Angie looked from Jonah to Weedy and back again, "Oh, Doctor Boone, he can be the 'crusty old grouch,' that's him. Who did you two think I was talking about, not Addy? Oh my goodness, no, she was far from grouchy, and hardly old." Then she burst out laughing at their confusion.
"I learned many a hard lesson from Josiah Boone, let me tell you, he does not fool about in training anyone. And, did not tolerate the slightest error in anything!" She explained, "Nothing escaped his watchful eye, long before I ever held a scalpel. Bless him. It was his training that helped me through Medical School and residency. I owe him a great debt, and I here to make a down payment on that debt."
"Well, then, shall we get the evening started?" Jonah asked, opening the door. "I'll even break out the good whisky!" He chuckled, then glanced at Weedy. "Not you, young man, I'm afraid of what Addy would do to me!
Angie smiled, "You bet!"
As Jonah stood back to let the others go inside ahead of him, mulling over what Angelique had said about Josiah knowing...Was that true? Did he know? And if he did, did he really see that Jonah had potential? Certainly, with Leah and Josiah both pulling for him, he needed to put his own doubts aside and believe in himself. And he needed to step away from his past, just forget it and forge a new future. A bright future at that!
Mrs. Armentrout was on the way out as they were headed for the kitchen, having done enough that the other ladies could take over for the evening. "It was good to meet you, Dr. Laurant!" she exclaimed to the newcomer, "don't let these scoundrels give you a hard time. I'll see you in the morning."
"Misses Armentrout, mine. You and Leah, Miss Steelgrave, and Addy have all made me feel welcome, the pleasure is all mine, I assure you, And Jonah has been the perfect gentleman. I look forward to working with him, and Josiah, of course." She said, taking the lady's hands in hers. "I am thrilled to be here! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is just so exciting. A complete change from the hustle, bustle, and noise of Chicago. And your chicken and dumplings stew? Smells marvelous!"
Angie was simply in heaven, though she realized that things would get back to the day to day normalcy of tghe regular frontier daily life, which would be far different from the city life she had known, and she looked forward to it. Winter, they had said, in Montana would be brutal, well, Chicagoi winters had been no picnic, and she already had the clothes for it!
"I am thrilled to be here! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is just so exciting. A complete change from the hustle, bustle, and noise of Chicago. And your chicken and dumplings stew? Smells marvelous!"
"Thank you, child." Mrs. M smiled and patted Dr. Laurant on the shoulder. "Don't let these ones influence you, we need some manners and civilization around here!" Chuckling, she headed out the door, leaving Angelique to her fate.
"Civilized, bah!" Addy snorted, shaking her head. "Where's th' fun in that?" She laughed and looked around at the others. "Well, supper's hot, an' we got a bit of a celebration, everyone have a seat an' me an' Miss Leah will serve up th' eats!"
It would be a tight fit with the six of them, but they'd manage, and the company was good.
"I'm the host," Jonah protested, "I should..."
"Nonsense!" Addy pointed to the table. "Sit!"
Relenting, Jonah moved in and pulled out a chair for Angelique. "Dr. Laurant..."
"Civilized, bah!" Addy snorted, shaking her head. "Where's th' fun in that?" She laughed and looked around at the others. "Well, supper's hot, an' we got a bit of a celebration, everyone have a seat an' me an' Miss Leah will serve up th' eats!"
"I will most certainly be happy to do that. Angelique, you just have a seat, you're a guest for tonight. We'll put you to work tomorrow!" Leah said with a smile, pointing to a chair. "I am so happy that you are here, as I'm sure these two are."
"I'm the host," Jonah protested, "I should..."
"Nonsense!" Addy pointed to the table. "Sit!"
Angie meant to laugh, but snorted instead and then laughed. "Lord, you are my kind of people!"
Relenting, Jonah moved in and pulled out a chair for Angelique. "Dr. Laurant..."
"Thank you, sir." She said as she slid into the offered chair. "This smells wonderful! I know that I am just going to love it here, no matter how hard it gets!"
"We'll get to the hospital and see how we can help in the morning. You can meet the crew that is working on it." Leah added.
"And in good time," Jonah commented, "we'll have an actual hospital up and running. When we go through it tomorrow, we'd certainly welcome your comments and opinions on the layout, where you want your offices and the surgery."
While Jonah and Leah had put some thought into the matter of what would go where, they didn't really have much idea what the particulars of a surgery suite might be, so of course Angelique would have a say in the final results.
"And, we can go over the list of equipment and supplies to be sure we have what you'll need."
As Jonah was speaking, Addy was spooning chicken 'n' dumplin's into bowls and handing them to Leah to distribute around the table. There was already bread and butter set out, and glasses of fresh lemonade.
"First off, this is our hospital, and from what I've been told, the building is two stories. If I had my druthers, I'd have the surgery on the second floor, unless the layout would necessitate that the surgery be located on the first floor. I am used to the surgical suite being on the second or third floor. It really makes no difference where it is, so long as there is one." She replied, then added, "I'm not sure I would need an office, perhaps a space in records for surgical charts. Oh, that is the big thing, having a chart room to keep those records. Here, I would imagine a closet of fair size would do. At least for now."
"There may be some equipment you might not have thought of, but we'll see. This is not Mercy Hospital, but I agree, the latest equipment is always worth investing in, provided there is an actual need for it. But what has that to do with this marvelous?"
"Exactly what I was thinking, we will have better than a month, maybe more, before the hospital is ready. So let's eat before the stew gets cold, and the dumplings get hard!" Leah advised good-naturedly. "Thank you, Addy."
"A month..." Jonah shook his head, glancing at Leah. "It seems like it's taken ten years to get to this point." He chuckled. "Shall we?" Bowing his head, he murmured, "Lord, thank you for this small assembly and for bringing Dr. Laurant to us safely. Bless the food and bless the company, amen."
And then it was time to tuck in!
"I don't care how much she might benefit the hospital," Jonah commented between bites, "Mrs. Armentrout must stay on here! She's a marvelous cook! Of course, I haven't discussed it with her, she may not even be interested. After all, she's got all those children, and she can come and go here whenever she likes."
"I don't blame ya one bit fer not wantin' ta lose her," Addy commented, "this is real good. Reckon a woman with that many kinds best be a good cook, else she'll have a rebellion on her hands!"
"My God, if she were willing? With food like this? Keep her at any cost!" Angie said, "Just my two cents' worth, the woman would be invaluable to the hospital, no doubt about it." No one had anything negative to say about the meal they were eating. Of course, cooking for five people would be considerably different from cooking for twice or three times as many. Not to mention any special diets.
"Would you like me to speak to her? I would certainly do so," Leah volunteered. "I am the face of this place for now, once it's up and running, that could and should change. I'll be helping out anywhere I can, from nursing, if they have me, to housekeeping to the skullery."
Angie brightened up, "Are you squeamish? The sight of blood bother you?" Josiah asked while attacking his bowl of stew. "As a nurse, that is one of the things you would see a lot of."
"Yes, that's true, but patient care on the everyday level would not be as bloody as, say, surgery, intake of patients with wounds or cuts," Angie added.
"Parts of nursing aren't too dreadful," Jonah admitted, "certainly seeing to the front desk, admitting patients and answering questions, but dealing directly with patients can be unpredictable." He glanced at the two other doctors and smiled. "Just about every orifice has the ability to...excrete unpleasant fluids, not to mention pustules and such, and the odors..."
Aspects of doctoring were downright nasty, and while he knew that Leah was as strong a woman as he'd even encountered, she had a good heart, and sometimes it was tough to deal with people who were gravely ill or dying.
"You've got a good business sense, Leah, and we'll need someone to manage the books, order supplies..." It wasn't romantic, nor 'heroic', but it was vital, and something he had no aptitude for. Hell, he didn't want anything to do with handling money! "Of course, you can try your hand at nursing, I'd be happy to help you, and I'm sure Josiah and Angelique will as well." Maybe Leah would do fine as a nurse, and her kind nature would be nothing but a benefit.