The Revelation ~ At the Mission
I remember nothing of the rest of that day. I awoke the following morning to the sounds of children downstairs. I gingerly arose from my bed, feeling every muscle as I forced them to move! I knew that the weakness was a result of the fever, but that fact didn't make it any easier for me to move! I glanced around my room and noticed that the refugees from the storm that had taken up residence in my room had been here last night and slept, but were now gone already this morning! I wondered how long I had slept.
A knock on my door brought me back to the present. "Come in?"
It was Miss Alice. "Well, I see thee has rejoined us again!" She said. "Thee have nearly slept the clock around! Thee have been asleep for twenty-two hours!"
"I have!!" I was astonished by that fact!
"Neil said we should leave thee sleep as long as thee would like." Miss Alice said.
"I can hardly believe that I could sleep that long! I should be downstairs doing my part to help out!" I announced.
"Thee should stay in bed and get all the rest thee can! Thee do not want to have to postpone thy wedding!" Alice smiled.
"Miss Alice?" I started. "As a matter of fact I do." I paused a few moments. "I've been thinking for awhile now and I'm afraid that David is not the man for me!"
Miss Alice sat on the side of my bed and took my hand. "Christy, I have to apologize to thee. I have been grossly unfair to thee. I have been afraid of losing thee and therefore I have been trying my best to talk thee into marrying David just so that thee would remain here with me at the mission. I have known all along that thee and Neil were meant for each other, but that would mean that thee would be moving away from here, that thee would be confiding in someone other than myself. But *my* fear of losing thee should not interfere with *thy* life or happiness. I am sorry for any pain that I have caused thee."
"I forgive you Miss Alice." I said. "I was attracted to David as well. But it was an attraction that was already beginning to fade before Neil showed up here the day before yesterday. I felt such excitement when you told me that you had received a letter from Neil! It took my breath away! It was a feeling that I didn't understand. I couldn't place my finger on why I was excited. David noticed the change in me right away. But now I know why…it's because I'm in love with Neil!"
"I know thee are Christy. I watched the two of thee as thee said Good-bye to each other three months ago. I should have rushed out the door and confronted the two of thee and made thee come to thy senses-made thee tell each other what thee were feeling, but I did not. I just stood back hoping that Neil would ride off and leave thee. It was not right!" Miss Alice paused for a long period of thought. "Well, I need to go downstairs and help. David and Dr. Ferrand and Ruby Mae cannot handle everything alone. I will see how strong thee are tomorrow and maybe thee can come down and help."
"Where is Neil?" I asked
"I'm afraid he's not here Christy. He telephoned his colleagues in El Pano. Two of the Scientists are going on a head while the third, a Dr. Harold Wade, is working with Dr. Davis from El Pano. There are an awful lot of sick and wounded as a result of the storm! So the three Doctor's are taking different sections of the countryside and checking on wounds and looking for any signs of diseases. There could be another epidemic as a result of this flood! We must pray that there is not!! I am afraid Neil may be gone for weeks! Depending on what he finds."
"After what I saw here when I first arrived, I'm sure I can find enough to keep me busy for a few weeks!" I said. "One of the first things I need to do is to speak to David, and I need to call my mother so she can stop the guests from coming."
"David is busy for a few days. But I do believe thee should call thy mother as soon as possible." Miss Alice agreed. "Would thee like me to help thee downstairs to the telephone?"
"Yes please! I feel I need to tell my mother what has happened as quickly as I can. I don't want people to show up for a wedding that isn't going to be."
So Miss Alice helped me down the stairs to the telephone. She put through the call to my mother while I sat on the stairs. When she had my mother on the line I stood up to speak with her.
"Hello mother?" I said. "We've had a terrible storm here. People have had their homes washed away and they've lost loved one's in the swollen river! There has been a lot of devastation here!" I paused as my mother commented. "We're doing well here at the mission. Yes, David is fine also" I paused. "Mother that's why I've called . . .I'm not sure there is going to be a wedding. As time is passing I'm beginning to realize that I can't spend the rest of my life with David."
Mother said, "Christy dear, if you have any doubts whatsoever then *don't* marry him dear! You don't want to make a mistake that you will regret for the rest of you life! I don't care what's been ordered or what has to be returned, I want you to do what you feel is best for you!"
"Thank-you Mother!" I paused, wondering how to go on. "Mother? I'm not sure how to say this?. . . I'm in love with Neil MacNeill. Dr. MacNeill. He moved to Baltimore three months ago, but he showed up here at the mission the day before yesterday. I can't tell you how my heart leaped for joy when I saw him come in the door! He asked me to take the day off and go with him for a ride up to Ingle's Cove. He said I looked like I had been working too hard and I needed some time off from all of the preparations. He ordered me as my physician to go with him . . . We had a lovely ride and we stopped at the top to walk around and enjoy the view.
"While we were walking we began talking about Jeb Spencer whose wife died of Typhoid and Pneumonia a few months ago. He's still taking his loss hard! Neil said, "It's tragic when a woman takes hold of a man's soul and then leaves him. Simple things like breathing suddenly become more complex. Even work doesn't help. The nights he's laid awake thinking of her . . .Seeing her face every time closes his eyes. Hearing her voice on every breeze . . . hoping he could see her just one more time --so he could tell her how much he loved her -- how he couldn't live another day without her-- I know because it's how I feel about you. I was wrong to leave here without telling you what was in my heart. I'm in love with you -- and I've come back to ask you to marry me."
"I ran away from him and he followed me. He said 'Running away gets us nowhere.' And I told him "There is no 'us' Doctor". He said he saw how my face lit up when I saw him at the mission and that I was denying that I had the same feelings for him. I told him he wasn't going to ruin what David and I had together. That I was going to marry David. He said 'Even if it's a mistake'! Then the storm hit and our horses ran away. Neil took me to an old hunting shack where we would be out of the weather.
"He tried to prove to me how he felt by kissing me. But I slapped his face and ran out of the shack onto the porch. He begged me to come inside, but I told him he should never have kissed me. He said he wouldn't keep his feelings for me packaged up like a crate of your china and I ran off into the storm! I fell down an embankment and hurt my ankle. Neil found me and carried me back to the shack. I was shivering and I had a high fever. I must have lost consciousness because I suddenly woke up in the bed with Neil holding a wet cloth on my forehead.
"I told him about why it was important for me to come to Cutter Gap and later in the night he was staring pensively into the fire and I asked what he was thinking. He told me about how he happened to go to Scotland to become a Doctor.
"Later I was very sick and I thought I was seeing things as I watched Neil on his knees beside my bed pouring out his heart to the Lord! It was exciting to see!
"Then the next thing I knew it was yesterday morning and I was feeling much better! I saw Neil asleep in the chair and I remembered everything that had happened the night before! He came over to check my temperature and he said this whole ordeal was his fault." I haven't been able to speak to him about that yet. But I intend to talk with him and tell him how much I love him and that if he would indeed ask me to marry him, I would say yes. But he may be gone for weeks now with tending to sick and injured people who got hurt in the flood, there may also be new typhoid cases and only God knows what else because of this storm and flooding!!
"Keep Cutter Gap in your prayers mother, we're going to need all the prayers we can get! It's been an extremely difficult year so far!
"I'll keep you posted on any developments. Thank-you so much mother for understanding! I love you! Good-bye!"
There I had said it. I had to tell David next. Then the pleasure of telling Neil would come after that!
Miss Alice helped me back up the stairs. I fell asleep almost immediately and didn't wake up until the next morning!!
This morning I was starving! I was rested enough now that I wanted to get up and help! I cautiously rose from my bed being mindful of how I felt yesterday and how little I had eaten in three days! But I couldn't stand to be in this bed any longer! I had to get up and do something! Anything!!
I dressed slowly and carefully. I was slightly dizzy, but after not eating for three days I could expect that! When I was finished I walked slowly down the stairs. I was in time for Breakfast! Thank God!!
"Are thee sure thee should be out of bed?" Miss Alice asked.
"I can't stand to be in bed any longer! I just have to get up and do something! Give me anything to do and I'll do it!!"
"Well, we shall see how thee feels after thee has eaten!" Miss Alice offered.
I ate my Breakfast and also had seconds!!
I was energized this morning! I just had to do something! So many people were suffering from this disaster; I could no longer idly stand by! I threw myself into the work at the mission. My problems all seemed so petty compared to the desolation that surrounded us on every side.
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