Bridget

Six Years Later

Bridget stirred the tea once more, watching the peppermint leaves hover in the hot liquid for a moment before she turned back to the bed.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” she asked the little boy sitting up in his bed.

Bearing the same fair hair as his father, George was the spitting image of Aaron. Bridget couldn’t help reaching out toward him as she sat on the edge of the bed and brushed the blond locks back from his forehead. He still had a fever, though he was gaining more color.

“A little better, Mama.” George had the strength of his grandmother Matilda in him and was clearly trying to keep a brave face. Bridget smiled as she passed the tea into her son’s hands.

“Here, darling, drink up. This will help to settle your stomach,” she said softly. “Take small sips.”

George took the tea with his two small hands and pulled it to his lips, blowing on the liquid before sipping it and creating clouds of steam around his little face.

Bridget watched him drink with nervousness. Her son had fallen ill a few days ago. He had an upset stomach and a fever, and though he was improving every day, the slow recovery was still causing her pain. She longed to see her son running around the garden again, as he spent most days.

Usually, it was difficult for her to bring George inside at the end of the day. Even a few days before he fell ill, she had found him by the pond in the garden, trying to catch a toad. It seemed George had a little of Winston and Wilhelmina in him as well.

“Sweetheart, you are brave.” She took the teacup from his hand and placed it on the bedside table. “Anything else you need?”

George pulled at the bed covers around him, tugging them until they were around his face, framing his fair curls and his blue eyes.

“Tell me a story,” he asked sweetly, lying back against the pillows.

“Of course.” Bridget moved to his side, leaning on the pillows beside him. He twisted, using his mother as his pillow instead, resting his head in her lap.

“I’ll get better, won’t I, Mama?” he whispered, looking up from her lap.

“Oh, sweetheart, of course you will, you are already getting better. You mustn’t worry so much. It is important that we always hold onto our hope.” She brushed back the blond curls on his head. “I know the perfect story to tell you, something to show you that no matter how bleak things may seem sometimes, they will always get better.”

“Six years ago, your uncle Jeremiah was visiting one of the ships in the port of Falmouth when he found the sailors had brought something back with them that they did not intend to. It was a sickness. It spread through the townspeople so fast, and no one could do anything to stop it.” As she spoke, she saw George wince at the idea.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice quiet.

“The people pulled together.” She smiled. “Your great uncle sought volunteers from the town and those volunteers went from house to house, caring for the sick. That’s how I came to meet your father.” She played with George’s hair as he smiled too. “Though he wore rather a heavy scowl when we first met.” George chuckled at the idea. “I helped him and your grandmother recover, just as the other volunteers helped those in town.”

“When your father was well enough, he went into town and helped pull together the people’s efforts. Measures were put in place, people wore handkerchiefs so that half their faces were hidden, and everyone was looking out for their neighbors. Before we knew it, the worst of the sickness had passed.”

“It had?” George’s voice piqued with hope.

“Yes, and though it was an awful time, the town changed for the better afterwards. We have the healer’s house now, and the house for the homeless too, and anytime there is a problem in town, the people look to one another for help.” She smiled, remembering how much had changed over the last six years.

Four years ago, she and Aaron had opened the house for the homeless too, giving a sanctuary to those who could not find it elsewhere.

“What I want you to remember, each time you hear this story, is that good that can come out of such awful events. Now, Falmouth has a better future ahead of it, for everyone realized what was important in this world. We need to protect others, no matter who they are, high class or low, man or woman, we are all equal and we must work hard to save one another. And that is what Falmouth did.” At her words, George snuggled down in her lap.
The door opened and Bridget looked up to see Aaron in the doorway. At the sight of him, she smiled, just as she always did. He smiled too and crossed the room quickly toward them.

“How are Rachel and Agnes?” Bridget asked softly.

“Sleeping.” He took a chair from the side of the room and brought it to the bed. Still under a year old, the twins did not always sleep through the night. Bridget smiled, thinking of her twin babies asleep in their cots. “How are we doing here, little man?” Aaron turned his attention to George in her lap, earning the boy’s gaze.

“Better,” George said simply, but his voice was a little weak. Aaron looked up at Bridget, clearly looking for an honest answer.

“He is improving.” Bridget nodded. “I was just telling him about the sickness that swept across Falmouth. That no matter how bad things get, they get better.”

“That’s very true.” Aaron smiled and reached forward to George, pulling the covers around him a little tighter. “You mustn’t let sickness worry you, little man. There is good in everything in life, and it sometimes takes tragedies to make us realize what is important to us in life.”

“What is important to you, Papa?” George asked, looking up.

“You,” Aaron said gently. “Your sisters, and your mother.” His blue eyes lifted to Bridget and she smiled. “As awful as that time was, George, without it, I would not have your mother, and I would not have you, so I will always be grateful for it.” He leaned down and dropped a kiss to the boy’s forehead.

“I love you.” George’s little hand reached out from the bed cover and Aaron clasped it in his own hand.

“I love you too, son.” Aaron held tightly to the little hand and looked up at Bridget again.
Bridget felt that same tug in her chest she had always known since she had met Aaron. It had grown stronger with each passing day and now, six years later, it was overwhelming. She was bound to him forever and to their three children.

“Time for some sleep, George.” Bridget carefully helped the boy off her lap and onto the pillows. He snuggled deeper as Bridget and Aaron stood up, bringing the covers up to his neck. “Good night, sweetheart.” Bridget dropped another kiss to the boy’s head.
As Aaron took her hand, he led her out of the room. They closed the door gently behind them, both lingering for a moment, to check George was at peace.

“He is getting better, then?” Aaron whispered, with clear anxiousness.

“He is.” She smiled and moved into Aaron’s arms, feeling the same thrill she always felt as his arms came up around her waist. “He is strong. Within a day or two, this will be just a memory.”

“Thank goodness.” He sighed, brushing the curve of her waist with the crook of his hand. “I’ve been thinking…”

“Always a good sign,” she teased, earning a soft laugh from him.

“Now the twins are getting a little older.” He smiled. “What do you think of having another?”

“Another?” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you trying to fill this house with children?”

“I rather like the idea,” he admitted, still brushing the curve of her waist. “What do you say?”

With the touch of his hand, she felt sparks shoot through her body. She also rather liked the idea of more children in the house. Jeremiah and Hannah had welcomed their second child into the world only a week ago, Caleb, and the sight of the new baby had made Bridget long for another child of her own.

“Yes,” she sighed as his hand continued to brush her waist. Aaron kissed her quickly then took her hand and began to draw her down the corridor.

“Then we best be quick, before the twins wake up!” At his words, Bridget laughed heartily and followed him.

The last six years had brought her so much happiness. While she still lived her life for the people of Falmouth, spending time at the houses she and Aaron had set up in town to help the poor and the sick, she now had a second purpose in her life.

Aaron and her family.

By his side is where I always want to be.

The Next Book is Available on Our Website and on Amazon!
Read The Next Book!
Click on the Image or Scan the QR Code