Time for warm fuzzies! :D This is a totally fluffy chapter (not in the romantic way but it is possibly sweet enough to give you a cavity. :P ) I hope that you like it!
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Chapter 27: Home
Michaela and Myra were working together on breakfast. Myra was baking the bread, while Michaela cooked the eggs. It was Friday morning and they were expecting Robert E at any moment.
He had come to take measurements Thursday evening and promised to arrive bright and early Friday morning to begin work.
They heard a wagon pull up to the house.
Michaela began wiping her hands off. "That must be Robert E." She lifted Hanna out of her basket; into her arms
Then there was the sound of another wagon. Then several more, along with quite a few voices.
The two women looked at each other in confusion before heading toward the door.
A whole slew of wagons were pulling up in front of the homestead as Myra and Michaela stepped out onto the porch, their mouths practically hanging open.
Robert E was grinning broadly and Dorothy looked fit to burst.
"What – what is all this?" the doctor managed through her shock.
The blacksmith nodded to the town's newspaper editor. "It was Miss Dorothy's idea."
The redhead smiled modestly. "Well, I just spread the word how you were tryin' to make room for Myra's family and people came right out of the woodwork to help ya."
The two younger women stared out at the crowd.
"But," Michaela began, "I can't afford to pay them all."
Dorothy shook her head. "'Round here, when our neighbor needs our help we all pitch-in." She leveled them with a look. "Especially for a pair who have worked so hard to help this town and its people."
Michaela swallowed back the tears gathering behind her eyes. "Thank you," she managed.
"Oh, no need for thanks."
Robert E rubbed his hands together. "Now let's get started on your new house, Miss Myra."
The pair looked confused.
"House?" Myra glanced at the doctor who shrugged; then turned back to the blacksmith. "But I thought that the plan was for additions to the homestead; a house is too expensive."
Their friends smiled as Charlotte walked up to them. "Well, Dr. Mike. There are quite a few folks in town who figure they still owe ya some for what ya've done."
Michaela shook her head. "Of course not, I accepted –"
The midwife shook her head. "They know you could get more elsewhere. And they want to welcome the two of ya to town proper-like."
Michaela gave a watery smile and Myra had her fingers pressed to her lips as tears slid down her cheeks.
"Thank you," the petite woman managed.
"Everyone deserves a place to call home," Dorothy said firmly.
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The next several days were a whirlwind of activity around the usually quiet homestead. The men pounded away at nails and sawed off boards, some working on the house it self and others on furniture. The women bustled around the kitchen making food or sewing new linens that Michaela and Myra had started on. The young children were kept away from the construction, playing while the older children watched the younger, were put to work or sent to fetch water for the workers. Michaela could hardly believe how fluidly these people worked together and how it enabled them to get the work done so quickly.
The cabin was a short ways down the road on Sully's property from the homestead. Myra warned the doctor laughingly that she might come to regret having them so close by since her siblings had the habit of getting hurt frequently. It was not that big, just large enough to accommodate Myra and her siblings. There were three rooms; the main space with the sitting/dining/kitchen room and two bedrooms, one Myra would share with her sisters and the other for her brothers. They moved the stove and hand-hewn furniture into the house on Tuesday afternoon, putting mattresses, sheets, pillows and quilts – they were gifts to the children according to members of the quilting circle – on the beds. Dishes and silverware were put away in cupboards. A few simple, handmade toys were placed on beds.
When Myra entered her new home – the concept that she had a home of her own had not really sunk in yet – she burst into tears, unable to comprehend all the kindness the townspeople were showing her. She was hugging and thanking everyone around her. Michaela was fairly sure that there was not a dry eye, including her own; quite a few men were coughing roughly and rubbing the corners of their eyes, muttering something about dust.
Once she managed to mostly stem the flow of tears, Myra began to wander her new house, running a tentative hand over all the furniture and objects that were now hers – a concept that made a feeling of wonder with a touch of pride glow in her heart. She wondered if she would ever get used to the idea that this was her home; it would certainly take quite a while.
An arm gently wrapped around her shoulders; she looked up to give Michaela a watery smile. "This is my home," she whispered.
"Mm hm," her friend nodded, her own eyes shining with unshed tears.
Myra turned once more to all the people who had helped make this possible. "Thank ya so much, everyone for your help, kindness an' welcome." She looked around the room, her smile wider than ever. "This is the best thing anyone's ever done fer me. Thank you."
Charlotte, Olive and Dorothy came over and hugged her; the younger woman whispered an extra thank you to Dorothy.
Michaela stood watching from one side, her heart overflowing with love and pride for this town she was now part of; these people who had become her neighbors, friends…family.
She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and turned to look, but no one was there. She frowned for a moment, but then one corner of her lips lifted and soon there was a small smile on her face. "I'm glad you approve, Abigail," she whispered.
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Thank you so much for reading! How I explain the town's people doing this is that in the series they do lend each other a hand for things like this and as for the extra care, well for Dr. Mike's official welcome to town on the show they gave her that sign, but since she doesn't have a clinic really at this point I figured they would be willing to chip in like this instead. The part with Abigail at the end…I just had to throw it in for some reason. Anywho. I hope you liked it!