Heaven's Gate Bridge forty-five

Heaven’s Gate Bridge Forty-five

The house sounded strange for Edith. The last time that she visited was upon the return from her honeymoon with her husband to pick up a few things and to let her brothers and sister know her new address. It was so hard to leave home, but her husband promised regular visits back. With a sudden pregnancy and finally a second move to her present home, Edith had to visit via letters sent back home.

Edith and Penny sat down to a small sandwich, an apple and some milk at the kitchen table. Several things were going through Edith’s mind about the past. She tried to answer Penny’s questions without making each answer take too long. But her young daughter sat quietly and with intense concentration on the answers. It seemed that nothing too small was insignificant. During their time in the kitchen, the winds picked up and the sky became a little more cloudy.

The sun went down and there was no sign of Doctor Flack. The two women went outside to put the animals in the barn and look in the direction of Wallace’s house. The sky was now a dark, cloudy mass as far as the eye could see. Lightning lit up the far west from time to time, followed by loud thunder.

“I wish that I could see down the road. Usually we could see some lights of the next house but there has been so much change around here that I would be guessing if it was a house or barn. I think that Wallace’s house is down yonder.” Edith said as she pointed in the west direction. She turned and started walking back into the house.

The two women walked into the kitchen. A lamp giving the only light. Beside the sink was a couple of candles that were fixed so a person could carry them safely and put them down. Edith lit one and started for her mother’s door.

“Penny I am going to check on mother and see if she is ready for something to eat. If you want you can go into the next room and lay down on the small couch we have there. Someone must have bought it for mama since I was here last. I might be a little while. “

“Okay mother. “responded Penny as she took a candle also and walked slowly into the other room.

Edith walked in to her mother’s room, expecting to see more blood coming from her mother’s mouth, but her mother was as clean as when she left her. When she walked in her mother slowly opened her eyes.

“Mama. It’s me, Edith. I’m back. Can I get you some soup?”

Edith’s mother slowly nodded her head.

Edith quickened her pace to get to the pot that she had on the old stove. The soup was basically a fine broth of chicken, very tiny pieces, and a few peas and carrots. She knew that to keep her mother from choking, she would have to prop her up on a pillow.

When Edith returned, her mother was clasping her hands together as if she was saying a prayer. Her lips were moving but there was no sound coming from them. Her eyes opened and the mouth movements stopped.

“Oh mother, I think that we have the best soup here. It smells so good.” She put the bowl and spoon down and picked up the pillow from the other side of the bed.She put it under the pillow that her mother was resting on. Edith next put a towel that was on the bedside table under her mother’s chin so any dribbling could be caught or cleaned up.

As she fed her mother, she began to tell her a little about the trip out to the area. She did not want to say anything about Tiny Tina possibly being in labor, because she might upset her mother.

She got two nice spoonfuls of soup down her mother and then paused to let her mother rest. “Mother, you are doing so well. I am going to tell Irene that this soup is wonderful.” Her mother seemed to smile and ate a couple of spoonfuls more. Edith was going to try to get some solid parts of the soup in the spoon, when her mother’s hand came up and stopped her from filling the spoon.

“Oh mother, don’t you want this delicious part of the soup?”

Her mother shook her head from side to side and then put her hand down.

“Well maybe later.” Edith wiped her mother’s mouth and put the towel on the table. She knew that soon, she would have to do further cleaning of her mother. Any sick person felt better when they were clean. Outside there was the beginning of the storm was closer to the house. Thunder seemed to roll from one side of the house to the other. For one brief moment, the flash of lightning made the room seem like daytime. Then the heaviest raindrops fell on the roof. The noise was as loud as if someone was throwing huge rocks on their roof. The tree’s limb slapped against the window area. The rain continued for a few minutes and then there was a quiet. The noise started again. All seemed well until there was a sound of a train getting ready to run over the house. Edith had heard about this sound. Many times she had been told that only one time would someone hear this sound was when the worse kind of weather was approaching. A tornado! The house began shaking. The tree snapped outside. The train’s roar became louder and louder. It was as if the house was sitting on a track and a collision was imminent.

“Penny! Come in here immediately!” Edith screamed.

Penny came running into the room with a small blanket around her. “Mother, I’m scared. What’s happening?” she said in a loud squeaky voice.

“It’s a tornado. Quick we much pick up mother and carry her to the cellar.” She said as she pulled the blankets off her mother and was trying to put it around her mother’s shoulders.

Suddenly candle blew out. There was no light in the room except for a seldom flash of lightning. Penny screamed. Edith felt something hit her in the head and then fell down on the floor.