Chapter 7 – Secrets of the Mercantile & Wapos
The mystery of the lavender was solved a few days later when Mr. MacIntre paid them a visit.
"You've done a nice job with this place. And it's real generous of you folks to turn the front room into the school", the mercantile owner remarked when he arrived at their door, carrying a ladder.
"It actually works out well. Elizabeth has an incredibly short walk to work every day and she can decorate it and put up school stuff any way she wants", Jack said with a smile. "What can we help you with?"
"I'm running out of soaps and things at the store. I could have sworn I had another box somewhere so I checked my invoices and sure enough I was supposed to have another box. I couldn't find it anywhere and then I got to thinking that I had probably left it here when I moved out."
"I'm sorry, Mr. MacIntre, but we didn't come across a box of anything of yours."
"You wouldn't have. I didn't have enough room in this building. That's why I moved down the street. I used to have to stow some things up in the rafters and attic crawl space here. Mind if I take a look?" he asked as he motioned with his ladder.
"Found it! And a box of nails and screws. I was wondering about that too," Mr. MacIntre remarked a few minutes later as he called down from the top step of the ladder.
"Give me a hand here, Sergeant?" the man asked as he handed the boxes down to Jack as Elizabeth watched.
"You know. I don't believe I ever gave you a welcome gift. How about something pretty?" Mr. MacIntre asked as he took a box from Jack, set it on Elizabeth's desk, and blew off a layer of dust.
"I got all sorts of pretty smelling stuff in here. The ladies love this stuff," he said as he opened the box and began looking through it.
"Lemon verbena soap, lemon verbena sachets, rose soap, rose sachets, jasmine soap, jasmine sachets, lavender soaps, lavender sachets. Whew! That's some strong smelling stuff. I got a lot of lavender stuff in here. That's the scent the hotel likes me to stock. They keep these sachets in the closets. How'd you like something? My gift to you. Any scent you like."
Elizabeth didn't miss Jack's look of relief when Mr. MacIntre mentioned the lavender sachets and soaps.
Everything had been explained. The wind had blown the letter. The cat or the dog had nudged Elizabeth's shoulder while she had dreamed on the couch. She had accidentally nudged the bowl of eggs off the counter. Her loud footsteps and banging of the pantry door had caused the bacon fat jar to fall. She had simply forgotten that she had opened the curtains when the boys had seen her and helped her move the furniture. The jingling she had thought was the bell above the door had been Rip's dog tags.
The woman in the woods had simply been a woman in the woods.
The mysterious lavender scent floating through the home had merely been sachets and soaps in the rafters which Comet's sensitive cat nose and Elizabeth's now sensitive sense of smell due to her pregnancy had been able to pick up even through the box storing the items.
Now that the mysterious lavender scent had been explained, Elizabeth should have felt better. And part of her did.
But part of her didn't.
The practical, intelligent, educated Elizabeth knew that Bunny wasn't real, but that didn't stop the pregnant sentimental Elizabeth from feeling like somehow she had lost a friend.
I miss the idea of having Bunny watch over me, Elizabeth realized with a sigh as she got ready for her day.
After a big breakfast, Jack had left and wouldn't be back for two days. The mercantile house, which Jack jokingly called the "Mouse" after deciding that it was a better portmanteau than the one Lisa Anne had come up with, felt empty.
Elizabeth glanced over at the medical books on her nightstand and shook aside the thoughts of labor. The pain. The tearing of her body. The bleeding. The things that could go wrong.
"A lady in Hope Valley had twins. I didn't help deliver them but I was there. Gosh, I hope I don't have twins. I don't think I could handle it", Elizabeth said worriedly as she sat at Lucy's kitchen table and watched the young woman knead dough for loaves of bread.
"Did you eat a lot of sweet potatoes just before you got pregnant?" Lucy asked as she picked up the ball of dough and then threw it down the counter before pounding it with her fists.
"What?" Elizabeth asked with a furrowed brow.
"If you eat a lot of sweet potatoes just before you get pregnant, you'll have twins."
Elizabeth didn't say anything as she took a sip of lemonade but raised her eyebrows skeptically at Lucy's statement.
"Mrs. Hendricks in my old neighborhood had three sets of twins. She always said it was because she had sweet potatoes a couple times a week. And each of her twin girls had twins of their own! Because they ate sweet potatoes. Her twin boys got married but their wives didn't have twins. Mrs. Hendricks said it was because the boys never did eat their vegetables and neither did their wives", Lucy said as she threw more flour on the counter and then wiped some onto her wooden rolling pin.
"You honestly don't believe that, do you, Lucy?" Elizabeth asked.
Lucy smiled. "I always thought maybe having twins was a trait inherited through the female side of the family, but then what do I know?"
"You look frazzled", Jack said when he came home at the end of trip and saw Elizabeth sitting on the couch.
"You've been gone for two days. I missed you last night, and I had awful day today", Elizabeth said pitifully.
"What happened?" Jack asked as he took off his jacket and sat down next to her.
Without even letting Jack take off his boots or wash up after his travels, Elizabeth began miserably telling Jack about her woes.
"I slept horribly without you last night. And then today at school, Millie forgot her lunch. So I went to the kitchen and made her a quick peanut butter sandwich. She took one look at it and ran shrieking out of the building."
"Why?"
"It was my fault. I forgot she's afraid of peanut butter", Elizabeth said with annoyance.
"Don't ask", she added with a sigh when Jack started to open his mouth.
"I ran after her but she was too fast and made it all the way to the land office, where her dad works."
"That's only four doors down the street", Jack said with a laugh.
"You try running in a dress in the heat when you're pregnant!" Elizabeth responded indignantly.
"Sorry", Jack smiled. "What happened next?"
"When I got back to the class, the Durand boys were fighting. Yelling at each other across the room and then shoving one another."
"What were they fighting about?"
"I have no idea. It was all in French! French this! French that!" Elizabeth said as she threw up her hands in frustration. "Everything sounds so emotional in French!"
"Then, Lisa Anne was frightened by the yelling so she grabbed onto my dress. I was trying to settle down the boys, and she insisted on clinging to me the whole time. I couldn't pry her little fingers off no matter how hard I tried", Elizabeth said irritably as she remembered the incident.
"I finally got the class in order and managed to get Lisa Anne to sit down. Although, I swear she made a tear in my dress. I was giving the class their spelling test and that's when I noticed one of the twins copying off of the other one."
"So? Why didn't you just punish him?"
"I couldn't figure out which twin was copying! When I asked them to come to the front of the room, they moved around too much. I can't tell the apart!"
"Don't they sit in assigned seats?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes in exasperation at Jack. "They sit on the floor!" she yelled as she motioned with her hand to the wooden planks.
"That does sound like a pretty bad day", Jack replied as he tried not to laugh.
"And I haven't even felt the baby kick yet", she added angrily as she picked up a pillow and threw it back down on the couch.
"And I hope you're not expecting twins because I don't want them and I didn't eat any sweet potatoes anyway!" she added with a huff.
Without saying anything, Jack got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. He came out a minute later with a glass of water which he handed to Elizabeth.
"Okay. I have no idea what sweet potatoes have to do with anything. And I'm not even going to ask because you'll probably just get mad at me. But, I will tell you that I love you. And I've missed you."
Elizabeth crossed her arms and frowned even as she felt her irritability fading away.
"You've had bad days at school before. What's really bothering you is that you haven't felt the baby move, isn't it."
"Yes!" Elizabeth wailed.
"That stuff you read. Those women you talked to. They all said it probably wouldn't be before the 18th week at the earliest, especially with your first pregnancy."
"I'm 19 weeks along", Elizabeth said with a mixture of sadness and worry.
"Remember what you once told me? Love is patient. You were willing to wait as long as it took for me to wake up when I was in the flood and had exposure. Now, you just have to wait as long as it takes for the baby to decide to kick you hard enough to feel it."
Jack chuckled. "I can't believe you're hoping your child kicks you. Once it's born, you won't want that."
Elizabeth leaned her head on Jack's shoulder. "You're right. I just wish I could feel it", she said sorrowfully.
"If it makes you feel any better. I haven't felt the baby kick yet either", Jack said with a snicker, causing Elizabeth to give a weak smile.
"You go get washed up from your trip. Just put your dirty clothes on the floor." Elizabeth said with a sigh as she straightened up. "I'll make dinner. You must be hungry. And tired after your trip."
"What are you making?" Jack asked as entered the kitchen twenty minutes later and he looked at the frying pan in which Elizabeth was stirring onions, green peppers, and tomatoes.
"Omelets. They'll be ready in a minute."
"You forgot the eggs", Jack observed.
"Oh, darn!" Elizabeth responded in dismay. "I knew I was forgetting something."
Jack chuckled as he poured himself some orange juice and then handed a half a dozen eggs to Elizabeth. "So, we're having breakfast for dinner?"
"I wanted something simple. I've been so busy with school. I think part of the problem is that the last teacher and I don't exactly teach the same way. He was all about the rote method. You know, making the students memorize stuff. I like teaching by having the students experiment and be involved and question things. It's been an adjustment for the students."
"I'm sure they'll do fine. They probably like your teaching better. By the way, I'm down to my last pair of socks", Jack said as he got two plates down from the cupboard. "Where's the laundry?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Jack. I was supposed to pick it up from Mrs. Wilkerson today after school and I forgot!"
"I'll go get it after dinner", Jack offered.
Two hours later, Elizabeth slipped out of her thin robe, pulled back the bed covers, and climbed in between the sheets.
"I'm sorry about dinner and the laundry, Jack. I know you've had a really hard last couple days yourself. You were probably starving and tired when you got home. I guess I'm just a little absent-minded and busy", she said as reached across the bed and kissed Jack on the cheek.
"Dinner turned out fine. Once you added the eggs", he said with a laugh as he turned out the light and put his head on his pillow. "And I totally blame the pregnancy for your odd behavior", he added good-naturedly as he closed his weary eyes.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?" he said sleepily.
"Thanks for putting up with everything. About Bunny. And me forgetting stuff. And I know I've been taking a lot of naps. And not liking the smell of your shoe polish. "
"It's okay. It's only four more months", he mumbled as he started to fall asleep.
"49."
"What'd you say?" Jack murmured, thinking he hadn't heard correctly.
"49 more months", Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.
"What in the world are you talking about?" Jack opened his eyes and looked at her curiously.
It was then that Elizabeth told Jack what she had known for more than a year. Ever since Hamilton when they were still engaged and she had gone to a gypsy woman's trailer. Elizabeth hadn't believed the woman's first tarot card prediction. But when it had come true, Elizabeth had gone back for another reading. That was the far more important prediction.
Up until now, Elizabeth had never told anyone about the gypsy woman and what she had told Elizabeth.
" . . it was the most interesting trailer, Jack. It had a china hutch in it and . . .
. . . she was right when she said the man in the drawing would run away from me into someone else's arms, and I would have lots of money . . .
. . . I was wearing red. And I got all that reward money.
. . . I went back again. . . you were dropping off a check . . .
. . . we're going to have six children . . . isn't that exciting?
. . . mostly boys . . ."
"Do the math, Jack. Four more months of this pregnancy and then another five whole pregnancies. That's 49 more months in all", Elizabeth said happily as she gave him another kiss goodnight and settled her head down on her pillow.
As Elizabeth slept peacefully, Jack lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
"Good Lord!" he exclaimed.
Two days later, Elizabeth grimaced and put her hands on the kitchen counter, holding onto it until the cramp subsided. "Damn, that doesn't feel good", she said quietly, as her eyes welled with tears.
She had been having cramps most of the evening, but had kept quiet, not wanting to alarm Jack. Or herself. Somewhere a part of her thought that if she ignored her body, her feelings of cramping, dizziness, and the headache would go away. She was not quite five months along in her pregnancy. Far too soon to deliver a baby that could survive.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to stave off the feelings of dizziness that threatened to overcome her as soon as the cramp subsided.
"I think I'm going to be sick", she said when Jack noticed her clutching the counter and he rushed over to her side.
Her body was hot, heavy and feeling altogether unnatural.
"Elizabeth. What's wrong? "
"I don't feel so good", she responded worriedly. "I've been having cramps. And my head hurts. I just need to lie down."
"I'm going to get the doctor. Can you make it to the bed?"
When Elizabeth didn't respond but looked around weakly, Jack swooped her up in his arms. Carrying her the few steps to the bedroom, he kicked open the door, and then laid her down on top of the covers. "I'll be right back."
As Jack rushed towards the doctor's office, he noticed the woman dressed in simple clothing coming down the steps of the office. She pushed her long dark hair away from her face as she saw Jack, his face etched with worry, approaching her.
"The doctor's not in. He's out at one of the homesteads", she explained before he could even ask.
"Are you his nurse?"
"What's wrong? Is it Elizabeth?"
"She doesn't feel good. She's got cramps."
The woman gave Jack a reassuring smile. "I saw her outside earlier today. I was going to stop by this evening to check on her anyway. I'm not surprised that she's feeling ill. She's dehydrated. Too much time in the heat and she's so busy with teaching that she forgets to drink enough water."
"Can you please come check on her?" Jack pleaded.
"I'm off on another visit right now. And the doctor won't be back until tomorrow morning. But I can tell you what to do. Does she have a headache?"
"Yes", Jack replied worriedly.
"A little faint? dizzy?"
"Yes"
"I want you to give Elizabeth a large glass of water. Tell her to drink the whole thing at once. Then I want you to give her another large glass of water, this time with a teaspoon of salt in it. Make her drink that too. She should start feeling better within 20 minutes. The cramps are her body's way of telling her she needs to drink more. If she stays dehydrated, it can lead to early labor. And that would be disastrous. After she's finished two large glasses, keep having her sip water throughout the evening. You can give her two aspirin for the headache, but only after she's had the water. She should have at least three full glasses of water before bed."
Jack looked worried. "Can't you stop by to examine her now?"
"I can't. I have somewhere else I have to be. Have her drink the water. She'll be fine. I promise. It happens to a lot of women. Now hurry home to her. Don't forget, salt in the second glass. It's important."
"Thank you. I don't even know your name."
"Wapos. Now hurry home to her."
Jack hovered over Elizabeth all evening. She had been too tired and her head hurt so much that she had pushed away the first glass of water. But Jack had insisted that she drink it all.
When he quickly gave her the second glass, she grimaced at the salty taste but drank it anyway.
Elizabeth handed the empty glass back to Jack, who quickly refilled it and brought it back to her, this time with two aspirin.
"Sip it slowly. I want the whole glass gone in the next hour."
"Jack, I can't drink anymore", she complained.
"You should have thought about that all day when you weren't drinking enough", he said sternly.
"Jack, you can act angry all you want but I know you love me and are worried. You always get stern with me when you're scared for me", she said when she looked at him and gave him a weak smile.
"You're right." Jack touched his lips to her forehead. "Now drink some more water so I stop worrying."
An hour later, Elizabeth was resting comfortably in bed.
"Are you still having cramps?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I feel better. Just a little tired now. But much better"
"No more dizziness?"
"I don't think so. But since I'm lying down in bed, it's kind of hard to tell", she said with a smile.
"How's your headache?"
"Almost gone."
"You know I'm worried sick about you."
Elizabeth reached for his hand. "I know", she said with small smile. "And I am going to let you spoil me. But not hover over me. Come to bed and let's get some sleep."
Jack lay restlessly in bed for hours. Never fully succumbing to sleep. Finally, he got up and walked into the bathroom, getting himself a glass of water. He smelled the faint scent of lavender wafting through the air in the bathroom and as he walked back into the bedroom, reminding him of Mr. MacIntre's soaps and sachets which he had given Elizabeth.
Jack climbed into bed and gently moved his hand to Elizabeth's belly, keeping it there. Wanting to touch her, but not wanting to disturb her sleep.
Jack listened to the leaves rustling in the wind outside the bedroom window as he lay awake worried about his wife and the baby inside her.
"Please be okay", he whispered.
Five minutes later, he felt it.
It was so unexpected that he wasn't even quite sure at first what had just happened.
But then, almost immediately, he felt it again.
"Elizabeth?", he whispered excitedly as his face broke out in a smile.
When she didn't move, except for the steady rhythm of her breathing, Jack didn't try to wake her. She needed her sleep.
Elizabeth had another 49 months of babies. Plenty of time to feel babies kicking her. Kicking and moving to let her know that they were alright.
Jack would let her get her sleep tonight. I'll tell her in the morning, he thought happily before he fell asleep.
The next morning, Jack stopped by the doctor's office before heading to the livery.
"Morning Doc, I was wondering if you can you stop by and check on Elizabeth. I think she's fine, but if you could check on her, I'd really appreciate it."
"What seems to be the problem?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't here last evening to help out. I was over at the Simpson's homestead all night. Seems like you did just fine with your Mountie training", the doctor said with a smile after Jack had explained everything
"I think your nurse was right. Elizabeth felt much better after drinking water, and I've had her drinking it constantly to keep hydrated. She seems fine this morning."
"It's important for pregnant women to keep hydrated. I'll be happy to stop by. I'll walk over to your place with you now", the doctor said as he picked up his medical bag. "But, Sergeant Thornton, I don't have a nurse."
"The woman I saw coming out of your office last night. I thought she was your nurse."
"My nurse left three months ago. I haven't gotten a replacement yet. I sure could have used one during the diphtheria scare."
"But she was leaving your office?" Jack said in confusion. "I thought it was your new nurse."
"My office was locked last evening. I have to keep it locked because of the medications. It was locked when I came back this morning. No one was there. Perhaps she's a patient of mine. Looking for me and found the door locked and me gone. Did you get her name?
"Wapos. Mrs. Wapos"
"Sorry, I don't know anyone in town by that name. What'd she look like?"
"She was a dark haired woman. Maybe Native American. About 25 to 30 years old. Dressed kind of old fashioned. Pregnant- -", Jack's voice trailed off as he described the woman. For the first time, he really thought about the details of how she had looked and their encounter.
"Doesn't sound like a patient of mine. Well, whoever she was. She gave you the right advice. Sounds like she kept your wife from going into premature labor. Someone was looking out for you."
"Jack, what are you looking for?" Elizabeth asked after she had walked the doctor to the door. After checking her out, the doctor had assured her that she was perfectly healthy and she had promised to take care of herself.
"I . . I was just looking for that soap and sachet you got from Mr. MacIntre as a welcome gift", Jack said as he closed the medicine cabinet.
"I haven't used the soap yet. It's in the pantry and the sachet's in my top dresser drawer. Why?"
"Just curious. I thought maybe I'd buy some more", Jack said as he moved to the pantry, tying to act calm while his insides were feeling jumbled.
Jack moved aside some things until he found the bar of soap. He read the name of the scent written in simple ink on the brown paper wrapper and felt a sense of unease. He stared at the writing and then quickly moved to the dresser.
Opening the top dresser drawer, he pushed aside Elizabeth's clothes until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the small cloth bag with the silk ribbon and held it to his nose, inhaling the scent.
"Elizabeth", he called out to her. "These are both lemon verbena!"
Elizabeth walked over from the front room and paused in the doorway. "I know. I like lemon verbena."
"Didn't you get lavender?" His voice almost betrayed his anxiety.
"No. I thought we had enough of lavender. I figured you'd never want it in the house again", Elizabeth said.
"You didn't get anything lavender from Mr. MacIntre? No soaps? No sachets?"
"No, Jack. Just lemon verbena. There's no lavender in our house", Elizabeth asked with furrowed brow. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. I'm just going out for something. I'll be back in five minutes."
The postman was no help, Jack realized in frustration as he left the post office a few minutes later and headed towards the Mountie office. I thought he would know everyone in town.
Jack yanked open his desk drawers and hastily shoved things aside. When he found the manual underneath a pad of paper, he pulled it out and stared at the cover before sitting down in his chair.
Royal Northwest Mounted Police Manual (RNMPM) 2609: "Basic Vocabulary of Indian Tribes of North America"
Cree, he mumbled as he flipped through the manual looking for the right chapter.
Cree.
Cree
Here it is.
Jack ran his finger down the pages looking for the word.
. . . Wapiskaw, . . . Wapiw, . . . Wapos.
Jack paused when he got to the word. Even before he looked at the English definition of Wapos, Jack suspected what it would be. But he looked anyway.
Rabbit.
There it was. Printed next to Wapos. Rabbit.
Bunny, Jack thought as he slumped in his chair and ran his hand through his hair.
Ten minutes later when Elizabeth crossed the street to check on Jack, she found him sitting in his desk chair, staring at nothing in particular.
"Jack, is everything alright?"
Jack closed the manual and stood up from the chair. "Of course, everything's fine", he said with a smile as he walked across the room. "Everything's just fine. Let's go home to our 'Mouse", he added happily as he put his arm around her and led her to the door.
Up next: Chapter 8
