April 28, 1940
Grandpa walked over to the kitchen sink and poured the last couple drinks of coffee down the drain.
"Come on, Girls." He called. "Time to get to church."
John sat at the table, reading the Sunday paper.
"Coming!" Elizabeth called.
Olivia and Erin helped her to the top of the stairs with her crutches.
"Daddy, how do I look?" Elizabeth asked.
John turned around and smiled. "My little girl's a pretty one."
"I told you she's gonna be our little ol' beauty queen." Zeb smiled.
"Will you help me?" Elizabeth asked, requiring assistance down the stairs.
"Sure Honey." John smiled.
John picked her up and gently sat her down on the kitchen floor. Erin brought the crutches down for her. She helped Elizabeth get situated back on the crutches.
"I do hope that Joy is okay." Olivia said. She left her youngest daughter in the care of her older brothers.
"I'm sure Jason and Ben are doing fine with her." Erin assured her mother.
"Did Jim Bob go to church?"
John shook his head.
Olivia sighed and went outside with Zeb and Erin.
Elizabeth shuffled across the kitchen floor. She felt bad at how she slowed everyone down. Just before she reached the entry way that led from the back door to the kitchen, she turned to her father.
"How am I doing, Daddy?"
John smiled. "You're doing fine, Honey."
"Thanks!" the girl whispered before turning to continue her way to the truck.
April 29, 1940
The next day was a fairly uneventful day. Aimee came and helped Elizabeth get to school. Everyone was tired and went to bed early. However, going to bed early didn't help Jason and Ben.
At around 11, they were awakened by the sound of Grandpa snoring loudly.
Ben sat up. "He sounds like Jim Bob's car."
"Grandpa!" Jason tried arousing his grandfather.
This was to no avail.
Ben shook his head. "He's gonna do that all night."
Jason got up and held his finger under his grandfather's nose until he woke up. "What's wrong?"
"You were snoring."
"I never snore." Protested Zeb. "Forgive me."
Jason went back to bed. Just as Jason crawled under the covers again, the snoring continued.
"Jason, what are we gonna do?" Ben asked.
"Forget it." Jason was too tired to come up with a plan. He covered his head with his sheets.
Ben slept with his head under the pillow.
April 30, 1940
Aimee pushed Elizabeth in home from school in her wheelchair that afternoon.
"Can you sleep in those things all right?" Aimee asked, referring to Elizabeth's leg braces.
"I don't have to. Mama takes them off before I go to bed."
"So they don't bother?"
"Well it's kind of hard to roll over." Elizabeth chuckled. "I have to use my hands."
"Don't you think you could walk? I mean if you really, really tried? Not even one step?"
Elizabeth paused. "It's kind of hard to explain. It's like my legs aren't even mine. Like they're not much."
"A lot of help the doctors did."
Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, Curt put the bones together."
"What's the use of together bones if you can't even walk?" Asked Aimee. Then she had an idea. "I bet Ada Corley could fix you!"
"She's not a doctor."
"She cured Inner Sypes' daughter of a broken foot."
"I'm scared of her." Elizabeth admitted.
Aimee nodded and continued to push Elizabeth's wheelchair. They went back to the Walton house.
In the yard, they saw Jim Bob working on his car.
Aimee pushed Elizabeth's wheelchair right over to where Jim Bob was working.
"Jim Bob, is that you under there?"
"Who do you think it is?"
Elizabeth looked at her cousin. "Kick him." She whispered.
"Better not." Jim Bob had heard them.
Elizabeth nodded and Aimee kicked him.
Jim Bob whirled around, about to say something, but Grandpa came out just then.
"Hey, there you are!" he called to Elizabeth. "I've been looking all over for you, Young Lady."
"Elizabeth, your grandpa thinks a dip in the hot springs may do you some good." John said.
"President Roosevelt went down to the Warm Springs, Georgia, to soak his limbs when he had polio. What's good for the president ought to be good for you."
"President Roosevelt?"
Mary Ellen smiled and nodded. "We'll take the truck, Daddy. Mama will be right out. Aimee, you Grandpa, and I can sit in the back. And Elizabeth, you, Mama, and Daddy can sit in the front."
"Let's go." Zeb smiled.
Elizabeth playfully saluted Grandpa as Mary Ellen pushed Elizabeth's wheelchair over to the truck.
Once at the hot springs, Mary Ellen pushed Elizabeth in her wheelchair into the water. Mary Ellen got in the water with her sister. Grandpa got in as well.
"Bet that feels good, Honey." John smiled.
"It's like a big bathtub."
"Try to bend your knees a little, pretend like you're swimming." Coaxed Olivia.
"Feels like they're not even there." Elizabeth said.
"Her skin's starting to show some red marks." Observed Mary Ellen.
"Think maybe it's too hot for her?" Olivia asked.
"It's not burning us." Mary Ellen said.
"That could be a good sign." Grandpa said. "Gets all those red little corpuscles a-workin'. Makes you feel alive, doesn't it Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth laughed.
Aimee heard a buzzing sound. "Scat. There's a bee."
"I hit him, watch out Mama." Mary Ellen warned.
The bee landed on Elizabeth's left leg.
"Get out!" Elizabeth screamed.
"Don't do that Elizabeth, it'll sting you." Olivia said.
"I think it already has." Mary Ellen said. She flicked the bee away. "Yep, there's a stinger."
"Get some mud. We'll rub it on to take the sting away." Zeb told Aimee.
"Does it hurt Elizabeth?" Olivia asked.
"No."
Olivia sighed. "This is one time I wish it did."