Chapter Thirty-Seven
As promised, Andrew and Eleanor returned to the store three days later so Jacob could check his nephew’s wound. In the back office again, his stomach clenched as he unwound the bandage from Andrew’s hand. Eleanor’s soft hand landed on his shoulder.
“He’s not had much pain,” she said. “Only that first night.”
“And only when I try to grab something with this hand out of habit,” Andrew added.
Jacob nodded. His stomach relaxed a bit, but he still closed his eyes as he unwound the last bit of bandage from Andrew’s palm. His heart pounding, he took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and peered at Andrew’s hand. The line of neat, even stitches winked up at him. The flesh around them was a healthy pink. Jacob sank into a nearby chair and ran a hand through his hair.
“No suppuration,” he said, almost laughing. “No inflammation of any kind. Not even a bit of swelling. Doctor Lister, you clever devil, you.”
“Surely you’ve seen wounds heal without infection before, haven’t you?” Eleanor said.
“Yes, but rarely this cleanly. There’s nearly always a bit of pus, especially on a hand. Hands love getting infected.” He gazed at Eleanor with shining eyes and a wide grin. “If carbolic acid really works in surgical cases like Doctor Lister says it does, it will change everything. Surgeons can perform surgeries more readily without fear of losing the patient afterward. The lives they can save…” He shook his head in amazement.
“They?” Eleanor said. “What about you?”
Jacob scowled at the eyebrow she raised. He looked to Andrew for support, but Andrew merely shrugged his shoulders.
“There’s rather a large difference between stitching up a small wound and performing surgery,” Jacob said. “I may do the former now and again, but you’ll not see me return to the latter.”
“Lyddie tells me Doctor Titus is retiring at the hospital,” Eleanor said. “I’m sure they could use an experienced surgeon.”
Luo Jun poked his head into the office just then. Jacob thought the tailor must have a sixth sense. That, or excellent hearing.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Lewis, but Mr. Huff is here for the suit he ordered.”
Jacob smiled at Eleanor. “The good people of Placerville can use me right here. Excuse me. I’ll only be a moment.”
When he returned to the office a few minutes later, he rebandaged Andrew’s hand, applying a fresh coat of the carbolic acid solution.
“Keep changing the bandage as you’ve been doing,” Jacob said. “Come by the house on Sunday after church, and I’ll take those stitches out for you.”
Andrew thanked him and stuck out his bandaged right hand. He sighed and shook Jacob’s hand awkwardly with his left instead.
“I’ll be glad to have this hand back,” the younger man grumbled. “As will Pa and Frank. They’ve been bellyaching mightily about having to pick up my slack.”
“I’ve enjoyed having you home,” Eleanor said. “We won’t get this kind of peace and quiet again once the baby arrives.” She let out an “oof” and rubbed the right side of her ribcage. “Though right now I’d be pleased if the precious little blessing would remove her foot from under my ribs.”
Jacob chuckled. Hannah had made the same complaint in her last month or so carrying Lyddie. “What do you suppose, another six weeks?” he said.
“At most,” Eleanor said. “Clara, the midwife, came by yesterday and said maybe as few as four.” She rubbed her ribs again. “I hope she’s correct.”
Clara was not correct.
Four weeks came and went, with no sign of a tiny Lewis. By the time Jacob and Grace visited the ranch for Frank’s birthday at the end of October, Eleanor was downright miserable.
“I can no longer fit into my shoes,” she said while Lyddie, Mary, and Grace cleared the table after huge slices of birthday cake. Will, Andrew, and Fionn had bought Frank a custom-made saddle, and the four of them had headed out to the barn to try it on Frank’s horse. Jacob stayed inside to chat with Eleanor, knowing it might be their last chance to have a quiet conversation before the baby arrived. “I had to stuff some socks into the toes of an old pair of Andrew’s boots.” She stuck one foot awkwardly out from under the table. Jacob glanced down and saw a scuffed, worn boot toe sticking out from under the hem of her skirt.
“Any day now, love,” Mary said. She patted Eleanor’s shoulder as she leaned over to collect some plates from the table.
Eleanor waited until Mary was in the kitchen before she spoke again. “She’s been saying that for the past two weeks.”
Jacob chuckled. “Hang in there, old friend. That baby will be here soon, and you’ll forget all about this temporary discomfort.” He patted her shoulder and thought to himself that he should check his obstetrical books when he returned home to see if they held any suggestions for making a woman more comfortable in the late stages of pregnancy.