Teresa held herself up against the wall of Jake's chest. She nestled into him with her hands clinging to the collar of his tan tweed coat. His arm was wrapped protectively around her shoulders and every now and then, he squeezed her in tighter. The hours seemed to be whittling by as they sat outside on the bench. Hank had offered them a table at the saloon but Jake couldn't rip himself away from the porch.
It was uncommonly cold for summer as Teresa's bare head began to force her to shiver. She laid her face close to Jake's neck and breathed in his soap and faint musky cologne scent. His chest rose and fell as she listened to the muffled sound of his breath. In a small way, it was comforting to be so close. He pressed his cheek to her forehead and frowned deeper.
"You feel like ice," he said pressing his lips to her skin.
Removing his coat, he draped it over her slender shoulders. He stifled a chuckle when she slipped her arms into the cavernous sleeves, and her hands only came up to where his elbows would have been. Hooking his thumbs into the pockets of his vest his smile faded. With her hair cascading over her shoulders and his big coat on, she reminded him of Lucy. Lucy his little girl who was behind that door possibly dying and he had laughed.
"Jake," Teresa sighed reading his thoughts. "Talk to me."
Perching his boot up on the bench beside her, he leaned his forearm on his thigh. His stormy eyes settled on his wife. Jake had always felt this need to protect and care for Teresa. It was a need that was wrought with his unfailing love for her. Now as he observed her shivering body and fear stricken expression, she appeared to be made of glass. A sudden instinct to brace himself took over. His family was about to be inexplicably torn from him and he couldn't allow that to happen. He felt like he was trying to hold back the waves of the ocean.
"I'm just tired is all," he would spare her this. "Dr. Mike'll fix her up. Everything's gonna be fine now."
Teresa sniffed at this. He was hiding something behind that stormy countenance. However, this time she didn't think she would be able to coax it out of him. Jake was scared over something more than Lucy, if that was possible at this moment. He's been so strong and steady; it wouldn't do now to have him fall apart. She resolved to take the burden from him. The weight of it was evident in the droop of his shoulders and in the gloom of his being. Maybe he wouldn't let her in on it but she would take it by force if necessary. Teresa wouldn't allow this to destroy him.
Pulling her arm from its sleeve, she reached up and caressed the side of his face. Closing his eyes, he leaned his face into her fingers. Enjoying the feel of her soft fragileness filled his heart. His beautiful wife, who had given him his beautiful child, was real and with him. It wasn't such a strange thought when before he had been alone.
"I love you," she offered up to him.
"With all my heart," he kissed her hand warmly, holding it briefly against his lips.
The inky blackness of night gave way to the pinks and purples of the oncoming morning. The Cheshire moon was fading back into the abyss tugging along the sparkling stars. The town started to stir and yawn its way into the activities of everyday life.
Jake had taken to pacing back and forth along the porch. He stopped now and then to adjust Teresa skirt to cover her ankles. She had fallen into a fitful sleep some hours ago and he'd helped her to lie down on the bench. However now people were walking past and casting knowledgeable glances in their direction. Though he was loath to wake her, he nudged her gently on the shoulder. Her eyes sprang open and she shot up like a bullet.
"Is she out?" she shouted looking towards the door.
"No, it's mornin," he smoothed out the tangles of her hair with his fingers. "folks are start' in to walk around."
She sighed leaning back on the bench with a yawn. As she sat watching, the streets begin to fill with people her eyes welled up. Tears flowed unchecked down her face along her neck and saturating into the collar of her dress. She wiped furiously at her cheeks with a tweed sleeve. As his footfalls drew nearer, she turned her face away unwilling to allow him to see her pain.
Behind them, the floorboards groaned under a tired weight. Slowly with an air of exhaustion, Michaela opened the clinic door. Her face was sullen and her eyes were deep hallows that seemed to beg for sleep. Here and there, her surgical apron was dabbed with blood. She didn't even try to smile.
Teresa sprang up and grabbed for Jakes waiting hand as they approached Michaela's tired form. She ushered them in past the bloodied operating table and through the door that lead to the rooms upstairs. Jake told himself this was good. If she was in the recovery rooms, she had survived. Everything would be fine. Reaching the top of the stairs Michaela stepped around them opening the door at the far end of the hall. She held her finger up to her lips as she waved them in.
Teresa rushed in to see her child. Yet Jake lingered in the hallway watching Michaela with a searching gaze. Michaela only smiled half-heartedly at him. Gently she pressed his arm encouraging him into the room. At the grasp of his arm, she was taken aback at the realization that he was tense as a rock. Somewhere between the stairs and the doorway, he felt the clammy tendrils of death still lurking about in the atmosphere.
"Jake?" Michaela inquired worried. "Lucy's waiting."
His boots creaked against the floorboards as he crossed the threshold.
