Colleen and Andrew hardly had time to get settled in at the boarding house before they had to get on with their new life in Philadelphia.
Very early in the morning, the day before Colleen was to start medical school, Andrew arrived at the clinic of Dr. Nathaniel Pennington.
Dr. Pennington was a vigorous older gentleman. He seemed much younger than his 62 years...only his white hair and spectacles gave him away.
He was somewhat taller than Andrew, and wiry...boundlessly energetic. As soon as he saw Andrew, he rushed over to meet him.
"Dr. Cook! Welcome!" he said, grinning and extending his hand. "I'm Dr. Pennington. I've been waiting quite impatiently for your arrival!"
Andrew smiled and shook his hand. "Sorry about that." Andrew said. "I was on my honeymoon, and then there was an illness in the family..."
"No need to explain, my boy..." Dr. Pennington interrupted, "you're here now, that's what's important...besides, your uncle explained everything to me in a telegram...I expect to meet that lovely wife of yours within the week..."
"I'm sure that can be arranged.." Andrew replied.
"Your uncle and I go way back..." Dr. Pennington continued " ...I remember the time...Oh, but you aren't interested in that, of course you're not...no matter... I was sorry to hear about your father's passing several years ago..."
Taken aback, Andrew responded, "Um...Thank you. It was just before I started medical school."
"Right. He was a good man. And your mother...how is she?"
A glimmer of sadness crossed Andrew's face for only a moment, as he replied, "My mother is gone as well. Soon after my father, I'm afraid."
This time, Dr. Pennington paused for a second...but only a second..."Forgive me. I had no wish to offend you. I remembered as soon as I misspoke."
"Certainly." Andrew smiled, "No harm done."
"Now..Let me show you your office..."
Dr. Pennington motioned for Andrew to follow him down the hall.
While Andrew was looking over his new office and getting acquainted with his new boss, Colleen was in the boarding house finishing her unpacking. She was so nervous about starting medical school the next morning.
"I can't believe it. Here I am in Philadelphia, fixing to start medical school, with my husband right beside me. I'm so far away from home. I miss Colorado." she thought to herself.
"I wonder how everyone back home is doing. I wonder how the Reverend is feeling. He felt bad at the wedding, but he was able to conduct the wedding."
A knock on the door broke Colleen's thoughts of back home.
Colleen walked up and opened the door. There stood a large, smiling woman, with graying, curly hair, bright eyes behind shiny spectacle, and a broad smile.
"Welcome! Welcome my dear! Have you settled in yet? Not quite? Oh my! Such a charming man, your husband! Quite a catch, if I do say so myself! I came up to introduce myself, and see if you needed any assistance.
Has Hockley brought up your trunks? Oh yes! dear me! You'll have to excuse me, my dear. I have quite the short memory. You wouldn't be needing assistance if Hockley hadn't brought up your trunks already! I'm Mrs. White! My husband purchased this place more than twenty years ago. Supper is served at 6 o'clock on the dot! Not a minute later. Well, now, my dear, do you need any assistance?"
"Thank you, no, I'm almost..." Colleen began.
"Oh! My dear! I won't be refused! We can't have such a pretty refined young lady like yourself doing all this work around here! If you're ever in the mood for the latest gossip, you'll find it down in the back parlor.
Mr. White doesn't approve of gossip, so's it's got to be spread in the back parlor, as Mr. White always takes his tea in the front parlor in the afternoon.
Oh My! What pretty dresses! Where do you come from? The West! How exciting! I've had a knack to go west for years, but I couldn't ever bring myself to leave. Where do you want these things my dear? In this drawer? You won't find better furniture than this room. It's the best room in the house. It's called the blue room. I do hope you'll be very happy here.
Mr. White sure did like your husband when he rented the room out to you. 'That Dr. Cook,' said my husband, 'is a fine young man'. I swear to you he said it. Well, now, my dear, I have to go check on supper, now that you're all packed. Iris will be along ten minute before the meal hour everyday with a fresh pitcher of water for you to wash with. Would you like some now? I suppose you would, what with the long train ride and everything. Yes dear, I'll go tell Iris to bring you that water. Ta-ta! Remember, supper at six!"
Colleen closed the door behind the merry old lady with a smile. She knew that whenever she needed her spirits lifted, Mrs. White would be the person to see!
Colleen definitely needed her spirits lifted that day. Andrew had gone almost before she woke up that morning...she almost missed saying goodbye to him as he left for his first day at the clinic.
Then, she couldn't go back to sleep. And so she had busied herself with the unpacking. Mrs. White's visit had been a welcome diversion. Colleen finally finished unpacking everything and was now feeling anxious again.
She wanted so much to talk to her mother about her first day in medical school. She took out one of the medical books Michaela had given her, and began to read. Inside, she found a letter. The envelope read: To my daughter Colleen...to be read on the day before you begin medical school.
"Oh, Ma!"she whispered, and opened the letter.
She tore the letter from the envelope with cold fingers. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. What words would this piece of paper hold for her? It was a fat letter, so Colleen knew it would be a nice long one. She pulled out several pages..5 to be precise..and began to read the first page hungrily.
The letter was thus;
My Dearest Colleen,
There you are, away in Philadelphia, about to start medical school with your husband right beside you. You are no longer the shy little girl you were when I first met you so long ago. You cannot imagine how proud I am of you, it is simply unimaginable. And I know that you will make me prouder of you still.
In your trunk, you will also find a parcel of two large notebooks. They are a present from me, in honor of your starting medical school. I want you to keep them as a journal, like I did, so that you will always remember the years you spent earning what you for so long dreamed of achieving.
Keep one per year, and write in them regularly. You will also find, as I did, that by doing this, you are making a way to comfort yourself for the hard, troublesome days of college life ahead. Whenever you are sad, or upset, I know you will find that a diary can be turned to for comfort.
I know that you and Andrew will be very happy together, and that....
Colleen was interrupted by a knock on the door. She brushed the tears out of her eyes and opened the door a second time.
This time it was a nice, tall, young man.
"Excuse me ma'am. I was looking for a man by the name of Andrew Cook. Does he live here?" the man asked.
"Yes he does. I'm his wife, Colleen. He's not here right now, he just left a little bit ago to go to work." Colleen answered.
"Oh, my name is Ryan Bell. I'm the doctor that he is replacing. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, and I was trying to have a chance to meet him before I go out West."
"Nice to meet you. As I said I'm Colleen Cook. How far out West are you planning on going?" Colleen asked.
"I heard that Denver is a pretty nice place. If I can't find any work there, I might try Colorado Springs. I heard that they have a lady doctor out there."
Oh well you definitely should visit Colorado Springs...that is where Andrew and I came from," responded Colleen, "Dr. Mike, my mother is the doctor there. You might be able to find work at the Chateau there. Andrew used to work there, and as far as I know the position is still open. Won't you come in?"
After a while he left, and Colleen picked up the letter where she had left off.
'Well,' thought Colleen to herself 'I can't believe that I am here to married to Andrew, and in medical school, so much has changed in such a short time...'
she was startled out of her thoughts with a knock on the door....
At the same time in Colorado Springs, the train was pulling in, enveloping the station in smoke.
Drowning out all other sounds with the screech of steel on steel the train gradually slowed. Before it had even stopped, Gretta rushed to the steps with Katie in one arm and dragging Matthew behind her with the other. Grateful that the ordeal of the journey was finally over she drew in a lungful after lungful of air and beamed a smile at Matthew.
Emma, who was waiting by the tracks turned to Horace, who was fidgeting beside her and asked "Who's that?"
Horace, in his desperation to see Matthew didn't hear her and rushed towards to train...
"Matthew!" Horace cried, "I thought you'd never get here! We've got a lot to talk about!"
"Mornin' Horace!" Matthew said pleasantly, "I know you're anxious to get to work on your case, but I just got here...I have to get Katie settled in with her new..."
"Governess." Gretta spoke up.
"What?" Horace said, as if unfamiliar with the term.
Just then, Matthew saw Emma approaching.
"Emma!" Matthew said, as he rushed to embrace her.
"Oh Matthew, I'm so glad you're here...I've missed you!"
"Hi Emma!" Brian said, as he took Katie from Gretta.
"Emma, Horace..." Matthew announced, "This is Katie's new governess, Gretta Heinrick, from Switzerland. She'll be taking care of Katie while Dr. Mike and Sully are away, then maybe she can still help out around here when they come back..."
Colleen opened the door. For someone who was new in town, she was getting quite a number of visitors.
"May I help you?" Colleen said to the lady who stood in the doorway.
"Is this the residence of Dr. Andrew Cook?" she asked.
"Yes it is, but he's at work.."
"Well then, I've come to the right place!"
Colleen looked at the dark-haired, obviously pregnant young lady quizzically.
"Oh, I'm sorry, really, I must have left my manners at home. I'm Alexandra Pennington."
"Pennington?" Colleen said, "So, you're related to my husband's employer..."
"Married to him, actually...I always try to get to know the wives of his employees...it makes things easier when he invites them to the house...and you and your husband are invited...within the week I'm sure!"
Colleen was impressed by the woman's boldness...her stay in Philadelphia promised to be very interesting.
That morning in Boston, Michaela stood deep in thought. Sully came up behind her and put his arms around her. "What are ya thinkin' about?" he said. Michaela looked at him with tears in her eyes and said...
"Mother's doing considerably worse."
"What?" Sully asked, concerned.
"She took a turn for the worst this morning. She can think and remember clearly now, but, physically, she's doing much worse. I don't know what could have happened! She was doing so well! She came home early, and started to recover..and..and"
"Michaela!" Sully shook her softly. "You have to stay calm. Your mother is gonna be fine."
"Yes, but I'm afraid......Sully, I want to move her to the hospital."
In Colorado Springs, everyone was waiting on luggage. While they waited, Matthew talked with Horace, Gretta was busy with Brian and Katie, and Emma looked the new governess over curiously.
This young foreigner was almost breathtakingly beautiful. The first thing Emma noticed about her was her beautiful green eyes that looked like emeralds.
She had fair skin, not a bad figure considering she was so thin, and rich dark hair that was braided and wrapped around and around her head....meaning it was very long.
'What if she and Matthew are...are' The thought was more than Emma could stand.
Did she even have a chance against her? The way she and Matthew looked at each other...they couldn't just be friends, could they?
'Well' Emma thought, 'I've come back for Matthew, and I intend to get him. And I'm going to make sure our old flame is rekindled before theirs even has a chance to start!'
Back in Philadelphia, Colleen and Alexandra Pennington were getting along famously. They were drawn out of deep conversation by yet another knock at the door.
Colleen opened the door. It was the maid, Iris, with the water that Mrs. White promised.
"Thank you, Iris" Colleen said, as Iris left the room, not without staring hard and long at Alexandra, as if she recognized her.
After she left, the two women could hear Iris outside the door, gossiping about them with one of the other tenants.
Colleen looked concerned.
Alexandra said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. I've dealt with my fair share of gossip...mostly from my own family, I'm afraid. It usually runs its course in a day or two. Then they're on to their next victim."
Colleen felt uncomfortable, surely it wouldn't be as bad as when her mother went to medical school. She hoped the Penningtons had open minds concerning lady doctors.
She wondered if Andrew had mentioned to Dr. Pennington that she was about to start medical school....
"Colleen?" Alexandra broke into Colleen's reverie.
"What?" Colleen said, distractedly.
"Are you all right? You were awfully far away just now."
"Oh...just thinking. My, uh, college starts tomorrow...I guess I'm just a little nervous!" Colleen began absently playing with her hair.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, Colleen...you seem like quite an intelligent young woman."
Alexandra smiled, "But you need a change of scene, and I'm hungry...can I take you out to lunch? Our husbands won't be home for hours, and I would really enjoy the company...please?"
Colleen glanced over at the letter she still hadn't finished reading, and decided it could wait. She tucked it back into the medical book and said,
"Thank you, Alexandra, I'd like that!" And the ladies left for lunch.
Back in Colorado Springs, Emma, Matthew, and Gretta ended up at Grace's cafe talking. Matthew had told Horace he would help him with his case in an hour, after he had rested. Brian and Katie went off to see Loren and Dorothy.
While the three of them were talking, Emma kept biting her lip and staring at Gretta.
"I wonder. I just wonder...." Emma couldn't help thinking. "It so obvious how beautiful Gretta is.....it's so obvious how she and Matthew are so close. I've missed so much!"
"Emma...what do you do for a living?" Gretta suddenly asked her.
"I work for Gilda St. Clair. She's a singer," Emma responded.
"Impressive. How long have you worked for her?" Gretta asked.
"Many months," Emma said, starting to squirm in her seat.
"What other jobs have you done?" Gretta kept asking, not noticing how uncomfortable Emma was becoming.
"I...um...um...gotta go. I forgot I needed to talk with....Dorothy! Bye." Emma practically leaped from the table and ran off.
"Emma!" Matthew shouted. Before he could go after her, Horace came running toward him.
"Matthew," Horace panted. "You gotta help me."
"Don't worry Horace I told you..."
"But," Horace gasped, "I just went to see Sam for a minute, to see if she was okay. When she ran away from Myra's fiancé, to come to me, he grabbed her and hit her. We got into a fight Matthew. Then Myra came out and told me that she didn't want Sam to remember her Pa like that. They're leaving on the next train Matthew."
"Horace, you're hurt. We'd better get you some help."
"There's no time. I can't let them take Sam away."
"When does the train leave?" Matthew demanded.
"It's supposed to leave at 3:15, but they never do until twenty-five to four."
"Horace, I need you to send a telegraph right away. Send it to the circuit judge and tell him to come out here for a custody hearing."
"But Matthew," Horace stuttered, "I can't take Myra to court."
"I hope we don't have to. But we need a reason to keep them here until we can convince Myra what kind of a man she's plannin' on marrying. Go!" Matthew shouted.
"I need to find Daniel and get him to keep your family here in town."
A little later at the train station Daniel and Matthew stepped up to Myra, and her fiancé. "Myra, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave town just now," said Daniel.
"What do you mean?" said Myra's fiancé, barely able to control his temper.
"Well Horace wants custody of Samantha, and the circuit judge is coming for the hearing," replied Matthew in an even, yet tense voice.
"What??? Myra has custody of Sam, and always will so let us on that train now," answered Myra's fiancé almost yelling.
"I'm sorry Mr., but you can not leave. You will have to stay here for the trial," answered Daniel in an even and determined voice.
"What in he** are you doing??" asked Myra's fiancé turning to Matthew.
"I am protecting the rights that my client, Horace, has on Sam. He wants to have custody of Sam so I will do my best to help him get it," replied Matthew.
"I won't stay in this town another minute!!! I'm leavin'!!!"
"If you are leaving leave Sam here, and then don't marry Myra, but if you are marrying Myra, you must be here for the trial."
"Myra, get on the train with Sam..."
"I'm sorry," Daniel said firmly, "but you're gonna have to stay here. If the judge decides that Horace is better fit to take care of Samantha, than Horace will get custody. But until that decision is made, you're gonna have to stay in town. And if you resist, I'm gonna have to arrest you."
The man looked at him with a wicked smile, and then jumped for the train.
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