Melinda and the Wild West (23 page)

When Martha saw the white raised blotches
all over her face, she recognized it at once. “Stinging nettle,”
she exclaimed. “Melinda, what did you do? Lay down right in the
middle of stinging nettle? You poor girl. Let me fix you up. Go
upstairs and take off your clothes so I can wash them. I will be
right up to take care of you, my poor dear. I’m so sorry. And your
wedding is tomorrow. Oh my, what a sight you will be. Sometimes
people itch for a few hours, but I itched for twenty-four hours
straight because I have sensitive skin. I suspect you will be the
same, Melinda. Your skin is so fair and sensitive. You may be
itching as you say the words ‘I do’ tomorrow.”

Melinda moaned. She was in pain as she walked
upstairs to her bedroom. Tears welled up in her eyes and her chest
was heavy with emotion. As she looked in the mirror, she saw white
itchy bumps all over her skin and her face was a sight. She groaned
in despair as she rubbed her itchy arms. How could this happen to
her on the eve of her wedding day, of all days? She sobbed as she
looked at herself in the mirror. She just had to postpone it. There
was no way she was going to look like this on the most important
day of her life.

After undressing and putting on her
cream-colored nightgown, she sat on the bed as Aunt Martha
proceeded to rub a mixture of baking soda and water all over her
skin to relieve the itching. “I wish I had witch hazel, but this
will have to do. This will soothe the itching but it won’t make it
go away. I’m sorry, dear.”

After Martha finished, Melinda looked like a
white splotchy mess. When she stood and looked in the mirror, she
moaned. Her stomach twisted into knots and she told Martha, “You
need to call on Gilbert. Tell him I’m putting off the wedding until
next week.”

“But Melinda, what if you get better
tonight?”

“What if I don’t? I can’t cancel at the last
minute. That wouldn’t be fair to Gilbert.”

Aunt Martha could see that Melinda would not
listen to reason. She sighed, “All right, dear. I’ll ride out to
his place and explain to him.”

When Martha returned home, Gilbert had come
along with her on his horse. Martha led the way to Melinda’s
bedroom door and then left him to talk to her. Gilbert very gently
knocked on her door.

“Melinda, it’s me, Gilbert. May I come in
and talk to you?”

Melinda gasped. “No, no. Go away, Gilbert.
Please don’t come in.”

“But I need to talk to you.”

“I can’t let you see me like this, Gilbert. I
look terrible.” Melinda began to cry and between sobs, she
explained, “I’m ugly. I have white bumps all over my face and arms
and hands. I have white goop all over me and I still itch.” She
took a shaky breath. “Please go away, Gilbert.”

“But Melinda, I love you no matter what you
look like. Please, let me come in so we can talk.”

“Go away, Gilbert.” This time her voice was
firm.

“Melinda, I don’t care what you look like.
I’m in love with the Melinda that is inside of you. The outside
doesn’t matter. I would love you no matter what you looked
like.”

“Go away, Gilbert.”

“Please, Melinda, let me come in.”

“No, Gilbert. Go away.”

He listened to her as she burst into tears
and began sobbing once again. Gilbert knew her stubborn nature and
he knew he could not coax her into doing something that was
uncomfortable. But he was just as stubborn as she was and he would
not leave. He knew she was weeping and he knew she was sad and
depressed. Leaving her in this state of mind and in her misery was
not what he wanted to do. He had to let her know, in no uncertain
terms, that he had undying and unconditional love for her. But
how?

Immediately he thought of Thomas Moore.
“Melinda, I’m not leaving. I’m going downstairs and I’m coming
right back.”

Martha was in the kitchen when Gilbert entered.
She looked at him with questioning eyes but he just asked her for a
paper and ink and then sat down at the table to write her a love
note. As he wrote, he poured his heart out to her the best way he
could. He was not a romantic kind of person. He definitely was not
a Thomas Moore and he knew it, but he did the best he could. This
time he would not compare her to a bull as he did at the terminal,
but to a delicate flower.

A SPECIAL FLOWER

Each flower has a different scent,

Color, shape, and beauty of its own,

And so does each friendship in my life.

As I nurture and care for each flower,

My love begins to grow.

Each flower becomes a part of me

And I know that my life is happier.

But there is one special flower

That brings me great joy.

I love its color, shape, and scent.

This flower makes me smile.

This lovely flower makes me laugh.

She gives me reason to live.

You are my joy and my life.

Then Gilbert wrote beneath his message,
“Melinda, the wish of my heart is to hold you in my arms and
comfort you when you are sad, lonely, and depressed. May I have my
wish?”

After folding the note, he marched upstairs and
tapped at the door. Then he slid the note under it. He watched as
the edge of the note disappeared from sight. Then Gilbert waited
and waited. He paced the hall back and forth. The minutes that
followed seemed like hours, and still he waited. After a while, he
began to think he would have to ask for a pillow and blanket so he
could stay overnight. He could not desert her at the lowest time of
her life.

Then Gilbert heard footsteps approach the
bedroom door and he turned toward the sound. His heart fluttered as
he waited, wondering if she had softened and would allow him to
talk to her. As he watched the door open slowly, Melinda stood in
her cream-colored nightgown and robe with her eyelids lowered. Her
dark auburn hair was brushed out and hanging gracefully about her
shoulders and her face looked like a white blotchy mess. White
patches were all over her face, neck, and hands, and she stood
still as if she were ashamed. When she raised her eyelids, he could
see that her eyes had a forlorn and unhappy look and he knew she
felt embarrassed.

Gilbert’s heart went out to her and he
immediately enfolded her in his arms and said, “Oh, Melinda. How
could you ever doubt my feelings for you? You’re beautiful to me no
matter what you look like.”

Then all was silent except for a few sobs
that were muffled by Gilbert’s shoulder. He held her lovingly in
his arms as he stroked her silky hair with his hand and tenderly
rubbed her back. The feelings he had for this woman were deep. In
fact, there seemed to be no words that could adequately describe
his feelings for her.

As the wetness of her tears soaked through his
shirt, he felt her anguish. “Oh, Melinda, I love you. You’re the
only woman meant for me. I know this. If I traveled across the
universe searching for a mate, I wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone
but you.” Then he realized that Melinda’s happiness was more
important to him than anything else. He could not coax her into
marrying him when she felt so embarrassed.

He cleared his throat and said tenderly, “Melinda,
if you want to wait until next week to get married, I’ll wait for
you… as long as it takes.”

Gilbert held her tightly against his chest
and snuggled his face into her neck. After a few seconds, he
commented, “Hmmm, you smell like soda.”

Gilbert pressed his lips against her neck
and gave her a couple of tender kisses. “Mmm, you taste like
soda.”

Once again he sampled her neck a few more
times, nibbling as he went, until Melinda squirmed and giggled.
Quickly, she pulled away from his arms and lifted her shoulder
upward so she could protect her neck.

“Stop, Gilbert. That tickles. I’m getting
goose bumps.”

He chuckled and said with a twinkle in his
eyes and a mischievous grin, “Melinda, I’ve got an idea. How about
if we mix cinnamon and sugar with the soda mixture and smear it all
over your face and neck? Then I’ll sample it to see how it tastes.”
He licked his lips. “Mmmm, what do you think?” Then he wiggled his
eyebrows mischievously.

Melinda burst into a fit of laughter while
Gilbert grinned from ear to ear as he watched her laugh.

Then she narrowed her eyes and asked,
“Gilbert, are you trying to make me forget my troubles?”

“Is it working?” He winked at her
teasingly.

“Yes.”

“Then in that case, I admit that I am.”

“You mean to tell me that if it hadn’t
worked, you would have denied it?”

“Probably so, Melinda. I hate to admit to
failure.”

Melinda burst into another fit of laughter as she
wrapped her arms around Gilbert’s chest and leaned her head against
his shoulder. As she laughed, Gilbert wrapped his arms around her
waist and chuckled. He slid his fingers through her silky auburn
hair and smiled. His plan had worked and she was happy once
again.

When Aunt Martha came to the door of her
room, she heard Melinda laughing and asked, “Well? What do you say,
Melinda? You would disappoint more people than Gilbert if you
cancel, you know.”

Gilbert pulled back and looked into
Melinda’s eyes lovingly and said, “You know how I feel, Melinda. I
hate to wait, but whatever you choose is all right with me. I don’t
want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Melinda’s heart was healed and she nodded
her white blotchy head and sent Gilbert on his way. She would not
put off their marriage after all.

The day of their wedding, Gilbert stood
straight and tall and happiness filled his soul as he watched
Melinda enter the room to be his wife for eternity. Even though he
was six-feet-two inches tall, he felt taller that day.

Gilbert took her soft warm hand in his. As they
looked at one another, Gilbert seemed to hold her eyes with his
compelling gaze and the message he communicated was one of devotion
and adoring love.

Melinda still had small patches of white bumps
on her face and hands, but she smiled at Gilbert as she said those
magical words, “I do.”

Jenny’s experience with her former teacher
when she was placed behind the bookshelves and the “saying” that
her new teacher wrote on the board were taken from an actual
experience. The children giggled at the statement, but learned what
I was trying to teach them. This experience stayed with me so
powerfully that I included it in my novel.

Jenny’s fishing experience and walking with pans
tied to her feet were taken from true experiences of my daughter,
Felicia. As a child, she was such a cute little thing, and she
still is.

Mark’s skunk oil experience was taken from my
father, Marcus Gilbert Weaver. He had taken the skunk oil to school
with him in the early 1920s. The school had to be abandoned for the
day until it was aired out and he received no punishment
afterwards. He said the children considered him a hero for getting
them out of school.

The bank robbery incident
by Butch Cassidy was a true experience that occurred in Montpelier,
Idaho, in 1896, and is told by local Bear Lake Historian Pat Wilde
in his book
Treasured Tidbits of
Time
. I used every detail of the robbery
in my novel. Butch Cassidy referred to himself as the “Robin Hood
of the West.” He believed this and actually wrote, “The best way to
hurt them is through their pocket book. They will holler louder
than if you cut off both legs. I steal their money just to hear
them holler. Then I pass it out among those who really need it.”
(Taken from
History of Butch Cassidy,
LeRoy Parker,
from www.Utah.com.) Every
year, Montpelier puts on a reenactment of the robbery for the
public.

The Ice Palace was real and it was just as I
described. People from all over the country traveled to the Ice
Palace to see this magnificent sight. It melted in March of
1896.

There are several springs that come out of
the Rocky Mountains in Cache Valley. When I was young, my father
would take us to the Willow Flat Springs, not too far from Bear
Lake Valley, and he would call it “The Source of the Nile.” He made
sure we took cups with us so we could drink from the pure spring
water that poured out of the mountain and I remember how delicious
it was. When I took my sixteen-year-old daughter, Diana, to this
source, there was a nest of white butterflies near the opening
where the water was pouring out. When we sat down on a rock to
watch them, she extended her finger and one butterfly after another
alighted on her finger. She was so delighted and it was an
experience that we never forgot.

***

This novel is one of five, A Family Saga in
Bear Lake, Idaho:
M
elin
d
a
a
n
d
t
h
e
W
i
l
d
W
e
s
t
–
a semi-finalist for the Reviewers Choice Award,
E
d
i
t
h
a
n
d
t
h
e
M
y
s
te
r
i
o
us
Str
a
n
g
e
r
,
J
en
n
y’s
D
r
ea
m
,
Sarah’s Special Gift,
and
E
l
en
a
,
W
o
ma
n
o
f
C
o
ur
a
g
e
. Each story in
this family saga has adventure, romance, and courage. Intertwining
fact and fiction, these novels have a blend of intriguing
characters and true experiences.