What Heals the Heart

by Karen A. Wyle

  Twenty-five grunts later, Joshua offered his patient the flask again. This time, the man took a longer drink. Then, his mouth twitching into a smile, he offered the flask to his son, standing pale at his side. “Here, boy. It’ll help you look more like yourself before your ma gets home. Good thing she was at her sister’s.”

  The boy stood up straighter and manfully gulped down the whiskey, while Joshua contemplated how things would have gone if the farmer’s wife had been home. Most likely she’d have kept her countenance better than the boy, and as well as her man. Wives had to be strong, out west.

  Would the boy be sober enough to get Joshua home again? Well, Joshua could always take the reins if need be. And the boy could sleep it off in Joshua’s bed, if he had to, before heading home.

  * * * * *

  Joshua closed the door behind the farmer’s boy, holding the empty coffee cup, and leaned against the door. He’d made enough coffee for both of them, but hadn’t ended up drinking any. Bone-tired as he was, he didn’t have the strength to deal with coffee jitters.

  He stumbled over to the dresser where he kept his nightshirt, pulled off his soaked frock coat and shirt and trousers, let them fall in a sodden heap on the floor, and pulled the nightshirt on. He’d take the wet, wrinkled clothes to Li Chang in the morning. Times like this, he was sorely grateful to his sisters back in Pennsylvania, who’d pooled their resources to send him a second set of clothes suitable for a doctor. He used almost his last strength to dig the bone saw in its case out of his bag and shove it out of sight on the shelf where he kept it.

  Scratching at the door heralded Major’s return from wherever he’d been wandering. Joshua grabbed a towel from the hook near the door and let the dog in. Rubbing the dog down warmed him up a little, but the sooner he was in bed with every quilt and comforter he owned on top of him, the happier he’d be. He moved to blow out the oil lamp.

  Were those steps on the stairs up to his rooms?

  And then, the door again, but this time a knock, or maybe a kick, a dull thud, once and then repeated.

  If he’d had the energy, he would have cussed a blue streak. Not now. Oh, God, not now. A knock this late meant an emergency. He would have to somehow find the wit and the strength to save someone, and he had none of either left.

  “Doctor Gibbs!” (“Doh-ktor Kibbs.”) A woman. He knew he should, but didn't, recognize the voice.

  She didn’t sound sick. Could it be one of her neighbors, or worse, a neighbor’s child? But if it were childhood disease, he might be able to treat the fever, at least, or do something for vomiting. He could handle that. He opened the door.

  There stood Mrs. Blum, her fur coat making her look like a friendly mama bear, holding a covered pot in her hands.

  “I saw you come in, looking so wet and tired. I brought enough for the boy who was with you, but I see he’s gone. May I come in? You won’t leave an old woman standing outside on a staircase, will you?”

  He stumbled back dumbly and let her pass, shoving the door shut with a weak thrust as she barreled toward the kitchen table. She put the pot down, dropped her coat in a corner, and pulled out his chair. “Sit, sit!”

  He collapsed into the chair while she rummaged around, seemingly quite at home, finding a bowl and a spoon. She opened her coat and produced a ladle, then whisked the cover off the pot. Fragrant steam rose up out of it. He leaned forward, sniffing, and smiled weakly to see Major coming toward them to do the same. “What is it?”

  “What is it? Chicken soup is what it is! What else, for warming you up and keeping you from catching your death?” She paused, almost coy. “Oh, here I am telling you your business. But if you don’t already know about chicken soup, it’s time you did, no?” (Though the “no” sounded more like “nu.”)

  She dipped the ladle in once, twice, three times, and then stopped and frowned at the bowl in frustration, looking ready to scold it for not having more room before pushing it toward him. “You start with that. I’ll put the rest on the stove to keep warm.”

  The soup had hunks of carrot and big chunks of chicken, and some sort of strange, light dumplings. Joshua barely made himself use the spoon instead of picking up the bowl and pouring it into his mouth. As it was, his hand shook so that he spilled some of the soup on the table. Without missing a beat, Mrs. Blum tossed a dish towel his way before dragging a stool over to the table and perching on it, overflowing it on every side. When he managed to look up from his miraculous meal, he saw her beaming at him, clearly delighted at the way he was slurping the soup down with no sign of table manners. The moment the spoon clinked the bottom of the bowl, she grabbed the bowl and filled it back up to the brim. “Eat, eat!”

  He was feeling full to the brim himself, but he thought it likely that if he dared to stop before the bowl was empty again, she would seize the spoon and feed him like an infant. He made his way manfully through.

  Finally he was able to push the bowl away and sit back. She gave the pot one longing look before shrugging and abandoning any hope of stuffing him further.

  He would have liked to let Major lick the bowl, but was not sure whether Mrs. Blum would be offended. Major weighed in by nudging Joshua’s knee with his muzzle and whining. Joshua looked up at his benefactor. “I am sure my dog would appreciate the remaining traces of your excellent soup.”

  He was relieved at Mrs. Blum’s low chuckle. “Why not? My chicken soup should be good for dogs, even.”

  Joshua put the bowl on the floor; Major looked up at Joshua for permission and then set to licking it out. Once Major finished, he inspected the bowl in case he had missed a drop and then trotted away.

  Joshua picked up the bowl and contemplated the effort of cleaning it. Mrs. Blum, apparently reading his mind, grabbed the bowl and looked around for a water tap. Seeing none, she wrinkled her nose, opened the door, and let the rain rinse the bowl before setting it on the drainboard. She leaned against the wall and looked down at him, shaking her head. “Out in all hours and all weather, and he comes home to nothing!”

  Joshua shrugged. He had a good idea where this was going.

  “So where’s Mrs. Doctor? You need to get married!”

  Just as he’d thought. He’d fended off similar comments from a few ladies at church when he first arrived in town. He’d ignored them with as much dignity as he could muster, and after a while, they’d given up. But looking at the massive and motherly figure looming in his kitchen, Joshua felt suddenly uneasy. Something in her tone and expression showed considerable determination. Even zeal.

  * * * * *

  “Boot blacking, coffee, cornmeal, flour, soap. Put it on your tab?”

  “Thank you kindly.” The suggestion would, in fact, save him some embarrassment. His patients had lately been paying in roast chickens, bacon, cream, potatoes, even horseshoes — all welcome and useful items, but it left him short of coin.

  “And you’ve got a letter.”

  This would take some juggling. Joshua picked up the envelope first, opening it and extracting the letter, tucking the envelope into his vest and laying the letter on the counter. Next, he grabbed the sack full of supplies in his left hand and picked up the letter in his right. That left him without a way to tip his hat, so he nodded his goodbye and walked out, glancing at the letter as he went. Major, idling in the street, jumped up to follow.

  Joshua knew he had not been a satisfactory correspondent. The last letter to his mother in which he had mentioned anything of actual importance had been the letter he sent on his way west, trying to explain why he had felt compelled to leave his family and his home so far behind. Even as he sent that letter on its way, he had known it would fail in its mission. What he had been unable to say to her face, he had been equally unable to put into words on paper. Either would have required that he call to mind, and then stain her memory forever by recounting, the life he had lived as a soldier and a medic. Without that understanding, how could she understand how unreal and hollow the civilized life of Philadelphia had
become for him?

  His mother still wrote every two weeks, however, and he’d been awaiting her latest for several days. Now he saw what had kept her busy. His middle sister’s baby had come — except it was twins! A boy and a girl. He could imagine his younger and oldest sisters knitting madly to deal with the surprise.

  As for his father — what? He was writing a book?

  Joshua had been paying just enough attention to where he was going that he didn’t trip on the planks in the street or walk in front of any horses. But not enough, it turned out, to avoid walking smack into someone. He started backward, dropping his sack, and stammered apologies, while Major added to the confusion by circling the scene and barking loudly.

  His victim, Joshua realized, was the tall green-eyed woman he had seen in the street the day he first met Mrs. Blum. She had managed to stay on her feet and now stooped to help him retrieve his groceries, whisking them away from Major’s investigative sniffing. Her hands looked strong, with long fingers; it took her almost no time to fill his sack again. She stood up, neither smiling nor frowning, and handed him the sack. “I hope that isn’t bad news in your hand.”

  He tried to pull himself together enough to answer her. “Uh, no, not bad news. Just news. Babies. Two of them. That is, my sister just had twins.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Congratulations to your sister! I’m sure she’ll cope splendidly.”

  An interesting way to put it. Was she speaking from experience, and if so, her own or someone else’s?

  Manners! What would his mother — or for that matter, Freida Blum — say? “I beg your pardon. I’m Joshua Gibbs.”

  The woman tilted her head slightly and nodded in what might, unlikely as it seemed, be approval. “The doctor. I’ve heard of you. People speak well of you.”

  Did they? He supposed they might. The comment left him feeling absurdly pleased. With some difficulty, he suppressed a foolish grin.

  He was becoming curious about the woman’s identity, but accidental assault was hardly the basis for him to ask about it. She took pity on him and volunteered the information. “My name is Clara Brook. We’re recent arrivals. Our farm is a little over four miles to the southwest.” He was not that good at accents, but thought she might have grown up in or near Kentucky.

  Joshua had about an hour before he needed to be back for his afternoon office hours. How much money did he have on him? He’d grabbed a few coins in case he needed them at the general store. It should be enough, at least if he held himself to a single scoop without toppings. “May I buy you an ice cream? As an apology for my inexcusable carelessness?”

  Miss Brook looked at him gravely. “Hardly inexcusable. I’ve seen —” She cut off the comment and said instead, “Thank you. That would be very nice.” Not a fan of hyperbole, it seemed, in others or in her own speech. Joshua led the way, in case Miss Brook had not yet learned the ice cream parlor’s location. Major had apparently decided to adopt her, trotting by her side rather than his master’s. When they reached their destination, Miss Brook paused and gestured toward the dog. “Does he accompany us or no?”

  Joshua shook his head, having decided previously that ice cream was unlikely to be a good addition to Major’s diet. Miss Brook then startled Joshua by snapping her fingers toward Major and pointing to a position near the window. Major immediately sat.

  The clerk at the ice cream parlor looked at Joshua with some surprise as they entered. Joshua asked Miss Brook’s preference, ordered her single scoop of strawberry along with his own vanilla, paid — narrowly escaping the embarrassment of coming up short — and carried both plates to the little table next to the window.

  Now what? Well, she knew he had sisters, one of them with new additions to her family. Surely he could ask after similar details, at least indirectly. “How have you and your . . . your family been finding Cowbird Creek? Is it what you hoped, when you decided to settle here?”

  Somehow it failed to surprise him when she avoided a conventional response. “I wouldn’t say we know enough, yet, to answer that question. Or perhaps I should say we didn’t have very specific expectations. My parents wanted to buy land, to leave my brother someday, and there was land for purchase here. It’s a deal of work for the four of us, but we’re used to work.”

  A brother, but no sisters — at least none still at home. It was unlikely she’d lost sisters in the War of Rebellion, but she might have had more brothers before that long and bloody nightmare. All through his childhood, he had wished he had brothers instead of, or in addition to, three sisters. That wish, too, had died in the war.

  It was Joshua’s turn to say something, but nothing came to mind. Miss Brook did not seem to be one of those women who could set a man to talking. Or maybe she chose not to do so. He could think of only one inane question. “What are you growing, or raising?”

  Her left eyebrow twitched upward. “The usual, I suppose. Corn, oats. I have some interest in planting winter wheat, but my father has not yet agreed. I have a vegetable garden, though I’m still getting accustomed to the weather and how it affects what I can grow. We raise hogs — and chickens, of course, but mainly for our own eggs and our own pot.”

  He might be carrying home some of those eggs, some day. They would be good eggs, he’d wager — he guessed she took good care of the hens.

  Before he could come up with some other conversational gambit, she asked him, “What’s the most surprising thing about Cowbird Creek? Something we wouldn’t have had a chance to learn yet?”

  There was a question he hadn’t heard before. “Hmm. Let me think.” Madam Mamie’s establishment was tonier than some, but even if that counted as surprising, he could hardly mention it. And the presence of a Jewish widow was unusual, but he doubted Mrs. Blum would appreciate being held up as a local oddity. “Our Chinese laundryman struck it rich — well, maybe not rich, but close — in the California gold fields.”

  Miss Brook smiled, the first smile he’d seen from her, but quickly went grave again. “I don’t think I’ll mention it to my brother. He used to hanker after the gold fields himself, and I’d be sorry to remind him.”

  She had finished her ice cream, and he needed to be back for any patients needing him. He took a final spoonful of his own and stood up. “Miss Brook, it’s been a pleasure, despite my regrettable way of introducing myself. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”

  That eyebrow twitched again. “I agree. Though I hope it won’t be in your professional capacity.”

  Cursing his clumsy tongue, he bowed and escaped back to territory where he was less likely to put a foot wrong.

  By the time he finished with his last office patient — the blacksmith again, who had burned his arm — it was close to dinner time. It might be rude to go see Mrs. Blum at such an hour, as if he was angling to have her feed him, but he’d been wanting to check up on her, and had already asked about and learned where she lived. As he approached the snug house two blocks from his office, he made up his mind to refuse any invitation and stick to his purpose.

  Of course, she was determined to overwhelm that intention. “How am I? How should I be, an old woman, my feet tired of carrying so much of me? But I’ll let you do your listening and poking if you eat something first, still so skinny, I’d make two of you at least.”

  She pushed him toward the kitchen, pointed imperiously to a chair, and brought a platter of beef ribs from the stove, then fetched a bowl of corn already shucked from the cob with big pats of butter melting at the top. He felt his mouth watering and knew she had won this tussle.

  Over dinner, she asked him about his day, his patients, any amusements he had found time for. He admitted his clumsiness outside the general store, and the new acquaintance resulting from it. Her response was an emphatic sniff. “The brother, he’s a nice young man, so polite. But the sister, I don’t know, she walks around like she’s too good to talk to anyone, not much in the way of social graces.”

  Joshua frowned. “I didn’t see her tha
t way. She’s tall, so she’s bound to carry herself differently from smaller ladies. And she may be shy, new to town as she is.”

  Mrs. Blum sniffed again and changed the subject. “I have pie, cherry, you’ll like it.” She sighed dramatically. “And then you can be the doctor and tell me everything that’s wrong with me.”

  When he finally examined her, he was far from sure whether her lungs were as clear as before, and more certain than before that her heartbeat sounded irregular. Did she show signs of fluid retention? Her skirt covered her feet and ankles. Slyly, he ordered her, “Kindly kick your left foot in the air.”

  She tilted her head and regarded him with profound skepticism. He resisted the urge to retreat, saying, “If you would, Mrs. Blum. And then we’ll be finished.”

  Mrs. Blum rolled her eyes and obeyed. As he had suspected, her ankle, as far as he could glimpse it, appeared slightly swollen. He would need to keep an eye on her.

  Which did not have to mean sharing her opinions of any particular townspeople.

  Two days later, when he spotted Miss Brook carrying a large sack of groceries toward a wagon, he saw his chance to repay a favor. He darted across the street, just behind the mayor’s wife’s fashionable buggy, and held out his arms. “May I assist?”

  She stopped short, her expression suggesting an indignant retort on the way until she recognized him and laughed. “If you like, Doctor.”

  He carefully transferred the sack from her arms to his and trotted along next to her, noting the length of her stride. The dust on her boots made him suddenly conscious of the perhaps unnecessarily polished condition of his own, but she showed no sign of noticing the disparity. When they reached the wagon, he followed her directions about where to stow the contents of the sack and then stretched his arms. It had been a pretty heavy sack for a lady to carry.