Lost Cause (9 page)

Jack watched him work slightly amused. “Got
any news for us?” he asked a moment later.

“News about what?”

“The war.” The barber glanced sharply in
Jack’s direction then went back to his barbering.

“I think the Union will prevail,” he said a
moment later. “At least I hope they do.”

“Ah, you’re a sympathizer then?”

“Not really. But the Union will win. It was
extremely foolish to secede in the first place.”

“That’s a matter of opinion, sir.”

“Yes it is. So I suggest we suspend our
conversation and let me finish shaving this man.”

When he was finished Campbell tried to pay
him but he refused the money. “The hospital administrator will see
to my pay,” he said. “It will be gold, I don’t trust those brassy
coins you Rebels use.”

“Get the hell out of here before I forget I’m
wounded,” Jack said coldly.”

“As you wish,” the barber said gathering up
his barbering tools. He went out leaving Campbell’s money lying on
the table.

Nurse Brewster came in and Jack said, “That
barber must be a damn Yankee. He wouldn’t even take Carl’s
money.”

“Not everyone in Corpus Christi supports the
Confederacy, Corporal Saylor.”

“Well, they should.”

“They took a vote. Forty or so of the
citizens voted to remain in the Union. We still live in a democracy
you know.”

“How do you live with the overbearing
bastards?”

“By minding our own business. And they do the
same. Now get up, your breakfast will arrive soon.”

“And a doctor?”

“Yes, and a doctor. My goodness, you’re a
persistent boy.”

“Just want to get better so I can chase you
around the ward.”

“What about Nurse Hayes?”

“Oh yeah, her. Forget what I just said.”

“I already have.”

Jack heard someone coming down the hallway.
He looked up and saw Marie Hayes walking toward the ward. She came
into the room and walked over to his bed.

“Hello, Jack,” she said smiling. She looked
fresh and bright in a new dress and younger and more beautiful than
he remembered.

“Hello,” Jack said. Nurse Brewster fussed
with the dirty bed clothing for a moment then turned and left the
room without a word.

As soon as she was gone, Jack took Marie’s
hand. “I’ve missed you,” he said huskily. “Did you miss me?”

“I missed hearing you tell me you love me.
Though I know a word of isn’t’ true.”

“Oh, it’s true my dear, it’s true, every
word. How did you manage to get here so soon?”

“Father Conner convinced Major Weaver I was
needed in Corpus Christi. My status as a nurse’s aide helped as
well. The major would prefer to have fully qualified nurses on his
staff. So, here I am.”

Campbell stirred on his bed and Nurse Hayes
asked him how he was feeling.

“Better,” he said. Then he covered his face
with his hand in a vain attempt to hide his bloody bandage.

Jack slipped out of bed and took Maria Hayes’
hand and walked her to one of the open windows. Sunlight lay on the
sill like golden paint. Birds sang in the nearby trees and out
beyond the tops of the buildings clouds lolled in the sky like
giant tufts of cotton.

“I’m glad you came to see me,” Jack said.

“It wasn’t a hard decision. After you left I
knew I had to see you again.”

“But how did you get here?”

“On a boat.”

“A boat!”

“Don’t worry it was guarded. It was a supply
boat flying the neutral colors of the Medical Corp.”

“Still, Marie, the Yankees patrol the waters
along the coast.”

“Jack, relax, I’m here, safe and sound.”

“Come here you, give me a kiss.”

“No Jack, you’re not well enough yet.”

“Oh, yes, I am. Come here, let me hold
you.”

“No, you’re not strong enough.”

“Sure I am.”

“Do you love me?”

“With all my beating heart.”

“I’m just glad it’s still beating.”

“Come on Marie, hearts don’t matter. I don’t
care about just your heart. I want all of you.”

“Well, you have me. Now do you believe I care
for you?”

“Yes, but do you love me?” She looked out at
the town below and lowered her eyes.

“Please don’t rush me Jack,” she said. “I’m
not as impetuous as you. Words mean things to me.”

“And my words have no meaning?”

“Yes, they do. But I’m not sure they always
match your true feelings.”

“What am I going to have to do to prove I
truly, honestly, sincerely love you, Marie Hayes?”

“Wait. Wait until I’m ready.”

“And when might that be?”

“After this God forsaken war ends.” She began
to cry and tears shimmered in her eyes. “I’m afraid you’re going to
be killed, Jack. I can’t truly give myself to you until I know
you’re safe.

“I’m not Charles, Marie.”

“Don’t you dare bring up his name!” she
snapped. “Charles has nothing to do with us. Just please don’t say
his name again.”

“So that’s what I’m going to have to compete
with, huh? A dead man?”

“Do you want me to love you?”

“You know I do.”

“Then please honor my request.”

“Done. So, when can we be alone?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t even found a place
to stay yet. Mrs. Styles has offered me a room in her house, but
it’s only temporary.”

“Stay here with me. We can kick ole’ Carl out
in the hallway.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snorted. “What you
need to do is crawl back in that bed and stay there until your
shoulder gets better.”

“But, how will I see you?”

“I’m going to ask Mrs. Styles if I can be
assigned to this floor.”

“Splendid.”

“We’ll have to be careful, though. Mrs.
Styles doesn’t believe in fraternizing with patients. If we do
meet, we have to watch our selves in front of other people.”

“We will.”

“I should go now. I have to get settled into
my new duties. Mrs. Styles will be wondering where I went off
to.”

“You’d better come back.”

“I will, just as soon as I can.”

“Now, about that kiss.”

The kiss was quick and passionate and then
she was gone waving a quick goodbye to Corporal Campbell on her way
out.

Chapter 13

At last, the doctor arrived. He was a thin
little man whose bright green eyes reflected the regret he felt for
having to see so much carnage brought on by the war. After a quick
peek at Jack’s shoulder, he went right to work on Corporal
Campbell’s jaw. He took his time laying out his
instruments—scissors and probes and clamps and diagonal cutting
pliers and tiny hammers and needles and ligature sutures and a host
of small lenses which he used to peer into Campbell’s wide
stretched mouth. Before continuing, the doctor administered
chloroform using a wire cup filled with cotton cloth. Nurse
Brewster came in after Campbell was asleep and stood by the
doctor’s side prepared to assist as needed.

The procedure began with the removal of the
black lifeless skin at the edge of the bullet holes just below
Campbell’s cheekbones. Then the doctor sewed each hole together
with a curved needle and silk ligatures. The procedure was
effective in closing the holes but the tight sutures drew the skin
together giving Campbell’s face an awkward prune like appearance,
almost as if he was continually sucking on a straw. Finally the
doctor used pliers to remove three broken teeth and applied a thick
paste of tartaric acid to Campbell’s damaged gums. Then he swabbed
his entire face with alcohol and instructed Nurse Brewster to apply
fresh bandages.

Jack, fascinated by the doctor’s performance,
was less than anxious when the doctor moved to his bed. “Do I get
some of that stuff in the cup?” he asked nervously.

“That won’t be necessary,” the doctor said.
“Nurse Brewster tells me she suspects a bullet fragment. I’ll just
probe around a little to make sure there is nothing in there that
shouldn’t be. I’ll give you a small amount of laudanum to take the
edge off if you like.”

The probing was quick and extremely painful.
The wound began to bleed freely and the doctor applied a styptic
powder to coagulate the blood. “Yes, I feel the fragment,” he said
a moment later. “That will definitely have to come out.”

“When?” asked Jack.

“Tomorrow morning. The sooner the better.
Infection will just keep getting worse if we don’t get that piece
of lead out of there.”

Satisfied with his prognosis, the doctor
turned Jack over to Nurse Brewster, packed up his instruments, and
removed a small notebook from his breast pocket. “I need your name
and regiment,” he said flipping open a fresh page. “It’s for the
records, in case you expire on the operating table.”

Later, after everyone was gone, Jack lay in
his bed staring at the flies on the ceiling. The laudanum had made
him queasy and his shoulder throbbed and he was disappointed that
Marie Hayes hadn’t stopped by to see him. The afternoon had turned
quite hot and the air inside the ward was sticky and unsatisfying
to breathe. Jack was about to make his way to the window in search
of fresher air when four doctors walked into the room and gathered
around Corporal Campbell’s bed. Great, Jack thought. Couldn’t get
one doc to come by for twenty-four hours and now the damn place is
crawling with them.

It seemed a show and tell was in progress, a
training session for the new surgeons no doubt. They took turns
poking and prodding Campbell’s face who, thankfully for the
doctors, was still out from the chloroform. When Jack sauntered
their way in hopes of a second opinion, the doctors ignored him and
moved on to a vacant corner of the ward all the while tossing
around medical terms and nodding and uh huhing and generally
presenting an air of educated superiority.

“Gentlemen, could someone take a peek at my
shoulder?” Jack called. They all turned to look at him and the
doctor who’d examined him earlier said,

“There’s nothing peculiar about your wound,
Corporal. I will see you in the surgery tomorrow.”

“But there’s four of you. Surely four sets of
eyes and four trained medical brains are better than one.” The
doctors all looked at each other and nodded and stroked their chins
and adjusted their glasses and finally walked as a group to Jack’s
bed. “Let’s have a gander,” the green eyed little doctor said. He
stripped off the bandage and the other doctors leaned in for a
look. A doctor with an impeccably trimmed blonde mustache cleared
his throat and said,

“It was a rather clean shot. Through and
through was it?”

“Yes, through and through,” green eyes
said.

“You’ve probed?” another doctor asked.

“Of course.”

“And found a fragment?”

“Yes.”

“Treated for infection?” another asked.

“Absolutely.”

They all stood upright as one and the man
with the blond mustache said,

“You’re very fortunate to have had such a
good physician, Corporal.” The small green eyed doctor beamed with
pride and the group moved on toward the door.

Chapter 14

That night the room was very dark and outside
the sky was clotted with gray lacey clouds and the moon was a mere
sliver above the eastern horizon. Marie Hayes came to Jake in the
quiet of midnight and settled under the blanket beside him. She
whispered in his ear that they must be very quiet lest they be
discovered by one of her colleagues A breeze came with the night
and they could hear the doves cooing on the roof top across the
road and the sounds of street merchants announcing half price goods
in an attempt to close the selling day with a decent profit.

Jack was worried they would be discovered but
Marie assured him Campbell was asleep and the other nurses were
preoccupied with their respective duties. Her skirts were long and
voluminous but he managed to raise them and soon was loving her and
she was breathing hard on his neck and his shoulder throbbed but he
cared not because she was giving herself to him and that was all
that mattered at that precise moment.

Afterward he fell asleep and when he woke he
heard her coming down the hallway. She sat on his bed looking fresh
and lovely her face aglow with the aftermath of recent lovemaking.
The sun rose over the house tops as they sat sharing the biscuit
and honey she’d brought with her.

“Do you regret it?” asked Jack.

“No.”

“It wasn’t your first time, was it?”

“You know it wasn’t. Was it yours?”

“No.”

“The Mexican prostitutes. Lord I hope you
haven’t given me a disease.”

“Marie, please. Don’t ruin it. It was a
beautiful thing. Wasn’t it?”

She looked pensively out the open window.

“I suppose.”

“Come back to bed, then.”

“No, I mustn’t.”

“Didn’t we have a beautiful time
together?”

“Yes. It was nice. Now you won’t want me
anymore, right? Now that you’ve had me?”

“Of course I want you. What’s the matter,
Marie?”

“You haven’t said you love me since. . .”

“I do, I do love you. We’ll be married when
we get back to Brownsville. The priest will do the ceremony.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise. I promise on my life.”

She fell silent for a while, her eyes
downcast. When she looked up her eyes were calm and focused.

“We’ll be getting you ready for surgery soon.
I shall help, but Nurse Brewster will be in charge. You like her
don’t you?”

“No. Not like I like you.”

“You love me, remember?”

“Of course.”

“She likes you too. But she despises me.”

“No one can despise you, Marie.”

“She does. She’s jealous, and she lacks self
confidence. She’s older than me too.”

“Marie, none of that matters.”

“No I suppose not. Are you ready for your
operation?”