Willow Springs

by Jan Watson

  “That gives me comfort.” She captured Reuben’s hand between her mittens. He didn’t pull away, just put his other hand over hers and patted.

  Copper bent her head and kissed the matted fur of her loyal companion. She couldn’t imagine a day without Paw-paw. “Life is hard, Reuben.”

  “It be’s that way sometimes.” He lifted the dog from her arms. “It sure be’s that way sometimes.”

  Copper settled back inside the carriage on her way to the Tollivers’. She held a basket of foodstuffs on her lap, and a can of milk rested at her feet.

  She leaned forward when they passed Alice’s house. Three weeks had passed since the incident in the closet, and Copper had visited nearly every day. Alice turned everyone else away. Gossip was Alice had the vapors. Nobody bothered a woman with the vapors. Even Simon didn’t question it. Men could be dense sometimes. Alice was venturing out today, however. The hospital auxiliary was electing officers, and everyone expected Alice to be president.

  Copper had sent her regrets. She had other things on her mind. When had she last seen Andy? In her concern over Alice had she neglected Marydell and Dodie?

  The crooked, unpaved streets and narrow alleyways of Lexington’s other side were as familiar now as her own neighborhood. This was where, nine times out of ten, their patients lived. Seemed it was always deep in the night when the knock on the door came for Simon. Something about the dark frightened laboring women. They could walk off pain all day or deliver twins with only the help of a neighbor, but when night settled in, fear intensified pain, and panic crowded out faith in their own ability. Simon trusted Copper to do the follow-up care for his new mothers, and she loved doing it.

  Andy’s house was closed up tight. Not a window was cracked even in this heat. Reuben helped Copper down and carried the tin of milk to the stoop.

  Carefully, Copper set the eggs down before she knocked. Expecting something sinister, she was pleasantly surprised when Andy opened the door. He looked just fine. She was getting jaded, always expecting the worst.

  “Hey, Miz Corbett,” he said.

  “Hi, Andy. I thought I might take Marydell and Dodie to the park if it’s all right with your mother. Would you like to go with us?”

  Dodie ran to the door smiling, her arms in the air.

  Swinging her up, Copper kissed her surprisingly clean cheek. Annalise must have turned over a new leaf. The little girl smelled of sun-dried diapers and talcum powder. Her ever-present baby bottle sparkled. Where did Andy get milk if he wasn’t coming by the house? Something smelled, and it wasn’t Dodie’s diaper. “Where’s Marydell?”

  Andy cut his gaze away from Copper’s stare. “She’s gone with Ma.”

  “Reuben says you haven’t been by for milk all week.”

  He stared at his shoes. “I been coming by late and taking some from the springhouse. I didn’t think you’d mind. Miz Reardon watches Dodie if I ain’t gone too long.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re here alone with Dodie.”

  “Miz Corbett—” he squared his shoulders and met her eyes—“there’s things I cain’t tell you.”

  “I’m your friend. I’d like to help if something’s wrong.”

  His shoulders slumped. Fat tears spilled down his cheeks and washed away his boyish pride. “She left us. Ma just up and left, and she took Marydell with her.”

  “But how—why?” Shocked, Copper stumbled into the small kitchen. She sat in a straight-backed chair and held Dodie in her lap. “How long has she been gone?”

  “Two weeks, I figure. At first I didn’t count ’cause it didn’t seem right somehow—counting the days your ma’d been gone.”

  Copper searched her mind. She’d have to choose her words with care. “Looks like you’ve been doing a good job here. Why, Dodie’s cheeks are as fat as a chipmunk’s.”

  Dodie popped the bottle nipple from her mouth, then laughed from deep in her belly and popped it again.

  Andy’s shoulders rose a notch. “I been cleaning and putting things away.”

  “I can see that you have, but don’t you need some help with the baby?”

  “Dodie’s my responsibility now.”

  Copper saw that the boy was desperate to keep his little family together. He needed a man’s advice. She’d take him home to Simon. “Who’s doing your work while you’re keeping Dodie? Who is delivering groceries for Mr. Cook? And who’s doing errands for the undertaker? You must be missed all over town.”

  “I expect you’re right.” He took Dodie from Copper and sat her on his hip. “But Dodie comes first.”

  “What if you and Dodie stay at my house for a while? Just until we get this all straightened out. Besides, there’re a million things Dr. Corbett needs your help with.”

  “I’ll think on it. I sure thank you for coming by.”

  Copper made her way to the door. “I’ll stop by again tomorrow. Maybe you’d let me sit with Dodie for a while.”

  It was the hardest thing she’d ever done, turning her back on Andy and Dodie. Simon was out in the country, she knew, doing patient rounds. It would be evening before he got home—a long time to wait. All the way back to Willow Street she prayed for God’s protection over the children and for guidance.

  Simon was as perplexed as Copper when she told him the story of Annalise. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said, dropping his shoes to the floor. “Why would she leave Andy and Dodie? Why would she take Marydell?”

  “I don’t know,” Copper responded, following him to the lavatory, where he soaped and rinsed his face. “Why would she?”

  Ever the surgeon, he leaned toward the mirror, precisely trimming his mustache. She got no answer, just a raising of his eyebrows.

  Her nightgown billowed around her as she sat on the edge of the claw-foot tub watching the tidy movement of his hands. It seemed he never wasted a motion. Always meticulous, he caught each dark hair in a towel as it fell. Unbidden, her finger traced her upper lip, where his mustache tickled each time he kissed her.

  “Dearest?” Simon asked as his eyes met hers in the reflection of the looking glass.

  Copper dropped her gaze. “We need to talk about Annalise and the children.”

  “Can’t that wait until morning?”

  Standing, she walked through the open door into their bedroom. “I reckon it can,” she answered as he followed close behind. “I reckon it can.”

  The front door stood open when Copper and Simon came downstairs at half past six the next morning. The seesaw squeak of the porch swing accompanied a pair of little brown shoes that sailed in and out of vision through the screen door.

  “You got company,” Searcy said with a nod toward the door.

  “Indeed we do,” Simon replied as they stepped out to the porch. “Good morning, Andy.”

  “Dodie here wanted to visit,” Andy said.

  Dodie sat curled against her brother, her thumb in her mouth, her eyes shut tight in sleep.

  Simon scooped her up. “How’d you get here, Andy?”

  “Walked,” he answered. “We started early.”

  “Looks like we need a couple of extra eggs this fine morning, Searcy.”

  “They already cracked, Mr. Doctor.” Searcy held the screen door open. “Bring them children on inside.”

  As they sat at the table, Dodie shoved biscuits and gravy into her mouth with both hands. Delighted to wake in their company, she worked the room with her brown eyes, fluttering her eyelashes at Simon and tracking Searcy’s every move.

  She might not be the prettiest little girl, Copper thought, but she’s got a spark. How could Annalise leave this sweet baby?

  Andy ate very little, sitting ill at ease in the kitchen where he’d always seemed like a happy-go-lucky boy. A boy full of answers to the problems life had dealt him. Copper’s heart ached. What were they to do?

  Following breakfast, Simon took his coffee mug and headed for the backyard. “Let’s check out the garden, Andy. Reuben might need your help out th
ere.”

  Andy stopped at Dodie’s chair as if to take her with him.

  “Searcy and I would like to visit with Dodie for a while, if that’s okay with you,” Copper said.

  There was no mistaking the relief that crossed Andy’s face. “I expect Dodie would like that. And I’m way behind in my chores.” He straightened, hitched up his britches, and swaggered after Simon. “I expect Reuben will need help with the planting.”

  Copper and Searcy were mixing pickling spices, and Dodie was down for a nap before Simon and Andy came back in. Simon’s hand rested on Andy’s shoulder. Out the window, Copper could see Reuben bringing up the horses.

  “Andy and I will be gone for a few days.” Simon’s eyes looked determined and hard, but they softened when he met Copper’s gaze. “We’ve got a man’s job to do.”

  It was fun having Dodie to play with while Simon and Andy were gone. Early one morning Copper left Dodie in Searcy’s care while she went to Massey’s Mercantile and bought every dress of Dodie’s size in the store. Her heels clicked importantly on the well-oiled wooden floor as Mr. Massey trailed her up and down the wide aisles. Pausing now and then before glass-fronted cabinets, Copper also selected several sets of children’s soft knit chemisette tops and full-cut muslin drawers, white and dark hosiery, various hair ribbons, and even a wee buttoned corset waist of cotton twill with garters to hold Dodie’s stockings up.

  “Did you see these?” Mr. Massey asked, holding up the tiniest pair of white leather pumps with ankle straps.

  Copper fished in her shopping bag for the pasteboard cutout she’d made of Dodie’s foot. “Do you have this size?”

  Mr. Massey set several small boxes on the counter. Holding the cutout, he matched it to the bottom of one shoe. “This is perfect, but you better take one size up. Children’s feet grow faster than weeds.”

  Soon Mr. Massey had the whole lot wrapped in brown paper packages tied with string. “Good day, Mrs. Corbett. I’ll have these sent round this afternoon.”

  “I’ll take one with me,” Copper replied. She couldn’t wait to see Dodie all dressed up.

  The baby was in the bath when Copper got home. Searcy had a dishpan on the kitchen table and was scrubbing away.

  Plopping down in a chair, Copper laughed along with Dodie as Searcy got soaking wet.

  “This here little girl needs some training, Miz Corbett,” Searcy said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, she’s near two years old, and she still be acting like a baby. Time to pitch her diapers and that bottle.”

  Copper frowned. “You’re right. I guess it was easier for Annalise to treat her like a baby than to take the time to train her. Where should we start?”

  “I taken the liberty of borrowing this little chair.” Searcy indicated a child-size wooden commode chair sitting in the corner. “Dodie visited it once already. She a smart little thing, given half a chance.”

  Copper took the towel and wrapped Dodie in her arms. “You’re a marvel, Searcy.”

  “Suppose her mama’s coming back?”

  Resting her chin on top of Dodie’s sweet-smelling head, Copper answered, “I’ve had a sinking feeling ever since they left. I wish Simon hadn’t gone off after her. I wish he’d sent the law instead.”

  “Don’t you expect Mr. Doctor think he had to take Andy? Reckon he thought the boy needed to see the truth of the matter.”

  “I know you’re right,” Copper replied, fiddling with Dodie’s wispy brown hair. “But I’m worried all the same.” Retrieving a purple ribbon from her package, she tried mightily to get a bow to cling to Dodie’s locks, but as soon as she tied a knot it slipped right out. “This is not going to work, Miss Priss,” she said as Dodie wiggled out of her arms. “But we can still dress you up.”

  After Searcy had Dodie visit the pot again, Copper slipped on her little undergarments and wrestled her feet into the new white pumps. Surprisingly, Dodie held up her arms for the floral organdy frock with chemisette yoke Copper had selected. “She has to see herself, Searcy. Let’s take her upstairs.”

  Dodie marched right up to the cheval glass and pointed at her reflection. “Pretty baby,” she said.

  And pretty she was. The blue dress with white lace trim was perfect for her. Copper couldn’t help but laugh when the little girl held up first one foot and then the other as if showing her new shoes to the child in the mirror.

  “I can’t stand it,” Copper said. “I have to show her off. I’m going to try that ribbon one more time; then we’re going to visit Alice.” That Copper even thought of visiting her sister-in-law spoke volumes about the turn their relationship had taken. For the first time since her arrival in Lexington, Copper felt welcome in Alice’s home. She just made sure to visit when Benton was unlikely to be there.

  Now she’d have to be doubly careful. Taking Dodie was a risk, but if she and Andy were going to be living with Copper and Simon, her sister-in-law would have to see them. There was no way around it. Besides, Alice didn’t have to know about Annalise. She and Simon would keep the secret, and Benton would never tell. It would be best, Copper convinced herself, to just show up with Dodie.

  Dodie did her best to show off for Alice. She twirled around to make her dress stand out and tapped across the floor in her new shoes. Finally, exhausted, she accepted the pallet Copper had made for her on the floor of the dining room and drifted off to sleep while Alice poured tea.

  “She is a charming little girl,” Alice said, slicing a piece of lemon pound cake for Copper. “Tell me more about her circumstance.”

  The story of Annalise and the children tumbled out. Of course, Alice knew Andy. Everyone knew Andy. Copper thought she saw a glint of recognition when she mentioned Annalise Tolliver, but obviously Alice had no notion of the girls. Why would she? Annalise was not the type of woman Alice would want to know very well.

  “I have a suspicion,” Alice started. She stopped herself and asked instead, “When do you expect Simon home?”

  “Soon, I hope.” Copper put down her fork. The cake tasted strangely metallic. “Oh, Alice, I’m worried that something bad will happen.”

  “It’s not like you to worry over nothing, Laura Grace. I’m sure Simon can take care of himself and the boy.”

  “I know. It’s just . . .” Copper felt tears well up. “I don’t know why I’m feeling like this.”

  “It’s the strain,” Alice replied. “You’ve been left in an untenable position. Hopefully these children’s mother will do the right thing by them.”

  “That’s just it.” Copper pushed her cake aside. “I don’t know what the right thing is. I’ve prayed and prayed about it. I know God will reveal His perfect plan for them. I sure hope I get to be part of it.”

  “I’m sure it’s wise to leave it in His hands. It would be best if they go to their mother in Ohio or wherever it is that Simon finds her.” Alice folded her napkin and stood. “Please excuse me for a moment.”

  The sound of Alice’s swishing skirt mingled with the baby’s soft snores as Copper stared at her teacup. Even tea tasted funny. Whatever was the matter with her?

  A man’s voice startled her from her reverie and wakened the little girl from her nest in the corner. Dodie stretched and began her trek across the room.

  Benton Upchurch burst in. “Where’s Alice?”

  Dodie smiled and made her way toward him. “Hiben,” she crowed. “Hiben.” The toe of her new shoe snagged on a wrinkle in the plush Turkish rug, and Dodie nearly fell.

  Benton had no choice but to catch her. He swung her up in his arms as if he held a baby every day.

  Dodie rewarded him with a crooked smile and the purple ribbon she clutched in her fist. “Pretty baby,” she sang. “Pretty baby.” The ribbon she stuck on Benton’s bald pate sat there reproachfully, as out of place as a teacup on safari.

  “‘Hi, Ben,’ indeed,” Alice said as she entered the room, her face white.

  “Alice,” he said, “what’s going on here?”<
br />
  “Perhaps you should tell me.” Her voice was tight as her hands found a resting place on her hips.

  “I would say it’s your little sister-in-law here making trouble again,” Benton said.

  “Wait a minute,” Copper interjected, but they paid her no mind.

  Benton swung away from Alice, Dodie still in his arms.

  “Trouble!” Alice hissed. “You think Laura Grace is causing trouble! Look on the wall, Benton. Your very ancestors reveal your secrets.”

  The room spun as Copper watched the scene play out. Benton held a baby whose round, nearly bald head and jug ears exactly matched those of a series of distinguished bankers captured in oils.

  “Alice—” he started toward her—“believe me; I didn’t know.”

  “Huh,” Alice snorted. “How could you look at her and not know? I knew before I even saw you holding her.”

  Copper felt sick. Her suspicion was true. She had been so wrong to bring Dodie here, to think Alice wouldn’t know.

  “Things have been so much better between us these last few weeks,” Benton pleaded. “Surely you can forgive this indiscretion, this mere dalliance.”

  “A mere dalliance doesn’t produce a child. Did you think I was unaware of your goings-on?” Alice’s cheeks flushed. She stalked toward Benton as if she carried a loaded a gun.

  Suddenly Copper remembered the jewelry casket splayed against the wall. What would happen next?

  Dodie held out her arms, and Alice took the little girl, snuggling her tight. As if aware her future hung in the balance, Dodie laid her head in the crook of Alice’s neck, and one little hand reached up to pat Alice’s cheek.

  “I want this baby,” Alice said simply.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Benton’s face turned red. He flung his arms about and shouted, “People will talk. Think of my reputation.”

  “I’ve lived your reputation for fifteen years.” Alice’s voice ran cold as springwater. She paced the room, rocking the child in her arms. “For what? The only person who cared for me in my time of need was Laura Grace, the woman I despised for fear she’d ruin that reputation.”