Ellie woke up and immediately her hand went to her forehead. Something was dripping into her eyes. Blood. Fantastic. Tex was still asleep and sprawled across the mattress. There was no noise in the house, save for a dripping faucet in the bathroom. It was cool and airy and the breeze felt good on her body.
She went to clean up the cut just over her eye. Their clothes reeked of plane crash and in turn made the bathroom smell like an auto garage. Ellie picked up the shirt she'd been wearing. It came from her favorite restaurant in the Bahamas. The shirt was damaged beyond belief, covered in vomit and blood and jet fuel.
Standing naked under the bare bulb, Ellie was amazed at all the cuts and burns she'd sustained and not realized. A fingernail was almost completely gone. That was courtesy the door of the old truck. Her legs were bruised and scratched and her hands were peppered with burns and blisters. Her lungs also felt full of the acrid stench and it would be weeks before she'd stop coughing up black snot.
But most of her attention was on that gaping cut. It needed stitches, fast, but in a house full of doctors and nurses Ellie didn't want to wake any of them up. So she taped a piece of gauze over it and threw on a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt and headed downstairs.
The kitchen was quiet, too, and she could just see into the guestroom where her parents were dozing. Margaret was sleeping on the very edge of the bed as Hawkeye sprawled, just like Tex upstairs. She snuck into the living room where the nest of pillows on the floor was the only thing left of Barbara. A note on the door thanked them but she was headed home to feed her cats.
Ellie put two pieces of bread in the oven and started to heat the kettle. She was trying to find the jelly when she began to feel the cut dripping again. Stopping the tide with a paper towel, Ellie took her toast out of the oven and made a cup of coffee. She was just about to take a bite when Charles appeared from the basement. He was clad in a bathrobe, and what was left of his hair stuck straight up in the air. He squinted at her and retreated to the bathroom without saying a word. Ellie knew she was a sight, too and forgot that she was bleeding profusely.
When Charles came back out, he looked at her for a long time. He sighed.
"Good morning Charles," she said, dunking her toast in the coffee. "Can I get you some coffee?"
Charles walked toward her and pried her hand away from her forehead. "Good God, how long have you been bleeding like that?" he asked, sounding shocked.
"I don't know," was her honest answer. Charles cleared his throat.
"Where does your husband keep his medical bag?"
"The hall closet."
She watched him disappear and finished her toast. She really wanted pizza. Margaret Pierce could make really good pizza.
Charles reappeared with the black bag and dragged a chair directly in front of Ellie. He wordlessly peeled the layers of soaked gauze and paper towels off her face and laid them on the table. He filled a syringe with novacaine and dangled it in font of Ellie, who flinched.
"I really don't like needles," she said.
"No one does. When I was young, I stepped on a rusty nail and my father had to give me a tetanus shot. Well, I had to run and hide because those tetanus needles were tremendous. He found me sitting in a corner of the attic and tanned my bottom with a belt. And while he was tanning me, my mother gave me the shot. I never felt it because I was concentrating on my behind, not my arm."
While he was telling her this, Charles gave Ellie the shot. She didn't flinch because she was interested in his childhood. Tex knew very little about his father's life as a young boy. Ellie was trying to remember every word so she could repeat it accurately.
"Now, just let me know when your forehead feels numb."
"It does now."
Charles started stitching. My God, he's really good at this. Her father was an excellent doctor but could be a little rough around the edges with the finer points. Margaret was the old school nurse who berated her own children for crying come shot time. But Charles was concentrating completely on the task at hand and using very little, fine stitches. It took about ten minutes, but Ellie felt like she was in capable hands.
"No scar. The way I stitched that, you'd need a magnifying glass to see any scar," Charles gloated. "And it doesn't look as bad now."
Ellie smiled at him. Charles was a braggart but a great doctor. She'd heard that her whole life, but now she'd experienced it first-hand. Tex and his father were a lot alike, and she secretly thought Tex was one of the most patient doctors she'd ever seen. It was in his blood, apparently.
"Now young lady, I must take another shower to clean off the rest of the eau de Braniff."
"Hey Charles. Thanks. You did a great job."
He smiled at her and headed toward the bathroom. Ellie watched him disappear and heard a bit of murmered conversation from her parent's room. It was a reassuring sound, something she'd heard on Saturday mornings for years. She'd always been an early bird and would sometimes wait out in the hallway under a plant stand for Hawkeye and Margaret to wake up. That was before she discovered the barrage of cartoons on TV.
Ellie stuck her head in the door, just to make sure they weren't naked. They weren't so she went in.
"Honey!" Margaret cried, seeing Ellie's swollen face.
"It's okay. Charles took care of it. I just can't move my eyebrows right now," Ellie said, sitting on edge of the bed. Margaret pulled her into an embrace."Ma, I'm good. Your face is a little cut-up, too, so don't panic when you look in the mirror, alright?"
Hawkeye moaned and moved into a sitting position. He was momentarily startled by Ellie's face, which seemed to have aged twenty years. Ellie recognized this and smiled at him. "Glad I'm not in the Miss America pageant tonight."
He hugged her, too and buried his face in her hair. "Honey, I'm sorry you had to see all that," he said sadly, not wanting to let her go. Ellie pulled away, a look of concern crossing her face.
"Dad, I'm fine. Honestly."
Margaret was up and raring to go. That was the thing, Margaret was either at 0 percent or 100 percent. She didn't really have those foggy mornings in bed. When she was awake, she was in high gear.
"I'm going to make breakfast. A nice, big breakfast...if you'll help me, Hawkeye," she said, smiling in a way Ellie knew her father couldn't resist.
Ellie wandered back upstairs as Margaret tore into the kitchen. Tex was rubbing his eyes and trying to sit up.
"Mom's making breakfast," Ellie said, curling up beside him.
"That's good. I could eat a horse or something larger," he yawned, pulling her close. "Who stitched you up? It looks like someone got murdered on your side of the bed."
It really did. Dried blood was smeared all over the pillowcase and sheets. Tex slowly got out of bed and Ellie ripped the covers off.
"Oh, there's that damn doll you hauled around all night."
Ellie had forgotten about the burned baby doll. It was sitting in a corner, propped on a rocking chair. Her heart broke again for the little girl that carried it, or the person that was bringing it home for a loved one.
"I'm going to have to take it back out there," she mumbled, wincing.
"Naw. It's all government types out there. Call the airline. They're bound to be making nice with families."
Ellie nodded and swallowed back a lump in her throat.
"My dad did your stitches. I can tell. They're tiny. He's really good at the fine work. Too bad he'll never let you forget it."
Tex threw on a t-shirt and some jeans and they both headed back to the kitchen, where Margaret was making waffles and sausage. Charles and Tex ate three helpings, to the Pierce family's amusement.
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Tex decided to head to town and everyone wanted to go along. So, the caravan bumped over the muddy roads to Wheeless, which looked much busier than it ever had. Every car had an Avis or Hertz sticker and displayed Texas or Kansas plates.
"The government has arrived. Is this cowtown prepared?" Hawkeye asked, sounding like a ringmaster. The small town did indeed look like a circus. Ellie climbed out of her Jeep and waved at a fireman she recognized from the night before. TV stations had their big trucks set up at the old elementary school and ominous looking black government cars dotted Main Street. The sheriff sauntered over to Ellie and shook her hand.
"I hear you folks were first on the scene. A shame about the whole damn thing, if you ask me. I'd never go up in one of those steel tubes, anyhow," he said. Sheriff Haynes wore his silver badge and its reflection from the sun caused Ellie to squint. He was about 6'4" and 300 pounds.
"Hey Sheriff...are there any Braniff people in town?"
"Sure are. They're eating sandwiches over at the store. They're all tore up. Just the damndest thing."
Ellie marched away, well aware Haynes was watching her ass. He wasn't above a grope every now and then, either. She prayed he wouldn't run into her mother, who would slap him, lawman or not.
The Braniff reps were glumly eating when Ellie came up.
"Hey. I was at the scene last night and I recovered a doll that I'm sure belongs to someone. I want to make sure it gets to where it was going," Ellie said. One of the Braniff guys got up to shake her hand.
"We'll try. Right now everything's topsy-turvy. We'll stop by later and take a look at it with the manifest. Most of the families have already been notified," he said sadly.
Ellie looked over the group and felt sorry for all of them. It wasn't their fault, but they were guilty in everyone's eyes.
"If you come out tonight, come out for dinner. We'll do hot dogs or something, nothing fancy. I know you guys could use a break," Ellie said with a hopeful smile.
"That's sounds real good," said a woman wearing a brown business suit. All five smiled at the invitation.
"We're right down the county road...Route 1...it's the white house with the orange Chevette. Five o'clock," Ellie said, before she walked away.
Margaret did indeed run into Sheriff Haynes. She was just about to open the door into Orrie's when he reached over her head and opened it for her. He tipped his cap.
"Hi honey. I was watching you come up the sidewalk and wondering what a pretty blonde thing like you was doing here in Wheeless," he said. Magaret's eyes narrowed.
"I'm the sheriff here...name's Billy Haynes. You can call me Billy. If you're not busy later...," he said, looking at her wedding ring,"...we can always go have a beer down at the saloon."
Margaret's breath came in short puffs. "Let me guess, you look old enough to have been in Korea, right?" she asked, gritting her teeth.
"I shore was. Served a full tour in the Army. Never got wounded," Haynes chuckled.
"What was your rank at the end of that tour?"
"I was a corporal. M.P."
"Well, I was a major," Margaret smiled. It was an icey grin.
Haynes stepped back.
"That's right. I had to nurse all your little buddies back from the brink and keep my head with all the shells bursting around the hospital. And I sure as hell didn't do all that to come back to the US to be hit on by Corporals wearing a tin star," Margaret hissed.
Haynes was dumbstruck.
"Oh, and by the way, I'm Ellie Winchester's mom. I wouldn't try your little games on her, either. She swings a real mean oxygen tank."
Orrie was behind the counter and heard the whole exchange. The door swung closed and the sound of the sheriff's boots shuffling away echoed in the store's interior.
"Boy, you let him have it. About time someone did," Orrie laughed. "I'll bet that overgrown bastard wasn't at that crash last night, either."
"No, he wasn't. I'd remember him," Margaret smiled. She gathered some bits and pieces from the shelves, including a can of peaches so thick with dust it caused a momentary sneezing fit. Ellie came in and hugged Orrie, who fretted over her eye.
"Your ma just told Haynes where to put it," Orrie whispered.
"Oh. I see," Ellie smiled. She watched Margaret wander up the aisles, feeling proud. "Orrie, I'm going to need every hot dog you've got."
Margaret heard the request and wandered up.
"Mom, I invited the Braniff reps to the house for a cookout tonight. They're trying to figure out who the doll belonged to," Ellie said, stacking hot dog buns on the counter.
"That's nice. You have a very big-hearted daughter, Margaret," Orrie said, returning with an entire box of hot dogs. Margaret smiled and threw her arm around Ellie, who leaned on her mother in return. "Tell you what, if you come back after lunch, I'll have some potato salad made. Do you need beans, too?"
"Sure," Ellie smiled.
Orrie looked up quickly. Margaret and Ellie spun around. Passing up Main Street, a flatbed displayed the tail of the fallen jet. It was so amazingly out of place in the small town. "I'll be damned," was all Orrie could say. Margaret looked away, but Ellie watched it trundle down the road, leaving disgrunted cowboys and cowgirls in its wake. It was a splash of color on the dusty brown landscape.
Hawkeye came into the store, shaking his head. "Ladies, Charles and I are going back to the junkyard. We'll have the Chevette," he said, jingling the keys.
"Please don't buy anything!" Margaret called after him.
"Well, since we have time to kill, let's go see Tex at the clinic..then we can come back for the salad and beans. See ya, Orrie," Ellie smiled, her flip-flops clomping on the floorboards. Margaret watched her saunter out and thought about being young and in love.
"One day I'd love to have it all back. Wouldn't you?" Orrie asked. Margaret just nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Margaret and Hawkeye drove back to the house together in the Jeep. She leaned against him as they bounced over the gullies and washouts.
"Remember those roads in Korea? These are very close," she said.
"At least we're not getting shelled. Last night brought all that back," Hawkeye said quietly. "Do you realize we're Colonel Potter's age now? Or older? I always thought he fudged it a little."
Margaret cleared her throat and said,"He always seemed so old to us."
Hawkeye nodded and stopped the vehicle. Dust flew up around them.
"Why'd you stop?"
He leaned over and kissed her warmly. Margaret was momentarily taken aback. It did seem like they were back in the war, chasing after everything but each other. "Good thing we'll have the house to ourselves for a bit," he said, winking. She smiled at him. It was always when they had moments like this that Margaret remembered why they were together. In Korea, it was a kiss on a picnic...holding hands on the beach...in the hut with bombs bursting in the air...a hot, sticky June night in her tent...
She knew what he wanted, but she wanted the same thing. They tried to make idle chatter and have a drink, but the warm air surrounding them made her light-headed. The bunk creaked as she sat beside him.
"Would you kiss me?" she asked and was immediately rewarded with an intense lip-lock. That day he'd all but ruined a demonstration in the mess tent. Charles was trying to train the nurses for triage, but in burst BJ and Hawkeye, clowning as usual. Hawkeye pulled her close as a joke...and she chased him quickly away.
But now she moaned as his mouth dropped to her throat.
Hawkeye came to her that night to apologize, but that's not what either of them was looking for. They hadn't touched each other sexually since that dumb night in the hut. But this was different. There was no desperation, no sense of urgency.
Soon they were completely naked and sweating and completely entwined with each other. They were laughing, sure the whole camp could hear them going at it. Neither of them cared. It was sweet to be with each other like that, just for that moment in time. He stayed with her the whole night, something her gossipy nurses said he never did. Margaret knew he was watching her, knew he was awake because she could feel his hands move up and down her back.
"Yeah, I'm glad we'll have some time to ourselves," she winked back.
XXXX
The airline people pulled up at the farmhouse just in time for the picnic to start. Margaret and Hawkeye were a little flushed but with the suntans no one noticed. Barbara was back, too, once again playing cards with Charles.
"That son of yours is a really good doctor," she said, laying down a queen. "Best I ever seen."
Charles puffed up noticeably as he shuffled the cards around. "He grew up watching me," he sniffed.
"I just think there are some things in medicine you can't learn. They just have to always be there. Compassion, for one."
Charles was quiet. Hawkeye, BJ and Potter had all the compassion. He had all the smarts. Sometimes compassion doesn't save lives.
Yes, he had all the smarts. Unfortunatly, Hawkeye had a loving family and the woman Charles had dreamed of for years. Watching the Pierce kids grow, he coveted the family football games and the big holidays and the modest home they made together. Tex had been thousands of miles away from him for years, and still truly was. They were two different men with blood as their only tie.
His attention shifted to Hawkeye and Ellie, bickering over the goofy old truck.
"Don't start it until I tell you, okay?"
Ellie was in the driver's seat and Hawkeye had the hood up.
"I'm starting it now," Ellie said.
"No! No!"
Hawkeye stuck his head under the hood and Ellie honked the horn. He leapt back.
"Hear that? Horn works great!" Ellie laughed.
She jumped out of the cab and took off running. Hawkeye gave chase for a bit but gave up as she ran toward the house. Margaret wandered over to the truck and led her husband away, laughing.
"Earth to Charles."
Barbara was staring at him. His turn now.
XXXXX
Fifty hot dogs later, the group laid all over the front yard. Ellie sat on the steps clutching the doll, watching as Ellen Berstein went over the passenger list.
"Nope. Nope. Nope. No kids on board young enough for that kind of doll. There was an elderly couple, though...seats 11A and 11B. The family said they were flying north to see their grandkids. I'll bet that's it," Ellen said, still studying her sheet.
"Who's going to call them?" Ellie asked.
"If you can let me use the phone, I'll call them right now. Wait out here," Ellen instructed. Margaret came to the porch and sat beside Ellie.
"I can cut your hair tonight if you want. It would almost be a shame, though. I think it looks nice a little longer, like you have it,' Margaret said, chuckling.
"What's so funny?"
"When you were little, your hair was dark, like your dad's. But then Ben came and he had all that blonde hair. Everyone thought he got it from me. That wasn't true."
"Yeah, I know you're a real brunette," Ellie said. She started eating another hot dog.
"When did you find that out?"
"Dark roots and all those boxes of Miss Clairol. And Dad told me because one time I was complaining about my hair. Said he couldn't take all the blame."
Margaret was speechless. Another big secret down the drain. Ellie's hair had faded from a dark brown to a blondish light brown shade. The first she came back from a sailing trip, Hawkeye thought he picked up the wrong kid. For years, Ellie complained about Ben getting the good looks and it was true to a point. He was a bear of a guy, solidly built, square jawed and good humored. The total opposite of Hawkeye and so much like many of the Houlihans. Ellie was different. She didn't really resemble either of them when you looked directly at her, but in certain lights she looked indeed like her father's daughter. It was the eyes, Margaret decided. They were so sad. Ellie's eyes always reminded her of the way Hawkeye's looked right before he had to go to the looney bin. A little lost, a little sad and a little menacing.
"It's no big deal to dye your hair. Charles does," Ellie pointed out. This didn't make Margaret feel any better. Behind them, the screen door slammed and Ellen came out.
"The family wants you to keep the doll. They don't want a reminder, I guess."
"Uh...," was all Ellie could manage.
"What the hell are we going to do with it? It's ghastly," Charles added.
Ellie suddenly brightened up. "I know...I'll donate it to the museum. They're always complaining about having nothing to display but land deeds and barb wire," she said, snapping her fingers. "And if the family ever wants to come see it, she'll be safe under lock and key."
The airline people shrugged. Barbara, who was on the tiny town museum's board, smiled. Chalk up another win for Wheeless, which usually just took what it could get. They watched the Braniff reps pile back ito their rented station wagon and take off. The night sky was clear and all the stars were out, winking down at all of them. Charles and Barbara chatted amiably on the steps. In the house, Tex and Ellie laughed together while doing the dishes.
"Hear that? My favorite sound in the world," Hawkeye sighed. Margaret was perched beside him on the glider, kicking grooves in the soft earth.
"Everyone getting along. I know. I love it, too."
The sound of Ellie blabbing on the phone filtered through an open window.
"Think they're ready for that baby?" Hawkeye wondered.
"We weren't really. And I guess everything turned out fine. I mean, they're not bad kids," reasoned Margaret.
"No, they're not. We're lucky she's here."
They watched the lights of another plane go overhead. It completed its arc over the hose and disappeared into the northern sky.
XXXX
The day finally came when it was time to leave. It was hot and blustery, but the sky looked stormy. The suitcases were in the trunk and everyone was on the front porch, waiting for the wind to die down. Margaret had already made her plans to come back when Ellie had the baby. It would be a boy. She was sure of it.
"Daddy, it was so good to see you. Sorry all that happened. But that's how things are around here. You just take the good with the bed," Ellie said, hugging Hawkeye fiercely. Tex felt another pang of guilt for separating the two of them.
Hawkeye kissed her forehead and smiled. "Honey, take care of yourself. Don't step on any scorpions. Don't eat yellow snow. Don't get run over by a tumbleweed," he said, his eyes watery. Ellie hugged him again.
"You take good care of her," Margaret cautioned as she hugged Tex. He interpreted it as a threat.
"I will, Mom, I promise. Doctor Pierce, it was great to have you here," Tex smiled.
"Buddy, you're doing a great job. I would have been proud to have you in the Swamp," Hawkeye said, shaking his hand. This was a high compliment.
Charles hung back to watch the goodbyes. They all turned to look at him. He rolled his eyes and embraced Ellie.
"Young lady, I'm honored to have you bearing my grandchild."
Ellie grimaced over his shoulder. What a strange comment. Hawkeye just shrugged at her. "Charles, thanks for stitch-up job. It sure was good to see you. My God, I never thought you'd come to Oklahoma," she said.
"Me neither," he agreed. Ellie moved to Margaret, who was dangerously close to crying.
"What's it, Mom, we'll see each other in a few months."
"The house is just so lonely without you and your brother," she sniffed. Ellie looked around and saw that Hawkeye was across the yard, fussing over the luggage placement in the car.
"Are you and Dad getting along?" she asked, afraid of the answer. Margaret nodded.
"You know I love your father. We've worked out everything there is to be worked out between us. He can be so distant with me," Margaret said sadly. Ellie bowed her head.
"What about the book?"
Margaret sighed, "He's sitting on it. Too afraid to go ahead with it, I suppose." Ellie shook her head and hugged her mother. Margaret buried her head in Ellie's hair and said a silent prayer for all of them.
Meanwhile, on the side of the house, Tex and Charles were trying to search for words.
"Son..."
"Yeah..."
"Son, I know...this is very, very hard for me. My father never told me he loved me...or anything. When I saw you take charge at that accident scene I was so proud. You have something I lack. Compassion. And you're a exemplary doctor. All the people here are lucky to have you. I am lucky to have you for a son," Charles aid, weighing his words carefully.
Tex looked happy and confused. He couldn't believe Charles Winchester the 3rd was spilling his heart out. Could this have been the man his mother fell in love with for such a brief moment?
"Dad, I learned from the best," Tex smiled, gratified to get a smile back. They embraced.
"Take care of that girl. Both you and I know you're lucky to have her," Charles said. Tex looked at Hawkeye, Margaret and Ellie across the yard. Ellie looked like the complete combination of the two of them.
From the porch, Ellie and Tex watched the car pull away and waited for the dust to settle as it disappeared down the road. "You made up with your Dad, didn't you?" Ellie asked. She looked lost.
"Sort of."
"That's good. My mom's not doing well again. She didn't tell me until the very last minute."
Tex put an arm around Ellie and kissed her cheek. He didn't know what else to say, so they just stood there until they could hear the distant rumble of thunder on the prairie.
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