February 2
6:20 p.m.
Lee drove the Model T onto Main Street, where people were standing outside, watching a billow of smoke rise up to the sky from Abigail's cafe.
"What in tarnation?" Lee exclaimed as they neared the cafe, then proceeded to park across the road. "Rosie, stay in the car— just until I figure out what's going on here."
"I most certainly will not." Rosemary lifted her skirt and opened her own car door. No way was she staying put; she needed to catch up with the crowd to see what was happening.
Lee threw her a backward glance. "Be careful, please." His eyes were so innocently blue she found herself melting into their depths.
She nodded. "I'm just going to check on everyone just the same as you."
"Alright then. But don't do anything… overzealous, okay?" Worry lines wrinkled his forehead.
She looked solemnly into his eyes. "I promise."
He must have been satisfied for he nodded her way then jogged up to the men who were hoisting buckets of water from the horse trough at the saloon and lugging them to the site.
After stumbling over the road while her eyes were on the cafe, she finally ran into the source of all news: Florence, with their redheaded friend, Molly, on her arm. They both looked alarmed and out of sorts.
"Oh, Rosemary!" Florence called out with distress in her voice. "You'd never imagine what happened! We were just enjoying the blue plate special at the cafe, and…" Florence stuttered, her face whitening, her words stalling for the first time since… well, ever.
Molly put a hand on Florence's arm. "What she means to say is we were evacuated from the cafe! The kitchen is on fire."
"What? How?" She simply couldn't believe it. Abigail's beautiful cafe!
"Word is that an old dish towel was set too close to the flame, and in all the busyness, no one noticed until the curtains caught fire and it began to spread across the kitchen. Bill's in there now trying to douse the whole thing out." Molly shook her head as if she could hardly believe it.
"Oh dear." Rosemary felt the blood from her own face drain.
"It's just horrible. And Poor Abigail, after all she'd been through." Florence lifted a handkerchief to her nose and began to sniffle.
She extended her arm around the frail Florence in a hug. "There, there. Things will be okay. You'll see." Over Florence's shoulder she motioned to Molly. "Perhaps you ought to take her home."
"It was quite traumatic." Molly nodded and then began to lead Florence away. "You'll be okay, Rosemary? Promise us you won't do anything rash."
She wrinkled her brow at that. "Rash? Why would I do anything rash?"
Molly's eyebrow's rose as she leaned over and whispered. "With your mother in town and all."
Rosemary felt her throat go dry. Her mother! She had completely forgotten about their meetup with the mayhem of the fire.
Her heart rate jumped to a new energy level and she found herself clumsily and awkwardly jogging towards the sight. Carson balanced a bucket of water and caught her with one arm as she neared the cafe.
"Whoa, there. You aren't going anywhere near there." His voice left no room for compromise.
"But… my… Harriet…" she stammered, then as all adrenaline fled, she went weak in the knees, but thankfully Carson's firm grip held her upright.
"Now, now, the word is everyone's been evacuated and safe." Carson said.
"Even…Harriet?" She shrieked.
Carson's forehead wrinkled. He looked to his left where Ned Yost was throwing a bucket of water on the fire. "Ned, have you seen the new woman in town? Harriet?"
Ned glanced up, sweat dotting his brow. "No, I can't say I have." He gave them a sorrowful look and then gave his attention back to the task at hand.
Her heart banged across her ribcage as she straightened, ready to escape his grasp and find her mother.
Carson gave her a kind pat on the shoulder. "Not to worry. I'm sure if we ask around…"
"Okay." She stepped back, escaping his careful hold, her heart still beating like a hammer, hard and off beat. She whirled around. She was not sure where to check, but one thing was certain: she had to find Harriet. She'd never forgive herself if something had happened. She could feel Carson's concerned eyes upon her from the cafe as she walked down the boardwalk towards Yost's Mercantile. If she could just put one foot in front of the other… if those darned boardwalk boards would stop swirling… and why did it feel as if she couldn't gather a full breath? The beating of her heart roared in her ears as she staggered and her knees gave way; falling back, back, back… into… strong arms?
"Rosie!" Lee's concerned voice was on her ear, but he felt far away. "Rosie, she's safe. She's at the infirmary." His arms held her as she slowly willed herself to return to reality, far away from the rapid beating of her heart, the lack of air, the tightness in her chest.
She felt his arms. Took a deep breath or two. Then two or three more.
She tried to fix her eyes on Lee, her steady in the storm. Ah, there he was. His eyes filled with concern.
"Rosie, Love… you're shaking… you're—"
Aware enough of her surroundings she whispered the name that had been on her lips but she hadn't been able to give voice to, "Harriet?"
Lee nodded, and her whole body relaxed further.
"Please, take me to her."
"Are you okay? You seem—"
"Just take me to her."
After insisting she that was fine numerous times, Lee finally led her across the street to the infirmary, where a few various men and women were exiting after a basic checkup after the fire. Nurse Faith Carter was just finishing an examination with Harriet when they entered. She had never seen a sweeter sight.
"Harriet! Thank God." She felt weak with relief and before she knew it, she found herself hugging her mother, amazed at the concern and love that had welled up in her heart for a woman she barely knew. Harriet must have felt the same, for she returned the embrace heartily.
Faith gave them a friendly smile. "Everything checked out fine. Thankfully she got out before she inhaled too much smoke, but I'd just keep an eye on her breathing for the next twenty-four hours or so."
Harriet lifted her weary eyes, a trail of soot lingering on her cheek. "Yep, I'm right as rain," she said, forcing a smile.
"Oh I have never been happier to hear that!" Rosie looped her arm through Harriet's. "Were you all alone? How did it happen? Were you sitting right there when the flames broke out? And the damage… do you think—"
"Now, now, there will be a time for questions, Rosie." He turned his attention to Faith, who was finishing her paperwork on a clipboard. "Would mind taking a look at my wife?"
Faith lifted her eyes from the clipboard. "Oh sure, I just saw my last patient, for now anyway."
"But I wasn't even anywhere near the fire. I'm the one who's 'right as rain'. Honestly…" Her cheeks heated. Lee was making too much of her dizzy spell. Although it had been scary. She just wasn't ready to face it, to explain it. It didn't make any sense.
As if reading her mind Lee interjected, "I believe it was just all the excitement, but she had some kind of frightful reaction a few minutes ago."
"And that is all it was, Lee, really." She felt embarrassment creep up her neck.
"I think it is a good idea, Mrs. Coulter. It has been awhile since your last examination," Faith said.
"We will just be out in the waiting room." Lee led a weary Harriet out to the waiting area.
Once Faith had pulled the curtain closed, Rosemary whispered, "I truly don't require a check up. It's just that Leland can be a bit… overprotective here lately."
"As he should be. You are a woman expecting her first baby in four months more or less. And if I remember right, you missed our last appointment. It's past time for this little baby to have a check up. Now, change into this, and I will be right back." Faith laid a flimsy gown made from a cotton sheet on the table before exiting.
She felt both embarrassed and ridiculous. Here she was being waited on while Harriet was the one who had been through the catastrophe. But, she did as she was told, although she grumbled to herself quite a bit while changing, and soon the nurse was back in the room.
After doing a few vitals such as blood pressure, weight, and pulse, Faith asked her a few questions regarding her dizzy spell, or whatever it had been, earlier.
Rosemary sighed wishing everyone would stop making a big deal of it. "It's really not that big of a deal. I was overcome with worry of not finding my— Harriet, and I simply felt a little weak in the knees."
"Oh." Faith jotted on a clipboard. "Was it hard to breathe? Did you feel lightheaded?"
"Yes."
"What about your vision? Was anything blurry or tunnel vision?"
"Now that you mention it, yes."
"And now… now that you have found Harriet safe, you feel stable again?"
She nodded.
Faith gave her a small reassuring smile. "I've heard of such cases, Mrs. Coulter. It is basically a case of stress or nerves that are not handled well by the body."
"Oh dear. What… what can I do? I hope to never feel that way ever again." And she meant it, the world had come crashing in on her.
"The most important thing during an episode like that is to remember to breathe, perhaps sit down, and when you are coherent enough… to touch something or feel something… even just fingering the lace on your dress." She patted the lace on Rosemary's bodice.
She reached up to feel it herself. How was that supposed to help? Before she could voice her question, Faith smiled.
"Worry, fear, trepidation tries to take you for a ride out, far away. But feeling something tangible right here and now, it helps bring us back to the moment. If it happens again, please let the Doctor or myself know right away. We will do our best to help you. There are different ways of handling stress, and even some herbs that can help. I'll send a tea home with you for tonight."
She nodded.
"Alright, besides that, I think you are as fit as fit can be. Now, let's see about the baby. May I?" She motioned to Rosemary's belly.
Rosemary nodded, again her cheeks flaming hot. At least this time it was Nurse Faith examining her, as it would be the rest of the pregnancy. She couldn't imagine a man's hands besides Lee's touching her so!
Faith's icy fingers touched her belly as she felt around. "Ah, there's the little sweetheart." She smiled.
Rosemary looked up in surprise. "You think it is a girl?"
Faith shrugged. "Oh I don't know… it is just a guess. I'd say the way you are carrying is definitely more typical of a girl."
"And what way is that?"
Faith's cheeks pinkened. "It's just a rumor to be sure, but often when women are wider—" she gave Rosemary an apologetic look, "in the hips and carrying the baby sideways like a long watermelon, it can lead to them birthing a healthy baby girl."
"Oh." She was perplexed for she'd never heard of such rumors. "And for a boy?"
Faith smiled. "Often the weight is carried out front, like a ball."
She regarded her belly. Did it look like a watermelon or a ball? Or perhaps some of both? "Well, that is all very interesting. Are we almost done here? I feel horrible keeping Harriet waiting after all she endured."
Faith nodded. "There's just one more thing I'd like to check." She, again, positioned her hands on Rosemary's belly and prodded around for a few minutes. Rosemary hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until Faith lifted her hands.
"Interesting." Faith commented and scribbled a note on the clipboard.
"What's 'interesting'?" She asked directly, wishing she could get a better look at the clipboard but unfortunately Faith's script was none better than Doc Carson's and just appeared to be a jumble of squiggles.
"Oh, no reason for concern. I just have some notes to run by the Doctor." Faith put the clipboard under her arm.
A million questions ran through her head. Was it 'interesting' bad? 'Interesting' good? Abnormal? Was something wrong with the baby?
Faith came close and took her hands in her own. "I can see my comment caused you alarm. I did not mean for it too. Just what I am observing is very… interesting. I cannot say anything until I have talked with Doc Carson, but I promise… it's nothing bad."
She patted Rosemary's hand and then reached to open the curtain part way. "I'd say we are done for now. I'll just slip out while you change back into your regular clothes." And with that, Faith exited the room.