Storm Clouds Gathering

I was waiting for the other shoe to fall and it did, three days later. I'd been hoping Sunday was the start of something new and easier but as it turned out it was just the calm before the storm. It started Wednesday afternoon at the saloon when Maude came down with a cold. It was nothing serious, but she didn't want to be around the girls until she was feeling better. That meant she couldn't offer any help with them, and Doralice and I were going to have to figure out how to handle things on our own. Taking care of our children shouldn't seem like such a daunting task, but I was a little nervous about how we'd handle it. I couldn't tell Maude that of course, so instead I promised her neither the Maverick household nor the saloon would fall apart during her absence, wished her the best, and sent her home to rest.

I made sure things were running smoothly at the saloon and then I went home to tell Doralice about her mother. After assuring her Maude had nothing more than a cold we tried to get some idea of how we would handle the next few days. Doralice was confident there would be no problem as she was becoming quite adept at handling two babies. After all, it was only Maudie's lack of night time sleep that kept her from being an expert at it by now. As for Jack, he didn't require much looking after; he was well behaved and pretty self-sufficient.

"So it's okay if I'm not here tonight?" I asked.

Doralice turned away from the potatoes she was preparing for supper and rolled her eyes. "Yes; for the third time."

"I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you."

"I don't, Bart. Not that I wouldn't love to have you here but you're going to your job. That's hardly abandoning us."

Maybe not, but i still hadn't forgotten about the days I'd come home and found Doralice nearly in tears because she'd been up most of the night. "What about Maudie?"

She shrugged. "As long as Belle sleeps well, and she has been, I'll make do."

"And if she doesn't?"

"I'll still make do. We don't have a choice. Someone has to be at the saloon, and we can't push everything off on Bret."

I sighed. "That's true."

"We're not the first parents to have to deal with this and we won't be the last. We'll be fine."

She was right of course, but there were still plenty of times I wondered how anyone survived the first few months. I guess it's different when there's only one and no colic. "I guess this is all a lot easier when you only have one at a time."

Doralice looked at the pallet where the girls were lying. "No doubt. In that case, Mister Maverick, it appears we have a choice to make."

"We do?"

"Yes, sir." She looked me straight in the eye, her tone deadly serious. "Which one should we send back?"

I sighed and eased down on the floor with the girls. "Well, Belle sleeps better and she'd got that inquisitive gaze that seems to take everything in. I'm sure she'll be sharp as a tack when she gets older."

"A nice addition to the family," Doralice commented with a smile.

"Indeed. But Maudie seems pretty bright too."

"And very loving."

"Right. So which one can we do without?"

Doralice and I looked at each other a minute before we both started to laugh. "That settles it," Doralice said. "I guess we're stuck with both of them."

"So it seems."

Doralice shook her head as she went back to the potatoes. "We'll be fine. It may get a little stressful, but we'll make it. Maudie has been doing better anyway."

"Where's Jack?" I asked leaning down and letting Maudie wrap her hand around my finger. "I haven't seen him today."

"Out playing with the cat." Jack was often with Lucy.

"He sure seems to like her."

Doralice nodded. "I wish he had something else to play with."

"What do you mean?"

"Children," she clarified. "He spends so much time alone. He doesn't have anyone close to his own age."

"Oh. I guess that would be nice for him." I hadn't thought about it, but she was right. The only people he'd been around since arriving here were adults and infants. Some time with another boy his age would probably do wonders for him.

Doralice said nothing for a minute, but then she sighed. "Have you heard anything from James?"

I shook my head. "No. Why?"

"I've been thinking about school. Jack needs it, and if he's going to be with us a while, it would help him to be around more children."

That was the first I'd heard Doralice say anything about Jack being with us for an extended amount of time and I wondered if she was having doubts about Jim, too. She made a valid point, though. Jack did need interaction with children his own age, and he needed school. But putting him in school seemed like admitting he wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't ready for that. Besides, it seemed a little cruel to get Jack settled in only to uproot him soon. I was still hoping it would be soon.

"I don't think he'll be here that long. It seems a shame to get him too used to things here if he's going to be leaving soon."

"I suppose."

"I think we should hold off on school, at least for the time being."

"You're sure?"

"I am. We're bound to hear something from Jim soon, and we'll make a decision about school then."

Doralice nodded. "If that's what you think."

Eager to get away from the topic of Jim, I moved the conversation elsewhere. Doralice and I started talking about tonight again and had almost come up with a plan when Lucy ran into the room, followed closely by Jack.

"Hey, Jack," I said as he walked past.

Jack froze for a moment then looked at me shyly. "Hi," he mumbled.

"Having fun with Lucy?" I asked scratching the little tabby's neck.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. I've never had a cat before." He looked at me a moment longer before darting over to Doralice like he was afraid I was going to bite him. I sighed and shook my head. What had I ever done to the boy that made him so jumpy around me? I could no more answer that now than I could before. At least he was happy with Doralice.

"Can I help?" he asked her.

Doralice looked down and smiled. "Of course you can."

Doralice soon had him busy, and we finished discussing how the next few days would go. After supper, I bid my girls and Jack a good night and headed back to work. A pattern I planned to repeat for the next few days.

Doralice and I had decided on what seemed to be a workable plan. I would go in after lunch and take care of office business, then head home for supper, and return to the saloon at night. That would give me a little time at home in the afternoons, but allow me to be at the saloon during the busiest time as well. Then I could go home at closing, or maybe sooner depending on how the night went, and help Doralice with the girls, if needed, before falling into bed myself. That wasn't much different than my schedule was supposed to be, but with Maude out, I would need to put in some early afternoon hours as well. That might cut in on some regular sleeping time for me, but it would only be for a few days. Surely I could get through that.

When we'd worked the plan out, I was afraid it wouldn't go off as smoothly as it did in my head, and I was right. There were a few hiccups at the saloon that night; a man at one of the poker tables was caught cheating, one of my dealers was accused of cheating, and Henry Turner had just a bit too much to drink. By the time I walked in the front door the next morning, I was ready to find my bed and sleep for a few hours. What I found instead was Doralice walking the front room with Maudie who was screaming her little lungs out.

Dorlaice gave me a tired smile when she saw me, and I grimaced in return. "Bad night?" I asked needlessly, I could tell Doralice had been up a while.

Doralice nodded. "She started not long after you left. It went on for nearly three solid hours before I could quiet her down. She slept a couple of hours and has been at it almost ever since."

So much for thinking she was getting better. "Belle?"

"She did pretty well. I brought Maudie out to try and keep her from disturbing Belle or Jack any more than necessary. One crying is always better than two crying."

"Want me to take her so you can lay down?"

Doralice was about to hand Maudie over when she must have taken a good look at me. "It doesn't look like you had an easy night either."

I gave her a wan smile. "I didn't, but men aren't quite as bad as crying babies."

I reached for Maudie again and this time Doralice passed her over. "I know you're tired too. Just give me a couple of hours . . . ."

"Go," I told her. I still had plenty of time before I would head back to the saloon; I could handle being awake a little longer.

Doralice looked apologetic but didn't require much convincing. Passing Maudie over she hurried to the bedroom while I tried to calm our daughter down. Naturally, I didn't do very well, and no amount of walking, bouncing, or begging did any good. Maudie did finally start to quiet down about fifteen minutes after I got her but I was sure that had more to do with her simply wearing herself out than anything I did. I was so sure in fact that even after she drifted off, I continued to pace the floor gently rocking her, afraid putting her down would wake her again.

"I sure wish I knew how to help you, darlin'," I mumbled to her as I walked back and forth across the room wishing there was something I could do to take this dreaded and mysteries colic away from her.

"I thought she was better."

The voice startled me and I whirled around only to find Jack standing at the edge of the room, a scowl on his face. "Me too," I told him.

"She did that all night."

"So I heard."

"Is she gonna do it again tonight?"

"More than likely." I was pretty sure Jack rolled his eyes, and I couldn't say I blamed him. I didn't like saying it any more than he liked hearing it. "Do you need something?" I asked when he made no other comment or a move to do anything else.

"No."

"Oh. What are you doing up anyway?" It would be another hour or so before sunrise and Jack wasn't normally up this early.

"I couldn't sleep," He said simply.

I grimaced assuming Maudie had something to do with that. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Jack sort of shrugged. "Do you think I can go to bed now?"

I looked down at Maudie who looked so peaceful in sleep. "I think so. It's worth a try anyway."

Jack nodded and without another word headed back to his room. I watched him go, and I sent up a silent prayer I was right. Little did I know a storm was brewing over the Maverick house.