The Piano Teacher

Chapter 21

Nels spent most of Sunday playing cards with Doctor Hiram Baker. For once, neither of them had anything to do, and they had been meaning to play cards for a while.

It was a bright day, and quite a lot of the sun flooded into Doctor Baker's office, draping the floors. They played at a small square table, hunched over their cards in hard wood chairs. They played for apples instead of cash, mainly because they both had far too much of the fruit. The autumn season allowed apples to be more than plentiful in the mercantile, and Doctor Baker was primarily paid with the fruit at this time of year.

So far, Hiram was on a winning streak and had a pile of red apples in the chair next to him. "I'll tell you, this might have been a mistake," he chuckled. "I can't think of a way for one man to use so many apples."

"And it's a more dangerous matter for a doctor," Nels laughed. "Do you vanish if you eat one?"

"Yes, sir, right to the pearly gates." He slapped his cards down on the table and revealed a flush.

"Luck's on your side today, Hiram," said Nels, putting down nothing but a two-pair, the doctor dragging more apples into his arms.

"You'd best be careful, Nels. I'm liable to clean out the mercantile at this rate."

Hiram shuffled the cards for a time and Nels looked out the dusty window while he waited. The sky was a deep blue, like a big chunk of sapphire. Across the way, he could see the mill where Charles Ingalls, Almanzo Wilder, and Samuel Richmond were working. "I'm glad Samuel's back on his feet again," Nels commented.

"He's strong for a man his age," the doctor replied, dishing out the cards. "I just hope he doesn't push himself too hard at that mill. I tried to get him to rest a few more days, but he wouldn't have it. Hopefully he calms down some when his niece goes back to the cabin this evening."

"She's making some real improvements, don't you think?"

"Oh, sure. She's gone from bedbound to being able to make little strolls across the street and back. And I appreciate you taking her out for the occasional walk; you know I can't be around to help her all the time."

Nels gave him a tight-lipped smile. It was hard for him to forget the last time he walked with Charlotte, both of them getting soaked, him ending up holding her in his arms for much longer than he should have. What am I doing? He thought to himself all the while. He so enjoyed being around her, listening to her, touching her. Now more than ever he wanted her to stick around, for the mercantile and his home had become incredibly lonely and quiet.

Without Harriet and the children, he could read his newspapers and books in peace. He could go straight to sleep without his wife nagging him. He didn't have to yell at the children for stealing candy and toys from the store. But how silent everything was when he was the only person wandering about the house. Only busying himself with work could distract him from the immense emptiness in his gut... and Charlotte.

She was like a breath of fresh air. She didn't have a mean bone in her body, and she always listened to him so attentively when he spoke, even laughing at his mundane jokes that his wife would have yelled at him for being moronic.

And he liked helping her.

"I imagine we'll be seeing less of her once she's no longer across the street," said Nels.

"It's probably best that she sees less of me," Hiram chuckled. "Who wants to deal with a doctor so often? I'll have to keep checking up on her for a little while more though; her health isn't out of the woods yet. And anyway, I'm sure she'll come around the mercantile at least once a week."