Michaela made a step forward, surprised that the old lady knew who she was. She extended her hand and Katherine took it but draw Mike into her embrace. While she was hugging the young doctor, she whispered in her ear: "I hope you're taking good care of him!"
Then she turned to Sully: "You're very lucky. When you wrote she was beautiful, it was far from the truth. You should have said she was gorgeous! When I read she was a doctor, I wondered what kind of woman she could be and I thought she was a little tomboy. But when I see her, she's indeed a lovely young woman!"
Sully was red with embarrassment. He knew how it was going to end, but he had to talk to Michaela before Katherine says the surprising news.
Michaela was puzzled. So Sully had written to this lady he found her beautiful. He had never told her anything like this nor showed any interest, except the kiss he gave her on her birthday.
Sully spoke again thinking he should shorten the conversation between the two women. He first needed to talk with Michaela. He was sure she would yell at him but he knew her. So he knew that if he told her it was for the good of an older person, with a fragile heart, she would accept to put on an act just for a short time.
"Michaela, I'm sorry, I should have told you who she was"
The young lady looked at Sully with her eyes full of questions. He had just called her Michaela.
"This is Katherine McBride. She lives in New York and when my mother died and I found myself alone, I started seeing some "rascals" and doing stupid things. One day, I tried to steal this lady's purse. At that time she was a young woman and didn't let it go. I fall backward and hit my head and fainted. Instead of leaving me there, she called a carriage, brought me to the hospital and paid for my medical care."
He now had tears in his eyes and some were rolling down his cheeks.
"When I woke up, I didn't know where I was. When I saw her, I wondered what she possibly would do to me. But she didn't yell at me nor corrected me the way I deserved. She just asked me how I got where I was and until the day I left New York, she was my lucky star. I visited her twice a week to help her and she gave me food and warm clothes in return. When I left, she made me promise to write regularly so she knew how I was doing. And today, here she is."
Michaela was deeply touched by Sully, who usually didn't talk about his past. He just has shared a part of his childhood and she was glad.
Katherine wanted to go on but was stopped by the ring of the bell, which meant a patient was waiting. Sully thanked God for that, He just has saved his life for at least 20 minutes.
Dr Mike took the time to make a final examination before letting Katherine go with Sully. Just before leaving, he whispered to her: "I need to talk to you, alone".
Michaela nodded and invite her patient in.
In the meantime, Sully had taken Katherine to Grace's Café and ordered a slice of apple pie. They talked about New York, the changes that occurred in 23 years and Sully wondered if we would ever go back there.
After that, he excused himself, explaining he had to see Michaela. The old lady offered to stay in the café waiting for his return.
Michaela was waiting for Sully in the clinic. She was filling in some files but was thinking of what Sully could possibly want to tell her and why he had called her Michaela and not Dr Mike like everybody in town. A knock at the door brought her back to reality. "Come in". But nobody opened the door. She got up to open only to reveal Sully, who usually came in without waiting for her to open the door.
He seemed embarrassed.
He had searched how to explain the situation to Michaela, but he didn't find any solution. He had to tell her or Katherine would. He didn't know how the townfolks would react either. For them, he was a savage and now he would be a liar. Michaela would never understand even less forgive him.
Mike was worried. Sully had made two steps forward but he was now standing still. He seemed miles away. She took his hand to catch his attention: "Sully? Are you alright?"
Feeling Michaela's hand, Sully came back from his reverie and shyly asked: "Dr Mike, would you sit down so we can talk?"
She went to her chair and indicated him to sit down in front of her. He was glad to sit down as his knees were growing weak.
"Dr Mike, I need to talk to you, but what I wanna tell you is difficult, I don't know how to start but please, listen to me until I'm finished."
She was more and more curious. "Alright, I'm listening"
"You just met Mrs Katherine McBride, she was kinda a second mother for me and I owe her a lot. But she really wanted me to build a family and find happiness again after Abagail's death. In all of her letters, she kept asking questions about my life, women, future…and I finally told her that I got married again."
Sully stopped a moment and looked at Michaela for her reaction. She was waiting for him to continue. Inside her, she couldn't help smiling at the comical situation he was into. How was he going to play a married man while he was living alone in the woods?
Sully spoke again but looked down. He couldn't look into her eyes.
"I told her I was married to… to the town's doctor."