Chapter 3 Chester Goode, An Unexpected Friendship

Most people would probably describe Chester as a simple man, and they would have reason to do so. He's done some and said some pretty foolish things. Let's see. There was the time he was convinced that standing on your head helped to increase your appetite. Then there was that time he came into Delmonico's after eating a big Mexican feast at El Charro's at the edge of town. He was full and I was pretty sure he had a bit of indigestion. You wouldn't think he'd eat for at least a day, but then he goes and orders a pumpkin roll with lots of cream. He figured the cream would settle his stomach. I can tell you that it didn't. Matt told me Chester was up most of the night with an ailing stomach.

I think the incident that I will never forget is when Chester tried to fry his eggs in coal oil. Yes, he tried to fry his eggs in coal oil. Now, I wasn't there when he actually did it. Matt and I were on our way back from breakfast at Delmonico's, when we noticed the smoke near the jail. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. Matt quickly went over there to see what was going on. He noticed Chester with a frying pan near the horse trough. Matt asked Chester if he was alright and what happened. After Matt determined Chester was fine, he went inside the jail to make sure everything was fine in there. While Matt was inside, Chester was trying to explain to me that he was making his own breakfast so he could save a little money. As Chester and I were talking, Matt came out with a coal oil can and asked Chester what happened to the oil. I suddenly put it all together and realized Chester's fire started because he tried to fry eggs in coal oil. There was no doubt that Chester was embarrassed, but I'm sure he learned a valuable lesson. When I come to think of it, a lot of Chester's foolishness involves food.

Since we're on the subject of food, I might as well talk about Chester's coffee. It's hard to describe Chester's coffee. His coffee certainly wasn't the best coffee, but it wasn't the worst I've had either. He was always trying to find ways to improve his coffee. Sometimes he would add eggshells. Other times he swore that chicory was the key ingredient to a good pot of coffee. For a time he thought brewing from cold water and brewing days old coffee grounds were the way to go. I have to wonder if he's still working on that perfect pot of coffee.

Chester Goode may be a simple man, but don't let that fool you. In addition to being a simple man, he's very loyal and trustworthy. He's especially loyal to Matt. Whenever Matt needs Chester to do something for him, Chester is there to do it. It doesn't matter if it's a simple job like getting the mail or sending a telegram, or a more tedious job like going out on the prairie with Matt to follow an outlaw or a gunman. Chester will get the job done.

Chester is the type of person that once he becomes your friend, he's a friend for life. He's very easy to get along with. Chester and I do like to banter one another, but we do it as friends. The teasing that goes on between us is never meant to be hurtful. I enjoyed his company while eating at Delmonico's or playing a friendly game of checkers.

I would have to say that I trust Chester with my life, and I know he trusts me with his life. There were a few times that he had no choice. I've had to take a couple of bullets out of him, but the scariest ordeal was when Matt brought him in after he had been dragged across the prairie. Men by the name of Stobo and Treavitt were responsible for that. They paid for what they did, but back to Chester. When Matt brought him up to my office, I honestly didn't think he would make it. His injuries were critical. Matt was still in the office and I needed him to leave. I couldn't have him there. It was too much pressure. Well much to my surprise, Chester managed to pull through. It obviously helped that he had the best doctor in Kansas working on him, but it also helped that he was just too stubborn to die.

Chester does walk with a limp, but that has nothing to do with being dragged out on the prairie or the couple of bullets I took out of him. He came to Dodge City with that limp. Chester told us it was an injury from the war. He can no longer bend his right leg. It's definitely noticeable when he walks, but it most certainly does not slow him down. I swear he can move just as fast if not faster than people with two good legs.

In the years that I've known Chester, he's had a few women come in and out of his life. I can't recollect the order of the women that have been in Chester's life. Let's see. There was Chester's mail order bride, Ann. She was from out east. That meeting was a bit comical. She used her sister's picture to get Chester's attention and Chester used Matt's picture to get Ann's attention. Once they both figured out what the other did, they got to know each other and realized there could be something between them. They even got engaged. Unfortunately, things didn't work out because Ann's family wanted her back living with them.

Besides Ann, there was Miss Daisy. Chester started courting her and they also ended up being engaged. That engagement happened accidentally. Chester apparently proposed while Miss Daisy had fallen asleep while the two of them were spending some time together. This engagement lasted longer than his one to Ann. Things were so serious that Chester quit working for Matt and focused on building a place for him and Miss Daisy to start a life together. Chester planned on being a farmer. Similar to his engagement to Ann, his engagement to Daisy ended without a marriage. I'm not going to get into all the details, but Daisy ended up being a selfish, greedy woman. Chester was lucky she left him. I know he wouldn't have been happy with her. Chester did get his job back as Matt's assistant.

I can't forget Polly. Chester had eyes for her, but she had eyes for this Wade guy. Polly made a mistake there. Wade turned out to be a heel of a man. He married her while he was still married. If that weren't bad enough, he married her while his wife was ailing and dying. She had a chance at a decent life with Chester, but blew it.

You may have noticed that sometimes I speak of Chester in past tense. That's because he's gone. No, he's not dead. He left Dodge City a few years ago. Where did he go? He went to Philadelphia. Why did he go there? Do you remember me talking about Ann? We never knew this, but they started corresponding with one another again. In their letters they told each other how they had gotten together with others of the opposite sex, but nothing seemed to work out. As they were writing to one another, they decided to see if things would still work out for them. In order to see if things would still work out for them, Chester decided to move to Philadelphia to be with Ann. He thought that was the best thing to do. When he told us of his plans to leave Dodge City, we were shocked. That was the last thing we expected. We really didn't have time to dwell on it. Chester told us he was leaving and why, and was on a train to Philadelphia a couple days later. Things have worked out between him and Ann. They've been married for a couple of years and even have a child together, with a second one on the way. I miss Chester, but I couldn't be happier for him.

So far I've talked about two men that have had an impact on my life, but there is a very special lady that holds a special place in my heart. I met her a year and a half after I met Matt and Chester. She would probably be the last person you would think a doctor would become friends with, but I did. Right now, I can't imagine Kitty Russell not being a part of my life.

TBC