CHAPTER 12
About three to four weeks later, Dr. Wright returns to Seattle on the Shamus O'Flynn after getting Jeremy settled into his new living quarters. Jason, Josh, and Candy are among the crowd welcoming the ship in. They rush to greet Allyn as she walks down the gangplank.
"How's Jeremy?" Candy asks not waiting for a reply before she asks other questions. "Is he all right? When's he coming home?"
"What took you so long getting back? I thought you were only staying a few days," Jason comments.
"My goodness. So many questions at once," Allyn says laughing. "First, Jeremy is fine. He seems quite happy there, but he does miss all of you." Looking at Candy she adds, "Especially you, Candy. He said to tell you and I quote, 'Be sure to tell Candy I love her'." Jeremy has made some friends and I think this trip will make a big difference in his life. Candy, if you'll give me about an hour to get home and unpack, I have a letter for you from Jeremy."
Candy puts her hand over her mouth and nods while tears fill her eyes. "Oh, thank you, Allyn."
Looking at Jason, she answers his question. "Jason, I was planning on staying only a few days just long enough to get Jeremy settled in, but some doctors asked for my help with a patient. I couldn't turn down the chance of helping a young man regain his life. I came back as soon as I saw that he was going to recover fully. Now, I think I will go home and unwind. I'll see all of you later." She starts to pick up her small trunk, but Josh grabs it before she does.
"Here, let me get that for you, Allyn," he says as he heads off towards the clinic.
"Thanks Joshua!" she calls after him. Turning to Candy she says, "Oh and Candy. Don't forget to drop by for your letter."
"You can be sure I won't forget." Candy skips towards the dormitory humming a song.
Jason laughs and tells Allyn, "That's the happiest I've seen her since Jeremy left. I can only imagine what reading his letter will do to her." He takes Allyn's arm to walk her home. "Allyn, how would you like to have supper with me at Lottie's tonight?"
"That sounds lovely, Jason. It's a date."
Promptly one hour later, Candy is at Allyn's door to retrieve her letter. After thanking Allyn, she heads off to her and Jeremy's favorite place. Sitting down on the boulder, she opens the letter carefully but eagerly. Tears fall as she reads his writing.
My Dearest Candy,
I can't believe it's only been two to three weeks since I left Seattle. It seems like an eternity. I miss you so much and I can't wait to come back home to you.
I hope you are well and getting out doing fun things. Please don't sit at home by yourself. I want you to go on with your life just as you would if I were there.
You won't believe all the progress I've made already. Coming here was definitely the right thing to do. Everyone is astounded at how good I'm doing. Even me! Ha Ha.
I've made several good friends that have helped me. Joe, Phil, Steve, and Frankie. Don't get jealous when I tell you that Frankie is a girl. She has helped me a lot. I talk to her about you, about us. Frankie says that I'm blessed to have such a girl as you, a girl that has stuck by me. And I agree. I don't think I could have gone through any of this without your love and support. Thank you, Candy. Frankie's husband left her when she had her accident. The jerk. Now Candy, don't let that imagination of yours run away with you. Frankie and I are just friends and that's all we'll ever be because my heart belongs to you. So don't start worrying about me falling in love with her. I won't. I promise. I just thought I would be honest with you and tell you about her.
They tell me I may be ready to come home in another month, maybe sooner if I work extra hard. And you know me, I'm going to work as hard as I can to come home early, so I won't miss your birthday. But there is a chance I may not make it back in time. If I don't, I hope you will forgive me. I'll make it up to you, I promise. I know you'll love the present I have for you. I can't wait for you to see it.
I guess I better close so I can get back to work. Besides, Allyn is about ready to leave and I do want her to hand deliver this letter to you.
I love you, Candy! You are in my thoughts every minute of the day and in my dreams every night. I so wish I could hold you in my arms and taste your sweet lips. I miss seeing your beautiful face.
Take care of yourself. Stay my strong, brave, beautiful girl.
I love you, Miss Candy Pruitt and always will!
With all my love,
Jeremy
Candy clutches the letter to her heart and sobs. "Oh Jeremy. I love you so much. Please come home soon," she whispers.
The next day, Allyn goes into Ben Perkins' store browsing until the store is empty. Finally catching Ben by himself, she quietly tells him the situation. "Ben, I need your help. But you have to promise to keep what I am about to tell you a secret. Can you do that?"
"I'll try my best," he tells her in his long drawl.
"Your best is not good enough. This has to be kept absolutely a secret. I will be sending telegrams back and forth to San Francisco and no one must find out what's in them."
"Oh well. Why didn't you say it was telegraph business. I took an oath not to tell what is said in telegrams. I can keep your secret without any problems."
"Very well. Here's my first telegram. When I get a reply, please bring it over to me yourself." She hands Ben a paper with her message.
Ben reads what is on the paper. "Is this for real?" he asks.
Allyn nods her head with a big smile on her face. "Yes, it is for real."
Ben pumps his arm in the air and hollers, "Yeehaw!"
"Shh, it's a secret. Remember?" Allyn reminds him.
"You can count on me!" he says as he happily starts tapping out the message.
As the days go by and the more Candy reads Jeremy's letter, the more she worries about this friendship between Jeremy and Frankie. What is really going on between those two? What does he tell her about us? And why would he tell her anything about us? Why did he mention her in his letter? Is it because he thinks it will be easier for him to tell me he's not coming home? That he has fallen in love with her. No, Jeremy wouldn't do that. He said he wouldn't, and he has never lied to me. But that is face to face. Maybe it's easier for him to lie to me in a letter. Candy, get a hold of yourself! You can trust Jeremy. He loves you. "I have to go talk to Allyn. I need answers and now!" she shouts.
Candy barges into Allyn's office. "Allyn, I need to talk to you. Can you spare some time for me?"
"Of course, Candy. What's wrong?"
"It's Jeremy. This letter he sent me. The one you gave me."
"What about it?" Allyn asks.
"Well, he mentions that he has become friends with Frankie, a girl."
"Yes, he has. She's a lovely young girl. Oh, I see. You're afraid that Jeremy and Frankie will become more than friends, aren't you?"
"That thought has crossed my mind. Just how close are they? You said she was lovely and young. How lovely and how young?" Candy begins to bite on her lip.
"Frankie is maybe four or five years older than you. She has long blond hair and blue eyes. She's just a little bit shorter than you. Did Jeremy tell you that she is married?"
"Yes, he did, but he also said her husband was a jerk for leaving her when she had her accident. It sounds like Jeremy is sympathetic to her and he may comfort her. Oh Allyn, does he comfort her? Does he hold her in his arms?"
"Candy, my goodness, you're letting your imagination run wild. Jeremy is sympathetic to her, but I never saw him comfort her in the way you're suggesting. He loves you, Candy. Only you. You need to trust him."
"I do trust him, it's her I don't trust. A lovely young blond that is lonely and she is with the most handsome man on the face of this earth. Plus they have a connection of not being able to walk. They would know how each other feels and how to help each other. I'm afraid I'm going to lose Jeremy after all."
Allyn comes around her desk and hands Candy a handkerchief. "You know what I think, Candy. I think Jeremy made a mistake telling you about Frankie. He obviously thought you wouldn't jump to conclusions about their friendship. He knew you trusted him. Did he tell you in the letter that he has already gotten your birthday present? You are going to love it so much. I can't wait to see your face when he shows it to you. Trust him, Candy. Jeremy will come home to you."
"All right, Allyn. I guess I'm just being jealous that he is spending time with some other woman. I know he loves me. Let's don't tell him how I was acting, okay," she giggles.
"All right, Candy. Now, you go home and write Jeremy a letter. I haven't said anything to anyone yet, but I received a telegram from Dr. Li, the doctor I was helping with his patient. He needs me. . ."
"Oh, that young male patient? He is still all right, isn't he?"
"Yes, he's made a remarkable recovery. Dr. Li needs me to return to San Francisco to follow up on the young man. I'll be sailing to San Francisco in the morning."
"In the morning? Allyn, can I go with you? I need to see Jeremy."
"I'm afraid not, Candy. You know Jeremy doesn't want you making that trip alone."
"I won't be alone. You'll be with me. And Captain Clancey, too. Oh please Allyn, I miss him so badly," Candy states as tears roll down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, but the answer is no. I don't mean to sound cruel, but I'm thinking of Jeremy, too. He distinctly told me not to let you come down there, He said he couldn't bare watching you leave him, that it was torture when he had to leave you. Please Candy, he'll be home soon. Just be patient."
Candy stomps her foot. "Will you at least take a letter to him?"
Allyn smiles and places her arm around Candy. "Of course, I will. You can give it to me in the morning before we set sail. Now, you go write that letter and don't worry about anything. Everything is going to be fine."
"All right. I'll see you in the morning. Thank you."
"You're welcome." She closes the door behind Candy. "One day very soon, Candy, you're really going to thank me," she whispers.
The next morning as she hands the letter to Allyn, she asks, "Are you sure I can't go with you?"
"I'm sure. I'll be back in time for your birthday."
"Do you think Jeremy will get to come home with you?" Candy asks excitedly.
"I don't know, but I will find out when I get there," Allyn laughs. "In the meantime, Jason, Joshua, I want you to keep this lady busy so she doesn't have time to miss Jeremy so much. All she's been doing is worrying about him."
"We will take good care of her," Jason says.
"Allyn, tell Jeremy I love him and miss him. Tell him to come home soon," Candy blinks her eyes to keep her tears from falling.
"I will, Candy." She gives them a hug and hurries onboard. They watch the Shamus O'Flynn set sail.
"Well young lady, what do you want to do for your birthday?" Jason asks. "How about a party?"
"No, thanks. I don't feel like celebrating unless Jeremy is here. I'll just curl up with a good book and go to bed early."
"You'll do no such thing. We can't let you have a boring birthday. Jason and I will just have to take you over to Lottie's for a nice meal. You know Jeremy would never forgive us if we didn't do something special for your big day," Josh says.
"Oh, thank you but that's not really necessary," Candy replies.
"Yes it is, Candy. Let us do this for you and then when Jeremy gets home, we'll throw you the biggest birthday party Seattle ever saw." Jason puts his arm around her shoulders and hugs her. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to go over to Lottie's right now and talk to her about it. Is six o'clock all right with you?"
Candy sighs, "I guess six will do. Thank you both. I'll see you later." She walks slowly towards the dormitory. "Birthdays, who needs em'?" she mumbles.
