Sean Donovan (The Californians, Book 3) (34 page)

When he returned to the room, he found that she was
once again readying for church. In a soft voice Sean told
her that he didn't think they should go; they needed
some time alone to talk. Sean stood helpless as she once
again erupted into tears.

He stood back for only an instant before going to her
and taking her in his arms. With gentle movements he
removed her dress and slipped her back into the nightgown she had just changed from. Charlie was still crying
into the handkerchief that Sean had pressed into her
hands when Sean lifted her and put her back beneath the
covers of the bed.

He expected her to fall back to sleep immediately, but
after some minutes, with her eyes still closed and voice
shuddering, she began to speak.

"I can't do it, Sean, I just can't do it. I can't remember
anyone's name, and I think they're offended when I
forget. My back hurts constantly. And it's almost Christmas! We don't have gifts for anyone. I'm tired all the
time. I'm so tired."

Sean listened to all of this in silence and then climbed
onto the bed beside her. He smoothed the hair away
from her wet cheek and used the handkerchief to dry her
face. She had developed a body-shaking case of the
hiccups by the time Sean's arms were back around her.

"You're frightened about a lot of things, Charlotte,
and I hate to think how long you've been keeping all of
this to yourself." His voice was compassionate and coaxing.

"I want you to be proud of me." Her voice faltered
with suppressed sobs. "I don't want to do anything to
stand in the way of our going to Hawaii."

"No man could be more proud of his wife than I am,"
he told her with tender assurance. 'And as far as Hawaii
goes, I'm glad you brought it up because I've been praying about that very subject."

Charlie shifted so she could look at Sean's face. "You've
changed your mind? You don't think I'll be a good missionary?"

"You will be a wonderful missionary," he told her with
a kiss. "But I don't think there's any hurry. Our money is
in the bank, and after Christmas I think we should find a
place of our own. That will take the pressure off as to
when we should leave. It might be two months after the
baby is born, and it might be two years. Rigg has already
asked me to work part-time for him at the mercantile, and I don't think I'll have trouble finding other employment."

"But if it weren't for me, you'd leave now?" Charlie
looked utterly despondent.

"No, my darling Charlie, I wouldn't. There is still one
person whom I haven't even been able to talk with about
all of this, and that's my father. His opinion means a lot
to me, and I need to write and ask for his counsel. Now, I
have a question for you. Are you sorry we left Visalia?"

Charlie answered immediately. "No, in fact I can see
why you talk so fondly of Santa Rosa; it's a wonderful
town. But I do miss Sadie, and my world feels turned on
end right now, and-"

She couldn't go on, but she didn't need to; Sean understood completely. They talked until Charlie yawned
expansively.

"I'm sorry I'm so tired all the time."

Sean laughed and shook his head. "You're way
too hard on yourself. When Katie was pregnant with
Gretchen, all she did was sleep. It was even worse with
Molly, since she had Gretchen to care for at the same
time." Sean kissed her softly. "Go to sleep. When you
wake up I'll make you some breakfast."

Charlie was too tired to reply, and almost before Sean
could remove his arms from around her she was asleep.

Sean took advantage of the quiet house and sat in the
living room to read his Bible. He then spent a long time
on his knees praying for Charlie. He asked God to help
her to know Him better, and to understand that God's
love for her was all-encompassing. He prayed for her
physical needs and for those of the baby.

He then went on to pray for himself, especially that he
would accept whatever future God had for him. He
asked for sensitivity to Charlie's needs, and about when
they should move on from Santa Rosa. Still very peaceful about being there, he asked God to show him in an
unmistakable way when Hawaii, or anywhere else, was
right for them.

Charlie awoke more than an hour later, and after they
ate breakfast she and Sean spent some time in prayer
before reading the newspaper.

The next morning Kaitlin took Charlie to meet Dr.
Grade, the doctor who had delivered both Gretchen and
Molly. He gave Charlie a good report on the baby's
position, as well as a clean bill of health for herself. Kate,
who was very cognizant of Charlie's fatigue, watched
her face closely when she asked if Charlie wanted to do
some Christmas shopping.

"Do you have time?"

"Sure," Kate told her easily. "Sean is playing with the
girls, Rigg is working, and Marcail is at school. I have, for
the moment, time on my hands." Katie gave a little
shrug and Charlie laughed.

The women went to Rigg's Mercantile, and Charlie
was able to cover over half of her Christmas list. The only
gift she hesitated on was a pair of black stockings for
Marcail.

"Won't she be embarrassed to open these in front of
everyone?"

Kaitlin chuckled. "Not Marc; she is quite drawn to
feminine attire. I promise you, she'll love them."

Kate knew that she still had plenty of time before her
girls would even ask about her, but after making her
purchases Charlie was flagging. Kate asked if they could
finish on another day, and Charlie was more than willing
to comply. Their conversation on the walk home was
light and carefree.

"I would have said that running a livery was the
hardest job on earth," Charlie commented. "But now
that I'm pregnant, I've changed my opinion."

"And to think," Kaitlin said with wonder in her voice,
"for a while you did both."

"Not really, Katie. Sean has been rather hennish since
I fainted on the Fourth of July."

"Well, since you're obviously not a person who will
ease up, I can see why."

Charlie knew she was right, so all she did was smile.
Kate did not miss that smile. She decided that as soon as
she was home, she would have a talk with her brother
and sister-in-law.

"How did you know we were thinking of moving?"
Charlie asked Kaitlin.

"I didn't, not for certain. But Rigg and I talked about it
last night. We both think that getting your own place is
fine, but we think you should wait until after the baby is
born."

Sean and Charlie exchanged a look. He knew Charlie
thought she was a great burden because no one let her
wash clothes or do work of any kind, but he also remembered how sick his mother had been when they first
came to San Francisco. Aunt Maureen had not let her lift
a finger. While it couldn't change the fact that she was
very ill, it did remove the weight of housework. With the
baby coming, it was doubtful that Charlie would have
another chance to receive such a rest.

"I think it's a great idea, but I know Charlie is concerned about being a burden."

Charlie gave Sean a look that told him she wished he
hadn't said that, but he was not sorry. As he hoped,
Kaitlin knew just the right thing to say.

"I can't quite describe to you, Charlie, how long we've
waited to see Sean like this. I'm not talking about physically; I'm talking about spiritually. I don't know if you'll
understand this, but it's our privilege to help you. I think
you both need nurturing right now, and the fact that we
get to reach out to you means more than I can say."

There was nothing Charlie could say to this, except
thanks, and she did. It didn't change her desire to help,
and she hoped Katie would agree, but Charlie knew she
needed to take herself off and spend some time in prayer.

She put aside her pride and was able to admit to herself
how badly she needed the rest they were offering. She
also found a verse that became very special to her in the
days to come, Philippians 4:19: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus."

Two days before Christmas Charlie sat in the living
room with Gretchen, listening to her chatter on about
people whom Charlie thought she remembered might be
her cousins. Why it was so hard to learn everyone's name
and relationship, Charlie was still not sure. To add to the
confusion, when Gretchen got excited her speech was
not as clear, and names like Cleo, Willy, Joey, Paige, and
Sutton flew at her so fast that she couldn't keep them
straight.

Marcail entered the room in time to see Charlie looking utterly bewildered. A few minutes later Gretchen
jumped down from the couch and went happily on her
way. A look of determination crossed Charlie's face. Had
Sean seen it, he would have laughed, since it usually
meant she had work for him. Marcail smiled in her sweet
way, unaware of the fact that Charlie was going to keep
her in the living room for the next hour.

"Marcail," Charlie said with quiet determination. "I
wonder if you could do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"I'd like you to start at the top and tell me the names of
the people in this family. I want to know who Sutton and Paige are, and all the others. Not just their names, but
how they're related to Sean."

Marcail smiled. Charlie looked ready to take the world
in her hands. Marcail thought she was wonderful.

"That's a pretty tall order, but I'll give it a try."

Charlie nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration.
She made herself a little more comfortable on the sofa,
and Marcail began.

"I guess the main family is the Taylors, so I'll start with
Bill and May and their kids, the oldest of whom is Rigg.
Rigg is a Riggs and not a Taylor because his father died
when he was little and May married Bill. You, of course,
know who his wife and children are." Marcail waited for
Charlie to nod and then moved on.

"Next is Jeff Taylor. His wife is Bobbie, and their children are Cleo and Sutton. Bobbie's parents are Jake and
Maryanne Bradford. Bobbie also has an older sister
named Alice. Alice and her husband have twins named
Paige and Wesley. Bobbie's brother is Troy. Troy is married to Carla, and they have a little boy named Jacob,
after his grandpa."

Charlie nodded again, this time with a little more
understanding, and Marcail continued.

"After Jeff is Gilbert. You met him two Sundays ago.
He's not married and still lives with Bill and May. After
Gil comes Nathan. Nathan's wife is Brenda and their
little guy is Willy."

"Who is Joey?"

"Oh, Joey Parker," Marcail looked almost apologetic.
"He's my age. We go to school together. He's not related
to us, but is a good friend of the family. Gretchen talks
about him because she thinks he's wonderful."

"Is there anyone who's going to be at Taylors on Christmas Day you haven't mentioned?"

Marcail thought for a moment. "Joey's dad, Mr. Parker, will be there. Not everyone will be there for the
meal, Charlotte. Some have other family in town, and
they'll just come for dessert."