Chap 5
“Excuse me! I need to send a telegram!!” Isabel shouted at the closed window if the closing telegraph office.
“I’m sorry ma’am but you have to wait till’ tomorrow! We’re closin’!” The telegraph operator answered with a tired and ornery facial expression.
Isabel looked at him coldly. “I’m sorry, what was that again?” She asked.
“We are closing!” He shouted with a disrespectful tone. Isabel’s eyes got fiery, and her face went pink with low tolerance for this man.
“Sir I need to send a telegram this instant; I am a highly trusted employee of Mr. Ethan Cooper, and if I am not mistaken he is part owner in this establishment. If you do not send my telegram I will report to him and have you out of a job by tomorrow morning.” She said hotly. “Do I make myself clear?”
The telegraph operator’s face humbled immediately as he jerked the window open.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
“To whom would you like to send your telegram ma’am?”
“To Mr. Sully or immediate family.”
“And to where?”
“Colorado Springs, Colorado.”
The operated nodded and took up his writing pad. “Please dictate slowly what you would like to say. Maximum of 30 words, or extra…” He looked at her and remembered who she worked for.
“Never mind; What would you like to say ma’am?” He asked picking up his pencil.
“Mr. Sully or immediate family; Please leave on the morning train to San Francisco. I have found Mrs. Michaela Sully. Her condition appears to be urgent. Please come as quickly as you can. Find Mr. Ethan Cooper’s Estate…um..” She looked at the telegraph operator who had a puzzled look on his face. “Signed; Ms. Isabel Moore.” She finished.
The operator quickly sent the message and then turned back to Isabel. “Will that be charged on Mr. Cooper’s account Ms.?”
“No that’s quite alright, I’ll pay for it myself. What is the charge?” She answered trying to cover up all forms of investigation.
“One dollar please.”
Isabel took out the required bill and placed it in the operator’s hand.
“Thank you” She said crisply, and walked away.
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Horace looked over his shoulder to the tapping telegraph machine. It was dark and He was closing up shop ready to head home when a message started coming threw. He tapped his consent to let it come and waited for the message. As he took the message down on paper he began to become more and more alarmed. The finished message said; “Mr. Sully or immediate family; Please leave on the morning train to San Francisco. I have found Mrs. Michaela Sully. Her condition appears to be urgent. Please come as quickly as you can. Find Mr. Ethan Cooper’s Estate. Signed; Ms. Isabel Moore.”
“Holy Cow! I have to get this to Matthew n’ Brian!” He thought as he darted out of the telegraph office and into the street. “Watch it Horace!!” Yelled Hank who Horace accidentally ran into. “What’s your hurry?” “No time to talk Hank gotta get this telegram to the clinic, bye!” Horace yelled back. Hank looked at him oddly and began to amble back over to his full Saloon. After running into several people and causing a small commotion, Horace finally arrived at the clinic door. He first knocked on it politely but when no one answered he started pounding. “Matthew! Brian!! Answer the doo…” He started but the door suddenly opened revealing a red eyed, groggy Brian.
“What’s wrong Horace?” Brian yawned.
“Ya got a telegram from San Francisco, thought it was urgent so I thought I would bring over here immediately.” Horace replied.
“Is it from Pa?” He asked perking up a bit.
“I dunno, but it has your pa’s name on it.” Brian looked at him with a serious face.
“Ok thanks Horace.” He yawned again. “G’night.
“G’night” Horace replied and left the clinic porch. Brian shut the door carefully as not to awaken Sara or the Doctor who had recently arrived in town. He scanned the message quickly and immediately became alarmed.
“MATTHEW!!” He yelled, forgetting about his guests. He stomped up the steps to the room his brother occupied and rushed in. Matthew fell out of bed, shocked at the intrusion.
“Matthew, Sully was right, something’s happened to Ma!” He said and handed to the telegram to his older brother.
Matthew reacted the exact way Brian did and jumped out of bed and started pulling on his clothes.
“Brian, go wake Dr. Nelson, tell him we’re gonna go help Sully find Ma, and go to the homestead to…” He stopped when he heard something. The door had opened downstairs, and there was a familiar crying.
“Katie!” The brothers said together and rushed downstairs. Cloud Dancing was standing in the examination room holding a night gown clad-sobbing Katie.
“Where’s Sully.” Was Cloud Dancing’s immediate question as the brothers appeared downstairs. Katie reached for Matthew as Brian answered him.
“He went to find Ma. He said he had a bad feeling that something had happened to her in San Francisco.” Brian started. “And we just got this telegram from Horace.”
He handed it to Cloud Dancing who read it. “We must help find your mother.” He stated simply. He looked at Matthew who held Katie who was now sleeping soundly on his shoulder.
“She’s been crying for a few hours.”
“Did she eat anything?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, we ate at Grace’s, and she insisted that she eats pie every night for her supper.” He answered with a puzzled look on his face.
Matthew looked at his sister and chuckled. “Cloud Dancin, she was trying to trick ya.”
An amused smile crept over Cloud Dancing’s lips as he looked at the little girl. “I know. I’ll go ask Grace if she can watch her while we look for Sully and Dr. Mike.” He said and walked out the door.
“Brian, go get supplies from the homestead while I get things ready here.”
Brian looked at his older brother and hesitated. “Matthew I can’t go.”
“You what?”
“Matthew, my fiancée is up in that room.” He gestured toward the stairs. “I can’t leave her now.”
Matthew thought for a second then looked at him smiling. “Fiancé huh?”
“Well, hopefully fiancé.” Brian grinned but then slowly turned to the stairs that lead up to his beloved’s room. “That is if she wakes up. That little while when she was conscious she said she didn’t remember what I asked her.” He turned back smiling sadly. “I really hope she wakes up.”
“I understand little brother. You stay here and get some things ready for me an’ Cloud Dancing to leave. I’ll go to the homestead.”
Matthew gave Katie to Brian and left the building.
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“Sully, Sully you wake up right now and get on your way to save that woman you married!” Sully’s eyes shot open at the soft but sharp voice. A figure rose before him.
“Charlotte?” Sully asked with eyes wide open; staring at the lady in front of him.
“Yeah it’s me. You get yourself up and go get to that Doc of yours! She needs ya!” Charlotte scolded.
Sully looked around him. He was pinned to the wall by train wreckage, his eye was swollen and his head was bleeding. “I’m hurt” He quickly assessed.
“Well it don't take a doctor to realize that.” Charlotte said taking a look at his head. “What happened was that you were in a train wreck. You aint hurt that bad so don’t think you’re dyin’ or anythin’.”
He tried to focus on Charlotte. “If you know that Michaela’s gone, do you know where she is?” He asked somewhat defetedly.
Charlotte looked at him with soft eyes. “Follow your heart Sully, she is your heart, and where she is, so is your spirit; you know who has her…just follow your heart…” Charlotte backed away from him and faded out as the morning sun started to shine through the broken and splintered boards of the train car.....
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Michaela walked into the boarding house while the Reverend and Matthew walked past her with her luggage. Brian tugged on her skirt. “You’re a real doctor?” She stooped down to his level, “That’s right.”
Colleen came over to where they were standing. “You went to college and everything?”
Michaela smiled, “And everything.”
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“Brian…Colleen…”
Isabel started from the chair she was dozing in. She turned to a sleeping Michaela and saw her lying on her back with tears streaming down her cheeks.
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Charlotte looked at Michaela then the horse. “You know how to ride?”
Michaela looked at the lady. “Do I know how to ride.”
“Well do you?”
Michaela put a determined look on her face. “Watch me.” She goes to the horse, hikes her skirts as discreetly as possible, and then manages to get her left foot up into the stirrup. Now she starts hopping on her right foot, trying to build the momentum to swing her leg up. Just when it seems as though she'll stand there hopping until dark, she's whisked up off the ground and into the saddle. She turns to find Sully standing there with his wolf. He reaches into his pocket and offers Mike the notice she posted in the store. She looks at him confused. “You took it down?”
“Nope, I’m answerin’ it.”
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“Sully…”
Isabel looked at Michaela and came over to her bedside. “She’s dreaming..” She thought.
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Mike stoked the stove, then cracked some eggs into a frying pan. She took a loaf of bread from the oven and studied it for a minute. It's lopsided and the crust is burnt. She set it down on a plate. Then she flipped the eggs over easy, and then sawed off a slice of bread. She slid the eggs onto a plate, with the bread and a dollop of Charlotte's preserves, and sat down to eat. Fixing to take a bite, someone pounds at the door.
”Who is it?”
”Matthew Cooper.”
Mike rushed to the door and flung it open. ”Ma needs your help.” He stated simply looking white as a ghost.
“Matthew…”
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“Michaela, wake up.” Isabel said as she gently stroked Michaela’s face. Michaela’s eyes shot open and she sat straight up.
“My children! Where are they? Isabel why am I here and they are not?! Let me see my children!!”
Isabel opened her mouth to remind her of her injury, but Michaela’s hand rose to her head instantly as she sunk back among the pillows again in pain.
“My bag please, Isabel,” she said weakly.
Isabel quietly went over to the armoire and pulled out the black leather medical bag and returned it to its owner.
“Thank you,” Michaela said as she received it. Trying to focus on the task at hand, she opened it and retrieved a small bottle and a syringe and needle. She quickly gave herself another injection and placed the instruments back in their previous locations. Isabel took the bag from her and put it back in the armoire. Once back at Michaela’s beside, it was evident that the morphine was beginning to take effect.
“What was your dream about?” Isabel asked softly.
Michaela sighed and closed her eyes. “I saw my children and Sully. I don’t know how this happened…I thought I was on a stage to Colorado…” Michaela’s eyes shot open again. “Isabel, I remember! I had gotten to Colorado Springs. The reverend and everyone else were assuming that I was a male doctor and were shocked when I arrived and they wouldn’t accept me as a doctor. I stayed at Charlotte’s boarding house and became close to her and her children. I met Sully at the Mercantile and he let me stay at his homestead, he’s a good friend of mine now. Charlotte was bitten by a rattlesnake and died and I promised her on her deathbed that I would take care of her children.”
Isabel waited for more but Michaela just laid there staring into space. “Is that all?” Isabel questioned.
Michaela looked at her oddly. “Well of course, there isn’t anything to remember.”
‘She mentioned being good friends with this Sully…but aren’t they married?’ Isabel opened the bedside table drawer and peaked at the family portrait again. It read “Michaela, Sully and Katie Sully. Colorado Springs 1873.” ‘Her memory has only been partly recovered. She hasn’t even mentioned her daughter, or the marriage to Sully. Only one way to be sure…’ “Michaela what year is it?”
Again Michaela looked at her oddly. “1868 of course.”
Isabel leaned back in her chair and sighed. ‘She’s still got five years of her life to recover. Dear God help her.’ She silently prayed.
