"Life, it seems, has a way of throwing just what we need when we need it right at us. I believe that's why I'm here with you out in the wilderness with all its nocturnal beauty!" Angie said easily. "I mean when you think out it, you were a ready made surrogate for his mother after the tragedy. Had it not been for you and the rapport you had built with him, well, there's just no telling what might have become of him."
"And putting aside some money for him, that's wonderful." She added, liking this woman a whole lot more as they chatted!
"My gracious but the sky is just beautiful! What is that? I have never seen the like before!" Angie was stunned by the number of colors that danced across the night sky. She was fascinated by it.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"That's th' Aurora Borealis...Norther Lights," Addy explained, "not sure what makes 'em, but they's sure pretty, an' we're lucky ta see 'em. Don't happen so often." She glanced at Angelique with a grin. "Good omen, right, if ya believe in such things. Th' Indians 'round these parts say they're th' spirits of their dead, lettin' know they're happy..."
She knew there was some fancy scientific explanation, but that was boring, so it was more fun to think it was something magical. "I kinda like that...fer Weedy ta see his ma, an' me my brothers, an' other folks ta see who they've lost."
Shrugging, she watched the colors shimmer across the sky. "Yep, good omen, I say!"
"And I will take it as that, Addy, a very good omen!" Angie replied watch the show in the heavens, What a wonderous country this was, she thought. "I can see that I'm going to be very content in this Kalispell we're headed to. I'm also thinking that we'll be able to do a lot of good for a whole lot of people, and Addy, for a doctor, it doesn't get any better than that!"
This was not starting out anywhere near how she thought it would. Not that she had actually envisioned how her arrival might unfold. There was some trepidation about it all as she rode the rails west, but there was no way she could have visualized Addy or the country, and certainly not the Aurora Borealis that had presented itself so magnificently to them. It was incredible!
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Yep, hospital's gonna be real good fer th' territory, an' havin' good doctors is part'a that." Grinning, Addy glanced at Angelique. "An' you'll be helpin' make that. Next thing ya know, folks'll be comin' ta Kalispell just 'cause it's Kalispell!"
She laughed, then stood. "Need ta be up with th' sun, so we'd best put in fer th' night. At least I don't think we'll hafta worry 'bout rain." It was likely to get pretty cold, but their little nest in the back of the wagon would keep them protected and warm.
"That is what the aim should be if it's not. People come there because it is a good place to live, a good place to raise their children." Angie agreed, "And I agree, that the hospital is as big of a draw for people as good schools. I understand that the we]inters are harsh, but there are a whole lot of people that live in Chicago, right on the Great Lakes. Those are harsh winters."
When Addy suggested turning in, Angie let out a yawn. "I am tired, more so than I thought I would be, but the excitement of the country and the wagon and all, I just wasn't ready to give in until you said we should turn in. I almost can't wait for tomorrow! But then again, it will be here before we know it!"
Turning in was suddenly the thing to do, and sleep would be a welcome visitor for a lady who had never ridden on a wagon for any distance, It was a new life, her new life, and she wanted to grasp it with both hands and hold on!
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Their little space in the back of the wagon was cozy, and Addy, for one, slept well. But then, she was accustomed to sleeping on the trail, in the wagon, under the wagon, in small way-station cabins, so this wasn't anything unusual for her. But she did have to wonder how her companion had fared.
"Time ta get up an' goin'," she said quietly as she gently nudged Angelique. "Sun's about up, an' we got some ways ta go." Working efficiently, they could be on the road in an hour, and make the Grand Oaks swing station for a good place to spend the night.
Angie came out of a dreamless sleep and sat up. "I can't remember sleeping that hard, Addy." She had slept in her clothes so all that was necessary was to sake out her boots and pull them on and she would be ready to go. Yes, she felt grungy, but, that was life on the trail and she could always get a bath at this hotel in Kalispell. She was awake and alive with the newness of her first dawn in the wilderness of Montana.
"Do you ever get used to this?" She asked as she slid out of the wagon raring to go, to get started again. She had been hunting with her father and a couple of her uncles, but even though they had been out in the wilds for a week doing this same thing, this was completely different. She was not going back to the brownstone in Chicago after the trip, she was going to her new home!
Doctor Laurant was going home.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Get used ta it?" Shrugging, Addy stretched and slipped on her boots. "Sorta always been an outside kinda person, never lived in th' confines of a big city, so this is th' way it's supposed ta be. Never had no mind ta live any other way. So, can't say I ain't used ta it, but I can say there's no other way I'd want it ta be."
Coffee sure would be nice, but Addy wanted to get on the road, and knew that Angelique felt the same, so it was straight to harnessing. "I'm gonna put ya ta work helpin' with th' harnessin'. Grab Duke there...he's big, but he's lazy, so he'll just stand for ya!"
It started with brushing the horses down, then Addy walked Angelique through the process of harnessing, first one set of horses, then the second, and shortly after the sun rose, the animals were hitched and they were on their way.
"Got apples an' bread fer breakfast," Addy commented, reaching for a bag under the seat. "Should have proper food at th' swing station, an' beds fer th' night. Ol' man Colbert runs th' station fer th' Millegan Stage, he's a good enough sort."
Apples and bread? A far cry from her usual breakfast, even on the train, but a breakfast they could eat on the trail, and maybe a breakfast she would become accustomed to over time.
"So, I never asked, is there a restaurant in this Kaliospelkl, or did I just forget that I asked that before?" Angie wanted to know as she settled in on the bench seat and the wagon moved forward, 'I'm just full of wanting to know. Wanting to get there, and become a part of not just the hospital staff, but of the community of Kalispell itself."
"Oh I know, I'm just so full of questions about the place and the people. You can just tell me to shut up any time you get tired of it. She added, trying to recall if she had asked about a restaurant.
And so they were off as the sun rose slowly over the tree-filled landscape, the trail, often covered in snow, wound its way through the panorama of trees, rocks, and mountains. Breathtaking!
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Well, now, th' hotel has a real fine restaurant, all hoity-toity an' all, but th' food there's real good." She laughed as she relaxed in her seat, letting the horses plod along on the trail. "There's a cafe, too, th' Lickskillet, has good food like ya'd get at home, an' pies! Th' best this side'a th' Mississippi...an' likely th' other side, too. Mrs. Pike owns it, but she's newly married, so Mrs. Lutz runs it. An' th' saloon serves simple fare, stew an' whatnot, but it can be pretty noisy."
She chuckled, then added, "An' if I get tired of ya chatterin', I'll just push ya off th' box an' you can walk!"