They Called Her Mrs. Doc. (21 page)

When it was Christina’s turn to start off to school, it was almost heartrending for the “little mother.” On the one hand, she was excited to be able to join Joseph and Vivian. On the other hand, she hated to leave Thomas and Peter. “I think Tommy and Petey will miss me,” she said, her lip quivering.

“I’m sure they will,” replied Cassandra, pulling the small girl into her arms.

“Can they come, too?” asked Christina.

“No—they have to wait to grow up a bit—just like you did,” Cassandra answered.

Christina crossed to her two little brothers and placed a small hand on each of them. “You are the biggerest now, Tommy. You’ll need to take care of Petey all by yourself. I’ll hurry home from school just as fast as I can and I’ll bring you everything I learned so you can learn it too.”

Tommy looked at her with mournful eyes. “I wanna go with Chrissie,” he said to Cassandra, his lower lip beginning to tremble.

Peter, at two, continued to chew the toe of the shoe he had pulled off one foot and blinked solemnly. He had no idea what the fuss was about.

“Mama, we’re gonna be late,” cut in Joseph, who had been told that he must wait for his youngest sister.

Cassandra’s eyes glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Christina, you must go now,” she told the young girl. “Thomas and Peter will be fine with Mama.”

Christina was still reluctant but she allowed Vivian to take her hand, picked up her newly acquired lunch pail and started toward the door.

Thomas began to howl and as soon as Peter heard the noise he joined in. With her two brothers crying at her heels, Christina changed her mind.

She jerked her hand out of Vivian’s, set down her lunch pail, and began to take off her coat.

“Christina!” said Cassandra, who was trying to comfort the boys. “You must hurry.”

“It’s okay,” said Christina in a matter-of-fact fashion, “I’ll stay home with them. I can go to school when they’re all growed up.”

“But you can’t,” corrected Cassandra. “You must go to school now.”

Christina looked at her in unbelief.

“But they’ll cry,” she wailed and led the way. Thomas and Peter both joined in.

“Oh, great!” exclaimed Joseph with grown-up disdain. “Now, we’ll all be late.”

It ended up that they all walked to school together. Cassandra carried Peter and led young Thomas by the hand. Christina skipped along beside them, her lunch pail swinging at her side. Vivian chattered as they went, informing Christina all about the operations of school, and Joseph, who was terribly impatient with the whole proceeding, ran on ahead after receiving a nod of permission from his mother.

Cassandra was breathless by the time they reached the school yard. The morning bell was ringing and Vivian grabbed Christina’s hand, a worried look causing her smooth brow to pucker. “Run,” she prompted, “Miss Everly gets cross when we dawdle.”

“Tommy can’t run fast,” responded Christina, clasping her young brother’s hand.

“You must leave Thomas,” said Cassandra firmly. “Go along to school with Vivian.”

Christina stopped in her tracks and looked at her mother. “Aren’t you and Tommy and Petey coming too?”

“No,” said Cassandra, shaking her head. “We are going home just as soon as we have you delivered.”

“But I don’t want to be ’livered. I want us to share,” said Christina, and the tears began to flow again as she clung to her mother.

Cassandra felt that there was nothing left to do but to march her small brood right into the schoolroom. She flushed as she faced the stern Miss Everly.

“I am terribly sorry to interrupt,” she apologized. “If I could just take a minute to get Christina settled, I’ll—” She stopped, not sure how to finish her plea.

But Miss Everly did not scowl as Cassandra might have expected. The stories that circulated in the community about the local school mum were only about how strict and unbending she was. She didn’t exactly smile, but her eyes softened and she nodded understandingly.

“It is often difficult for them to leave their mothers the first day,” she said softly.

“Oh, it isn’t her mother,” Cassandra was quick to explain. “It’s her little brothers.”

Miss Everly did smile at that.

“And these are your brothers?” she asked Christina.

Christina nodded and wiped a hand across her cheek to remove some tears.

“They look very special. Have you been helping your mother tend them?”

Christina nodded again.

“I’m sure you did a very good job. They will miss you—but now it is time for another job. You need to learn to read so that you might read them stories. Do they enjoy listening to stories?”

Christina nodded for the third time.

“I suppose there is no one they would rather have read to them than their big sister Christina. Let’s you and me see how quickly we can have you doing that. Shall we?”

This time Christina did not nod. She turned to Thomas and Peter and said almost firmly, “If I’m gonna read to you I gotta learn the words. You better go on home now. Mama will take care of you ’til I get back.”

With a sigh of relief and an appreciative nod toward Miss Everly, Cassandra moved toward the door, her two youngest charges in tow, and Miss Everly took Christina’s hand to lead her to her desk.

“If I ever hear anyone say one more word about how strict she is, I will give them a piece of my mind,” Cassandra said under her breath as she turned for one last glimpse of Christina at her desk.

It seemed no time at all until all five children were off to school. Cassandra’s eyes misted as she watched young Peter join the others for the short walk down the town’s new board sidewalks to the school.

“Lord, I’m going to need you in a new way,” she admitted. “I have no idea what I’ll ever do with my time.” But she was to be surprised. There never seemed to be any spare time on her hands.

“I don’t know what is wrong with me,” she confided to Virginia. “I used to care for five little tots and still manage to get my work done—somehow. Now they are all gone for several hours of the day and it still takes all of my time to accomplish the same tasks.”

Virginia laughed. “You too? I thought I was the only person in town who went through that.”

“It’s true that I have taken on a bit more at the church again—but not that much so it should make a difference,” continued Cassandra. “I just never seem to be able to keep up.”

“It’s all the work they leave behind them,” Virginia chuckled again. “Washing, ironing, mending—”

“And they all eat—like—” Cassandra couldn’t think of a proper word, but Virginia was nodding in understanding. “I don’t even have a decent amount of leftovers for another meal.” They both laughed.

“I guess it’s a case of the job expanding to fill the time,” sighed Virginia. “My mother used to say that.” Virginia didn’t seem at all bothered about the situation. But then, Virginia, the serene one, never did seem bothered about anything.

Cassandra nodded, trying to copy Virginia’s calm, but she wasn’t pleased with herself. It seemed that she should have learned to be much more efficient.

“Mama, Ruthie’s got a sliver.”

By now it had become a common event for Cassandra to bandage cuts, tend bruises, and pick slivers. The neighborhood children often ran clear across town to get her to care for some little problem. It became easier and easier for her to do, though the sight of blood still made her feel queasy.

And then one day she had a new patient.

“Mrs. Smith,” said young Randall Brown when she opened the door to his knock, “Puffy’s got a sore ear.”

His pet jack rabbit squirmed in his arms at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Oh my,” said Cassandra, not knowing what to do. “Oh my.”

She was about to tell the boy that she was unable to do anything for Puffy when she saw the pleading look in Randall’s eyes. Instead of dismissing him with a casual wave of her hand and a flimsy excuse, she opened the door wider. “Bring him in,” she invited. “We’ll see if there is anything we can do.”

Father,
she prayed silently,
I don’t know a thing about ani
–
mals. Help me for Randall’s sake.

It appeared to be an infected scratch. Cassandra cleaned it up as well as the squirmy rabbit would allow and rubbed on a bit of Samuel’s antiseptic salve.

“That’s really all I can do,” she told the boy. “Here, I’ll give you just a bit of this and you put a little on Puffy’s ear each morning until it is all used up and we’ll see what happens.”

Cassandra was pleased when a beaming Randall met her in the grocery store a few days later and told her that Puffy was just fine.

Samuel teased, “I hear your practice has expanded.”

Cassandra tossed her head and shot back, “Word has it that the local doctor will only treat patients who carry money in a back pocket,” she countered. “Since Puffy doesn’t have a back pocket—someone had to look after him.”

Samuel just grinned.

“You’ve got quite a mama,” he said to Peter, who had run to greet his father, and he reached out a hand to rough up the young boy’s heavy thatch of reddish hair.

“Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith.”

Cassandra opened her eyes slowly. She was sure someone was calling her. But it was the middle of the night. Who would be wanting her now.

“Yes,” she answered sleepily, thinking it might be one of the children. “Mama’s coming,” and she slid out of bed and reached out a foot for a slipper.

“Mrs. Smith.”

Cassandra jerked suddenly awake. The children did not call her Mrs. Smith. Someone else was asking for her attention.

“I’m coming,” she called softly, hoping not to waken Samuel.

Then she remembered. Samuel had been called out some time around midnight. She couldn’t remember the details. Just that they had been roused, Samuel had gotten up and dressed, she had rolled over sleepily to ask him what was wrong and he had leaned over, kissed her and told her to go back to sleep. He was needed at the Harrigans’. And she had gone back to sleep. She was used to Samuel being called away in the middle of the night.

“Mrs. Smith.” There it came again. It was a man’s voice and it was coming from the back door.
Someone else needs Samuel and he is already gone,
thought Cassandra in a bit of a panic. She hoped the need wasn’t urgent. She had no idea how long Samuel might be.

She lit the lamp that sat on the kitchen table and hurried to the door. Mr. Stockwood from the town hardware store stood on the back porch, his hat in his hand.

“Mrs. Smith—Dr. Smith asked me if I would get word to you. He’s—he’s had a bit of an accident.”

Cassandra reached out a hand to the doorframe for support.

“Nothing serious,” he was quick to add when he saw Cassandra’s face go pale.

“What happened?” she asked with a shaky voice, the lamp trembling in her hand.

The man reached out and took the lamp from her and eased her back into her own kitchen. “Sit down,” he instructed. “Sit down.”

She sat down. Mostly because she could no longer stand. Her knees felt wobbly and she feared she might faint.

When Mr. Stockwood seemed sure that she was settled he continued.

“He was coming home from the Harrigans’—Mis’ Harrigan had a baby girl last night—an’ it was pretty dark. Horse musta stumbled or shied or somethin’. Anyway, he took a tumble and Doc landed on his arm. He thinks he broke it but he says it ain’t a bad break. He’s down to his office tryin’ to sort things out. Wanted you to know ’fore word started spreadin’ around.”