Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews/alerts/favs on this story so far! You guys rock!
So sorry it has taken me a while to update this one. Had some free time this week thanks to stepping on goodness knows what in my yard while working in my garden, and thus puncturing my foot. Not too painful, just difficult to walk on. Thankfully my shoe took a great deal of the damage : )
Her future nickname will be Millie : ) And there will be some overlap with James and Ivy from 'Strangeness and Charm' eventually.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Worlds Collide
Chapter 6
For two more days, Mildred camped out in her home with Jamie, watching movies, and insisting he rest.
"Please do not trouble yourself too much on my account, Miss Callahan," he finally told her, with a smile. "I am not glass. I will not break."
Mildred had to laugh any time that she powered up the television. Jamie was still a little timid around it, but that usually outweighed his excitement over whichever movie they watched. They exhausted her collection.
"I suppose I'll be stopping by the store after work tomorrow," she said, eying the stack of them from New Years that still needed to be returned.
Doctor McGregor had called at least once each day to check on Jamie's progress.
"No more fever, no other symptoms. He's been as healthy as a horse," Mildred explained.
"Plenty of rest?"
"More than he can stand actually. I think he might be developing a touch of cabin fever actually."
McGregor chuckled. "Alright. Would you feel ethical about leaving him long enough to return to work, Thursday and Friday?"
"I should think so. Just a few hours, right? Otherwise, I might drive him mad."
"Right. And I could look in on him, during my lunch."
"That would be most appreciated." She had shown Jamie how to use some of the appliances to make simple meals, rather than having him burn up her toaster trying to fry a sandwich, as Dave had once done. "And do you have any extra movies?"
"A few."
"Could you bring those? At least until I can go rent a few more?"
"Yes, of course."
"Brilliant, thank you." Doctor McGregor filled her in on anything important she might have missed during the day, which was hardly anything at all.
"I'll also bring by some old clothes that the Major might be more comfortable in. Some were my father's, that have been well cared for, and some were mine. Plenty of room for alterations. I'm sure he's tired of Dave's."
"I'm tired of Dave's. They don't fit for the most part. But are you sure?"
"I would rather someone wear his clothes than for them to be packed away, rotting. Especially a young man like Major Stewart."
"I appreciate it, Doctor McGregor, really. You have no idea." A man like Jamie had no business in stained sweat pants and pub t-shirts, which was what she was down to this week. Mildred had stored his uniform until such time as she could have it dry cleaned, because her washer tended to play Russian roulette with her clothing from time to time.
That afternoon, Jamie requested to go and see his horse.
"It has been long enough," he explained. "I have encountered worse conditions." From the bit of reading Mildred had completed in the afternoons and evenings, when Jamie was occupied or sleeping, she had researched a little on the war. She couldn't argue with him.
"Alright. But at least let me bundle you up." Jamie rolled his eyes, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He slid into Dave's old coat as Mildred dug around in a basket by the door where she kept an odd assortment of gloves and scarves she had found or made.
"Agreed," Jamie confirmed.
Her latest crochet project was an emerald-hued scarf for Jamie. She was half way through, working the stitches by feel as they watched movies at night. Every spring she sold her winter efforts at the village's festival, usually with much success. Mildred had offered to teach Jamie, when she caught him watching her hands, but he had declined.
She pulled a lime green knitted glove out of the bottom, searching for a mate. They were some she had found for Dave, as a Christmas present, that he had worn only once and then discarded. She held it the length of Jamie's hand, deciding that it should fit him. The mate seemed to be missing, so she found a red one that was similar in size.
She wrapped a russet colored scarf around his neck, to hide the sensitive skin there from the biting cold. "There," she told him, tying it gently, "satisfied." He was eyeing the gloves with hesitation. Mildred found two equally strange gloves in the box as well, in hopes that Jamie would not feel so self-conscious.
The path between Mildred's barn and the cottage was well worn now, the snow all mushy brown and grey from her daily path. He held onto her as they made their way down the steps, so neither would slip and fall.
"You have marvelous grounds," Jamie commented as they strolled down the path, his eyes searching the horizon line.
"Why, thank you. My gran was quite proud of them. Said there was nowhere else she would rather live. I can hardly blame her. This has been my home for over twenty years, every summer until I finished with my education."
"Ancestral?"
"Hardly. My gran bought it with my grandfather when she was a younger woman. I know every crack in the floorboard, every corner, every curiosity." There was a certain pride in her voice that touched Jamie.
"Would you ever leave?" Mildred grew quiet enough that Jamie thought he must have offended her. "I did not me-"
"Things change," she told him. "If circumstances dictated it, perhaps. But I would want to leave it to someone who would appreciate its eccentricities. Who would not care that the floorboard in front of my door creaks for no reason in the dead of night. Or that the windows sometimes stick on hot summer days. Or even the roaring noise the shower makes when it is first started." She paused again. "And they would of course have to love horses."
"But of course." She let go of Jamie's arm to open the barn door. The horses and Billy greeted them, Melon being the first to throw his head over the door and beg. At the end of the stables, Topthorn whinnied and tossed his head, recognizing his master.
Jamie's eyes widened and he headed for his best and most reliable friend. Topthorn was closer to him than his own family. Mildred turned her attention to greedy Melon, who was poking his head over the stall door, giving Jamie and his horse a private moment.
"How soon will I be able to ride again?" Jamie asked finally. Mildred had hoped he wouldn't.
"I'll speak to Doctor McGregor about riding soon enough," Mildred told him. "Just to be certain."
"Thank you." The afternoon was spent quietly brushing their respective horses. Mildred couldn't help but steal glances of Jamie slowly untangling small knots from Topthorn's mane or stroking the end of his muzzle when he thought no one was watching.
X
Wednesday, Mildred finally returned to work. For once, she was thankful for the lack of constant office activity as it provided her with more time to wonder how Jamie was faring at home alone. Jai Patel was hovering more than usual, Mildred supposed because of her uncharacteristic absence.
"Miss Callahan," he addressed her, interrupting her daymare about Jamie forgetting the use of one of the appliances and sending her cottage up in flames.
"Er yes? What did you need?"
"Doctor McGregor's cousin, is he well?"
"Oh yes, just dandy." She hoped Jamie was. Doctor McGregor promised to call on him around lunch, to see how he was faring. Mildred had provided him with enough entertainment to keep him indoors until she returned. Jai's mouth opened and closed a few more times, as if he were going to inquire more.
Beside Mildred, the phone rang suddenly. Forgetting herself, she answered quickly with "yes?"
"Miss Callahan?" came a loud voice. Jamie. She thought he knew the basics of using the phone. She had been over it with him. Must still have been getting used to it.
"Oh, Major Stewart. Is everything alright? Nothing is on fire?"
"No. Doctor McGregor insisted I call you with an update." She smiled and tried not to glance at Jai's face, for fear he was eagerly listening in.
"Oh, alright. You are alright then?"
"Yes. I have been reading one of your books."
"That's fine. Just fine." They chatted a few more minutes and hung up.
"Is he hard of hearing?" Jai asked with a wry smile, as he glanced over a patient's file. Mildred wondered how she would talk herself out of this one. She could say 'yes' but then if Jai and Jamie ever met, the perceptive doctor would realize that hearing was the least of the Major's problems.
"Oh no. He's just…"
"Just what?"
"My telephone is having some difficulty." The doctor nodded, but Mildred got the idea he didn't believe her. Luckily, his one o'clock appointment had arrived, cane and all, so that Mildred was spared from further inquiry.
X
The house was too quiet for Jamie's tastes. At war, men, horses, and noise had constantly surrounded him. At home, he had his mother, father, and brothers.
He missed Mildred, even if they were rather quiet during the day. Her presence was comforting in this busy era. The attic creaked suddenly, disturbing his thoughts. Jamie set the novel he had been previously been reading down on the nearby armrest.
There was a knock at the door and Jamie rolled off the side of the couch, venturing into the kitchen to see who might be visiting.
"Are you decent?" Doctor McGregor asked in a jovial voice through the kitchen door.
"Yes, of course." Mildred had made sure to leave him a clean outfit, one provided by Doctor McGregor, for the day. Jamie much preferred the rough wool to the 'sweatpants' as she had called them. He pulled open the door to permit the doctor entry. "How are you faring Doctor?"
"A bit too nippy outside. I'll be glad for the spring and my late wife's roses." He hung up his coat and scarf on the pegs by the door, and then withdrew a bag of sandwiches from one of the inner pockets. "Now, Mildred would have you eat something fit for the sparrows, but I never found any harm in a slice of good turkey. What say you?"
"That sounds agreeable," Jamie acknowledged as he and the doctor sat down at the little table. The company of the doctor temporarily alleviated Jamie's loneliness until after lunch, when the doctor had left to continue on his rounds. Even hearing Mildred's gentle voice over the phone wasn't quite the same.
He really wished to venture outside and check on his horse, but did not think the idea wise, especially should something happen to him. Instead, he paced around inside for a while, wandering through rooms.
The temptation just to enter her bedroom was overwhelming. She was away at work and would probably never know. But he would and that's what kept his feet firmly on the right side of the threshold.
Instead, Jamie settled for just staring inside, observing her hastily made bed, her small desk in front of the window, and her open closet full of bright clothing. He could see the pictures on the wall, of her grandmother, of what he supposed were good friends, and of course her horses.
There was a painting hanging beside her desk, signed I. Jones, of the local landscape rendered in warm colors. The attic creaked again, startling him. While Jamie didn't give into foolish superstitions as his mother and her friends had done, he also knew better than to laugh at forces he did not understand.
"Alright," he said to no one in particular, "I'll venture back out to the sitting room." He resumed the novel until he heard an automobile approaching, a sound he still found unfamiliar. Automobiles in his day and automobiles now were quite different.
He heard the door slam and a few seconds later, Mildred's voice.
"Major Stewart?"
"Yes?" He strode into the kitchen, finding her stripping off her coat and mittens. "Anything I can assist you with?" A long day of sitting and resting was beginning to wear on his nerves.
"Oh, dinner, I suppose," she smiled. "You weren't missing me were you?" she asked, smiling and placing her hands on her hips. Jamie's attention was momentarily caught by the length of her skirt, her visible stockings pulled over lightly muscled calves.
"I missed your company today Miss Callahan. Your home seems to creak more when you are away," he pointed out quickly.
"Gran used to say something similar when I would visit from school. The house just misses me I suppose." Indeed, the house had ceased its creaking as soon as she stepped over the threshold. "Just let me change out of these work clothes and we'll start."
Jamie waited in the kitchen, listening to Mildred's muffled voice as she related some story about what happened to her at work, and then catching the second half as she reappeared dressed in long trousers and a loose shirt.
She kept up her merry chatter as she delegated him tasks to do, while they prepared a dish for supper. Jamie partially listened and provided input every so often, but mostly he observed Mildred.
He thought she might not have noticed until she said, "My old home didn't frighten you did it?"
"Of course not."
"Are you certain?" She was teasing him, Jamie could tell by the smirk on her face.
"Yes. I have seen and heard far worse things in war. Your home is no competition." She nudged him with her elbow.
"Alright, if you're certain. I was under the impression you missed me considerably."
"The cottage did seem a bit empty today," Jamie finally consented.
"Well, if you are fully recovered in the morning, then perhaps tomorrow you can spend some of the day in the stable."
"I would be of more use to you there. I am afraid I know nothing about keeping a home clean."
"That's alright. Neither do I," she grinned. Supper was quick, so they could spend more time in the stables with the horses before darkness set in.
Once in the barn, she showed him to the tack room, of which he only had brief flashes of memory.
"Actually, if you want something to do during the day for a few hours, the tack room does need a bit of sorting." There were years of collected tack lining the walls and covering many available surfaces. "Cleaning, that sort of thing. If you intend to ride Topthorn soon, you'll need to fine one of my grandfather's old saddles I suppose."
A challenge.
"I would be happy to Miss Callahan."
"Alright. I'll check with Doctor McGregor first. But I don't see any reason you couldn't be out here for a few hours each day, at least at first. I am sure he brought by some of his famous turkey sandwiches and didn't think I knew about them?"
"Perhaps," Jamie said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Then he must think you are much improved," she smiled. "Tomorrow you start, for just a few hours." Jamie willingly agreed and the two of them had a nice night in, watching more films borrowed from Doctor McGregor.
X
