Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  “Has Zelma gone home?” asked Gabriel.

  “I thought she lived here with you,” said Tom.

  “In a way she does, but it’s a long story,” said Liza not wishing to say that she lived in a shed and giving a totally wrong impression to the doctor.

  “What have you got planned for tomorrow, Liza?” asked Gabriel.

  “I’ll be taking Tom to see the house so that he can assess what may be needed both as far as a surgery is concerned and of course, the living accommodation. Then we’ll go to the fort and I’ll introduce him to the colonel and Dr Steele, and we’ll probably bump into many people, some who are on the town council. Then we’ll have to see if Tom likes what he sees,” smiled Liza.

  Patrick also smiled but there was concern in his eyes. “At least you’ll have a doctor with you all day.”

  This was not lost on the doctor as he didn’t think that Liza looked as she should this far into her pregnancy. “Don’t worry, Patrick; I’ll make sure she doesn’t do too much. I’ll be here for at least four days, so we don’t have to rush around.”

  “Oh no, not you also! I have everybody treating me as if I’m going to break,” said Liza.

  “I would think that everyone shows concern for you, Liza, it’s just the way people are,” said Tom.

  “I’m going to get my son now,” said Gabriel. “It’s well past his bedtime. No doubt Patrick will show you the way to my house when you are ready.”

  “To be honest, I’m really tired and I could do with catching up with some sleep if you and Patrick don’t mind, Liza,” said Tom. “It’s been a very interesting and entertaining afternoon and evening and thank you for your hospitality. I know I’m going to like it here. I do hope that the people of Benson will be happy with me.”

  “I’m sure they will be,” said Patrick. “I’ll see you across to Gabriel’s house when he gets his son. Our back door will be open tomorrow morning so just let yourself in whenever you’re ready.”

  “Goodnight, Liza; and thank you for your warm welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Tom and he left with Patrick, Gabriel and Si.

  When they reached Gabriel’s house, whilst Si was getting ready for bed with Gabriel supervising, Tom looked at Patrick and said, “You’re quite worried about her, aren’t you, Patrick?”

  “Yes, she’s had one or two problems in the past, but the more we try to make her life easy, the more difficult it seems to become. But now that we have a town council, there are eight others to take some of the pressure off her,” said Patrick.

  “I will keep a close watch on her tomorrow, goodnight Patrick,” said Tom as Gabriel came into the room and waved at Patrick.

  “Hope your patrol goes well tomorrow,” Gabriel said.

  Back home, Liza was organising the boys for bed; they were tired and easy to handle. When they were in bed, Liza read them a short story but they were both asleep before she had finished it.

  Patrick was sitting in his rocking chair when Liza came downstairs; she sat in hers. It had been a busy time and they both enjoyed the peace and quiet.

  “He seems very nice, Liza. He appears to have made up his mind that he wants to be here. Does he know about your scheme yet?”

  “No, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I can’t see that there would be a problem. Yes, he does seem nice and I think he’ll fit in well,” said Liza. “You’re worried about those lost people, aren’t you Patrick? The weather wasn’t too bad when they left. They must have wandered off the regular path. How many of them are there?”

  “Five, I believe; a mother, father, son, daughter and a baby. Why they didn’t wait for the goods wagons coming here as others have, I don’t know. I’ve heard they didn’t take too many provisions with them, but of course they thought that it was a relatively short journey,” said Patrick.

  “I hope the weather doesn’t get too bad tomorrow. I’ll be worrying about you if it does. I suppose you’ll be leaving very early tomorrow,” said Liza.

  “Yes, I will be away early. It really is getting very cold. I hope that family have found some shelter for the night,” said Patrick.

  They both spent a while reflecting on the plight of the missing family before going to their bed.

  ***

  Patrick was awake and dressed well before dawn the next day. He was obviously very concerned for the welfare of those who were lost. He was making plans in his head of where his patrol might look. He and Sean had decided the day before that they would split up and head off in slightly different directions and Mark was going to take a patrol in a completely opposite direction. Everyone knew that if someone was not familiar with the surroundings then they could get quite disorientated especially now as there had been a relatively heavy snowfall during the night. It was not heavy enough to stop travel, but it was going to make searching difficult.

  Liza got up and made him a warm breakfast as she knew that he had a very long and cold day ahead of him.

  “You’re not going to be too far away from Sean, are you Patrick?” she said as she was always concerned if they did not work together.

  “No, we’re going to try to stay within range of the sound of a gunshot. I think Mark is going to split his patrol also and do the same, so at least four directions will then be covered. Unfortunately the snow will have covered any tracks, which is what happened yesterday as we got near the hills, but we do have a starting point.”

  Zelma arrived but was not altogether surprised that they both were up so early. “You are taking scouts with you, aren’t you Patrick?”

  Patrick nodded and she added, “You must take our scout with you. He is the best one you could have and he’ll also look after you.”

  “I don’t think I’m the one who needs looking after, but you’re right, I do know him well which is always handy,” said Patrick.

  Just as Patrick was about to leave Gabriel came in with Si, who was still in his nightclothes, followed by Tom. Zelma took Si from them and carried him up to the boys’ room; there was always a bed ready for him there.

  “You’re all up early; I would have thought you would have needed to sleep in this morning, Tom, after your long journey,” said Patrick.

  “I found it difficult to get those poor lost people out of my mind, so although I was very warm and comfortable, they kept coming back into my thoughts. This morning I heard many people up and about already, I believe everyone is concerned. I suppose that’s what a small town is all about. It’s quite comforting,” said Tom.

  Patrick left saying that he would not be back home until late, unless they found them early. As he left Kathy walked in and Liza introduced her to the doctor saying that they were going to visit her later anyway.

  “Is there anything we can do to help find those poor people, Liza? Do you think some of the men can help look for them?” she asked.

  “From what Patrick tells me, they are going to search in four different directions, so I think the army have it covered for now. If they come back empty handed tonight, then maybe the search will have to be widened, although it won’t be very hopeful by then. All we can do is make sure that we can supply them with blankets, warm food and somewhere to stay when they are found,” said Liza.

  Kathy left, saying that she would see them later. Zelma was busy cooking bacon and eggs for them all, but before Liza could sit down, there was a knock on the door. It was the hotelier saying that he had seen Kathy and that if the family needed somewhere to stay for a while, he would gladly put them up when they were found. Liza thanked him and told him that she would pass that message on.

  She came back in and sat down and was about to eat her breakfast when there was another knock on her door. This time it was Charlie Penn who was offering to help with the search. Liza told him what she had told Kathy and she thanked him for his concern.

  She hadn’t quite made it to her chair before George Prior walked in also asking what he could do to help and once again she told him that there was nothing until the patrol came back either wi
th them or without, but if they were with them then they would need a great deal of care. Liza introduced him to the doctor saying that he was a member of the town council. George eyed the bacon and eggs hungrily and Zelma got him a plate and told him to sit down.

  By this time Liza’s breakfast was cold so Zelma whipped it away to replenish it with hot food as another knock came to the door. Gabriel stood up, put his hand on Liza’s shoulder and said, “Stay where you are, I’ll deal with this.”

  Liza hoped that Gabriel would be tactful as he did have a lawyer’s tendency to be rather abrupt, but at least she was able to eat her breakfast in relative peace.

  Tom Marsden was sitting there watching with fascination as all this was unfolding around him. “Is it always this way in your household?” he asked Liza.

  “We have a very caring community and the townsfolk know that there is a family out there who are in trouble and they need somewhere to come to see if there is anything they can do,” said Liza, who hadn’t really answered his question.

  There was another knock at the door and Liza answered it as somebody else had called to see if they could help in any way and she told them what she had told all the others, adding that she would let them know what they could do when the family was found.

  “You’ll all have to excuse me, I really must get myself ready now otherwise the day will be gone and I’ll still be in my dressing gown having done nothing that I was scheduled to do,” said Liza as she disappeared upstairs with hot water to ready herself for the day. The boys were stirring but she told them to stay where they were until she was dressed.

  Downstairs Zelma, Gabriel and George looked at one another and then at Tom. “Well,” said Gabriel, “I’ll answer your question for you, Tom, since Liza skilfully avoided answering you. Yes, it is very much like this, although this is a serious problem. Liza wasn’t too well just before Christmas and we had to take it in turns to fend off callers, some were well-wishers but the majority wanted advice on something or other. We did all think that as we now have a town council it would alleviate the pressure on her, but you’ve just experienced what she sometimes has to deal with.”

  Tom shook his head. “I’ve seen her in action in New York and that’s quite something to behold, but she takes it all in her stride, although…” he didn’t finish his sentence.

  Zelma then said what everyone was thinking. “This baby is wearing her out; she does not seem to be carrying it well. She has been too damaged in the past for it to be right. She pretends that everything is all right, but even the boys notice that she often looks so ill and they worry. That’s why I allow them to let off steam when she isn’t here.”

  Gabriel at last understood why it had appeared that Zelma had no control over them when he and Liza had arrived back the other day.

  There was another knock at the door, this time George got up and dealt with the kindly enquiry as to what anyone could do to help with the family either by searching or after they were found. George also said what others had been told and they went off content that they could eventually help in some way.

  Liza appeared washed, dressed and ready for the day, blissfully unaware that the state of her health had been discussed behind her back. Tom made a mental note to ask the army doctor what was meant by ‘too damaged in the past’ as he had a feeling that there would be no point in asking Liza and probably poor Dr Bridges’ records would not be as up to date as they should be.

  Zelma was in the process of getting the boys ready. School would be starting in a couple of days, although if the snow became worse no child from outlying areas would make it to school so the boys would think it unfair that they had to attend.

  Liza and the doctor set out on the short walk to the doctor’s house having been stopped several times by concerned townspeople. They finally arrived and Tom admitted that it was better than he had expected, knowing that Dr Bridges had slowly been going senile for a few years.

  “Well, I had it cleaned and cleared out all items that I felt were not conducive to hygiene,” Liza smiled at him. “Charlie Penn and upholsterers are ready to drop everything for whatever you need, but you know what you will be bringing with you. I presume you are going to move here, you seem to be quite keen and I know everyone would be happy to see you join our town.”

  “Liza, this is just the sort of place I have been looking for, and now that we have a family, it would be so much better for them here. I know that New York is large but we are known and it wouldn’t be long before people would start putting two and two together over the origins of our children. I have always agreed with you that as few people as possible know their background the better it will be for them and as time passes, hopefully, they would be able to put that part of their lives behind them and just enjoy the present,” said Tom.

  “They don’t know when their birthdays are, do they? I presume you are going to make ones for them all, including your niece. It would be a good idea to do that before they get here but I suppose you have thought about that,” said Liza.

  He didn’t like to admit that he hadn’t thought about it but knew that his wife probably had.

  “What do you think of the house then, Tom?” asked Liza. “Do you think that it will be an ideal start for you?”

  “It’s more than an ideal start, Liza. How do we go about this? Who owns the house at present?” asked Tom.

  “It all depends on your circumstances. You can buy it, rent it or we could come to some other arrangement,” said Liza not yet giving away that she owned it.

  “I see,” he was beginning to get her measure and read between the lines. “In other words, you own it and if I need time to get on my feet, you will let me live there. Is that what you mean by some other arrangement?” said Tom.

  “Yes, I suppose that is what I meant,” said Liza.

  “I think I’d like to buy it from you Liza. I would feel very established if I do that, unless, of course, you wanted to keep it as an investment,” he said.

  “No, I own enough properties; one less could be a relief. I can let you have it for what it cost me as I’ve only owned it for a couple of weeks or so. Gabriel was expecting that, so documents are sitting in his office ready for every eventuality,” said Liza.

  “I’m very lucky as most doctors live hand to mouth; I come from a family who were not poor and being an only son, I inherited all from my father when he passed on. I’m not claiming to be rich and certainly not by your standards, but I can give a good life to my family without worrying if a patient can pay a bill or not. However, we can’t finalise anything until I return with my funds,” said Tom.

  “Talking about patients paying is something that I wanted to discuss with you when you had finally made your decision to come here, but now is as good a time as any. Just briefly, I, or should I say we on the town council, have come up with a health plan whereby patients pay a regular monthly amount into an account whether they use the services of our doctor or not. We had an overwhelming show of hands for an agreement on this in principle depending on whether we could come up with a reasonable monthly figure for it,” said Liza.

  “Have you come up with a reasonable monthly figure for it?” smiled Tom being under no illusions that the ‘we’ was really ‘I’. “I think that, if run properly, it would help a tremendous amount of poorer people. They wouldn’t have to worry about bills, and I wouldn’t have to worry that I would become bankrupt overnight,” he said laughing. “I presume you are saying that I would be paid a monthly amount and have a list of those participating so that I wouldn’t charge them.”

  “Yes, that’s the essence of it. Anyone who didn’t want to join the scheme, you would charge them at your normal rate,” said Liza.

  “How are you going to promote it?” he asked.

  “I wish we had a printing press here,” Liza said, once again thoughtfully. “We could then have our own newspaper. Anyway, that’s something for the future. We’ll just have to do it by word of mouth which will probably be jus
t as effective as a newspaper. You’ve seen how word spreads in Benson haven’t you?”

  “Yes, I most certainly have,” he said.

  “Perhaps we had better go back home and you can write a list of items you will need for your home and I’ll get whatever I can organised for when you return. I forgot to tell you, Tom, when you take up your position here you also become a member of the town council. Dr Steele is at present on the council, but he really should be dedicating his time solely to the army but has stepped in for the time being,” said Liza and Tom looked at her sideways and he was sure he saw a look of triumph cross her face.

  ***

  A briefing took place when Patrick arrived at the fort that morning. It was being discussed which areas to take and they were all pouring over a map of the area. As had been said earlier, Patrick and Sean were going to set out in the same direction but split into two as they reached the hills beyond where they had searched the day before. Mark and his sergeant were going to do the same in another direction. They were taking extra water and blankets with them, although they all were feeling that too much time had elapsed to find these people alive.

  The snow from the night before had settled and there were only flurries now, although it looked threatening and could start again at any time. Captain Graves and the colonel made it quite clear that although this did not seem like a dangerous mission, the weather conditions made it so and they were to take no chances with the men. Their men had to come first, sad as that may be.

  They set out and for a couple of miles they all travelled together and then Mark and his sergeant and their men went off on their chosen way. They would split up further along their route. Sean and Patrick carried on along the straight path for a while and were discussing the stupidity of going along an unfamiliar route, alone and in winter time, until they also split and went their different ways with their men. If they found anything they were going to fire their guns which, hopefully, they each would hear.