Liza then told Patrick that Felicity would definitely be moving back to Benson and that she would be leaving Belfast in the spring. “That will take a little bit of your peace of mind away,” said Patrick. “She won’t be here until probably June which will be after the baby is born. She had better not start telling lies about you again, I won’t stand for that and I know that the colonel won’t stand for it either. It will be awkward for Ada; she won’t know what to do if Felicity tries to hurt you. Blood is thicker than water.”
It was a strange thing for Patrick to say and Liza wondered whether he knew that Felicity was not the colonel’s daughter, but she decided not to say anything as it was not her secret to tell.
“The child’s with its father isn’t it?” queried Patrick.
“Apparently that’s not working out too well and a decision will have to be made about the girl’s future. Ada asked me about the children’s charity and whether the girl could be taken in by it, which surprised me. I told her that it was just for abused children and Felicity’s daughter would not qualify. I was shocked that they were considering an orphanage for her. The colonel thinks that a child should be with its mother and he held me up as a paragon of virtue on that point, which I told Ada would not go down well with Felicity if he were to tell her that,” said Liza.
“Oh, my Liza, you get yourself happily settled in the place that you really want to be, surrounded by people who you get on with and who get on with you and then you’re going to have the woman who has been the bane of your life coming to live in the same place. It seems very unfair; you’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to get away from her. Never mind, we managed to have a good time in Belfast despite Felicity, I’m sure we can do the same here,” said Patrick.
“I think this town will be much too small for her, so she may not stay long,” said Liza hopefully. “I’m going to stop thinking about her; I’m not going to let her ruin our Christmas. I shall worry about her nearer her arrival date.”
***
The whole town was excited about the Christmas party and when Patrick and Liza arrived it was already packed. There was a great deal of laughter and Liza had to give up dancing after a very short while and Patrick escorted her to a chair at the side of the hall and it wasn’t long before Ada came and sat with her for a while, when she left Kathy took her place, followed by Bea and so the evening went on for a while as the ladies of Benson were determined to keep Liza company. Gone are the days when it was the gentlemen who insisted on keeping me company, Liza thought.
Patrick was quite in demand as was Sean, Ben and Mark Kendal. The food and the drink flowed and the music seemed to continue without stopping. It was getting very hot in the room and Liza felt the need for some fresh air and not wishing to make a fuss, she quietly made her way to the door, first stopping to find her cloak. She stepped outside into the cold and immediately felt better. She walked up and down a few times and as she was about to return to the hall, she turned and came face to face with Dr Bridges. He was standing in his underwear and was without his footwear. He suddenly started shouting at her and poking her with his finger.
“Well, you’ve done it this time, haven’t you Liza? I told you to keep your husband out of your bed, but you didn’t do that and look at you. You won’t survive this. This time that husband of yours had better let you go peacefully and with some dignity,” Dr Bridges was getting louder and louder and poking her harder in her stomach.
Meanwhile, back at the party Patrick, who was talking to Sean and Mark Kendal, suddenly said, “Liza’s in trouble,” and he disappeared to where she had been sitting. He was now beginning to panic asking if anyone had seen where she had gone. “I think she went for a breath of fresh air, Patrick,” somebody said and he was rushing towards the door before the person had finished speaking. Sean and Mark quickly followed him.
Patrick burst out through the door and could see someone pushing and shouting at Liza. He heard the person saying, “He couldn’t keep it in his trousers, could he, and look at the result. But don’t worry, Liza I’ll make sure you are allowed to be left to die in peace this time. I won’t let him keep you alive just for his own benefit. If he had let you go when he should have done then you wouldn’t have to go through it all again. That probably won’t survive either,” he said as he poked her yet again in the stomach.
Others had followed Patrick outside and were mesmerised by what was happening. Patrick reached Liza as she overbalanced backwards and managed to catch her before she fell. He put himself between her and the doctor and Sean and Mark took hold of Dr Bridges and gently led him towards the hospital. All the time the doctor was shouting about Patrick’s inability to leave Liza alone in bed and how wrong he had been not to let her die as she was now going to as was her child.
Somebody had obviously gone to fetch Dr Steele and Bea rushed out with him. Dr Bridges was still shouting but now he had gone on to abuse others within the community and it was fortunate that he was becoming less coherent as many confidences were in danger of being revealed to all and sundry. Bea led Patrick and a rather shaken Liza to her quarters and Dr Steele said that he would come to check Liza over when he had dealt with poor Dr Bridges.
“I’m all right,” said Liza although her voice was very shaky and she was shivering uncontrollably. “Can we just go home please, Patrick?”
“Let the doctor see you before you go, Liza,” said Bea. “It’s better safe than sorry.”
“You’re missing the party, Bea; everybody is having such a happy time. I hope this hasn’t put a stop to the fun. Did many people see what was going on, do you think?” said Liza.
“Quite a few did, Liza,” said Patrick.
“I honestly think that his abuse, if you can call it that, wasn’t really aimed at us, Patrick. If somebody else had been there instead of me, then he would have found something to shout at them about. You heard that he was doing that when he saw somebody else. What on earth is going to happen to him?” asked Liza.
“Don’t worry about him, Liza, worry about yourself,” said a surprisingly shaken Bea. “Dr Steele will give him something to calm him down. We’ll think about what will happen to him tomorrow.”
As she said that, Dr Steele arrived telling them that he had given Dr Bridges a sleeping potion and Mark and Sean were with him until he went to sleep and the doctor returned to relieve them. He gave Liza a quick examination and passed her fit. “Liza, when are you going to be in the right place at the right time instead of the wrong place at the wrong time?” he asked.
“Yes, I do seem to get into a few difficulties. Thank you, Doctor, I’d like to go home now and the party is really just starting and everyone should be enjoying themselves this evening and I don’t want to put the dampers on that,” smiled Liza who was looking very much better.
Surprisingly the colonel and Ada arrived with Kathy and Joe, who were obviously showing concern. “You are meant to be hosting the Christmas party, not watching over somebody who always seems to get herself into trouble,” said Liza smiling.
“It’s good to see that you are all right, Liza, but we have had a very quick meeting at the party as most people from both the fort and the town were there and we have decided that we will have to seriously think about the town getting a new doctor. A town meeting is going to be held tomorrow evening at the school and we’d obviously like you and Patrick to be there if you feel up to it.”
“We’ll be there, sir, thank you. We’re going home now so do get back to your guests and we’ll see you tomorrow,” said Patrick.
Their buggy was brought around and Patrick helped Liza into it and then climbed into it himself and they set off for home. “That was a little frightening for a while, Liza,” said Patrick. “You really can’t be let out by yourself,” he said trying to make light of what had happened that evening.
“I only wanted a breath of fresh air; it was nothing which should have created a problem. I don’t think I’ll go to the meeting tomorrow; I’m sure I won’t be
missed,” said Liza.
“You think not? I’m sure it’s been organised with you in mind,” said Patrick.
Zelma was surprised to see them back so early and she hastily covered the presents that she had been wrapping up. Patrick told her what had happened with Dr Bridges and Zelma’s comment was why should it always be Liza who was on the receiving end of problems?
Liza had a disturbed night; she kept hearing the doctor’s words ringing in her ears. She knew that it was ridiculous to take any notice of them but they had been shouted at her and once said they can’t be forgotten that easily.
Patrick also was unsettled. His worst fears were that Liza would die and Dr Bridges had kept emphasising that it was going to happen. He knew that the doctor was going senile, but even though he was senile, he had said it with such conviction that it worried Patrick. Dr Steele had tried to reassure them both that there was nothing to worry about, but that was easier said than done and it had unnerved him.
Liza decided that she would not attend the church service the next morning, so Patrick took the boys whilst Zelma organised lunch. Patrick met with Kathy and Joe and told them that Liza probably wouldn’t attend the meeting that evening, but they said that really it would be better if she could manage to do so. He said that he would give her that message, but they had to appreciate that she didn’t feel too well after the previous evening’s episode with Dr Bridges. They understood that but both she and Patrick were very much part of Benson and any decisions concerned them as well as everyone else.
“I really don’t feel up to going,” said Liza when Patrick had given her the message. “I can stay with the boys whilst you and Zelma go because Zelma is just as much part of this town as we are.”
“No, Liza,” said Zelma, “You know that what they are really asking is that you attend because you always come up with an answer to a problem.”
“Not always,” said Liza. “All right, I’ll rest this afternoon and go tonight. I really wanted to spend some time with the boys this afternoon.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” said Patrick, “I think they have their own plans with Si this afternoon and it doesn’t include us. Gabriel will have his hands full.”
Having rested that afternoon, Liza made her way to the meeting with Patrick. Her intention was to stay quietly near the back but she and Patrick were ushered up to the front next to Ada and the colonel. Dr Steele joined them and then came Kathy and Joe. It was all very reminiscent of soon after she had arrived in Benson when she was promoting help for the school and she had a sinking feeling that tonight she was going to be asked to make a speech of some kind.
“Who’s holding this meeting,” she asked Kathy quietly.
“The colonel is,” said Kathy.
“Good,” laughed Liza, “I had a horrible feeling that I might be and nobody had told me.” Kathy’s look was rather strange, thought Liza.
It was standing room only in the school house. All meetings in town were now well attended. The colonel called order and the meeting began.
“We are having this meeting tonight because your doctor, Dr Bridges, is now unable to fulfil his duties towards the people of this town. Many of you will have noticed the deterioration in his mental abilities recently and witnessed his total loss of control last night at the fort,” said the colonel and many heads turned towards Liza.
The colonel continued, “There are two things which have to be decided tonight, one is how we can look after the doctor and the other very important one is the fact that the people of Benson need a new doctor. Dr Steele is capable of looking after you in the short-term, but his duties are army duties and should he be needed in the field then you would be without anyone to take care of your medical needs. These are the facts in a nutshell and should now be open for discussion. Who would like to start?”
Nobody said anything.
“Surely somebody has an opinion on what should happen under these circumstances,” said the colonel. “Liza, you were the one on the receiving end of Dr Bridges’ tirade last night, you must have thought about how the situation could be resolved.”
Liza looked around her, everyone was staring at her. Patrick had a smile on his face which told her that he had been expecting that she would be leading the meeting. She decided that she wouldn’t stand up.
From her seat, she said, “Well, I have had a thought or two which I would like to discuss.”
There was an audible acknowledgment of her contribution from the majority of the people there.
“First of all, how are we going to be able to look after Dr Bridges? He is going to be very difficult to keep track of and locking him up seems very cruel and unfeeling, especially as he has been the town’s doctor for many years. Is there somebody willing to take care of him and be able to restrict his movements to a certain extent? It would mean dedicating a great deal of time to him. Dr Steele, can you explain to us how senility progresses because as far as I know, after a while the aggression leaves a person and a harmless character emerges, is that right?”
Dr Steele stood up and said, “Yes, that’s how the normal progression occurs. It’s not always that way but in most cases the aggression does go away and what is left is someone who may not know where they are, or who they are. They forget most things. As we saw last night, sometimes they forget to dress. It’s very sad that the mind can react in that way but Liza is right, it would be cruel to lock him away.”
Somebody asked whether it would matter if he was kept under lock and key if he had no memory and Dr Steele replied that not having his freedom might create frustration which could lead to self-harm. Another comment was that he would not be allowed anything which he could use to harm himself.
“I have seen such people bang their heads on walls until they bleed; I have seen them throw themselves against objects and break bones. Of course they would not be given knives or scissors, but they would not need them to damage themselves. But what we must remember is that Dr Bridges is quite lucid on occasion and very kindly.”
Somebody asked if whoever looks after the doctor would receive wages and Liza stepped in at that point.
“That’s something that we will have to discuss as we did when the school needed funds. I have no idea if the doctor has any money and also, I have no idea if he has any family, surely it’s something that we must find out on his behalf. Mainly, we need to know in principle if there is someone who would be willing to devote time to looking after him and of course they would not be expected to do it for nothing,” said Liza.
A Mrs Henshaw stood and said that she had looked after her husband who’d had the same problem prior to his death. She had a small house at the back of town and could do with some help financially. She knew the good doctor quite well as he had been a great support to her during her husband’s increasing senility and she would be pleased to make the doctor’s final years as comfortable as possible. She would, however, need an amount of help and advice from whoever took over from Dr Bridges.
Dr Steele stood and said that he was quite prepared to give as much help and advice as he could along with whoever became the new doctor for Benson.
Liza expected the colonel to carry on with the meeting but he had sat down and there was nobody to keep order. Joe stood and asked what Liza thought of the suggestion.
“Well, I believe it solves one of our problems, but we must remember that we are playing with someone’s life, and we still have to establish if Dr Bridges has a family, although I do believe we would have been aware of any relatives. Does anyone know?” asked Liza.
Somebody said that they knew that the doctor’s wife had died many years before and as far as they knew there were no children.
“How very sad,” said Liza, “so, Dr Bridges devoted his life to this town; he cared for all of us but had nobody to care for him.”
There was silence in the room as everyone digested what Liza had said and Liza herself felt quite emotional. Patrick could see that the doctor’s isolation had a
ffected Liza quite considerably and he put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. She felt quite guilty at how she had treated the doctor over the past few years. She also wondered whether the doctor owned where he lived; she presumed that he did as she had seen no rental agreements when she was sorting out legal documentation years ago. She would quietly ask Gabriel when they were on their own and she would offer to buy it so that there were funds enough to look after the doctor for life.
The colonel said, “It seems as though we can solve how to look after the good doctor, but the next problem is getting a doctor for the town. Has anyone got any ideas? Dr Steele, how do you suggest we go about this?”
“I do have some contacts, but they are all army personnel. I will write to the medical school I attended and see if they have anyone in mind. I think that the colonel has said what was on my mind and that was that I can cover on a temporary basis, but my first duty is towards the army and there could be occasions when I will just not be available and that concerns me. Does anyone have any other suggestions?”
“Well,” said Liza as Patrick sat back staring at her through half-closed eyes and smiling. She continued, “I have recently met a doctor who did express a desire to practise in a small town. He may have settled in another town, or he may have decided that the large practise he works at in New York is where he should stay. He did tell me that he would prefer to practice medicine in a place that was more personal than where he was. He’s a family man. I could write to him and see how his thoughts are now. Shall I do that, is everyone in favour of my approaching him and establishing whether he is interested or not?”
There was a chorus of ‘yes’ from the gathering and so the colonel stood and said that a number of items had been discussed and agreed upon tonight, although answers still had to be established. “Thank you all for attending, and thank you, Liza, Dr Steele and Mrs Henshaw for your input. No doubt we will not be hearing any responses until after Christmas, good night, everyone.”
Against All Odds Page 27
