Free Tattler's Branch by Jan Watson Page B

some bibs,” Lilly replied. “He could definitely use some of those.”
    Mazy rolled her eyes. “I draw the line at diapers.”
    “Remember my dog Steady? Remember how after she got old and deaf, if you asked her to do something she didn’t want to do, she’d just turn her eyes away? Like if she couldn’t see you, she didn’t have to mind.”
    “I remember you spent a whole summer teaching her sign language. I was what   —six or seven?” With busy fingers, Mazy signed sit and stay . “I still remember most of it.”
    A terrible jangling sound made Kip’s fur stand on end. Abandoning his saucer, he ran to the door, barking furiously.
    “What in the world?” Mazy said.
    “Goodness, it’s the telephone.” Lilly rushed to the wooden box installed on the wall by the door. “Kip. Shush!” She lifted the receiver and shouted into the mouthpiece, “Hello!”
    Mazy held Kip to quiet him. They stood in a tight bunch. Kip licked first Lilly’s face and then Mazy’s. “Hello,” Lilly said again.
    “How’s my sweet wife?” came like a miracle through the wires along with a fair amount of background noise.
    “Tern?” Lilly sagged against the wall. Her knees felt like jelly. Thoughtfully, Mazy took Kip outside, closing the door behind her.
    “It’s me, angel. I’ve got some news.”
    “Are you okay?” She couldn’t help but pose the question every miner’s wife dreaded having to ask. “Are you hurt?”
    “No, honey, no. Please don’t worry about me. You know I’m careful as can be. But listen, Lilly; I’m not coming home next week like we’d planned   —”
    “Oh, Tern, you’ve been gone for weeks.”
    “I know, but there’s been an explosion and a cave-in at a mine in Canada. A dozen men are trapped miles underground. Washington offered our help. I’m on the way there now. I’m calling from the train station.”
    Her eyes filled with hot tears. What exquisite torture, hearing his dear voice but not being in his presence, not being able to feel his arms around her, not hearing the beat of his strong heart against her cheek. She stifled a sob.
    “I love you, honey. You’re not crying, are you? Please don’t cry. I’ll be home soon enough.”
    Lilly dug her thumbnail into her index finger to redirect the pain in her heart. No sense making this more difficult for him. “I love you too, dearest. Just be careful. Promise?”
    “This is the best, hearing your voice. I’m glad this thing works.”
    “Yes, me too. Tern? I’ve got something to tell you also.”
    “I’m all ears.”
    She took a breath and forced a broad smile   —she wanted to savor the moment she gave her husband such wonderful news, and her voice would be lighter with a smile. “Are you ready to be a father?” she teased.
    A blast of static followed by dead silence rewarded her question. She tapped the receiver against the wall as if that would clear the line. It was still dead as could be. Frustrated, she replaced the earpiece, cranked the phone, and picked up the receiver again.
    “Operator   —number, please,” eked out in a feminine voice.
    “I was speaking with my husband. We’ve been disconnected.”
    “Number, please.” The woman drew out her words. It sounded to Lilly like she was forcing a smile too.
    “I don’t have a number.”
    “Please hold.”
    Inside Lilly’s ear, the phone rang distantly. “Directory assistance. What city, please?”
    “I don’t know what city.”
    “Hold, please.”
    The telephone clicked and hissed. “Number, please.”
    “I was disconnected   —”
    The buzzing of a dozen bees replaced the operator’s voice. Lilly hung up. Her ear throbbed from being pressed so tightly to the receiver. “Stupid thing,” she said to the telephone, which offered no reply. She was of a good mind to jerk the whole shebang off the wall and pitch it through the kitchen window. Progress! Who needed it?
    After refilling her tea glass and Mazy’s, she stepped outside to join her