The Chronicles of Harold the Healer Ch. 12

"Thank you so much!" said Billy's mother, relief radiating from her as both she and John visibly relaxed. "I'm Julie Skelton." The door opened behind them and Stella came in, quickly closing it behind her with the hand that wasn't holding an attractive pair of white low-heeled shoes.

"Two patties, please," Mark said to John, who smiled, nodded, and reached under the counter. "I'm pleased to meet you, Julie. And your master Billy. Hi, Stella," he added, eyeing her shoes and realizing that he still had the shopping bags, including the one with the clothes with which she'd started the day. She was currently wearing a blouse of a lovely shade of blue and a yellow, pleated skirt that went halfway down her shins, which she'd picked up at the Torres Tailor Shop earlier this morning. Julie gave them both the once-over with a professional eye as the shoes were transferred into a bag.

"Hmm, lovely new rings, eye-catching clothes, and I'll bet new haircuts under those hats," she said as Mark traded doubloons for patties. Stella nodded with a big smile for Mark. "You're getting married tonight?"

"Yes, we are. He proposed to me only a few hours ago, and we've already been to the Town Hall for the License. We bumped into his father and he agreed to officiate, so all we have to do is wait for the party to get started and round up some friends to participate."

"Bah!" said Billy as he saw Mark with the patties in his hands. He reached his little arms up and bounced up and down in his stroller. "Bah! Bah!"

"I think he's hungry," Mark interpreted, handing one to Stella. "Julie, is it OK if I give him some of this? I don't know what kids his age eat."

"I count myself fortunate that this creature will eat anything that's put in front of him, as well as other things that he isn't supposed to be eating." Billy ignored his mother as Mark broke off a small piece of his patty that he judged wouldn't make him choke and gave it to him and it was instantly stuffed in his mouth. "He hasn't eaten anything since this morning because he was sick," she added. "One for me please, or he'll eat Mark's and leave him nothing."

"It's always good to know that one's work is appreciated," said John with a smile, managing another exchange of a doubloon for a patty. "I'm glad that Janet is working on some more in the back. It's an excellent recipe that she worked out," he added loudly over his shoulder for her to hear.

"You keep selling them, I'll keep making them," she called back.

"We should be going," said Mark as Julie assumed feeding duty. "I'm glad that I was able to help."

"I am so grateful. How can I pay you back?"

"Pay it forward. That's what the professors tell us. Good deeds have a ripple effect that can come back to you in surprising ways," he said, clearly imitating a professor and getting smiles for it. "Maybe now we can go home for a nap before the party?" he added hopefully as they returned outside and began devouring the ground beef concoction that was enclosed in a flaky pastry. They were gone before they'd even reached the General Store and he Cleaned their hands after every last morsel of spicy goodness had been licked off.

"It's a good thing they aren't next to the bakery, or I'd never make it home," she said. Mark, remembering his father's antics, mimed his stomach expanding and waddling a few steps, his odd blue eyes with hints of green locked on her brown eyes. "You silly man!" There was another of her smiles, the ones he lived for. "Going home is a good idea. It's only midafternoon and I've got all that I need for tonight."

"And I've got all that I need for tonight," he replied, moving in for a kiss, but then thinking better of it. "Better save the kisses for when we aren't downtown," he added dryly. "And let's stay on this side of the street until we're past the Park. I don't want to get tangled up with those Army recruiters."

"Yeah," Stella agreed as they started moving more energetically through the other people on the sidewalk. "That Sergeant-Major was looking at me the way I look at a horse I'm supposed to be shoeing. Your Dad has met a lot of interesting people." Mark shook his head.

"He's always been moving around, never staying in one place for long. I've always wondered why anybody would want to live that sort of life, not wanting to get attached to anything."

"If you don't get attached to anything, you can't lose it," Stella said softly. "That doll he had this morning is a clue, isn't it?"

"Something much older than that that should have stayed in its box," Mark quoted. "He was really upset this morning when he met us. I don't know if you could feel it, but it was coming at me like heat from the forge. He has lost people who were very close to him, and the pain has never left him."

"I could feel it a little bit," she remembered. "That's probably why I was feeling upset when we first met him, though it cooled off once, um, Magda I think she was, came up and distracted him."

"Psychological injuries are very hard to treat, and I'm sure he's had some help," said Mark thoughtfully as they were passing the small green oasis in front of the Dewdrop Inn. "He has told us that he was drifting for most of his life until he'd met Leila, and at last he had an anchor to keep him stable. Stability, security, and love are important for the healing process."

"Oh, the clinic is closed," Stella observed. There was a sign in the window of Turner's Veterinary Clinic that said 'Closed for the Solstice. Back tomorrow morning'. "Business must have been slow with only that dog with leukemia that he cured." Across the street in the Central Park, it looked like the Army recruiters were taking a break under the pavilion that they had erected first thing in the morning. It had gotten quite warm, though there were also more and larger puffy cumulus clouds to cast welcome, but intermittent, shade. The river that everyone called the Magwitch River was the southern boundary of the town and of the Central Park, and crossing the bridge always seemed like entering a different world.

"It isn't summer until the cicadas start to sing," said Stella as they walked slowly, arms around each other's waists, towards her family's house, which was about a half mile from the river and between ten and fifteen minutes on foot if one was feeling energetic. They were in no hurry, enjoying the sights, smells, and sounds of the country. The sporadic loud buzzes of the cicadas meshed with the more frequent rustling of the much-appreciated breezes through the trees and the corn growing in the fields.

"So, what's troubling you?" he asked as they neared the long, shady driveway on the east side of the road that led to her family's home. He had told her that Mages could feel the emotional state of other Mages as part of their natural connections, but they could also connect with non-Mages who were close to them, and she had always found it a bit disconcerting. The connection was two-way, though, and she could feel that he was feeling happy and totally in love with her. She felt a bit apprehensive, but decided that since she couldn't hide her feelings from him, she might as well say it.

"Mark, I want to have children. Your children. Grandma calls it the 'woman's dilemma', deciding when to take time to have children and raise a family while trying to keep her career going somehow. You've got seven years to go before you're done school, and a lot of that time will have to be in The Capital, and I have more years of study before I can get my Blacksmith Certification, but my body wants a baby now. I think it's why I ruined you, and everyone else in the house, this morning." They were just past the mouth of the driveway, under a tall maple tree that whispered words of comfort from the wind. The shopping bags were on the ground, along with their hats that had gotten knocked off when they had come together in a fierce, loving embrace that had nothing between them but their clothes.

"A child conceived tonight would be due around the Vernal Equinox," Mark murmured as he stroked her hair with his left hand. "Born on a day of transition."

"One of them would have to stay home and help with the family business," Stella replied, brushing a tear from under his right eye. "Probably the girl, it always seems to be the girls in this family."

"One of them?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow as their lips met and tongues invaded each other's mouths and they closed their eyes and enjoyed all the sensations of loving closeness.

"I will curse your name as I push them out of me. I will have them with me to remind me of you when you are away, and when you are home, it will be you changing the loaded diapers!"

"I will Clean them with an ease born of long practice," he said smoothly. "Hey!"

"I thought that I felt something hard poking me," she purred, having reached down to squeeze the glowing bulge in his pants. "I didn't think that you'd be ready so soon after I ruined you."

"I don't think that I have a single drop of sperm left in me after what you did to me this morning," he replied, squeezing her very firm ass in return. "But even out here, in sight of your house and the road, there are standards of decency to maintain." He teased her with another kiss. "And I don't know about you, but right now, you're the only thing keeping me upright."

"And I could use a nap, or a siesta as your Dad says the Carcosans call it," Stella admitted grudgingly. "Coffee can't fix this level of tired." Bending over to pick up their hats and the shopping bags was easy, Mark found, but standing up again needed some help from Stella. Arms around each other's waists, they managed to make it up the driveway to the backyard, from where they could see smoke coming from the smithy's chimney and they could hear someone at work.

"Ladies first," Mark said gallantly, indicating the privy. Having made use of it, they made their way past the closed door of her grandparents' room, closed their room's door, somehow managed to undress without falling down, and finally got into bed. "See you soon," he said, giving her a gentle kiss, but she was already asleep and moments later so was he.

-=-=-=-=-=

Leila Parsons was a Woman on a Mission. Said mission involved the procurement of provisions required to supply food to the twenty child-sized locusts who would be attending Marcie's birthday party in a few hours, as well as a husband-sized locust who seemed to be busier than usual today and really needing the sustenance, and of course herself. The other guests would be bringing things to help load the tables, but as the host she felt obliged to provide the main course, which would be ham and cheese sandwiches lightly grilled in garlic butter, a dish that she knew from previous parties would be expected and devoured. Potatoes sliced in thin sticks with her slicing gadget that looked like a grate and fried in a little oil, and carrot sticks to provide at least some nutrition would round it out.

"Cheese, carrots, garlic butter, and potatoes from the General Store and three loaves of bread from the bakery," she repeated to herself to try to clear her mind after the incident with the raven. She had never seen Harold at work in a crisis situation before and had been surprised at how quickly he had acted, diagnosed and fixed Joshua's broken clavicle. She had heard stories of other incidents he'd been involved in, including when they'd first met almost thirteen years ago when he 'just happened' to be in the area when Timmy Witherspoon had fallen from an apple tree and broken his left leg. Half of his work in Carcosa had been fixing broken bones, he'd told her on a number of occasions, and she had seen that he knew his business.

"Hello, Healer Leila," Mark Acorn greeted her as she entered the General Store, where he had been stocking a shelf nearby. He was about six-foot-two, strongly built from his years of heaving things around in the store, and had short black hair that was receding up his forehead. His deep, clear voice and genial manner had had the Director of the Town Choir make him an offer that he couldn't refuse. He was also one of the regulars who came by her house on Sunday mornings to practice with the staff, and his competence had greatly increased under Harold's tutelage. "There was apparently some activity further up the street a few minutes ago. Do you know what happened?"

"What makes you think that I'd know?" she asked dryly, making for the bin with carrots in it. She rolled her eyes and sighed as he grinned at her. She had a long-standing reputation of being in the right place at the right time when something that involved injury or sudden illness happened, which she was sure was mostly due to the Goddess, and Harold was quickly acquiring this reputation as well. "A raven essentially murdered Frank Mellon, causing someone else to be injured as collateral damage, and Harold and I had to do some quick Healing on him." She explained the events to Mark and the other people in the store, who were always ready to hear gossip, and there were murmurs of surprise when she repeated Harold's advice to 'Always, always respect the ravens.'

"There's never a dull moment when you're around, Healer Leila," said someone.

"I have a birthday party for Marcie to prepare for. No dull moments in that, believe me, especially with Harold there to add his own special brand of chaos." She suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "Mark, do you have nineteen bamboo garden stakes? Harold is going to lead the kids in the First Form as part of the party and we need something for them to work with. He'll be coming by to get them a little later." Mark smiled again and nodded.

"Yes, we just got a big bundle of them yesterday, in fact," he replied. "An interesting coincidence. There should be no problem for him to get what he needs. I hope that he makes a few converts."

"We'll see what happens," Leila replied with a grin. She asked for and got a price for them, which wasn't much because bamboo was easy to come by. Too easy, as those who grew it for revenue told her because once it was established it was next to impossible to get rid of and hard to keep from spreading. "Thanks." She paid for her carrots, potatoes, garlic butter, and cheese, left the store and looked around. She was beginning to feel the aftereffects of the Magic that she'd had to use on no notice, which did not bode well for the necessary visit to the bakery. The glass case with its sinful temptations would be that much harder to resist with post-Magic hunger starting to gnaw at her insides. Fortunately, salvation in the form of beef patties was only a few doors away.

"Healer Leila, there you are," said Julie Skelton, who was outside the shop brushing crumbs of meat patty from her son Billy's clothes and wiping his face while he was drinking water from a sipping cup. "I was going to try to track you down because Billy had an ear infection, but that wonderful young man Mark fixed him right up. Oh, and he and Stella have rings on their fingers now." Leila's eyebrows elevated.

"Then they'll be getting married tonight," Leila replied with a happy smile and Julie nodded. "I was wondering what was taking them so long." Julie flipped the stroller's sun shade into position and rescued the sipping cup as Billy's bright blue eyes started to close.

"I think that I need a nap more than he does," she added, visibly drooping. "I'd better get started now so I can get home and rest. I don't want to miss the fun tonight."

"I have to get things ready for Marcie's birthday party, so no rest for me," sighed the Healer. "Maybe if I'm quick and can get out of the bakery without devouring that evil display case of theirs, I can sneak in a few minutes."

"Good luck with that," Julie replied dryly, heading south on the sidewalk with a friendly wave.

"Hello, Healer Leila," Janet Mulgrew greeted her as she slipped in through the front door. One look at the Healer had her reaching under the counter to get a meat patty without being asked and the required doubloon was already on the counter by the time she was standing up.

"I have to go to the bakery for some bread for Marcie's party tonight, and after having to hastily Heal someone I am vulnerable to their sinful delights," Leila explained between rather unladylike bites. "And yours," she added with a half-hearted scowl. Janet managed to keep her expression blank, but her green eyes twinkled.

"Meat patties and pies do have some nutritional value," she said innocently.

"Even as they clog my arteries with their deliciousness." The butcher was now grinning at her. "Well, thank you for this one. I honestly don't understand why I get up to see the sunrise when I know there is so much to do without time for a nap."

"John's taking a snooze right now. Not to rub it in or anything."

"I'm leaving now. If I survive, maybe I'll see you tonight." Leila picked up her bags and left with as much dignity as possible given that she'd just scarfed down a patty in half the usual time.

It was now well into the middle of the afternoon, and to judge by the lessening of the traffic, both on the road and the sidewalks, a lot of people must be taking a rest, Leila thought as she scuttled across Main Street without having to risk her neck. Just why in tarnation did Marcie have to be born on the Solstice? "It really is the longest day of the year," she muttered as she made her way into Cartwright's.

"Healer Leila, I'm so glad that you're here!" It was Anna, one of the bakers who worked in the back and didn't normally do front desk. She was five-foot-ten and her long, blonde hair was tied up in a braid that was wrapped under a hair net. She was in her early twenties and still had the fresh-faced innocence of youth, but Leila knew that there was intelligence behind those dark brown eyes and a dedication to the craft that was also reflected in her muscular arms and shoulders.

"I hope that doesn't mean that you have some sort of injury that needs Healing," she replied, steadfastly looking at Anna's face and not at the display case, or her nicely filled-out but modestly cut working blouse behind the standard white apron that had been carefully embroidered around its edges.

"Oh, nothing like that," she replied airily, immediately arousing Leila's suspicion. She'd heard that tone far too often from both Harold and Marcie to know that it was anything but innocent. "Let me get one for you." She hustled to the back, opened a box of some sort, removed something, closed the box, and returned to the front. "This is something I've been working on, something new to add to the display case." It was a round, soft, dark brown cookie about the size of Leila's palm that had a yellow disk with little rays coming out from it, two little black eyes and a smiling mouth. All of the decorations were in a hard frosting so that they wouldn't stick to each other when piled up. Her stomach growled and she found herself reaching for the cookie without realizing it. Surrendering to the inevitable, she took a bite.

"I did not think that it was possible, but you are even more evil than Carlos and Wanda!" Her exclamation was rather muffled by the cookie in her mouth. The cookie itself was gingerbread and the frosting had just the right amount of lemon in it to balance the sweetness of it and the cookie. "Here I am again, easily throwing away the need for dignity for the need for food," she thought to herself as the rest of the cookie was shamelessly devoured. Anna's giggle made it clear that her appreciation had not gone unnoticed. "You could bring a cartload of these things to the party tonight and sell every one of them!"

"I'm sure they'd be a great addition to Marcie's birthday party," the baker said, actually batting her eyelashes at her. "Maybe a dozen?"

"I just had a beef patty across the street, thinking that would be enough to fend off the temptations, but oh, how wrong I was," Leila growled. Her glower had no effect, of course. "Fine, please give me a dozen of these diet killers, and three loaves of bread, if you have them. No need to wrap them up, they'll be for my grilled cheese sandwiches for the locusts tonight."