My Heart Needs A Surgeon
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It was a busy day in the town of San Francisco. The streets were filled with people who were on their way to work, and shops had customers lined up out front. One such shop was the general store owned by John Ewing.
It was located at the edge of Chinatown where there were no street lights or gas lamps. Even so, it didn’t take long for Mr. Ewing to spot the woman walking toward him across the dark road. She looked familiar but he couldn’t place her until she got closer.
He recognized her instantly as one of his best customers. She had been coming into his store every few days to buy Chinese herbs and medicines since before the gold rush began. But that wasn’t all she bought—she also bought food and clothing.
His business would suffer if this trend continued because he sold only a small selection of Chinese goods. He hoped she hadn’t come to buy anything today because he wouldn’t have any items left over for her next visit.
She stopped in front of the store. “Mr. Ewing?”
“Yes.”
The woman took off her hat and shook the hair out from underneath it. Her face lit up when she saw him. “I’ve missed you!”
He smiled back. “You too, Mrs. Wu. I’m sorry I haven’t seen you lately. You’re not sick again are you?”
She laughed. “No. Just my old age is making me slow.” She opened the door and went inside. He followed behind her and waited while she made her purchase. When she turned around to pay him, he noticed her eyes were red and puffy. That wasn’t good news. Was she crying? She’d never cried before. He knew how much she hated it.
As soon as they reached the door, she turned around. “Mr. Ewing, please tell me what happened last night.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did someone try to hurt you?”
“Not exactly,” he said cautiously.
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh no! Are you alright?”
He nodded. “For now. What’s wrong?”
Mrs. Wu put her hands on her hips. “Your daughter-in-law tried to kill you. Is that why your eye is swollen shut?”
“That’s part of it. There’s more.”
“Please don’t be afraid to tell me everything.”
His lips curved upward. “If you insist.”
“So tell me.”
When he finished telling her about Rebecca’s attack, Mrs. Wu gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. “This isn’t right! I should have known something like this could happen. Your family has always been strange.” She let go of her hands and stood straight. “How did this happen, Mr. Ewing?”
He explained about the fight between Rebecca and Lucy and how his wife was trying to protect herself. “And then she ran away after I fell down the stairs.”
“Why didn’t she run to get help instead of running away?”
“We’ll talk later about that. Right now we need to figure out what we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Do you think I should send word to her father to come here to see her?”
“That may be necessary. Let’s discuss it later.”
They walked outside together. As soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk, an elderly man rushed over to them. “Are you Mr. Ewing?” he asked.
“Yes. And you are?”
“Henry Lee. Thank you for saving my life yesterday.”
Ewing extended his hand. “Thank you, sir.”
Lee placed his hand over the top of Ewing’s. “You saved mine just as I rescued your daughter-in-law from a terrible fate.”
Ewing raised his eyebrows. “Rebecca tried to harm me?”
“In self-defense. Don’t worry though, she won’t cause any problems anymore.”
Ewing stared at him. “You know that for certain?”
“Of course.”
“Well, thank you.”
The two men parted company and Ewing returned to his store. Mrs. Wu was waiting patiently beside the cash register. “Let’s start with what happened last night.”
“Lucy attacked me first. We fought for several minutes and I thought she might kill me.”
“Who was helping her?”
“Rebecca was standing behind her.”
“Where’s Rebecca now?”
“She’s upstairs asleep in our bedroom.”
“Is that where you were going when Lucy jumped you?”
“Yes. My wife wanted us to sleep there tonight so that if anyone came by to harm me, she would hear the noise.”
“Very smart,” she muttered. “But we still have to keep watch on her. No one will dare harm you or your family once you’ve hired me as your protection.”
“There’s only one problem with hiring you.”
“What’s that?”
“My wife says I’m already married to a Chinese woman. If you’re hired, I can’t marry another woman.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t have even considered marrying you if you weren’t married to a Chinese woman.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Because you’re a wonderful man. It’s hard enough getting women who aren’t prejudiced against us to marry a Chinaman. But to find a husband who isn’t prejudiced is impossible. So I’ll take whatever chance I can get.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Don’t tell me you’re not attracted to me.”
He grinned. “I am.”
“Then I want to hire you immediately!” She looked up into his face. “Will you accept?”
He hesitated. The question was whether to tell her everything or leave some things out. Did it matter? Not really. She probably already guessed most of what happened anyway. They had nothing to hide. He took a deep breath. “All right. Yes, I’ll take the job.”
“Great!” She smiled. “Now let’s get back to work.”
***
A month went by before Ewing decided to ask his wife about her relationship with the elderly Chinese doctor. His curiosity got the best of him and he finally asked Rebecca why she wasn’t angry with him about their marriage.
“It’s simple, dear,” she replied. “Dr. Lee helped me escape from China.”
“You mean he actually rescued you?”
“That’s right. He gave me money and told me to come to America. I left almost ten years ago.”
Ewing shook his head in amazement. “Ten years! That means he knew you were coming long before I ever met you. You must be very special to him.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Aren’t I?”
He chuckled. “I suppose.”
Mrs. Wu said nothing more about Dr. Lee, but she kept her promise to return every evening after dinner to keep guard duty. When Rebecca learned that Mrs. Wu was keeping watch, she insisted on doing the same thing each day. After all, it was important to protect herself and her family.
Three weeks later, Ewing called his wife aside and spoke quietly. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“This protection business. Is it working well for you?”
“Very much so. There hasn’t been a single incident since we started.”
“Good.”
“And you?”
“As far as I know, no one has dared to attack me.”
“Me either. Maybe we should call off this protection service.”
She nodded slowly. “I agree.”
They talked for another half hour until Ewing could see that his wife was tired. “You should go rest.”
She glanced toward the staircase leading to their room. “Do you mind if I stay here instead of going home?”
“No. Of course not. Go ahead. We can use the extra body around.”
When she reached her room, she stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing serious. I just think it’s time we both got some rest.”
“Agreed. Good night.”
His wife disappeared inside the door. He waited until he heard the latch click. Then he locked up and made sure everyone else was gone before leaving the building himself.
In the street, he mounted his horse and headed down the road toward town. As soon as he reached the outskirts, he saw two men riding together in the opposite direction. One wore an army uniform; the other a black suit. Both rode fast and carried pistols strapped across their chests.
Ewing watched them pass by. Two days passed without any sign of trouble, so he relaxed somewhat. He figured the soldiers were looking for someone they thought might be hiding nearby. By now, he assumed his wife knew about them too. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching them. Was it possible they were trying to locate him? Or maybe his wife?
The next morning he rode to the front of his house, hoping to find his wife sitting on the porch waiting for him. Instead, he found Mrs. Wu standing alone beside the gate. A large canvas bag lay beside her feet.
“What are you doing here?” he growled. “Where’s my wife?”
“Your wife will be here momentarily,” she answered.
“Why did she send you away?”
“She felt uncomfortable being close to your place.”
He scowled. “Why do you care anyway? What’s the point of staying near our house when you don’t like it here?”
“I have my own reasons. Now, please stop asking questions and wait for your wife to arrive.”
He glared at her. “If she doesn’t show up soon—”
“Then I shall leave again.” She pointed at his horse. “Go home. If she doesn’t come within the next ten minutes, I suggest you follow me.”
He frowned. “Don’t worry. Your wife will be here.”
He didn’t say anything further because he knew it would only upset her. He took the reins over to the gate and closed the iron door behind him. The sun had barely risen above the horizon when his wife appeared, riding slowly along the dirt road.
It wasn’t unusual for her to ride out early in the morning or late into the night. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed the absence of her presence during those hours. So he was surprised to see her then.
On seeing her, he urged his horse forward to join her. But she ignored him. “Come back home. This is no longer safe. Our enemies are still lurking around here somewhere.”
“Who exactly are these enemies? Are they Americans or Chinese?”
“Both.”
He stared at her. “So, which side are you on?”
She laughed lightly. “Neither. They’re both wrong.”
He shook his head. “Are you crazy?”
“No.” She smiled. “But neither am I. That’s why I’m here.”
“For heaven’s sake!”
Rebecca dismounted and led her horse into the yard. “I’ll take care of the animals while you get ready for work.”
He followed her inside the house and watched her prepare breakfast. When he returned from his job that evening, Rebecca met him on the stairs leading to the second floor.
“There’s a woman outside who wants to speak with you.”
“A woman?” He narrowed his eyes. “Is she armed?”
“Yes. And she says she knows your name.”
“Let her in.”
While they ate supper, his wife told him about the stranger. “She said she has information regarding what happened last night.”
“Information? What kind?”
“That depends on whether or not you want to know.”
“Of course, I want to know.”
“Okay. Her name is Mabel Lee. She works for the railroad.”
“How does this relate to yesterday’s incident?”
“Apparently, there were three men involved. All of them worked for the railroads.”
“Three men—so the killer was part of a group?”
“Not exactly.”
“Tell me.”
“All three of them were killed. Their bodies were left near the train tracks.”
“Near where?”
“They weren’t found far apart. One body was found north of here, one south, and another east.”
“And all three men died of gunshot wounds?”
“Right.”
“Didn’t the coroner examine their bodies?”
“Yes, but apparently he failed to identify them. At least that’s what he said.”
“It could be because of the way they died.”
“Or maybe the coroner simply overlooked something important.”
“What makes you think the coroner missed something important?”
His wife shrugged. “Just an assumption.”
“What else did the lady tell you?”
“Nothing much. Just that she believes the murderer was acting alone and acted very quickly. Then she mentioned something about the Chinese. Apparently, she heard some people talking about how the murders occurred. Some said they were done by the Chinese. Others believed otherwise.”
“So now we’re down to two theories: either the killer was Chinese or the murderers were Chinese.”
“Correct.”
“You seem convinced of the first theory.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I hope it turns out to be true. Otherwise, I’ll have to arrest every man living in this town.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Does that include me?”
He chuckled. “As if I’d ever let anyone suspect you.”
“Thank you. I feel so loved.”
After finishing dinner, he went upstairs to change clothes for work. As he stepped into the bedroom, Rebecca joined him.
“Has your wife arrived yet?”
He nodded. “She should be here any minute.”
Her face clouded over. “Good. Let’s go.”
***
The next morning, Rebecca waited in the front porch as the horses neared the house. The moment his wife rode into view, she hurried toward her husband. “Where have you been? You’ve missed your lunch break.”
“We got sidetracked,” he answered casually.
When his wife asked again, he pointed to his right shoulder. “My arm hurts. I couldn’t hold my rifle properly.”
“You can hardly walk straight.”
“Sorry.”
“Why don’t you take a few days off? Get yourself healed up. We can start searching for our daughter tomorrow.”
He sighed heavily. “If I do, I may never come back.”
Rebecca looked at him. “Don’t say such things.”
“I won’t. It just seems like everything’s falling apart around us.”
“Everything will turn out fine.”
He closed his eyes. “I hope so.”
She touched his cheek gently. “Look at me. Do I look worried? Everything will be okay.”
“Fine! Fine!” His voice rose sharply. “You don’t understand—”
“Stop yelling at me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Then stop saying things that make you sound like a lunatic.”
“Lunatic?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Am I?”
“You act crazy most of the time.”
“Like I always say, that’s probably why I love you.”
“No, I guess it’s why you hate me.”
With a sigh, he leaned against the wall beside the door.
Rebecca glanced at her watch. “Now we need to find someone to help with the chores. If I had known you were going to miss work today, I would’ve hired someone sooner.”
“Forget hiring anybody. There’s no reason for me to stay home. Besides, I’m not sick.” He rubbed his neck. “But if I am, then I’ll see a doctor.”
“A doctor?”
“Sure.”
“Aren’t doctors expensive?”
“Oh, they aren’t too bad.”
“Do you know someone who might give us a discount?”
“Probably.”
“Great.” She turned to leave.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“To get ready for work.”
“You mean to ride out?”
“Yes, unless you want me to drive the wagon.”
“Drive the wagon?”
“Yes, I suppose it is quite unusual to see a woman driving a team.”
“Very strange.”
“That’s what I thought when I first saw it happen.”
“Maybe it isn’t so strange after all.”
“How many times has this happened before?”
“Once. But that was years ago.”
“Years ago.”
“Before we married.”
“And since we’ve been married.”
“Twice.”
“Two times. That’s not so bad.”
“Not so bad?”
“Unless you count the fact that each time we almost lost one of us.”
“Lost one of us?”
“Yes. Lost one of us.”
“But you didn’t lose me.”
“Right. I’m still here.”
“Thanks to God.”
“Exactly. Thank goodness for Him. Without Him, we wouldn’t be together.”
They smiled and kissed. Then she headed inside for breakfast. When she returned from feeding the animals, her husband came downstairs.
“Ready to head out?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Unless there’s something else you wanted to do.”
“Nope. Now, where did we park the horse and buggy?”
“Back by the barn. Why?”
“Let’s drive over to the saloon.”
“Okay.”
As soon as he climbed onto the buggy, she pulled away.
***
While drinking coffee, Rebecca sat across from Thomas. After finishing a cup of black brew, he wiped the foam from his mouth.
“What’s wrong with your arm?” she asked.
“Nothing really. Just some muscle soreness.”
“Muscle soreness?”
“It’s nothing serious.”
“Is that how you explain your recent behavior? By telling people that your arm aches?”
Thomas scowled. “My actions speak louder than words.”
“So does mine.”
His frown deepened. “Who said anything about your actions?”
“Me. And I meant every word of them.”
“Well, let me tell you what you’re doing. You’re making yourself look guilty.”
“Guilty? Of what?”
“Of course, you’re guilty.”
“Listen, lady. I’m innocent in all of this. As far as I know, I have done absolutely nothing wrong. So quit trying to convince me otherwise. My only crime is being married to you.”
“I wish you’d never mentioned that. Right now, my life is pretty much on hold. No, scratch that. Nothing ever moves forward anymore. The minute I try to go anywhere or do anything, I run into trouble.”
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“The worst kind possible.”
“Why can’t we talk about something pleasant?”
“There’s nothing pleasant to discuss. Everything I do seems to end up with me having to prove myself innocent again. It doesn’t matter how hard I work. Or how well I play cards.”
“Playing cards?”
“At the saloon.”
“Did you win any money?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Then everything is okay.”
“Except for one thing,” he added quietly.
“Which is?”
“I don’t like losing.”
“If you won’t stop playing cards, then maybe we should find another place to live. We could move somewhere quiet.”
He shook his head. “Don’t even think about leaving town.”
“Where would we go?”
“Anywhere but here.”
She frowned at him. “Now why would you say such a horrible thing?”
“Because it’s true.”
“No, it’s not. Not for us anyway.”
“We haven’t tried moving. Maybe we should.”
“I’m willing to give it a shot, but only if we can stay in one spot for more than two days without running into problems.”
“Problems?”
“You know. Trouble.”
“Oh, I get it. There are other places besides this little town that has gambling.”
“Other towns with gambling?”
“Sure.”
“Do you mean towns in Colorado?”
“Or Kansas, Nebraska, Montana—”
“I knew you weren’t talking about Arizona.”
“Arizona? Oh no. Not Arizona. They’ve got nothing to offer us except an occasional snakebite.”
“Snakes?”
“Yeah. Snakes. I hate snakes.” She shivered. “And rattlesnakes are especially bad. Did you see those huge ones when we first arrived? They were monstrous!”
“Huge?”
“Yes. One was almost five feet long and the other three and a half.”
“That big?”
“Bigger than that. Bigger than anything I’ve seen before.”
“Wow! That must have been impressive. Where did they come from?”
“From a hole near the river. Apparently, there used to be a lot more snakes around, but after the flood, most of them disappeared.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe because of the floods.”
“They probably drowned.”
“Could be. But why didn’t anyone mention that the snakes had disappeared until now?”
“Maybe nobody noticed. Or maybe everyone just assumed the snakes died off during the flood.”
“How did you notice?”
“A friend told me. He saw a couple of the larger snakes while fishing.”
“Fishing? How do you fish in water where there are so many snakes?”
“By throwing rocks at them. If you throw a rock fast enough, you might hit one. Otherwise, you’ll spend the whole day searching for a single fish.”
“What else does your friend catch?”
“Fish mostly. And crawdads. A few times, he’s caught a frog or two.”
“Does your friend have a name?”
“Franklin. Like you.”
“You mean Frank?”
“Exactly. His father was named Frank.”
“Interesting coincidence.”
“It isn’t really a coincidence. Just a coincidence that I happen to share a name with someone who has the same interests as mine.”
“Like fishing and hunting.”
“Precisely.”
“So what did Franklin tell you about the snakes?”
“Apparently, there aren’t any rattlers left around here. Only diamondbacks—and not many of them. Some people still hunt them, though.”
“Hunting sounds fun.”
“Very. Especially when you’re out with friends. Sometimes we eat our kill right away. Other times, we take it back to town and cook it over a campfire.”
“Sounds good. I hope we get to do some camping soon.”
“Camping?”
“Yeah, camping. We haven’t done that since we moved to town. It’s too hot to sleep outside. You said yourself that you prefer cooler weather.”
“True, but—”
“Besides, we need to start thinking about finding a new place to live.”
“Why?”
“I want to keep playing cards.”
“Then why not play in town?”
“The men in town don’t like us very much.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning they call us names, insult us, threaten us—all sorts of things. Why, the other night, one man threatened to shoot me dead.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He made sure my horse couldn’t escape by tying a rope to its tail.”
“Who was this person?”
“He wasn’t anybody important, but I think he was trying to scare us.”
“Why?”
“Because he thought we were cheating him.”
“Cheating?”
“Of course, we weren’t cheating,” she snapped. “I never cheat.”
“Never?”
“Never! What kind of woman would I be if I cheated?”
“Just curious.”
She looked down. “Forgive me. I guess I lost my temper a bit. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“No harm done.” He leaned against his saddle. “Now, what else does your friend Franklin do?”
“Oh, lots of stuff. He hunts. He fishes. Once in a while, he even works for a farmer doing odd jobs. He likes to go exploring along the river, looking for interesting artifacts. The other day, he found something he calls a moccasin flower.”
“Did he show you?”
“Sure. There is an old Indian story about how a man went to see the sun god. When he got there, he asked the sun god how to make a beautiful wife. So the sun god gave him a small piece of bark and instructed him to bury it under a tree on the edge of the world.”
“On the edge of the world? Does that sound familiar?”
“It should. It’s the same story as the legend behind the Moccasin Flower. Franklin called the plant the ‘mocassin’ because apparently, it looks like a snake.”
“Interesting. Do you know anything about the legend?”
“Not really. I’ve read a little about the history of the area, but I don’t remember reading about that particular tale.”
“Well, I’d love to hear it sometime. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Where will we find time for storytelling tomorrow?”
“Wherever we can. Maybe we could even tie a rope around one of those snakes and drag it into town. Then we could ask some of these people to hold it up to their faces and see if they look like snakes.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea!”
The End