Bountiful Harvest Read online

  “I don’t want to leave her. What if she wakes up and I’m not here? There’s so much I haven’t said to her and she needs to know.”

  “Frank, I know how much you love my daughter. But you’ll not do her any good if you are completely wiped out when she’s ready to come home because she’s really going to need you then.”

  Sighing, he looked at Dorrie, sleeping, with the monitors and IVs hooked up. She looked peaceful lying there and he knew that when she got home, there were going to be some adjustments while she finished healing. “You’re right. I’m going to head home for a while but I’ll be back tonight.”

  “That’s fine. John is bringing the boys up around five for a little while. It’s hard for them to see her like this, but we know she needs to hear all of our voices. I see you’ve been reading to her and I know that helps too. Go get some sleep in your own bed for a few hours, get a good meal that isn’t from a Styrofoam container and we’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Leaning over, he whispered in Dorrie’s ear “Love you my Dorrie-girl. Your mom is here so I’ll go home for a few hours. Come back to us soon, sweetheart. I miss those beautiful blue eyes of yours.” With that, he headed home, where he took a quick shower then laid down on his own bed. He didn’t think he’d sleep, but God had other plans.

  Waking up a few hours later, he was surprisingly refreshed and headed down to put together something to eat before he went back to the hospital. Hitting the kitchen, he saw that his girls had already fixed something, so he pulled out a plate and set about eating. They had really stepped up to the plate in more ways than one, taking the boys the day surgery was done and bringing them up once she was out of recovery and in her room. Babysitting so John and Margie could sit with Dorrie, and of course, helping Renee keep the salon going.

  ***

  Dorrie The cocoon she had been in seemed to be lifting. She could hear the steady beeping of what she knew somewhere inside were monitors, so she knew that she was likely in the hospital. But her eyes? They didn’t want to open yet. So she allowed sleep to reclaim her.

  ***

  Frank Sitting as close as he could to her bed without actually being in it with her, he held her hand as he read to her. He had been alternating between books on her Kindle, which she had apparently loaded up, and the bible study that he had purchased for them. He knew they’d have to go over that again, and she would probably reread the books, but knowing how important it was for her to hear their voices, he kept reading. He loved reading to her and often wondered how she would feel reenacting some of the things in her books. He suspected that where their future intimate life was concerned, they would have a lot in common and he looked forward to being her last in everything.

  Now quietly praying, he almost missed it when her fingers squeezed his. Looking over at her, he saw her eyes were open and she was looking at him. “Dorrie-girl? Thank God, you’re awake.”

  “Fr-Frank,” she got out, feeling as though her throat were on fire “Can – can I have some water?”

  Letting her hand go was the hardest thing he had ever done, but he did so and proceeded to pour her some water then carefully held it to her lips so she could take a few sips. “Sweetheart, let me press the button so they know you’re awake, okay?”

  “How long have I been out?” “Three weeks, sweetheart. Three long weeks.” Pushing the call button, he waited for the nurse to answer then let her know that Dorrie was awake.

  “Frank? Can I tell you something before it gets crazy in here?”

  “Anything. You can tell me anything.”

  “I love you. I realized that while I had said that in my head, I never said it out loud. So, I want you to know. I love you.” Staring down at the woman who had captured his heart months prior, he simply said “I’ve known for some time how you felt, sweetheart, but I’m so glad to hear those words. I love you too.”

  Before he could say anything further, the door opened and the nurse came hurrying in saying “Good morning! I’m Stacey, your nurse today, and I’m so glad to see you’ve awakened! The doctor has been called and should be in shortly, but I’m going to go ahead and get your vitals checked while we wait, okay?”

  “Um, sure. How long have I been sleeping? The last thing I remember is hitting send on a text message” Dorrie said. The nurse looked over at Frank and at her nod, he looked down at Dorrie and told her again, “You’ve been sleeping for three weeks, sweetheart. Three very long weeks.”

  Dorrie laid there, shock all over her face. “But…how? What happened? Where are the boys?”

  Realizing that she was getting upset, Frank put the side rail on her bed down and gently sat next to her. “Sweetheart, Renee got your text and when she got there, she and Cory found you unconscious on the floor. They got you to the hospital and found a lot going on with you. Seems that you went into a crisis because of how sick you got, even with the shot you managed to give yourself, and once they got you stabilized, the doctor found out that your lower intestine had perforated so they had to do surgery to repair the damage. The crises, the shock to your system, and the surgery all combined to keep you asleep these past few weeks. As for the boys, your parents came and have been with them at your house and other than being worried about you, they are just fine. Renee and my girls have been holding down the fort at the salon and I’ve been here with you.”

  “For…for three weeks? Oh Frank! But what about the Market? Your girls? The crops? Lily?” she said. “Sweetheart, the most important place for me to be was here with you. James found folks to cover the Market for me, in fact, Jessie and Josie have been alternating their time between the salon and the Market, and several folks have bartered working the crops for what they needed. My girls are old enough to be on their own, and have even watched the boys a few times so your folks could come up and stay with you. Lily is just fine. She found a stray cat that someone had dumped off who had kittens, so the boys have been helping me with them.”

  Seeing the door open again, Frank paused in answering her questions.

  ***

  Dr. Yu “Ah, Dorrie! You sure gave us all a scare! But not to worry, I took care of the one issue so you shouldn’t be bothered with those flare-ups any more. Now, I know you and I’m sure you waited too long before getting help and that’s something we need to work on young lady. It was almost too close for comfort.”

  “Dr. Yu, I did what I’m supposed to do! I started popping the oral meds, which you know didn’t stay down long, and about two hours in, I went ahead and gave myself my emergency shot. It was too early in the morning to call anyone, and…”

  “Not that I anticipate a next time, but there’s this dandy service called 911 and you should have used it to call for help, young lady” the doctor admonished. “However, as dehydrated as you were when you got here, I don’t believe you were thinking too clearly. And, I thought you were getting that tattoo done, the one you showed me at your last check-up?”

  “I haven’t had time to get it yet. And you’re right. I know I wasn’t very coherent, it took forever to write the text. I’m so sorry I worried everyone. How long do I have to be here now that I’m awake?” Dorrie asked.

  “Well, I want to take some blood and get another scan of your surgical site, but if everything looks good, I don’t see any problem with you going home in the next few days,” Dr. Yu said, as he began his examination. “Okay, now that you’re awake, I’m going to get you started on a liquid diet. The plus side of you sleeping for three weeks is that a good deal of the healing has occurred, but you still have a few more weeks before you’ll be able to get back to your normal hectic schedule, and we have to reintroduce foods slowly.”

  Dorrie sighed but she knew he was right. “Fine. Frank, can you call my parents and let them know I’m awake and have them bring the boys? I need to see them.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Dorrie

  One Week Later

  Carefully making her way downstair
s, Dorrie realized just how blessed she really was and started thanking God for saving her life and for putting everyone in place who needed to be there so she survived. She and Frank had had a few conversations, and she knew he was still a bit upset at how sick she had gotten and that she had not called or texted him when it first hit, but like she had explained, most of the time, she was able to check it enough until she could get in to the doctor. This time was an anomaly and now that her lower intestine had been re-sectioned, it was unlikely to ever occur again. When Renee had told her how they found her and that she had started CPR, it really hit home just how serious the adrenal insufficiency was, and she had made an appointment to get the tattoo done once her doctor released her. Heading into the kitchen, she found her parents sitting at the kitchen table, quietly talking.

  “Hey mom, hey dad. Where are the boys?” Dorrie asked. “Frank came by and got them for a little while; the chickens had their babies and he thought they would like to see them. They should be back any time now; he said he was picking up lunch and for you to be prepared for some egg drop soup and fried rice,” her mom answered.

  Sigh. This semi-liquid, semi-soft food diet was killing her! She had already dropped thirty pounds during her long nap, and had another week of this to go. Pasting a smile on her face, she simply said “Can’t wait. That’s actually my favorite.”

  “Ah honey, we know you’re tired of it but Dr. Yu wants to make sure everything is fully healed. We don’t want there to be any complications because you started eating ‘real food’ too soon. But the list he gave us says that you can now have eggs and buttered toast, so that will give you a little more variety. And of course, now that all the fresh fruits are coming in, we can beef up your smoothies if you’d like.”

  “Mom, that sounds good to me. This has been a heckuva weight loss plan, eh? And I just got new clothes!” Hearing car doors, she made her way toward the front door and had it open by the time the boys and Frank made their way onto the porch. Leaning down and kissing both boys on their heads, she held the door open for them to go in calling out “Go get washed up, okay boys?”

  “Yes Momma” they both cried as they ran up the stairs. “Hey Frank” she said, looking up at him.

  “Hey Dorrie-girl. How you feeling today? You’re looking like it’s easier to get around.” “Yeah, it is actually. I’m still careful on the stairs, and forget being down on the floor, but mom has been a godsend and the boys have been little helpers” she replied. “So I hear I have egg drop soup and some fried rice on the menu today. Can’t tell you how excited I am!”

  “Ah, there’s my sassy minx! I’ve missed you,” he said, pulling her in for a hug and a quick kiss. “I was beginning to think the doctor removed that part too!”

  “Oh, you’ve got jokes today I see!” she said laughing, as they made their way into the kitchen where her mom took the bags and shooed her away to sit down.

  After lunch, they went out back, where Frank and her dad worked with the boys to begin training the puppies. Sitting on the chaise lounge on the porch, she and her mom talked about everything and nothing as they watched the antics, calling out praises when the puppies and their young masters got something right.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  One Month Later

  Finally released from the doctor to resume her regular schedule, she was at the salon early when Renee arrived. “Girl, I’m so glad to be out of the house and working! I know I’ve been coming up here, but not being able to do much has really sucked!” Dorrie said as they went about their normal morning routine before opening up the shop.

  “The girls have been a blessing while you’ve been out, my friend,” Renee responded. “We’ve got the skincare and makeup classes starting today, and I had another idea I wanted to run by you. I know you had thought to possibly build the upstairs area into a few apartments, but what would you think about maybe doing different treatment rooms — say one for skincare, one for a massage therapist, and one that we could make into a classroom for make-up classes? This has been so well-received that we may want to offer it on a paying basis to the community. What do you think?”

  Dorrie processed what she had just heard. Standing up, she said “Come on, let’s go look and see if that’s a reasonable possibility or not.”

  Upstairs, they looked around. There were two rooms already finished, but the rest of the space was in a bare bones mode. They could get an estimate to see what it would cost to finish out the other rooms, and also put a bigger bathroom upstairs, maybe with two stalls. “I think we should do it. It can only benefit the business and, of course, the women of this town. We have the ability to put an entrance outside so people coming just for skincare or massages don’t have to traipse through the shop.”

  “Good idea! I’m so excited. Oh and the girls are changing their majors…seems they have found their calling serving others and are going to go ahead and get their licenses too! I’m glad we have room downstairs to add two more stations if we want to, that’s for sure.”

  “Oh wow. I hadn’t expected anything like that at all!” Back downstairs, with notes jotted down so she didn’t forget their ideas, she looked over the book and saw that they were going to be busy all day long. Well, she had wanted to get back to work and no reason not to dive in at the deep end!

  Hearing the door chime, she looked up and saw Frank heading in, bag and drinks in hand. “Good morning, Frank!” “Good morning, Dorrie-girl. How are you doing so far this morning?” “Good. Better than good,” she said, already digging out her muffin and sipping at her soda. As they ate, she filled him in on Renee’s ideas for the upstairs. Outside of nails, they would pretty much be a full-stop shop!

  “Sweetheart, that sounds wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.” “I’m excited, that’s for sure. And, now that I’m awake, we can get on with setting up the consignment store, too.” “Ah, about that…you got time to go across the street for a few minutes?” he said, cautiously. While she had been out of commission, the old ladies had taken the idea of the consignment shop and run with it, getting the interior of the building set up, setting up a system for those people who had clothes to donate so they’d know how much money they had on their account to shop with, and lastly, reaching out to the companies and asking about purchasing the seconds in bulk. Except for a few small things, the store was ready to open.

  “Yeah, sure. Everything okay?” “It’s perfectly fine. Just wanted you to see something,” he said, ushering her across the street and to the consignment store.

  “Wha-when did all of this happen?” she said, looking up at the window of the “Second Chances Consignment Store”.

  “While you were sleeping, Dorrie-girl. The old ladies loved the idea so much and also wanted a way to minister to our community so they took the ball and ran with it. I hope you’re not too upset; I know this was yours and Renee’s and Nancy’s idea. Nancy has been spearheading the whole thing.”

  “Why would I be upset? I mean, I obviously want to do my part, but gosh, I wouldn’t have been able to work over here, not with the salon. And, it’s perfect timing since school starts back in two weeks!”

  “Come in and take a look,” he said, holding her hand and allowing her to precede him into the store. Looking around, all Dorrie could do was cry. The vision she had in her head, the one that she and the girls had talked about— it was now a reality. Walls painted vibrant colors. The different sections clearly marked and very obviously full of merchandise. New items were on racks and shelves at the front of the store, again clearly delineated for babies, kids, teens, men and women. Cheerful music played low overhead. There were dressing rooms in the back of the store. Tugging on his hand, she got his attention and then reached up with her other hand and pulled him down for a soft kiss. “I cannot believe all of this was accomplished and it was because of your Brothers and the old ladies. Can you imagine what this will do for the town?”

  As he gazed down into her shining eyes, he couldn’t help but hug her tightly and
kiss her forehead. “Sweetheart, this is going to go a long way, that’s for sure. We got our non-profit classification, and one of the old ladies who is familiar with the process, applied for several grants to keep it pretty much self-sustained. The clerks who work will actually receive paychecks. And, because we added several people at the Market who are also getting paychecks now, we were able to hire someone else as CPA for all of the businesses that are now in the works.”

  “What other businesses? Wait, I remember, you guys were going to take it to your table or something.”

  “We’ve decided that there isn’t a decent bakery around, so we are building that now. And, the MC has bought several of the empty properties around town and we are now renovating them and will rent them out. Since most of my Brothers have skills in a variety of areas, we are out the supplies but not the labor. And we bought that other empty storefront and are turning it into a tattoo shop.”

  “Holy smokes. Go to sleep for three weeks then deal with enforced at-home recuperation and everything happens!” she teased.

  “Sweetheart, I can’t joke about that time. At least, not yet. My heart was crushed when I saw you after your surgery. You were so tiny and pale and you wouldn’t wake up.”

  Hearing the emotion in his voice, she looked at him and said “I’m sorry, Frank. I can’t imagine how hard it was on any of you guys while I was sleeping. I didn’t mean any harm.”

  Kissing her quickly, he said “Dorrie-girl, no harm on my end. None at all. I’m just still emotional thinking about how close we all came to losing you.”