No Distance Too Far (39 page)

Astrid schooled her face to not respond. Both. She wished Elizabeth knew sign language as well as she and Mor did. But Elizabeth had learned only the fundamentals and not practiced like many of the people of Blessing. What if they were able to do research on the ear and different kinds of deafness? Surely there would be progress there, and with the deaf school here, Blessing was a good place to start. She brought her attention back to Dr. Morganstein, who was just sitting down. What had she missed?

Mr. Josephson stood next. “I agree with my colleague that this is a proposal that will impact medicine in many ways. As you all know, the well-respected Alfred Morganstein Hospital for Women and Children is a leader in our field. We desire to continue that leadership. I have here the blueprints we have had drawn up, knowing that you also have designs you feel might work. I suggest that we now lay those plans on the table and begin our discussions.” He nodded to Mr. Abramson, who unrolled the prints. Hjelmer laid out the drawings they had compiled. While not fancy, they got the point across. Throughout the morning they talked of where to start and what goals to set for the long range, including the finances, staffing, supplies, support machinery, and community involvement.

Haakan said at one point, “I feel strongly that we need to start simply and add as we go along. When I look at the papers before us, I see today and down the road. If we build with that in mind, we will build in a way that makes expanding easier. We have the ground available, so it makes sense to lock that in now, before someone comes along and buys it out from under us. The section is owned by the railroad, and yes, they are willing to sell.”

Thelma served a simple dinner to everyone, and then Astrid insisted that Elizabeth go to the lying-in room to rest. The meeting finally disbanded and the guests returned to the boardinghouse to prepare for the town meeting.

Ingeborg tipped her head from side to side, stretching out her tired muscles. “I’d rather can beans any day.” Haakan and Lars left to do chores and would return by six thirty to have supper before the meeting. Mr. Valders stacked his notes together and heaved a sigh.

“I’ll see you all at the meeting tonight. Thank you, Thorliff, for leading this. My only concern at this point is how to pay for it. The flour mill is giving a return on our money, as is the elevator. I don’t see that happening with the hospital for five years at least.” He nodded and left the room, his “if ever,” while unsaid, lingering like the aroma of a skunk.

That evening everyone in town, or at least it seemed that way, showed up at the church, since that was the largest building in Blessing. Even with all the windows open, the heat brought out fans and a few grumbles.

Thorliff introduced the visitors and gave a brief summary of the morning’s meeting. He called on Mr. Valders to give a financial report on the status of the co-operative ventures of the people of Blessing.

“So the bottom line is this,” he said to finish his report. “How long will we be willing to receive no interest on our money?”

“But we are getting a return on the other investments, so shouldn’t that money then be used to build a hospital?”

Somebody else asked, “Do we really need a hospital here? What’s wrong with the surgery we have?”

“Well, part of the problem,” Thorliff answered, “is that the surgery is not owned by the folks of Blessing. It is owned by my wife and me, and yes, it is inadequate. We didn’t dream Blessing was going to grow as it has and how it will grow even faster with new folks and new businesses coming to town. You know how far away Grafton and Grand Forks are.”

Pastor Solberg stood. “I believe that God is blessing all the people around us and that we are being given a huge mission—to care for the sick and to use our prosperity wisely. As Jesus walked this earth, He healed the sick that came to Him. We have doctors who do what they can with their training and advances in medicine.”

The discussion continued until sometime later, when Thorliff asked, “Is there anyone else who has something to say?” When no one answered, he nodded. “Since this is an informational meeting, I call it closed. You have agreed on who will speak for all of us as this project continues. I believe from everything that was said tonight, most of you are in favor of proceeding. We will keep you informed, and if you have any questions, ask me or send your questions to the newspaper.” He thanked the Chicago people for coming and dismissed the meeting.

The citizens of Blessing filed out, continuing their discussions as they returned to their homes.

“Thanks for taking Elizabeth home,” Thorliff said to Andrew and Joshua as they came back through the door. They had picked her chair up and carried her to the surgery and up the stairs to her bedroom, where Thelma helped her into bed.

“You’re welcome.” Joshua looked around and smiled at Astrid.

“I am amazed at the civility of this meeting. No one got up and yelled; no one left in a huff. Not everyone absolutely agreed, but they listened. You can tell that people here love their town and like working together.”

“We’ve always worked together, from the very beginning. I’ll tell you there have been some rather strong debates and a few major disagreements, but Pastor Solberg has always been able to pour oil on troubled waters. I’d like to be listening on the party line later this evening or in the morning.” Haakan glanced at his wife, who smiled and shook her head at the same time. He crossed the room to shake the hands of the two men and thank them for coming. Then he turned to Dr. Morganstein.

“You have made our lives richer by the lessons you’ve taught two of my daughters. I cannot thank you enough. I don’t begin to understand all the medical advances, but I do know farming. You plant the seed in the soil, pray for the right amounts of rain and sun, and be there to harvest at the right time. I think our two lines of work have a lot in common. God brings both the healing and the harvest, and we all do our part to the best of our ability.”

“You speak very wisely, Mr. Bjorklund,” Dr. Morganstein said. “Thank you for giving me and my hospital the privilege of training the two doctors Bjorklund. I am so glad to see you again and in such better circumstances.”

“Ja, my Ingeborg recovered well. Thank you that I still have her. I have our buggy outside to take you back to the boardinghouse if you are ready. I know you must be weary after a day like today.”

“Weary, yes, but so excited at the prospects.” She looked to Mr. Josephson. “We will take you up on the ride, or at least I will.”

Astrid walked them out. “I will see you again in the morning. Thank you.”

“Good.” Dr. Morganstein took her arm. “I can see why you didn’t want to leave Blessing.” They walked to the buggy, and Haakan assisted the doctor into the seat.

THE NEXT MORNING Mr. Josephson handed Thorliff a packet before they were to leave for the train and an envelope for Astrid. “We look forward to our joint venture, if possible.”

After the farewells and the train had left, Astrid opened her envelope and scanned the contents. She handed it to Thorliff. “Does this say what I think it says?”

He read the paper and looked into her eyes. “Perhaps it will be negotiable.”

Astrid stared at the words that leaped out at her.
This agreement
is contingent upon the proviso that both Dr. Astrid Bjorklund and Dr.
Elizabeth Bjorklund are in a position to oversee the hospital.
What was she to do?
Lord, is this your answer?
Her heart cried out to say yes, but she knew that as God did not break His promises, she should not break hers. Here she was, caught in the middle, and she did not know which way to turn.

30

T
hey know that I am committed to two years in Africa. Dr. Morganstein and I talked about that.” Astrid felt like tearing the letter into shreds and throwing it into the air for the wind to scatter. “Why wait and hand me a letter? Why not talk this over face-to-face?”

“I don’t know.” Thorliff opened his packet and pulled out several sheets of paper. Glancing through them, he stopped at one that matched Astrid’s. “It is dated this morning, so it must have been a recent decision. There was no time for a discussion.”

“ ‘Contingent upon.’ ” She humphed and stomped. “It’s going to take a year to build this anyway, is it not?”

“Not necessarily. Once they finalize the purchase of the land, we can begin immediately. We would want the initial building set in for the winter, when we would finish it. The real contingency is having enough labor here to do both the hospital and machinery at once, plus houses for future residents. We need to put advertisements in newspapers here in North Dakota and as far away as Chicago and St. Louis, I would imagine. The Twin Cities for sure and others south.”

Astrid listened to both her brother and her pounding head. “I’m going to talk with Elizabeth and then go out to see Mor. Or maybe I should telephone for her to come in so I am near the surgery if there is an emergency.”

“You go talk with Elizabeth, and I’ll call Mor. Then I have to get this edition to bed. I’m going to have Samuel help with the printing tonight.”

“All right.” Astrid climbed the three steps to the side porch and the surgery entrance. At least there was no one sitting on the bench waiting for her to open. As far as she knew, there were no appointments either. Glancing into the examining rooms to make sure they were ready for patients, she shut the doors and climbed the stairs to where she knew Elizabeth was waiting for any news she had to share. She certainly wasn’t expecting what Astrid had to say.

She entered the bedroom, where Elizabeth was half lying on the settee in front of the window. A slight breeze billowed the sheer white curtains, wafting in summer fragrances, redolent with lilac, rich earth, and all manner of things growing.

“I was beginning to think you had stopped off to talk with Sophie or something.”

“No. Thorliff and I had a brief discussion about the bombshell we were given.” She dropped the letter into Elizabeth’s lap. “You better be feeling strong right now, for this is a shock.”

Elizabeth pulled the letter out of the envelope and read through it, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh as she leaned against the back of the settee. “Shock is right.”

Astrid crossed to the window and stared out toward the boardinghouse. Ringing hammers and the grate of a saw reminded her that building was indeed going on in Blessing. A man called instructions to someone else. It sounded like Toby. Children laughed and shouted from Sophie’s backyard, where Inga had gone to play too. The new swings that Garth had built for the children, along with a sandbox, were popular.

She looked up to find Elizabeth staring at her. She sighed and turned to the door. “I need to talk with Mor. Thorliff said he’d call her and see if she can come in.”

“I’d like to be in on the conversation.”

“Okay.” Astrid heaved another sigh, a sudden attack of tears impending. “I need to go for a walk.”

“I wish I could come with you.”

“Me too. Have Thorliff take you down to the back porch, and in the meantime, I ask you to pray for this entire mess.”

“All right.”

“Mor is coming in,” Thorliff said when he met her at the bottom of the stairs. “She had to finish something first.”

“I wish I could go out and work in the garden for a while. I seem to hear God there.”

“We have a garden,” he said. “The weeds are coming up after the rain so fast you can watch them grow.”

Astrid glanced down at her dress. “I’ll go change.” Back up the stairs she pulled a faded dress out of the clothespress and swiftly changed, braiding her hair so it would stay out of her way. Down in the kitchen she donned a faded apron and headed outside, where she sat down on the steps and pulled off her shoes. Setting them aside, she took a trowel from the basket and crossed the recently cut grass to the garden plot. A hoe hung on the rail fence. Hoe or dig by hand? Which helped her think better?

Wielding the hoe, she stuck the trowel into her pocket. Thorliff and Thelma had stuck sticks in at the ends of the rows with the name of the plant in charcoal. Astrid started with the potatoes, now well up and fighting for their lives. Thanks to the rain, the rich black soil was soft and pliable. The weeds fell under the slashing hoe as Astrid attacked the enemy.