As with “To Bloom in
Another Man’s Garden”, I must thank Vickie Batzka and
Larkspur1 for reading draft versions of this story and for offering insightful
suggestions on the grieving process and how to portray it. I must thank Vickie as well for allowing me
to use her description of what happened after Inger’s burial in “Giving
Thanks”. I owe a debt to Puchi Ann for graciously allowing me to use the information
she provided on the treatment of appendicitis in the 19th century in
“Centennial”. Joan Sattler, as always,
generously provided her help with Australian idioms.
In Memoriam
Deborah Grant
November 2003
Chapter 1
Adam Cartwright was a contented man. He was two months short of his fifty-seventh
birthday and in good health. He had a
wife whom he loved dearly and who loved him with all her heart. They had four beautiful daughters:
eighteen-year-old Beth, recently married to Reverend
Dafydd Jones; seventeen-year-old Miranda, happily enrolled as a student at the
Girls’
He felt her stir and whispered, “Morning, sleepyhead.” She turned over on her back then smiling at him. “Mmm, I take it you had a good night’s sleep?”
“Too right. I feel as frisky as a yearling colt,” he replied with a smug grin before kissing her.
After making love, they both drifted off to sleep again until it was time to dress. He carefully trimmed his beard, noting with an inner sigh that there was virtually no black left—it was all gray or snow-white. It was the same story with what remained of his hair. He glanced at Bronwen’s reflection in the mirror and smiled. At forty-seven her raven tresses were almost untouched by gray. Her face had lines that it hadn’t nineteen years earlier, but they didn’t detract from its charm.
“Are you ready for me to brush your hair?” he asked as he put on his shirt.
“Yes,” she replied. She sat in front of her vanity and enjoyed the feel of his firm brushstrokes until he set the brushes down saying, “I’d better go check on the children.”
He knocked on the door of the room Gwyneth and Penny shared,
glancing at the now empty room across the hall that had been Beth and Miranda’s
room. He still had trouble accepting
that Beth had been married for almost two months and Miranda had been in
“Are you up, girls?” he called.
“I’m up,” he heard Gwyneth’s sleepy reply.
“Make sure Penny is up as well,” he instructed knowing his youngest daughter, like his oldest, was difficult to waken in the morning. He smiled at the thought of the daughter who looked so like what her mother must have at that age. Penny was the only one of their children who had inherited Bronwen’s beautiful violet eyes. The rest all had hazel eyes—Beth and A.C.’s were dark like his while Miranda’s and Gwyneth’s were so light they were almost amber.
He knocked firmly on his son’s bedroom door and hearing no answer he walked in. Five-year-old A.C. had kicked off the bedclothes as usual and was sleeping on his stomach with his arms and legs flung out making a letter X. His thick black hair needed cutting, which always meant an argument with Bronwen, who liked him to wear it long. Adam sat on the bed and gently rubbed his son’s back saying, “Time to get up, Jackeroo.”
A.C. stretched and then rolled over on his back. “G’morning, Daddy,’ he replied yawning hugely.
“Good morning,” Adam said with a smile. “Do you need any help getting dressed?”
“No, I can do it myself,” A.C. replied proudly. Then he added candidly, “’cept my shoes.”
“I’ll come back in a few minutes and help with your shoes,” Adam promised. “And I’ll help you make your bed, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy,” A.C. grinned, showing he had inherited his father’s dimple.
When he reentered the master bedroom, Bronwen was just finishing pinning up her hair and she turned to smile a greeting. “Are they all up?”
“Gwyneth and A.C. are,” he answered. “You might want to check on Penny since I promised I’d help A.C. with his shoes.” He paused before adding, “It looks like A.C. needs a haircut.”
“He does not,” she replied crossly. “Every time his hair is long enough to start to curl just a little, you want to cut it off. He looks so adorable when his hair curls.”
“Boys aren’t supposed to look adorable,” he retorted. “It can wait another week, but then I’m taking him to the barber.”
“Of course, my lord and master. Your wish is my command,” she replied in a syrupy voice.
“Bronwen,” he said warningly.
“Oh, go help A.C. with his shoes,” she replied crossly. “I’ll check on Penny.”
Gwyneth had found Penny was even harder to rouse than usual. “Come on, Pen, get out of bed,” she said shaking her sister’s shoulder roughly. “You don’t want to be late or all you’ll get is a dingo’s breakfast.”
“I’m up,” Penny snapped, slapping Gwyneth’s hands away. In fact, she hadn’t slept well all night because of a pain in her abdomen. It had actually begun the day before and at first it had been dull and she could ignore it, but it had grown worse during the night. She got up and dressed, only half-heartedly brushing her waist-length, straight black hair and pulling it back from her face with a wide ribbon tied in a large bow. She was fastening her shoes when Bronwen knocked and entered.
Bronwen saw that Gwyneth was dressed and her bed was made. At fifteen, Gwyneth wore her hair in a twist on top of her head as was the fashion but her curls resisted their confinement and some were forever escaping. Of all the Cartwright children, Gwyneth bore the strongest resemblance to Adam. She was tall and willowy, and she had the delectably rounded derrière and long slender legs of male fantasies. She was innocently oblivious to the secret (and not so secret) looks she received when she went swimming at the Cloncurry River thinking no male would ever be interested in a tall, skinny girl with a chest almost as flat as a boy’s.
Since the girls were nearly ready, Bronwen went to see if Nell and Mary, their maids, needed any help. Meanwhile Adam had found A.C. shoving his shirttails into his knickerbockers.
“Whoa, Jackeroo,” he said with a chuckle. “Your shirt isn’t buttoned properly.”
“Is too!” A.C. retorted.
“Are you contradicting me?” Adam asked in the dangerously quiet voice all his children recognized.
“N-no, Daddy,” A.C. stammered.
“See that you don’t. Now, re-button your shirt.”
A.C. fumbled with the buttons and Adam forced himself to watch patiently, letting A.C. take all the time he needed before helping him lace his shoes and make his bed.
Adam looked his son over and said firmly, “You haven’t brushed your hair yet; you can’t go down to breakfast looking like that. Stand still and I’ll brush it for you.”
“Ow!” A.C. complained. “Not so hard, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry,” Adam said contritely. “The longer your hair is the worse it tangles.”
“Can I get it cut?” A.C. asked.
“That’s fine with me. Why don’t you ask your mother,” Adam replied with a sly smile.
The two of them hurried to the barn where A.C. “helped” Adam with his barn chores. Gwyneth and Penny were already there and the four of them worked quickly to finish so they wouldn’t be late to breakfast. Adam and the two girls had to change from their work clothes to proper attire before they ate. Gwyneth hastily shucked her waist overalls and black shirt and changed into a cream-colored shirtwaist blouse and a tan skirt while Penny exchanged her old, threadbare cotton blouse (passed down from her three sisters) and knickerbockers for a sailor blouse and navy blue pleated skirt.
When they entered the dining room, they found Bronwen and A.C. waiting and Nell and Mary were bringing in the food. Most of the family ate oatmeal and butter, fresh scones crammed with currants, fried potatoes, bacon and scrambled eggs but Bronwen had her customary tea and toast and Penny just pushed her food around her plate.
“You’re not eating Penny,” Bronwen commented and Penny said defensively, “I’m not very hungry this morning.”
“You need to eat something, Kitten,” Adam said. “At least eat your oatmeal.”
With a sigh, Penny complied. However, with each mouthful she felt more and more nauseous. She walked to school with her best friend, Kate Newkirk, who lived across the street while Gwyneth and their cousin Llywelyn, who lived next-door, walked together. Penny was so quiet that Kate asked her if she was sick.
“I have a pain here,” Penny replied pointing to the right side of her abdomen, “but I didn’t say anything to Mama or Daddy because I knew they’d make me stay in bed and I hate that.” Kate nodded her understanding.
Penny hadn’t been in school very long before she felt really ill. She asked to be excused and managed to make it outside before she became violently ill and lost her breakfast. She said nothing to her teacher, however, and simply returned to class. Throughout the day the pain increased. When she and Gwyneth went home for dinner, Bronwen was preoccupied with A.C., who had been a handful all morning, and failed to notice Penny’s lack of appetite. Penny surreptitiously fed enough of her food to Lady, who was always underfoot at mealtime, to keep the others unaware of her distress.
She returned to school but the pain didn’t get any better and it was difficult for her to concentrate on her lessons. She ate a little at supper so her parents wouldn’t be suspicious; however, she became ill just as she had after breakfast although she managed to make it outside in time and then passed it off as a visit to the outhouse. She convinced herself that the pain wasn’t growing any worse and after supper she played jackstraws with A.C. while Adam and Gwyneth played cribbage and Bronwen read the latest novel by Thomas Hardy. When Bronwen and Adam put A.C. to bed, Gwyneth decided to read. Penny picked up her favorite book, Beautiful Joe, but she couldn’t concentrate. When Adam returned to the library, he asked Penny if she’d like to play a game with him while her mother and sister were engrossed in their reading.
“Could we play backgammon?” she asked and he nodded with a smile, for backgammon was her favorite and she’d improved so much that sometimes she beat him.
“Do you feel all right, Kitten?” he asked during the game. “You’ve been awfully quiet this evening.”
“I’m okay. I just have a little stomachache, but it’ll be better in the morning.”
“Is that why you hardly touched your supper?” he asked quietly, for it just wasn’t normal for her to be so subdued and she usually had a good appetite.
She hadn’t realized anyone had noticed she’d hardly eaten a thing but she didn’t want her daddy to worry so she said quickly, “Yes, that’s why. But I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning.”
Gwyneth woke suddenly in the dark to the sound of her name. “Gwyneth, please wake up,” Penny sobbed.
“What’s wrong?” Gwyneth asked apprehensively.
“My stomach hurts so. Please, get Mama,” Penny begged and Gwyneth heard the anguish in her sister’s tone.
She was frightened because Penny never liked to admit she was ill or hurt. She hurried to her parents’ room in her bare feet and knocking on the door called, “Mama!”
“What is it, Gwyneth?” she heard her father ask.
“Penny’s sick and crying for Mama.”
“I’ll be there in a moment,” her mother replied so Gwyneth hurried back to where Penny was quietly sobbing. Gwyneth lit the lamp and she could see Penny was white-faced and sweating, lying on her left side. Her parents entered the room and sat down on either side of Penny. Bronwen put her hand on Penny’s forehead and said worriedly, “She has a fever.”
“Where does it hurt, Kitten?” Adam asked gently.
“My right side, Daddy,” Penny sobbed. He applied just a little pressure and she screamed in agony.
“I’m sorry, Kitten,” he said quietly, trying to hide his fear. “I’m going for Dr. Brooke.”
Bronwen nodded. “I’ll see if I can bring her fever down. Gwyneth, please go wake Nell and ask her to bring me some cold water and cloths.”
Bronwen bathed Penny’s face and chest with cold cloths while the child moaned in pain. She complained of thirst but she couldn’t keep down any liquid and her anxious mother and sister could see that vomiting increased her agonizing pain. They both noticed that her abdomen was visibly distended.
Adam rode as fast as he dared on a dark night, for it would do Penny no good if he were injured on the way to Dr. Brooke’s home. “Dear God, let him be home,” he prayed ceaselessly as he rode. He knocked loudly on the front door and in a few minutes Dr. Brooke, wearing his robe and slippers, answered the door.
“Mr. Cartwright?”
“It’s my daughter, Penny,” Adam said quickly. “She has a terrible pain in her right side. I barely touched it and yet she was in agony. She’s feverish as well.”
“Let me get dressed and I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” Dr. Brooke replied.
Adam hurried home and up to Penny’s room and saw his much-loved daughter was in even more pain now. “Dr. Brooke is on his way, Kitten,” he said smoothing back her sweat-soaked hair. She was in such agony all she could do was to nod her head to show she understood.
Dr. Brooke arrived a few minutes later. He examined Penny with a grave face and then motioned Adam and Bronwen to the hallway, leaving Nell with Penny and a frightened Gwyneth. He closed the door and turned to face them.
“I wish I did not have to give you such unhappy news, but I believe Penny has appendicitis, what we used to call perityphlitis. It is a very serious condition but surgical removal of the appendix may save her life,” he said quietly..
“May?” Adam repeated.
“There is always risk involved in surgery; however, if the appendix is not perforated, then the chances are very good that Penny will make a full recovery. I read that an American physician has successfully removed a perforated appendix, but I never have. If the appendix has perforated, then it is very likely that peritonitis will develop. If Penny should develop peritonitis, the only treatment is to surgically drain the abscess that develops in the abdominal cavity.” He paused and said quietly, “That treatment is seldom effective. If we only had some method of fighting the infection. ¼” He let his voice trail off and then said more firmly, “Do I have your permission to admit Penny to the hospital and surgically remove her appendix?”
Adam and Bronwen exchanged frightened, anxious glances. She nodded imperceptibly and Adam said, “Yes, you have our permission.”
“Bring her to the hospital and I will meet you there. You will need to sign the admission papers, Mr. Cartwright. Then one of the staff will show you to the waiting room outside surgery. Removing Penny’s appendix is an emergency so she will be prepared for surgery as soon as she arrives.”
While Adam hitched the horses to the surrey, Bronwen hurriedly told Nell and Gwyneth what was happening and packed a bag with some clothes and Penny’s hairbrush. Adam lifted Penny as gently as he could but she couldn’t stop her agonized scream at the slight pressure on her inflamed side.
Adam drove as carefully as he could but the slightest jolt caused Penny to moan in agony. When they arrived at Cloncurry’s little hospital, an attendant was waiting and he placed Penny on a bed carriage and wheeled her inside. Bronwen walked alongside, holding Penny’s hand, while Adam went to sign the admitting papers.
He soon joined Bronwen in the waiting area. She sat with her head bowed and he saw her lips moving silently. He sat beside her and began his own prayers for their cherished daughter’s life. The waiting was endless, but finally Dr. Brooke appeared, and they both noted the sadness in his eyes.
“The appendix was perforated,” he said gently. “I did my best to remove the infected tissue, but we will have to wait and see if she develops peritonitis.”
“May we see her?” Bronwen asked in an unsteady voice.
“After she has recovered from the effects of the anesthetic, she’ll be moved to a private room and you can spend as much time with her as you wish. In fact, I’ll have one of the attendants take you to her room and you can wait for her there.” He paused and said kindly, “She won’t be coming to the room for a bit so if you need to contact your family this would be a good time to do it.”
Adam nodded his understanding and turning to Bronwen said, “I’ll let Beth and Dafydd and Rhys and Matilda know what happened and I’ll talk to Gwyneth and Nell.”
He went to the rectory first. Dafydd was an early riser and he answered Adam’s knock immediately. Adam told him tersely what had happened but Dafydd saw the worry and fear in his father-in-law’s eyes.
“I’ll tell Beth and then we’ll both come to the hospital. We’ll pray that Penny fach will recover, Tada.”
Adam nodded his understanding and he hurried to the Davies’ house. After he left, Rhys said sadly, “I think I should send a telegram to Tad and Mam and let them know,” and Matilda nodded her agreement.
“Can I go with you to see Penny?” Gwyneth asked her eyes filling with tears when Adam told her the results of Penny’s operation.
“Just for a little while. Mama and I need you to stay with A.C. He’s too little to really understand and he’s going to be upset that Mama and I aren’t here. He needs you to be with him.” Gwyneth reluctantly nodded her understanding.
“Is-is Penny going to die?” she asked brokenly.
“We don’t know,” he replied honestly and she could see the fear and anxiety in his eyes.
Penny was in her room when they arrived. She was lying very still with her knees bent. Beth and Bronwen were seated on either side of the bed while Dafydd stood behind Beth, his hands on her shoulders to bring her comfort.
“Hello, Kitten,” Adam said softly and Gwyneth added, “Hello, Penny,” but she didn’t respond.
“She’s still very groggy from the anesthetic,” Bronwen said quietly. “The nurse took her temperature and she’s running a fever of 103 degrees. There’s a drain in her side to fight against infection.”
After an hour, Beth and Gwyneth went to be with A.C. Dafydd stayed longer, but he had other calls he needed to make so he left Bronwen and Adam alone with Penny, promising to return. Adam sat by Penny’s bed and held her hand in his. It was so small and delicate and he could feel the fever ravaging her body. When Dr. Brooke came to examine her, the slightest touch on her rigid abdomen brought screams of agony. When the examination was complete, he motioned Adam and Bronwen to come in the hallway and closed the door behind them.
He looked at the two parents with compassion and sadness, for he had delivered Penny just as he had Miranda and Gwyneth. “She has developed peritonitis. I am afraid you must be prepared for the worst.”
Bronwen began to sob quietly but Adam looked at the doctor with a stony visage. “There must be something more that you can do,” he said with a quiet intensity.
“I wish to God there were,” Dr. Brooke answered heavily. He added quietly, “I am so sorry. She is in God’s hands; all I can suggest is that you pray for her.”
Dafydd returned and he prayed with Bronwen and Adam as they sat with Penny. The smallest movement caused the child excruciating pain and her fever mounted. She was thirsty but if she drank, then she vomited, and her frightened parents could see that only increased her agony
Her mother gently wiped her face clean while her father held one of her hands, hands with the long, slender fingers she’d inherited from him, and stroked it soothingly. Penny focused her pain-filled eyes on his face and asked quietly, “Am I dying, Daddy?”
He couldn’t speak and shut his eyes to blot out the agony in hers. Bronwen smoothed her hair and said very gently, “Yes, Penny fach, you are going home to Jesus.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” she said brokenly.
“I know, cariad, but we’ll see each other again,” and Bronwen kissed her little girl’s cheek. “I love you, Penny,” she said softly and managed to hold back her tears for her little girl’s sake.
“And I love you, Mama. Daddy,” she said and he forced himself to open his eyes and look into hers. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Kitten,” he answered in a choked voice. “I love you so much.”
“Don’t cry, Daddy. Mama’s right. We’ll see each other again,” and she managed a faint smile. “I’ll be with Uncle Hoss, and Grandma, Grandma Inger and Grandma Marie.” He forced his lips to smile and kissed her hand. She paused, seeming to gather all her strength, and said softly, “Tell Beth and Miranda and Gwyneth and A.C. goodbye for me. Tell them that I love them.”
“We will, Kitten,” Adam said gently and Bronwen nodded.
“I’m glad I had you for a brother for a little while, Dafydd,” she said turning to look at her brother-in-law. “I love you, too.”
“Dw i’n dy garu di, Penny fach,” Dafydd replied softly, bending down to drop a kiss on her forehead and she smiled faintly.
Soon afterward Dr. Brooke quietly entered the room. “Mr. Cartwright, I’d like to speak with you if I may.”
“Daddy will only be gone for a moment, Kitten,” Adam said softly and kissed Penny’s forehead before stepping in the hallway with the doctor.
“I would like to give Penny a shot of morphine,” Dr. Brooke said quietly. “It will ease her pain. I need your approval to give her the drug.”
“I don’t want her to suffer anymore,” Adam said in a flat tone. “You have my consent.”
The morphine eased Penny’s agony but she quickly lost
consciousness. Adam asked Dafydd to stay
at their house with Beth, Gwyneth and A.C. so he reluctantly left his in-laws
alone with Penny. Around
“Kitten,” Adam said fearfully, softly caressing her cheek. “Kitten.” Bronwen felt Penny’s neck for a pulse and said brokenly, “She’s gone, anwyld.” She sank to her knees at the bedside sobbing loudly.
He gently kissed Penny’s forehead and then, silently, he washed her body using the pitcher and basin the hospital had provided, removing the useless drain from her side. When he finished, he dressed her in the clean clothes Bronwen had brought to the hospital. Then he brushed her waist-length hair, carefully removing the tangles. Once that task was accomplished, he took out his pocket knife and very carefully and gently cut a lock of hair and placed it in his handkerchief. In his mind’s eye he saw Penny sitting on his lap—her lips reddened with her mother’s coralline salve and her hair pinned up in a twist—and heard her voice saying, “I’ll always be your little girl, Daddy. I promise.” He kissed her cheek, already growing cold, and then without a word to his grieving wife, he walked out of the room.
One of the nurses heard Bronwen crying and she called to Adam when she saw him, but he walked past her without responding, so she hurried into Penny’s room. She saw Penny was dead and noted that someone had washed and dressed her body and guessed it had been the child’s father since the mother was consumed by her grief. There was nothing she could do for the child, so she turned to the mother.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Cartwright,” she said gently, placing her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. With an effort, Bronwen controlled her tears. “Where is my husband?” she asked looking about the room but seeing no sign of Adam.
“I don’t know, ma’am,” the nurse answered honestly as she helped Bronwen to a chair. “I tried to speak to him, but he just looked right through me. I think he may be in shock. Why don’t you let me send for Reverend Jones or Mr. Davies? One of them can look for Mr. Cartwright.”
“Yes, send for Reverend Jones,” Bronwen managed to get out but as soon the nurse left her alone she gazed at her child’s lifeless body and broke down again.”
At dawn Dafydd was on his way to the hospital from the Cartwright home when he saw his father-in-law walking blindly down the street. “Tada, wait,” he called. When Adam showed no signs of hearing him, he quickly crossed the street and grasped Adam’s arm. “Tada, has something happened?”
“Penny died,” Adam replied in a flat, emotionless voice. “My baby girl died.”
“I am so sorry, Tada,” Dafydd said gently. “I know how much you loved her, but you’ll be reunited again someday.”
“Just as I’ll be reunited with my mother and my two stepmothers and my brother,” Adam replied bitterly.
Dafydd chose to ignore his tone for now and asked, “Where is mam?”
Adam looked confused for a moment until he realized that he had left Bronwen at the hospital with Penny. “At the hospital,” he replied.
“She needs you now so I think we’d better go back there, don’t you?” Dafydd suggested softly, keeping his hand on his father-in-law’s arm. He was concerned about Adam’s behavior, which was most atypical. Adam’s appearance also troubled Dafydd for his father-in-law was unnaturally pale.
“Yes,” Adam said woodenly. “I will have to make the arrangements.”
“I’ll help you and so will Uncle Rhys,” Dafydd said firmly and slowly Adam nodded and allowed his son-in-law to lead him back to the hospital.
At the hospital, Dafydd consoled Bronwen while Adam stared at the earthly remains of his beloved child. The nurse had seen Dafydd return with Adam and after a few minutes she entered the room with a large mug of hot, very sweet tea. “Mr. Cartwright,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “I want you to drink this.” When he didn’t respond, she put his hands around the mug. “Drink this tea now,” she said firmly and mechanically he lifted the mug to his mouth and swallowed. She watched to make sure he drank all the hot sweet drink and then she took the mug away, giving the family privacy for their grief.
Just as they were about to leave, Dr. Brooke entered the room. “I want to express my sincerest sympathy,” he said quietly.
“Thank you, doctor,” Bronwen said. “I know you did all you could for Penny.”
“Before you leave, I would like to examine you, Mr. Cartwright.” Adam didn’t respond so Dr. Brooke gently sat him in one of the empty chairs. He noted that Adam’s complexion was very pale and his skin felt clammy. He placed his fingers on Adam’s wrist but his pulse was too faint, so he put his fingers on Adam’s neck and felt his weak but rapid pulse. He asked Adam to remove his coat and after he repeated the question Adam did as requested. Dr. Brooke then rolled up Adam’s sleeve and turning to the nurse who had followed him in with a tray, he picked up a needle and syringe. “You are in shock, Mr. Cartwright, so I am going to give you an injection of saline solution.” He turned to Bronwen. “I’ll come by this afternoon to give him another injection. Please make sure he drinks plenty of water or other fluids for the next day or so.” She nodded and they left the hospital.
When they returned from the hospital, Adam and Bronwen broke the news to Beth and Gwyneth first while Dafydd told the Davies.
Beth broke down immediately and Bronwen put her arms about her firstborn to comfort her. Gwyneth tried to be strong and hold back her tears like her father, but her sadness was too profound. She turned to her mother and sister, who held out their arms to her, and the three of them wept together. Adam stood by impassive and remote. When the women were able to control their tears, Bronwen said unsteadily, “We must tell A.C.”
“He’s playing in his room right now, but he’s been asking about Penny all morning,” Gwyneth said tearfully. “He wants to know when she’ll be coming home.”
“Do you want us to be with you when you tell him?” Beth asked.
“I think that might be best,” Bronwen replied. She looked at Adam to get his opinion but she wasn’t sure he had even heard Beth. She put her hand on his arm and said, “We’ll all go together and explain to A.C. that Penny has gone to heaven.” He merely nodded his head.
A.C. was playing with his Noah’s
Mama walked over to the rocking chair and sat down. “Come sit on my lap, A.C. bach,” she said and her voice sounded funny to A.C., like she was trying not to cry. Anxiously he climbed up on her lap and looked at the other faces. He could see Bethy and Gwyneth had been crying too, and a hard little knot began to form in his stomach.
“Bethy and Gwyneth told you that Penny was very sick, didn’t they?” Bronwen asked and he nodded slowly. “Sometimes, people get so sick that they can’t get better, and so Jesus takes them to be with Him in heaven.”
“Like Grandma,” he said, remembering the lady in the photograph that looked like Miranda. Grandpa had told him she was his grandma—Daddy’s mama—and she had gone to heaven when Daddy was a little baby.
“That’s right. Like your grandma. Penny was sick like that so Jesus took her to heaven with him.”
“No!” he said loudly. “I don’t want Penny to be in heaven. I want Penny to come home!”
“So do I, but she can’t,” his father said bleakly. “She’s gone and nothing can bring her back.”
A.C. turned frightened eyes to his mama’s face. “We all wish she could be with us, but she is in heaven with Jesus and Grandma, Grandma Inger, Grandma Marie and Uncle Hoss.” Bronwen hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. “Penny told Daddy and me to tell you and your sisters that she loved you very much. Her body is coming home so we can say goodbye to her before we bury her.”
“I don’t want to say goodbye,” he sobbed, throwing his arms around his mama’s neck.
Adam stroked his son’s hair softly once and then left the room silently as the others began to weep. Gwyneth, wanting her father’s comfort, followed Adam into the hall.
“Are you all right, Daddy?” she asked anxiously.
“No, I’m not,” he answered in a tone devoid of emotion. “I’m going with your uncle and Dafydd to make the final arrangements,” and he left her standing in the hallway, tears filling her eyes.
She went back into A.C.’s room, where her mother was rocking the sobbing child. Bronwen and Beth had managed to control their tears, and when Gwyneth reentered the room, Bronwen said quietly, “I think we should bury Penny in the dress she wore to the wedding.”
“Yes,” Gwyneth said. “It was her favorite and,” her voice shook and she tried to steady it, “she looked so pretty in it.”
“Could you watch A.C. while I take it to the hospital and dress Penny?” Beth and Gwyneth nodded so Bronwen continued. “Daddy dressed her in the frock I took to the hospital for her, but I know she’d want to be buried in her prettiest dress.”
“And her locket,” Beth added.
“Oh yes, she loved her locket,” Bronwen said and smiled as she remembered Penny’s joy when she’d received the little gold locket for her twelfth birthday.
A.C. had stopped sobbing and was listening. “Penny would want to have ’Toria and ’Xandra so she can play with them,” he said quietly.
“Yes, she would,” Bronwen replied gently and kissed his tearstained cheek. “When you say goodbye to Penny, you may give her Victoria and Alexandra.”
“I’ll get her things ready for you, Mama,” Beth said and Bronwen nodded her thanks. In a few minutes, Beth returned with a valise.
“A.C. bach, Mama is going to go to the hospital to dress Penny so I’m leaving you here with Bethy and Gwyneth. Be a good boy for them.”
“I want to go with you, Mama,” he begged, his eyes again filling with tears.
“I’m sorry, bachgennyn, but children aren’t allowed at the hospital. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Bethy and Gwyneth will take care of you while I’m gone.” She hugged him and he nodded his acceptance. Then he asked anxiously, “Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s with Uncle Rhys and Dafydd; he said they’re making the final arrangements,” Gwyneth answered, and Bronwen and Beth nodded their understanding. A.C. said fearfully, “I want Daddy.”
“He’ll be home later,” Bronwen replied handing him to Beth and giving each of her precious children a goodbye kiss.
Bronwen returned from the hospital to be greeted by her tearful son. Matilda and Llywelyn had come over to offer their support and they had helped Beth and Gwyneth comfort A.C. A little later Adam, Rhys and Dafydd returned a