Heaven's Gate Bridge Forty

Heaven’s Gate Bridge - Forty

Things got back to normal for the Miller house slowly the next week. The children were expected to help their mother in the kitchen more as time passed. It was decided that the girls and boys would share the responsibilities. They would rotate the duty of head chef and if there was any problem that the children could not agree upon, their mother would make the final decision. Frances was so pleased that she wrote about this experience to her family and friends when she had the time to write.

There was only one time in which the children almost had the kitchen in complete disaster. The boys were having a hard time in making a surprise birthday cake for their father. Timothy was sifting flour, baking soda and salt together. He felt a sneeze getting ready to happen but did not put the sifter down fast enough. When he sneezed, the flour flew all on William. William next picked up a little bit of butter and smeared it on Timothy’s shirt. Then Timothy threw an egg at William who ducked and the egg hit Harriet in the back. She turned around and screamed which brought Catherine into the kitchen from outside and she slipped on some milk that had been spilled as the cup that had the milk in it was tipped over.

The children were screaming and laughing so hard that they ran out into the back yard to carry on with chasing each other to throw anything they could get their hands on. The girls hid behind a tree and the boys soon found them. Buddy was chasing Timothy because he thought that he was going to get more food. The boys accidentally pulled down some of the wash that was hanging on the clothes line which made the clothes dirty again.

Finally the Harriet opened the gate to run away from William who had picked up a frog that he had found in the yard. It was then that the children heard their mother’s voice from the back door.

“Children! Children! Catherine, Harriet, William, and Timothy! Come in here this instant. “ she said in an anxious voice.

“Golly. We need to stop now.” said William as he dropped the frog into the yard. “Timothy tell Harriet to close the gate and come into the house now.

“Okay” Timothy responded as he waved his hand to get Harriet’s attention. He pointed to the house and said “Mother wants us back inside.”

Catherine was examining the clothes and decided that they needed to be rinsed again and then hung out to dry. Her mother had always had clean sheets for all of their beds. If her mother saw the dirt on these sheets, she might get really upset.

Harriet closed the gate and fastened it shut so Buddy could not push it open. He was becoming a very smart dog and knew that when the gate was open, that it mean run and play time on the other side. Little did she notice that on the other side was another rattlesnake that she could not hear making it’s famous warning sound. However Buddy did hear it and tried to open the gate again. He was determined to find out what that sound meant and get it.

“Oh Buddy, we can’t go out to play now. You need to stay here in the yard.” she said as she patted his head. Buddy jumped again and again at the gate a barked louder. The rattling began one more time and then it stopped. The snake had heard the barking and would not get into a battle with a dog whose size and agility it did not know about. It slithered silently into the taller grass and hurried to a place that had less traffic.

Harriet went over to help Catherine pick up the laundry. Some of the items had already dried and would only need shaking out. The damp sheets would need rinsing and hanging out again. The girls knew how much time it took to do that but their mother was given direct orders from the doctor for no heavy activities. Mrs. Noonan had already been there that day and so the girls would have one more job to do before their Saturday walk to the park could be done.

Inside the house, the children looked at the mess. Their mother stood at the table where the incident had begun and was shaking her head. They lowered their heads awaiting the announcement of the punishment for this outburst and waste of good food. They had heard their father repeat the fact that they were blessed and should never waste food. They had seen some very skinny children when they had visited the other side of the bridge when they passed the places on the way to visit relatives out of town.

“Children do you know what your father will say when I tell him about this?” Frances asked in a heartbroken manner.

“We are sorry mother. I don’t know what came over us, but we will clean it up now.” responded William.

“Yes mam. I guess I should get the most punishment since I started it.” volunteered Timothy.

“But I am older and should have known better.” interrupted William.

“No, I was head chef for today and should have been in the kitchen to do my duty.” added Catherine.

“I am sorry for screaming. I know that the egg was an accident.” continued Harriet.

“My four angels. I have been blessed with such.” began Frances and then she immediately grabbed her stomach and let out a loud groan. “Ohhhh! Call the doctor Catherine. Run to Regina’s house down the street William. “ she gulped another breath of air and started swaying. Then Harriet and Timothy ran to her side and turned her around to go into the living room. Sounds of crying and groaning continued as the children followed their mother’s directions. Her breathing became more and more audible. “Dear God. No! No! No! Oh my. Not now baby. Please don’t die. No. No. I…I.. Oh no!“ Tears started flowing down Frances’ cheek as well as Harriet’s and Timothy’s. They were excited about a new baby, but they did not want to lose their wonderful mother.