A Kindness For Christmas

Chapter 1

Walt spilled hot coffee all down the front of his shirt when he heard a loud yell. Heart-wrenching sobs followed, then a glass shattered as the front door slammed.

He set his cup on the table and hurried to the parlor, looking toward the front door, then on to Jerry’s room. The sight in front of him broke his heart.

Jerry was face down on the floor, sobbing, beating his fists against the floor repeatedly.

He knew immediately what had happened to his friend. Approaching cautiously, he expected Jerry to fight him, or anyone that dared to come close at this point.

“Jerry, let’s get you back in the bed.”

A low growl escaped Jerry’s throat like a wounded animal. “Get out of here and let me die! I mean it! Just toss me a gun first. All I need is one bullet.”

“Jerry, listen to me. You can’t stay on the cold floor. Let me hel…”

“Why not, Walt? I can’t feel it anyway! Just leave me be.”

“Any woman who would upset you like this while you’re…”

“What, Walt? I want to hear you say it.” He turned his face to look at his friend. “Crippled? Of no use?”

“Stop it, Jerry. Self-pity gets you nowhere but bitter. Now let’s get you up from there.”

As Walt got close, Jerry threw a punch at him, barely missing. “I said get out of here!”

“Okay, I will, but one of these days I might not stop at the parlor or kitchen. I will keep right on through the front door and be gone for good.”

Jerry scoffed, “Sure, like I’ll ever get that lucky.”

Walt turned and left him to wallow in his own self-pity for a while. He felt sorry for his friend, but he couldn’t fuel his fire. The doctor said to offer nothing but physical help and encouragement. If only Fiona had done the same.

She had been so attentive when Jerry first returned from the war, hurt so badly he would be bedridden for at least months, possibly years, if not for the rest of his life.

Vowing to stay by his side forever, and still marrying him as they planned, Jerry had recently regained just a bit of hope.

After only a month, she had stopped visiting as often and apparently was having second thoughts. Walt had heard she was spending time with a new man in town, while telling Jerry she had been attending to her sick ma.

Walt cleaned up the coffee he spilled on the table and floor while thinking deeply about how to help his friend. There was a lot more going on here than Jerry’s legs not working.

The family’s lawyer, Mr. Porter, had come by yesterday with all the paperwork for the ranch. It had been passed down two generations and Jerry would be the third, he hoped. Jerry was first in line since he inherited it from his father, but the way it had been set up by his grandfather, it could only pass to a married heir with intentions of having a family, living on the ranch, and keep it growing.

That wasn’t a problem until Jerry’s horse threw him, the very day that Lee surrendered to Grant. Just one day short of being finished with the war, this terrible accident happened, that may affect him for the rest of his life.

Mr. Porter reminded Jerry that he could only inherit if he was married by his twenty-fifth birthday. If not, it would go to his oldest married cousin.

That time was only two months away.

Walt straightened as he heard Jerry call out to him. He stubbornly took his time responding.

Stepping in the doorway, he saw Jerry had pulled up on the bed by himself. “Well now, looks like you aren’t totally useless after all. What are you needing me for?”

“An apology. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take things out on you. You’re the only one who will put up with me, and I need to be thankful for that.”

Walt sat on the bed beside him. “So, what did she say that caused all of this? I’m about sick of her keeping you upset.”

He looked down at his numb legs. “It won’t happen again.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“No, really, it won’t. It’s totally over and done with. I’m sure you knew, but kept it from me, that she’s seeing another man; one who can actually walk. When I confronted her about it, well, let’s just say, it didn’t end well. Before the conversation was finished, she got really nasty about her being the only one who could help me save the ranch. And can you believe that she tried to convince me there would be nothing wrong with being my wife in name, but still see this other man?”

Jerry shook his head and sighed. “What am I going to do? I’m not as heartbroken as I should be over Fiona. She showed me her true colors, and I can’t believe I was ever that blind. But I can’t lose my home. I have to find a way to save it. No woman in her right mind would marry me the way I am. What am I going to do?”

Walt suggested prayer, to which Jerry scoffed lightly. Then he recommended a mail-order bride.

Jerry’s eyes went wide. “That might work, but could I actually force this kind of a life on even a stranger?” He shook his head and sighed.

“Just be honest on your application. Besides, you aren’t going to be in this bed forever. You said you have some feeling in your legs, and you got yourself up off the floor.”

“Yeah, I have hope, even though I don’t act like it. But just what kind of a woman would agree to this? She would have to be destitute, homely, or have defects of her own. She could be a criminal looking for her next victim.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” Walt patted him on the back and stood. “You just pray and let me see what I can do.”

Jerry lay back on his bed and looked at the ceiling. How had his life turned into such a mess? He had it all planned out so perfectly. He and Fiona had fallen in love but were too young to marry. Instead, they made a promise to always love each other and get married when they were old enough.

It was just rotten luck that he had given into his mother’s wishes and moved to Ohio for a year to help his uncle run a printing business. Fiona wasn’t happy, but she wrote sweet letters, telling him she was waiting.

The war broke out and he was forced into something he didn’t feel he had a stake in, all because he was living with his uncle at the time. He soon learned to believe in everything he was fighting for in the Union Army.

“This kind of thinking is getting me nowhere.” He pulled himself into a sitting position in the bed and began to think. He wondered if his friend, Max, could help him.

Max was the son of the family lawyer and was practicing now with his father. He and Max had grown up together and had always been good friends. Maybe he could find some way to help him.

Thankfully, Max, Walt, and the men in this area had been spared from the war because they lived out here in the far reaches of the west.

Walt was his best friend. A few years older than Jerry, he had come to work at the ranch at age fifteen. Since then, he had been promoted to foreman, and kept everything running and prosperous even when Jerry’s father died, and while he was away fighting the war.

Now, he kept an eye on what was going on as much as possible, while also playing the role of nursemaid.

Jerry chided himself for letting negative thoughts consume him again.

After supper, he would talk to Walt about inviting Max out for a conversation. Meanwhile, perhaps he would try to pray to a God he had been mad at for months.

********************

“Come on, Jerry. You can do it.” Walt prodded as he helped Jerry to his feet, hoping he could bear his own weight, if only for a few seconds. Three times every day, Walt would tirelessly work with Jerry as the doctor instructed, never giving up hope.

“What are you feeling now?” he asked as he lowered Jerry back to the bed. “Any more numbness or tingling?”

“Maybe. Yeah, a little.” Jerry wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It’s hard to believe how much effort it takes just to stand for a few seconds.”

Walt smiled. “Yeah, it may be slow, but it’s progress. You just remember that.

“Max will be here soon. I took the liberty of telling him what we were thinking about the mail order bride, and told him to be thinking of any other solution.”

“Good. I hope he has come up with something. You think you can help me to the table for our meeting?”

“Really? Are you sure? I mean, you haven’t left your room since you got home four months ago.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that’s one of my problems.”

Walt grinned. “Sure thing. I’ll get you there if I have to drag or carry you.”

Jerry chuckled and pointed to the corner of the room where blankets had been piled on top of a wheelchair. “I don’t need you breaking your back. Just bring that depressing looking thing out, and I’ll give it a try.”

Walt smiled and moved quickly. “Now I know you’re on the mend, or at least your brain is. No sense in not using anything you can to help yourself.”

Jerry thought back to the day the doctor brought the wheelchair to him. He pitched a fit and ordered it be taken from his sight, swearing never to use such a thing.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not the first time I’ve had to eat my words.”

Walt rolled the contraption toward him. “And, my friend, I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

********************

Max was a huge help and lots of fun to be with. It did Jerry’s heart good to enjoy the company of someone that treated him like a person instead of an invalid, besides the ever-faithful Walt. The conversation lasted through lunch and nearly to supper.

Max was very much in favor of a mail order bride. “I’ve looked over every detail of the will, the deed, and everything. There’s no getting around the marriage part of it.

“When Walt told me what you were thinking, I sent a telegram to some of my colleagues back east. I have some information coming in the mail, but I also got some by telegram. It was enough to let me know that this is a very likely idea. The south is standing in ruins. The women are either widows, or becoming spinsters, most of which have no way to support themselves. You should be able to find a suitable wife.”

“But, Max, I’m running out of time. If I found one today, it would take weeks to make arrangements and get her here. And what if she backs out after she sees for herself how…?” He pointed to his legs.

Max leaned forward. “There is a process called married by proxy. Someone stands in for you with her as the wedding is officiated, and someone stands in for her with you. The weddings are taking place on the same day, yet thousands of miles apart, and it’s all perfectly legal. Believe it or not, it happens all the time, for many different reasons.”

He saw the doubt lingering in Jerry’s eyes. “It’s almost like the mail order bride process, except it’s legal and binding before the couple meets. Most have an actual ceremony together once she arrives. There would be a chance for an annulment with either arrangement.

“With this option, you have a bit more time to pick a suitable wife, without worrying about her arriving here before the deadline.”

Jerry looked at Walt for his opinion.

He shrugged. “I guess it depends on if you want to keep living here, my friend.”

“Okay, Max, get the process started. But I want to make sure I’m not marrying a criminal or gold digger. Can the women be checked to make sure their applications are truthful?”

Max leaned forward. “The lawyers I’m dealing with are my friends and colleagues. They do their jobs well. I trust them, and so should you.”

He opened a folder and slid a form across the table to Jerry. “Get this filled out as soon as you can. I need to send it to them and get things started.”

“I’ll get it filled out tonight and have it to you tomorrow. I appreciate your help with this.”

“Sure. Just remember that when I need to buy a horse, I want a good price.”

Jerry chuckled. “Sure thing. I may have an old nag around here I’d be willing to sell you.”