Let Me Call You Sweetheart Chapter 5, Page 49
Christy wouldn't leave until Faith wrote a note and left it on the table for her sister, Maggie where she went. She also asked Nathan to leave the grits on the porch for the cat. Faith gathered Christy's belongings and took Christy to the infirmary in a wagon. Once there, Nathan and Bill left her in the care of Faith while they talked to Fiona, to see if she could temporarily take in Christy until they found her a place to stay, or contacted a relative or friend of hers. Both men had to pursue who she was and try to get her help. Right now though they needed her to get the medical attention from Faith, so she would remain a mystery momentarily.
Faith did a thorough exam of Christy and Timi Anne. Besides the infection, Christy was anemic and dehydrated. Baby Timi was jaundiced, but seemed all right except being on the thin side. It was no surprise when Faith weighed them both. Timi would need to lay in the sun to help cure her jaundice. Christy would need to nurse her as much as possible not only to help push the jaundice out of Timi's system, but to get some more weight on her. That meant that Christy needed to eat more nourishing foods and drink more liquids. She also needed to sleep and get a couple of good night's rests.
When Fiona came over to see who this Christy was and what she needed, Fiona's heart melted and quickly invited Christy over to her house to get stronger and healthy. She suggested that after Faith gave her medicine for her infection, that Fiona would take Christy and Timi to her place to settle in.
"Meanwhile, I'll run over to Billees and get her some food. I know they are setting up for the New Year's Eve party now, so they have food cooking." She looked at Christy and put her arm around Christy and reassured her, "I'll be right back. You get cleaned up and after you eat, I'll take you to my place."
Faith drew a bath for Christy and it felt so warm and soothing. After she dried off, Faith gently took Baby Timi and bathed her. Timi seemed to enjoy her bath. Giving Christy a tall glass of water, Faith instructed, drink this all, and nurse your baby. When she is full I'll put her over by the window and the sun will keep her warm, and help flush out the jaundice. When Fiona returned, she gave her some of Bill's stew and corn bread.
"Faith, I'm going to go to the Mercantile and pick up a few baby items and pray that Flo isn't there. I certainly don't want any rumors started!" she laughed when she thought of what Flo would be thinking. Luckily for her, Flo was still relaxing from the Christmas rush and Robert was helping Ned, so just a brief explanation was needed, 'buying for a friend', as Robert didn't care. When she returned, Christy was ready to go.
Bill offered to take the wagon over to Fiona's house and carry in her belongings.
Inside, Fiona told Christy, that she could go upstairs to the bedroom on the right. There she would have the most sunlight, so it worked out wonderfully for Christy. She had a bed, and a dresser. As before, she used a dresser drawer for Timi Anne to sleep in until they could make other arrangements. Fiona suggested kindly that they both take a long nap and get some rest. It didn't take long for Christy to climb into bed and was out like a light.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Bill were looking through missing people notices and found nothing for a lead.
"She said her family told her to leave, so that doesn't surprise me." Nathan stated.
"How parent's could do that is beyond me. I'll never understand that way of thinking!" Bill was disgusted. "Life is precious, no matter the circumstances and they not only cast away their daughter, but their granddaughter too."
"I wonder who the father is." Nathan furrowed his brow. "If she's from this area, he must be too, and there must be school records of her or him."
"Unless her parent's kept her home to work on a farm. What did she say her sister's name was, Maggie?" Bill asked. "I'll ask Elizabeth to check the school records for a Christy or Maggie. I gotta run to Billees to check on how things are shaping up for the New Year's Eve party, see you later?"
"For sure, I want to show off my girl! Allie is going by her friend, Karen, for a sleepover, AGAIN! I just don't understand girls and their sleepovers! Ma said she'd stop by for the New Year's Eve party but not for long."
Over at Billee's, Rosemary was busy making sure all the decorations and tables were set for the New Year's Eve party. Rick was there to help Sam and they still had cooking to do. The stage was all set for entertainment and as expected, Bill and Nathan offered to play their guitar and now that Carson was back, he said he'd bring his with too. Molly was practicing her song to serenade Faith and Carson, and the townsfolk were dropping off dishes to pass, completely on their own. Rosemary wasn't asking, they just offered. What was so nice about Hope Valley is that when it comes to food, there never seemed to be a shortage.
Clara and Jesse were being provided with all sorts of various dinner leftovers and fresh dinners too. When Minnie would re-open the Cafe after New Year's, she would take it from there, so Jesse was off the hook for cooking, but not the laundry Clara would remind him.
Bill made sure the champagne arrived, the chicken was prepared, the potatoes, carrots and green beans were chopped, and smiled when he saw Emily and Minnie had baked some delicious desserts. He tuned up his guitar and thought, he was definitely looking forward to that New Year's kiss with Molly!
