by Jan Watson
“You’re missing the point.” With a little shove, Copper diverted the dog to his spot of sunshine before facing her husband. “Look at me. Really look. Don’t you see it?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m at a loss.”
“The shadows under my eyes? The drooping of my shoulders? My apron strings too tight? Forevermore, Simon, you’re a doctor.”
“Copper,” he said, as serious as a judge, “you don’t need a tonic. Maybe a nap in the afternoon?”
“Good grief, Dr. Corbett, I don’t want Mrs. Pinkham’s tonic or her little liver pills!” Copper ran her hands through her hair and shook her head. “I’m trying to tell you we’re going to have a baby.”
If she’d balled her hand into a fist and socked him in the belly, he would not have gone any whiter. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Surprise and disappointment overtook her. His reaction was not what she’d expected. Maybe it was the shock. The swing rocked when she hopped up to fetch the errant magazine and push it in his face. “Ouch, my leg is tingling again. It’s one of the signs.”
His hand covered his mouth, but she could see him smile. “Sweetheart . . . ,” he managed before he threw back his head, nearly choking with laughter.
“What, pray tell, is the matter with you, Simon Corbett?” She rushed to the steps, her leg on fire, and sank down to bury her face against Paw-paw’s furry head. “I don’t find this one bit funny!”
Simon leaned down behind her, cupped her elbows in his hands, and lifted her to her feet. “Let’s go inside. This conversation begs a moment’s privacy.”
Simon led Copper into his study and settled her in his favorite reading chair. Pulling the hassock close, he took a seat. “I’m sorry I laughed at you,” he said, leaning toward her. “That was unkind and I did not mean to be, but, dearest, you cannot learn about female complaints from a silly magazine.”
“It seems I cannot learn them anywhere,” Copper replied, feeling humiliated and near tears. “Married people have babies, so how do you know we’re not having one? Tell me that.”
In a gesture all too familiar to her, Simon took off his spectacles, cleaned them, and set them back on his nose. He was giving himself time to think.
He pushed back the hassock, stood, and cleared his throat. Taking a few steps away, he looked at her sternly. “I have a few questions to ask. Some might make you uncomfortable, but they are necessary if I am to determine the state of your health.”
“Simon Corbett, I am not your patient, and you will not treat me so. Either you sit with me and ask your questions as my husband or I will make an appointment with Dr. Thornsberry.”
He sat and took Copper’s hands in his. His knees touched hers as he gently guided her through a maze of embarrassing symptoms, none of which she had.
“I’m sorry,” Simon said at last. “I hope you are not disappointed.”
“I am a little,” Copper answered, “but I still don’t understand why I’m not having a baby. Is it because we haven’t been married long enough?”
He stroked her face. “You are the dearest thing in the world to me. I want so badly to protect your innocence, but in my need I have denied your own.”
Standing, Simon turned a key in the one bookcase he still kept locked against her and retrieved a leather-bound tome. “When you have finished reading chapter 9, come to me and we will talk more.”
Stroking the burgundy cover, she took in the book’s inky scent. Seemed to her even roses didn’t smell as good as books. Her shoulders squared, she sat up straight as the pages fell open to chapter 9: “Nursing and Midwifery.” Simon was trusting her with this knowledge, and she felt humbled. They’d come so far, she and Simon.
Lost in the book, she’d read well past the chapter he’d bidden her to when he came back in and lit the lamp. Outside the open windows, twilight turned to night. A persistent cricket struck up his band of brothers in a raucous serenade, but she paid no attention, caught up as she was in Simon’s book. He didn’t laugh again but answered her every question and told her stories of some of his patients, of deliveries gone well and deliveries gone bad.
Fascinated, she couldn’t get enough. To think of God’s design. Her soul stirred with a knowing sent straight from her heavenly Father. She must be a part of this somehow. She must. “Could I be a doctor? Might I bring babies into the world?”
Simon’s honest face clouded, and he strode about the room as he studied the issue. She knew he didn’t want to disappoint her. “I think not,” he said finally. “It just wouldn’t be proper.”
Copper was determined not to beg, so she sat quietly, watching as he closed the windows and tidied up the room. If her desire was meant to be, God would work out the details. It gave her pleasure when she saw that Simon didn’t lock the bookcase against her after he put the heavy book back in its proper place.
He studied the room as if he hoped for more chores to do before he knelt at her feet and took her hand in his. “Sometimes I fear it is my destiny to lose you in one way or another.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, frightened by the thought. “Don’t you know I love you? Don’t you know I’d never leave you?”
He leaned forward and kissed her with a kiss so full of longing she thought she might swoon. “I want to keep you as I found you,” he said. “I want to be enough for you.”
“Simon . . . ,” she started but stopped and giggled. “Remember the night you first saw me? My dress was torn. My feet were bare. I had blood on my face from sucking copperhead’s venom from my little brother’s wound, and I smelled from the clabber Mam splashed all over me when Willy came screaming from the woods. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
He pulled her up, then took the chair and reached out for her. “Ah,” he sighed as he began to tease the pins and combs from her hair, “that night.”
It seemed his sigh transported them both back to Troublesome Creek, back to the fateful night they first met. They sat in silence for a moment, each remembering what had transpired the night he, a stranger, had stepped onto the porch of the house where Copper’s little brother Daniel lay still as death. Simon would admit he was smitten, love at first sight. And Copper would concede that Simon mesmerized her, though it had taken some time for her to truly love him. If she searched her heart, she would have to admit there were still days when she wished she’d never left that little cabin on the creek.
Simon’s arms tightened around her, claiming her, as if he knew her thoughts.
She turned in his arms and asked, “You don’t want a baby, do you?”
“Someday, sweetheart. Someday. Let me keep you to myself for just a little longer.”
Searcy stood in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee to perk. The heat of the warming pot felt good to her hands, for the late September morning held a chill that warned of the winter to come. It was the day of Copper’s dinner party for her friend Isaac, and Searcy was thinking of the ham soaking in a lard bucket beside the stove. She needed to pour the water off and replace it with fresh yet again so it wouldn’t be too salty when she baked it. Soon enough, right after breakfast, she thought as she opened the back door. Then them beaten biscuits needs starting.
She discovered a pasteboard box as she reached for the broom to sweep the porch. What was a dirty old box doing on her clean porch? Full of cats, she figured, hearing the mewling sound coming from inside the box with its crisscrossed flaps. Wonder if Mr. Doctor wants to pick one for the barn before Reuben gunnysacks the rest. Best take care of them before Miz Corbett sees. Else we be having cats living in the kitchen, sleeping on the beds, they long tails twining round Searcy’s legs.
She swept around the box, clearing the fallen leaves that had collected on the porch overnight. “Don’t know why folks can’t take care of they own discards.”
A shimmer of leaves fell outside the window as Copper sat at the table eating her breakfast. Pale gold, bright red, and jeweled orange offerings so beautiful she knew she had to have a bouquet for t
he dining room, a centerpiece for the supper she was having for Isaac.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Simon and Searcy. “I have to have some of those leaves.”
“But your breakfast be getting cold,” Searcy said, moving in front of the door. “What if Searcy gets them leaves for you?”
“Oh no, thank you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on them. They are so beautiful.” Copper pushed open the door and laughed as leaves flew into the room.
As she stepped out to greet the shower, she heard Searcy say apologetically, “Forgot all about that box of cats, Mr. Doctor. We in trouble now.”
An unassuming box sat there like an unopened gift, a little sound of distress leaking out its seams. Leaves and bits of debris swirled around it from the wind. “Cats?” Copper heard Simon say as she knelt before the box. She wouldn’t mind a kitten or two. Tugging, she popped open the top flaps. “Oh, my word, Simon! Come quick!”
“What is it?” he asked as he hurried out to the porch and leaned over her shoulder. “Run and get my bag!”
In a flash she was back to meet him at the kitchen door as he came inside with the bundle of bloody rags. “Get me the suction bulb and a towel,” he said.
The baby was slick with what looked like lard, and it gurgled instead of crying. Simon turned it upside down and smacked its tiny fanny. He wrapped it in the towel and dried it with vigorous strokes. “My goodness. Where did you come from?”
Soon Simon had the baby dried and wrapped in clean towels. He laid the little thing in a dishpan and set it on the open oven door to keep warm. “Searcy, we’ll need a wet nurse.”
“Reuben will go,” she answered. “Janie Mark will be glad to come. She got milk enough for hers and twenty more.”
“Tell Janie she’ll get paid,” Simon replied.
“Probably won’t take nothing. She been praising you for weeks, Mr. Doctor. Ever since you delivered her upside-down baby.”
“Janie’s baby was breech. A stubborn little thing,” Simon told Copper. “Go on then, Searcy, and tell Reuben. We’ll need Janie soon.”
“Didn’t I tell you we were going to have a baby?” Copper gushed as soon as she and Simon were alone in the room with a dishpan full of newborn.
“Copper,” Simon said so sternly that she knew he meant business, “I will say this only once. This is not our baby nor will it be. We will care for it and see to a proper placement, but we will not keep it.”
“But, Simon—”
“This is not open to discussion.”
Peeling back the towels covering the tiny body, Copper asked, “But who will take him? Who will take a baby with just one arm?”
At noon, when Simon returned from the office, his kitchen was restored to order. He smelled country ham baking and saw Copper at the kitchen table rolling biscuit dough. A smidgen of flour dotted her cheek. Searcy basted the ham. Janie Mark sat in a rocker near the stove, and her face broke into a wide grin when he walked into the room.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said. “Janie, it’s good to see you.”
Janie didn’t say a word, just kept rocking and smiling, two babies—her own and the foundling—tucked in her ample arms.
“Copper?” He opened the dining room door, and she followed him from the steamy kitchen.
With one thumb, he wiped the flour from her face, and then he pulled her into the circle of his arms. “Are you all right? Finding the baby was quite a shock for you this morning.”
“I’m not an egg. I won’t break.” She leaned back and looked up at him. “Once Janie got here, everything fell into place. But we’ve been as busy as bees.”
He took his place at the table, where a full plate sat waiting for him. Copper poured cold water into his glass. “Aren’t you eating?” he asked, picking up his fork.
“I’ve been nibbling all morning. Hester came over to help out and brought two lemon meringue pies Mallie made.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to have Hester and her mother here on Isaac’s first night?” Simon asked. “He’ll not be able to get a word in edgewise.”
“I thought Hester could keep an eye on Alice. Someone will need to keep your sister from drowning.”
Simon sat there, dumbfounded. “Drowning?”
“You know, like turkeys in the rain. They throw their heads back so far they’ll drown in a downpour. Alice is kind of like that, don’t you think? With her nose always so far in the air?”
Simon just shook his head as she rambled on.
“Anyway, I’m not hungry because I couldn’t wait to try Mallie’s pie. We each had a slice, even Searcy, though she fussed the whole time she ate. It was such fun—a kitchen full of women and babies. It reminded me of John Pelfrey’s house when I was growing up.” She sighed. “His mother was constantly cooking or baking, and it seemed like there was always a new baby.”
“I wonder if he’s forgiven me,” Simon said softly.
Copper took a chair beside him, leaning forward on her elbows. “What do you mean?”
“John Pelfrey. I wonder if he’s forgiven me for stealing you away.”
Her thumb rubbed the back of his hand. “John could never bear a grudge. All he cared about was my happiness.”
“Are you, sweetheart? Are you happy?”
“Most times I am,” she replied. “And always when I’m with you. . . . Now eat. I need to set this table for supper. I want everything to look nice for Isaac.”
Dressed in a dark rose alpaca shirtwaist and skirt, Copper stood fretting at the front door. She fiddled with the sheer frill of lace that adorned her collar and turned to the mirrored hall tree to check her hair for the umpteenth time. Smoothing an errant curl, she tucked it into the French braid Hester had plaited for her. They’d had such fun dressing each other’s hair that afternoon while Searcy finished cooking and Janie fed the babies.
Copper was beside herself with anticipation. Isaac should be here any moment. She hadn’t seen any of her family since June. Isaac was as close as kin. He knew all her folks; she knew all his.
“Oh my, here he is,” she called toward Searcy in the kitchen. “He’s handing off his horse to Reuben. I can’t wait any longer.”
She flew out the door, screen slamming behind her, jumped down the steps, and flung herself into Isaac’s waiting arms. “Isaac! Oh, Isaac! Stand still and let me smell the mountain air that clings to you.”
He grabbed her in a bear hug and swung her around and around the yard. “Let me look at you, girl.” He held her at arm’s length. “Pretty as a picture.” He kissed her on each cheek, then swept her around again.
Overcome, she began to cry. “I’ve missed you all so much.” She fished an embroidered hankie from her sleeve and patted her cheeks dry. Words tumbled out with sobs. “Tell me everything. Is Daddy really better like Mam says? How big are Daniel and Willy? And John Pelfrey—does anyone hear from John?”
“Hold up, Copper.” Isaac put a finger to her lips and laughed his great booming laugh. “Let me dust this red clay dirt off my pants and scrape my boots so I don’t dirty up your rugs. My, little girl—” he paused—“appears you’ve done right well for yourself.”
She watched him take in the two-storied house with its many windows and large front porch, the soft blue wooden siding set off by pristine white gingerbread trim, and the formal front garden with its meandering brick path and splashing fountain. “Isaac, I’d trade this quick as a cat—” she made a sweeping motion toward the house and gardens—“for the roughest cabin up any holler on Troublesome.”
“Enough talking on the sidewalk.” He slapped dust from his gray felt hat. “Where’s the well house? I need to wash up some, and I sure could do with a long, cool drink of water.”
“You come on in the house. Searcy and I have your room all ready. There’s sweet tea with ice waiting for you. Hurry and clean up, though. I want to visit with you before Hester and our guests get here for supper.”
“Hester? What have you gone and done?” Is
aac stroked his bushy black beard.
“Don’t fret. We’re just having a little party to celebrate your coming. Now let me show you to your room.”
The day had turned warm, and Copper waited on the porch for Isaac.
Finally Isaac, freshly washed, dressed in a faded but clean black suit, his worn boots polished to a sheen, joined her in the swing. “Girl,” he began, putting one arm around her and pulling her close, “I’m happy as a coon in a holler log to be here with you. It’s amazing. One day you’re setting on the porch on Troublesome Creek, and next thing you know you’re in Lexington. Thank the good Lord for fast horses.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Before we catch up on home folks, tell me about your own sweet self.”
They spent a good hour exchanging information. Isaac heard of Copper’s escapades. Copper learned that Daniel had fully recovered from the snake bite that nearly crippled him over a year ago. Willy was taller; Mam was the same; Daddy’s cough was no worse. They had been packing for their move when Isaac left. Hard to picture Will Brown in the big city of Philadelphia. And, yes, Mrs. Pelfrey had received several postcards from John.
“You know, Copper,” Isaac said, “you just about broke John’s heart when you left. He will pine over you as long as he lives.”
“Please don’t say that.” Copper dropped her head and wove her handkerchief through her fingers. “He was probably glad to see me go. John had plans of his own.”
“Did he ever. Who would have thought he’d leave the mountains? Now he’s off somewhere on a merchant ship, last I heard.”
They sat for a moment in companionable silence, watching the activity up and down the street. A carriage pulled into the drive next door, and a small boy with a stick chased a hoop down the middle of the road while a fat-bellied puppy tried to keep up.
“It’s busy here, isn’t it?” Isaac’s question answered itself.
“Too busy. Too noisy,” Copper replied. “I miss the peace and quiet of the mountains.”
“But you’re happy, aren’t you? You wouldn’t really go back, would you?”
