Fading Thunder

by Abagail Eldan

  I nodded my head. “I’ve seen that myself, when dogs get into fights. I often have to lance the wound.”

  “I’m going to fix a sling for you. I don’t want you to use that arm for at least a week. That’s a nasty bite, and I’m afraid you’ll have scarring.”

  I nodded my head.

  “Has the dog been vaccinated?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Michael said.

  “Recently?” Dr. Burch persisted.

  “Yes. He was an MD.”

  “MD?”

  “Military dog. All shots have to be current.”

  Dr. Burch eyed him for a second, as if deciding whether to believe him. “Still, it would be best to quarantine the dog, to make sure he’s not carrying any diseases.”

  Michael shook his head.

  Dr. Burch turned his gaze to me, and I pressed my lips together, holding my body rigid. He glanced back to Michael and then to me and scratched his balding head. “Well, keep a close watch and let me know if you see anything unusual in the dog’s behavior. Jay, I want to see you back in a week.” He handed me a bottle of iodine. “When you change the bandages, pour this over your arm. I’m going to give you a prescription for penicillin. We don’t want this getting infected.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said, my voice sounding weak in my ears.

  Dr. Burch turned to Michael. “Be sure she follows my instructions.”

  Michael didn’t answer but turned on his heel and walked out.

  Dr. Burch leaned his head closer to mine. “Is anything going on I need to know about?”

  “No, sir.”

  He patted my hand. “You go home and get some rest. Let people help you out. You need to let that arm heal. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir. And thank you. If you’ll send me a bill ... I didn’t have time to grab my purse.”

  “I will.”

  I left. Michael was sitting in the truck, behind the steering wheel. He leaned over to open the door but didn’t get out. When I climbed in, he started to lean over me to close it until I stopped him.

  “I can manage.”

  He shrugged and cranked the truck.

  “Stop by your daddy’s house on the way home.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to ask him if he’ll keep Coby for a few days.”

  Michael made a noise, whether of agreement, disagreement, or disgust, I didn’t know. It was too dark to see his face clearly. But he did as I asked.

  I didn’t tell them the whole story, and Mr. Paul didn’t ask any questions. He quickly agreed to keep Coby. Michael didn’t get out to see his father. Mr. Paul walked around to the driver’s side to speak to him quietly, so quietly I didn’t hear what they said.

  And we left. I didn’t speak to Michael on the way home or for the rest of the night. I went straight to bed, and he didn’t follow.

  When I awoke the next morning, he was nowhere to be seen. It was difficult, but I managed to dress. I wasn’t hungry, so I drove to the hospital without breakfast, taking my arm out of the sling to change gears, praying I didn’t tear out any stitches.

  Aunt Jenny met me outside of J.C.’s room. “Jay! What happened to you?”

  I grimaced. “It seems Michael brought a dog back. The dog bit me.” I shrugged my shoulders.

  “A dog used in the war? An attack dog?” Her eyes widened.

  I waved my free arm. “Let’s not talk about it.”

  Aunt Jenny nodded.

  “How’s James Colton?”

  “He’s fine. Raring to go home.”

  “Has the doctor been by?”

  “He makes his rounds at seven.” She peered at her watch. “It’s five after now. He should be here any minute.”

  We went into the room where J.C. was eating breakfast. Laurie was with him, and she grinned at me until she saw my arm.

  “What happened?”

  “Dog bite,” I said. Laurie didn’t ask any more details but threw a glance at her mother.

  I walked to J.C. and kissed a cheek, sticky with jelly.

  “Momma has boo-boo, too.”

  He scooped up another spoonful of grits, doing pretty good with his left hand.

  Aunt Jenny studied me for a moment and spoke. “It would probably be best if you came and stayed with us for a few days. With both you and J.C. bandaged up, you’re going to need help.”

  “What about Michael helping out?” Laurie asked.

  Aunt Jenny narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

  I cleared my throat. “Michael ... I’m not sure if he ...” I fell silent, not sure how to say it or even knowing what I wanted to say.

  Aunt Jenny spoke up quickly. “Michael has to have time to adjust to civilian life. It will take a while.”

  “But William didn’t have any problems ...” Laurie began before catching her mother’s look and falling silent.

  “Different people react differently to things,” Aunt Jenny said. “For some, it takes a little longer. Would you want to stay with us, Jay? At least for a few days?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave Michael at home alone, and your house is bursting at the seams with William, Joe Joe, and Momma there.”

  “Aunt Molly could go stay with Michael,” Laurie said. “Might be good for Michael to deal with your momma.”

  Aunt Jenny shot another look at Laurie, and I laughed a bit harshly. “I can imagine what that would be like.” I leaned against the crib, playing with a thread on the blanket. “I never imagined this would happen when Michael finally came back.”

  “Sweetie, Michael came at a chaotic time. He expected to find his wife at home. Instead, you were at Fort Benning, and his son was here, badly injured. It must have been hard on him.”

  “He could have written to let me know he was on his way. Or called.” I squirmed. “Have y’all heard from Zeke or Uncle Howard?”

  “Yes, I called Marla last night,” Laurie said. “They’re fine. The doctor said Zeke would be there four or five more days. Uncle Howard might go home today or tomorrow.”

  “That’s good,” I said.

  There was a knock on the door. Dr. Franklin and a nurse came in. Laurie was washing the stickiness off James Colton’s left fingers with a washrag.

  Laurie and Aunt Jenny left to give the doctor more room. I stayed with James Colton while they unwrapped his hand. I clenched my jaw and braced myself, but my fears were unjustified. The thumb was pink, showing good blood flow.

  Dr. Franklin shook his head, his eyes full of wonder. “I don’t know how Dr. Burch managed this. He’s got at least twenty-five stitches in this small area. The thumb was cut clear through the bone. I’m going to place a splint here, and we’ll bandage the thumb back up. I’m really amazed that it looks this good.” He took a small instrument from the nurse and touched the tip of J.C.’s thumb with it.

  “Ow,” James Colton said, flinching a little.

  Dr. Franklin grinned. “That’s great. We’ll get him fixed up, and you can take him home.”

  Relief flooded me, and I placed a hand on his, smiling at him. “Thank you, Dr. Franklin.”

  I stepped into the hall for them to finish tending to J.C. I told Aunt Jenny and Laurie the good news. They both hugged me, being careful not to touch my right arm.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll be so glad to get everyone home and back into a normal routine. Well, not normal. I can’t go back to work until my arm heals. Dr. Driscoll hired someone to help out, and I guess he’ll have to keep him on longer than he expected.”

  “What does Michael plan to do? Maybe he can take your place? I thought both of y’all were going to work together, anyway,” Laurie said.

  “We were, but I’m not sure what Michael’s plans are now.”

  Aunt Jenny patted my shoulder. “Give him time. We can only imagine what he has had to endure. I still wish you’d come over and stay with us.”

  I shook my head.

  “If you won’t, I’ll come over and help at your house,” Laurie said. “That is
, if Mike will let me.”

  “Let me talk to him and be sure.” So long I had waited. Every day my heart had yearned for his return. And yet the old woman’s words had echoed in my mind. He would return broken, she had told me. That day Michael and I had searched for Uncle Howard, long ago. She was the grandmother of Michael’s friend, and she had, of all things, read my coffee grounds. She had told me Michael would return broken but not beyond repair.

  I had married him for better or worse, and it was my job to help and support him. I gritted my teeth, determined to do all I could to help him mend.

  Chapter 10—Michael

  Walter had dropped Laurie off at the hospital, and she’d planned to ride home with her mother. Now both insisted that she drive J.C. and me home, and I agreed. It had been almost impossible for me to drive with my injured arm.

  When we arrived home, Laurie stayed in the truck. I wanted Michael to restrain Argos when Laurie got out — that is, if Michael allowed her to stay. However, Argos did not meet me, nor was Michael in the house. I motioned Laurie in. She was holding J.C. and didn’t set him down until they were through the door.

  Laurie went to work cooking dinner and making extra for our supper. Michael still was not there when we ate around one o’clock. When we finished, Laurie got J.C. down for a nap and left shortly after, walking home. I went to the door to be sure Argos wasn’t following her. I watched until she was a good piece down the road. Argos was nowhere to be seen. I figured he must have gone with Michael.

  I settled down with a veterinary magazine and read and dozed until J.C. awoke from his nap. I had read a couple of books to him before Michael showed up.

  I pretended as if nothing was wrong, greeting him with a light kiss and asking if he was hungry. He shook his head and went into the sitting room where J.C. was playing.

  I followed him. “Dr. Franklin was impressed with the job Dr. Burch did. The thumb looks good, and J.C. has feeling in it. Dr. Franklin is optimistic.”

  Michael didn’t reply. He remained standing, watching his child. J.C. became aware of the scrutiny and came to me, holding up his arms for me to pick him up. Instead, I went to the rocking chair, and he climbed into my lap.

  “Remember I told you Daddy was coming home? This is your daddy.”

  J.C. buried his head in my shoulder, mumbling something I didn’t understand.

  I turned him around to face his father, searching Michael’s face. “Want to say hi to your son?”

  Michael came to us and knelt on one knee. “Hi, James Colton.”

  J.C. didn’t respond. His bottom lip trembled. I pulled him closer to me, rocking and crooning.

  “Seems like he doesn’t like his daddy.” Michael said the words softly, but I saw the hurt in his eyes.

  “He doesn’t know you. You have to give him time. Be patient.”

  Michael shrugged and got to his feet, prowling around the room. James Colton had witnessed whatever went on between Laurie and Michael. No wonder he acted afraid.

  My pampering J.C. wouldn’t help, though. “Why don’t you read him a book?” I suggested to Michael.

  Michael stopped prowling for a moment to rummage through the shelf by the fireplace. He pulled out The Poky Little Puppy.

  I beamed at Michael. “Oh, that’s his favorite.”

  He walked to us, plucked J.C. from my lap, and headed for the other rocker. I decided to go to the kitchen, to let the two have some privacy.

  I had the table set when J.C. came into the kitchen, throwing an arm around my leg.

  Michael appeared in the doorway. “He said he wanted his mommy.”

  I touched J.C.’s head and smoothed down his hair. “Like I said, you have to be patient. It’ll take time. Supper’s ready.”

  “Let me wash up.” He went to the back porch to use the faucet there.

  When we sat down to eat, Michael didn’t have much to say. He gave short answers and refused to elaborate on anything I asked about the war. He made it clear he didn’t want to talk about his time in the Pacific, so I didn’t push it.

  He helped me clean up. He washed and I dried.

  I had to set the plates down one by one to dry with one hand. As I finished, I spoke. “Michael, I’m not going to be able to work for a while.”

  He nodded but didn’t speak, didn’t even look in my direction.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you want to take my place with Dr. Driscoll? He hired a man, but I don’t know how long he planned to work.” I fell silent and waited for his response.

  His eyes were unfocused, and I wondered if he’d even heard me. He finally spoke. “So, you plan to go back to work after your arm heals?”

  “Yes. That’s what I planned. Why? What do you think?”

  “It’s your life.”

  “No, this is our life. We need to plan things together.” J.C. was tugging on my dress. “What is it, J.C.?”

  “Please call him James Colton.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t like nicknames.”

  Had he forgotten Jay was my nickname? My poppa had christened me Blue Jay when I was little, younger than J.C. “I’ve been calling him that for a while.”

  “You named him for your father and your uncle.”

  “We named him,” I interrupted. J.C. didn’t speak, simply pointed to a glass, and I poured him some water. “There you go, J.C.”

  Michael was rinsing out the dishrag and raised a hand, slinging soap and water onto the counter. “I think you’d want to honor your father by using our son’s full name.”

  “All right. James Colton it is.” What difference would it make? I didn’t really care and called our child either by his initials or his full name anyway. I’d try to abide by Michael’s wishes, but after calling him J.C. for so long, it would be a difficult habit to break. I cleared my throat. “I think Wilbur ...”

  “Wilbur?”

  “Dr. Driscoll.”

  “You’re on a first-name basis now?”

  “We are.” I rushed on. “Dr. Driscoll is ready to retire. I wanted to see what you’d like to do — buy his practice, we can work together, take J ... James Colton, to work with us.”

  “You really think it’s wise to take a child with us? If we’re working with large animals, he could get hurt. It would be difficult to watch him. No telling what he could get into.”

  “He can stay with Laurie then.”

  “No.” He turned around to face me. “She’s not keeping my son again.”

  “Who will? Aunt Jenny has so much work to do, helping Uncle Colt. If Laurie can’t keep him and you don’t want him to come to work with us, what do you suggest?”

  “You can stay home.”

  “Michael, I spent time and money to get an education. I enjoy my job and don’t want to quit.”

  “You can go to work when James Colton starts school.”

  “That will still be a problem. You know veterinarians can be called out at all times of the day or night —”

  “Jay, can we talk about this later?”

  I ignored him and continued. “You’re going to have to forgive Laurie. Accidents happen, and you can’t keep blaming her for something unforeseen.” I remembered our axe was still out at the woodpile. “As a matter of fact, I better go find a safe place for our axe.” I pulled my apron off and headed for the door.

  Michael was on my heels and grabbed my elbow. “Stay here. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you.”

  He went out, and I took James Colton to get ready for bed. I realized Michael had not said if he was going to work or not.

  When he came back in, I asked him. “Are you going to talk to Dr. Driscoll about taking my place? Do you want me to call him?”

  Michael didn’t answer but walked around the room with his hands stuck in his pockets.

  I sighed. “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes. I’m not deaf.”

  “Well?”

  “I’ve just gotten back, and you’re trying to push me o
ut the door.”

  “You can take all the time you need. I thought it might help you —” I hesitated.

  “Help? You think I need help?”

  “No,” I lied.

  “Give me a few days to rest a bit, and I’ll let you know. You can’t take care of things around here until your arm heals. I’ll help out for a while.”

  “Laurie can come over —”

  “Laurie is not welcome in my house.”

  “She’s my cousin, and this is my house.” I paused a second too long before I added, “too.”

  His contemplated me but continued prowling the room. “Maybe we need to buy a new house.”

  “Hard to do if you’re not going to work.” The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I had said.

  He stopped his pacing. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to work.” His eyes were narrowed, dark with anger.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to push you. Dr. Driscoll hired this fellow, Richard Short, to help out for two weeks. There’s no hurry. I just thought ...” I fell silent. I had missed him; my heart had physically ached more than I thought humanly possible. I had dreamed so often of his homecoming.

  This was nothing like my dreams, and I didn’t know how to go about reclaiming them.

  James Colton was disturbed, too. He climbed in my lap and stuck his left thumb in his mouth. It was early for bed, but it had been a long day. “I’m going to put J.C. down — I mean James Colton — and I’m going to bed, too.”

  Michael came over to me. “Need help?” he asked, sounding contrite.

  “I think we can manage.” The truth was that I needed a little time away from him. “I’ll call if I need you.” I managed a smile.

  “All right. I need to check on Argos.”

  “Fine.” That was another thing I wouldn’t argue about. Michael was determined to keep that dog. Perhaps it could be rehabilitated, and then Coby could come back home. I would have to wait and see. Patience. We both needed a boatload of patience.