Chapter 7: A Gift of Hope

That evening, Pearl sat beside Grace who was lying on her side sleeping, too weak and tired to move. She was still burning with fever and shivering with chills, despite having the warmth of the wool blanket on top. Pearl wiped her forehead with a cool cloth dipped in lavender scent. The farm woman patted Grace gently when coughs shook her frail body.

"There now girl, take it easy," Pearl said gently, still patting. "Yah must try to relax."

It pained her to see Grace suffering in this sort of condition. The doctor would arrive again tomorrow to check on her once more. His last instructions she remembered was that someone like her had to be with Grace all the time, both day and night. Every half hour, Pearl would check up on Grace to see how she was doing by taking her temperature. Lucky Jack hid himself in the bundle of hay so that she wouldn't notice his presence. The interruptions didn't bother him in the least, understanding the importance of helping Grace to heal from the illness. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. But the feelings Pearl and the other animals felt were not exactly filled with holiday cheer.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family including Maggie and Mrs. C stood outside peeking in through the small opening of the doors. All their expressions were sorrowful and filled with worry over Grace's sickness. Hardly any one of them ever got sick and were now wondering what would happen if the illness were to only become worse for Grace. She had to get better soon. It wouldn't be Christmas without her.

"Would ya'll quit mopin' round for once," Maggie suddenly spoke firmly, seeing the looks on their faces. "She's gonna get better. Just wait and see." But deep inside, she was just as worried for Grace as the rest of the family. "All is not lost for her, so why don't we try to lighten up."

"But it's so horrible to see her like this," Ollie stated, still gazing pitifully at the frozen form of Grace being cared for by Pearl.

"Easy for you to say," Jeb agreed. Despite being the grumpy and sarcastic member of the bunch, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for Grace. "She can barely move a muscle." In his mind, he wondered how life might seem on this farm without Grace singing off-key or doing her best to settle a disagreement between him and the piglets. "Do yah think she might…?"

"NO SHE'S NOT!"

All turned attention to Mrs. Calloway whose expression was mixed with anger and determination. She for one would never believe that Grace might not ever recover from this illness and won't have anyone in the family thinking unpleasant thoughts of the future.

"Her illness can be treated and cured. But all it takes is time for it to fade," she said, struggling to keep her tone as hopeful and determined as possible. But it was disappointment that overtook her to find that the family may be giving up hope that Grace would never get better. Her sharp, stern voice made them listen up. "I for one am not giving up on Grace, so don't you go giving up on her either. She needs us to be strong for her right now. Things may look bad at this moment, but that doesn't mean she'll never make it. All we can do is hope…hope that she will recover in time!"

That was when the doors to the den threw open revealing Pearl.

"Come on in girls, it's time to hit the hay," she shooed the two girls inside. "And wait there while I go get the medicine." Rushing inside her house, all the other animals went back to their pens and coops to go to sleep.

Mrs. C stepped forward to where Grace lay sleeping still. Her body didn't move an inch, but she noticed that the sweet heifer was still breathing; or at least struggling to breath through her opened mouth. It still proved a bit difficult for her to breath out of her stuffy nose. Sitting next to her, Mrs. C thought it necessary to whisper a few words to Grace, whether she was listening or not. For some reason it might feel good to let it out.

"Not feeling too well dear?" Mrs. C sighed softly, listening to her faint breath. "I understand. Just thought I let you know that everything is prepared for this season. We all know you would've loved to see the tree."

Of course her response was nothing but silence, her soft breathing the only sound present. Maggie on the other hand was having a hard time going to sleep, secretly watching Mrs. C talk with Grace to speak words of comfort. By the sound of her tone, Maggie felt that she was convincing herself that Grace was only resting and not in danger of being lost. Whenever Mrs. C turned in her direction, Maggie closed her eyes and pretended that she had already drifted off to sleep. As much as she wanted to be close to Grace herself, Maggie couldn't bear the thought of staring down at their ill friend sleeping in a troubled, restless slumber. This was almost too much to handle. Sometimes she would tell a few jokes to the family to calm them and herself from the anxiety over Grace's sickness. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep their hopes alive. The Christmas season was all about hope.

"Listen closely now," Mrs. C whispered to the sleeping Grace. "I know I may have sounded a bit strict and harsh when I found you were sick. But the reason why I act strict sometimes is because I care about you; and Maggie too of course. Rules such as drying yourself off when coming in are made for a reason. They're for our protection against this." She was referring to the cold and flu. "I was worried your sickness might've been a symptom beyond the doctor's help." Swallowing a lump in her throat, she continued. "I hear Jack's story has been thrilling enough for you. That's good to hear. We all know how much you like to hear stories about Christmas."

Pearl came back in with the medicine for Grace. In one hand she held the bottle and in the other were two silver spoons.

"Stand aside Mrs. C," Pearl instructed, stepping forward to Grace. "I have to give Grace the medicine now."

Mrs. C moved out of her way, knowing that it was time for her to go back to her own sleeping spot. From there, she watched Pearl give Grace two spoonfuls of the medicine without any trouble. Then afterward, she used the other clean spoon to give her and Maggie one dose.

"Cheer up you two," Pearl said softly to the girls, trying to smile. "She'll be alright, I promise. She just needs her rest." Then she left the den.

As Mrs. C fell asleep, Maggie stared over at her with the left eye open feeling rather touched by the warmth of her words to Grace. She couldn't help but give a proud smile for her, finding out that Mrs. Calloway did have a soft side after all, even if she barely shows it often. Then again, nobody is perfect. Everyone has their flaws in life. At their first meeting, they didn't even get along that well. But it was only by working together and putting aside their differences that helped to save the farm.

I should be teasing you Mrs. C. Maggie thought, closing her left eye. But I'm actually proud of you tonight. Heck, and what a fool I was to think that you didn't have a softer side. I knew there had to be more to you than I thought. Then with that, she fell asleep.

Next morning

The next morning came the dawn of Christmas Eve. All the animals woke up early sniffing the scent of falling snow in the air. But rather than feel cheery, it felt dismal inside for each and every one of them. It was as if the entire family had walked out of the land of happiness and into a land of gloom and shadows where sorrow never ends. It was becoming more difficult to keep on hoping that Grace would get well soon enough. But they couldn't just give up on her, not after what Mrs. C yelled out last night. It seemed that she and Maggie were the ones who didn't yet give up hope when everyone else almost did. That would not happen again. It couldn't.

Pearl shooed the two girls out for a while so that she could give the medicine to Grace and allow Dr. Smith to check up on her. She remembered two spoonfuls in the morning and two more in the evening. Within half an hour later, the doctor arrived wearing the same pinstriped suit carrying the black suitcase of medical supplies. Entering the den, he used the tiny lighter to check the color of her eyes. The bright pinkness from before had turned lighter, which signaled that they were getting better. Her forehead didn't feel as hot as it had been two days ago. It was still slightly warm though, meaning she was far from well. With the thermometer in her mouth, her temperature had gone down to a hundred degrees.

"Magnificent!" Dr. Smith shouted in surprise, taking the thermometer out of her. "Her temperature has nearly gone down. Seems my medicine worked after all. I ought to congratulate you on a job well done."

"Does that mean she's gonna get well soon?" Pearl asked, a small glimpse of hope filling her.

"Well I can't promise any miracles ma'am," Dr. Smith assured honestly, smiling. "But I'm positive she'll be fine soon enough. All she needs is more rest for her body to heal. Just keep givin' her that medicine for the next three days startin' tomorrow. Then after that, no more." Then he checked the watch in his vest pocket. "Oops time flies when you're keepin' track o' schedule. I gotta rush back to town now, but if yah ever have any more problems, contact me. I'm always at the office whenever I'm needed. See yah."

Pearl waved goodbye to him as he headed back on the road with his medical supplies in hand. It wouldn't feel right for her to keep him here all day in case other folks in town got sick from the flu and had to stay in bed for a week. Now that she knew Grace would get well soon, things were beginning to feel bright and cheery. So she decided to give the good news to the family.

"Good news everyone," she announced. "The fever has gone down. But that don't mean she can come out now. Nope, Grace still needs rest to recover in time. I know the doctor ain't a miracle worker, but without his help, I would never know what else to do bout Grace if her sickness got worse. Let's not forget what the holidays are all bout; a time for peace on earth and good will toward men. Maybe even a time for us to hope that Grace will turn better." She patted Ollie on the back as she passed by the pigpen. "Dr. Smith had done all he can. Now it is time for us to leave this up to the Lord."

As Pearl went into a nearby shack to gather the animals' food, everyone gathered amongst themselves in a group whispering in excitement how wonderful it was to hear that Grace's sickness had gone down.

"She'll be better, won't she Pa?" one of the piglets jumped on Ollie.

"Sure she will," Ollie answered, smiling. "But remember, Pearl says she needs more rest to recover. And that don't mean we shouldn't feel cheery. So why don't we all stop mopin' round and enjoy the day. It's Christmas Eve."

Indeed it was. The good news had lightened up everyone's Christmas spirit once again. If there was anything they all wanted for this year altogether, it was for Grace to get out of bed. Mrs. C had been right all along. How could they have almost lost hope for her? Sure they had a right to worry and be afraid for her, but that was no reason to lose faith or give up hope that things will turn out alright. It was important to keep hope alive for Grace.

As the herd had a discussion, Lucky Jack hopped by without anyone noticing him. They were all too busy talking about the good news with Maggie and Mrs. C. Most of all, everyone was congratulating Mrs. Calloway for giving a tough lesson about never giving up hope on a family member when they need it. It wasn't just her that held on to faith, it was Maggie as well. As much as Grace needed the doctor's help, she needed Lucky Jack's help to not let disappointment bring her spirits down. His story about Julia opened her eyes to realize that there may as well be others out there going through the same situation she did. Pleased by what he overheard the family talk about, he entered through the small opening of the half opened den and hopped on top of the pile of hay to surprise Grace. There she laid a bit feverish and tired, but not as serious as before. She was able to see Lucky Jack without any problems.

"Oh hello Lucky Jack," Grace said hoarsely, her voice was still a bit weak due to her sore throat. "Haven't you heard what the doctor said recently?"

"Nope," Lucky Jack nodded, "But I've heard rumors outside on my way over here. But don't get overexcited bout it just yet. The road to recovery is a long ways off. Many illnesses take time to go away, so while you're waiting to get better, let me continue where I left off on the story."

Grace nodded in understanding. What he mentioned made perfect sense. All this excitement about the good news almost made her forget about what she wanted to hear in the story. Lucky Jack left off where Julia had been ordered by Mr. Finch to plow the field but soon grew tired out in the middle.

"Weren't you going to continue where Julia stopped in the middle of the field?" Grace reminded him.

"Yep, that's where I left off missy," Lucky Jack replied, snapping his fingers. "Although it's true that everyone must work to make themselves useful, it ain't good to overwork yourself with no folks round to help out. Most of all, it ain't nice to overwork a weak or sick critter. Too much work can wear'em out or kill off their strength. And all that plowin' on the fields was leavin' poor Julia exhausted and discouraged when she realized that Mr. Finch was shoutin' for her to keep movin'. He wouldn't even let her catch her breath or rest her legs. Sad thing is some ranchers out there are more interested in gettin' the job done right away rather than allow their workers to take a rest from time to time. And Mr. Finch was one o' those ranchers. But it ain't Julia's fault she was forced to work on the plow. She did it without any choice. And to hopefully keep her new owner from sending her away, the least she could do was making herself useful."