After a long week serving as a traveling doctor, Ford rode the train home. He looked out the window with a sigh, wondering what his wife Iluka would have waiting for him when he returned. Iluka was a beautiful woman with dark purple eyes and exotic features. All the men in town were in love with her, and somehow, she chose Ford, the resident doctor.
Ford never really had much luck with women, so he was astonished that she pursued him. So naturally, he fell madly in love with her. But as fast that spark ignited, it extinguished…
The train came to a stop. Ford collected his bags and headed home. He smiled when he saw his little boy Crom playing outside his house. He was about to call out to him when he noticed someone nearby. A woman with curly blond hair and blue eyes stood a few feet away, picking his tomato plants. "Who is that?" he wondered.
His son ran up to him, "Daddy, you're home." He crouched down to hug his son.
When the curly-haired blonde woman turned and noticed him, "Good afternoon, sir," she said, bowing politely with the basket full of tomatoes. "Mrs. Iluka said that you would be arriving soon. Would you like me to take your briefcase into the house?"
"No…Who are you?" Ford asked, completely baffled.
"I am the help, sir," she explained.
Ford pivoted and headed straight into the house. "Iluka, what's going on?!" he called out.
Iluka came down the stairs in her latest designer dress. "Oh…Ford, your home. I am so happy to see you, dear," she said with a fake smile.
"Whose that in our garden, and why the hell is she referring to herself as 'the help?'"
"Calm down, Ford. Give me a minute to sit down and explain," Iluka defended.
"Calm down…You want me to calm down… out of all the stupid things you have done. You went out and hired a servant. Why? You don't cook. I keep the house clean most of the time. What on earth do you need a housekeeper for?" Ford argued, "We are barely making ends meet now."
"I didn't hire a servant or a housekeeper Ford. I purchased her. We owe her nothing," Iluka answered.
Ford's face went from bad to worse. "People are not possessions, Iluka. Give me her form."
"No, you will just burn it," Iluka argued.
"Exactly," He then walked to the door and called out, "Miss… I'm sorry, I don't know your name."
The blonde turned to him and said, "Holly, sir."
"I don't know where you came from. But I want to help you get back home. So I will write you a letter saying that you are a free person, but I need to know where you came from?" Ford asked.
"You can't! She's mine!" Iluka shouted furiously.
"Never mind her, Mrs. Holly. Where did you come from?" Ford repeated.
Holly looked down at her feet and said, "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know."
"You don't know?" Ford asked.
Holly shook her head and replied, "I don't remember anything that happened before the day of the auction." Tears started to flow down her face, and she was terrified of what might happen next.
The doctor inside Ford took over, and he said, "Please come inside. I want to examine you."
…
Holly sat on the hospital table while Ford ran several tests. He was currently doing a blood panel. He said, "Some of the tests I ran will take a few days to come in. Since you don't know where your family is, you can stay here for the time being. Besides, I want to know what's causing your amnesia and what I can do to help you recover. This will be the room you stay in."
Holly nodded. When he was about to leave, she said, "Thank you, Doctor Ford, you are very kind."
Ford was caught off guard by the comment but replied, "I am just doing my job, Miss."
…
A little later in the day, Ford was walking into town ordering some medicines he was running low on when he ran into Moriya. "Good afternoon, Moriya. Have you been having fewer headaches since allergy season is over?"
Moriya looked at him and responded, "My latest headache is because of you. Where is my rent money?"
Ford was shocked, "I sent the money to my wife for you. Are you saying that you haven't received it?"
That's precisely what I am saying, "Ford, since you have always paid me on time in the past, I am willing to overlook this incident if you pay me within the next week. However, I will not overlook it again."
"I am sorry for the inconvenience, Moriya. I have enough on me. Here," he said as he pulled the cash out of his wallet, "I will talk to my wife to see what happened. It won't happen again."
…
As Ford got home, he saw Holly going over Crom's math with him. He wanted to tell her that she was a patient and not obligated to do that. First, however, he needed to speak to his wife over the rent fiasco.
He walked upstairs to where she was at her writing desk in the bedroom. Iluka saw her husband approaching and quickly covered what she was writing. "Darling, you're home. What would you like for dinner?"
"I would like an explanation, please. I sent you home rent money for the clinic. Why didn't you pay it?" Ford asked.
"Didn't I? Oops, I guess I didn't," Iluka replied simply, checking her hair in the mirror.
"Iluka, this is serious. You could have ruined my honor as a gentleman. Not to mention potentially had the bailiff come for me. Don't you realize I would have been imprisoned until the debt was paid?"
Iluka turned around and said, "Oh, darling, don't be so dramatic. It never would have come down to that. Besides, I would have come after you. So now, why don't I cook you a nice dinner, and we forget all about it."
Ford pushed his glasses upon his face and said, "I suppose."
As Iluka went downstairs, she politely asked, "Holly, would you help me with dinner, please?"
Holly raised her eyebrow in surprise. Iluka had been rude to Holly since she purchased her at the auction a few days ago. Regardless, Holly stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Ford was upstairs showering, so Iluka took this time as a perfect opportunity to talk to Holly alone.
She grabbed Holly's forearm and said, "Look, while my husband is here, I want you to act like we are the best of friends. I paid for you, and I intend to get what I paid for. Don't make me show you how I handle disobedience. I promise you won't like it."
Holly frowned but nodded. Iluka continued, "Now make Pot au Fae. It's one of my husband's favorites."
…
When Ford came down the stairs, he saw both women in the kitchen. Holly was stirring the pot while Iluka was setting the table. "Holly, you are a guest in the house. You are in no way obligated to do any cooking, cleaning, or anything else," Ford informed.
Holly gave him a weak smile, remembering what Iluka told her, "No, it's fine. I love to cook, so I don't mind helping out."
Ford sensed something disingenuous about her answer, but he hardly knew her, so he let it go.
…
The next day, Ford was between appointments and was digging through the mail on his desk. He noticed several bills were unopened. So Ford grabbed his letter opener and opened them to reveal that some accounts had not been paid in months. "Iluka!" he called out.
Iluka knew he never raised his voice and instantly ran downstairs to see what was wrong. She saw him hold up the unopened bills and immediately knew the problem. She quickly masked her emotions and asked, "Ford darling, what has you so upset?"
"These bills haven't been paid in months. What have you been doing with the money I've sent home?"Ford asked.
"Oh, I thought you were just sending me spending money. I'm sorry, darling," she explained.
Ford breathed in deep, struggling to contain his anger, "You mean you spent it all? What have you been spending it on?"
"Groceries, Clothes, Shoes… I mean, you want me to look pretty, right?" She asked.
"Iluka, that money I sent you did include some spending money. But I wanted you to pay the bills first. The whole reason I started working as a traveling doctor was to make some extra cash. Now I will have to go abroad again to pay for this. Do you realize the problem?"
Iluka pouted, "I'm sorry, Ford. For now, just pay what you can and when you send back the money next time, I will pay off the rest."
"I can probably pull some money out of the bank to pay this off, but that will put a major dent in our savings. You have to be more careful, Iluka. I will look into finding some more travel work, but you must be proactive about our finances," Ford concluded.
…
Holly was outside playing ball with Crom and overheard most of the conversation due to the open window. She was honestly surprised, she thought doctors made lots of money, but this one seemed to be struggling. However, she shrugged it off as none of her business and continued to entertain Crom.
…
Holly was sitting in Ford's exam room again a few days later. "Your tests are in, but I don't see anything that would have caused the amnesia. But I have to ask, did you know that you have diabetes?"
"As I said, doctor, I don't remember anything about my past other than my first name," she explained.
Ford nodded, "I will order you an insulin pump and show you how to use it. Until that comes in, I will show you how to give yourself insulin to maintain your sugar levels. As far as the amnesia, I have an old friend who majored in psychology. He might be able to help you regain some of your memories or at least determine whether it is a psychological issue. Before I leave for my trip, I will show you how to properly monitor your sugar levels to ensure your safety in my absence."
"You're leaving? Where are you going?" Holly asked, feeling disappointed. She knew that as soon as Ford walked out of the room, Iluka turned into a real witch.
Ford nodded as he filled a syringe with the proper dosage, "Yes, I am not sure where, but it will probably be for about a week. That being said, I would like to ask you something."
"Certainly, what is it?" she replied.
"Since you still don't know who you are or where you come from. I was hoping to offer you a job as a live-in nanny. You would be paid biweekly, and I would eventually convert this exam room into a small bedroom for you," Ford offered.
Holly smiled and nodded, "I love looking after Crom. Of course, I accept."
Ford let out a small sigh of relief. He always worried about Crom. There were times when it seemed Iluka wanted nothing to do with her own son.