Restoring Hope Page 15

  Chapter Eighteen

  Woape turned her gaze from Penelope. It didn’t seem right to watch another woman mourn the death of her husband. Penelope had pulled up to the cemetery and told her that her husband was buried there. Woape understood her pain, and as her new friend grieved, Woape also cried.

  It didn’t seem fair that people should die so young, that wives had to be separated from their husbands or that parents should lose their children. Death, she supposed, was part of the cycle of life, for as soon as life was granted to someone, the minutes of time were already working to take it away. And in the process, the loved ones were left behind to grieve.

  The baby stirred in her womb, a reminder that life would continue. How she prayed it was Gary’s. Somehow the hat and pocket watch next to her weren’t enough. It’d be a greater consolation if she could have something that was truly his, something that he didn’t purchase long ago.

  Penelope stood from the grave, adjusted her hat and returned to the wagon. She got in beside Woape and picked up a container. “Water?”

  “Water?”

  Penelope pretended to drink from the canister.

  Of course, Woape knew what water was, but she didn’t feel like revealing the truth. Not yet. Not when she needed the silence and space to mourn. In time, she’d probably let Penelope know. But for now, she didn’t want to explain everything. Woape accepted the canister before she pointed to the grave.

  “Husband,” Penelope softly said. “My husband. He’s dead.”

  Woape decided she could tell her something, to give this kind woman next to her a glimpse into what she’d been through. “My husband dead.”

  She looked curious. “Your husband is dead? Like that?” She pointed to the grave again.

  “He dead.” As painful as it was, she pretended to cut her neck with an axe.

  Sympathy on her face, Penelope reached out and touched her arm. “Friend.” Then she motioned to herself. “Friend.”

  “Fr...end,” she finally replied, smiling despite the lump in her throat.

  Penelope nodded. “Friend.” She turned her attention to the brake and released it.

  As the horses moved forward, Woape wondered about the new place she’d be staying. Would it be her permanent home, or would fate soon lead her somewhere else?

  ***

  “So Gary Milton was here?” Julia asked two days later.

  The middle-aged man stood on his porch and nodded. “That was his name.”

  She smiled at her aunt who softly wept with relief into her handkerchief. So Gary was alive! “Is he wounded?”

  “Yep. He got it pretty good in the neck and shoulder and partly in the side, but he survived the Indian attack,” the man said. “I was out herding our cattle when I saw the Indian chasing him. Gary fell off the horse, so I went to his aid. The Indian left when he saw my pistol. Anyway, we brought Gary in and took care of him.”

  “But he left?” her aunt asked.

  The man nodded. “He wasn’t in any shape to head out, but he insisted he was well enough to go. I believe he headed in that direction.”

  Julia glanced at the prairie land stretching out for miles in back of them. That was where she and Erin lived. So he went back home. What was he going to do when he realized that everyone was gone? He probably wouldn’t come back here. She turned her eyes to Chogan who waited on his horse by the buggy. Maybe Gary would go to Woape’s tribe. If so, then she and her aunt were fortunate to have Chogan with them so they knew how to get there.

  But what did that matter? Her brother was alive! They’d find him soon enough.

  Her aunt pressed a hand to her heart. “I thought for sure Gary was gone. Poor Woape. She had no idea what happened.”

  At the reminder, Julia hid her apprehension. Was Woape on her way to her tribe? Chogan had lost her. Well, they couldn’t put all the pieces together at once. They had to take it one step at a time, and right now, they had the assurance that everyone was alive—and that’s what mattered.

  “I’m all the way out in the middle of nowhere,” the man said. “It’s a long way to town. Would you like to have lunch? It’s nothing fancy mind you. We got beans and bread, but it’s enough to fill your stomach till you get to your next stop.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’m too excited to eat. Julia?” Her aunt looked at her.

  “We have enough food packed to last us to our destination, and I admit, now that I know for sure Gary’s alive, I want to keep looking for him.”

  “Alright. I wish you God speed.”

  They nodded and returned to the buggy. The tiresome quest of asking everyone they came across if they’d seen Gary suddenly didn’t matter.

  Her heart light, Julia told Chogan, “Gary was here. He headed back to his home. Will you come with us? If he’s not there, we’ll know he went to your tribe to find Woape.”

  Chogan nodded. “I will.”

  And so, they got ready to travel south.

  ***

  Woape was cutting potatoes when a contraction gripped her. All morning, she’d been having light pains that were easy to ignore, but now she couldn’t. The baby was ready to be born, and as much as she was ready for the pregnancy to end, she worried whose child she’d soon be holding. It seemed like a double-edged sword.

  When the pain eased, she resumed her cutting. Penelope had gone to the cellar to retrieve some meat. Woape glanced around the one room cabin. The place was peaceful. It was located as far from anyone else as she could get, and for the time being, that was what she needed. It helped to be able to go out on the prairie, a few feet from the cabin, and grieve. But she didn’t want to stay here forever. She longed for home, and if she couldn’t have that with Gary, then she wanted to return to her tribe. Seeing Chogan again had brought forth a sense of homesickness.

  Maybe in a year, she would ask Penelope to help her return home. Until then, she would bide her time and heal. She did appreciate Penelope and all her new friend had done. It reminded her that God had not abandoned her all together. And with any luck, she might learn Gary had indeed fathered her child. This would be a further comfort to her. She didn’t care what her tribe would think if they saw her with a white man’s child. They’d have to learn to welcome the child as one of their own.

  The pain returned, spreading from her back and wrapping around her. She stood in an effort to walk through it, but she couldn’t get her feet to move.

  Penelope entered the room and quickly put the slab of meat down. “Martha?” She ran over to her and helped her sit back down.

  Woape gritted her teeth and held onto her stomach. This was definitely the worse contraction yet! “Baby,” she gasped.

  “Baby is coming?”

  She nodded. “Baby. Hurt.”

  Penelope gingerly took the knife out of Woape’s hand and placed it on the table next to the meat.

  The pain finally lessened and Woape exhaled with relief. She’d watched women give birth, but she didn’t realize exactly how much they went through. She didn’t think she was up to this. She wiped her forehead. Not only did she stink from not bathing in a good month but sweat stuck to her as well. No wonder men in her tribe often commented that they could smell a white man coming a mile away. White people didn’t bathe much, and this is what happened to them.

  Still, she couldn’t deny how helpful they’d been to her. She reached out and took Penelope’s hand in hers. “Happy...to be..friend,” she said between gasping.

  Penelope smiled and squeezed her hand. “I’m happy to be your friend too. Baby is coming. That’s good.”

  She prayed it would be. Instead of sharing her fears, she said, “Good.”

  “Maybe painful but good.” She pointed to Woape. “Mother.” Then she motioned to Woape’s belly. “Baby.”

  Woape suddenly understood what she meant. Mother. Now there was a new word. Not that Penelope hadn’t taught her some new ones, but this one was especially helpful. Hunde meant Mother in her language. Woape was going to be
a mother.

  “I’ll get things ready for the birth,” Penelope said.

  Woape looked out the window and noticed the position of the sun. She guessed it was six in the evening. She wondered how long it would be until the child’s was finally born. This has to be Gary’s child. It just has to be.

  As the evening turned into night, Woape became less concerned about the parentage of the child and more concerned about the agony of labor. By the time Penelope announced it was midnight, Woape just wanted this ordeal to be over, regardless of whether the child was from Hothlepoya or Gary. She did everything she could think of to speed up the process from walking to squatting, but the baby was in no hurry to come into the world.

  Finally, when it was time to deliver the baby, Penelope spread out an old blanket and laid her on the bed. Woape was only half aware of what Penelope was saying but noted the encouragement in her tone. When the urge to push came, Woape gave into it and pushed as hard as she could.

  “You’re doing good, Martha,” Penelope said, her tone irritatingly calm.

  Well, of course, she was calm. She wasn’t going through it! Woape screamed and pushed again. She should be squatting. Maybe lying on her back delayed her progress. But before she could get up, she felt the baby’s head coming through.

  “One more push, Martha. You can do it!”

  It was almost done. One more push and this awful process would be over! That realization renewed her energy, so Woape put all of her strength into the last push and was rewarded with the sudden absence of pressure. She collapsed back on the bed, out of breath but grateful it was finally over.

  Then the baby cried and Woape’s attention returned to her child. Was it Gary’s? She debated whether she should see right away or not. But she had to know. She struggled to get up on her elbows so she could see over her deflated belly.

  Penelope laughed and showed her the crying child.

  Woape held out her arms and took the baby. She recognized the high earlobes and slightly crooked nose. Gary had those features. She cried with joy and cradled the child in her arms. She wiped the child’s face with the blanket. Just as she thought, the skin was also lighter than hers. There was no doubt about it. This was Gary’s child!

  The baby settled down and snuggled against her body, probably seeking warmth. All memories of the labor quickly departed, and in its place was unbelievable love and happiness. In this child’s birth, she had great comfort.

  “Girl,” Penelope told Woape.

  Woape glanced up, her eyes glistening with more tears. So “girl” was the name for sukmihe. “Girl. Baby girl.” She laughed as the child yawned. Her precious girl. Gary’s precious girl. And she vowed that she would teach this child about her father. Gary would never be forgotten.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Julia bit back the urge to scream in frustration. How could they be lost? She scanned the prairie. Nothing. In all directions, there was nothing except the river that cut through the land. She placed her hands on her hips and glanced at the late afternoon sun. Okay. So that way was west, but that wasn’t very reassuring since she didn’t know where they were. She had no starting point, and the stupid horse stepped on the compass her aunt found in Gary’s travel gear.

  She groaned. Leave it to her absentminded brother to neglect to pack a map. She momentarily wondered if she should be so hard on her kin. But he was alive and probably back with Woape at her tribe, and since that was the case, she could be agitated at his lack of foresight.

  Well, at least they had Gary’s things and had enough sense to buy extra bedrolls and food. So all was not lost. She glanced at Chogan as he took care of the horses. Looking at her aunt, she saw that she stirred the beans on a skillet. Beans and jerky again. Julia fought the urge to gag. It was food. Food was a good thing, and at least Chogan was with them just in case someone showed up and thought to take advantage of them. A muscular man like him would ward off any no-gooders.

  She knelt by the river and collected enough water to fill up the three canisters. Even if this wasn’t quite the adventure she imagined it would be, it was nice to see some of the world. So she didn’t need to be angry. She exhaled and let her agitation subside. Gary was right. She needed to enjoy life instead of whining about it. And that is what she’d start doing right now.

  She sealed the canisters and walked back to the campsite.

  “Supper will be ready soon,” her aunt said.

  She rolled her eyes but chuckled. “I can hardly wait.”

  The older woman stopped stirring the beans and looked up at her. “Did you just make a joke?”

  “Sure. Is that a crime?”

  “I can’t remember the last time you made one.”

  She shrugged and went over to the buggy where she set the canisters down. Then she walked back to the campfire and picked up the three tin cans and a pot to get more water.

  Chogan approached them. “Two rabbits there.” He pointed toward the north. “Can eat them.”

  Erin nodded. “I can cook them up if you skin them.”

  He indicated his agreement and went to retrieve his bow and arrow.

  It would be nice to get a break from jerky, Julia thought and headed for the river. To her surprise, Chogan approached her as she made it halfway back with the water.

  “You want to hunt?” he asked.

  She furrowed her eyebrows. “Why would I want to hunt?”

  “If you need food.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

  A small amused smile crossed his face. “I not always here.”

  She didn’t see why that should be amusing. “Do you plan to leave me and my aunt?”

  He shook his head. “I not mean now. I mean in future.”

  Her frown deepened. “I don’t understand you.”

  “We go to my tribe. I stay. You go back to home. Correct?”

  “Of course. I’m only going to make sure Woape is alright...and to make sure Gary found her.”

  “You need to learn hunt. My place is at tribe.”

  His meaning finally dawned on her and she relaxed. “I can’t argue with that logic.” She stepped toward the campfire but glanced his way. “But you’re staying with us until I make sure my brother and his wife are together.”

  He nodded.

  “Good. I’ll be back.” She completed the distance between herself and her aunt and set the cups and pot down. “Apparently, Chogan thinks it’s a good idea if I learn to hunt. Once we make it to the Indian tribe, we’ll be on our own to make it home.”

  Her aunt blinked. “You’re going to hunt?”

  “Why not? I can use a bow and arrow just as well as anyone else.”

  “I suppose. Alright. But don’t get out of my sight.”

  “And where would ‘out of sight’ be?” She motioned to the open land around them. “I can’t even do my personal business unless you two have your backs turned. I really do miss the outhouse.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find a town soon enough. Then we can figure out how to get to the tribe.”

  Julia stood up and stretched. Her stomach reminded her that she needed to eat. “Hopefully, catching a rabbit won’t take too long.”

  Her aunt chuckled as if she understood something that Julia didn’t.

  Julia gave her a questioning look.

  “Go on, child. That rabbit won’t be over this fire as long as you’re standing here, and he doesn’t look like he’s going to hunt until you’re with him.” She indicated to Chogan who patiently waited with a bow and a set of arrows.

  She made her way to him and joined him as he headed out to a part of the land where two rabbits gathered together. Slowing her pace to match his, she realized he was trying not to startle the animals.

  They were still a good distance away when he stopped. “Hold bow and arrow like this,” he whispered in her ear. He slipped an arrow into the bow and drew it back.

  She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. He did the motion so fast that she har
dly caught the subtle details, and it was those details she needed to know. But she was too hungry to tell him this. Instead, she waited and watched as he directed the arrow at one of the rabbits and released it. The arrow reached its mark and the rabbit fell while the other fled.

  “Easy,” he said.

  “Right,” she slowly replied, not at all convinced that her efforts would result in immediate success.

  “Rabbit easy. Buffalo hard.”

  Sure, compared to a rabbit, a buffalo had to be difficult. But they weren’t comparing rabbits to buffalo right then. They were comparing her skill to his, and she had no skills at all while it was obvious he’d been doing this for a long time.

  “Here. Try.” He held the bow and arrow out to her.

  She gingerly took them. She never thought she’d be doing this. But this was part of the adventure, right? Trying new things. Exploring her horizons. And she might need to know this in the future.

  “I see rabbit there.”

  Bracing herself for the task ahead, she turned around and followed him a few paces, realizing her aunt watched from the distance. Not caring for her aunt to pick up on her hesitation, she proceeded forward and stopped when Chogan indicated to.

  “You try.”

  Shouldn’t she practice on something like a tree? But there were no trees nearby, so that answered her question. She nodded and pulled back on the bow.

  Looking amused, he reached out to stop her.

  Her cheeks grew warm, and she suspected it wasn’t from embarrassment.

  “Hand here.” He pointed to the area on the bow just above her hand.

  She adjusted her grip and glanced at him as she pulled the arrow through. She frowned. The arrow wasn’t cooperating very well.

  Again, he seemed to think this was fun because a slight smile crossed his face. “Hold this part.”

  The trick worked so she pulled back the arrow and let it loose. It fell six feet from her and scared the rabbit off. It didn’t even get near the rabbit.