Chapter 7
It did not take Mary Jane long to adjust to life on the farm. She delighted in the fresh vegetables from the garden, fresh eggs each morning, and the newly born calves trying to find their first legs. Each evening before they retired to bed Carl would read from the Bible to her. They would end their day with prayers of thanks for the life God had provided for them. Carl promised her they would attend church on Sunday once he had gotten everything caught up from their trip. It was something that Mary Jane looked forward to with delight. She wanted to meet her neighbors and get acquainted with Carl’s friends.
Butch quickly became her best friend. He followed her around the house while she cleaned and cooked, and he always stood guard while she was in the garden. When she sat down he would place his head on her knee waiting for that friendly pat before laying down for his nap. On this particular morning he ran off while she had been working in the garden. She looked up to see where he was, but he was nowhere in sight.
Figuring that Butch was out getting some exercise, Mary Jane went on with her gardening. Suddenly she felt something tugging on the bottom of her dress and when she looked down Butch was there trying to pull her away.
“Let go you crazy dog,” she said. “You are about to tear my dress!”
Butch continued to pull as if he wanted her to follow him. She finally realized that something might be wrong and followed him in the direction of the pasture closest to the barn. When they arrived at the pasture Butch began barking wildly. Mary Jane looked around and discovered one of the pregnant cows was laying on the ground and seemed to be in distress. She climbed over the fence and ran over to see if she could detect a problem.
The cow was clearly in distress but Mary Jane had no idea what might be wrong. She started screaming as loud as she could, hoping that Carl or one of the other workers would hear her.
Carl was working with some cattle in a nearby pasture when he heard a loud scream and feared something was wrong with Mary Jane. He jumped on his horse and whipped it into a fast run, praying all of the way that nothing was seriously wrong. When he topped the hill he saw Mary Jane in the pasture keeling on the ground by one of the cows. Butch was pacing back and forth beside her. He pulled up his horse and ran to the spot where his wife trying to console a cow who was in obvious pain.
“What is wrong,” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Butch pulled me over here and I found this cow laying on the ground. She seems to be in distress but I don’t know what to do for her.”
Mary Jane watched as Carl leaned down to examine the cow. He started rubbing the cow’s stomach, making strong movements down the entire length. Soon Mary Jane spotted a couple of feet appear before Carl reached and pulled the new calf to safety.
Carl realized that the calf was not breathing so he quickly started working on it, trying to stimulate it enough to get it to breathe. Mary Jane watched as the newborn calf seemed to heave and all of a sudden it opened its eyes and started breathing on its own. The mother was standing on her feet watching while Carl ministered to the new calf.
“That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen,” Mary Jane said. “I have never seen a cow give birth before!”
“Well, that was not the ideal way,” he said. “Usually the mother can give birth on her own, but somehow this one was not able to expel the calf on her own. Another five minutes and we would probably have lost them both.”
“Butch knew something was wrong. He grabbed hold of my dress and nearly ripped it off me before I finally followed him,” Mary Jane said. “I had no idea what was wrong, or what to do. I am glad you were able to get here on time. I may just want to adopt this new baby for myself. Do you think the mother would mind?”
“I am sure the mother is thankful to you for getting her help in time,” Carl said with a smile. “She will probably allow you daily visits, but raising the young calf will be totally up to her.”
“Then I want to name it Lucy,” Mary Jane said. “I will check on her every morning to make sure she is doing okay.”
“Well, right now I need to get back to work and Lucy needs to eat,” he said. “Take Butch and go back to the house so that these two can bond in private. I’ll come home for some lunch in a couple of hours.”
Carl watched Mary Jane as she walked back toward the house with Butch in tow. He had never imagined that he could be so happy with a woman who came to him through the mail. The best he had hoped for was a woman who could cook, clean, and keep him company at night when he was at home. He looked toward the sky and thanked God for sending him somebody as wonderful as Mary Jane.