The Arms of a Better Man

by Indiana Wake

  “That’s a start.” She laughed. “Are the exercises hard?”

  “They’re exhausting, if I’m honest.”

  “And now you have to do twice as many?”

  “Morning and late afternoon.”

  “You can do it,” she said with sudden enthusiasm. “I’m sure you can.”

  “Maybe, it’s just finding the inclination. I mean, it’s made no difference so far and I can’t help thinking it won’t make any difference now, whatever I do.”

  “But then you might just as well try it, because you don’t actually know.”

  “It might work it might not, is that what you’re saying?”

  “That’s exactly it. I mean, your leg is just like my rhododendrons,” she said, and he felt the air fly out of his lungs as a spasm of laughter seized him. “What? What’s so funny?” She went on and he laughed all the harder.

  “And just how on earth is my leg anything like your rhododendrons, Katie?” he asked, so amused he could hardly believe he’d felt so down before.

  “I mean that I just have to keep trying with my rhododendrons, even though I can’t get the conditions right for them. I try a little bit of this, a little bit of that.”

  “And what exactly do you try?”

  “At the moment, I’m pushing copper tacks into the soil around them. It’s supposed to change the alkaline levels.”

  “I hope you’re not suggesting that as a remedy for my leg.”

  “Anything is worth a try,” she said with a grin. “But what I mean is, I’ll just keep trying until I get somewhere. And you keep trying until you get somewhere with your leg. And so, you see, your leg is just exactly like my rhododendrons.”

  “As strange and unbelievable as it is, I can’t actually find a sensible argument to go against that. I hate to admit that it makes sense, but it does.”

  “There, aren’t you glad you came in?”

  “I sure am.”

  “Well, how’s your leg right now?” she asked and started to untie her apron. “I mean, if you are up to it, I could show you my garden.” She suddenly became a little unsure of herself, a little self-conscious.

  “It’s not far is it?”

  “No, you can see the house from the back of the yard,” she said with a smile. “It usually only takes me a minute to get home.”

  “Then I reckon I’ll manage,” he said and nodded.

  Katie dumped her apron on the counter and called out to her daddy in the back that she would be gone for a while. Josh shouted back something unintelligible which Katie clearly understood, and they set off.

  She managed somehow to walk at the exact pace he needed to go without it seeming awkward or unusual. She just kept his pace naturally, hardly as if she were making an adjustment to her own walking at all.

  He was pleased, when they got around the back of the lumberyard, to see that the house really was just a stone’s throw away. It was a neat house, and rather small. It certainly didn’t look as if they had much land around it, although he gathered that the most of Josh’s land would have been taken up with his business.

  But it was a nice house, tidy and well painted with a sturdy little fence all around the outside. And as soon as they reached the gate, he could see that every available space was taken up with shrubs and blooms of every variety.

  It was a riot of color, some areas seeming to match, with varying shades on a theme. But other areas were simply a bright tribute to nature itself; reds, yellows, bright pinks, all of them side-by-side.

  And as he looked down by the side of the house, he could see a row of sunflowers, truly enormous sunflowers, with heads so huge they were like small wagon wheels.

  “And this is all your work, Katie?” he said, feeling a little stunned by it all.

  “Yes, it’s never been of much interest to my daddy, and I think Mama is just pleased that it looks nice and tidy. So, I get to choose everything that goes in, whatever color I want.”

  “Well, this is just about the most beautiful little garden I’ve ever seen, Katie. And the sunflowers look like a line of soldiers standing to attention first thing in the morning.”

  “I love my sunflowers. Even after all these years, they’re still my favorite,” she said, and stared at them, her gaze softening and a little smile playing on her lips.

  For a moment, she seemed a hundred miles away, lost in nature. And as much as he had never been particularly interested in such things himself, Arlen found himself transfixed by her interest. But it was more than interest, it was like devotion. She seemed as if she were part of nature herself, another bright sunflower standing in amongst so many colors.

  “So, where are these rhododendrons? We should introduce them to my leg.” He laughed.

  “Oh yes, come and see,” she said sadly and led him across the garden to where three almost leafless twigs poked up from the earth.

  “Oh dear,” he said, trying not to laugh.

  And he was glad he hadn’t, for Katie looked very serious all of a sudden.

  “As you see, I’m not getting anywhere with them.”

  “Well, you just have to keep trying, remember?” he said in a light voice which seemed to bring her back to herself and made her laugh.

  “Come in and have some coffee,” she said, taking his arms suddenly and leading him towards the house.

  “Well, your ma won’t be expecting me, will she? Maybe you should ask first.”

  “No, I don’t need to. Come on,” she said simply, and continued to lead him towards the house.

  Chapter 13

  “Mama, this is Arlen,” Katie said as the two of them trailed into the kitchen.

  “Hello, Arlen. Take a seat, honey.” Grace Lacey said with a bright smile. “How’s Mary? I haven’t seen her for a week or two.”

  “She’s doing really well, Mrs. Lacey. Although, maybe I give her a little extra work now I’m home.” He laughed and settled himself down at the kitchen table. Katie sat down next to him, smiling all the while.

  “Well, you give her my regards, Arlen, and tell her I sure would be glad to see her sometime soon,” Grace went on. “Now, I was just doing some bread-and-butter to take over to Josh. He is a hungry one, he needs feeding several times a day. So, I’ll cut a little bit more and make you some coffee to go with it.” She smiled and carried on about her business.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Arlen said and turned to look at Katie. “And that garden of yours sure is nice, Katie.”

  “Isn’t it?” Grace said with her back to them both as she set a pan of water to boil. “She works real hard out there. Sometimes we lose her for hours and hours and I have to go out and fetch her in to have something to eat.”

  “You’re kind of determined, aren’t you?” Arlen stated quietly to Katie.

  “Yes.” she said and nodded vigorously.

  There was something nice and natural about being in that kitchen. It made life seem normal again, just a regular visit to a friend or a neighbor, something he had done many times before he went away.

  But three years of war had erased the niceties of life, and food and drink were something to be taken almost savagely, bolting it down like a dog who didn’t know where his next meal was coming from. And more often than not, as the war had ground on, that had been exactly the case.

  He guessed the war had taken more from him than just his leg. And yet he could feel that sensation of his old self coming back to him again, the sight of the old Arlen out on the horizon somewhere.

  He realized then that, every time his life took a normal turn, Katie had been with him. There was something in her nature which settled him, and he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. Sometimes, she had the open honesty of a child, almost a bluntness about her. And yet she managed to deliver every word sweetly, with the care and forethought of a fully-grown woman.

  “How are you finding things now that you’re home again, Arlen? Are you settling in all right?” Grace went on pleasantly.

  “I guess it’s tak
ing some time, but it’ll come to me, I reckon.”

  “It’s a long time to be away.” Grace turned back to them brandishing a large plate of freshly cut bread-and-butter.

  She set it down on the table and wandered off again, returning with two small plates which she put in front of them.

  “Get started, coffee won’t be long.” And she set off again.

  “Even though your leg hurts so bad, you don’t regret it, do you?” Katie asked, her question so out of the blue that his mouth fell open. “I mean, everything you did was good and selfless. Fighting for others, I mean.”

  “Ah, but I didn’t finish what I started, did I?” he said a little awkwardly.

  “Because the war is still going?” Katie said and reached out for a slice of bread-and-butter.

  “Yes, I didn’t exactly see it through, did I?”

  “I don’t think that’s the point, Arlen,” she said without elaborating. “And everything I’m reading lately suggests that it won’t be long now. It’s almost at the end, and it looks as if it will end right.”

  “Katie, leave him be,” Grace said gently.

  As Katie thoughtfully chewed her bread-and-butter, her mother turned around to give Arlen a brief and apologetic look.

  “No, it’s fine, Mrs. Lacey. I don’t mind Katie asking me anything.” He smiled reassuringly, and Grace looked relieved.

  “I must admit, I wish I had got to the end of it. But wishing doesn’t make it so, otherwise I’d still have two good working legs and be able to ride out on the ranch on a horse instead of in the wagon.”

  “You’ve been out on the ranch? In the wagon?” Katie put her bread-and-butter down and looked at him excitedly. “Did it work? I told you it would work!”

  “Yes, it works. Although some of the ranch hands looked a little bit confused by it all.”

  “People get used to things,” Katie said simply. “And like you said to me, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re enjoying what you’re doing. If you’re doing what you want to do, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks, does it?”

  “Did I say that?” he asked and laughed, Grace joining in.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “I reckon I’m smarter than I thought I was,” he said and Grace, setting down coffees in front of them, joined them at the table.

  All in all, Arlen had enjoyed his time with Katie and Grace and was glad that he’d turned the wagon around and sought her out. If he hadn’t done that, he would have carried on home, sullen and dejected, determined that life really was thoroughly miserable after all.

  “Won’t your daddy be wondering where you’ve gotten to?” he queried when he’d thanked Grace for the food and he and Katie were outside in the garden once again.

  “No, he doesn’t mind if I wander off.” Katie laughed. “He’s used to it I reckon.”

  “Thanks, Katie.” He began. “I mean, for listening and taking an interest. I sure was in a mean kind of mood when I left Doc Brown’s office. Even his enormous eyebrows didn’t amuse me like they normally would.”

  “Oh, Goodness!” Katie laughed unguardedly, her eyes wide with amusement. “He really does have wild eyebrows. Oh, but he is such a nice man.”

  “He sure is.”

  “At least his eyebrows are pleasing you now, even if they didn’t at the time.”

  “I guess.” He laughed. “But I reckon that you cheered me up enough to see it. And your ma is a real nice lady too.”

  “Thank you.” Katie smiled a little shyly.

  Despite the fact that he hadn’t done a lot of walking that day, Arlen’s leg was hurting him badly. His limp became more pronounced and he began the walk back to the wagon much more slowly than before.

  “Are you in pain?” Katie asked.

  “Yes, I am a little.”

  “It kind of looks like a lot,” she said with that sweet bluntness he was coming to like.

  “All right, a lot!” he said and laughed.

  “Doc Brown should have told you to get a stick to walk with.”

  “He did.”

  “But you don’t have one.”

  “No,” he said, laughing at her earnest expression as he took another painful step.

  “But why?”

  “Because I don’t want one.”

  “Why?” she said and winced despite her determined questions. “I’m sorry, it’s not my business, but it would definitely make it easier for you. I mean, you could lean some of your weight on the stick so that it doesn’t all fall on your bad leg every time you pick the good one up. I think,” she said and peered down at him, scowling in thought rather than curiosity.

  “You’re right, it would work just like you said.” He looked at her and shrugged. “But I guess I’ve just gotten a little stubborn these last few months. It’s like my brain won’t let me take that kind of help.”

  “I hate to keep saying why, but here goes…. Why?” She grinned, and Arlen realized it felt good to talk about it.

  It wasn’t much of a revelation as far as the things which crawled about his mind went, but still it was more than he’d given up before.

  “Because it would be like admitting I’m never going to get any better than this. It would be like I was content to settle into my life as a man who’s been crippled by his injuries.”

  “Even though it wouldn’t change anything. I mean, your recovery isn’t really going to depend on a thin slice of wood, is it? It’s not like it’s a curse or something, it’s just a stick.”

  “Tell that to my brain.”

  “I would if I thought your brain would listen. I mean, if it won’t listen to you, I don’t reckon it’ll listen to me either.” She laughed.

  “I don’t know so much.” He took another step and winced, sweat breaking out on his brow. “I mean, I am riding about the ranch on the wagon now.”

  “Use me as a stick,” she said and suddenly bobbed under his right arm, tucking herself in tight against him. “You can lean as much as you want. It won’t be any harder than helping daddy shift lumber when we get a big order in.”

  “Thank you.” Despite his pride, leaning against her certainly did make it easier to walk, and she was surprisingly strong for her size. “Although, if you could not compare me to lumber, I sure would be grateful.”

  “I can do that.” She laughed. “So, how is the wagon working out? Are you getting a way of doing things out on the ranch now?” She continued to chatter happily as they made their way.

  The first few steps had been the most ungainly, but both of them were finding their stride now, falling into sync with one another. Maybe a stick really would help?

  “I can’t say I’ve done real well yet. I haven’t tried herding cattle in the wagon. I didn’t want to give the ranch hands too much to laugh at.” He chuckled. “But it’s kept me out of the house and out on the plains and I reckon I’m real pleased about that.”

  “And I’m pleased to hear it,” she said, and he tried hard not to think about her soft curves as they leaned against one another.

  He couldn’t go from being angry and sullen with her one minute to falling head over heels the next. It was too erratic; and impossible.

  “But David was happy to see me out there. Once he was over the shock of it, that is. I made quite a sight out there, even the cattle looked sideways at me. Still, I reckon I’m used to that.”

  “In the end, we’re all just cattle.” They were nearly back at the wagon now and Katie sounded a little out of breath.

  Arlen realized with a jolt that he was beginning to wish the walk back to the wagon was just a little longer. Well, that was a first.

  “And cattle have no shame. They don’t give up, they just keep staring.”

  “Oh!” Katie was laughing hard. “You’re making me laugh and it’s taking away my strength.”

  “Sorry, I’ll be sensible.”

  “It’s too late. All I can see now is the whole herd staring at you with confused looks.” She continued to laugh as they
reached the wagon, and they both leaned on it for support. “I sure am glad we made it.” She continued breathlessly.

  “Me too.” He was already getting his own breath back as he leaned on the wagon, wondering how on earth he would get up into it with any measure of grace at all. “I guess you should leave me to it from here. It’s kind of awkward getting up into the wagon and I don’t reckon I want you to see it,” he said, the truth rolling out of him without any hope of stopping it.”

  “All right,” she said without any hint of hurt. “I’ll just go on back into the lumberyard,” she said and straightened up, no longer leaning on the wagon.

  “Before you go,” he said when she looked set to wander away. “You could call over to the ranch any time you liked. I mean, if you weren’t busy and all. I know Mary would be real pleased to see you.” He felt suddenly a little exposed, like a man standing on the very edge of a high cliff, hoping a stiff breeze wouldn’t be all that was needed to see him falling through the air.

  “I’d like that, Arlen,” she said with a broad smile. “I’ll be sure to come by.”

  “Good.” He looked up at the wagon again.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to get in the wagon in peace,” she said and turned to go. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”

  “Yeah, see you soon, Katie.”

  He watched her leave, all the way to the door of the lumberyard. He really hadn’t wanted the morning to end, he was having such a fine time.

  What a transformation after his visit to Doc Brown. How normal he felt, even though a young woman had just helped him to walk the way Katie had.

  In the end, maybe normal was just going to be something different from now on. It might not be what was normal for him before, but maybe it was something he could live with.

  As he hauled himself up into the wagon, he truly hoped she couldn’t see him. But she was a woman of her word, he was sure of that. She was probably perched on her huge wooden barrel behind the counter again, already scouring the pages of her book to see if there was a single thing she could do to rescue her ailing rhododendrons.

  He laughed to himself as he got settled in his seat. Katie Lacey really was a bit different. Real unusual. But unusual in a way which made her interesting. Unusual in a way that made him want to find out more.