The Shotgun Proposal

by Barbara Goss

  Rance paced the floor and continued to pray. He felt his prayers had already been answered with the sudden appearance of the specialist who had just happened to stop in Hays exactly when he'd needed him. He thanked God, but he still asked for more.

  As he waited, Rance solved things in his mind to his satisfaction. Elsa loved him. She must have found out it was her father who’d shot him. She somehow knew he’d try again, perhaps follow him or something, because she was able to step out in front of him in the nick of time. The bullet would have gone through his heart if not for Elsa, but that isn’t why he loved her. He knew he'd loved her the moment he'd seen her running toward him. She was beautiful, even in her housemaid's clothes, and he was never so glad to see anyone.

  Clara and Shannon were in with Elsa for a long time, and Rance started to grow impatient. What would he do if she died? He banished the thought. She couldn’t die because he’d just realized that he loved her and he'd be sure to keep her with him this time. He’d even marry her again in a Catholic Church, to make sure it was legal in the eyes of Catholics, too. He’d hire a teacher to do nothing but teach her English; she’d be speaking it better than him, one day. He made these promises while he waited. He even pictured them having a son or daughter together, one with coal black hair and a fair complexion, just like their mother's.

  Finally, the door opened and Clara came out. “She isn’t out of the woods yet, but the doctor took the bullet out. He's cleaning her wound, now,” she said, “but from here on in, it’s all up to Elsa.”

  “Thank you, Lord!” Rance said aloud.

  “Indeed. I’ve been praying, too,” she said. “I love Elsa.”

  “So do I,” Rance said. “How do I say, ‘I love you,’ in German?”

  Clara burst out into the biggest smile he’d ever seen on her face. “You do? I’m so glad. I love you is: Ich liebe dich. Tomorrow, I’ll bring all of her clothes into your room. I take it that’s where she’ll stay?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I pray I get the chance to…to make our marriage real.” He began to recite Ich liebe dich, over and over so he wouldn’t forget it.

  “The doctor will be staying overnight in one of the spare rooms. I'll go to prepare it for him now. He said he’ll stay a few days, if necessary, and then he must get back to Kansas City.”

  “Did he say how long before she’d awaken?”

  “No, but I saw things tonight that I’ve never seen before,” she said. “The doctor used the whiskey to wash his hands and his instruments. He used something called carbolic acid on her bandage to kill any chance of infection. He said it was the latest method to prevent infection during surgical procedures. He feels confident she'll survive. He gave Elsa something I think he called ether to make her sleep throughout the procedure. It was so interesting to see a real surgeon work.”

  “I thank God for sending us such a knowledgeable surgeon,” Rance said.

  “He studied in New York and Philadelphia before setting up his practice in Kansas City,” Clara said. “I'd better get his room ready. He’s finishing up with her now. He won’t be long, but he said you could go in.”

  Rance spent the night lying on the bed beside his wife. He didn’t touch her for fear of hurting her, but he needed to be near her.

  He awoke during the night to hear her moaning. He lit his lamp, swung his legs off the bed, walked over to her side of it, and put the lamp down on the table near her. She tried opening her eyes, but squinted from the brightness. Rance put the light on the floor a few feet away from the bed so it would be easier for her to open her eyes and look at him. She tried to sit up, but she grimaced and then fell back onto the pillow instead.

  “No,” Rance said gently. He pressed down lightly on her shoulders to indicate she should stay put.

  “What?” she asked groggily.

  “You were shot,” he said making his hand look like a gun.

  She rolled her eyes and said in German. “Oh, yes. Now I remember.”

  “Who?” he asked with a shrug.

  “Vater—Father—she held up two fingers, and Rance knew she had meant that both shootings had been her father.”

  “Now, go to sleep,” he said, holding his two hands together by his ear. “Sleep.”

  She smiled. “Sleep, ja.”

  Rance carried the lamp to his side of the bed, set it on the table, and turned it off. He was still dressed so he didn’t get beneath the quilt, but he lay beside his wife and held her hand to his cheek.

  He’d almost forgotten to tell her the most important thing. “Ich liebe dich, Elsa,” he said in almost a whisper.

  She turned her head toward him and reached up and caressed his lips and his cheek. “Ich liebe dich,” she whispered. She settled her hand on his chest, and when he felt her hand relax, he knew she’d fallen asleep.

  When Rance awoke, he could see the sun had just begun to rise and knew Clara would be firing up the stove for breakfast. He slid out of bed, slipped off his wrinkled clothing, and put on some clean ones, tiptoed over to Elsa, and kissed her forehead before quietly leaving the room and heading downstairs.

  “Is the doctor up yet?” he asked Clara.

  “No. I thought I’d better get the stove going for when he does.”

  “I want you to help us to have a talk later today. There’s so much I need to tell Elsa and I’m going to hire a teacher for her so she can learn faster. You did a good job, but you can’t spend all day with her, and I’ll make sure this teacher can. I love her, but I need to be able to talk to her.”

  “Good morning,” Dr. Shannon said, walking into the kitchen. “How’s our patient this morning?”

  Clara and Rance both said, “Good morning,” in unison.

  “She’s still asleep,” Rance said.

  “She can have liquids today, maybe toward evening something thicker, like pudding, if you have it,” Shannon said.

  “I’ll make some for her. Nothing is too much work for our Elsa,” Clara said.

  “I want to thank you for coming here on your vacation and saving my wife’s life,” Rance said. “I want you to pick a horse, any horse I have, and take him home with you.”

  “That’s very generous‒I’ll take you up on that,” the doctor said. “I’ll have to pull him behind me, though, because every twenty miles or so I have to stop at a livery for a fresh horse, but I’m sure a horse without a rider can keep up.”

  “After we check Elsa I’ll take you out to the stables and you can take a look,” Rance said.

  “I may leave today if my patient is doing well, otherwise, tomorrow for sure. I have a few surgical patients waiting for me. I just had to take the trip to Hunter’s Grove to visit my mother, since I haven't seen her since I left for college. I went right from college to an internship in Philadelphia and then New York. I found an opening in Kansas City and jumped on it, so I’d be closer to home.”

  “Sit down doctor, I have eggs, ham and hot coffee.” Clara set the platters on the table.

  “Thank you, it looks mighty fine.” The doctor sat and ate heartily.

  The doctor went up to check on Elsa and Rance followed him. She was still asleep, but once Shannon had started to check her wound, her eyes popped open. She looked frightened, but Rance quickly took her hand in his and smiled and she seemed to calm down.

  Rance nodded toward Shannon and said, “Doctor.”

  Elsa nodded. She must have understood that word. She squeezed his hand, smiled, and he felt as if his heart might melt. Even without words, they were able to show each other how much they cared.

  The doctor put a clean dressing on her wound and then stepped into her line of vision.

  “Hello!” he said.

  “I am pleased to meet you,” Elsa said, slowly but perfectly.

  Rance kissed her forehead. He loved her accent, and he was proud of how well she was learning English.

  “I’m going to move you a bit,” the doctor said, “so you’ll be more comfortable.”

  “She
doesn’t understand a lot of English, yet, Dr. Shannon,” Rance said. “Tell me what to do and I’ll move her. That way she won’t be frightened.”

  “All right. I want to prop her up on the pillows so she can lie on her side for a while. She can eat and drink better that way, I think,” Shannon said. “If you’ll tip her onto her side, I’ll slide the pillow behind her.”

  “Do you have enough pillows? I can get more.”

  “Clara’s bringing two more,” he said.

  “Here they are,” Clara said, entering the room. She handed the pillows to the doctor, smiled at Elsa, and said in German, “You’ll be a bit better each day. We plan on spoiling you rotten until you’re well.”

  Elsa smiled. “Thank you, Clara. I have a lot of pain, but am happy to find out my husband returns my love. I’m so glad I arrived when I did.”

  ““Thank you for that,” Clara said. “Later, you, Rance, and I will have a good talk, okay?”

  “All right,” Elsa said.

  Rance said, “Before you go, tell her we're going to move her onto her side so she can be more comfortable.”

  Clara told her and left the room.

  “I’d like her moved to the far side of the bed so we can face each other when I lay beside her.”

  The doctor arranged the pillows and Rance gently turned Elsa over and slid her into position. The doctor adjusted the pillows in such a way that they didn’t press on her wound, but kept her propped up.

  “Good?” Rance asked

  Elsa smiled. “Good.”

  Rance smiled. She was doing better with English than he’d thought.

  Elsa looked at the doctor and said, “Thank you.”

  He said, “You’re welcome,” and left the room.

  Rance lay down on the bed beside Elsa and held her hand. He knew he could tell her how he felt without words, as she had last night. He gently stroked her cheek with his other hand, and she closed her eyes and smiled. He stroked her forehead, her hair, and her lips. He bent and kissed her cheek. “Ich liebe dich in English is: I love you.” She smiled, but was so relaxed, he thought she might already be half asleep.

  Chapter 11

  Elsa seemed to have improved so much Dr. Shannon decided to leave. He showed Rance how to change her dressing and remove the stitches, which he'd have to do in a few days. He showed him how to disinfect his hands with the whiskey before touching the wound.

  When he was done, Dr. Shannon rode off, pulling his new horse behind him.

  Clara came in after the doctor had left and drew up a chair beside Rance’s. Since Elsa was awake, they decided it would be a good time to talk.

  Rance cleared his throat. “First off, I want you to speak English to her as much as you can; it'll help her to learn. Now, tell her I’m going to hire someone to teach her English full-time, because I want us to be able to communicate.”

  Clara told her and then relayed Elsa's message to Rance: “She is pleased and recommends Alois Berger for the job. He speaks both languages fluently, and his job with the railroad as interpreter for the settlement is nearly finished.”

  “Excellent.” He gave Elsa a smile to let her know he liked her suggestion.

  “Now, tell her I need to have her father arrested for attempted murder. Find out if she has a problem with that,” Rance said.

  After getting Elsa’s reply, Clara said, “She wants her father punished, but it will put her mother and sisters in peril as they may starve.”

  “They can come here for now. This is a big house—that is, if it’s okay with you, Clara—and then we’ll figure out what to do. I can have a cottage built for them on the ranch somewhere, if they’d like. I won’t let them starve,” Rance said.

  “Extra work, extra pay, right?” Clara hinted.

  “I might be able to raise it a bit while they’re here,” he said.

  Clara relayed the message to Elsa who smiled and said, “Ja…yes!”

  ”I will contact the constable today and ride out to see Alois Berger. I’ll stop and pick up her mother and sisters on my way back to bring them here,” he said.

  Clara relayed the message and Rance delighted in the smile Elsa gave, one that lit up her whole face.

  “I’ll ready three rooms‒two sisters to a room and one room for the mother,” Clara said. “I’ll start on it now.”

  Before she left, Rance said, “I’ll be gone for a few hours. Will you peek in on her a few times while I’m gone?”

  “Of course,” Clara said. “She looks tired. I’m sure she’ll take a nap for a while, but I’ll check on her anyway.”

  When she’d gone, he lay on the bed beside Elsa and said tenderly, “I love you.” He briefly kissed her lips. She grabbed his hand and kissed it, smiling.

  He didn’t know how to tell her he’d be back soon, so he put his index finger up and said, “Victoria.”

  She nodded.

  Rance gave the constable a full report. He even accompanied Rance to Victoria, in case the man was at home. When they arrived, the first thing he did was to look for Alois Berger by asking the first man he met in Victoria if he knew him by simply saying his name, since none of the residents spoke English. The man pointed to a white house down the road.

  Once he and the constable had Alois to interpret, they knocked on the door of the Schuster home. Elsa’s mother answered the door, smiling in recognition when she saw Rance. She held the door wide open for them and Alois explained why they’d come.

  He relayed to Rance and the constable that Ernst had returned from hunting the other day, packed some of his things, and left without telling her where he was going. She said he seemed upset.

  Through Alois, the constable discussed the issue of where he might have gone, before telling her to pack up all their belongings because Rance was taking all five of them to his home.

  Rance hadn’t planned on how he’d get the women and their possessions back to the ranch. Luckily, the Schusters had a buggy and since Rance and the constable had ridden in on horses, it would be much easier to move the family and their belongings that way. He drove the buggy back with Frieda, his new mother-in-law, beside him on the bench, while the girls rode inside.

  Rance thought the women would be nervous or upset, but they seemed excited and relieved instead. Perhaps they all welcomed the chance to get away from Ernst. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Elsa’s face when she saw her family.

  When they finally reached Hays, Rance parked the buggy in front of the jeweler’s house and asked with hand signals if Frieda would like to go in with him. She nodded.

  He explained, using his hands, that he wanted to buy a ring and Frieda nodded knowingly. They picked out a gold band with a row of tiny diamonds around it.

  Rance walked into the bedroom first so he could be sure Elsa was awake. Clara was showing the women to their rooms. He wanted to present the wedding ring to Elsa when they were alone. He found her lying on the bed, propped up on her pillows, knitting. He lay beside her, once again, took her left hand, and slipped the ring on her finger. He delighted in the joy it brought to her face. He kissed her on the lips, lightly again, wishing for the day when she'd be healed enough so that he could kiss her properly. “I love you, wife.”

  “I love you…husband,” she said in the sweetest accent.

  He got up, gave her the wait signal, and went to bring the women to her room, but Clara was still getting them settled.

  “Clara, tell them she’s ready to see them. I want you to come along too.”

  Rance led Elsa’s family into the bedroom and Elsa gasped when she saw them. Before long, tears were flowing from all the women.

  All eyes were on Rance as he walked to the bed, sat beside Elsa, and took one of her hands in his. “Tell them, Clara,” he said.

  Clara cleared her throat and relayed the message in German: “Elsa’s husband welcomes you into his home. He has hired Alois Berger, a tutor, to come here daily to teach Elsa English. If any of you would like to sit in on the lessons, you are w
elcome.

  “You are welcome to stay here until Rance has built a little cottage for you, nearby. He thinks you should learn English in order to survive here in Kansas, and he’s happy to teach you, buy you clothes, and care for your every need.”

  Elsa smiled at her husband and he squeezed her hand.

  Frieda spoke to Clara in German and Clara relayed what she'd said to Rance. “Frieda says that she, Johanna, Olga, and Emma will return to Russia. She has family there who will care for them. She thanks you for your generosity, but she misses her homeland. Her husband had brought them here against their will, and she yearns to go back.”

  Rance nodded. “I’ll help them to that end, then. If Marta wishes to stay, she must learn English.”

  “She’s excited to learn,” Clara said.

  “There'll be no need to build a cabin then, since we have plenty of room here for Marta. Tell her we’re glad to have her, but she must learn English. Tell them that when they can, they should speak English together as it will help them to learn.”

  After everyone had left the room, Elsa’s heart swelled with love for her husband, but she felt sad that her mother and three sisters would be going back to Russia, even though she knew they’d be happier there. At least she’d still have Marta.

  She often l laid in bed, staring at the ring on her finger. She felt almost married and now that she felt such love for Rance, she eagerly awaited consummating the marriage. She wanted children, and she couldn’t have picked a better father for them. He was kind, generous, and thoughtful.

  He smiled at her when he came back into the room. She wished she could speak to him and tell him how much she appreciated all he was doing for her and her family.

  Clara wasn't far behind Rance. He spoke to her and she relayed the message: “It seems your father has run off. No one knows where he is, but the constable is hunting him down. We’ll let you know when he’s found.”