Title: The King and I
Author: Regina




    THE KING AND I

    Neil brushed aside the pile of vegetables on the table, in order to set 
down his medical bag.  For his recent operation on John Holcombe, he had been 
paid with two large bags of corn.  As Neil had set the bags down, the corn 
had spilled all over the table and onto the floor.
    "Blast," he muttered as he knelt down to pick up the kernels that had 
landed on the rug.
    The past few days had been busy ones.  It seemed like everyone in the 
Cove had one ailment or another.  There were several cases of influenza, a 
bout with measles, and a broken finger that had all commanded his attention. 
It even seemed that the most hardy of souls had been affected.  Alice 
Henderson was feeling a bit nauseous, as well, although she did not let that 
affect the work that she had to do at the mission.
    Neil scooped up the last kernel from the floor and stood up quickly.  As 
he did, his back sent a signal to his brain that something was wrong.  Neil 
could not reach his full height; he remained stooped over, with pain running 
throughout his lower back and legs.
    He reached out for the table to steady himself and lowered himself 
carefully into a chair.  Why, he thought, did this have to happen now?  There 
were so many in the Cove that needed his services, and no doctor for miles.  
What would happen if he did not recover soon from this injury?
    A knock came to the door.  Neil heard Christy's voice.  "Dr. MacNeill. 
Dr. MacNeill, are you home?"
    Neil uttered a silent thank you to no one in particular.  In recent 
months, it seemed that Christy had a reason to visit his cabin nearly every 
day.  She often used the same reason day after day.  Her favorite was that 
Ruby Mae needed some kind of help with her the freckle remedy that she had 
tried.  Neil just could not understand why the conversation only centered on 
Ruby Mae for a sentence or two and then changed to his thoughts on one thing 
or another. 
    "Christy, come in.  I need your help, lass."
    Christy opened the door and saw Neil, sitting uncomfortably in the chair. 
 "Neil, what's wrong?  What happened?  Why didn't you answer the door 
yourself?"
    "Lass, I have thrown my back out.  I cannot get up until the spasms stop."
    "But, doctor," Christy began, "I wanted to talk to you about Ruby Mae's 
freckles. And something else."
    Neil was not really in the mood for conversation, but Christy's last 
sentence had caught his attention.  It seemed that she was distressed about 
something.   "What is it, lass?  You can tell me.  Let's not talk about Ruby 
Mae just yet.  Tell me what is troubling you."
    The color in Christy's face began to drain.  "Dr. MacNeill, I have 
decided to join a group, a club, if you will.  I had a meeting with a person 
on the river today, and it changed my life."
    Neil leaned forward as much as his aching back would allow.
    "You see, Doctor, I was walking along the river today, gathering some of 
the rocks that line the bank.  The children were going to have to compare and 
contrast them for a science unit that we are starting."
    "As I was walking along the river, I heard a voice that seemed to be 
straight out of heaven.  It was deep and mellow, better than even Jeb 
Spencer's voice, or even Miss Hattie's.  It had this quality about it that I 
cannot explain."  Christy's eyes began to shine.
    "At first, I was frightened because I did not recognize it, but I just 
knew that such a voice could not belong to anyone dangerous, so I continued 
on.  As I rounded the bend, out toward the O'Teale's, it was then that I saw 
him."
    If not for Christy's expression, Neil would have been worried.  Christy 
had a habit of trusting people too easily, and walking down the river toward 
a stranger's voice was not the safest thing to do in the Cove.  Hadn't the 
experience with Jarvis Tatum convinced her that people are not always good?  
However, the bright blue eyes that shone at him were enough to convince him 
that things at the river had not turned out badly.
    "Neil, he was a man with thick black hair, a chiseled face, and a voice 
that set my spirit free.  He was sitting on the river in a car tire.  After 
we talked for a few minutes, I knew my calling was with him.  I am leaving 
Cutter Gap tomorrow."
    Neil slammed his back into the chair without even realizing that his back 
cried out in pain.  "Lass, you cannot be serious. You do not know this man.  
He could be dangerous.  It is not safe.  Have you talked to Alice?  Surely, 
she would not let you go."
    Christy stood up quickly.  'Dr. MacNeill, I will not discuss it.  My mind 
is made up."
    Christy turned from the Doctor and he feared that she would begin to cry 
or launch into an impassioned speech about her reasons for leaving.  Instead, 
it seemed as though she was unbuttoning her dress.
    "Christy!  What are you doing?"
    "Doctor, you have revealed so much about yourself to me. I am going to 
reveal myself to you."
    Christy turned her head so that Neil could see her eyes.  "Close your 
eyes, Doctor."
    Neil obeyed, even as he begged her not to do what it seemed that she was 
intent on doing.
    After what seemed like eternity, Christy commanded him to open his eyes.
    "Christy, please say, lass, that you are dressed."
    She giggled and replied, "Of course I am, Doctor."
    He looked at her and was so startled, he fell out of his chair.
    Christy was dressed in a white jumpsuit with glittering stones all over 
it.  The glare from the suit was enough to light lanterns in Cutter Gap for 
days.  Her long, brown hair, which Neil had always secretly loved, was gone, 
and in its place was a short, black wig, that looked more like a man's hair 
than a young woman's.
    "Neil, I met the King of Rock and Roll down at the river.  He told me not 
to be cruel to a heart that is true--his.  He has been living in a place 
called Heartbreak Hotel since his baby left him.  He tried all of his 
favorite things to recover--blue suede shoes, his hound dog, but nothing 
seemed to help.  He even had a blue Christmas.  He promised that if I would 
go with him, he would change my life forever.  That is why I have decided to 
go with him to a place called Las Vegas.  We are going to have a stage show 
there."
    Neil could not believe what he was hearing.  Just as he began to open his 
mouth to protest, Christy continued.
    "If I leave now, I can just make the seven o'clock show at the MGM Grand 
tomorrow.  Give my love to the children."
    And with that she was gone.  
    Several months passed, with no word from her.
    One day, in early spring, Neil received a letter from Christy, with a 
picture of her onstage with a man that looked like the person that she had 
described meeting on the river.
    Neil read the letter:

        Dear Dr, uhhh huu huu,

            Thank you, thank you vera much for all the time we spent 
together.  I am currently with Elvis (the King of Rock and Roll) as we speak. 
 We are leaving Las Vegas, heading to Graceland.  I am truly sorry for 
leaving the Cove as I did.  I am sending you tickets for our next show--"The 
King and Queen of Rock and Roll Jazz Up the Classics."  You would not believe 
what we do with Mountain Laurel.  I know that leaving the Cove will be 
difficult, but your horse could use the exercise.

    If undeliverable, return to sender,
    The Queen of Rock and Roll (uhh huu uhhh)."

    Neil sighed deeply.  If he had to go to this place called Las Vegas to 
get Christy, he would.  After all, he loved her tender.

THE END