Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. All original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.
It was a surprisingly hot day for a late Minnesota September. The heavy rain that had moved through Hero Township earlier in the week had brought down a lot of sediment into the Walnut Grove streets which was, now dried out, stirred up into the air by the frequently passing wagons and riders.
Here in what was now referred to as 'Old Town', resided the original structures of Walnut Grove. The traffic moved more quickly here than in the newer developments of the growing town. People passed by to get into the younger and more occupied streets or picked up speed as they plunged back into the countryside.
Right on the boundary of 'Old Town' and 'New Town', across from the Post Office building, was Carter's Livery and Blacksmith. The stables were larger now with an expanded corral fenced by oiled oaken posts. John Carter had moved the old Blacksmith shop that had been attached to the Post Office across the street to combine it with the Livery. He had added a larger forge that now blazed, sending black smoke up into the clear skies. The walls of the smith shop stood open, letting in the cross breeze as well as dust and clatter of the traffic.
Dr. Baker sat on an old stool and leaned back slightly against a structural post hung with heavy tools and leather strappings. He sipped a sweet sarsaparilla from a glass bottle and wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Boy, what a warm day." He exclaimed to the man working the bellows. "Your Pa would say something like, 'Hotter than two July's wrapped up in an August'."
A labored laugh came from the young blonde man as he strained in the added heat of the forge, broad shoulders and toned arms working the handle of the billows from overhead.
Dr. Baker paused for a minute, watching the wagons as they passed, one loaded with bright, thick, chunky pumpkins.
"I heard that produce market they got organized is really something. Farmers from all over the county coming here to sell their crops, bringing in business. It's wonderful." He continued his one-sided conversation. "You know, I should have come up with that one, I could have opened my own market with all of the apples and squash I used to get paid in!" Hiram began to laugh but it turned to a raspy cough.
The smith ceased his pumping and turned with concern. Dr. Baker covered his mouth with his hanky and put his other hand up with the bottle still grasped, motioning for him to not be concerned.
"It's just the smoke and dust." He took another sip from the bottle and cleared his throat.
The man came over, perspiration running from his temples and dripping from his chin. A thick, blackened leather apron hung over his long underwear top which the sleeves had been cut off at the elbows and rolled up. Suspenders hung from the narrow hips of his trousers.
"You've been pushing yourself too hard Doc. If you'll tell me when you get an animal call I can go out for you. It's too much for you to do alone."
Waving him away kindly, Hiram smiled. "Don't worry yourself Willie. And don't be so anxious to retire me. The town doctors will be back soon and I'll be a useless old relic again."
With a faint, dismissive smile, Willie shook his head. "Never, you'll always be the best doctor I've ever known."
Willie went back to the forge, pulling out a flat piece of metal glowing orange with heat that looked like a spade. Bringing it over to the anvil, he brought a heavy hammer down on it, sparks shooting in sporadic directions.
Doc. Baker watched him silently for a while, mopping his own neck and face.
The last few years had seen a complete change in the Oleson boy. As a child, he was the most exasperating, ignorant, mischievous and hungry hooligan the doctor had ever met. When his older sister Nellie had married and moved, Willie seemed to have settled a little. When Laura Ingalls Wilder had gotten sunstroke while she was pregnant, Willie had come to fetch Dr. Baker, running the far distance despite the heat of the droughted summer. That was when the Oleson boy contemplated studying medicine at the University which his mother became enthusiastic about as well. So many course altering things had happened to the lad since. Plans had changed with the ebb and flow of life, especially his father Nels dying. Since then, the boy had been quiet and reserved, never realizing the dream of becoming a doctor.
Now Willie worked here at the smiths part time. He had picked up the trade impressively quickly and skillfully to help pay the heavy debts his family had taken on.
Hiram would have never thought the boy would become one of his closest friends. Most had passed on or moved, some had become busy with grandchildren or civic duties. Now, the old doctor's twilight days were spent in the smith shop talking to the sober Oleson boy who almost sounded like his father sometimes if Hiram closed his eyes and listened.
Squinting out into the bright, sun soaked streets, Hiram looked across the widened bridge towards the Mercantile. A wagon was pulling up in front of it, laden with passengers, and a great beast with a hide of the blackest ink was tethered to the back.
Walking over to the edge of the shade from the overhang, Baker watched as Charles hopped down from the driving seat and turned to help the women down from the height of the wagon. He could see James also give the women a steadying hand as they deboarded. Grace, Laura, Cassandra, Caroline and Rose all waited their turns and flocked together as they climbed the stairs of the Mercantile.
"There's the Ingalls' on their buckboard. They haven't driven that for a while since he got that fancy new buggy you know." Hiram murmured in lazy observance.
Willie glanced up from the forge briefly, "Yeah, I've fixed its rear axle clips twice…"
He left off, his attention lingering in the Ingalls' direction, blackened face streaked from sweat. His expression was normally as rigid as the iron he worked with. Now it fell moony as he stared across the way.
The last to be helped down was no Ingalls. The young woman wore a modest brown dress, her honey blonde hair pulled back in a bun under the faded sun bonnet.
The blazing metal still gripped in the long tongs he held, Willie walked over to where Dr. Baker stood.
Charles had walked back around the rear of the wagon to untie the shire horse. The horse shied with a warning snort and shifted the whole wagon backward even though the wheel brakes were locked up. The slight girl hurried past Ingalls who had stepped back. The comparison between the giant horse and the girl exaggerated their sizes even more. But she reached up to him and he calmed immediately.
"A beautiful animal." Hiram commented casually.
"Beautiful." Willie echoed.
"A magnificent beast."
"What?" The question sounded as though Willie didn't even know he was asking it.
"The horse."
"What horse?"
The old doctor's eyebrows knotted in confusion as he looked to Willie, but an amused expression washed over his face as he made his assumptions.
The young woman was now talking to Charles, apprehension in her features. Finally she handed the lead rope to him and turned, taking the horse's muzzle in her hands. Then she backed up watching Charles walk towards the livery with a slightly more docile horse.
"A lovely a face as Walnut Grove has ever seen." Baker said as he watched the man beside him stand there gawking.
Suddenly Willie gasped and dropped the tongs which had finally conducted the heat from the hot metal he had been holding to his hand. Shaking his burned fingers he looked at the doctor with embarrassment flushing his cheeks.
"Here I'll introduce you. The girl has been staying at the Ingalls' for a few days. She's traveling but said she was going to stay in town for a while. Most curious. I tried to take a look at that horse but he wouldn't let me close to him."
"No, it's OK. I'm not really cleaned up anyway." Willie said, looking at himself self consciously.
The girl was watching as Charles continued away from her, then Caroline touched her shoulder and beckoned her into the Mercantile.
Looming even more as they approached, the large horse shuffled its feathered feet in the dirt and snorted again. The top of Charles' head barely came to the level of the animal's back. The slim lead rope now seemed to be a pathetic illusion of who was in control should there be any question.
"Hey Doc, Willie." Ingalls said with his characteristic enthusiastic greeting.
"Good day Charles. I see you've got the tiger by the tail?" Hiram joked.
Glancing up at the dark face of the shire Charles lifted his eyebrows. "More like an elephant than a tiger. But we're getting to know each other."
The horse shifted from one hoof to the next nervously. The tips of his ears high enough to brush the eaves of the shop. It looked around, almost as if trying to glance back towards the Mercantile.
With a careful pat on the massive shoulder Charles looked over at Willie who had picked up the spade head he had dropped and had it back in the forge.
"Hi there Willie." Charles waved. "I was hoping one of you could look at Ty here."
"Ty?" Baker asked.
"Well it's what his owner calls him. I would have gone for Goliath or Behemoth, Volcano possibly. He's gotta be eighteen hands…"
"More than nineteen." Willie corrected, futilely wiping his hands on his shirt and stepping over to the pair. The horse grunted and tossed his head, making Charles' feet leave the ground.
"Whoa!" Charles tried to calm him, "Wait a second Willie."
The Oleson boy slowed carefully.
"I think I'll leave this patent to Willie if you don't mind Charles. I'm too old to be busting broncos the size of stagecoaches." Doc. Baker chuckled and sat back down on his perch.
Charles laughed, "No problem Doc. Take your time to let him get to know you Willie. The women folk will take their time shopping. Hey James and I have to go over to the Land Office to outline those new roads on the west end of town, may take us a while. Willie could I leave the wagon and team there in the shade by the store?"
The boy nodded, his dark blonde hair long enough to brush the bridge of his nose and cover his ears. Charles returned his nod as James trotted up behind him and Charles handed Willie the lead rope gladly.
"Alright well we'll see you later. Don't let Willie work you too hard Hiram." Ingalls teased the lounging doctor who chuckled again as the two left.
"Better not tie him to a supporting post." Said Willie to himself with a bit of sarcasm.
Elise followed Caroline, Grace and Cassandra into the corner store, waving farewell to Laura and Rose who had other matters to attend to. Laura was the supervisor of schools in Walnut Grove. Even though she was still on leave of her teaching position with just having her new baby boy, she still attended to her administrative duties with resolve. She had returned to teaching when the town had grown big enough to need two teachers. Now Carrie was teaching in her place and had come earlier to town in her father's buggy.
The showroom of the Mercantile was modest in size but was stocked bountifully with necessities and commodities. Brass lamps, ladies hats, cut glass dishes and specialized hand tools sat on display in the windows. Bolts of cloth lined the wall to Elise's left and a long, narrow table ran down the center of the room as the group of ladies filtered through the store.
Near the back counter was a large warming stove in front of a stair case. On the other side of the room, bookcases filled with books without a speck of dust to be seen on their covers. A small rack of ladies dresses, older style fashions, sat near the counter. Grace and Cassandra were already at the front speaking to a stern looking elderly lady. Her regal black hair was veined with silver and mounted high upon her crown. Still a civil smile graced her lips as she spoke to the girls. Caroline had stopped to look at a stack of pails on a side shelf of the long table. Content to browse, Elise pulled the sunbonnet from her head, letting it hang down her back. She had borrowed the dress and hat from the Ingalls'. Her own dress coat and cape were beyond repair. The skirt she could work in but it wouldn't be appropriate for anything else, even after Grace had expertly stitched the gashes in it.
"When are you planning on going to Mankato?" The woman storekeeper asked with a nasal, sugary voice.
Cassandra smiled brightly, "Next week! I'll be a governess for the Everton's there."
The woman stopped, her ears pricking.
"Thee Everton's? They're very prosperous in the construction business. Well that's wonderful darling! Now you just let me know if you need anything else." Cassandra nodded and she and Grace came back over to Caroline.
"Can we go down to Main Street to see them work on the new Lars Hanson monument Ma?" Grace asked.
"No. You promised Laura you'd go straight to school. You got to take the morning off because you already took the history and maths test yesterday but you still have to go for the rest of today. Cassandra will you take her?" Caroline said with a gentle but firm voice.
The girls left in a flurry of skirts.
Now Caroline came to the counter, bringing a large basket of assorted white and brown eggs.
"Good afternoon Caroline!" Said the lady, her congenial manners a bit forced.
"Hello Mrs. Oleson." Caroline said warmly.
Oleson. The name Elise had been looking for. She must have missed it on the sign outside as she had been concerned for Titan. Of course Mr. Ingalls had mentioned the name 'Nels' day before yesterday. Yes, he had said the man had died and Elise had hoped there was more than one Nels in Walnut Grove. She hadn't expected to find them so quickly if indeed it was the Oleson's she was looking for. Still, there could be more than one Oleson family in Walnut Grove. Elise decided to wait before she went asking her questions upfront.
"Ah! Eggs! You know I don't deal much in fresh perishables anymore Caroline, but for you I'll make an exception for an old friend. No, nowadays, it's more profitable to deal in specialty items, not farmyard goods." Mrs. Oleson sniffed.
Caroline simply smiled. Elise tried to turn her ear from their conversation so as not to eavesdrop but the room was small enough that even at the other end by the doors, she could still hear them chatting. As far as she could tell, the Ingalls didn't even need to sell the eggs as well off as they were.
"My my, you've done wonders with that child Caroline. I'm sure sending her off to Mankato will free up some space for you now that she's finally out from under foot. After all, adopted children are sometimes a burden you know. Not my Nancy of course. She's running the restaurant and hotel all by herself nowadays. But she was gifted from the start naturally." The barrage of insolence made Elise turn, surprised at Caroline's cool composure.
"Yes we're quite proud of Cassandra and James. It was Cassandra's idea to move to Mankato and should she change her mind we'd love for her to be at home." The polite reply came from Mrs. Ingalls.
Counting the eggs, Mrs. Oleson took them between two fingers as if they were filthy. "Well you can't keep them home forever you know Caroline. You know my Nancy has many a suitor who has come to call but as she is a lady of high standards and we've had to reject them all. I mean, there's no one decent around here is there?" She chuckled. "We'll just have to wait for some wealthy gentleman from the city or something, like we did with Nellie."
Elise thought she saw the beginnings of laugh touch on Caroline's lips but she stifled it smoothly.
"It's true, sometimes importation is the only option." She said simply.
Mrs. Oleson smiled broadly as she finished putting the eggs into her own basket. "Would you like that put on your account Caroline?"
"Yes please, thank you Harriet. Oh by the way let me introduce you to our guest who is staying with us at the moment. Elise O'Shea." Caroline turned and waved to Elise. With some hesitation, Elise walked over to them with a smile on her face, determined to be as graceful as Mrs. Ingalls was no matter what may come.
Harriet Oleson looked at her with an assessing air, sucking in her cheeks slightly and pursing her lips. Then a superficial smile came and she cooed, "My isn't she a pretty little thing Caroline! And how are you related to the Ingalls?"
Holding her string purse close, Elise replied, "Well, I'm not…"
A wave of unseemly assumptions passed over Mrs. Oleson's face. "Oh really?"
Before Elise could try to explain, Caroline put her arm around the girl and said, "She was traveling here Harriet and got caught in the storm. She's just rested enough to get out. We're on our way to see Mr. Anderson at the bank now…"
Still holding a curdled expression, Mrs. Oleson murmured, "Well he's not there. Mr. Anderson had to go to Sleepy Eye for the rest of the day and won't be back until Monday. Sudden family issues."
"Oh…" Caroline said slightly disappointed. "Don't worry Elise, if you need anything you just let us know."
"Well, Mr. Anderson said I could act for him in an emergency…" Harriet offered.
"It won't be necessary Mrs. Oleson." Caroline said then directed back to Elise. "We'll bring you back next week and get you some new dresses and everything you need."
Upon hearing about their purchasing intent Harriet sweetened up immediately. "Well I would be happy to extend you some credit my dear seeing as the Ingalls endorse you and we're old friends now aren't we Caroline?"
Elise opened her purse. She felt she had inconvenienced the Ingalls long enough and wanted to take care of her business as quickly as possible and be on her way. Perhaps she was being too hasty but on the other hand, dawdling could prove more dangerous than recklessness.
"No Mrs. Oleson, I have money, well I have this…" The young woman brought out a gold nugget the size of the tip of her thumb. "I don't know exactly how much it'll bring until the banker looks at it but…"
Mrs. Oleson's eyes bulged at the sight of the nugget and she wrung her hands hastily.
"No no no Miss O'Shea! I'll have you know I am very much up on the currency and value of gold and I would be more than happy to give you the going rate as well as a little extra for that little rock you have there." She had calmed herself by the end of her speech but still looked at it hungrily.
Elise nodded in agreement, she also knew the rate for gold and with some small haggling she came out slightly ahead, not enough to feel guilty about the deal. It would all come out even in the end.
Harriet came out from behind the counter for the first time welcomingly as one would a close friend. "Now didn't you say something about new dresses and such?"
Half an hour later, Elise put a roll of bills in her bag and Mrs. Oleson a heavy nugget stashed behind the counter. Mrs. Ingalls lingered, waiting for Elise to accompany her to the farmer's market. But Elise told her she wanted to check on her horse and would meet her at the wagon in about an hour. Caroline agreed and left.
"Now I'll have those packages delivered to you. Oh dear! You cannot stay there at the Ingalls! Why they're squeezed in tighter than a bag of beans!"
Elise wondered if Mrs. Oleson had actually been to the Ingalls' large house.
The woman charged on, "No that will not do at all. Not with all those children and especially James. You know how shamelessly people talk."
Elise was beginning to. "Yes some do."
"Well my dear you will stay at Nancy's and for a special price. Now uh, I can't leave the store but if you just cross the street, carefully. You know there're ruffians driving those wagons. And I'll just ring over to let her know you're coming."
Picking up the few necessities that fit in a small parcel, Elise thanked her.
"I appreciate it Mrs. Oleson. Take your time, I'm going to the livery anyway."
The elderly woman gave her a little wave with her fingertips as Elise stepped back out onto the boardwalk, the bell tinkling behind her as the door closed.
Notes:
A couple changes here with Nels dying and Willie aspiring to be a doctor. From the episode 'Stone Soup' I kind of got the impression that he could have developed the aspiration when he saw Dr. Baker as a true hero.