The Visitor - Colorado 1869 - 1871

by Barbara Svetlick

  “She’s asking for James. I think this time I’ll wait out here.” He poured a shot and sat back. “Where’s Matthew?”

  “He went down to see his mother.”

  “Great…anyone else feel that it is necessary to be in the room with her.” Dominic tried to shake the sound of the drums but he had long ago learned when Matthew connected with his mother that he couldn’t block them out. He poured a shot and imagined the entire Choctaw nation in the birthing room.

  James stood up and told Dominic he needed to send for the doctor and keep his comments to himself because she hadn’t done anything to warrant his attitude. Dominic told James his opinion wasn’t needed and the last time he checked Mirisa was his wife.

  No one saw James draw back as his fist caught Dominic on the chin knocking him against the couch. “Just send for the damn doctor.”

  Meeks poured a shot and walked out to the veranda knowing that Dominic couldn’t help but hurt her. James walked into the room as she was having a contraction so he sent Matthew to the library. He washed his hands as Jasmine handed him a towel. The labor progressed fast as she gave birth to the first baby. They tied him off then Jasmine took him cleaning off the mucus as he let out an angry cry surprising everyone but Mirisa. James felt her stomach and told her that the other baby had not dropped yet. They cleaned her up and Mrs. Chauvin carried the baby down to the library. Dominic looked at her as she entered the room.

  Matthew stood up on the couch and looked at the little face. “Allunsi nakni.”

  Garnett looked at the baby. “Matthew what does that mean.”

  “Little warrior.” Matthew closed his eyes and touched Jonathan’s hand causing the baby to become calm.

  Dominic looked from his son to Mrs. Chauvin who nodded then handed the baby to Dominic. He had coal black hair and looked more like Dominic than Matthew.

  James came back in and they all looked at him. “It will be a while before the second baby.” He looked at the baby and smiled. “He looks very healthy and I think is about the same size as Matthew. Have you picked out a name?”

  “We haven’t talked about it.” Dominic was so overwhelmed with just holding him. He took Matthew’s hand and walked back down to the birthing room. Matthew climbed up on the bed as Dominic put the baby in her arms and sat down next to her. Jasmine finally came out to get James as Dominic took his son’s hand and went down to the kitchen since no one had served dinner.

  They served a light dinner on the veranda and James came out and sat down. “She’s sleeping.” The doctor came out rolling down his sleeves.

  “Mirisa is tired but doing fine and the baby has moved down but I think it will be a few hours before she delivers. I’m very concerned with the size of the second baby and I think you should be prepared for the worse.” Dominic asked if he wanted dinner but the doctor told him that unfortunately he had three babies demanding to come into the world but that he would be back in the morning unless something happened then they could find him at the Carter home.

  Jasmine came back out before midnight and told James that Mirisa wanted him. When he walked into the room, she was in the middle of a mild contraction and Meeks was sitting with her.

  “I thought you went to bed.”

  Meeks stood up. When it passed Mirisa put her hand on James arm and told him that the baby was coming. James was surprised at how tiny she was compared to her brother. James cleared out her mouth as she whimpered. He held her up and placed her on Mirisa’s stomach as Meeks tied off and cut the cord. She weighed no more than five pounds with soft silky white hair and her mother’s pouty little lips. Jasmine cleaned her, wrapped her in a birthing cloth and laid her in Meeks’ arms. He pulled back the blanket and then kissed her forehead before laying her in Mirisa’s arms. Meeks kissed Mirisa and left the room. James decided to leave Mirisa with the women and went back out onto the veranda.

  Dominic looked at him. “Is she alright?”

  James poured a shot and raised his glass. “We now have our first girl.”

  Garnett watched as Dominic headed down the hall. “I never thought about a girl. Hopefully she doesn’t look like Dominic.”

  “She resembles her mother and has the prettiest little face with silky blonde hair and a tiny strawberry birthmark behind her ear. I don’t think she weighs more than four or five pounds but she is absolutely gorgeous.”

  Mrs. Chauvin made Mirisa drink a cup of tea which put her into a deep sleep. They put the baby in with her brother and turned down the lanterns as Jasmine cleaned up the room. Matthew stood at the cradle and rocked it slowly. “Daddy she’s so little.” Dominic watched his son for a moment then told him they needed to let them sleep.

  Mirisa rose early to feed the babies then walked up to the third floor chambers and took a long bath changing into a simple dress and braiding her hair. She opened the doors to the porch and stepped out. This birth was surprisingly easier than when she had Matthew. Mirisa went downstairs checking in Matthew’s room which was empty so she stepped out onto the veranda. Jasmine brought out a tray of toast and sweet tea. They talked for a while about whether Jasmine would be willing to return to Texas with her and the twins for at least the first year.

  Mirisa finally stood and walked into the garden knowing that moving would help her heal faster. Dog suddenly appeared next to her followed by her son. She talked to him as he took her hand and they walked into the field as the cool wind playfully washed across the wild flowers causing clouds of pollen. Matthew picked the smaller flowers and told her they were for his new sister. Garnett was sitting on the railing remembering their first trip to Colorado where every time you turned around they were walking through the flowers. Dog started barking loudly as all four of them stood and scanned the area. Matthew broke away from his mother and was chasing something in the thick grasses as Dog playfully barked trying to trap whatever had caught his attention. Mirisa watched as Matthew leaped then rolled through the flowers coming up with a little white rabbit. He brought it over to his mother as she sat down in the grass and Dog lay down next to her.

  “Chukfi. I don’t know the word for white yet.”

  Mirisa smiled for he had been learning the language from Jasmine and was learning to understand it faster than speaking it.

  Dominic finally whistled and all three turned. Mirisa handed the rabbit back to Matthew who talked to it before letting it go. He waited for his mother to stand back up before he kissed her and took off running toward the house with Dog at his heels.

  It was a beautiful fall day and after Mirisa put the babies back to sleep she sat in the rocking chair closing her eyes. She turned when she heard Meeks come into the nursery. He walked over to the cradle bent over and slowly picked up his daughter cradling her before he turned to Mirisa.

  “She’s beautiful.”

  Mirisa smiled. “She looks like you.”

  “Is she supposed to be so small?”

  “The doctor said she is breathing well and has finally started eating. What would you like to name her?”

  “Isn’t that something you should decide?”

  “No.”

  He looked at the baby who was so tiny that her fingers wouldn’t even reach around one of his fingers. “Maggie.”

  “Is that short for Margaret?”

  “Magdalene. It was my mother’s name.”

  “It goes well with Jonathan’s name.”

  Meeks nodded then put her back in the cradle next to Jonathan. Maggie pulled up her knees and put her thumb in her mouth sucking. He walked over and knelt down next to Mirisa taking her hand in his before he looked into her eyes. “Are you returning to Texas?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Does Dominic tell everyone what goes on between us?”

  “You know there’s no real privacy with us.”

  “I’m going back and Jasmine has agreed to return with us until the children are old enough that I can handle them without help.”

  “You have decided to stay with Dominic?”

/>   She put her hand on his face. “I’ve decided to return to Texas because I miss all of you so much and Matthew needs to be with his father. This year without him has been very hard on my son. But mostly because I want her to bond with you and I can’t do that if we live so far apart.”

  “Has Dominic said anything?”

  “He said if we are going to make the marriage work that I have to promise to stay away from you.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Wait for me.”

  “I promise.” He kissed her then headed down to the stable where James was saddling his horse.

  Meeks and James headed for Jackson to handle business. They were gone for several days and during that time Garnett drew up a new will and documents for Dominic. Garnett discussed the archaic tradition of leaving an estate only to the male children but Dominic said that his family had always passed the Plantation down to the oldest son until his father died at which time his two older brothers were not interested and signed over the Plantation to him. Garnett knew that Dominic was very humbled to have two sons who would inherit the family home but Dominic still didn’t understand the importance of their mother’s love because he never experienced that type of love. When Dominic refused to discuss Maggie, Garnett knew that he was aware who had slept with Mirisa. Even though it was easy to pretend that Maggie took after Mirisa, she had a lot of Meeks’ characteristics.

  Dominic stayed at the Plantation two extra weeks as James, Garnett and Meeks headed back to Texas. When Dominic and Mirisa finally arrived at the house, they fell back into their normal routines but there was so much that wasn’t spoken or acknowledged. Dominic avoided Mirisa as much as possible and yet he longed to just pull her into his arms. He asked her for time to deal with everything but they both knew that the year apart had done too much damage.

  The weather was warm despite being December so Mirisa decided to take advantage of it and wash her horse. She was coming out of the river on her Bay when a strange woman came up on horseback. They talked for several minutes then the woman left heading south along the river. Mirisa slid off her horse and sat out on the steps thinking about her marriage and how many ways it had changed and yet remained the same. Dominic had remained polite but also distant so she just gave him room to come to terms with her indiscretion.

  Mirisa went upstairs and curled up in the rocking chair and worked at calming herself down enough to handle the evening. She fixed dinner but didn’t sit down with them to eat saying she had to feed the kids. After dinner, they all left to play cards and she slowly cleaned up the kitchen.

  “Jasmine, I need to go out for a while.”

  “I don’t think it is wise to ride alone at night.”

  “I’ll be alright.”

  Mirisa went in and put on jeans tying her hair back then strapped on her gun. She went out and saddled the Bay and headed south. She sat about a hundred yards from the card room with her entire body shaking. She knew she should turn around. Mirisa knew this more then she knew anything else. She dismounted in front of the card room and tied up her horse. Mirisa hesitated and worked hard to control her emotions and the urge to throw up.

  A couple of men came out and held the door open for her. Mirisa walked in and stood in the doorway getting her bearings. It was noisy and very smoky. Everyone stopped and looked up including the boys. She knew by the look on their faces that she didn’t have to go any further. Meeks started to get up but Garnett grabbed his arm and made him sit down.

  Mirisa looked up and Dominic was standing on the landing tying the strap of his holster around his leg. Mirisa thought he looked so relaxed, so happy and so handsome that it broke her heart. Dominic stood as the redhead who had visited Mirisa came out and put her arm around Dominic as he said something to her then he looked down and saw Mirisa. He pushed the redhead away as she smiled in that knowing way always keeping eye contact with Mirisa. James looked from the woman to Mirisa knowing that they both knew who the other was.

  Dominic came down the stairs and walked up to her as the entire bar sat silently watching. Mirisa couldn’t move, she couldn’t even think but she knew this was because of what she did. This was her punishment for Maggie.

  “Why are you here?”

  She blinked at the question and he could see she was visibly shaken. “Your girlfriend visited me today.” Mirisa took in her breath and Dominic grabbed Mirisa’s arm. Meeks came out of his chair and James stopped him. Mirisa looked up at Dominic and he immediately released her arm. She turned and left the card room. Dominic followed her and grabbed the reins as she mounted her horse.

  “I guess if I had to be punished you found the best way.” She jerked her horse and Dominic released it and she left at a gallop.

  James came out behind him and lit a cigar. “James, I want her off the property now.”

  “Who, Mirisa?”

  “No, the redhead.” James went in and talked to the Madame who immediately had her escorted off the property.

  Meeks came out, mounted his horse and left in the same direction as Mirisa. Dominic watched him but made no move to leave. Garnett came out and mounted his horse without saying a word.

  When Meeks didn’t see the Bay in the stable, he headed north knowing where to find her. Her horse was at the bottom of Buffalo Hill and she was standing at the top facing north with Dog lying at her feet. Meeks stood watching Mirisa as she put out her arms and raised her head. Dominic felt her immediately as his scar began to hurt worse than it ever had. Dog Moon got up from the fire as Conrad walked up to her. Meeks blinked when he saw the figure standing in front of her. It was there but then it wasn’t. Garnett came up and dismounted and stood next to him.

  “What’s she doing?”

  “I don’t know but I’ll never forget the look on her face.”

  Dominic and James both rode up and dismounted. Meeks looked at him then turned back to Mirisa. Dominic took off his gun, put it over the horn of his saddle and handed the reins to James before he walked up the hill. He said something to her but she didn’t respond nor did she give any indication that she even knew that he was standing there. Dominic knew that she was somewhere other than physically in front of him because he could hear the drums as though they were on the hill.

  Dog Moon took her hands and turned them over in his. He talked to her quietly as she cried. Dominic watched her knowing she was with someone but he wasn’t sure whether it was Conrad or Dog Moon. Dog Moon started the ritual and took her hand and placed it over his heart and began to heal her. Dominic felt every emotion and heard every word though he didn’t understand the language.

  Dominic came down the hill and lit a cigar. He knew there was nothing he could do but wait. As much as he wanted to hurt her for what she did, when he looked in her eyes as she stood in the card room he saw how much of a monster he really was. James handed him the reins to his horse. “I’m going back to the house to make sure the children are okay. I’ll be back later.” No one said anything as he got on his horse. In fact, no one was even acknowledging the role they played in this nor did they doubt that there was enough guilt to go around. They all knew what he was doing, they all remained silent and they all realized that he did it to strike out at Meeks. She slowly lowered to her knees putting her head down as a light rain began to fall over her. James returned and told him that Jasmine would take care of the children until they returned.

  “Dominic, Jasmine said Conrad told you that he would always be there if you weren’t. She said to tell you that you have yet to learn humility. What did she mean?”

  For the first time Dominic told the whole story and they just listened to him. He never took his eyes off of her. When he finished the story, Mirisa stood and turned toward them. None of them moved because none of them knew what to say. She came down off the hill and told them she needed to be alone with her husband. They reluctantly went back to the house leaving them standing alone. Mirisa searched his face.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much I hurt yo
u until tonight. I always assumed because you said it didn’t matter that you really had no feelings for me other than the physical attraction. I was wrong because if you had no feelings you wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to hurt me so deeply.”

  He couldn’t believe she was apologizing to him for what he did. It wasn’t her fault that she fell in love with them, it wasn’t her fault that they all let it go so far and it wasn’t her fault that she turned to someone else when he left her alone more and more. He was so wrong in marrying her and he was so wrong in the way he treated her but the truth was he loved her beyond anything else in his life. He didn’t know how to fix this or even if he could. He reached out and she came to him without hesitation.

  He held her as she cried and he thought that their entire marriage was based on his obsession with loving her. “I don’t want you to leave me and yet I have no right to ask you to stay. No matter what you decide, please forgive me.”

  Dominic lifted her chin and knew she couldn’t talk because the emotions were just too high. He kissed her and felt her pull away. He kissed her again and apologized. He could feel her shaking as though she was cold but he knew it was her emotions. He put her on her horse and they rode back to the house. She dismounted and went inside without saying anything to any of them. Jasmine was in the nursery with the babies when she came in and she fed Maggie first than picked up Jonathan and sat in the rocking chair. Jasmine walked out to the kitchen and made a cup of tea putting in something from her pocket. They all watched her stunned after knowing the story of Conrad that she could somehow be connected. Jasmine didn’t engage with any of them as she returned to the nursery with the cup of tea. When the babies were both asleep Mirisa went upstairs and sat down at the piano.

  “Dominic, is Jasmine Choctaw?”

  “I have no idea. She was hired while I was gone and right before I brought Mirisa to the Plantation.”

  They listened as Mirisa played Beethoven’s Pathetique and they all knew how much pain she was in by the piece she was playing. Garnett put his glass down and went up and sat down next to her. When she stopped playing, Garnett played for her most of the morning. Dominic finally came upstairs and Garnett left them alone.