by Joe Corso
Other villagers had contracted gonorrhea. They were the lucky ones. With penicillin, they could recover and lead a normal like. Others had influenza, while still others suffered from measles. Dr. Grossman had brought along measles vaccine, but not nearly enough. Measles serum in large quantities would have to be added to the growing list of drugs Lucky needed to bring back here.
Once every few hours, Grossman would take a break, stretch his legs, and visit the Princess. He did this on a regular basis. On this particular day, he took her temperature and noticed a slight fever. When he asked her how she felt, all she could say is, “not ready to walk.” He checked on her about an hour later and her fever had risen. Lucky saw this.
“Lucky,” he turned to him and said, “step outside for a moment.” Lucky joined him in the hallway.
“She’s showing symptoms of a condition I don’t like. It’s called puerperal fever or childbed fever. It’s a bacterial infection of the female reproductive organs following childbirth. The fever is not incredibly high, but the abdominal pain, the nausea – it’s all consistent with puerperal fever. I’ll be treating her with high doses of penicillin. She had a prolonged labor, which made her more susceptible, but I see no retention of the placenta, which is normally also consistent with infection. I just want to err on the side of caution.”
“Your best guess – will she recover completely?” Lucky asked. “And does this, will this affect her ability to have any more children?”
“Yes,” the doctor answered, “she can have more children and my opinion is that she will deliver them normally. In my practice, I’ve seen woman with this sort of delivery have perfectly normal second and third deliveries. As to her recovering, I think she’ll be fine, but let’s keep a close watch on her just to make sure.”
“Thanks Grossman,” Lucky said. “Now, since you’re having so much fun, don’t let me keep you,” he said sarcastically.
Chapter Twenty-Three
12th Century England
The topic of discussion in the castle and everywhere else in the kingdom was King Robert’s new wizard – the one who had powers to heal. Those who were sick were elated. His powers frightened others. The villagers had never seen a medicine man work such miracles and magic before. Despite the many stories of his unorthodox treatments, this did not stop those afflicted with ailments from coming. The wizard, known as the doctor, wore a strange white coat. Around his neck was a strap that he used to place over his patients’ hearts. There were rumors that this thing, this strap, talked to him and told him what was wrong. The villagers also watched in amazement as the healing wizard took a tiny, hard, thin object with numbers on it from his pocket, shook it and placed it under their tongues. When he removed the object from their mouths, he held it to his eyes and shook it again. Then, he put it away. They wondered if this thing talked to him as well.
But it was the hypodermic needle that caused such a stir. The townspeople had never seen something so small that could pierce their skin. Rather than being fearful of it, they clamored to get it. Word was that this needle held secrets, incredible powers and it could cure most anything.
Days passed and Grossman worked tirelessly, treating as many sick each day as his body would allow. At the end of one long day, Grossman found Lucky seated on a bench by the inside walls of the castle and joined him. It was cool there; a breeze wafted in from the open grounds.
“Lucky, I have never worked so hard in my life,” Grossman said, “but . . . I vaccinated everyone I treated today. I treated a half dozen gonorrhea patients. At this rate, I’ll run out of medication long before the week is over.”
“Don’t worry doc,” Lucky replied, “when I return, I’ll bring enough medicine to treat the whole country. I bet this is the first time in your medical life that you had to act like an old-fashioned family doctor.”
Grossman managed a light, tired little laugh. “Maybe so, but you know what, it’s a satisfying feeling. How many doctors can say that they took a trip to the twelfth century to treat the sick? None. That’s how many.” He grew quiet for a moment and added, “I’m real glad I came.”
Lucky patted the doctor on the shoulder and left so he could visit his Princess. He tiptoed into the room where she and the young prince were sleeping. He stopped first at the crib and looked at his son. He was sleeping soundly. Then he walked over to the Princess and sat on the bed beside her. She was breathing easily, but looked exhausted. He left after a few minutes.
Back outside, he found Grossman walking around the grounds, doing his best to get some form of exercise. All day long, he had been either sitting or crouching or bending. As a doctor, he knew the importance of working the rest of the body. Grossman was surprised to see Lucky back so soon. For a while, they just shot the breeze about nothing and about everything. One thing led to another until Grossman said, “Lucky, rumor has it that you are quite a wealthy man. What do you do? How’d you get to that point? The CIA pays well but not in the same stratosphere of where you’re rumored to be.”
“Well,” Lucky answered, “before I was recruited into the special unit of the CIA, The Compound, I was the best jewel thief in the world. I never hurt anyone and I never stole from regular people. I only stole from rich people. I knew they were insured. Along the way, after I discovered the portal thing, I decided to start a little business. I brought back jeweled, twelfth century items and auctioned them off. That’s it. That’s how it happened. It made me rich. I’m heading over there to my merchant friend’s tent now. He has some pretty impressive things. I suggest you take something back with you. You can put it on a shelf and tell people how you got it. No one will believe you, but it’ll make a nice story.”
Dr. Grossman and Lucky walked past rows of tents, occasionally peeking inside a few to see what was being sold. They finally arrived at Jacob’s tent. Jacob had his back to the men when they entered, apparently giving his son some instructions to retrieve something from the cart parked outside. That’s when he noticed Lucky. He stopped everything.
“Mr. Lucky, you honor me with your presence.”
“Jacob,” Lucky said, “this is a friend of mine, Doctor Grossman – the healing wizard that you may know of. He may want to purchase something from you. Do you have anything to show him and do you have anything that I might desire?”
“Why, yes, sire,” he answered, “I possess objects of beauty that may please the sire’s eyes.”
Jacob pulled the curtain aside and walked to his display bench. He pulled out a chest and carried it to a table already preset with a black velvet cloth on which to display special items. He placed the chest on the floor in front of the table. Jacob knelt down and opened the chest and found what he wanted. He placed two swords onto the table for Lucky to examine. Lucky recognized one of them – the jewel encrusted sword – by its curved shape, but he had no idea about the other one.
“Tell me about this one,” Lucky said.
Jacob picked up the straight sword. “Its name is back sword, so named as it has only one edge. The dull edge of the sword is known as the ‘back’ of the blade.”
“What about that one?” Lucky asked, pointing to the other sword.
Jacob explained that it had originated in the east but was gaining in popularity in the west. His animated explanation held their attention.
“The curved blade pleased many,” Jacob explained, “ideal for charging horsemen who many times lost their straight blades, held hostage by the bodies of their victims, their impaled foes. It could slash the opponent, yet slide off as the horseman rode passed. So precise was the skill of the curved blade that those using it could slash from side to side with no fear of slicing the ears off their horses,” Jacob said as he whipped the sword around, to and fro, illustrating its use. He held the sword high as he said it.
Lucky was a history buff. He knew all about this sword and its popularity with pirates on wooden ships. It was the sword featured in the Arabian Nights’ fairy tales. He also knew that curved swords most li
kely originated somewhere in Egypt, as a khopesh, a weapon somewhere between a sickle and a sword. Lucky wanted the jeweled pair.
“How much Jacob?” Rather than answer Lucky, Jacob turned his attention to Lucky’s friend.
“Do you see anything that interests you Doctor wizard?”
Grossman thought for a moment and asked, “Do you have anything for a woman?”
Jacob nodded, knelt again by his table and pulled out a smaller chest. This one he placed on the table. He opened the box and pulled out a beautiful jeweled necklace. On each side, he placed an earring, one of set. The necklace dazzled with stones of every color, large stones, smaller stones, each one dancing in the light.
Grossman smiled. “My wife would love this.”
Lucky looked at Grossman. “Take them. They’re yours. I’ll straighten it out with Jacob.”
“Lucky, these must be worth a fortune.”
“Yes, they are. That’s the whole point. Wait until you tell your wife that you bought them from a man who died nine hundred years ago,” Lucky said with a chuckle. “Jacob,” Lucky said, “hold these for me.”
“Sire, it pleases me to honor your wish,” Jacob replied. “They await the wizards.”
Lucky and Grossman returned to the castle.
“Let’s celebrate your haul,” Lucky said as he pulled two cigars from his pocket and offered one to Grossman. The doctor looked at it.
“I don’t smoke Lucky, not even cigars – you know cancer of the throat and all that good stuff.” But just as Lucky was about to put it back into his pocket, Grossman reached out and took one. “Okay,” he said, “to celebrate our haul.”
“To our haul,” Lucky chimed in. He then summoned a passing steward and asked him to bring out some wine. The men sat at a table overlooking the garden, sipping their mead and smoking cigars.
Lucky took a puff, leaned back and asked, “How do you like it here?”
“It’d be great,” Grossman answered, “if they had bathrooms instead of outhouses.”
The men laughed.
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Lucky responded. “I feel the same way. I love this time period, though, and I’ve become quite fond of the King and Queen. And now that I have a son, I’m even more drawn to this time period than ever, but . . . where we live, I guess it’s hard to forego the luxuries and all that our time period has to offer.”
“True, Lucky,” Grossman replied. “So true. Makes you realize how great we have it.”
“I’m toying,” Lucky said, “with the idea of bringing Krystina and our son back to the future. She knows that I’m from the future. I even took her to the Grand Canyon Skywalk early one morning when I was sure no one was there. She saw a plane fly overhead. Then I took her and the King to see a cruise ship. She’s becoming acclimated to the future. As much as I love this time period, I’m accustomed to the comforts our time period offers. I don’t know how she feels about all of this. It’s something we need to discuss. And speaking of the Princess, let’s go check on her again.”
Chapter Twenty–Four
12th Century England
Princess Krystina was wide awake and chatting with the Queen. Her face brightened when she saw Lucky.
“Have you seen our beautiful son? Have your arms caressed him?”
Lucky leaned down and kissed her gently.
“Yes,” he answered, “this morning, I held him and I bathed him and the maiden nurse fed him. When you are well enough, it is my wish that only you feed him.”
Dr. Grossman checked her pulse, took her temperature and performed some other perfunctory checks. “She’s fine. She was just exhausted from her ordeal. No signs of puerperal fever. Princess, you are doing well.”
“Dear wizard,” she replied, “there are no words. Your magic has saved us. Our debt is forever . . .”
“Oh, don’t worry about that Princess,” Grossman answered. “Lucky here needed a little help. Glad you and the baby are okay.”
Contrary to perception, those who lived in medieval times had a keen sense of smell. They actively went to great pains to prevent body odor and ward off bad breath. The typical medieval bathtub was a large, half barrel big enough for one to two people. Wealth and the size and the design of the barrel, or tub, were closely intertwined. Fresh water abounded as the populace was surrounded by lakes and rivers. They made their own soap. King Robert had what he called The Royal Baths. It was a clever arrangement that consisted of a large walled enclosure, used for the collection of water that held seven or eight people at the same time. It was designed after the Roman Baths. Underneath it, the King had a small tunnel. It was here where one of his servants would prepare a fire, hours before the King would take his bath, in order to heat the water. There was a stream, purposely diverted, so that it ran through a pipe and refreshed water periodically.
Eventually, an engineer came to the King proclaiming that he could provide a system whereby the royal couple could have a sort of modern day toilet plumbing system that would wash feces and urine into a pipe leading to a cesspool. The King and the Queen marveled at this idea. The engineer had studied drawings of the ancient Romans and had traveled to Italy to witness this amazing fully operational system. It was the talk of the kingdom – King Robert’s modern luxury where one could remain inside his abode and manage his bodily functions.
Speaking of baths, the Princess was feeling much better and she wanted nothing more than to take one. She asked Lucky to walk with her to the baths. The stitches on her C section were healing nicely. Dr. Grossman made sure to change her bandages frequently. He even secured a plastic covering over her dressing so that water wouldn’t seep into the wound. Lucky helped her into the warm waters of the King’s bath. He lovingly watched as she first studied the various bath items on the shelf, selected a bar of scented soap, and then picked up a bottle of liquid and began to wash her hair. Lucky knew that soap and the liquid were different.
“What is that you’re using to wash your hair?”
Krystina laughed and answered, “Lucky, from whence you hail, I feel with certainty that you have seen this before.”
“Well,” Lucky said, “you’re partially right. But still, what is it that?”
“My dear wizard,” she said, “we have a means to wash our mane. This substance, it comes from many, many of nature’s gifts. Only the ladies-in-waiting know the secret. They are devoted to its contents and the skill it requires must be learned by apprentice.”
Lucky shook his head. “The next time I come back here I will bring you shampoo, a lot of shampoo. That’s what it’s called – shampoo.”
“But Lucky, my words are not complete,” she said.
“Okay, go ahead.”
“The ladies of the kingdom also desire a pleasant aroma of our mane. . . ”
“Okay,” Lucky said.
“so as to comb into our hair,” she continued. “The blend comes forth from roses, cloves, nutmeg, watercress and galangal. These ingredients make the powder. We then mix the powder with rose water. This,” she said pointing to a makeshift comb, “I will dip into it and there,” she said as she tilted her head toward Lucky. Lucky leaned into her head and savored the sweet smell of her freshly coated hair.
“Noblewomen should wear musk in their hair, or clove, or both, but we must take care that it not be seen by anyone. The veil, with which my head is tied, is put on with cloves and musk, nutmeg and other sweet smelling substances. My mother’s words were oft said, ‘Great hours we need for beauty. It takes time.’ Lucky, I work hard at being beautiful. And, for you dear wizard, the hours are more. Her eyes then became more serious as she inched her way over to Lucky who was sitting next to the bath, hanging onto her every word. She reached out to touch his hand. He met her halfway and before he could speak, she clenched his hand and gave a strong tug causing Lucky to fall into the large bath with her. She giggled and giggled as Lucky, shook his head, drew close to her and whispered, “I can’t wait until you’re better. I desire you.”
>
The King allowed Lucky and his wizard friend freedom. Interlopers from other regions had not interfered with Lucky and Grossman. The King was pleased with this. His subjects were of paramount importance to him.
“Your Highness,” Lucky said, one morning at breakfast.
“Please Lucky, friends we are. I am Robert, you know that.”
“As you wish. Robert, may I make a request?”
“Ask and it is yours,” King Robert answered. “Anything within my power is for you to receive.”
“Your Highness, I mean Robert, when I arrived here, I neglected to bring silver coins with me. Might the King, uh Robert, part with some silver for the moment only? I will return it to you in short time.”
King Robert looked amused. “Lucky, it is such a small thing you request. Of course, silver shall be yours. How much silver is required to satisfy you?”
King Robert left him for a few moments and when he returned, he had a small pouch which he handed him. “There is no need to replace it, Lucky. You honor me with your great deeds. You are good to my people. My appreciation in silver is but small.”
“Robert, I thank you,” Lucky said. The King placed his hand onto Lucky’s shoulder and responded, “It is I who should thank you.”
Lucky and Dr. Grossman walked back to Jacob’s tent, paid him and picked up the items they purchased.
“It’ll be time to go home soon,” Lucky said.
“You know it’s hopeless,” Grossman murmured. Lucky knew what he meant and just nodded in agreement.
