Deep in the Valley (11 page)

People kept coming through the afternoon, and George Fuller kept dragging more and more meat out of a huge cooler in his truck. There were sodas and chips and potato salad and pickles and cookies galore.

When the sun went down, a bonfire was lit. Tired workers dragged folded lawn chairs out of car trunks and truck beds, coffee and cocoa brewed, children roasted marshmallows and Burt Crandall passed out huge slices of pie and cake.

June had no idea when this barn raising had been planned, who had done the calling or how the chores had been divvied up. She supposed Birdie was at the helm of this project, but people around Grace Valley caught on very quickly. They dug into their basements and attics, sheds and barns for items that would be needed. They were resourceful and giving by nature. And trusting, usually…

“June?” John Stone sat on the ground beside her. “Isn’t this the best thing you’ve ever seen in your life? This is what I’ve always wanted. This is what I thought I might get close to when I made that deal with the government to practice a little rural medicine.”

“It was a little too rural for you, though, was it?” she asked.

“The reservation isn’t the same as a quaint small town,” he admitted. “I know my limitations. I’m not gritty enough for that work.”

“John, you still have creases in your jeans, tassels on your shoes….”

“What can I say? I’m a fashion plate.”

“Right out of
Esquire…
”

He laughed. “Grace Valley won’t be ruined by a little style.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Here are the names and phone numbers of a few people who I worked with at the Fairfield Clinic. I’d have given this information to you sooner if I’d known you were going to check references that far in my past. Here’s the office manager, medical assistant, OB nurse. You would get a more accurate picture of what I was like to work with from any of them. Dr. Fairfield hates me.”

She was momentarily taken aback by the force of his words. As she took the paper from him, she asked cautiously, “Mind telling me why he hates you?”

“June, it’s strictly personality crap, absolutely
nothing
professional. The old man and I didn’t see eye to eye on anything. Don’t worry, I didn’t break any laws or anything. I left the Fairfield Clinic over six years ago, and I left because of the stress of working in an environment of almost constant haranguing and disapproval. This place is a fresh start for us. I think Susan and Syd are going to be really happy here. I can’t tell you what it felt like to hear that Dr. Fairfield was waiting on the phone to talk to you. It was like that old man’s animosity was going to follow me around forever.” He stood. “I left all that behind me a long time ago—and gladly. Fortunately, almost everyone else at the clinic respected me and liked working with me. But don’t take my word for it. Call some of these women. They’ll vouch for me.”

“Okay. I’ll be happy to.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’d better get Princess Sydney and Susan home.”

“I’m heading out myself, still have a couple of stops to make.”

“Anything I can help with?” he asked.

This was so hard. What was not to like about this guy? “No thanks, John. Just a couple of people I like to check on on the way home most nights.”

“You’re good to this town, June.”

“This is a good town, John.” She hoped there hadn’t been a warning tone to her voice, but it just may have crept in.

She was surprised that Mikos hadn’t come to the Craven farm. She was glad he hadn’t, but surprised. As she turned down his drive, she could see that the house was dark. It was early for him to have turned in. As her headlights strafed the front of the house, she saw his silhouette sitting in the chair on the porch. She also saw the table, the pitcher of tea and Sadie Five at the porch edge, wagging. “Oh no.”

But then she knew this was what she’d always expected—and the reason she stopped regularly. Because he was not interested in medical intervention, and his symptoms could certainly have been life threatening. He had the stoic acceptance of a man ready to cross over. She thought it was partly because he missed his wife so much. When she reached the porch and greeted Sadie, massaging her neck, she found something she had not expected. There was a ribbon that attached a note to Sadie’s collar. It said,
June, take care of Sadie Five. You girls need each other. Mikos

J
une made three phone calls from Mikos’s phone—one to Mikos’s daughter, Maria, one to the funeral director in Garberville and one to Tom Toopeek, still out at Leah’s farm. That last brought Tom and Elmer.

June was accustomed to her father’s feistiness, to his nosiness and high energy. But as Mikos was lifted onto the gurney to be taken away, Elmer seemed to shrink and age. It jolted June to see it. Even though he was past seventy, she was nowhere near ready to accept losing him.

“Do you think he gave up too soon?” Elmer asked in a small voice.

“Yes! Don’t you?”

“I don’t know, June. He was satisfied with his life. He missed his wife. He knew his heart was giving out….”

“Yes, he knew, and there was still a lot we could have done, if he’d only let us get involved!”

“He didn’t want to mess around with it. He was pretty much done, I guess.”

“Well, there might be children and grandchildren who will take that decision a little personally!”

“Don’t get mad at Mikos, June. I’m not going with him.”

She let out her breath. She was sorry. She didn’t mean to be so abrasive, but it suddenly threw the fear of God into her. Just the thought of losing Elmer was more than she could bear.

The sharp edge of her anger gave way to tears when she saw her dad clutching Mikos’s hand and leaning over him, saying goodbye “It was a mighty good time, old boy. You were always the best part of the journey. Thanks for everything.”

Elmer let them take his old friend away, and went to stand beside his daughter.

“I will never be able to say goodbye to you in that way,” she said. “Is that clear?”

“Come on, June. Let’s go to George’s and have another piece of pie. He’s probably got a little something under the counter to help get the bug out of your ass.”

“Just so you know,” she said stiffly.

She had to collect Sadie’s dishes and food and put them in the Jeep, and though she looked around for a leash, she knew she wouldn’t find one. “Things will be different when you’re not on a farm,” she told the dog. “You’ll have to be very well behaved if you’re going to stay with me.”

Sadie made a yowling sound that closely resembled, “All right,” causing June to do a double take.

June should have expected the old guard, the official mourners, lined up at the lunch counter with coffee
cups and pie plates in front of them: Sam, Lincoln, Judge, Burt, and Bud Burnham. George was behind the counter. Sadie came in beside June, wagging happily at all the old men, and June gave George one of her dishes. “Sadie will have a water, straight up, and I’ll settle for black coffee.” She sat on a stool at the end of the bar.

George reached under the counter and brought out a bottle of Jack Daniels. With coffeepot in one hand and liquor bottle in the other, he passed down the line. Sam tapped his coffee cup twice, with two fingers. Lincoln waved a hand over his cup for coffee only. Judge held up one finger, Burt made a gun out of his thumb and index finger and shot it into the cup, Bud indicated an inch level and June had already asked for black coffee only. “Give me hers,” Elmer said, and his cup was generously laced with bourbon.

“He was a good man, lived a good life.”

“May he sleep well tonight and every night….”

“…And may the streams be full where he fishes…”

“…And his friends and family happy to see him…”

“Good night, old friend,” Elmer said, lifting his cup.

“Good night,” they all chorused. And drank to him.

June was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of Sadie squeaking and pawing at the back door. June was accustomed to being jolted out of bed by the phone, but this was a new sound, so she came awake slowly, trying to make sense of what she heard.

When she got to the kitchen, she said, “I bet you’re used to having your very own door at the farm, aren’t you? We might have to do something like that if you’re
going to stay with me. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to come to the office with me.”

Sadie craned her neck to look up at June, and made a sound of agreement, a pleasant yowl. June liked the sound and smiled down at her new roommate.

“Okay, try not to be long. It’s been a hard day and I’m ready to get back to sleep.”

Sadie stepped out onto the back porch and stood, sniffing the air. She was motionless, nose up, concentrating.

“Remember to put it on the grass, Sadie,” June said.

Sadie was not distracted. She continued to sniff the air, and the only thing that moved was her twitching nose.

“Well, I guess there’s a process to everything,” June said aloud. She hadn’t had a dog since she was sixteen, the year her old terrier, Lucky, died. She didn’t get another dog because she was going away to school, then because she was working long hours, then because it had been so long since she’d had a dog she didn’t feel that pull anymore.

She went to get the coffeepot ready for morning while Sadie did her thing. June glanced out the window and saw that Sadie was now standing in the yard, sniffing the air. “We’re going to have a real problem if you have to get up at 2:00 a.m. to go outside and look around, have a smell. This is a little, you know, inconvenient.” She scooped coffee into the basket, filled the pot with water, and then it hit her. She had not had a dog because she was afraid of the emotional bond. She always knew she could love another dog as much as Lucky, and love it deeply. But she wasn’t sure she
could take a pet’s death again. It was too much. It was astonishing how horribly that could grieve a person, how much pain could come with that loss.

She looked outside but could no longer see the dog. She went to the back door, out onto the porch and called, “Sadie! Come here, girl!” As she whistled, it all come back to her—the sounds, the calls, the
feelings.

But Sadie didn’t come.

June left the door ajar just a crack so that when Sadie came back she could nose it open. The porch light was on, and June sat on the living room couch. She began to nod off almost immediately, waiting for Sadie to return, then suddenly she was wide awake, as though struck by lightning. She glanced at her watch; it was 4:00 a.m. She’d slept sitting up for two hours.

“Sadie?” she called, but her house was silent.

“June, you are so stupid!” she said to herself, jumping up. She grabbed her keys and got in the Jeep, only much later thinking about the fact that she hadn’t even taken her cell phone or pager and could have been out of reach for an emergency. She didn’t realize till she was halfway to her destination that she was wearing a fairly thin nightgown and no shoes.

She drove up the long dark drive to Mikos’s house and when her headlights strafed the front she could see the chairs, the table, the pitcher of tea they had neglected to put away. And there, on the porch, lay the furry mound patiently waiting for her master and friend to return. June left the lights on her and stepped out of the Jeep. Sadie lifted her head and thumped her tail a few times.

“Come on, Sadie. He’s not coming back. Come on, sweetheart.”

Sadie stood and sniffed the air.

“It’s okay. Come on.”

The dog slowly walked down the porch steps, squeaking a little, then stopped and looked back at the porch once more.

June crouched and grabbed the thick fur of Sadie’s neck and kissed her long snoot, dropping a tear onto Sadie’s fur. “Didn’t he tell you that it would be just you and me now? Well, you’re not going to see him again for a while…for a long while, I hope. Come on, old girl. I need someone to watch over me so I don’t let myself be too much alone.”

The very next morning, June phoned from the list of references John Stone had given her, this time
before
going to the clinic.

“Hello, this is Dr. June Hudson calling for Lisa Rapp.”

“This is Lisa.”

“Hi, Lisa. I was given your name and number by John Stone. I understand you are his former OB nurse.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m calling from Grace Valley, upper Mendocino County. I have a small general practice here. Our population is about fifteen hundred and John is going to see patients in our clinic. I’m calling you for a reference.”

“Well, you’ve got it. He’s the best OB-GYN I’ve ever worked with.”

Now we’re getting someplace, June thought. “Really? Tell me what makes him so special, if you don’t mind.”

“Everything about him is special. He’s ethical and
kind, he has a great sense of humor, he’s highly skilled and has super instincts. Besides, the patients love him.”

“Would you have him for your doctor?”

“I did have him for my doctor! He’s a miracle worker with infertility. My husband and I had a baby seven years ago, after trying for years. Thanks to John, we squeaked one out just in time. I’m now forty-six and perimenopausal. I have a feeling that if I hadn’t met and worked for John Stone, I might never have had a baby.”

Thirty-nine. June mentally calculated. I could do that.

“Now that’s the kind of endorsement I’ve been looking for,” she said.

“Well, everyone loves John.”

Not everyone, June thought. “I did get very high recommendations from the doctors he worked with in his family medicine residency. But there’s this one sticky wicket—maybe you can help me out.”

“I’ll try.”

“He spent years at the Fairfield Clinic, yet Dr. Fairfield clearly despises him. And I have no idea why.”

“John and Dr. Fairfield disagreed often, and I have to say, through absolutely no prejudice, it was John who was usually right. They tangled on issues ranging from when to schedule a C-section to John’s divorce….”

“John is divorced?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No, he never said. I assumed Susan—”

“Second wife. But if you want to know more about that, I really think it’s up to John to tell you. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I suppose, but—”

“Dr. Fairfield was very clear that he believed marriage was forever, and disapproved of divorce. He can be so…so…
antagonistic!
He’s done a good thing with that clinic, you know? But he didn’t do it alone. There have been some outstanding doctors there who have contributed to its growth and reputation, one of them being John Stone. But if Fairfield decides he doesn’t like you…”

June could imagine; she had talked to the man. He was arrogant and insufferable. “And that’s all there is to it? Dr. Fairfield is a difficult man?”

“Not all. Look, Dr.—”

“June. Please.”

“Look, June, I don’t think I should be telling you this, so please keep it between us. I love John Stone and I don’t want him to feel I’ve betrayed him, but I’m pretty sure I know why Fairfield despises him.”

“Okay. Go ahead. I won’t say anything.” And I need to know, she thought.

“John was invited into the partnership and he made a modest investment to enter. He was their darling boy and they were thrilled to have him. Older doctors who had been there since the day Fairfield opened began to retire, young doctors were brought in as associates, and just by pure timing and luck, John was attaining seniority and voting power. Then he and Fairfield started to tangle, John filed for divorce, the pressure got worse and he decided to leave the clinic. His original investment and voting power had grown—it was his single ace in the hole. He offered to leave quietly, give up his vote and pension for cash. And he inflated the price.”

“Inflated?”

“He was pissed. The partnership had allowed Fairfield to unfairly harangue him. And the partnership got stuck with the bill.” She paused. “Partnership meant loyalty to John. He stuck his neck out for them, but they…. Some of the other doctors, nervous about what Fairfield could do to them, turned their back on John.”

“So he hit them all in the pocketbook, Dr. Fairfield and the partners.”

“Exactly. And June? I think if Dr. Fairfield had been the least bit civil, John would probably have stayed. But he made it unbearable. I quit, too. I’ve worked for three different OB’s since…and none can hold a candle to John.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen John mad,” June said.

“It’s a rare and beautiful thing.” Lisa laughed. “Mess with his patients or his family and you’ll see him flare.”

“Or his money, obviously…”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand. Oh Jesus. Please, ask John for the details, but it was this godawful mess about his divorce. He’d been separated for at least a couple of years, his wife was dragging her feet on a settlement, Fairfield was riding him constantly. John was already involved with Susan, who was very young, and I think she might even have been pregnant at the time, and he wasn’t legally free to marry her even though they’d been living together and he hadn’t been with his wife for years, and—Oh God, John’s going to kill me…if Susan doesn’t get to me first!”

“Okay, okay, I see where this is going.”

“You can’t imagine how awful it was at the time. The stress was terrible!”

“The fodder of every contemporary talk show. The wife was there during the hard years of becoming a doctor, dumped for the younger woman. Susan wasn’t a nurse or anything, was she?”

“Why yes, as a matter of fact. But June, it really wasn’t like that. It wasn’t that old wife-put-him-through-med-school thing or—”

“You don’t have to explain, Lisa. It’s none of my business. I think I get the basic gist of things. It would be hard to dislike Susan anyway. She seems like such a lovely person.”

“Believe me, she’s a huge improvement over the first Mrs. Stone. I mean
huge!
”

June ended the conversation by telling Lisa she’d been a big help. She tried to get the other two people on John’s list, but ended up leaving messages on machines. She doubted she would ask John about his divorce. It was always better to have people volunteer things of such a personal nature.

So what do I know? she asked herself. That John was hated by Dr. Fairfield because of partnership money. That he was loved by his old nurse and, according to her, his old staff and former patients. That he could get mad when pushed too far. That his second wife was probably as nice as she seemed.

So what about Christina Baker? June wondered, and decided that in the absence of any more detailed information, she might just have to ask John about that. It was a very delicate matter; a person could be easily offended by the question. But she would eventually have to ask it. When the time was right.