This is an MM to "The Way It Is."
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Chester was anxious about Matt returning to Dodge. It wasn't that Chester didn't want Matt to return. He just wasn't sure how to tell Matt about Miss Kitty and Ad Bellum or how Matt would take it. Chester knew there was something more than just friends between Matt and Miss Kitty. That's why, at the sociable, he told Doc he had to keep an eye on Ad and Kitty. He was doing it out of loyalty to Mr. Dillon.
Matt's stage arrived and Chester walked up to the stage to greet him. Chester had to admit he was beyond glad that the Marshal was back in town. He had a feeling now that Mr. Dillon was back, everything would be alright again.
"Mr. Dillon! Welcome back! You don't look none the worst for wear, just as good as when you left. How is everything? How was the stage ride?" Chester was trying to make small talk, nervous about bringing up the Ad Bellum situation.
"Kinda like riding a sick cow," Matt answered. Chester chuckled in response.
Chester was still debating within himself about how to tell Matt about Ad Bellum, when Ad himself walked up to them. "Good morning, Chester," Ad said as he approached Matt and Chester.
"Good morning. Mr. Dillon, this here is Ad Bellum."
"How do?" Matt politely asked.
"Dillon? You're the Marshal?" inquired Ad.
Before Matt could answer, Chester responded. "Yeah and we kinda have a lot to talk about. So if you want to go on ahead, we'd understand."
"That's the way, Chester," Ad replied as he walked off.
Matt was now confused about the scene that had just taken place. "What's that all about?" he asked Chester.
"Oh don't pay him no mind, Mr. Dillon. I can't make up my mind if she's serious about him or not," Chester answered.
"Who?" Matt asked.
"Miss Kitty. I mean with them being together while he was recovering from his hurt head, and then him following her back into town, and the trouble that went on afterwards. Well, I'm just not sure if I should bother you with it," said Chester as he and Matt walked back to the jail.
Matt wasn't expecting that answer. He stopped walking and turned towards Chester. "Now hold on. Maybe you better bother me with it."
Chester felt immediate relief from his anxiety. "Mr. Dillon, I was kindly hoping you'd see it that way." Chester and Matt continued walking and Chester started telling Matt the story. "You see it all started right after you left. Miss Kitty went to see Ben and Annie Dillard. On her way out there, she found Ad laying on the ground. He told her he had a hurt head and was to swimmy head to move. She knowed she needed help moving him, so she rode to the Dillards' house. Her and Ben went to pick Ad up in a wagon and brought him back to the Dillards' house. Kitty knowed that Ad needed medical help, so she came back to town to get Doc. Doc rode out to the Dillards' with her. He said it was a very tense ride out there. Kitty definitely wasn't her normal polite self. When he got there, Ben and Annie had to leave because Ben's mom had fallen ill. Doc made the diagnosis that Mr. Bellum had a concussion, but should recover as long as he rested and stayed quiet for a couple of days."
By now Matt and Chester had made it back to the jail. They were sitting at the table. Matt was completely engrossed in the story Chester was telling him. "How do you know all of this, if you weren't there?" he asked.
"This is what Doc told me. I can only assume that Miss Kitty told Doc the story as they were riding out to Ben and Annie's." Chester replied.
"You said that Doc wanted Mr. Bellum to rest and be quiet for a couple of days. Did he stay out there with him?" asked Matt, knowing Doc wouldn't want a patient with a head injury to be alone.
Chester looked up at Matt, almost afraid to answer. "No, Mr. Dillon. He had to go to the Curtain homestead. The whole family had diphtheria. Miss Kitty stayed out there with him."
Matt's heart stopped and his stomach dropped. He wasn't expecting to hear that Kitty had stayed alone with a man whom she did not know. He quickly blamed himself. So many thoughts were going through his head. He knew Kitty and didn't think anything happened while she was alone with Ad Bellum, but he couldn't stop the irrational thoughts.
"Now, you had said at the stage depot, that he followed her into town and trouble followed. What kind of trouble?" asked Matt
Chester could see the upset look on Matt's face. "It hard to explain, Mr. Dillon. Ad always had to be with her. He seemed almost possessive of her, like no one else could even talk to her. He was very rude at Delmonico's, when Miss Kitty invited me to sit and have dinner with them."
Hearing that Kitty and Ad had dinner together did nothing to make Matt feel better about the situation. He was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know. "Did they go to the sociable together?"
Chester looked at Matt and hesitated before he answered. "Yes, they did."
That answer pretty much took what little wind Matt had left in his sails. Things that he did with Kitty and what he should be doing, were being done by another man. He had to talk with Kitty. He had to make things right again. He could not lose her.
"Mr. Dillon, I can see you're upset, but I thought you should know about this. I know that you and Miss Kitty have something special between you. As a loyal friend, I just don't want to see that end," Chester softly said.
"Chester, I appreciate you telling me and your loyalty as a friend. You're right about two things. I am upset about everything, and Kitty and I do have something special between us. As soon as I get cleaned up, I'm going to go over to the Long Branch to talk with her. I can't lose her."
That's just what Matt did. He wasn't expecting to have to kill Ad Bellum. But if he really admitted to himself, he was glad that Ad was no longer a threat to his relationship with Kitty. He and Kitty had dinner in her room that night. They wanted a private place to talk about everything. Both Matt and Kitty knew that Matt's badge would more than likely get in the way again, but being able to talk about it was helpful. Matt thanked his lucky stars that Kitty was still an important part of his life and that she was still his girl.
The End
