Home Soon
Jeremy and Candy returned from their long vacation to San Francisco. The trip was for pleasure and necessity. The pleasure was the long awaited honeymoon the couple had not been able to take right after they married. The needed part was hard for Jeremy to talk about.
Candy was sick. At least that's what her husband and his brothers called it. Other people might have called it dangerous or even crazy if they were stupid and did not fear the wrath of the Bolt brothers.
The family had not discussed her problem with anyone outside their circle except Lottie. They didn't have to tell Biddie. She told them. Miss Cloom was the first one to know.
It started about two months after Candy and Jeremy's encounter with Rafe Holiday. Biddie noticed that she had not seen her best friend for a few hours. She began looking for her. An hour later when she couldn't find Candy, she began to panic. What if that scum had kidnapped her again?
Biddie got in her buggy to go to the logging camp to let the Bolt brothers know that she couldn't find Miss Pruitt. On the way, it occurred to Biddie to stop by the old Bolt cabin on the east side of the mountain. When she got there, Biddie found Candy badly beaten and Rafe Holiday dead. He had been shot to death. Miss Pruitt was in shock. She could not speak for hours.
Biddie immediately got her friend into her buggy and they rushed to the logging camp.
Jeremy was terribly upset to see his fiancée in such a state. His first thought was that Holiday had kidnapped her again and somehow she had found a gun in the old cabin.
Jason talked to his friends, the Governor and the Judge. A very private hearing was held and the killing was ruled self defense.
It took a long time for Candy to recover. Everyone except those in the tight inner circle thought she was recovering from the flare up of a heart ailment.
When Candy was well, Jeremy proposed and they got married. It was the loveliest wedding Seattle had ever seen. Jeremy and his bride were glowing with love and happiness.
The young couple was very happy for several months. One day Jeremy came home from work to find Candy sitting in the corner of the kitchen on the floor. She was cradling the bloody severed head of Ma Oates in her arms.
"She threatened to put bear grease on your neck, Jeremy. I couldn't let her do that" His wife told him.
Jeremy found the rest of Mrs. Oates' body in the privy where Candy had made a terrible mess cutting off the woman's head with an axe. Jeremy couldn't understand how his spouse had been able to pick up the axe much less swing it.
Another very private hearing was held. It was determined that Ma Oates had threatened Mrs. Bolt with the axe first so Mrs. Oates' death was self defense on the part of Candy Pruitt Bolt.
The Governor and the Judge advised Jason and Jeremy that they didn't believe Candy could have anymore self defense cases. They strongly suggested that something be done. Jason and Jeremy agreed with them.
Thus, the trip to San Francisco. Candy was examined by some of the best doctors in the country. Their polite diagnosis was bad nerves. The real name for her malady was Insanity.
The doctors told Jeremy that the kidnapping of his wife and the attempted murders of him and his brother, Joshua were her undoing. Her mind could not cope with anymore. They said that with medication, she should be able to live a normal life.
"Do you think it will be alright for us to have children?" Candy asked one of the physicians.
"Why certainly, Mrs. Bolt! This medication will enable you to live just as if you had no mental deficit at all." He replied.
Jeremy was angered by the reference to a mental deficit. However, he said nothing.
The medication worked and there were no more self defense cases. After a while, Candy learned that she was pregnant. She and Jeremy were excited about becoming parents.
One day when Mrs. Bolt was eight months pregnant, Jeremy invited his brothers to come home with him for supper. The siblings gladly accepted his offer.
As he unlocked the front door, Jeremy heard Candy moaning and whimpering. He looked at his brothers in alarm.
Throwing the door opened, Young Bolt ran toward the sound. His wife was lying on the kitchen floor bleeding profusely from her chest.
"Candy! Candy! What happened?" He shouted as he dropped to his knees beside her.
"Oh, Jeremy." She spoke weakly. "I tripped over my own feet and I fell stabbing myself in the chest. I tried to throw down the knife before I hit the floor. But it was like it was stuck to my hand. It wouldn't turn loose. So in making sure I didn't stab the baby, I stabbed my chest."
"We have to get you to the hospital! Doctor Wright can fix this!" Jeremy was horrified. "Help us!" He begged his brothers.
Joshua ran to get some towels. He returned quickly to begin applying pressure to the stab wound. Jason found some blankets and began wrapping them around Candy's lower body.
Jeremy cried. He spewed, sputtered, and stammered prayers for his wife and his baby. In the midst of that, he ran to the stable to hitch the horses to the buckboard. His brothers rushed out of the cabin and placed Candy in the back of the vehicle.
Joshua drove the wagon while the other two took care of Candy in the back. Joshua made the horses run as fast as they could go. Jason held the towels on the injury while Candy begged him. Jeremy cried and prayed.
"Jason, cut me and take the baby so he can live. I am not going to make it. Please help our baby survive. Jeremy's too upset to cut me. You can do it, Jason! Please!" She begged.
Jeremy cried harder and prayed louder stuttering more than he had in a long time.
"I'm not a doctor, Candy. I don't want to kill the baby. The bleeding is not as bad. You have a good chance of making it." Jason gulped.
Candy looked at Jason. She knew he was lying about the bleeding for Jeremy's sake.
"Jeremy, do you think I will go to Hell for killing those people? I'm scared!" She questioned.
Jeremy got ahold of himself enough to speak a little. "No, sweetheart. You won't go to Hell. Remember we talked to Reverend Adams and he prayed with you after you confessed to God and asked forgiveness. The preacher said you would go to Heaven." Jeremy reminded her.
"Yes, I remember now. Thank you, honey. I want you to marry again, Jeremy. Find a nice woman to help you raise our son if he lives. I'm so sorry, Jeremy. The world is taking us away from you because I am a murderer. It's not fair for you to be punished for what I did." Candy was slipping away.
Jeremy was cradling his wife's head in his lowered his head and gently kissed her lips. "You and the baby are going to be fine."
"No, Jeremy. I'm so sorry. I love you. Please try to save the baby."
Candy was gone. Jeremy hugged her body as he screamed and cried. "No! Candy! No!"
Just then, Joshua pulled up to the hospital. Jason snatched Candy's body away from her widower. Joshua jumped from the wagon and ran to open the door.
Jason ran inside bellowing "Allyn! Bring your scalpel! Hurry! Allyn, hurry!"
The physician came running fast. Jason placed Candy's body on a table in the first room they came too. Allyn gulped when she realized that Candy was dead. She immediately made an incision in the abdomen. She put down her knife. She probed inside the body and lifted the baby out. She broke the water.
Joshua handed her a towel. The doctor wiped the baby's face taking care to clean her nose and her mouth. The Bolt baby girl bellowed to the top of her lungs.
Uncle Joshua gave Doctor Wright some more towels to clean up Miss Bolt while Uncle Jason found some blankets fast.
Jeremy was at the head of the table talking to Candy. "We have a daughter, sweetheart. She is beautiful just like you. Oh, my God, Candy! I can't live without you! What in hell will I do? Whatever in hell will I do?"
The baby was strong and healthy. Her father named her Candace Catherine Bolt after her mother and her grandmother. She was her mother's twin with red hair and sparkling blue child was called Katie.
Katie's father made it through her mother's funeral with the help of her uncles and her Aunts Lottie and Biddie.
One day not long after Jeremy returned to work, he was in the Office tent with his brothers. Candy's name came up in their conversation.
"That reminds me, I have to pick up the baby from Lottie after work. Candy is busy this afternoon, but she will be home soon after Katie and I get there." Jeremy smiled.
Jason and Joshua gazed sadly at each other. They didn't talk to their brother about his reference to his dearly departed wife.
As the days went by, Jeremy appeared to be doing well. He took good care of the baby and reasonably good care of himself. He ate and slept and worked. He didn't talk a whole lot but he spoke when he was spoken too.
It wasn't long before everyone noticed that anytime Candy was mentioned around Jeremy, he commented that she would be home soon. Jason and Joshua invited Jeremy and Katie to supper one evening so they could talk to him.
After they finished their meal and Jeremy had put Katie down for a nap, the older brothers very carefully talked to him about Candy being deceased. That was the wrong thing to do.
The youngest brother became so upset he began having chest pains. Jason and Joshua rushed him to the hospital. They stopped at the saloon long enough for Joshua to hand Katie to Lottie.
Doctor Wright examined Jeremy. There was no problem with his heart. She gave him a small dose of Laudanum to help him sleep. The doctor wanted him to stay in the hospital over night to be sure that he was alright physically.
After their brother went to sleep, the older siblings talked to the physician about Jeremy expecting Candy to come home.
Allyn explained that was the way Jeremy's mind was protecting him. By continually thinking that Candy would be home soon, he did not have to face the agonizing truth that she was dead.
Joshua asked wasn't it unhealthy for Jeremy to live a lie. Jason reminded him of what had just happened when they tried to help their brother face the truth. Doctor Wright said that as long as Jeremy was happy and functioning normally in all other areas of life, he was alright. She said that his expecting Candy to return would cease as time went by.
Allyn Wright was mistaken. Young Bolt never got over thinking that his wife would be home soon. Jeremy began to think that Candy worked at the hospital. This explained why she was not at home at night and not at family gatherings.
Still there were long lonely nights when Jeremy cried and wondered why his beloved had not arrived. On some of those nights, the young lumberjack would get himself and his daughter dressed to go search for Candy.
Jeremy would knock on doors at all hours waking people to ask them if they had seen Mrs. Bolt. Jason and Joshua had gotten the word around Seattle for people to be kind and tell Jeremy that his wife was working late at the hospital if he came to their door.
The townspeople were sympathetic so they did as the Bolt brothers requested. One night Jeremy went to the home of a new resident looking for Candy. The young woman had only been in Seattle for a few days. She was unfamiliar with Jeremy and his situation.
She asked Mr. Bolt when he had last seen his wife. He was caught off guard and he had to think.
"I last saw Candy when I was taking her to work at the hospital. There was a lady who was expecting who had been injured so we had to hurry to get Candy to work so she could help the lady." Jeremy replied.
The new girl didn't know Jeremy was describing what happened the day his spouse passed away.
"I'm sorry to hear about the poor lady. I hope everything turned out okay for her. Was that today?" The new girl asked.
Young Bolt was confused. "I guess so."
New girl smiled taking his answer to mean yes.
"Well, since you last saw your wife at the hospital, she must still be there." The female advised.
Jeremy smiled brightly. "Yeah! That's right! Thank you for your help, Ma'am. Let's go get Mama!" He told Katie.
Jeremy went to the hospital. The door was locked because of the late hour. Jeremy knocked and waited patiently for Doctor Wright. When Allyn opened the door, she knew what Jeremy wanted. To save him the heartache of searching the building for Candy, she told him that Candy went to the hospital in Olympia to help with an emergency. The doctor explained that she did not have time to let him know before she had to leave.
Jeremy and the baby went back to their cabin with Allyn's assurance that Candy would be home soon.
Not long after Katie's first birthday, Jason and Joshua tried again to help Jeremy understand that Candy was dead. This time it was a much worse idea than the first time.
Jeremy was so hurt and angry about what his brothers were trying to do, he left their cabin even though it was pouring rain. Katie was left with her uncles.
The young lumberjack spent hours in the cold rain trying to find Candy. Finally, he went to Lottie's. Jeremy was soaked to the skin and burning up with fever. Lottie sent Ken to get Doctor Wright and the other Bolt brothers.
The doctor arrived first. By that time, Lottie had gotten Jeremy upstairs and in bed. Allyn examined the youngest brother and found that he had pneumonia.
Jason and Joshua entered the room quietly. They expected their brother to be asleep. He was awake and he saw them when they approached the bed.
'Get away from me! Get away! You aren't my brothers anymore! Why do you want to torture me! Trying to make me think that Candy is dead! You know how much I love her! How could I ever live without her! What would Katie do without her mother! If you don't love us anymore, leave us alone, please. Stop torturing me and leave me and the baby alone." Jeremy sobbed uncontrollably.
Jason and Joshua were ashamed that they had upset their brother so badly. They tried to apologize but that caused him to get more agitated so they stopped.
The young man's siblings pulled up chairs on the opposite sides of his bed and sat down. Jason stroked Jeremy's hair while Joshua patted him on his back.
Gradually Jeremy stopped crying. He held his arms out to his eldest brother. Jason sat on the bed and hugged Jeremy close. Joshua hugged him from the other side.
Jeremy relaxed and his brothers smiled as they felt the tension leave his body. "Why won't she come home, Jason? Do you think Candy is angry at me or that she stopped loving me?"
Jason and Joshua glanced at each other over the top of their brother's head.
"Candy still loves you, brother. She never stopped. She isn't angry at you. I guess she hasn't come home because she has a great deal of work to do at the hospital in Olympia."
"You're right, Jason. Candy really liked it there when she went to help during that emergency. That's why she got a job there. I'm glad she likes being a nurse so much, but I sure do miss her. Katie is growing so fast and Candy is missing it." Jeremy sighed.
His brothers hugged a little tighter as they fought back tears.
"We know you miss her a lot, Jeremy and it's hard on you. She misses you too and the baby. Candy loves you both so much." Joshua choked up.
Jason gave his baby brother a bear hug. "We love you and little Katie too, Jeremy. Both of you always have a home with us. Anytime you are lonesome or sad, please come stay with Joshua and me."
Jeremy recovered easily from the pneumonia. Years went by. Jason and Joshua never again tried to convince Jeremy that Candy died.
Young Bolt did a great job raising his was beautiful. She was healthy and happy. Aunt Lottie and Aunt Allyn explained to her about Papa always waiting for her Mama when she was five years old. Katie was an intelligent child. She understood well enough to know what to say if Papa became sad or worried about Mama when they were alone.
More years went by. One day it was time for Katie Bolt to leave Seattle to go to college and medical school in San Francisco. She wanted to be a doctor like Aunt Allyn.
The whole family was at the dock to see her off on the ship. Uncle Joshua and Aunt Callie and their two boys and Uncle Jason and Aunt Allyn with their son and their daughter. And of course, Papa looking pleased and proud and sad and lonely all at the same time.
Katie said goodbye to her father last. As they hugged and cried, she told him not to keep to himself too much. She said he should spend lots of time with his brothers. He promised that he would when he had time.
"When you have time?" Katie laughed. "What keeps you so busy that you might not have time for Uncle Jason and Uncle Joshua?"
"Well, daughter, I have my woodworking business, my horses to raise, and oh yeah, I have that thing called a job. Your uncles get a bit angry if I don't show up." Jeremy laughed.
"Oh, Papa! I love you! I will miss you, but I will visit you often, I promise!" Katie cried as she hugged her sweet Papa.
"I love you too, Baby Girl! You look just like your Mama. She is so proud of you and she loves you more than anything." Jeremy buried his face in his child's shoulder as he sobbed.
"Please don't cry, Papa. Mama loves you too. She doesn't want us to be sad." Katie whispered.
Jeremy raised his head. He gazed into his daughter's cornsilk blue eyes and smiled.
"Don't worry about me, Katie. I'm alright. It's just sad knowing that you won't be here everyday. You might not be here when your Mama comes home. But it will be okay. I will tell her everything that you are doing now." Jeremy kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"I'm glad that you are okay, Papa. I have to board the ship now. I will be home for a visit next month. It will be here before we know it. I love you, Papa! Be happy! It hurts me for you to be sad." Katie said as she hugged him one more time.
"It's alright, Katie Bolt! It's alright!" Jeremy hugged and consoled his girl.
Candace Catherine Bolt boarded the ship. She stood on the deck and waved at her father and her uncles until she couldn't see them any longer. The three brothers waved back until she was out of sight.
"Jeremy, Joshua and I are going fishing. Why don't you come with us?" Jason invited.
"Thank you, Jason, but not this time. A lot of ships come through here now. I think I'll sit here on the dock and watch for some of them." Jeremy replied.
Jeremy sat down on the dock and Jason crouched beside him.
"Jeremy, may I tell you something that I have always admired about you?" Jason inquired.
"Sure, Jason." Young Bolt answered.
"No man has ever loved a woman as much as you love Candy. That speaks volumes about the type of people both of you are." Jason told him.
.
"Thank you, Jason. It's kind of you to say that." Jeremy smiled.
"You're welcome, Jeremy. Are you sure you don't want to go fishing with us?" Jason inquired.
"I'm sure. I want to sit here and watch for the ships." Jeremy responded.
"Alright we will see you later."Jason told him.
Joshua and Jeremy said goodbye. Joshua walked away from the dock with Jason.
When the older brothers had walked a few yards, they stopped and looked back at Jeremy.
"Don't stay out here too late, brother! The nights are chilly!" Jason called out.
Jeremy turned his head toward his siblings. "I won't, Jason! Candy will be home soon!"
Jeremy returned his gaze to the horizon to watch and to wait.
The End