Heaven's Gate Bridge thirty-nine

Heaven’s Gate Bridge thirty-nine

Mr. Miller put the groceries on the table and ran over to his wife to help her get settled on the couch. Billy was standing in the middle of the room and listening to his mother half talk and half cry when she tried to talk to him.

“William Ashton Noonan what in the world has happened to you?”

“Mother, it’s nothing. I just had a bad accident on the bicycle.” he said and then winced as his mother put a new wet rag to his face to clean it up.”

“If I am a judge in faces, I think that you had no accident. You were in a fight. I want to know the story but I think that it is best that you tell me and your father at home.” she said.

The Miller children nodded at each other. They believed that they had another piece of the puzzle of the mystery that they had been thinking about.

“Mrs. Noonan do you think that we need to call Dr. Carson to come back and look at Billy.” asked Mrs. Miller.

“Oh that is so nice of you Mrs. Miller, but I really think that we need to go home. I am sorry to leave but the children will help. I already have the meat on the stove. The vegetables need to be cleaned and cut up. The spices can be added in an hour and then you can eat. “

“Of course Mrs. Noonan. Would you like some extra money for the fair to get home?” asked Mr. Miller.

“Not thank you. I have enough money. I am so sorry but William must talk to his father. I will come in tomorrow to make up for anything that I did not finish today.” she said as she went to the chair to pick up her purse.

Mr. Miller pointed to the kitchen as a sign for the children to leave the room. He then leaned over and whispered something into Frances’ ear. She looked back at him and nodded.

“Mrs. Noonan, since you were here when Frances had her fainting spell, I would be happy to let you come the day after tomorrow. It seems that Billy, I mean William might need you more.” he said.

Mrs. Noonan walked to the kitchen to put the rags in the sink. She told the children good-bye and then returned to the living room. Billy had walked outside to shake more of the dust and grass off of his clothes. Mr. Miller was there with Billy.

“Hm. Now Billy, I want you to be careful in the future. Leave the bicycle here. It looks like there is a problem with the chain and we will fix it for you. You can pick it up later.”

Billy winced as Mr. Miller patted him on the shoulder. He looked up at Mr. Miller and gave a small smile. He followed his mother down the steps but turned quickly to mouth the words, “Thank you.”

In the kitchen the children were looking at the items in the bag that their father had put down. The found the candy pieces, but knew that they were not allowed to eat them unless their father had given it to them.

“You boys put the vegetables on one side of the table the table while we get out the dishes and utensils.” ordered Catherine in her official voice.

The boys put potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and celery on the table. William got the brush out to clean the vegetables. He knew that his mother always washed the vegetables before they were peeled and cut up. He did not mind helping in times of emergencies, but would keep out of the kitchen when the excitement calmed down. As his father said that a kitchen was a woman’s place. Men were the bread earners of the family.

The Catherine got down the bowls, glasses and spoons. Harriet found the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and
thyme. The girls seemed to be looking over the rest of the pantry to determine if they should start a new list of items for the next time someone shopped. They knew that their mother knew what she had exactly. At this time, she would not be in the kitchen much.

In a few minutes a faint odor of the beef stew was filling the kitchen. The girls were showing the boys how to use a peeler on the potatoes. William’s potato slipped out of his hands and slid across the floor. The children laughed as he put the peeler down and stood looking resigned to the fact that potatoes were harder to peel than he first thought.

Mr. Miller came into the kitchen and looked with surprise at the dinner preparations that his children had accomplished. He smiled for the first time today.

“Dear, you will not believe what our children have done.” he said as he leaned through the doorway.

“Do they need help? I think that I can come to the kitchen and do something.” was the reply from the living room.

“Oh please stay there. But for once, I can say that this is a real family meal. If what I see is any indication, our brood is a great group of little cooks. “

The girls smiled and continued their measuring of the spices. The boys looked at each other and shook their heads. If this report got back to the other boys at school, then they might be teased about cooking for a long time. But deep inside both boys felt a sense of pride.

Buddy scratched the back door to be let in and fed. His little nose sniffed at the good smells in the kitchen. William took a small piece of meat that he had saved to give Buddy a treat. Buddy tried to stand up on his hind legs to get the meat. When William saw that Buddy had tried, he gave the piece to the dog. Buddy’s dinner would be coming soon.

“Oh William, while you are out there, please get Billy’s bicycle from the front and put it in the shed. I told Billy that we would look at it and fix the chain and anything that is broken.”said Mr. Miller from the hallway.

William found the bicycle and put it where he was told. He imagined that right now, Billy was in a little hot water himself for fighting. He had hoped that Billy would not be in too much trouble, but some parents disciplined their children differently than theirs did. Billy had hinted that his father was not exactly a saint when he had been drinking whiskey with the other men at the bar.