Purling Road - the Complete Second Season: Episodes 1-10 (22 page)

“Not a sight for ladies,” Shannon said in mocking whisper. “Do you know how many times I’ve cleaned and bandaged him?”

“This was more than that, what with the shoulder and all.”

Realizing she was avoiding it, she dared to look at Patrick. He was lying in the bed, his head slightly elevated. She let out a relieved breath and went to him. She’d seen him so much worse. There was a large gash sewn tight from his cheekbone to the scalp above his ear. His face was red in spots, beginning to bruise in others. His shoulder had begun to mottle an ugly black and purple. Shannon touched it.

“How did this happen to his shoulder?” she asked.

“’Twas a hard fight from the start. Patrick held up well for two rounds. I was tellin’ him to pull it out early, go at him with everything he had soon as the bell rung. He was grinnin’ sayin’ he’d drag it out just a bit longer and really give the people a show. What would have been a show is if Patrick had listened to me. Fer the other guy did come out swingin’, giving it his all. Surprised Patrick. I saw him wind up, yelled fer Patrick to duck, but it was too late. Knocked him out before his head finished flyin’ back. His feet flew up, landed on his head and shoulder just right, gashed his face and popped the shoulder out and then up, nearly right through the skin.” O’Malley grimaced as a shiver ran through him. “At least he didn’t feel it comin’ out or goin’ back in.”

Shannon sat by the bed and took Patrick’s hand in hers. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.

“I can’t let him do this anymore,” she said. She pulled her gaze from Patrick to O’Malley to show him she was serious.

“He’ll wake up, Shan. The shoulder will heal.”

“I know,” she said softly. “And when he wakes up and his shoulder heals, he’ll find a new job. And so will you.”

***

She sat by his bed all night. She was relieved he was alive, relieved his injuries weren’t worse, and most of all, relieved that this life was over. She knew it meant struggling again, and it didn’t dampen her relief in the slightest. It was a different kind of hard and one she was better equipped to handle.

Her eyes burned from exhaustion. Sitting back in the hard chair, she thought she’d close them for a moment to ease the stinging. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with how her back ached. A fan was placed in front of an open window to keep the room to a tolerable temperature. It was beginning to glow with the first light of the day. The swelling and bruising was worse. She’d watched them rise and spread over the hours, and she helped the nurse through the night pressing cold cloths to his face and shoulder. It didn’t help, of course, but it was something she could do while waiting. She listened to the birds beginning to chirp outside and nearly dozed off.

“
Shan
.”

Her eyes popped open. Patrick’s head lolled to the side and he tried to smile. “I think I might have lost.”

She wanted to tear into him right now, tell him his fighting days were over, and lay down the law as to how life would be from now on. No more fights, no more worry, no more injuries. He was going to pack a lunch and punch a clock, and leave all these dreams of money and glory behind.

She started to and remembered there was time. She needn’t deliver a verbal beating the moment he woke up from a physical one. She swallowed hard, curled her fingers around his, and nodded. “You did. It doesn’t matter. You’re still with me. That’s all that matters.”

Episode Eight

Rock Bottom

Ian knocked on Caleb’s door and waited. He could hear the chatter of the children upstairs and assumed he was putting the children down for a nap. He thought about waiting inside but, despite the fact his wife was here to help several days a week, he didn’t feel comfortable doing so.

Jogging down the stairs, Caleb called out and then pushed open the screen door for Ian.

“What brings you here?” he asked with a welcoming voice.

He was here at Maura’s insistence. She thought it would help Caleb to have someone other than Jonathan or Aryl reach out to him. He’d agreed, reluctantly. Now that he was here, he thought Caleb would sense it was a forced visit for certain.

“I just wanted to see how yer getting along.”

“Oh,” Caleb said. “Maura hasn’t been keeping you up on things?” He pulled out the last of his bartered home brew holding it up in offering. Ian accepted it.

“She has, but ye know women. They tend to leave out important details.” No sooner had he said it, he cringed.

“Story of my life,” Caleb said and pulled the cork on the bottle.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Ian said.

“I know. Have a seat. I was just heading back out to the barn, but I don’t mind waiting.”

Ian stayed standing. “Let me help since I’m here.”

“If you’re sure you don’t mind,” Caleb said and took a long drink. “I sure would appreciate it.”

Ian was first to move to the door. “What about the babes?”

“Napping, all three. Samuel knows to come get me when they wake up.”

Outside, the heat sucked the wind out of them. They slogged against the heavy air as sweat sprang up with the slightest exertion.

“Hottest summer I’ve seen since we moved here,” Ian said, mopping his brow on the short walk from the house to the barn.

“I remember a few like this growing up. They’re miserable. But it’ll be over eventually, and soon enough, we’ll be cursing the cold.”

Caleb pulled the barn door and placed a brick to keep it open. The horse, milk cow, and goat were in the pasture, nudging each other for space under a large oak tree. The chickens, which were easier to care for if Caleb let them do as they pleased, took refuge wherever they liked around the property. Only Caleb’s two sows and their combined litters of nineteen piglets stayed inside the barn. He planned to keep a third sow and expanding his pork production even more next year. It was starting to pay off.

“That’s a good looking bunch. Fat and lively,” Ian said, stopping to admire them as they grunted and climbed over each other to get to the new face standing on the other side of the pen. “Ye haven’t sold them yet?”

“Already have half of them claimed. I could have sold them a few months ago, but I’ll get more selling at butchering weight. Closer to fall, I’ll put an ad in the paper.”

“How much?” Ian asked, thinking of what a windfall having an entire pig would be. That would make for a comfortable winter.

“How much free time do you have?”

Ian turned, grinning as he sensed a work for pork proposition coming.

“Well, I work six days fer Jon. I’d be glad to give ye my Sundays, however long it’d take to work off the cost of one.”

Caleb slapped his gloves on his thigh a few times, breaking off clumps of mud and hay.

“Tell you what, help me two evenings a week through the harvest, and you can have any one you want. I’ll even butcher it for you.”

Ian grinned wide. “Ye have yourself a deal. And I’ll start today. Maura’s not expecting me home ‘til dinner anyhow.”

Caleb tossed an extra pair of gloves followed by a pitchfork. “If you want to take care of the pig stalls, I’ll head to the pasture. After that, I’m expecting a delivery of lumber that needs to be stacked. I have a jug of water on the bench if you get thirsty.”

Ian gave a loose salute.

“Watch that gate when you go into the stalls. Those pigs are smart, and they’ve learned to rush you when it opens. They’ll nip, but they don’t bite hard.” Seeing uncertainty and a little fear on Ian’s face, Caleb laughed as he left. “If you get overrun, holler for me.”

An hour later, Ian helped Caleb stack lumber next to the partially built house that was intended for his mother. It was dropped just at the end of his drive while Caleb was in the pasture. He wished he remembered to tell Ian to make sure they left it as close to the barn as possible. Now they had a decent walk to get it all placed.

“So, yer goin’ to finish it after all?” Ian asked as he balanced several two-by-fours on his shoulder.

“I am. Thanks to the pigs, I’ve managed to trade here and there. Eventually, I’ll have what I need to finish it.”

“Mind if I ask why?” Ian asked, grunting as he deposited the wood on the ground. They turned and headed back for more.

“I had the idea that not only would it increase the value of this place a little, but I might be able to hire a hand to help. They could live in this house. Same idea as hiring someone to care for my mother, but they’d be helping me instead.” Whenever he mentioned his mother, he couldn’t help but think of Arianna. He was still angry. So angry. It only made him work harder.

“Fine idea.”

“My grandfather did that. That cabin behind the pasture near the woods, the one that Shannon and Patrick lived in for a short time, he had a man who lived there and worked with him.”

“Shouldn’t be trouble findin’ someone these days.”

“I don’t expect so.”

After the lumber was stacked, Samuel wobbled down the porch stairs, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He padded across the grass and told his father his sisters were awake. Caleb helped him reach the pail of chicken feed and carried it with him to the open area beside the barn where the chickens knew where they would be fed. They were learning to come at the sound of Samuel’s voice. He called out and joyfully threw feed in clumps as they came running from all directions.

Caleb caught Ian’s stare.

“Startin’ him off early.”

Samuel was very young, still having wetting accidents on occasion, and here he was, doing his little part. 

“I was feeding the chickens before I could walk,” he said and shrugged. “Can you keep an eye on him while I go get the girls?”

Later, they picked meat off cold chicken quarters under the shade of a tree. Caleb held out a bowl of sliced apples from the icebox. Samuel and Savrene grabbed two and Caleb mushed one up for Felicity.

“I have to say, Caleb, I had no idea the amount of work ye did, just to keep this going.”

Ian glanced at the children. “To do what you do alone, I don’t know that I’d have the strength.”

He regretted saying it when he saw the shadow cross Caleb’s face.

“I didn’t mean to bring ye down,” Ian said.

“You didn’t. I didn’t know I could do it, either. Although most days, I’m barely doing it. A few nights the kids had bread and jam for dinner because I was so tired and that was only thanks to Maura. They’ve gone to bed sweaty when I’m too tired to bathe them. I do, too, sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “Good thing there’s no one next to me to complain.”

Ian chewed his apple slices slowly. “Do ye think there’s a chance things will work themselves out?”

Caleb wiped Felicity’s mouth with her bib, picked more chicken off the bone, and took his time chewing.

“I don’t know. I don’t see how,” he said finally. “She’s written, but I don’t think she’s changed.”

“I feel bad. I had no idea ye were holdin’ so much on yer shoulders. I should have been over here helpin’ ye every chance I got. I apologize.”

Caleb shrugged it off. “It’s not your responsibility.”

“It is my responsibility as a friend. I’m sorry I hesitated. That was my fault.”

“Your fault?” Caleb frowned as he quickly tore apart another chicken thigh to split between the twins.

“To be honest, I never felt like I belonged. Not fully. You and Jon and Aryl, you’ve got this friendship that’s so tight, it seems no one else can squeeze in.”

Caleb handed Samuel and Savrene their plates and then gave Ian his attention.

“Of course, you’re our friend, Ian. You’re one of us.” He saw the doubt in Ian’s smile. “We never meant to make you feel—”

“I know. It was nothin’ intentional. Just how I perceived it.”

Caleb wiped his hands of chicken grease on Samuel’s shirt, which he’d long ago peeled off.

“Ian, if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have had anyone to replace Patrick. And even now, without you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave the boat.”

This recognition seemed to improve Ian’s mood slightly. “I’m happy to have a job, especially one wi’ so much freedom.”

Caleb’s eyes flickered up. “They haven’t bought another boat so Jon and Aryl can split up, have they?” Caleb didn’t expect to hear that they had and doubted they ever would.

“No. But wi’ the fishing expeditions and all, it seems best to stick together fer now. I don’t know what their plans are fer fall. And ‘sides, I have Peter and he’s turnin’ out to be worth his weight.”

“I’m glad.” Caleb twisted the last thigh and leg apart. The children were calmer now with full bellies. Sam lay on his back watching the glints of sunlight through the leaves. Savrene took more apples but had enough chicken.

“You know, Ian, sometimes I feel like an outsider, too. Aryl gets along with Jon better than I do. Jon and I are just so different. Always have been.”

“But that hasn’t kept ye from being lifelong friends.”

“True. But they know what’s going on here and yet I haven’t seen a lot of them. You’re the one that’s here. So don’t ever feel like an outsider. If you do, come over. We’ll be outsiders together.” 

***

Claire and Ava oversaw the setup of tables on the beach. It was a simple affair, six long tables covered in tablecloths of different colors. Claire tried to tell herself it looked summery to have the explosion of color, but deep down, she thought it looked more circus themed than anything. The tables surrounded a large pile of wood to be lit later. The reception was set to start at eight p.m. The chairs were an odd mix and the table decorations were simple bouquets of wildflowers in jars with ribbons trailing down. Their gift was the party and, pooling their money and after intense haggling, they purchased a blank notebook for guests to write messages as a memento.

“Arianna could have done a much better job,” Ava groaned. On a limited budget of practically nothing, it was the thought that counted in this situation. As it was, they couldn’t even provide food for whoever showed up. A potluck was the best way to go in this case. If everyone brought something, they wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough. News of the reception got around by way of gossip. Muzzy refused to put an ad in the paper, cringing at the attention and only promised to come after Claire threatened bodily harm.

Ava and Claire took a deep breath and looked at each other. They had no idea what to expect and prayed the night wouldn’t be a disaster.

A place for Muzzy and Peter was set facing the ocean and they placed more effort there. The bride and groom had fine china and wine goblets loaned from Aryl’s mother and a decently arranged bunch of roses that Claire had snuck into a neighbor’s yard to cut when they weren’t home.

The first one to arrive was Ruth. She had been invited, but neither Claire nor Ava thought she’d attend such a simple beach party.

She was dressed in stylish black slacks and a loose white top. She wore her hair down and her makeup light, perfect for a warm summer gathering.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Claire said. Ruth smiled, said hello to Ava, and then turned as she spoke.

“I wouldn’t miss it. My butler is bringing a surprise. I hope you’ll find it useful.” She shielded her eyes just as he began down the craggy edge that divided road and beach. In his arms, he carried a wind up phonograph.

“Oh! To have music would be wonderful!” Ava said.

Ruth turned, happy her contribution would help. “I’m so glad. Where do you want him to put it?”

“How about on the table, opposite the bride and groom,” Claire said.

They stood by while he set it up and started the first record.

“I have another surprise. My nanny is ready and waiting to receive everyone’s children. We’ll set up a tent cover a bit down the beach.” Just then, the nanny appeared, bright and as clean as Ruth with Mahni on her hip. Behind her, another girl in a plain summer dress. “She’s brought her friend with her so they can manage all of them. Out in the open we thought it was best or one of them might wander off.”

“Oh, Ruth. That will be so helpful.” Claire had asked Aryl’s mother to watch Jac, but she and his father had plans in Boston that evening. She was hoping the atmosphere and romance of a wedding reception might be the perfect time to talk to Aryl. If only Jac weren’t running around causing chaos.

With that problem solved, Claire had much more hope for the evening.

The chairs were full before half past eight and people overflowed with blankets scattered along the beach. Everyone who could bring something did; most were overly generous. After walking by the table to congratulate the new couple, some handed off a gift and some even renewed their subscriptions, now that she was living in a proper manner, then quickly filled their plates.