There's Always Tomorrow Part 8
THE LEGACY
Author's Note:
Welcome to Part 8 of the continuing series, "There's Always Tomorrow." Each story in this series stands alone although each sequentially flows in time, so you'll enjoy them more if you read them in order. If you're just now tuning in, you can always catch up on the others later, and I do hope you will! This particular story contains snippets from many Gunsmoke episodes. The cornerstone of the entire story will be revealed in Chapter 3.
All of my stories contain ADULT CONTENT. This one contains a whole lot of joy and tenderness.
"The Legacy" is 16 chapters long. It's my sincere pleasure to have you along for the ride!
"It's an awful sad thing for a man to leave nuthin' when he moves on."
Louie Pheeters in "The Reprisal."
THE LEGACY: CHAPTER 1
"Doctor!" The man was pounding on Doc's office door. "Doctor! Open up, Doctor!"
Galen Adams grumbled something unintelligible as he shuffled to the door, anticipating the blast of cold air that was sure to greet him before he'd even had his first cup of coffee.
"Get in here and close that door!" He all but shouted at the boy. "Now what in tarnation's the emergency?"
"It's the baby, Doctor! It's coming and Ma says it's not right! You gotta come help her, Doctor!"
It was so typical. A kid looking to be in his mid-teens, blurting out all but the essential information. To be fair, this youngster with the beet-red face looked half frozen.
"Get over here by the stove now." Doc pulled him by the arm. "Get those gloves off and rub your hands, young man. What's your name?"
"Travis. Travis Biddle. It's my Ma, Doctor!" The boy was rubbing his hands together furiously.
"All right, Travis." Doc used his gentlest tone. "Now unbutton your coat so some of that heat gets on you, and you can tell me more. Where is your Ma, Travis?"
"Jetmore, Sir. We got a farm just outside Jetmore."
"Good grief, that's thirty miles, Travis! No wonder you're so cold!"
"Yes Sir. I've been ridin' most all night. You gotta come help Doctor, please! She's bad off."
"Is your Pa with her?"
The boy lowered his eyes, the first time he had since he'd started talking.
"Got no Pa no more, Doctor. He's gone a long time. It's just me and Ma."
Adams took a deep breath and scrubbed his mustache. A gangly teenaged kid responsible for a dryland farm and his pregnant mother. Asking more questions about this fragmented family was pointless. He had to figure out how to save two lives thirty miles from Dodge, with a major winter storm rolling in.
"You stand right there by that fire while I pack my things, Travis. Then I'm going to send you on an errand."
"You're gonna help her, right Doctor?"
"Yes son, I'm gonna help her."
He took time to step into his bedroom and pull on an extra union suit, the two heaviest sweaters he could find, and grabbed his winter hat and canvas coveralls, deciding he'd put those on when it was time to go out the door. Then he double-checked his medical bag. It was always ready, always clean, always stocked, but his habit had always been to check. Good thing he didn't have to think about it, because his mind was busy formulating the best possible plan for this nasty situation.
"All right, Travis. Across the street and three doors down is the U.S. marshal's office. Now I want you to button up and head down there. You tell the marshal or any deputy there to get up here to my office as quick as he can, you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
Doc Adams was probably the only person besides Kitty in the entire town of Dodge who could get not just one but two first-rate lawmen to answer his call in under three minutes. And that included the time it took both of them to pull on big hats and coats. It gave him a warm feeling inside that was going to be his final warm feeling for a lot of hours.
Both Matt and Frank listened attentively while Doc sketched the situation.
"Probably the most important thing here is that woman is in the house by herself. She had to send Travis for help, so there's nobody to put wood in the stove. We have to get there fast. She's gonna be mighty cold."
"I piled it up good before I left, Doctor," Travis volunteered hopefully.
Doc put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know you did, son. We'll make it."
"Frank, I'll go out there with Doc and Travis. You go find Tip and have him saddle all three of my horses. Doc can't risk taking a buggy with this storm coming in. Have him put Doc's saddle on Beau. Then he can load up all the warm gear he can find, and extra food and water too. Have him put Travis's horse in my barn and take good care of him. Travis can ride the black gelding till we have time to trade back."
"Makes perfect sense, Matt." Frank wanted to argue about taking the detail, but there just wasn't time. Besides, Matt had it all thought out that quickly. There was no way either of them would ever have let Doc head out in the storm alone.
"You can tell Festus what's up. I'll meet you at my house. C'mon Doc, c'mon Travis, you're going with me."
And just that quickly he was out the door, entourage in tow.
XOXOXO
Kitty wasn't remotely close to being ready to face the day when she heard the group of men come through the back door. She quickly tied her hair back with a ribbon and pulled on her winter robe. Matt had only left an hour or so ago, and the house was delightfully warm. He parked Doc and Travis in the kitchen while he took both of Kitty's hands at their bedroom door and explained the situation.
"I'll rustle up a quick feed here, Kit, if you'll pack our saddle bags with enough to ride 30 miles in a winter storm."
"You know I will. Bring in some side meat and beans when you go to the icehouse please."
Doc gave her a quick hug when she popped into the kitchen.
"Mrs. Dillon, this is Travis Biddle."
"Hello Missus." The boy pulled his hat off quickly.
"All right Travis, you're going to eat before you ride, so get those heavy clothes off. You'll be warmer when you head back out there if you do." Doc was back in charge.
Between the two of them, Matt and Kitty had the saddle bags packed and a decent breakfast on the table in under twenty minutes. Kitty poured the coffee and sat with them. It wasn't much longer than that until Frank and Tip came stomping into the house.
"Everything's ready to go, Matt, Doc." Then he turned to Travis. "You got a shelter with some hay out there for the horses?"
"Yes Sir. There's a barn. There's enough hay and the well stays good all winter."
"All right, let's go guys. Burnin' what little daylight there is." Matt gave Kitty a quick kiss on the cheek. A twinkle in his eye, Doc decided to follow the big man's lead, and gave her a quick peck on the other cheek. It gave all of them a much-needed smile. But as Matt reached for the doorknob Kitty put one hand on his arm and one hand on Doc's.
"Matt, Doc, you come back to me safely now, you understand?"
"That's the plan, sweetie." And Matt treated himself to one more quick kiss.
With a clatter of hooves on the frozen ground, they were gone. Kitty listened through the door until there was no more to hear. She was so lost in thought that Frank actually startled her when he spoke.
"You realize they'll do fine."
She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Yeah. I know. It's just another ride out into another Kansas storm."
Frank held up his empty cup. "How 'bout a refill, barkeep?" He was sporting his trademark grin.
She grinned right back. "As long as you don't mind a waitress in her night clothes."
"The tip'll be even bigger, lady! Especially if you come and sit with me."
"Doc Adams." Frank said the name softly as he pulled Kitty's chair out so she could sit. "How old you think he's gettin' to be now? He was here that time I rode through a long lotta years ago when Matt first got here, and he wasn't a kid then."
"I don't know. I've never asked him. It's something we just don't talk about. Late fifties, maybe even sixty. I just don't know."
XOXOXO
Galen Adams was thinking the same thing as the winter gnawed at his bones. The relentless snow out of the north pounded a thousand tiny needles into his face. His wool face scarf was frozen solid from his breath, making it fuse to his mustache. There was no point in trying to move it for fear of ripping skin off. There was nothing to do except look through his horse's snow-covered ears at the long black tail on Matt's horse, glad he had his favorite personal escort along this time. He thought for a minute about how these amazing animals could keep moving forward with nothing to protect their sensitive eyes, yet still they did, never once complaining or trying to turn back.
Matt waved his right arm forward, the signal they'd used since they left Dodge that it was time to trot again. Fifteen minutes walking, fifteen minutes trotting was the army's way, and Matt had adopted it over a decade ago so he could make decent time crossing the prairie without exhausting his horse. The sooner they got to the farm at Jetmore, the sooner they could all get warm. And this time of year the daylight didn't wait for any man.
"Marshal," Travis called. "There's a creek runs all winter long just ahead in those trees! We can water there and get out of the wind. Not quite ten miles to go after that."
Matt nodded at the boy, grateful to have a local along who knew the land. The day was getting colder and the light fading fast due to the thick cloud cover. Ten miles was reasonable if they kept up this pace, and the lure of shelter made it sound downright easy. He and Travis led the way down into the creek bed, startling a small herd of antelope that blew loud snorts at them, frustrated at being rousted from their shelter.
Matt was actually concerned that if Doc got off, he might have a struggle to get back on his horse, so the others followed his lead and stayed in the saddle. Matt handed jerky and slices of bread around to Doc and Travis, and they all ate, then drank the ice cold canteen water while their horses tanked up in the creek. Doc tried to lighten the mood with a quick lecture about the benefits of good hydration in cold weather, small comfort delivered through chattering teeth. The deep creek bed was a welcome respite from the wind but the snow was still piling up and Matt was keenly aware. Must have been four or five inches already. Time to go!
They rode that last ten miles in complete silence, each man to his own thoughts. What was left of the sunlight was starting to look more like moonlight as it filtered through the mixture of snow and fog. Trotting was more difficult for the horses now, so Matt kept it short. When they walked, Doc reached up and touched his temple with his forefinger, hoping for sensation that had been annoying all morning but seemed to have disappeared in the increasing cold. There was no time for more examination or diagnosis, so he muttered thanks to God that it wasn't his fingers, and rode on, tucked in as close behind Matt as he could get. There sure wasn't anything wrong with his fingers, as was evidenced by the feel of the stiff, ice cold reins through his gloves.
Half a mile from home, Travis trotted up alongside Matt, pointed straight ahead, and smiled. Matt nodded at the boy, returned the smile, and matched his trot. Didn't matter now to save the horses for the rest of the trip. There was no rest of the trip!
He dismounted at the barn and opened the door so all three could get inside.
"Travis," Matt said as he helped Doc down, "You and Doc get right to the house and see about your Ma. I'll take care of the horses and be in as soon as I can."
They found her on the floor in the parlor. Travis rushed to help her up, but Doc stopped him straightaway.
"No, son. Don't pick her up. Let me see her right there. Get the stove stoked up!"
Travis was too sidetracked seeing his mother on the floor to obey promptly. He knelt down next to her and took her hand.
"He's a doctor, Ma! I got the doctor! It's Doctor Adams from Dodge, Ma!"
Doc took the time to peel off heavy coat, coveralls and gloves so he could start his examination, surprised to see the woman actually respond to her son with a weak smile. She had a decent pulse but a deathly pallor on her face, likely from the pain and struggle of extended labor. She was weak enough that even the frigid bell of his stethoscope on her belly didn't elicit more than a soft moan. Good news though: a fetal heartbeat! He had two live patients!
So far.
XOXOXO
"Festus! Come meet the train with me, okay?"
Festus couldn't tell whether Tip Dooley was out of breath from the cold, or just from his sheer excitement that his Ma was finally coming to Dodge.
"Waaal, Tip, I wuz a-thinkin' you'd want some special time with yer Ma all ta' yerself."
"Golly no, Festus! I want her to meet all my friends just as quick as she can!"
"Waaal, hold yer' taters," he grinned, standing up from the office desk. "Gotta get a couple a' layers a' coats on."
"You're sure gonna like her, Festus," Dooley said as the two of them hustled to the depot so they could get out of the storm. "She's real smart and she's real friendly, and boy can she cook!"
"Darn good time a' year ta' be a good cook, son. A man cud jes' about eat his weight in groceries in this here kinda weather!"
"Look there!" Tip pointed excitedly at the big locomotive belching the last of its steam into the air, only to be smothered immediately by the falling snow. "Right on time!"
"She gonna have lots a' stuff, Tip? Cuz I ain't sure I culd get a buggy ta' go good in this snow."
"We can carry it, Festus. She's never owned much. If it's too heavy, I'll just come back. We're takin' her to Ma Smalley's. I got a room all paid up for her there. Hey Festus," he said in afterthought. "I've been saving my money and I'm buying supper tonight at the Trail Dust. Will you come along please? Quint's coming, it won't just be me and Ma."
"I'd be right shore honored, Tip!" Only mid-afternoon, and Festus was already licking his lips at the thought of a free steak on a frigid night.
Beyond that, he was more than surprised when Ava Dooley stepped off the train. He'd pictured an older woman, worn by years of hard work. She looked wise befitting her years, but nothing resembling old. She couldn't have been out of her forties yet, with such a looksome appearance in her stylish green traveling dress and matching hat that any man would have taken a second look. She had the same brown curls as her son, and the pretty smile she flashed at him when she saw him matched perfectly. There could be no doubt she'd fit in. He stood back quietly while he watched Tip rush to her for a long hug: a hug that had been denied to mother and son for almost three years. For the moment the snow didn't seem to matter. Only their reunion did.
Finally, Tip all but dragged Ava away from the train out onto the snowy platform to meet Festus.
"Ma, this is my friend Festus Haggen!"
She extended her hand, and Festus grasped it with both of his.
"Miz Dooley, welcome ta' Dodge!" He was beaming. He'd waited, heard so much, and now here she was. "Now you an' Tip hurry on inta' th' depot outta' this here weather. I'll git yer' things."
"Two bags and a trunk, Mr. Haggen," she smiled at him. "Each has a green ribbon and my name on it."
"Yes'm! See ya' inside d'rectly!"
Festus set the first two bags down inside, watching Tip and his Ma engaged in excited conversation across the room. When he got back with the trunk, nothing had changed. He watched for another moment, then approached the pair. He pulled his hat from his head and beat the snow off of it, then proffered his best smile.
"See'ns how I'm th' official welcomin' committee here, I apologize fer this here weather, Miz Dooley! Me n' Tip kin get 'ya over ta' th' boardin' house but we're a-gonna have ta' walk cuz ya' see th' snow's too heavy fer a buggy. I shore am sorry, ma'am."
But Ava Dooley wasn't the least bit put off.
"I'm no stranger to winter weather, Mr. Haggen. Don't you give it a second thought. I have a warm coat and a more appropriate hat in one of my bags. I'll just put those on and we can walk off into the winter wonderland out there!"
"Yes ma'am." Festus agreed. "An' jes' one favor please. Will ya' call me 'Festus' like ol' Tip does, cuz' ain't nobody cept'n them lookin' fer trouble calls me 'Mister Haggen'."
"Absolutely, Festus. Your name is beautiful! It's so easy to say. I believe it's from Acts."
"Yes ma'am. My ol' momma done tole me that. She done said it had a real happy meanin'."
"True enough. It means 'joyful.' Did your mother read the bible to you?"
"No ma'am." Festus broke eye contact thoughtfully for just a moment, then went right back to answering her question. "She culn't read, ya' see. But it was jes' as good cuz she culd story it right out ta' us young uns from jes' her head, dontcha see."
"I do see, Festus." She smiled. "And maybe you'd call me 'Ava' instead of my full name. Would that be a fair agreement?"
"Oh yes'm. Much obliged! I bin a'callin' Miss Kitty by her first name since ever I first met 'er and I still do even as how she's married up now. I'll jes' call ya' 'Miz Ava'."
"Perfect, Festus. Now you just let me guess: You're from the beautiful Missouri hill country, aren't you?"
"Yes'm. Jane." Festus grinned proudly.
"It's Ava, Festus. It's Ava." Tip cut into the conversation, eager to save his friend from embarrassment.
"No, Tip, no. Ya' see Ava's plumb th' other side a' Springfield." Festus looked perplexed until his eyes met Ava Dooley's again and they both started laughing.
"Joke's on you, son," she squeezed Tip's arm. "Festus is talking about the town 'Jane' in Missouri."
"Bin a long lotta years since I wuz near Jane, or Ava neither fer that bein' said."
"Some things just stay with you from where you were raised, Festus. I'd know that accent anywhere."
"An' at supper yer gonna git ta' meet a breed Comanche so's you'll have ta' work even harder figgerin' where he come from!"
"I can't wait." Then she turned to her son. "Tip, if your other friends are half as charming as Festus, I'm sure going to enjoy Dodge."
XOXOXO
Matt tossed all the saddle bags down and peeled his heavy clothes off in the parlor, glad to see that Doc and Travis no longer had a patient on the floor, and even more pleased that the house was warming up quickly thanks to the roaring fire. He found Doc watching over the woman under warm covers in her bed, her son waiting anxiously in a corner of the room.
"You okay here, Doc?" Matt asked softly.
"Yes. Yes we are, Matt. Take Travis out to the kitchen and feed him. He needs to eat and then get some sleep while his brother or sister joins us. Oh, and Matt: Get a big pot of water boiling on the stove please."
Matt did his bidding, understanding that Doc was close to delivering the baby. He helped Travis heat some side meat and beans, and made small talk with the boy while they both ate. He learned that Travis's Pa had succumbed to a rattlesnake bite while he was hunting antelope a few months back, and by the time he and his mother had found him, there was no saving to be done. No quicker had the boy finished his story and had a big drink of water, he nodded off at the table. Matt carried him to the second bedroom: the one he'd soon share with a youngster close to twenty years his junior, and tucked him in for the night. Then he hustled the hot water in to Doc. He found the tired man working hard to help with what looked like a difficult birth for a mother who had all but given up.
"Set that water down and bring her around, Matt. Pat her cheeks, pinch her, swat her, whatever it takes. Try to keep her conscious. She's got to help with this!"
"Miz Biddle!" Matt patted the woman on each side of her face and spoke her name sharply. It elicited only a low moan. Repeated pinching and a few sharp slaps didn't do much more. Doc Adams was only too aware.
"Matt, get behind her in that bed. Put both pillows between you and her so she's just about sitting up. Then I want you to put a knee in the small of her back at my order. You got that?"
"Uh, yeah Doc," was all Matt managed as he followed orders he'd never been given before.
"Push now with your knee, Matt. Oh for heaven's sake, harder than that!" There was a pause, then "Okay, good, relax." Matt could see Doc's eyes shifting up then down again at the foot of the bed. "Again please." All Matt could see were Doc's shoulders moving with effort, then his eyes up and down again. "Stop NOW!" The abrupt command startled Matt, thinking he'd been too severe. But it was not the case. His eyes widened as he saw Doc elevating the tiny life from the mother into his hands, along with something else he'd never seen.
"Lay her down quickly and come here, Matt." Doc was back to his soft command, the one he always used when he wanted his assistant to stay calm. Before he got to Doc, he saw the amazing amount of cord clinging to the motionless child.
"Hold this little guy," Doc continued softly as he handed the tiny form to the big man. Matt watched as doc disconnected the child from its mother with his knife, then deftly trim the cord to a stump and tie it off. He ignored the mother and ran his little finger around in the infant's mouth, flicking out mucous. In one smooth motion, he took the little one from Matt and held him upside down and swatted his bottom sharply. Within seconds, the baby gasped and began crying wildly.
"What the . . ."
"That's the cord. You've seen those before. This one had it wrapped around his neck, Matt." But Doc was too busy to offer more of an explanation. "Put him on that towel next to mom and wipe his face and his butt with the warm water, Matt. Hurry now, get that done as fast as you can!" Doc was already back to the mother, peering under the tent of covers he'd made in his attempt at offering her modesty with another man in attendance instead of a woman. But Matt was too busy to notice. He'd attended two births before, and in both cases he'd simply handed a squalling child to an eager mother. This was different. Mother wasn't moving, and he knew Doc was worried. He saw Doc working to extract what was left to extract, then clean the woman quickly with some of the warm water. Without being told, he wrapped the baby in two warm towels as soon as he was finished.
"Let's see if this works, Matt."
He watched in awe as Doc smeared his fingers in what was left of the birthing fluids on the child and rub some of it under the woman's nose. She stirred immediately, with much more determination than she'd showed Matt.
Gently, Doc took the infant from Matt and put him to his mother's breast. The little guy immediately began slapping at the warm flesh, his first attempt at figuring out how stimulate his food supply so he could nurse. In an instant, the power of a newborn baby was on full display. Exhausted as she was, Mrs. Biddle came full awake and coddled the little one to her nipple. Her smile was weak, but it was a smile. That, plus the baby's eager appetite, was all Doc Adams needed to see for one day.
"Doc, your face took a blister out there today."
Matt was close enough to his friend now that he could see the spots on his temples had changed from blackish-blue to dark red angry skin. Doc responded by touching a forefinger tentatively to one of the spots. He drew away quickly.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I could have guessed that. Took a good frost burn there, maybe even full-on frostbite. Should have treated it with warm water right away, but it's too late now. I'll probably have a couple of real pretty marks for the rest of my life to remind me of this little jaunt."
He looked back at the baby, snuggled contentedly at his mother's breast, and nodded. "That's the important part right there, Matt. Another happy ending!"
"How many of 'em come face up like that?"
"Well, maybe one in a dozen. They almost always get born okay, but it takes forever and it's awful hard on the mother. It's the ones that are completely upside down that are a doctor's fright. Almost never goes well."
"You mean feet first?"
"Yeah. They're not supposed to be born that way. And that cord wrapped around this one's neck, well, that would have killed him, Matt."
"What can I do for your frost burn, Doc?" Matt changed the subject. With one of his own coming soon, he didn't want to talk any more about the many ways babies could be born wrong.
Doc gave his mustache a good rub. "Well, I'll tell you exactly what you can do for me. You can make me thirty years younger with good enough circulation that I can keep surviving these prairie storms, how's that? Keeps getting harder each year. Did I thank you for coming along? Wouldn't have wanted to make that ride with just Travis for help."
"He's asleep in his room."
"Well, it's no wonder. Finally got some food in him and a warm place to sleep. He rode in that storm almost all night last night and all day today."
"How long you plan to keep this up, riding out onto the prairie?"
"How long do YOU?" Doc turned the tables. He knew Matt Dillon would go to the ends of the earth to save someone, and never complain one little bit about it.
"I've got two deputies now, Doc." He said softly.
"Well, I DON'T, Marshal! If I don't go, somebody dies. I don't have much choice, now do I?"
"I never said you did." Matt was soft and quiet, but he persisted. "I just thought you might like to think about getting a deputy. Maybe that thirty years younger guy you were talkin' about."
"Hogwash! I'd spend all my days playin' nursemaid to some new graduate from some fancy school back east and I'd never get a darned thing done! Being a doctor out here is still a whole lot different from being a doctor back there."
"Sure." Matt took a sip of his coffee. "Just like being a lawman is. You've got a darned tough profession, Doctor, but you don't have a corner on that market all to yourself, you know. We both took an oath, remember?"
"Sorry."
Matt let Doc sit pensively for a minute. Then he decided to move along with the questioning.
"That sign by your stairs back at home says 'surgeon and general practitioner'. How many surgeries have you done on me?"
"Thirteen in twelve years. By my exact count."
"And the rest of them?"
"Don't know. You and Kitty are the only ones I keep track of. Probably a couple or three hundred in the fourteen years I've been in Dodge. What's your point?"
"Oh, I don't know. Just been runnin' it around in my head like I did when I hired Frank. Maybe if you had somebody to help with that general practitioner part of the business you could stay in Dodge a lot more and do that surgeon part of the business."
"Yeah," he smiled. "And nursemaid the general practitioner."
"Comes with hiring a new guy. You don't get off scot free."
"You didn't have to ride out here with me, you know. You could've sent Frank."
"Easily!" Matt laughed. "He'd have done a great job and I could have sat in Dodge and stayed warm and dry. I WANTED to ride out here with you. I'm the boss. That's the difference. Frank's gonna spend a lot of time running all over creation once Kitty has her baby because what I want to do is stay with her for a few weeks. Frank and I've learned to respect each other and take care of each other. That doesn't happen in a day. A guy has to play nursemaid for a while and build on it. Real hard to fix the roof in a rainstorm, Doc!"
"Thank you." Doc tipped his coffee cup to his youthful mentor. "I'll give that clever analogy some thought. Now what do you say we lay out our bedrolls get some sleep like everyone else in this house is already doing?"
tbc