Disclaimer: I do not own LHOTP!
I walked down the pathway in a sort of daze.
What had just happened?
I sank to the ground when I was sure I was out of sight of my
old home and held my head in my hands.
My parents had just refused to help me. My friends were useless;
their parents would not allow their children to associate with the likes of
me. And, I thought grimly, I doubted they would have helped me
even if their parents approved.
It slowly dawned on me that I was completely alone. Laura
might have helped me, but she and Almanzo were so busy with their own
lives I couldn't burden them. Carrie and Grace were much too young and
they would never go against Ma and Pa.
No, I was truly on my own. With no money and no prospects for a
job, the future had never looked bleaker.
I fought the sudden urge I had to bang my head repeatedly
against the ground.
I would be of no use to Sylvia with a bent skull.
The thought made me laugh. And once I started, I found that I
couldn't stop. It was all so crazy! I was fifteen years old in a town where
everyone hated me! How was I going to take care of Sylvia? I was just going to ruin her life with my idiotic optimism.
Maybe...maybe, my parents were right. Maybe I should let Sylvia
move somewhere else. Somewhere where no one would know who she
was, and she could start over again.
I stopped my train of thought quickly, feeling disgusted with
myself.
How could it be better for Sylvia to face all of this alone? I had
promised to take care of her; I couldn't back out of it now. And really, I
admitted to myself, I didn't ever want to.
Imagining her pale face and hauntingly beautiful eyes I found the
strength to stand up and dust myself off.
"No more self-pity," I said sternly. "I'm going to make this work
no matter how long it takes or how hard it is."
As for a job...well, not everyone in town was like Mrs. Olsen (and
they could all thank the good Lord for that). There must be someone in
town willing to hire me. With that, I walked confidently into town, hoping
to find good news for once.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
One hour later, however, I was no longer feeling confident.
After almost a dozen "No's", I was beginning to think that I'd have to
start looking in another town. Inconvenient, yes, but if it was the only
way...
I sighed. This was not exactly the way I had envisioned things to go.
But then again, had anything gone right today?
"Well, I guess I might as well go back to Sylvia," I said to myself.
I dreaded going into her room without any sort of good news to share
with her.
When I finally walked into Dr. Baker's office, I was surprised by
the number of people inside.
Dr. Baker looked up with a strained look on his face.
"Ah, Albert!" he said. "Could you please hand me that cloth over
there?"
I walked over to the table Dr. Baker had indicated and picked
up the cotton cloth.
"Here," I said handing the cloth over.
"Thank you," Dr. Baker said distractedly.
I watched with interest as the doctor began to clean a
particularly nasty leg wound.
"Albert! Hand me that bottle over there, would you?"
The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur of shouted directions and
constant movement. Slowly, the group of people dispersed, and I was
able to breathe again.
"I say!" Dr. Baker said, wiping off a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"If it doesn't rain it pours!"
"Why were so many people in here?" I asked curiously.
"There was an accident over by the blacksmiths. Horse got spooked
and caused a lot of damage."
I nodded. Accidents like that happened often, but I had never
thought to wonder about how it would affect Dr. Baker.
"It was nice having you around to help though," Dr. Baker said
smiling.
"Sylvia's sleeping in her room by the way. Her bruises are healing quite
nicely."
I nodded my head slowly, only half-listening. I couldn't
believe I hadn't thought of this before. It was perfect! I could be
around Sylvia and, what better way to learn how to be a doctor than to
apprentice under one?
I marveled at my thick-headedness. But I was also cautious. I
couldn't allow myself to let everything rest on what Dr. Baker decided.
Not everyday would be so busy, I was sure. But, there were surely other
things I could do...and the more vindictive part of my mind couldn't help
but thinking about how Ma and Pa would react. I would become a doctor
yet! This had to work out, it just had to.
I opened his mouth to speak.
"Dr. Baker?"
Dr. Baker turned to look at me, with a look of mild curiosity.
"Yes, Albert?"
"Do you think..well, I was just wondering, that maybe, maybe I
could apprentice under you?"
I continued in a rush without letting him get in a word. "I know that
it won't always be as busy as it was today, but I could do a lot of things to
help you. I could label things or carry things or-."
I stopped talking abruptly. Dr. Baker was laughing.
He put his hands up as if to protect himself from my barrage of
words.
"I think Albert," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "that that would
be a wonderful idea."
I walked down the pathway in a sort of daze.
What had just happened?
I sank to the ground when I was sure I was out of sight of my
old home and held my head in my hands.
My parents had just refused to help me. My friends were useless;
their parents would not allow their children to associate with the likes of
me. And, I thought grimly, I doubted they would have helped me
even if their parents approved.
It slowly dawned on me that I was completely alone. Laura
might have helped me, but she and Almanzo were so busy with their own
lives I couldn't burden them. Carrie and Grace were much too young and
they would never go against Ma and Pa.
No, I was truly on my own. With no money and no prospects for a
job, the future had never looked bleaker.
I fought the sudden urge I had to bang my head repeatedly
against the ground.
I would be of no use to Sylvia with a bent skull.
The thought made me laugh. And once I started, I found that I
couldn't stop. It was all so crazy! I was fifteen years old in a town where
everyone hated me! How was I going to take care of Sylvia? I was just going to ruin her life with my idiotic optimism.
Maybe...maybe, my parents were right. Maybe I should let Sylvia
move somewhere else. Somewhere where no one would know who she
was, and she could start over again.
I stopped my train of thought quickly, feeling disgusted with
myself.
How could it be better for Sylvia to face all of this alone? I had
promised to take care of her; I couldn't back out of it now. And really, I
admitted to myself, I didn't ever want to.
Imagining her pale face and hauntingly beautiful eyes I found the
strength to stand up and dust myself off.
"No more self-pity," I said sternly. "I'm going to make this work
no matter how long it takes or how hard it is."
As for a job...well, not everyone in town was like Mrs. Olsen (and
they could all thank the good Lord for that). There must be someone in
town willing to hire me. With that, I walked confidently into town, hoping
to find good news for once.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
One hour later, however, I was no longer feeling confident.
After almost a dozen "No's", I was beginning to think that I'd have to
start looking in another town. Inconvenient, yes, but if it was the only
way...
I sighed. This was not exactly the way I had envisioned things to go.
But then again, had anything gone right today?
"Well, I guess I might as well go back to Sylvia," I said to myself.
I dreaded going into her room without any sort of good news to share
with her.
When I finally walked into Dr. Baker's office, I was surprised by
the number of people inside.
Dr. Baker looked up with a strained look on his face.
"Ah, Albert!" he said. "Could you please hand me that cloth over
there?"
I walked over to the table Dr. Baker had indicated and picked
up the cotton cloth.
"Here," I said handing the cloth over.
"Thank you," Dr. Baker said distractedly.
I watched with interest as the doctor began to clean a
particularly nasty leg wound.
"Albert! Hand me that bottle over there, would you?"
The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur of shouted directions and
constant movement. Slowly, the group of people dispersed, and I was
able to breathe again.
"I say!" Dr. Baker said, wiping off a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"If it doesn't rain it pours!"
"Why were so many people in here?" I asked curiously.
"There was an accident over by the blacksmiths. Horse got spooked
and caused a lot of damage."
I nodded. Accidents like that happened often, but I had never
thought to wonder about how it would affect Dr. Baker.
"It was nice having you around to help though," Dr. Baker said
smiling.
"Sylvia's sleeping in her room by the way. Her bruises are healing quite
nicely."
I nodded my head slowly, only half-listening. I couldn't
believe I hadn't thought of this before. It was perfect! I could be
around Sylvia and, what better way to learn how to be a doctor than to
apprentice under one?
I marveled at my thick-headedness. But I was also cautious. I
couldn't allow myself to let everything rest on what Dr. Baker decided.
Not everyday would be so busy, I was sure. But, there were surely other
things I could do...and the more vindictive part of my mind couldn't help
but thinking about how Ma and Pa would react. I would become a doctor
yet! This had to work out, it just had to.
I opened his mouth to speak.
"Dr. Baker?"
Dr. Baker turned to look at me, with a look of mild curiosity.
"Yes, Albert?"
"Do you think..well, I was just wondering, that maybe, maybe I
could apprentice under you?"
I continued in a rush without letting him get in a word. "I know that
it won't always be as busy as it was today, but I could do a lot of things to
help you. I could label things or carry things or-."
I stopped talking abruptly. Dr. Baker was laughing.
He put his hands up as if to protect himself from my barrage of
words.
"I think Albert," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "that that would
be a wonderful idea."