Chapter 228 – Busy Monday Afternoon
It had been a busy morning all around Hope Valley and it was starting as a busy afternoon as well. The lumberjacks and men didn't take much of a lunch because there was so much that needed to be done. As a result the cafe wasn't as busy as they thought, but it gave them a chance to catch up on some things. They did end up making a bunch of sandwiches after Lee called and ordered them. He even used the second car from the mill to pick them up and bring them out there. He had done that when he learned that most of the men were only going to have jerky and cheese so they could get more work in. The men were determined to get the bunkhouse up and didn't want to take the time to come into town to eat. That day just showed the ladies at the cafe that the sandwiches to go was not only a good idea, but that it would go over very well. Elizabeth Rose had heard back from her friends and put the proposal together for Abigail. She just had to find time to sit down with her and hoped that there would be time before hungry men showed up for supper.
Wynn, Dee, Jacobs, Andrew and David all had a productive morning as well. They took a small break and ate at the office after Dee had brought a basket over that the ladies had made up. They didn't want to lose the rhythm that that established that morning. Bill joined them for lunch and to fill them in on what had been going on around town. Wynn and Jacobs wanted to talk to Bill about the argument that he had with Charlotte, but Bill never gave them the opportunity. Everytime that someone started to steer the conversation toward the day before, Bill sidestepped the conversation and talked about something else. He wanted to fill Jacobs and Wynn in on everything that Bill knew about Gowen in hopes that something would help them find a path out of the mess that they had found themselves in.
Jacobs and Dee took several notes as Bill was talking, but they would have to back over things to see if anything was helpful as nothing immediately jumped out at them. Andrew and David were also enjoying the Mountie stories that Bill was sharing. They couldn't believe all that he had done. There were so many things that David wanted to ask, but he just made notes. He knew that it wasn't the time to ask questions.
After an hour, Bill grabbed the empty basket and left. The rest of the men looked at each other and knew that Bill was avoiding talking about what had happened the day before. Everyone knew about the argument in the street, but no one knew exactly what happened. They all wanted to know, but it appeared that Bill wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
"Do you think it might be easier to ask Charlotte?" Jacobs asked.
Wynn laughed.
"Maybe if you asked, but I still doubt it." Dee said.
"She can be even more tight-lipped then Bill." Wynn added.
Faith arrived at Jack's house just a little after noon. She knocked and Doug let her in.
"How was Jack this morning?" Faith asked.
"It took a while for him to wake up from the chloroform." Doug said. "He has/had a headache. He tried to hide it from me, but I knew. I have kept cool clothes on his forehead and shut the blinds. He has refused any painkillers. He can't have the tea until just after two. I was going to give it to him then and at least do a steam treatment. I have made sure he has had water this morning, but he won't eat. He says he is not hungry."
"Thank you." Faith said. "I will take a set of vitals and see how he is done. I don't want him in pain, but if he doesn't want painkillers, there isn't much I can do."
"It isn't that he doesn't want them." Doug said. "He is afraid of them for a couple of reasons. His father was given increasingly larger doses of morphine the last week of his life and had been plagued by nightmares for a couple of weeks. Jack witnessed several of those nightmares. Every time that I have known Jack to have to take painkillers, those memories come back and hunt him for weeks. I also know that he was already struggling with thoughts about his father due to learning about the baby."
"Oh." Faith said.
"I am not telling you so you feel sorry for him." Doug said. "That is not what he would want. I am telling you so that you understand. If I thought he really needed painkillers, I would tell you and convince him like I did yesterday."
"Thank you." Faith said. "I won't push the painkillers, but maybe we can get him to take a half dose this evening so he sleeps better."
"I will try." Doug said.
Faith nodded.
"Now." Faith said. "Let's go check on the patient."
Doug and Faith headed over to the bedroom. Doug knocked lightly on the door and then opened it.
"Jack." Doug said. "Faith is here."
Jack waved his hand for them to come in. They went into the room and Doug turned up the lamp that was near the cot.
"I don't want to open the blinds." Doug said. "Is that enough light?"
"I will make due." Faith said. "I also understand why."
Faith took a seat and looked at Jack, who moved the cloth to see her.
"How are you doing?" Faith asked.
"Tired." Jack said.
"Doug said you had a headache." Faith said.
"Yeah." Jack said. "I expected it from the chloroform. It is manageable. I don't want any painkillers."
"So if this was someone you were caring for." Faith said. "Would you suggest they take them?"
"Maybe." Jack said.
Faith nodded.
"I won't force you." Faith said. "But I want you to seriously think about taking some tonight so that you sleep better."
"I will think about it." Jack said.
Faith nodded again. She then set about taking his vitals. She slipped the thermometer under his tongue and then took his blood pressure. Once she had those, she took his wrist and got his pulse. She then grabbed her stethoscope and listened to his heart and lungs.
"Better." Faith said. "I am hoping that your temperature has come down as well. I want you to do a steam treatment this afternoon and Jeremiah and I will be back after supper to do a treatment and dressing change."
Jack nodded. Faith turned to Doug while she waited the last few minutes for his temperature.
"I want him to sit up for at least an hour this afternoon." Faith said. "He is then to rest. He also needs to continue to push the fluids if he isn't going to eat."
"Understood." Doug said. "I will make sure he sits at the table, maybe when Elizabeth gets home."
"Very good." Faith said. "I am not sure what time Jeremiah and I will be back, but I know I have appointments until five at the clinic. So it will be after we eat supper."
"We will be ready." Doug said.
Faith pulled the thermometer from Jack's mouth and held it up.
"Still ninety-nine." Faith said. "I am not worried, but we will continue to keep an eye on it. Is there anything else that you need."
"No." Jack said.
"I think we are good." Doug said. "I might go for a bit of a walk after Elizabeth gets back, but that should be fine."
"I will leave you then." Faith said. "See you later."
Doug got up, but Faith waved him to sit back down. Doug took the seat that she had vacated and looked at Jack.
Elizabeth met Faith on the path as Elizabeth headed home and Faith headed back to town. Elizabeth stopped Faith for a moment, even though she could tell that the guards were not happy. She didn't care, she knew Faith was busy and wouldn't have time to come back to the house and she had a question.
"Honestly." Elizabeth said. "How was Jack?"
"He is doing better." Faith said. "He is still in pain, but that can't be helped at this point. He is wanting to go without painkillers and that is his right. Doug took amazing care of him this morning. He will pull through, just give a few more days to get the pain better under control. Like I told the guys, Jeremiah and I will be back after supper. Doug can fill you in on the rest. I need to grab a bite to eat before my afternoon appointments."
"Thank you Faith." Elizabeth said. "I will talk to you tonight then."
"See you later." Faith said.
Faith continued toward town and Elizabeth watched her walk away for a moment before turning back and heading to the house. When she got to the house she saw Jack was sitting at the table, but he didn't look well. She could tell he was in pain but more than that, he looked sick.
After setting her basket on her desk, she went to give Jack a kiss on the forehead. He just kind of looked up at her and gave him a half-hearted smile.
"I ran into Faith and we spoke for a moment when I was coming back." Elizabeth said. "She said you were doing better but was still worried about the pain."
"I will deal." Jack said curtly. "I don't want pain meds."
"Jackson Alexander." Elizabeth said with hands on her hips. "Don't take that tone with me. I AM your wife, not one of you subordinates that you can order around."
She then walked over, got a cup of tea and took it back to her desk where she started working on her grading. Doug just looked at Jack and shook his head. Jack finished his broth and Doug helped him back to the room to continue resting.
Once Doug came back out, he picked up a chair and brought it back to set by Elizabeth's desk. He then took a seat and cautiously looked at her.
"He didn't mean it that way." Doug said. "He is stressed about being hurt and you being pregnant. He doesn't want to get hooked on them as we have seen happen to others. He is also fighting the nightmares and memories of what happened to his father."
"I know." Elizabeth said. "But it isn't the first time that he has spoken to me in that tone while injured. I didn't allow it before and I will not allow it now. One of the times we agreed on was to call the other out then acting like that manner. Could I have been a bit softer? Probably, but he isn't the only one who had a hard morning. He needs to learn that just because he is hurt, tired or frustrated, it doesn't mean he can speak to me in that tone. He also isn't the only one that is tired or frustrated. Either way, he knows that I don't tolerate people talking to me with the tone that he used. I don't allow my students to speak like that. I don't allow my family to speak to me like that anymore and therefore I am not going to let Jack start to get away with it. Especially when I have never allowed it before."
"Understood." Doug said. "I get where you are coming from, but you also need to think about where Jack is coming from. He is not only fighting to get better in this situation, but he is fighting the past as well and I honestly don't know how much more he can handle. I love you because you are important to Jack, but just know that I will always be on his side. I am going to head to town, check my horse and a few other things."
"I get that." Elizabeth said. "I am trying to be understanding, but you also don't know all that I have been through. So please don't start with me."
"Yes, ma'am." Doug said. "Do you need anything from town?"
"Were the groceries delivered?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, and I put them away." Doug said. "Jack is resting and should be fine until I get back."
"Then I am good." Elizabeth said. "Please let the guards know that you are heading into town."
"Yes, ma'am." Doug said.
Doug left and Elizabeth continued to work on grading the papers and entering them into the ledger she had gotten to record grades. About ten minutes after Doug left, she pulled her journal out and wrote in it to feel better before going back to grading. She wasn't actually mad at Jack, she was just frustrated because she wasn't feeling the greatest and was worried about her husband. She knew that Doug meant well, but emotions were running high. She knew that Jack didn't want to be on painkillers and personally she didn't blame him, but on the other hand, she was also worried about him. It has been one thing after another since Christmas. She didn't think that he had taken the time to deal with everything that happened and how it affected his life. Because Jack had been through a lot, she had been through a lot and she was having a hard time dealing with everything, so she knew that Jack wasn't dealing with things.
After writing in her journal, Elizabeth got up and checked on Jack. She saw that he was sleeping, so she laid a light blanket over him and went back to her grading. She had gotten through a lot when Doug came back just over two and a half hours after he had left. Doug had knocked and came in. Elizabeth looked up as Doug came in carrying a small crate of items.
"What do you have there?" Elizabeth asked.
"I found a few things at the mercantile." Doug said. "I figured if I was going to be here, I needed a few things."
"Let me know if there is anything else that you need?" Elizabeth said. "Since you are helping Jack, the least we can do is to make sure that you have the things that you need."
"Thank you." Doug said. "But I am okay for now."
"Did you see Dee?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, for a moment." Doug said. "I stopped over at the office where they were working. He let me know that I have been reassigned here until further notice. He also let me know that they were working on a more permanent solution for what is going to happen."
"Good to know." Elizabeth said. "I am sure that Dee and Uncle Wynn will figure something out."
Doug nodded and took his crate into the bedroom. He put his items away as well as checked on Jack. Once that was done, he brought his Bible back out and sat on the couch. The rest of the afternoon was quiet as Elizabeth graded papers, Doug read and prayed and Jack rested.
Finally, getting hungry herself, Elizabeth got up and started to get their supper going for them. She wasn't sure about Dee, but could always fix him something later. She also knew that Jacobs and Faith would be back and it was better to have supper done. When Elizabeth went to the kitchen, Doug got Jack up, checked his vitals and then got him situated at the table. The two talked softly as they talked about what Doug had done while he had gone into town. She let them talk, so wasn't mad at Jack, but she was still feeling frustrated about everything. Elizabeth set supper on the table – soup for Jack and leftover potatoes with hot roast beef sandwiches for her and Doug.
"Chicken is in the oven." Elizabeth said. "So there will be that for tomorrow's lunch and then I have another roast for tomorrow night."
"Thank you." Jack said. "Doug, can you say a prayer?"
"Heavenly Father." Doug prayed. "Please be with the people of this valley as they continue to move forward. Be with the men working hard to make sure there are homes for all the new workers and give them nice weather so they can continue to work. Please be with the children as the days are nice and I know they would rather be playing. Help Elizabeth and the others that are teaching to have patience and understanding. I also ask that you be with my friend and heal him according to your will. Finally, please bless this food that is before us. Amen."
"Amen." Jack and Elizabeth said.
The trio ate without much talk. They were just finishing up when Dee came in the back door.
"Don't get up." Dee said.
"Have you eaten?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes." Dee said. "I had a couple of sandwiches and sliced veggies while finishing up at the office."
"How is it going?" Jack asked.
"Made a lot of real progress today." Dee said. "I got Doug's situation sorted. Some of the law books that Jacobs ordered arrived this afternoon and that really helped. David and Andrew are making great progress on the books. We got through a lot of the paperwork and found a lot of answers. Granted it posed a new sheet of questions, but we expected that. I am hoping that some of the questions can be answered by headquarters."
"Sounds like you had a busy day." Jack said.
"Any idea how long you all will be staying?" Doug asked.
"At least into next week." Dee said. "Once things start to get resolved, Dad will make a decision then."