“Well, not perfect on every exam, Mother,” he mumbled.
“Fiddlesticks,” Pearl, always his number one supporter, countered with a twinkle in her eye. “Yes, you did, because all of my children are bright.”
“That’s true,” Livvy quipped with one finger in the air and a cheeky grin.
Everyone at the table chuckled, thereby taking the heat off of Dwight. He gave Doc Reeves an appreciative smile and resumed eating what was truly the best vegetable soup he’d ever had—darned if Wanda Mae wasn’t telling the truth!
His mother then turned her attention back to their host. “Cornelius, Brownville is such a quaint little town. Have you always lived here?”
The doc swallowed a bite of food and smiled at Pearl as he shook his head. “I agree, it is a nice town, but no, I was born in Des Moines, Iowa,” he offered with a nostalgic twinkle in his eyes. Seeing interest on the faces of those at the table, he continued, “I obtained my medical degree at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in Ohio—class of ’52. My late wife and I met there; she worked in her father’s café near the college. She and I kept company during my schooling, and we courted longer than most, as I felt strongly—or rather, my pride demanded—that I establish my practice before I took on a wife and all of the responsibilities that entails.”
Something in his expression stayed Dwight’s attention. There was a sort of fleeting, haunted look to the good doctor as if he’d seen and done a great many things in his medical career. After his mother’s next question, Dwight knew he was right.
“Were you called up to serve as a physician in the war, Cornelius?” Pearl asked gently.
Their host cleared his throat and inclined his head in the affirmative. “I was. Exactly nine years to the day into my medical career.” With a rueful smile, he shook his head. “I had been sharing an office with a colleague and had only just obtained a place to set up a practice of my own when I was conscripted. I served under Dr. Charles Rawson in the Fifth Iowa Infantry for several years during the conflict. Blessedly, I mainly treated injuries and illnesses, while Dr. Rawson handled most of the…” he cleared his throat again, “amputations. By the end of the war I had reached the rank of captain.” He looked around his dining room table at the rapt faces giving him their full attention and added baldly, “I’m not ashamed to say that when the news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox reached us, I got down on my hands and knees and thanked the Almighty—and then prayed that I never see another battlefield again as long as I live.”
“Amen,” the adults at the table agreed, exchanging heartfelt glances and nods.
Dwight noticed the twins exchange looks before Grace voiced their shared query, “Mama, who’s Lee…and who’s Happy Matticks?”
When everyone chuckled at her innocent, sweetly worded question, she looked down with pink cheeks.
Glancing over at Mary, Dwight saw her smiling fondly toward the girls and his heart warmed as Pauline answered for Pearl, “General Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate States Army during the War Between the States, honey. He was the one who finally realized that the war had gone on long enough and made the decision to bring it to an end—to surrender on behalf of the Confederate States—and he did so at a small town in Virginia, named Appomattox,” she explained in what Dwight had always thought of as her teacher’s voice. “You’ve studied the war in school, right?” The girls both nodded. “Well, General Lee’s wise decision to surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant, the commander of the Union’s forces, finally brought an end to the long, devastating war. A war that the women and children on both sides were very thankful to see come to an end.”
Doc Reeves smiled at Pauline and raised his coffee cup toward her. “Well said, my dear.”
“The majority of the soldiers—on both sides—felt the same way, I imagine,” Dwight’s brother-in-law, Tobias, added. The others at the table nodded as they continued their meal.
Doc took a long drink, seemingly gathering his thoughts before beginning again, “To make a long story shorter…after my discharge from the service, my wife and I decided to move out west to where physicians were in shorter supply. Our steamboat docked here in June of ’66 to take on fuel for her boilers. We fully intended to continue on our journey, but we fell in love with the town, the people, and the atmosphere…” with a small shrug, he added, “We started building our home a year later.”
“It’s a lovely home,” Pearl observed, with everyone seconding the remark.
“Tell them the story you told me about the house, Doc,” Mary suddenly requested, having been silent throughout the meal thus far. Dwight turned his head, taking in her countenance, and watched as she sat smiling at her generous benefactor. Idly, he found himself feeling a tiny spark of jealousy that she was directing that captivating smile at someone else. At that thought, he gave his head a quick shake and focused on the doctor’s answer.
Doc Reeves chuckled a bit and took another sip of his coffee as he looked around at their interested expressions.
“What Mary is referring to is that this house has not always stood on this plot of ground.”
“I beg your pardon?” Pearl asked, exchanging glances with Tobias and Pauline.
Tobias laughed and brought his napkin up to wipe at his lips. “I couldn’t believe it when I first came back to town. I remember watching the house being built—at its original location. And all of the times my sisters or I
