After Aunt Hannah’s services at St. Patrick’s Church, Will continued to live with Uncle Frank in his home. The whole family supported this action, as none of them thought that Frank could take care of himself without Hannah. Will moved into the guest room, which sat just off the kitchen on the first floor, and began taking over some simple duties: cooking, cleaning, and making sure that Frank took his vitamins every day. Though it wasn’t a glamorous life, Will settled down into it. After all, he’d promised Frank, and he wanted to stay in town in any case, to see if he could find a doctor to treat his shoulder.
He was also helping out at the store, trying to keep it cleaner. Since he didn’t want to leave Frank on his own, Frank went with him to the store. This gave them a chance to get reacquainted. For Will it was a pleasant time, and he felt that Frank was actually enjoying the time as well. He began to realize that as much as he loved Hannah, she had dominated both the activity and conversation whenever she was in the room. Uncle Frank had learned to bend to her much stronger personality, and had fallen into the background as a result. Now, he was beginning to assert himself, expressing his own opinions and ideas. The two men had a chance to have detailed conversations between just the two of them, without interruptions, for the first time. Both dove into those conversations, finding solace in each other’s company.
A week after Hannah’s services, Will, Benjamin, and his wife, Elisia, sat down to dinner and talked about their plans for the store. It was obvious that it had fallen into disarray, and their customer base was shrinking. If they were going to keep it open, they had to do something.
“Will, how long do you plan to stay in Boston?” asked Benjamin.
“Well, initially I hadn’t thought about staying long at all. Once I left Texas, all I wanted was to get home. But now that I’m home, half the family is gone. I think I’m still getting used to that. I haven’t really decided how long I’m staying.”
Benjamin nodded. “I understand. I’m sure there’s a lot to adjust to. Everybody here already had time to adjust to the deaths of Grandpa and Grandma, but you’re just learning about them. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to run away, to be honest. It’s kind of you to stay and help with Frank.”
Will sighed in between bites of food, and nodded. “I had intended to meet with some doctors to see what can be done about my arm, but that seems so selfish now. Still, I remember Mary saying that some of the best doctors are in the Boston area because of the medical school at the University.”
Benjamin nodded again. “From what I’ve heard, that’s true. Unfortunately, neither of us know any of those doctors.” He paused. “We could certainly ask the local doctor if he knows anybody, but he’s an old man. I would be surprised if he had connections to the University.”
Will frowned, thinking about it. He certainly hadn’t thought about how he was going to get in touch with any of the doctors Mary had talked about. Then he remembered something. “Wait a minute, Professor Brown! My friend, Professor Brown. I forget where he teaches, but maybe he knows somebody from the medical school who can help me.” Surely Professor Brown would know someone somewhere.
“That’s a great idea,” Uncle Benjamin said in return. “Do you know how to reach him?”
“Yes. I remember where his house is. I can run by there tomorrow after closing and see if he’s home.”
“Why don’t you go tonight? It’s still early.”
With a puzzled look, Will asked, “You don’t mind if I don’t finish dinner? Isn’t that kind of rude?”
Benjamin shook his head sharply. “We don’t mind at all, Willie. You’ve been working very hard, and we both know how important it is to you. You’re obviously struggling with that shoulder, and we all want you to get better.”
Elisia nodded. “Go. I’ll stay with Frank until you get home.”
Will looked from one to the other, then jumped up from his chair and ran out of the room. He’d been waiting to talk to a doctor for months, so they didn’t have to tell him twice.
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