The Hard Land-Part 32
A story of love and survival
Frank dragged himself slowly across the yard toward the house, the weight of recent days heavy on his shoulders. Anna had not recovered from Helen’s birth, spending most of her time in bed while eleven-year-old Charlotte took over the household chores. She washed clothes, prepared meals, and spent time with baby Helen. Frank knew that this was not sustainable. He needed to get medical attention for Anna beyond the help of the local doctor.
He pushed the door of the house open, his eyes turning quickly to the bedroom where Anna lay. He crossed the room and looked in on Anna. He saw the sweat beaded on her forehead. He didn’t need to ask to know she was not feeling better. His shoulders slumped. Should he make another trip to bring the doctor? The last two visits had proven useless. The doctor gave Anna medicine to bring the fever down, but once it wore off, she was as ill as ever. Frank felt utterly helpless in a world he knew nothing about.
“Papa, do you want supper?” Charlotte asked, her small frame pressing against the stove where a pot of stew simmered.
Frank sighed. “Yes,” he said, dropping into a chair. He was not hungry, but he had to keep his strength up. With Earl spending all his time working on his house, the burden of the farm added to the weight Frank carried.
Charlotte set a bowl of the steaming stew in front of him. He picked up his spoon and stirred the thick soup, his mind elsewhere.
“Is it good?” Charlotte asked, her voice unsteady.
Frank put a spoonful in his mouth. The flavor was excellent. The meat was tender, and the potatoes melted in his mouth. “It’s great,” he said with a weak smile.
Charlotte returned the smile and wrapped her arms around her father, tears wetting his shirt. “Will Mama be okay?”
Frank swallowed hard. What could he say? He had no answer. He wrapped his arms around Charlotte and held her tightly, his tears blending with hers. “I hope so,” he managed to choke out through his constricted throat.
Henry poked his head into the kitchen. “Can you tuck me into bed,” he asked, hope in his voice.
“Sure, son,” Frank said. “Come sit with me while I finish my supper.”
Henry crossed the room and sat on a chair next to Frank.
Frank wiped his eyes. He had shed so many tears over the past few weeks that he was no longer embarrassed for his children to see him cry. He finished his stew and carried the bowl to the wash pan. “What do you want me to read?” he asked, turning to Henry.
Henry tugged at Frank’s arm so insistently that Frank had to follow. Henry pointed to the hefty leather-bound Bible resting on the end table in the living room. Frank picked it up. “Is there a particular story you want me to read?”
Henry nodded. “The one where the woman touches Jesus’s clothes and is made better.”
Frank opened the Bible, turning past the handwritten inscription of marriages, births, and deaths of family members. He paused on the page where his and Anna’s wedding date was written in Anna’s beautiful penmanship. His fingers ran down the page where Charlotte, Henry, and Helen’s birth were recorded. With a sigh, he reverently turned the gold-edged pages to Luke chapter 8. He read aloud the story of the woman who was healed after suffering twelve years; the last line of verse forty-eight bore into his soul. “…Be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
Frank swallowed hard. Where had his faith been? Why had it taken a child to show him his lack of faith? He dropped to his knees and prayed harder than he’d ever prayed. Charlotte and Henry knelt beside him, gripping his arms and joining his supplication. When he had poured out his soul, he stood. “I’m going for the doctor,” he said firmly. “Charlotte, tell Elizabeth and Earl I’ve gone to fetch the doctor.”
Before Frank finished saddling the horse, Earl stood beside him in the barn. “Charlotte says you are going for the doctor. What has changed?”
“I don’t know,” Frank whispered. “Just a feeling.”
“Do you think we should bless Anna before you go?”
Frank stopped in the middle of the cinching up the saddle. “Yes,” he said, then hesitated. “I didn’t know if you would assist me.”
Earl lowered his eyes. “I know my church attendance has been sporadic, but I have not lost faith and vowed to do better.”
The two men returned to the house, and Frank retrieved a bottle of olive oil from the top shelf in the kitchen, placed out of reach lest it be mistaken for cooking oil. Earl anointed Anna’s head with oil, then the two men put their hands on her head, and Frank offered a blessing.
When they stepped back, Anna looked up and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Elizabeth took Anna’s hands in hers and spoke soothingly. “Everything will work out.”
Anna nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing nearly regular.
“I’m off to get the doctor,” Frank said, withdrawing from the room.
When Frank returned with the doctor, the clouds glowed pink and yellow, hinting at the arrival of a new day. The house was quiet except for Elizabeth gently rocking two babies, her Benny and Anna’s Helen, in cradles on the floor.
Frank opened the door to the bedroom to find Anna resting peacefully. He stepped by her bed and touched her arm. Her eyes fluttered open.
“I’ve brought the doctor. Can he come in?”
Anna nodded, her head moving almost imperceptibly.
Frank paced the kitchen floor, his hands balled into fists, as he waited for the doctor to examine Anna. After what seemed like hours but was only twenty minutes, the doctor stepped quietly from the bedroom and closed the door.
Frank gazed at the doctor, unasked questions in his eyes.
The doctor motioned toward the kitchen table. “Can we sit,” he asked, a serious look on his face.
“Of course,” Frank said, pulling out a chair for the doctor to sit on.
The doctor sat and tugged at his collar. He cleared his throat. “Anna needs surgery, but I can’t do it here. Her best chance would be to go to Salt Lake City.”
Frank paled as the room swayed. “Would it be safe to travel that far?”
The doctor fidgeted in his chair. “I won’t sugarcoat it for you. There is some risk, but there is even more risk if she doesn’t have surgery.”
The world spun as Frank contemplated the doctor’s words. Surgery. Salt Lake City. That is not what he was supposed to hear. What of his faith? Why was Anna not being healed? He looked toward the living room where Elizabeth was rocking the children. Her face was turned toward him, her eyes wide as if she had heard the conversation.
“You need to take care of Anna. We can handle the farm work,” she offered, standing and walking toward Frank.
“We’ll need a nurse,” he murmured, his thoughts traveling in a thousand directions.
“What about Matilda?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, yes,” Frank said, unable to focus.
“I’ll get Earl, and we can work this out,” Elizabeth said. “Charlotte, can you watch the babies for a few minutes?”
Charlotte looked up from her work in the kitchen. “Yes, Aunt Elizabeth.”
Frank dropped his head into his hands and let the tears flow. He couldn’t imagine life without Anna, but he might lose her if he didn’t make the right decision. Fear wrapped around his heart and squeezed it to the point of breaking.
The doctor wrote something on a piece of paper and stood. “Here is the name of the doctor in Salt Lake City that I recommend you see. I’ll wire him that you are coming if you want me to.”
Frank raised his head and nodded to the doctor. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice thick.
When Elizabeth returned with Earl, they mapped out a plan, and by noon, Frank carried Anna to the wagon. He laid her on a mattress that he and Earl had placed in the wagon box. Matilda Benson sat beside Anna, her soothing voice encouraging her. Charlotte climbed onto the wagon seat beside Frank, holding baby Helen in her arms.
Henry stood beside Earl and Elizabeth, tears streaming down his face as he watched his parents ride away in the wagon onto the road and past the old boxelder tree.
Frank looked over his shoulder, fighting back the tears in his own eyes that clouded his vision. Henry looked so small. Frank drew in a deep breath and looked forward, his whip snapping smartly on the backs of the horse team. He needed to drive fast if they were going to catch the train, but he worried if Anna could endure the jarring ride.
