His frantic banging brought the doctor’s wife and nurse, Mrs. Penrose, to the door. An older woman, she was obviously dressed for bed in her nightgown, with a robe thrown hastily on. Braided silver hair hung down her back, underneath the ruffled cap on her head. Mrs. Penrose smiled at him.
The Penrose household was used to late night visits. Nate was sure Dr. Penrose, being the only doctor in town, rarely got a complete night’s sleep. The doctor kept patients recovering from illness or injuries in the downstairs bedroom, which allowed supervision throughout the night. Then there were the nighttime visits, such as his, that brought those with pain and misery to his front door.
“Nate, how nice to see you.” It seemed to him Mrs. Penrose always greeted visitors as if they’d just arrived for tea, no matter the time of day or night.
Her eyes grew round at his agitated appearance. “One of the children sick?” She opened the door wider to allow him to enter.
“Is the doc at home, Mrs. Penrose?”
“He just went up to bed, but I’ll get him. Who’s sick?”
“My wife fell getting out of the bathtub, and I think she may have broken a rib.”
At her raised eyebrows, he added, “I just got married yesterday.” He smiled and nodded when she congratulated him.
“Oh dear,” she tsked. “You just wait right here.”
Nate paced in the front room, running his fingers through his hair. Mumbled conversation came from upstairs along with the sound of footsteps, and dresser drawers opening and closing. Soon the doctor came down the stairs, buttoning his cuff.
“Trouble at home, son?” He took his hat from the hook by the door, and picked up his black bag next to it.
“Yes sir, my wife fell getting out of the tub and she seems to have hurt her side.” He hurried to catch up with the doctor who was already headed down the front steps.
Dr. Penrose shouted over his shoulder. “You ride on home, and I’ll follow in my buggy. Just keep her quiet till I get there.”
Dear Lord, can’t you please let me pass out again?
Once she’d awoken from her initial fall, Angel tried to move, to at least get off the chair, but the pain in her ribs was so strong it took her breath away, so she stayed still. She panicked at the thought she might have damaged a lung.
Now she lay on the floor, finding it hard to believe she’d created another crisis. Matt kept patting her on the arm, telling her everything would be all right. The poor child must think her a complete dolt, and if he had voiced that opinion out loud, she would have been forced to agree.
Voices cut through her thoughts, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps coming up the porch steps. Nate burst through the door, with Mrs. Darby close behind. The woman hurried to where she lay on the floor and bent over.
She turned to Matt. “I saw your papa rush out of the house earlier, so I thought I’d come over to help. What happened?” Mrs. Darby pulled the blanket further up on Angel’s shoulders.
“Papa said she fell getting out of the tub,” Matt reported. “I mopped up the rest of the water so no one else can slip.”
“Thanks, son, I appreciate that.” Nate’s voice filled the room, and for some odd reason it calmed her, reassured her.
“Where’s Dr. Penrose?” Matt’s eyes darted toward the window.
“He’ll be here soon.” Nate looked down at Angel. “He’s following in his buggy.”
If she wished hard enough, maybe she could simply disappear, similar to the fairy tales she read as a little girl. Poof! All gone.
Here she was sprawled on the floor, naked except for the blanket, with Nate, Matt and Mrs. Darby all standing in a circle, staring at her. And her drying hair still had soap in it.
Nate went down on one knee beside Angel and brushed the wet, stringy hair from her face. The sound of a buggy approaching announced the arrival of Dr. Penrose. The doctor strode through the front door and into the parlor just as Luke and John came down the stairs, clutching each other’s hands.
“What’s going on?” Luke asked as they wandered over to the crowd.
“What are you two doing up?” Nate snapped. “Go back to bed.”
“Why is our new mama laying on the floor?” John wanted to know.
“Did she throw up again, Papa?” Luke looked up at Nate with wide eyes.
Angel whimpered softly.