EPILOGUE
Maple
Four days later
“Maple! The manager’s been looking for you. You’re in big trouble. I think he might fire you.”
I’ve barely got my foot in the door of the shop and the drama is already beginning. What else did I expect?
“He can’t fire me, because I don’t work here anymore.”
“You don’t work here? Where else are you going to get a job? Nobody around here’s hiring.”
“Maybe I won’t be around here.”
“So I’ll get all your shifts then.”
“Take every last one,” I say. I knew Cory would jump at the chance to double his workload which is why I wasn’t too worried when I was “trapped” inside Forrest’s house these past few days while the snow came down nonstop. I tried to call but there was no reception either. It’s not like I’m trying to be an irresponsible adult, it’s just that when you live in the mountains sometimes your decisions are already made for you.
But I am an adult. I always considered myself so but a few days with Forrest really showed me how real adults live. He’s so patient, caring, and nurturing. Being that he’s older I know there’s a lot I can learn from him too.
He never talks down to me when I ask him a question which I’m sure must seem so elementary to him. He just gives me answers, or even better, he asks me questions that help me come to the answer myself. A true teacher and mentor, and that includes the bedroom.
I can’t believe all the different positions and ways we tried these last few days. We had so much sex that we literally had to come down from the cabin and get food. We ate the last of it just before we left. We consumed everything trying to keep our bodies fueled for long nights that spilled right on over into the day.
But as much as he taught me, I’m glad to know I taught him something too. And it’s something equally as valuable.
You can’t just lock yourself away forever when things don’t go your way. Just like a child when you fall you’ve got to get back up. You have to keep looking for the sunlight through the darkness until finally one day it comes. And it will come, just like I came to him and he came to me.
“Thanks!” Cory says.
“Believe me…it’s my pleasure. Here’s my key,” I say, setting it on the counter. “I guess that pretty much wraps it up.”
“I guess so.”
“Please tell the boss man I’m sorry to quit on terms like this, but I’ve got to get going.”
“Will do.”
“Bye Cory.”
“Bye Maple.”
I step outside the door, but I don’t hear it close right away. I know Cory’s there, standing in the doorway waiting and watching, wondering where it is I’m going and with who. Well, he doesn’t have to wait long.
Forrest gives me a wink and I hop in the passenger side. We pull out of the lot and I look back in the rearview mirror at Cory who’s in desperate need of picking his jaw up off the ground right about now. I’m sure he’ll tell everyone and I’m sure I won’t care.
I might as well be long gone already. I’m off to a different place and away from all the small town gossip that will never escape a place like this, so I had to escape the confines of this town myself.
We locked up the cabin and already stopped by my house to lock that up too. I didn’t gather too many things, because I knew I was moving on to something different. A completely fresh start although Forrest wouldn’t tell me where.
We drove for the next two hours until Forrest threw on his blinker and pulled into…a police station?
“Can you give me a few minutes?”
“Umm, yeah. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s perfect.”
“This isn’t going to change our plans is it?”
“Not at all.”
EPILOGUE
Forest
“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Sheriff Coltrane says.
“Came back to see if you boys came to your senses.”
“Our senses? You’re the one who lost your damn mind.”
Sheriff Coltrane extends his hand and offers me a firm shake and a smile.
“Let’s go into my office.”
I follow his lead and watch as eyes look up over desktop monitors at me like I’m some sort of boogeyman. A couple ladies give me a smile. I know what for.
I get seated and the sheriff settles in behind his desk. He looks comfortable and relaxed.
“We came looking for you.”
“I figured you would.”
“You’re not the easiest person to track down these days.”
“Guess that depends on who you ask.”
“Well, seems like we asked about everybody. Most didn’t know a thing about you, which was to be expected. The few whose body language gave them away denied any knowledge of your existence either. We could use a guy like you on the force. A natural leader that people fall in right behind.”
“Thought the force doesn’t hire felons.”
“Yeah, about that.”
“You finally come to your senses?”
“Forrest, I was always on your side. I went to bat for you, you know that.”
“I know sheriff. And I thank you.”
I’m being too hard on Sheriff Coltrane. It’s not his fault. I’m responsible for my own actions whether they’re technically legal or not.
“You’re welcome. And I have to tell you. If I wouldn’t have gotten the DA to drop the charges, I think my wife would have dropped me!”
“Cheryl would never leave you.”
“Never married right? Wait, why am I asking questions I already know the answer to?”
I consider telling him about Maple, but remember our pact to start over fresh together. No way to track us down.
“Well, women have a different way about them than we do. Sometimes us men see gray areas where women only see black and white. And I’ll tell you what…my wife certainly saw black and white in my case. Enough to threaten me with a divorce if any charges stuck.”
“That’s just because I delivered your daughter.”
“Yeah, I thought about that. And I thought about how I’d feel if that was my daughter and what you did. I have to tell you Forrest. You’ve got some balls. But more importantly you’ve got heart. You’re a good man and your record is clean as a whistle. You’re free to go and you’re welcome to pursue medicine in our state again.”
“Thanks, sheriff, I’ll give it some consideration.”
“Consideration? We need you back.”
“I’ll give it some thought, but you might want to look for somebody else in the meantime,” I say as I stand.
“Suit yourself. Just know the offer is there.”
“Thank you,” I say.
We shake hands and I show myself out of his office.
A minute later and we’re on the road again. Maple pretends like nothing happened, like we never stopped. I appreciate that she trusts me and doesn’t ask questions. I’d never hide anything from her, but this is something that needn’t be talked about again.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Forrest
Nine months later
“Push!” Esmerelda says as she holds my wife’s hand.
I thought I’d never delivery another child again.
And at that same time in my life I knew I’d never meet the woman of my dreams.
In this case two wrongs certainly did make a right.
And right now here we were in Tulum, Mexico in the home we rented about to welcome in our first child.
Esmerelda was a local woman we’d found working in a hospital a few months back. Both Maple and I were very comfortable with her and were glad to have her here with us assisting with the delivery.
It was Maple’s first childbirth so it sure was good to have someone there by her side, especially considering our unusual circumstance that I’d be the one doing the delivering, and not simply there to hold her hand and offer support.
The ha
nd I was most looking forward to holding was my own child’s. But right now it was my hand that needed held.
I was nervous with excitement. As I raised my hands to welcome the life we created into the world I could see they were shaking profusely.
“Almost there, honey!” I say.
“Push!” Esmerelda says.
And then suddenly…I was officially a father.
I’ve delivered thousands of babies in my time. Working as a doctor I’d seen it all.
Except this.
Nothing compares. Absolutely nothing.
For the first time in my entire life I felt my eyes water and I almost lost it for a second.
It sounds crazy but I could see my face in our child’s face looking back up at me.
Not just my face. Our faces.
We did this together and now it was time to enjoy this together.
I moved as quickly as I could, maintaining safety first of course, and a few moments later I presented our child to my wife.
We’d married here in Tulum and now we’d welcomed our first child here as well. It was a stark contrast to the one horse town in the mountains where we met, fell in love, and quickly left together once we did.
And contrast made our relationship stronger. Our age difference. Our life experiences. The place we were now versus the place we’d come from, and more importantly all the places we’d visit from here on out…together.
Now we were a family of three. The magical number.
Call it fate, magic, or whatever you want, but somehow we were destined to meet and unite as one and that’s exactly what we did.
“She’s beautiful,” Maple says.
“That’s because she looks like you.”
“Awww,” she says.
I lean in and kiss my wife on her forehead and then do the same with our child.
I hear the front door close quietly and know that it’s just Esmerelda sliding out so we can be together now. Alone. Just the three of us.
“Ready to have another one now?” I ask.
“Forrest!”
“I know you’d slap me, but your hands are already full.”
“They’re full and there’s no way they’re becoming un-full anytime soon. This precious little thing is staying in my arms until she’s too big to hold.”
“And by that time I’ll have already made sure you’ve had another.”
“Another?”
“Baby, we’re just getting started. You know I can’t keep my hands off you and now that we’ve got this kid thing figured out I say we keep it going for as long as we can.”
“I’ll be happy to talk about that later, but right now she’s all that’s on my mind.”
“My two girls,” I say, “are all that are on my mind too.”
I walk off into the kitchen to grab some more water. I put my hands on the sides of the sink to brace myself.
I look up to the ceiling and smile.
“Can somebody please tell me how in the world I got so lucky?”
I shake my head in disbelief.
“Wait. I don’t need any help figuring this one out. It’s easy. It all starts with her.”
I look out the window at some kids playing by the sea.
Soon our children will be just like that. Enjoying their days without a care in the world.
“It all starts with her,” I say silently.
I fill up two water glasses and put them on a serving tray. It may not be champagne, but it’s definitely time for a toast.
To the woman who made everything I ever wanted in life possible.
Her.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Maple
Fourteen Years Later
“Guten Morgen.”
“Guten Morgen,” I say.
The mailman hands me the mail across the counter and I leave the post office ready to grab my supplies and head back up into the mountains.
But this is a different kind of mountain. This is the Swiss Alps in the region where they speak German.
After leaving my hometown we traveled for five months until we arrived here in Switzerland. We fell in love with the place immediately and even had our wedding here.
The air and water are clean. Everything runs on time and works and we’re free to do as we please up here.
I guess you can take the girl out of the mountains but you can’t take the mountain out of the girl. And that’s what brought me back.
I go out to the truck and look through the stack of mail. It’s mostly bills so I throw the stack on the passenger seat.
I turn to start the car, but then realize something's off. I look back at the stack of mail and see a pink letter with an address that’s been handwritten.
That’s odd.
I reach for it bringing it closer to my face. The letters are cursive, carefully done, and certainly look to be a woman’s handwriting. The postmark is from my home state, but not my hometown.
And it’s addressed to me. What in the world?
I open it and start reading.
Dear Mrs. Daniels,
My name is Erica Johnson.
I am glad to be able to write you this letter today. Without your husband I wouldn’t be able to. As a matter of fact without him I wouldn’t be able to do much, because I wouldn’t be alive.
I doubt he would ever tell you this, as I’ve learned he’s a very humble man, but he saved my life shortly before you left our state.
I’m sorry to track you down, and it took a considerable amount of work, but I just needed to thank you for what he did.
When my mother was pregnant with me she was under your husband’s care, like many women in our community. He was a very noble man. He worked around the clock with so many expectant mothers. My mom said it was literally like he was personally invested in the birth and life of each child, like me.
Unfortunately in the ninth month of my mother’s pregnancy and the day she was due to have me, she discovered my father had been cheating on her. She confronted him and one thing led to another. He beat her and kicked her and basically tried to do everything in his power to kill me that day.
The trauma sent my mother into labor and your husband rushed from his home at 3:30 a.m. to bring me into this world.
He spoke with my mother after the delivery and she told him what happened, and also that she didn’t want to press charges. At the time in our state it was the woman’s decision whether or not to press charges so she decided not to as she was scared and just wanted what was best for me at this point, well then my father wasn’t going to get into any trouble.
But there was a whole other kind of trouble waiting for him that morning. Your husband.
Apparently this wasn’t the first woman he’d done this to, unbeknownst to my mother, but apparently your husband did some quick research and figured this out.
He confronted my father and delivered a different kind of justice that neither my mother nor I were able to deliver ourselves. He fought for us and risked everything, including his medical license.
He was immediately suspended from the hospital, but over the next few weeks the nurses snuck him in and he did everything he could to save my life. It wasn’t looking good at first, but your husband literally is a miracle worker.
And today I start high school. I made the cross-country team and I hope to make the softball team in the spring. My mother and I are doing great now and I am so happy to be alive.
My first assignment in high school was from my English teacher who told us to write a letter to someone we need to thank, but haven’t.
For me there was only one choice.
So I just want to say thank you, to both him and to you. I wish you a wonderful life in Switzerland. I looked it up and it looks very beautiful there.
And my life is beautiful now too, thanks to “Doctor Delivery.” I will never forget what he did for me and for so many others.
Thank you and all the best,
Erica Johnson
Class o
f 2022
I moved the paper away just in time before my tears could smear the ink.
Doctor Mountain Man's Special Delivery Page 5
