Teaser October 1874
The crisp air of the October morning blew the dust along the streets. Outside it seemed quiet. The bustle of the day had not yet begun to crowd the road. An outsider may have thought that the day had not yet started in this subdued town. There was no commotion in the community until that first wagon rounded the corner and trampled the dust under its wheels.
The buckboard pulled in front of the medical clinic and it’s riders exited and went about their separate ways. “Brian’s bein awful quiet this mornin.” Sully commented as he helped Michaela down from her seat.
“Yes he is. I hope he’s not working too hard.” Michaela responded watching her younger son walking towards the Gazette office, his thick writing notebook under his arm. “He sits in his room writing all night. I can’t believe Dorothy has him doing so much.”
“He sure does seem to be workin a lot. Maybe it is a good idea that he’s not taking classes in Denver yet.”
“I don’t know Sully. I want him to get an education so he can do something with his talent. He wants to be a writer so badly. I think it would help him to get professional instruction.”
“Ya gotta let him decide that for himself. Some people need some time to figure out what exactly they wanna do with their lives. If he’s happy workin with Dorothy then we should support him in that.”
“Yes I just hope he is truly happy. He’s not been acting like himself.” Michaela again looked towards the building where Dorothy ran the newspaper.
Sully knew the worried look on her face and tried to change the subject. “You got many patients today?”
“No…Just a few this afternoon. I was going to spend the morning putting away the new supplies that arrived yesterday.”
“Alright then I’ll just drop Katie off with Madeline and then head over to Robert E’s.”
“I’ll see you this afternoon then.”
“Three O’clock. Not a minute later. Don’t want ya working too hard.”
Michaela smiled at her husband. “I’ll be fine.”
“You just be sure to take it easy.” The couple shared a loving kiss before going their separate ways.
*** Brian stood by the large press in the corner of the room, working on the front page. As he pulled out the freshly printed paper, he spotted his name under a headline. How good it felt to see his name, Brian Cooper, in real print. But soon the excitement faded when Brian realized that once again it was only the Gazette. Not that he wasn’t proud of all he had accomplished in writing articles for the town paper, or that he didn’t appreciate Dorothy’s help and support, but as he stood with that paper in his hands, he wondered if he would ever make more of himself then that. His mind began to wander to the notebook that he had set aside with his jacket. He had to ask sometime…but when?,p> Brain’s mind continued to drift away from his set task. He stared out the window at the town he had grown up in. There was so much to consider. He had been urged to go to college right away. Everyone told him it was for the best that he get a solid college education. But that didn’t feel right.
Brian knew in his heart what he wanted. He wanted to be a famous writer. But why did everyone insist that he become a big city reporter? He didn’t like the city. Yes, it was nice to visit and he loved traveling to new places, but actually moving to a city was not appealing. He loved the wilderness and the quite it brought. The life he had been raised in…that’s the life he wanted.,p> But what about being a famous writer? It was all so confusing. Why couldn’t he continue his work at the Gazette and still be famous? The answer there was obvious. No one outside of Colorado Springs ever read the Gazette. He would never get anywhere unless he left. Until he got a college education, he would not be a renowned writer.
Brian’s mind swirled with all of these thoughts. He seemed he only had two options. Either he stay in Colorado and continue with an ordinary life, or he go to college and become a famous journalist. Then again why was he limiting himself to a journalistic life? There were plenty of writers who were not journalists. Just because he had spent most of his writing career as a journalist doesn’t mean he has to stay with it forever. Perhaps he could be a fictional writer after all.
Dorothy noticed Brian’s sudden lack of interest in work. She took the sheet of paper from his hands but still his eyes did not leave the window. “Want to talk about it?” she asked him, gently laying her hand on his shoulder.
Startled out of his reverie, Brian shook his head. “I’m sorry Miss Dorothy. I just…. oh it’s nothing.”
“Don’t seem like nothin.”
“I’ve just been thinkin a lot lately…”
Dorothy sensed that Brian was ready to talk. She led him to the chair in front of her desk and pulled her seat next to him. “Go on.”
“Well I know everyone wants me to go to Denver and take classes there. So I can improve my writin and get a job with a big newspaper. But I don’t want to be a journalist. I don’t want to live in a city. I want to be famous but not like that. I want to write a book like you did. But I know I’m far from that. I just keep wonderin what’s the best way to reach that goal.”
Dorothy was not sure what to say. She had always tried to encourage Brian to write. But this situation was different. He had always known what he wanted. “Brian you have to do what’s right for you. If you’re not ready to leave Colorado Springs, then you shouldn’t.”
“But what about college, or my book?”
“Those are things that will happen one day Brian, if you want them to. I’m sure you’ll get there. But you’re still young. You have plenty of time to go to college and get a good job. As for the book…You’ll start it when you’re ready. But until then you just have to practice with little things.”
“I try to write little things Miss Dorothy. They always come out terrible.”
“Come now, that’s not true. Look at all the articles you’ve written for the Gazette. You think I’d publish them if they were no good?”
“But those are just articles. They don’t require any imagination. I want to write something fictional. Somethin I came up with all on my own.”
“Well then you should do that. You have a wonderful imagination Brian. I’m sure you’ll come up with something eventually. But be patient. You don’t gotta start nothin till you’re ready.”
“Actually…I’ve been workin on somethin…” Brian went over to the shelf where his notebook lay. He took it in is hands and turned back to Miss Dorothy. “But it’s no good.” He said with a sigh.
“I’d be glad to look over it Brian.”
“Would ya really?”
“Of course.” Dorothy took the notebook and began skimming its contents. “Brian this is excellent.”
“Not good enough to be published.”
“Not yet it’s not…but it’s an excellent start. No one gets published on their first try.”
“You did.” Brian replied picking up the copy of Dorothy’s book that lay on her desk.
“Brian that book was far from a first try. I’d been writin short stories and poems for years before that. Not to mention the Gazette. I’d had a lot of practice.”
“So ya think it’s a goal worth tryin for?”
“Brian every goal is worth tryin for…but yes I think you should try for a book one day.”
“But not now?”
“You’re writing is excellent Brian but I do think you could benefit from some additional instruction. I can’t teach ya everything ya need to know.”
“I understand Miss Dorothy. I’ll go to college one day. I’m just not ready yet.”
Dorothy continued to read throughout the conversation. She suddenly sat up straight and placed the notebook on her desk triumphantly. “Brian I’ve just had a wonderful idea!”
“What?”
“Well it’ll be Halloween in a few weeks and this play has a somewhat scary motif to it….Why don’t we do it!”
“Do what?”
“Put on the play of course! Just like we did Romeo and Juliet. Oh Brian it would be so fun!”
“I don’t know…It’s really not that good or scary. Plus I don’t even have an ending yet.”
“It’s just scary enough that it’s perfect. We want everyone to come and if it were any scarier the children wouldn’t be able to appreciate it. And I’m sure you can come up with an ending. And if not I’ll help you out.”
Brain began to get excited about the possibility of his play, something he wrote, being performed on stage. “Alright let’s do it!”
“Oh this is going to be wonderful! Let’s go get started on the preparations.”
“What about the Gazette? We still have a lot of work to do if we wanna get it out tomorrow.”
“It can wait…come on!”
*** Michaela rushed around the clinic trying to find a place for all the new supplies that had come in on yesterday’s train. Unfortunately, her ever-growing belly kept getting in the way. Sully had told her not to overdo it, but there was too much to be accomplished and so little time to do it. She sorted through the various medicines, placing some in her cabinet and others in a box that she would deliver to Dr. Fulton later on. Crates with other supplies such as bandages, suturing thread, and some new instruments were strewn around the room. There was no place to put anything. Michaela had begun to order more stock seeing as the town was growing and more patients needed treatment. But the clinic was slowly becoming crowded with the necessities.
Although the clinic still looked disorganized, Dr. Mike decided she had to take a break. Just as she was thinking she might get a break before lunch, there was a knock at the door. Having just sat down, Michaela did not make an effort to get up and answer it. Instead she called for the visitor to come in.
Louisa slowly opened the door and glanced to where Michaela was sitting. “Dr. Mike?”
With one hand on her back, Michaela slowly rose from the chair. “Louisa. What can I do for you?”
Louisa noticed all the crates and open cabinets strewn about the clinic. Not wanting to interrupt she turned back towards the door. “Oh I don’t want to bother you Dr. Mike. I’ll just be going…”
“No really. I’ve done all I can with these things. Most of it is going over to the chateau. Now what did you need?”
“Well it’s just….I’m not sure if you can do anything…but I figured I might as well see…well lately…I’ve been having trouble sleeping…I keep having these nightmares…and when I wake up I can’t fall back to sleep.”
“Well there is not much I can do for nightmares. But I can examine you to be sure nothing else is keeping you from sleeping.”
“I guess that’s the only option I have.”
Louisa sat on the examination table and Dr. Mike went to work. Both women were silent for a few minutes. As Michaela checked her patient for any abnormalities, Louisa decided to break the silence. “So are ya doin anything special for Sully’s birthday?”
“Sully’s birthday?” Michaela was confused by the question. Her brow creased in confusion. Then she realized the implication. “You know Sully’s birthday?”
“Of course I do. Abigail was my cousin after all. She told me everything. There’s not much we kept from each other. We were very close. When Aunt Maude wrote me about her dyin…”
Michaela stopped her examination to comfort her new friend. “It must have been hard.”
“Yea it was…she was my best friend when I still lived here. All growin up too. Before they we married, we used to talk about Sully and my old beau Robert till all hours of the night. I bet I knew more about Sully then anyone else in town…well except for Abigail of course.”
“Yes I imagine she would have confided in you often. And you the same with her.” Somewhat hurt that Sully had told Abigail his birthday but not her, Michaela was lost in her own thoughts of insecurity.
Louisa noticed the distant look in the doctor’s eyes. “Is there something wrong Dr. Mike?”
Michaela dismissed her feelings and tried to reassure her patient that she was fine. “No I’m fine. I was just wondering….when is Sully’s birthday?”
“You mean you don’t know?”
She tried to quickly to make an excuse as to why she did not know her husband’s birthday. “No…Sully’s really never been big on celebrating his birthday. I imagine he knew I’d make a big deal out of it as would the children if we knew.”
“Yes well I can believe that. He and Abigail never celebrated either…at least not that I know of. The only reason she found out was because she found a piece of paper inside one of his books. I think it was one his ma gave him.”
Michaela pondered the idea and decided this was very like Sully. There was some reason he had kept this secret from her, but she could not at first understand why it was only from her. She was comforted that he had not told Abigail his birthday either. Satisfied that her husband did not single her out, Dr. Mike continued her examination.
“Well I can find nothing wrong Louisa. I can give you something that will help you sleep.” Michael went over to the newly stocked medicine cabinet and brought back a drug and instructions. “As for the nightmares, I would suggest talking to someone about them. I am always willing to listen if you have no one else.”,p> Louisa headed towards the door. “Thank you Dr. Mike. I’ll be sure to remember that.” She turned to leave but stooped with her hand on the open door. “Just so ya know…Sully’s birthday is October 31…Halloween.”
