t look good, and I don’t like it.”
“Just let me rest a bit. I’ll sleep it off, and be right as rain tomorrow.” Will closed his eyes, drifting immediately off to sleep.
Not knowing what more I could do, I sat with him, bathing his face and neck with the cool water, while we waited for the doctor. Will’s appearance alarmed me, but I took deep breaths to calm my nerves. In such a short time, he’d gone from pale and sticky to flushed and fevered. I didn’t know what this meant, but it was the sickest I’d ever seen anyone, much less Will.
TWO HOURS PASSED, then three, then four. The noon hour had long passed, and soon it would be time for dinner. At nearly five hours gone, Joseph returned with the doctor in tow.
“What took ya so long?” I growled at Joseph.
“Dr. Heusman was out makin’ calls in Kingfisher. I had to wait around for him to get back.”
“Hello, Victoria,” Dr. Heusman said. “Tell me what’s goin’ on here.”
I explained to Dr. Heusman about Will’s being sick the night before, his apparent recovery that morning, and then his collapse in the field. “He seemed better this mornin’. Tired, maybe, but he didn’t sleep much last night.”
“All right, then. Everybody out. Let me take a look,” Dr. Heusman said.
“I’ll stay here in case ya need help,” I replied.
“There’s no need, Victoria. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stood my ground. “This is my house, and my husband. Not to mention, my bedroom. I’ll stay right here—outta your way if ya want—but I won’t leave him. If ya need me, fine. But in either case, I’m not leavin’.”
The doctor shrugged. “Suit yourself, then.”
Dr. Heusman did what appeared to be a thorough examination, poking and prodding until he awakened Will from his slumber.
“What the hell?” Will moaned, his eyes still closed.
“Just checkin’ some things, Will. Just lay still, and I’ll be done in a minute,” Dr. Heusman explained.
Will opened his eyes for a few seconds, then closed them again. “I don’t need ya, and I can’t afford ya, Doc. I’ll be fine.”
Dr. Heusman didn’t say anything. He continued poking and prodding, occasionally eliciting small groans of discomfort from Will.
“Tell me more about last night,” Dr. Heusman said. “Tell me about the pain. You say it was gone this morning?”
“I just didn’t feel well most of the day yesterday, kinda like I was fixin’ to throw up, but it never actually came to that,” Will said. “Then last night, my stomach hurt somethin’ awful—like maybe I’d been kicked by a horse. No matter which way I turned, I couldn’t get comfortable.”
“But it got better? When was that?”
“I don’t right recall. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I guess. The pain just went away. Almost like when ya have gas built up in your stomach, and ya finally release it. I ’spose that’s the best way to describe it.”
“And then you felt better?”
“Pretty much,” Will agreed. “I didn’t feel like eatin’ none, but I felt well enough to go out to the fields.”
“And that’s when ya collapsed? How long had you been out there?”
“Ah hell, Doc, I don’t know. Maybe a couple hours?”
“He was gray and clammy when the boys brought him home,” I interrupted. “He was still unconscious, and didn’t wake until about half an hour after Joseph left to get ya. Then he went back to sleep and has been restin’ until just now.”
“I see.” Dr. Heusman pulled a chair over beside the bed and sat down. “Will, I’m gonna give it to ya straight. Based upon your symptoms and on my exam, I think you have a ruptured appendix.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“It’s an inflammation in the appendix. If left untreated, it bursts and spills infectious materials into the abdomen.” The doctor turned his attention back to Will. “The pain ya had last night is consistent with inflammation. If you’d seen me right away, we might’ve had time to do somethin’. But I’m afraid it’s too late. It appears to’ve burst and you’d need immediate surgery to remove it.
“Then take it out!” I snapped, as fear once again suffocated me.
The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t. I’m not a surgeon, and the closest one is in Oklahoma City.”
“Fine. The boys’ll load him up in the truck, and we’ll leave right now. Who d’we need to go see and where?”
“Ya don’t understand, Victoria,” Dr. Heusman said. “It’s too late for that. With the worst of his pain already past, I’m pretty sure his appendix has burst.”
“But a surgeon could still fix it, right? They could make him better.”
“Maybe. But it’s a gamble. Even if it weren’t too late for surgery, it’ll take ya, what? A couple hours to get up to Oklahoma City? I’m not sure Will’s good to travel in this shape; but, even if he was, it’ll be past midnight by the time ya get there. They’re gonna need to bring in a surgeon. D’ya have any idea what that’ll cost?”
I didn’t answer. I had no idea. Worse, I knew we didn’t have the money for one.
“I’ll tell ya,” the doctor continued. “I don’t think they’ll even look at him for less than a couple hundred dollars, anyway.”
“So what’re ya sayin’?”
“Well, there’s just not a lot we can do. We can keep him comfortable, and hope he recovers. The odds aren’t good, but it happens.”
“So he might be okay, then?”
Will had been so quiet throughout our exchange, I was afraid he’d fallen unconscious again. But, then he spoke. “No, Victoria. The doctor’s tryin’ to tell ya as gently as he can, and you’re just not listen’. I’m not gonna make it. I’ve seen this before. Atticus and me had a little brother who died of an appendix rupture back when we were kids. There just isn’t a whole lot that can be done.”
“But we can drive up to Oklahoma City to find a surgeon,” I argued.
“No,” Will said, his eyes closed.
“But we can’t sit here and do nothin’! We should at least give a surgeon a try, Will!”
“Dammit, Victoria, listen to me.” Will opened his eyes and stared into mine. “There’s no money for it. There ain’t enough gasoline in the tank to get us there, and we’d barely have enough to fill the tank. And where the hell d’ya think we’re gonna come up with a couple hundred dollars?”
“We could find it. I know we could!”
“Think, Victoria. You’re smart, but you’re not thinkin’, and I don’t have the energy to fight with ya. We don’t have the money to spend on it,” Will explained. “It’s a gamble at best, and then what? I die anyway, and you and the kids are in far worse shape than we already are.”
“What are ya sayin’?” My eyes moved back and forth between Will and Dr. Heusman.
“Just that,” Will said, closing his eyes again. “There’s nothin’ more to it.”
I shook my head. “No!”
“He’s right, Victoria,” Dr. Heusman interrupted. “A drive to Oklahoma City is nothing but a fool’s errand. The poison in his appendix will eventually cause serious infection that I can’t treat with medicine. I can give him some morphine for the pain, but there’s just not much more that can be
done. Ya need to be prepared.”
“Surely there’s somethin’—”
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do,” the doctor interrupted. “If we’d caught it early, he might’ve had a chance. If times weren’t so tough, and ya had money, he might’ve had a chance. Maybe.”
“But it wasn’t so bad earlier,” I said. “At least not so bad he was alarmed.”
“Will’s always been as hard-headed as a mule, Victoria. You know that. I don’t doubt he was in excruciating pain last night, and just didn’t wanna worry ya.”
“Will?” I asked.
“I didn’t think it was serious,” he replied, his eyes still closed.
“Damn you, Will Harrison!” I screamed.
“Leave me alone, Victoria,” he whispered. “Just let me rest.”
“He’s right,” Dr. Heusman said. “We need to let him rest. This is fixin’ to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. There’s really not much we can do but keep him comfortable and hope he pulls through it.”
“How long?” I asked.
“Until we know if he’ll be okay?”
I nodded.
The doctor shrugged. “Hard to say. He could go quickly—tonight or tomorrow, even—but it might take a few days. If he’s still here after that and feelin’ better, then we’ll know he’s pulled through. We just have to wait and see.”
With nothing more he could do, the doctor left us alone with Will. The only thing we could do was keep him comfortable, and even that proved impossible. With nothing else to do, we waited.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE NEXT THREE DAYS WERE AWFUL. WILL drifted in and out of consciousness, becoming delirious sometime in the middle of the second day. His prognosis was explained to the older children, and they were devastated. Ethan and Sara were too young to understand, but Grace understood fully. Jack was just beginning to grasp the concept. Caroline and Olivia stayed with us every day from early morning until dinnertime. Daniel and Joseph continued working the fields during the days, but moved back into their old beds to help with their father’s care at night.
Will’s fever rose so high he became delirious. For three days, he tossed and turned, uttering nonsensical statements—everything from instructing the boys how to drive the truck, to confusing me with his mother. In the early morning hours of the fourth day, Will eased peacefully into death with a tiny gasp of breath.
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