Three
Dillon finished his whiskey and brought his mind back from the darkness of past, he looked up to see her coming down the stairs, she always reminded him of a queen when she descended those steps. He couldn't imagine any royalty more regal than Kitty Russell gliding down the Long Branch stairs, with her head held high and her shoulders back. The sight of her never failed to stir him, even after all of these years. She scanned the crowded floor until she saw him and smiled. Setting his glass down on the bar, he crossed the room to meet her at the bottom step. "All set to go?" he asked.
Doc had joined them for dinner and the two men were engaged in a lively conversation about the festivities for the week ahead culminating in the big fireworks on the Fourth. It had only been in the last two years that Dodge City had fireworks and the novelty had already become a tradition. The men didn't notice that Kitty wasn't joining in or that her dinner was barely touched until the pain in her stomach grabbed her by surprise causing a sharp intake of air. Both men stopped talking to look at her "Something wrong Kitty?" Matt asked, a worried look wrinkling his brow.
She willed the pain away. "Just a twinge, nothing to concern yourself with Cowboy." she lied.
Adams studied her, noting that her color was off and there was the faintest sheen of perspiration forming on her upper lip. Reaching over he held her wrist in his hand and took her pulse, which was too
rapid for his liking. "Kitty, are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
She smiled with false bravado, "Oh Doc, it's just a woman thing I suspect."
Matt cleared his throat and looked away. That woman thing always made him uncomfortable and he decided to bring the conversation back to the fireworks. Kitty tried to eat some of the food on her plate
but it was hard to ignore the growing ache in her midsection.
Walking her back to the Long Branch Matt said hopefully, "Maybe I'll see you later." She nodded and smiled in response.
By the time Kitty said good night to Sam, the pain was gone, and she almost thought she'd imagined it. A long soak in the tub relaxed her and she was dusting herself with sweet smelling talc when Matt
knocked on her bedroom door. "Just a minute Matt." She called while she slipped into a silk negligee.
The champagne colored gown and robe were old, she'd had the set for many years, but like Kitty it had aged well. Dillon grinned seeing her in it, thinking of the first time she had worn it for him so many years ago. He wasted no time in taking her in his arms.
She giggled, "Can't you at least take off that gun belt Cowboy?" With a laugh he unbuckled his belt and took off his hat and then smiling pulled her back into his arms. Their lips met in a slow sweet kiss; like two explorers each rediscovering familiar territory, their heated bodies eager to stake a claim.
In the afterglow, they studied each other, both admiring the gentle toll the years had taken on the other, both amazed that after all these years they could still feel this way. When sleep came they were still nestled in each other's arms.
A finely tuned inner clock awoke him just before dawn. Duty to the badge warned him, this close to the fourth he should be back at the office instead of here in bed with a beautiful woman. He tried not to wake her up, but she immediately missed the warmth of his body. He finished buckling his belt and then leaned over the bed resting his hands on either side of her body, he kissed her soundly. "How about I pick you up for breakfast in a couple hours Red?" She nodded and then pulled him back down to her for one more kiss.
They met at Delmonicos several hours later. Matt had just finished off his usual breakfast of steak, eggs, and pancakes and was helping himself to what was left on Kitty's plate when he asked almost bashfully. "I was wondering if you had made any plans for watching the fireworks?"
She was a little confused, for she had assumed they would be watching them together. "No I thought we'd watch them from the Long Branch balcony like last year…"
"I was thinking of something a little different ... if things stay quiet maybe we could take a buggy ride to the old Watkins's place - should be a good view of the fireworks from up there." His face was as eager as a young boy's.
Her eyes lit up at the thought, "Oh Matt, I've always loved that place, remember how pretty Elsie Watkins used to have it, the house all painted white, with red geraniums in the window boxes?"''
Dillon nodded; he sat a little straighter, feeling mighty proud of himself, and more than a little relieved that she actually liked the place he'd bought to surprise her with. "Good, then it's all set, I'll see about Delmonicos packing us a basket."
"Oh, I can take care of that," she said with a grin, already planning a romantic menu.
They were abruptly interrupted by the sound of gunfire out in the street, as Matt stood up to investigate; Nathan Burke poked his head in the restaurant door. "Marshal somebody's robbing the bank."
Matt raced from the restaurant, with his gun in hand while Kitty stood watching from the window. As always she felt a familiar tug of fear for Matt's safety. She saw Matt and Festus ride out after the outlaws. Her eyes stayed fixed on the direction they had taken long after they were gone from sight.
Midmorning Doc stopped by the Long Branch for coffee with Kitty; he'd brought with him some sweet rolls that a patient had left in partial payment for the debt he owed the doctor. The saloon was quiet at this time of day and Doc wanted to use the opportunity to find out how Kitty was feeling. He knew she would never complain, it wasn't her nature, but he was also well aware of the fact he'd seen pain in her eyes the night before.
Pouring coffee for Kitty he remarked, "This is more than just female complaint isn't it?" She rubbed her forehead as though she were getting the beginning of headache. The old doctor frowned, "You do a lot of remembering at this time of year don't you Kitty?"
She gave him a rueful smile. "Doc why doesn't it get any easier, I keep thinking after all this time, the memory shouldn't hurt as much as it does."
"My guess is because it's a burden you've forced yourself to carry alone."
She nodded and stated resolutely, "I said it then Doc and I mean it now, this is the way it's gotta be. I just wish Matt were here now, I hate having him gone like this, I hate the not knowing, the wondering, the worry..."
He reached out and patted her hand, "I know, but just remember, Matt Dillon can take care of himself." It was a familiar line Adams had used to reassure her on many occasions such as this and so far she had no reason to doubt the truth of his words.
The doctor continued to study her, something wasn't right, "I think it's time for you to stop by the office, let me take a good look at you, I'm worried about you young lady."
She smiled at his use of the term 'young lady.' Here she was nearly forty and Doc still called her a young lady. "I have been feeling a little under the weather Doc," she admitted. "I tell you what, if I'm not feeling better by tomorrow, I'll let you have your way with me."
Matt and Festus came back to town around noon that day; Dillon stopped by the Long Branch just to let Kitty know they had caught the robbers and he and Festus would be taking them over to Fort Dodge, "A couple of Sgt. Holly's men." He told her, "Half drunk and acting on a dare, we'll let the army deal with them."
He glanced at the view outside the batwing doors, "I don't think we will be back before noon tomorrow, at least not with this rain."
A gentle drizzle was falling now, but the skies were dark, and there had been rumblings of thunder toward the west forecasting an all day storm.
She nodded, "Well just don't forget we've got a date for the fireworks."
"Oh don't worry, this is one date, I'll be around for."
She wished him a safe journey adding, "Take care Matt," and then he was gone.
Not long after Dillon left, Doc Adams stopped back to invite Kitty to lunch. She declined, "I'm not hungry." In truth the dull ache to her stomach had returned. Doc took off his glasses and eyed her, "Are you feeling worse? Do you need me Kitty?"
She smiled and shook her head, "Really Doc, I'm just fine."
By mid afternoon the dull ache had become a stabbing pain and she thought she really did need medical help. She climbed the stairs to Adams office only to find a note saying he was at the Ross place
delivering a baby.
It started to rain harder as Kitty walked across the water soaked street. The pain had become a constant companion. It was a struggle just to make it home to the saloon. Sam saw her at the doorway leaning against the wall. He stopped what he was doing and hurried to her side. "Miss Kitty?" he questioned.
In a hushed voice she answered, "Sam, I'm not well, please help me upstairs." The barkeep wrapped a supporting arm around her guiding her across the crowded floor. She ignored the greetings of customers and concentrated on getting to her room, but at the stairs the pain became too much for her to bear. The swimming pools of darkness finally enveloped her and she fainted. Sam picked her up, he looked toward Burke who was watching wide eyed and slack jawed, "Get Doc, Burke." Sam ordered.
"Doc's out of town delivering the Ross baby."
"Then get Newly, but hurry."
He carried her up the stairs and down the hallway, kicking open her bedroom door and placing her atop a crocheted coverlet. Consciousness came back and with it nausea hard and violent. Sam was holding her head over a basin when Newly came rushing in.
O'Brien had grown up with an Uncle who was a physician and had attended a respectable Medical college. But the real learning for him had come when Doc Adams had taken him under his wing, sharing his lifetime of knowledge. Doc often told him Medicine was an art; to practice it well a man needed talent and an instinct for healing. "You've got that Newly, don't waste it." But now, seeing someone he cared about as much as Kitty Russell being torn apart by pain threatened to wipe his mind clean of any knowledge or skill leaving only fear in its place. He tried to recall something else Doc had told him, something about being able to transform himself from a friend to physician. "I liken it to a wall, which keeps me from seeing the patient as someone I know and care about." Standing in the doorway looking at the lady who was closer to him than any sister ever could be he realized he didn't know the first thing about building that wall Doc had spoken of.
When the bout of nausea had passed Sam gently laid her back against the bed pillows, Maybelle one of Kitty's girls had come in the room to see if she could help. Nervously, Newly sat down on the bed beside Kitty, and began an examination, he felt her forehead, then checked her pulse. "Miss Kitty, can you tell me where the pain is?" he asked.
Her reply came as a groan, "My stomach," she said, "here." With her hand she indicated her lower right abdomen. She tried to speak again, but the pain twisted through her and her words dissolved to a sobbing moan. Newly was shaken to the core, this was for more experienced hands than his. He could set a broken leg, or prescribe ointment for a rash but he wasn't a surgeon. Nervously he looked around the room and saw Burke anxiously watching from the doorway. "Ride out to the Ross place and tell Doc we need him here, tell him it's Miss Kitty."
Not waiting for an answer the gunsmith turned to Sam, "She's going to need an operation; we have to get her over to Doc's."
GS GS GS
O'Brien had rushed ahead and was setting things up for her arrival; Sam gently placed her on the exam table in the center of the room. They removed her clothing until all that was left was a dainty lace trimmed camisole and white cotton drawers. Gently he untied the drawstring to expose her abdomen, noticing with some surprise the old scars, which laced across her belly. He placed careful fingers on her stomach but even the gentle pressure caused her pain. Fitfully she tossed her head left and right.
Pages from textbooks flashed against his mind, lectures from his Uncle and Doc echoed in his thoughts. There was no doubt of his diagnosis, the symptoms were classic. Appendicitis! "We need ice Sam, all you can get."
"Is she going to be all right?" the worried barkeep asked.
"I don't know, just hurry with that ice."
The saloon girl who'd followed them there was wringing her hands and weeping. Newly didn't know if she'd be much help or not, "Maybelle I need you to get a telegram off to Marshal Dillon, he should be at Fort Dodge by now. Tell him Miss Kitty needs him."
"She's dying!" the hysterical woman wailed. "Miss Kitty's dying…"
"Pull yourself together Maybelle, Kitty needs you." The words were for the woman's benefit as well as his own for he knew how close he was to falling apart. Kitty Russell needed him, and he couldn't fail her. That knowledge formed the first bricks in the wall Doc Adams had told him about.
Alone with his patient, Newly checked her vital signs again, a spiking temperature, rapid pulse and shallow breathing told him things were progressing much too quickly. If Doc didn't return soon, he would need to perform the operation himself. If her appendix were close to rupturing the procedure would be much too delicate for his untrained hands.
GS GS GS
Matt Dillon had been sitting in Captain Bradley's office amiably drinking a glass of whiskey and talking old times when the knock at the door came. "Excuse me." Bradley said as he got up to answer it. The corporal at the door mentioned something about a telegram and the Captain stepped out in the hall to discuss it. When he came back in the room the somber expression on his face warned Dillon something had happened back in Dodge.
"What is it?" he asked, already rising to his feet and grabbing his hat from the desktop.
"Miss Kitty, she's taken ill, you are requested to return to Dodge City immediately." Dillon was out the door before the last line of the Captain's was delivered.
He found Festus in the tack room playing poker with Sergeant Holly and his men, "Kitty's sick." He told him. The cards were forgotten as Holly helped the two men gather their gear and saddle their mounts.
"You tell her I'm thinking about her Big Fist, tell her…." Uncharacteristically, Holly choked up and couldn't finish.
Dillon nodded. "I'll tell her."
On the ride back to Dodge, Dillon cursed heaven and earth and himself for he had known something was wrong and had done nothing about it. But Kitty was never sick; how could he have believed something was wrong now? Kitty Russell was indomitable; she was the one who nursed other folks back to health. A foreign emotion worked its way up from the pit of his stomach, pulling on his nerves and rattling his brain. In his life's work Matt Dillon had trained himself to deny fear, but this event had brought him face to face in a showdown.