Heaven's Gate Bridge thirty-five

Heaven’s Gate Bridge thirty-five

Frances listened to the sounds in and around the house. She heard the sound of the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway, the limb of a tree tapping the roof as a gentle wind blew and birds chirping. Farther in the distance she heard the whistle of the train as it was coming into town and the barking of a dog two houses down. Everything seemed normal. She then felt sorry for Harriet who had lost some of this ability to hear the world in which she lived.

She looked at the clock and saw that Mrs. Noonan should be arriving in about two hours. It was nice to have another lady to help and talk to. She promised herself that she would not try to pry into Mrs. Noonan’s private life because she felt that the lady had troubles that should be kept within the family. No family was perfect and something that might be awkward to her might be totally embarrassing to Mrs. Noonan.

Frances still felt a little weak from her illness. She also knew that being pregnant was a condition that would double her weakness. From time to time the baby would be so active that Frances had to hold on to something or quickly find a place to sit down so she could focus on letting the activity pass. This particular pregnancy was filled with more nausea and tiredness than any before. She was wondering if the reason was due to the fact that she was older now.

Frances began to try to go upstairs when everything seemed to spin. She held onto the railing for support and when the spinning and some small pain began to wane, she went to the chair that was next to the table that had the phone on it. She felt that she was trying to vomit but since she had not eaten her snack, she just sat with two to three hard retches and then everything seemed to recede. Her head still spun a little. She did not want to try to stand because she felt that she might start to vomit again or fall. She felt that she could not even reach to pick up the receiver of the phone. The her heart started to speed up and she felt very dizzy. A small moan began in her throat and she saw a few spots. Then she passed out.

When she opened her eyes, Mrs. Noonan was standing at her side and calling her name.

“Mrs. Miller! Oh please God! Let her be alright!” said the frantic lady.

Frances opened her eyes and her head rolled around a few times before she could say a word.

“Call the Doctor. His number is in the blue book in that desk.” she said as she pointed to the desk across the room.

“I called Mr. Miller. He gave me Doctor Carson’s number and both are on their way here now. Oh I am so glad that I came in early. Just sit still. What happened?”

“I don’t know. I got dizzy and then my heart,” she said as she seemed to lose strength to talk. Her hand rose to her chest to put her palm on the place that was beating hard.

Mr. Miller came in about five minutes. His car’s screech of tires on the street was very audible. There was a slam of the door and footsteps that came to the house door. He opened the door and raced into the living room to his wife’s side.

“Oh God! Frances my dear Frances, are you alright?” he said as he was panting and trying to get the whole sentence out in one breath. He picked up her hand and held it gently in both of his big strong hands.

“She’s better now Mr. Miller. When I got here the door was unlocked and I came in. There she was. I hope that the doctor comes soon.” responded Mrs. Noonan. She went to the window to see if she could see the doctor coming. There was one car that had just turned the corner and headed their way.

Frances opened her eyes and looked at her husband. A small smile began. Her hand gripped her husband’s hand a little tighter.

“Oh darling, I am so glad you are here.” She began to have a few tears well up in her eyes. “I couldn’t lift the telephone. I started feeling bad and oh, I just don’t want to lose this baby.” The tears then came down her creamy white cheeks. She sniffed a couple of times.

“Frances. You both are important. I love you and the baby. And I know that when the doctor gets here everything will be alright. Dearest, please just stay there and try to calm down.” said Mr. Miller with a choke in his throat.

Mrs. Noonan rushed to get a handkerchief for Mrs. Miller. Then she went to the kitchen to get a wet towel to press on her forehead. After she left the room, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” ordered Mr. Miller in a loud voice.

In walked the Burgoynes who stood in the doorway with surprised look on their faces.

“Oh my goodness. Mrs. Miller are you alright?”

“Who are you?” asked Mr. Miller.

“We are related to Mrs. Stiller. We picked up a key to see her house. But this is not a good time to talk, we will put the key on the table and leave. “ replied Mr. Burgoyne.

“Yes we see Mrs. Miller must be ill. We will come back tomorrow. We are at the hotel near the shops. We hope that she gets feeling better.” added Mrs. Burgoyne.

“Thank you. We can talk later.”

The couple left just as Dr. Carson was at the door. He immediately hurried into the living room with his bag. He put down his bag and lifted Mrs. Miller’s hand to take her pulse.

“Doctor, is she going to be alright?” pleaded Mr. Miller.

“I would like to take her upstairs to check her out but I think that the exertion might do more harm. If you will leave the room, I’ll just listen to her heart and check her out. “ said Dr. Carson as he removed his coat and opened he bag. He removed the stethoscope, tongue depressor and a thermometer and put them on the scarf of the table.

Mrs. Noonan closed the curtains to the windows and turned on extra light. She was about to leave when the doctor turned to ask her a question.

“I am sorry but I do not know your name. I need another lady present when I examine a female patient. Would you be so kind as to remain?”

“Oh. I will. And my name is Mrs. Irene Noonan. I am here to help occasionally.” she replied.

“I am Dr. Carson and this was a good day for you to be here. Mrs. Miller needed her guardian angel and it looks like you were it.”

Mrs. Noonan was a very religious person and to be called a guardian angel was a big compliment indeed.