Page 89 of Good Dirt

MD

1910

“S ee here, Grandpa?”

Eliza leaned over her grandfather’s chair and placed a piece of paper in his hands. He could barely see the writing on it, but he liked the feel of that paper. The weight of it. Eliza held his left hand and moved his fingers over the words.

“These here letters, M and D, stand for Medical Doctor .”

“And that’s what you have become.”

“That’s right, Grandpa.”

“And that’s why you have been in Pennsylvania all this time.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you come back home to stay now, Eliza?”

“Yes, Grandpa, I have come back home to stay. I will see my patients right here, in our old schoolhouse. And I will stop by to say hello to you every day on my way over there. Will that suit you all right, Grandpa Willis?”

“Yes, dear, that will suit me just fine.”