Mattie Mae Thomas - Dessie (great reads txt) 📗

breakfast before he heads to the barn. Then I clean up the kitchen and start laundry. If the morning dew has dried off, I go out and sweep the porch and check on my rose bed. You have to keep ahead of the weeds. Or else they will take over. After that, I work in the vegetable garden. Frank doesn’t like the ones out of a tin can. He says if it isn’t fresh out of the garden then it better be fresh out of a jar. Then Frank comes in and I fix lunch. After lunch and it depends on what day of the week it is, I either volunteer at the library for a few hours or my I go to my quilting circle meeting. We meet three times a week just like clockwork. You know, there aren’t enough younger people quilting these days. They have to buy everything. What will they do when they run out of money? They act like it grows on trees. Do you quilt Brie?” Mrs. Martin finally stopped talking.
Brie smiled. It was hard not to like this lady. “Yes I do. I enjoy making things.”
“Good for you honey. You will have to come to one of our meetings,” Mrs. Martin patted her on the hand.
“Thank you. It will be nice to meet some of my new neighbors. So what do you do after your meetings?” Brie was afraid to ask this question. It was no longer a mystery as to why Mrs. Martin’s hip was swelling.
“Oh, I have to head home and start supper. Frank likes his sweats so I usually bake something. Then, after cleaning up, I will set and do my mending while Frank watched T.V. He works so hard, he needs to relax for a while. Sometime I will work on the baby quilts. The girls and I make baby blankets for the newborns here at the hospital. It’s so nice to send something home with them, the little darlings. By that time it is nine o’clock and bedtime. It’s important to get a good night’s sleep. If you try to burn the candle at both ends for too long it will catch up with you and you won’t be good for anything.” Mrs. Martin paused and then said “That’s about it. The doctor told me I had to take it easy for a while.”
Brie chuckled. “I’m glad to see you are slowing down. But I think he meant a little slower than that.”
“Slower? If I go any slower I might as well be in the grave. Besides, who will take care of Frank?”
With a smile and a shake of her head, Brie started Mrs. Martin on her exercises. For a half an hour she worked the leg, trying to get more flexibility. Mrs. Martin grimaced a few time but never complained.
“Ok, I think that should do it for today. Instead of the whirl pool why don’t I give you a massage? We will see which one helps more.” After Mrs. Martin was comfortable, she started feeling all along her hip and thigh. Brie’s hand could “see” the problem better than her eyes. She didn’t know how it worked but she counted it as a blessing. Mrs. Martin seemed to be coming along just fine. The only problem was that the woman had too much energy to wait for the hip to heal. That wasn’t a bad thing. Especially since Brie could help speed things along. She concentrated on the new hip, kneading then smoothing the muscles surrounding it. Her hands began to warm from the healing energy. They almost glowed.
Mrs. Martin stayed silent until after Brie was finished. “My mother was like you.”
“What do you mean Mrs. Martin?”
“She had the healing hands too.” She gave Brie a knowing look.
“It was just a massage Mrs. Martin.” Brie smile as she helped her off the table. “Your hip isn’t healed.”
“That’s what my mother used to say. And I will tell you the same thing I told her. If that was just a massage then the ocean is just water and the sky is just blue. I felt how warm your hands were. My hip isn’t healed but it feels a lot better, better than it has in a long time. I fully understand why you don’t advertise what you can do. There are more non believers than believers. But honey, you are a blessing. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” Mrs. Martin gathered her things to go. She patted Brie on the cheek. “I’ll see you next week. And don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”

***


Brie wasn’t able to check on Mattie’s father, Mark until the next day. Over her lunch hour she slipped up stairs to his ward. The nurses there were friendly but there wasn’t much they could tell her. The doctors had no idea why he wasn’t waking up. Physically he was healing. They couldn’t find anything else. Test after test had been run, with no results. It was as if his mind was just falling away.
“Do you mind if I go in to see him for a minute,” Brie pointed to Marks room.
The head nurse gave her a searching look, “Are you good friends with the family?”
“Grace Thomas is my landlady. I just wanted to check on him before I went home. Mattie is very worried about her dad.” She hoped this was enough information. She didn’t know what to tell them if they ask for more.
“Little Mattie was in here this morning with Grace. The poor child looks worn out. She had tears in her eyes the whole time she was here. Grace said she hates to bring her but if she doesn’t it is even worse.” The nurse shook her head sadly. “You go right in and see him. Tell Mattie we are keeping a close watch on him.”
Once she was inside Mark’s room she partially closed the door for privacy. She didn’t need any questions. With her eyes closed to the outer world, she quickly ran her hands along Mark’s body, searching for any problems that the doctors might have missed. She found nothing until she ran her hands along his neck. There was the small fracture, but it was healing just as the nurse said. Brie concentrated even harder. She didn’t want to miss anything. She felt another fracture on the left side of his skull, some bruising on the brain, no surprise there, the nurses had told her all this. There was nothing on the surface that she could see.
Her face wrinkled in concentration, blocking out the world around her. She sent herself deeper. On and on she went. Probing every little nook and cranny with no results. The deeper she went the harder it was to see. It was like she was looking through a veil. The farther she pushed the heavier it became, until she was in total darkness. She could feel a wall in front of her. What was this? She pushed against the barricade. It moved slightly, revealing a sliver of light. She pushed harder, trying to open the crack enough for her to see through.
An unbearable pain radiated up her arms, causing her to break out in a sweat. Brie gasped and pulled her hands away from Mark, breaking the contact and stopping the pain. “What the hell was that?” Brie panted as she rubbed the traces of pain from her arms.
“Did you find anything?”
Startled, she turned and saw a man leaning in the doorway. “I’m sorry what did you say?”
“Did you find anything? I hope so because I am at a loss.” He walked towards her, holding out he’s hand. “I’m Doctor Chris Lowe. I take it your Brie Holland, our new therapist.”
Brie shook his hand, “Nice to meet you Dr. Lowe.”
He looked down at their joined hands. He gave a small chuckle and said very low, “Well I be damned. She was right.”
“Dr. Lowe let me explain….”
“I think we need to talk.” He didn’t let her finish. “Come on, let’s do this over coffee. I need a brake anyway.”
She followed him to a small room he used as an office while doing his rounds. What was she going to tell him? He will think she was crazy if she told the truth. Everyone always did. And how did he know who she was?
“Please help yourself to the coffee,” he said pointing to a coffee maker. She poured them both a cup and set down at the table. They both set sipping their coffee until Dr. Lowe finally broke the silence. “Sara Martin is my aunt.”
Brie looked down at her hands. “I don’t know what she told you Dr. Lowe but...”
He cut her off again, “I believe everything she said. I didn’t at first but then I felt the heat when I shook your hand.” He held up his hand to silence her. “Please let me finish. I know what everyone says to someone with your ability. I have heard them before. I have also seen the proof that on a rare occasion there are people in this world that can do the unimaginable. My grandmother passed away when I was fifteen. She is the reason I became a doctor. I wanted to help people like she did. But I couldn’t do what she did. I don’t have that ability. So I became a doctor. I remember when I was small if I became sick; mom always took me my grandmother. She would hold me in her arm while she rocked me to sleep. I would feel as if a warm cocoon would surround me. When I awoke, I was always better. Maybe not fully healed but well on my way to being so.” He pushed his cup away and leaned forward to look Brie in the eyes. “I just have one question to ask you. Can you really help Mark?”
Brie stared at Dr. Lowe, not knowing what to say. She wanted to trust him. If he was anything like Mrs. Martin, she believed she could. Pushing her fears aside, she said in a strong confident voice, “Given the chance, I do believe I could.”
Time flew by after that. Dr. Lowe set it up for Brie to see Mark on a daily bases. As a therapist she was to work his muscles to keep them strong. He let his staff know that Brie wasn’t to be interrupted and she was to report straight to him. This gave Brie a chance to work her magic, as he called it, without calling too much attention to her. Brie went home that night with a feeling of everything falling into place.
That night her dreams were confusing. She was a little girl again playing along a stream. Two other children were there with her. Mattie she recognized from her dreams before. The boy was the same as she had seen in Mattie Mae’s locket. It had