Vivid (10 page)

"How do you justify all that's
happening in the South and Washington?"

"How does Grant justify what he
hasn't done to protect the people who elected him?" Eli asked.

Therein lay the debate. Black Republicans
were becoming increasingly disenchanted with the country's do-nothing policy
concerning the South. Many Black men had lost their lives to Democratic forces
while trying to vote in the election in 1874, yet representative Blacks such as
Douglass and Pinchback were calling on Blacks to consider voting Democratic
this time around to keep the Republicans from taking the Black vote for
granted. As far as Vivid knew, few Blacks had crossed over.

"Have dinner with me and I'll explain
my position."

"And what will your cousin say?"

"Nothing I can print."

Were it not for Nate, Vivid would have
probably agreed. She seriously doubted Eli's ability to convert her, for she
and her family were staunch Republicans. However, she always enjoyed
stimulating conversation.

"So will you have dinner with
me?"

"I'll have to speak with your cousin
first. I really don't know if I'm allowed to keep company."

"You're going to ask Nate if I can
take you to dinner?"

"He is my employer, after all. I've
no desire to be dismissed because I may have transgressed some rule."

Eli held her eyes a moment. "Well,
I'll be real interested in what Nate has to say, so let me know. In the
meantime, I'd like to do a story on you for the
Gazette.
May I stop in
next week after you're settled?"

"That would be fine." Vivid
doubted she would need permission for an interview.

He walked back to the road where he had
left his buggy, got in, and with a departing wave, headed his rig toward town.

Vivid reentered her cabin wanting to go
back to sleep, but with all she had to do today, she washed and dressed
instead. She longed to put on a pair of her trousers, but they were still with
the crates at the depot, so she settled for a shirtwaist and skirt instead. Her
first order of business was finding food. There was none in the cabin and she
didn't have utensils, either. She wondered if she'd be allowed to enlarge the
kitchen, as the space now was totally inadequate for the daughter of one of San
Francisco's premier caterers. Vivid enjoyed a good meal and, thanks to her
father, knew how to prepare one.

In the end she sat down and composed a
list of things she needed, which she planned on showing to Abigail. The woman
would certainly be able to advise her on how best to make her purchases.

A knock at the door broke her
concentration. She opened it to find Nate Grayson on the other side and
wondered if he was still angry about that morning.

"May I come in?" he asked.

She stepped back to let him enter.

"Aunt Gail says you're welcome up at
the house if you're hungry."

"That's very nice of her." Vivid
replied.

Silence fell between them and Vivid mused
on how best to bring up this morning's incident. Finally, she asked, "Mr.
Grayson, are you holding me responsible for this morning?''

Nate surveyed her a moment.
"No," he replied, though he did wonder if she realized the dangerous
potential of the situation. Those men could have easily stormed the little
cabin and harmed her. Her safety had been Nate's first concern when he awakened
to the shouts and yells of the mob. He'd rushed to his bedroom window, and upon
surveying the scene, jumped into his trousers and grabbed his rifle. To come
out and find her standing on the porch in her nightclothes, prim though they
may have been, made him wonder why on earth he'd bothered to come to her
rescue. His mood had turned even grimmer when he noticed his handsome cousin
Eli smiling down at her.

He'd calmed down after he got back to the
house once he realized he had no rational reason to be angry with her.

"Did my cousin ask you to
dinner?" he asked. Nate knew Eli would try and be among the first to court
her, and for some reason the knowledge struck in his craw like a fishbone.

"Yes, he did."

"I thought you weren't looking for a
man."

"Your cousin invited me to have
dinner, Mr. Grayson, not his children. Besides, I told him I had to ask you
first."

"And he said?"

"That you'd say no."

Nate chuckled, "He knows me
well."

"I've no desire to be a pawn in
whatever feud you two are embroiled in. If my accepting his invitation will fan
the flames, or get me tossed out on my bustle, please tell me now and I'll
decline."

"Just like that."

"Just like that."

Nate held her gaze. "Tell him it
isn't allowed."

Vivid nodded.

Her immediate acceptance surprised him.
"You aren't going to argue with me."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"You're my employer."

"And what will you tell my
cousin?"

"That you said no, just as he
predicted."

Usually when Nate and Eli weren't
embroiled in an argument, they were competing against each other. They'd been
at it since they were boys, each trying to best the other in everything from
fishing, to lacrosse, to women. Nate had effectively delivered a checkmate by
refusing to let the doctor dine with him, but somehow the victory rang
hollow—maybe because of the quiet censure in Lancaster's eyes. "You
won't argue, but I can tell by your eyes you don't agree."

Vivid shrugged. "It's not for me to
agree or disagree. You don't want me to have dinner with your cousin. So be
it."

"And you don't mind?" he asked
skeptically.

"Of course I mind, Mr. Grayson. I
found your cousin quite nice, but his invitation isn't worth arguing over. You
and I will find many more substantive issues to fight about before I serve you
your crow, so I'm picking my battles."

He gave her a brief smile. "You see
this as a series of battles?"

"I view this as a campaign of sorts,
yes."

"Don't tell me you've studied
military strategies also?"

"No. Hannibal."

"Hannibal?"

"Yes, the great general who took the
elephants over the Alps—"

"I know who Hannibal is, Lancaster,
but..." Nate found her so absolutely amazing he didn't even know what to
ask next.

"My mother has devoted her life to
studying him."

"Your mother?"

"Yes. My sisters and I grew up on the
tales of General Hannibal's bravery. Did you know it is said he tossed
cauldrons of snakes onto the decks of opponents' ships during one of his naval
battles?"

He didn't; in fact, Nate had no idea
Hannibal had ever fought on water.

"Do you want to come up to the
house?"

His abruptness caught her off guard.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Grayson, I didn't mean to bore you—"

"You weren't boring me. You just
leave me speechless at times is all."

Vivid looked up and fought to keep her
smile hidden. "Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure," he replied,
looking down into her extraordinarily lovely eyes. "But I'll let you
know."

The room suddenly became very warm, or at
least it felt that way to Vivid. She took a step back and said, "Um, just
let me get my list and I'll come have breakfast."

"What list?"

"Things I need to purchase. Food
supplies, that sort of thing. Is there a place nearby where I might purchase a
horse and wagon or buggy?"

She seemed flustered, and Nate wondered if
it was his imagination or not. "Miss Edna over at the store can probably
order you one, but I'll also check around and see if anyone has one for
sale."

"That would be fine."

After breakfast and a discussion with
Abigail, Vivid rode into town with Nate. The trek to town seemed shorter than
it had yesterday when they were delayed by the pouring rain. Today's sky was
much brighter. And with the rain gone the mugginess had disappeared also. There
was a nice breeze, and it felt good on her face.

Once in town, Nate let her off at the
store and told her he'd be back to fetch her after he conducted his business at
the mill. Vivid nodded and went inside.

"Well, hello, Dr. Lancaster,"
called the woman from behind the store's counter.

Vivid smiled in reply. She remembered her
from yesterday. "Good morning, Miss Edna."

Edna appeared to be a contemporary of
Abigail's. She had thick chestnut and gray hair coiled in braids around her
head. The beauty of her youth still showed strongly in her ivory-skinned face.
"I heard you had a few visitors this morning."

Remembering, Vivid shook her head in
amazement. "Yes, and it was quite the scene. Mr. Grayson finally cleared
everyone out. I didn't know whether to be flattered or appalled.”

"Well, it's for certain that won't be
the end. You, young woman, were put on the drum yesterday. Men as far north as
Grand Traverse Bay will be hearing about you by the end of the week. Women are
scarce out here. Perhaps not as scarce as they were when I came to Michigan in
'58, but scarce just the same. They'll hear about you and come. Some, simply
because they've never seen a female do doctoring before. Others will come
because they'll have heard how beautiful you are. I even had a few of the
Napowesipe come in this morning and ask about you."

Edna must have read the confusion on
Vivid's face because she explained, "The Napowesipe are the native people.
At one time they owned all the land in this region. Most were forced out by the
government many years ago, but a few still live nearby."

"Magic mentioned something about
SeePees yesterday, are these the people she meant?''

"Yes. Some of the children call them
SeePees; some of the adults, too, I'm sorry to say. Nate prefers they be
called Napowesipe or Neshnabek, which are their tribal names. I do, too.
Shortening their names to SeePees is as shameful as having our ancestors'
beautiful names changed to things like Toby."

Vivid saw the rightness in Edna's thinking
and made a mental note to keep her words in mind. She was about to ask whether
the Napowesipe had a doctor when Edna excused herself to help a customer who'd
just entered. Vivid nodded a greeting to the newcomer, and slowly strolled
through the store while waiting for Edna to return.

For such an isolated place, the Grayson
Grove General Store had quite a selection of goods. Vivid saw flour and spices,
bolts of material, saddles, boots, building supplies, and a shelf that held a
few out-of-town newspapers both Black and White. There were barrels of pickles
and crackers, and on another shelf cans of Mr. Van Camp's beans in tomato
sauce. "You have a well-stocked place here, Miss Edna," Vivid
remarked after the customer exited.

"Well, Nate makes sure we have
everything we need here," Edna replied proudly.

Vivid noted that the mail order catalogs
were well thumbed and nestled next to the newspapers and the penny peppermint
jar atop the counter. Above the papers Vivid spied the bottled and packaged
nostrums that claimed to cure everything from baldness to lovesickness to the flushing
away of an unwanted child. The store had quite a few varieties of the pretty
bottled potions. Vivid hoped the quantities stocked did not indicate that the
“cures'' were widely purchased in the Grove. If they were, she anticipated a
hard fight weaning her new patients away from them. Most of the powders and
syrups were harmless; some, like the packaged calomel, were dangerous. She
began to take the jars down from the shelves. Taken in large quantities, it
could harm rather than heal.

"Miss Edna, I want you to stop
selling calomel."

The woman looked at the bottles Vivid
placed on the counter and asked, "But why? Folks have been using calomel
for years."

"It's dangerous."

"Dangerous how, Dr. Lancaster?"

"Do you know anyone who uses this
regularly?"

Edna thought for a moment. "Well,
let's see. There was old man Crane who used to own the mill. He died last year.
He used calomel every three or four days for as long as I knew him, said it
kept him cleaned out, if you know what I mean."

Vivid understood. "Now, Edna, think
about this. Do you remember what condition his teeth were in when he
died?"

"I don't even have to think on that
one. He had none. Most of them fell out years ago."

"It was the calomel. When you use it
for long periods, it destroys the gums and teeth."

"Really?"

"Really."

Edna looked at the bottles again with
renewed interest. "This is one of the things they taught you in school?''

"Yes, ma'am."

Vivid could see Edna evaluating the
information. Their eyes met, and Vivid could sense the older woman was not
quite convinced. "Dr. Lancaster, I believe what you're saying is true, but
what do I tell my customers?"