Chapter 25: THE MORNING AFTER

Andy awoke to shafts of sunlight streaming through the tent's open door flaps. He wouldn't have minded a few more minutes of sleep but urgent needs intervened. Sitting up, he debated whether or not he had time to put on his boots for a rapid transit to the latrine when he beheld the most unlikely object he would ever have expected to see in a tent in the wilderness—a china chamberpot with lid, reposing under the cot on the opposite wall. Enough daylight penetrated the canvas that he was even able to discern its color—a glazed cobalt blue almost matching the pair of eyes staring back at him from atop the cot.

"Andy? That you?"

"Jess? You awake?"

"I asked first..."

Andy knee-walked over to the cot, dire straits momentarily forgotten in his excitement.

"Jess! Are you okay? How're you feeling?"

Shielding his eyes with one hand, Jess propped himself up on the other elbow.

"Wouldja please close those flaps? The light's hurtin' my eyes..."

Andy jumped up to comply.

"Thanks." Jess tried to sit up and groaned, falling back against the pillow. "Don't know which end's gonna explode first... my head or..."

Immediately reminded of why he'd got up in the first place, Andy dragged the pot into full view. Further discourse was delayed until relief was obtained on both their parts. Pushing the receptacle out of sight, Andy pulled Ellie Jo's camp stool from under her desk and positioned it close to Jess' head.

If I had me a dollar for every time I've sat watch at Jess' sickbed I'd be a rich man. He's looking pretty rough right now but at least he's coherent...

Andy's joy was short-lived,however, as Jess' next words scotched that observation.

"The cap'n sure do enjoy his niceties, don't he? Can't crap in the woods like everyone else! He ain't gonna be happy with a hospital rat quartered in his tent."

"Uh... Jess... what captain?"

"Cap'n Foley, who else? You his new aide?"

Think fast, old son. Miss Ellie says to go along with anything he says if it keeps him calm. Hope he doesn't ask me too much military stuff... I barely know enough to fake it...

"Um... no... I'm just an orderly. Captain Foley's away on a mission and the hospital tent's full up. That's why you're here instead of there. I'm supposed to look after you and make sure you rest... until your wounds heal."

"Was I wounded? Where?"

Jess tried to prop himself up again, as if to satisfy himself he was still in possession of the requisite number of limbs. Andy pushed him down.

"Don't worry... you're not missing anything important." Except your right mind. "It's all minor but the doctor ordered bedrest for the next few days."

That seemed to appease the patient. He bobbed his head in understanding... until a peal of feminine laughter from somewhere outside caught his attention.

"Women... here? This close to the front lines?"

"Ah... uh... actually, we're not that close... way, way back, as a matter of fact..."

"Can't be nurses... no females allowed in field hospitals... must be whores! Are they pretty? Can you get one to come in here so's I can see her?"

Oh shit! Now what? Gotta squash that notion right away before one of the girls hears him!

"Jess... listen to me... pay attention... these ladies are not nurses or whores... they're doctors. Do you understand?"

"I ain't stupid. There ain't no lady doctors out here. You're funnin' me!"

"I swear to you I ain't... I'm not... kidding. These're respectable girls... ladies. They'll be coming in here to check on you and you'd better be on your best behavior, you hear me?"

"If you say so..."

Christ on a sidesaddle! What if he makes a lewd suggestion... or worse... tries to fondle one? Our geese'll be cooked for sure. But no... Jess won't do that... I've seen him around fancy women and he's always been respectful, even when liquored up. But that's in peacetime. No telling how he might have been in wartime... I've heard stories about bloodlust and atrocities committed against women... on both sides. Maybe I'd better first have a word with Miss Ellie... I think she might be the one to understand...

Andy was shaken out of his reverie by a hand gripping his arm.

"Andy?" Jess' voice sounded different somehow. Too, his expression had changed to one of confusion... soldier-Jess supplanted by present-day-Jess.

If he keeps this up I'm going to get whiplash of the brain!

"Andy... I don't feel too good."

"I know you don't, Jess. But you'll get better sooner if you just lie still and rest," Andy wheedled.

"Too warm in here. Ain't you too warm?"

"Close your eyes. Think about something nice..."

"You know too much thinkin' gives me the headache... even when I ain't hurt."

The self-disparaging attempt at levity was encouraging as it reflected the real Jess... not the one lost between then and now.

A figure stepped into the tent, briefly backlit before tugging the flaps back into place. It was the doctor, carrying a tray with a tin carafe, two enameled mugs and two small jars. The aroma of coffee swirled through the tent, making Andy's mouth water as childhood training kicked in and he shot to his feet.

"How's our patient, Andy?" Ellie Jo inquired before setting down the tray and turning up the alcohol lamp on the desk. "There... that's better. Total darkness isn't necessary or even advisable."

"Good news, Miss Ellie... he's awake... and here, if you know what I mean... for right now, that is... he, um, wasn't earlier."

"Good news indeed."

"He's complaining he's too warm..."

"Is he now? Why don't you go get yourself some breakfast and I'll sit with him for a bit."

"I... uh... that okay with you, Jess? It's Doctor Ellie... you remember her, don't you? From yesterday?"

"I remember. Do like she says. Go on while you got the chance."

Jess waited until the kid had ducked out the door.

"What's he talkin' about... me bein' here... an' not here?"

The gravelly, almost guttural demand suggested some hostility to Ellie Jo's presence. She chose to ignore that as she filled a mug with the fragrant brew and ladled in sugar and milk before leaning around to present it as a peace offering. Once again Jess rose up on an elbow. Accepting the coffee and taking a tentative sip, he was pleasantly surprised—perfect... just the way he liked it and not so hot it wanted saucering and blowing. Not that he had a saucer.

Ellie Jo filled her own mug before turning, with a disarming smile, to plant herself on the recently vacated stool. "You look like a cream-and-sugar kinda man. I took the liberty." She eyed him over the rim of the mug. "Lucky guess?"

"Dead on," Jess agreed. "Thanks. This sure tastes good. We used the last of our condensed milk this mornin'."

"We've got plenty. Refill?"

"Yes, please..."

With the coffee ritual, reciprocal eye-balling and sizing-up of opponents out of the way, the doctor got down to brass tacks. But instead of the inevitable doctor-question, Ellie Jo shocked Jess with her less than lady-like approach.

"I won't insult you by asking you how you're feeling as I'm sure it's on a par with shit on a stick. However, I am concerned about the headache, assuming you still have one."

"Yes m'am. Bangin' away like a kettle drum."

"Uhuh. Well, the usual way one acquires a headache of that magnitude is by incurring an injury to the head. Can you tell me what happened yesterday, after I left you? You seemed in reasonably good order at the time... other than the, ah, fish hook and filet knife incident."

Her query met with silence as those interesting eyebrows of his scrunched together in the effort to force recall the events of the previous day.

They look just like those squiggly diacritical marks over the letter 'n' in the Spanish language—tildes, I believe they're called. How cute is that? And those eyelashes... truly a criminal waste on a man!

Jess handed over the empty mug and rolled back onto his pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"I... I don't remember much of anythin' after you rode off. I think I caught some fish. I know I was pukin' sick... pardon me. After that it's pretty much a blank. I don't remember how I got here... in your camp I mean. I guess this is your tent, too?"

"It is."

"I shouldn't be puttin' you out like this. When Andy comes back to help me, we'll get outta your hair an' back to our digs."

Ellie Jo leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and hands clasped loosely inbetween.

"You're not going anywhere, I'm afraid."

"You can't keep me here if..." It was a feeble show of belligerence at best. They both knew it.

"If I might explain, Mr. Harper..."

"Please... can't you call me 'Jess'? 'Mr. Harper' makes me feel like I'm standin' in front of a judge or somethin'."

"Alright... Jess. As a fully qualified general physician, I have diagnosed you with concussion severe enough to occasion cognitive impairment and retrograde amnesia. At some point yesterday you sustained a head injury that caused it. It's possible you might not ever remember the details but it happened nonetheless."

"But I know who I am," Jess argued, seizing on 'amnesia' as the only term he truly understood.

"Not that kind of amnesia... with this kind you can access old memories but the newest ones—the ones immediately preceding the trauma itself—are temporarily unavailable. Most likely you will recover completely in a few days if you follow my recommendation and agree to bedrest."

"I can't lay here for..."

"A secondary benefit will be restoration of mobility to your damaged ankle."

"Miss Ellie... uh... Doctor... could you just say what you gotta say in plain English?"

Ellie Jo sighed in frustration.

"In order to heal, your brain requires as little movement as possible in a calm environment. Unfortunately, as your head is attached to the rest of you, all of you must remain supine... lying down on your back, that is. Which in turn means you're keeping your weight off your foot so that it can heal. I don't believe I can make that any clearer."

"Yes m'am. I understand. Don't like it but I get it."

"I do hope your objection is to the situation in general rather than me personally... or the fact that I'm a female physician."

"Oh no m'am... not at all... that you're a lady, I mean. If fact, I had a lady doc tend me back in the spring an' she... well, I reckon she did as good a job as any..."

"High praise, I'm sure," Ellie Jo retorted with a sardonic grin. "Be forewarned, I'll be sharing attendance with my six young ladies. As doctors in training they'll welcome the experience."

She had to stifle her amusement at his expression of alarm.

"I don't know about..."

"Don't look so worried. They're not nurses and I wouldn't ask them to function as such. Andy will attend to your personal needs."

Jess had plenty more questions but Ellie Jo indicated the interview was over by putting a hand to his chest when he attempted to rise and pushing him back down. Admitting to himself that he had neither the strength nor the inclination to resist, he subsided against the pillows. Too, his concentration was wandering.

"Enough talk for now. Time for you to rest. Close your eyes, Jess Harper."

Another touch to the forehead confirmed that Ellie's charge was definitely feverish... attributable to any number of reasons but her guess would be a natural physiological response to such an overabundance of insults acquired in such a short period of time. The human body could take only so much punishment before it attempted self-repair by gearing down systems. Even that of a relatively young man in relatively prime physical condition. Still too early to worry.

Ellie Jo assured Andy that Jess' fever was comparatively low-grade, that he was not in any real peril, and that vivid dreams were a normal brain function.

"Unpleasant, yes... but they pose no lasting ill effects and medical science is beginning to believe dreams—both good and bad—are actually essential to mental health."

"So... I shouldn't try to wake him up when he's having a nightmare?"

"Not unless he's posing a physical threat to himself or someone else."

"I want Jess back," Andy said miserably.

Ellie was consoling. "Soon. Very soon. He's not that sick and these things generally don't last that long. The concussion is a bit of a complication but I imagine he's been hurt a lot worse in the past and has managed to bounce back. You need to be here for him when he does, strong and acting as if all is well..."

"But all isn't well," Andy objected. "He can't walk. And you have no idea how cranky he gets when he's laid up!"

Ellie Jo laughed. "Oh... I have a pretty good idea, believe me! Want to hear some good news?"

"There's good news?"

"Of course. By now he'll be able to put some weight on that ankle and get around on his own... with a stick, of course. Just for the time being. The two of you can go back to fishing and your vacation won't be a complete loss."

"I sure do hope you're right about that, Miss Ellie."

"I am. Be patient."