Grateful for this sheltered place
With light in every window,
Saying "welcome, welcome, share this feast
Come in away from sorrow."
"Thanksgiving Song" Written and sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Chapter Twenty One
"We'll start moving in after Thanksgiving, if that's all right with you, Matt." They had just finished looking at a house just outside of Dodge City, which the owner was happy to rent to the Marshal and his wife immediately.
"Oh, fine, fine." This was Matt's answer to everything Kitty had suggested since coming back to town, with the exception of buying a new pair of boots. She had walked into the jail after her dressmaker's fitting that morning to find Matt patching his boot with an awl and a strip of rawhide.
"Are you sure you don't want Doc to do that?" Matt looked up at her. "I thought we were going to the general store to get you some new boots."
"There's nothing wrong with these boots." The expression on Kitty's face registered her disagreement with that. "And I thought you were going over there so you could buy dishes and such. You don't need me for that, do you?"
"No, and I guess you aren't any different than any other man when it comes to that, so there's no sense getting mad about it." she sighed. "But I'll have you know, Cowboy, I already have 'dishes,' as you refer to my china set, it's pots and pans that I'll need. My old ones can just stay at the Long Branch. Though I never did order the replacement for that soup tureen." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Yeah," Matt said uncomfortably, wondering if she'd ever forget the night he'd fallen asleep much too early on an important dinner date, amid the raucous saloon noise downstairs and despite the crash of the soup tureen on the floor at the foot of her bed. She'd always insisted it slipped right out of her hands as she was clearing the table, but he had his doubts about that, especially since she repeatedly mentioned forgetting to replace it. "Maybe this time you could remember to do that," he said with a wink.
The minute they stepped onto the Roniger's porch the front door opened and a voice squealed "Kitty!" An instant later a young girl hurled herself at Kitty with such force that she would have been knocked down if Matt hadn't been standing behind her.
"Hello, Emily, how have you been?" Kitty said warmly, returning the girl's hug.
"Fine, Ma's helping me make a new dress, you want to see it?"
"Land sakes, child! Let Miss Kitty come inside before you go pouncing on her!" Bess appeared at the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron. "Go on and help your sisters in the kitchen and let our guests come inside before they catch their death of cold."
""Maybe later," Kitty whispered, smiling as she watched the girl go into the house. "Bess, I still can't believe that's the same girl. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was one of your own."
"Well, she is now, Kitty! Of course, she still has a ways to go, like learning not to tackle you every time you come for a visit. Marshal, Will and the boys are in the barn keeping out from underfoot if you want to join them."
"Thanks, Mrs. Roniger, I'll do that." Matt finished helping Kitty off with her cloak and went back out the front door, tipping his hat.
"Maria, come take care of Miss Kitty's wrap for her! Come on in and have a seat, Kitty."
"Oh, Bess, let me help you out in the kitchen." Kitty sniffed at the smells of turkey and pumpkin pie filling the air, glad that her stomach finally seemed to be on good behavior.
"Nonsense, Kitty, you're our guest, I don't want you to lift a finger around here!"
"All, right, then. Oh, I almost forgot," Kitty said, handing her the bottle of wine she had brought. "You told me I didn't need to bring anything, but I couldn't come empty-handed. For you and Will to have later."
Bess laughed. "I'm sure we'll need it by then. That was so thoughtful of you, Kitty!"
"Now, Bess, where's this grandchild I heard about?" Will, Jr., the oldest, was married with a three-month-old son, William Roniger the Third.
"Jeanie!" Bess called to Will, Jr.'s wife. "Bring little Billy out here for Miss Kitty to have a look at!"
"Oh, isn't he beautiful!" Kitty exclaimed over the baby in Jeanie's arms. "May I hold him?" Jeanie shyly held the baby out to Kitty.
"Well, it looks like we found something for you to do after all, Kitty," Bess said, chuckling. "You don't mind keeping an eye on him while we finish getting dinner ready, do you?"
"Not a bit!" Kitty sat down in the chair next to the fireplace and began rocking Billy, staring at him intently. With his sparse, blond hair, he looked nothing like she imagined her and Matt's child would look. She certainly hoped their baby would have more hair than this baby, especially if it did turn out to be the girl she was hoping for. Kitty felt a tiny movement deep inside. It was similar to what she had felt the last few days, but stronger, and she was sure she had just felt the baby kick. She looked down at Billy and smiled. Looks like someone is a little jealous. From the doorway of the kitchen, Bess watched Kitty thoughtfully.
Three tables had been placed end to end in the dining room to create one long table for the Roniger family and their guests to share Thanksgiving dinner. The table had been set and the Roniger girls were busy loading it with the feast they had spent the last day and a half preparing. As the men filed in from the barn, Matt caught sight of Kitty in the rocking chair holding the Ronigers' grandson. All her attention was on the baby, who was asleep, and she didn't see him walk in. As Matt stood there with a half-smile on his face, imagining Kitty rocking their own child in a few months, she felt his eyes on her and looked up. Their eyes met as Matt began to cross the room toward her. Bess, carrying the enormous turkey platter to set at the head of the table, witnessed the silent, shared glance between the two and wondered if it meant what she thought it meant.
"Isn't he just precious?" Kitty asked when Matt stood in front of her.
"He sure is something, isn't he," Matt agreed, his eyes still on Kitty.
"I'd better go lay him down so we can eat." Kitty stood and Jeanie suddenly appeared next to her.
"I'll take him; you go ahead and sit down. Thanks for minding him for me," Jeanie smiled and carefully took her baby from Kitty's arms, trying not to wake him
"Let's go sit down," Matt said, and Kitty took his arm. In the dining room, Bess told them to sit anywhere they liked. Matt pulled out Kitty's chair and sat next to her, and soon they were surrounded by the entire Roniger clan, Will at the head of the table and Bess at the opposite end. The younger children chattered excitedly as Bess tried to quiet them down. When silence was finally achieved, everyone joined hands for the blessing. As Will said a prayer of thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon them, Kitty bowed her head and silently gave thanks for the blessings in her own life.
When dinner was finished, the men and older boys went to do chores and the younger children were shooed outside to play. Bess had been banished from the kitchen while the older girls and Jeanie cleaned up. She and Kitty were headed to the sitting room for a long overdue chat when Billy began to wail from the cradle in Bess and Will's bedroom.
"Well, bless his heart, he's going to need changed," Bess declared, changing course immediately.
"Oh, let me do it, Bess, "Kitty said, following her. "I'm going to need the practice."
Bess turned and stared at her for a moment. "Kitty!" she exclaimed, putting an arm around her and almost dragging her to the bedroom. "Are you-" She pulled the door closed behind them. Kitty picked up the screaming Billy and turned to face Bess with a smile. "Yes, I am. I'm going to have a baby."
"Oh, honey!" Bess exclaimed, gathering diaper changing supplies. "It's a miracle." While Bess didn't know the entire story of Kitty's life before coming to Dodge, she had confided enough over the years that Bess was aware of Kitty's doubts about both her ability and Matt's willingness to ever have a child. After her ordeal with the Dog Soldiers two years earlier, Kitty had insisted she had put the idea out of her mind completely.
Kitty nodded in agreement. "I'm just so happy…" she began, and then burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Bess, I must seem awful silly to such an...an experienced mother…."
Bess took Billy from Kitty's arms. "Nonsense! I'll take care of Billy, you just have yourself a good cry and then we can talk all about it." While Bess changed the baby, Kitty sat on the edge of the bed and poured out the fears she'd refused to let herself give in to since finding out about the baby; Doc's concern over the baby's survival and Matt's worries about her physical condition; the loss of Sam and impending sale of the Long Branch; her relief over Matt's resignation and the awareness that it wouldn't put an end to the danger that he faced-that both of them, all three of them now, faced.
Bess sat on the bed next to Kitty and put her arm around her. "It's perfectly normal to worry like this while you're expecting, Kitty. Of course, you do have a little more to worry about than most first time mothers. I can't promise you that everything will be all right, because none of us knows that, but I do know that you and that man love each other, and that's the most important thing. That, and your baby. You just have to trust that everything will work out the way it's supposed to."
A knock at the bedroom door interrupted them. Bess opened it and Kitty heard Jeanie's voice. "It's probably about time for Billy to eat. I can go feed him in the girls' room if you want me to." Bess handed the baby over and Jeanie added, "The Marshal is looking for Miss Kitty, is she in there with you?"
"Tell him she'll be right out, Jeanie." Bess closed the door and turned back to Kitty. "Sounds like your husband is ready to go home."
"He wants me to have an early night because we're packing up my things at the Long Branch tomorrow. We're moving into a house Saturday."
"Well, Kitty, why didn't you say so? The girls and I will be over first thing in the morning and get started with that for you."
"Bess, I couldn't ask you to do that, you deserve a day to rest after all the work you went to for this dinner!"
"You didn't ask, and anyway, you're the one who's supposed to be resting."
"I'm much obliged to you, Bess. Oh, I must look awful!" Kitty dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
"Well, your makeup could do with a little touching up. Let me see if I still have some face powder in here somewhere…."
Kitty heard a familiar knock on the door. "I'll be right out, Matt," she said softly.
"Everything all right in there?"
"We're just having a little girl talk," Bess said, bringing Kitty the container of face powder and a small mirror. "Give her a couple more minutes, Marshal!"
Kitty repaired the damage to her makeup as well as she could before getting up to say goodbye to her friend. "Thank you for everything, Bess. I feel so much better now that we've talked."
Two nights later, Matt and Kitty sat together in front of the fireplace at their new home. "Now that we're moved in, you can finally start getting some rest. Doc's going to be after me again for letting you work so hard." Matt pulled her closer and brushed his lips against her temple.
"He won't." Kitty protested. "Doc and I have come to an understanding, remember? And you, Louie and Festus did all the work today. All I did was supervise."
"Where Festus and Louie are concerned, supervising is work. Now, let's get you to bed before we fall asleep out here." Matt stood, swiftly pulling her up along with him.
"Matt, what are you doing?" she asked when he gently lifted her into his arms.
"Just something I forgot to do when we finished moving in," he answered, carrying her over the threshold to their bedroom.