Fiction Short Story

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Fiction Short Story

by Joan McNulty Pulver

The Doll

This is going to be an awesome New Year! I finally have a home. I have a little girl who loves me and takes care of me. Let me tell you what happened. It was right after Thanksgiving when everyone was out shopping for Christmas and I was miserable.

**** If I were a real baby I'd be crying. No one seems to want me. I sit on this shelf while the kids all drool over Betsy Wetsy, Barbie and Ken and all the other fancy dolls. I'm just a baby doll. Every once in a while, Mrs. Watson comes into the store and stands here looking at me with a longing in her eyes. I heard Mrs. Watson's husband died in an accident and now she's raising Mary all alone on her salary as a nurse at the hospital in the city. I sometimes wonder, if I were in a city store would someone want to buy me. Oh, look, she’s here. Will she come my way again?

**** "Hello, Mrs. Watson. How are you?" asked Paul. "What can I get for you today?"

"I need some flour, butter… Let me see, I put that list somewhere," she said, smiling broadly. "Oh, here it is."

"I’ll get this and be right back," Paul answered, taking her list.

"I’ll just look around while you’re getting those."

She’s coming this way. Maybe she will buy me this time. I certainly hope so.

"You're such a pretty doll. I just know my Mary would love you. I wish I could afford to buy you. My daughter wants a baby brother or sister. Mary's only four years old and doesn’t understand that I can't do that now. Mary would be happy having a baby doll to care for. She'd pretend you're her sister." Mrs. Watson straightens my dress and smoothes my hair.

She’s talking to me. She really likes me. Mrs. Watson would buy me if she had the money. I wish she could take me home to Mary. I feel so bad for her; she has tears in her eyes. I'm sure any daughter of hers would be a wonderful playmate.

**** Time goes by so slowly now. All the other dolls are gone. It's almost Christmas. The shopkeeper’s wife, Katherine, even took me home, cleaned me up and put a new dress on me, hoping that would help to sell me. It didn’t help though; I'm still sitting on the shelf. Mrs. Watson came in yesterday and walked over to see me. I could see the longing in her blue eyes. Would you believe she even showed me a picture of her daughter? Maybe someday she will be able to afford me. I can only hope.

**** I know it's late because the streetlights have been on for a long time. I can hear the phone ringing but Paul didn’t answer it. He should have closed by now. I wonder what's happening. I see Mrs. Watson out the window. She must have just gotten off the bus. I heard it pass by a few minutes ago. She’s stopping. Maybe she realizes that the store should be closed and will come in to see why it isn’t.

"Paul, are you in here?" Mrs. Watson says loudly as she opens the door.

"Oh, my God, Paul!"

Mrs. Watson's walking over to the counter and picking up the phone. I wonder what's wrong.

"This is Janet Watson. I'm a nurse at the hospital. There's a man down, apparently with a heart attack. We are at the Kinderhook General Store on Main St. in Kinderhook. Send the medivac copter."

She's silent for a moment as though she's listening.

"I told you I’m a nurse. I know how to give CPR. Just get that medivac here right away."

Mrs. Watson hung up the phone and went back to Paul. She's kissing him. Yuk! Now she's pressing on his chest, then kissing him again and then pressing on his chest again. What's that she's doing?

What's that loud noise? There's a big bird out in the street with funny looking wings on top. I know what that is. I heard a little boy call the little red machine on the shelf a copter the other day. Two men are getting out and coming in the store. Mrs. Watson stops kissing Paul and the two men put something funny on his face and move him to a table they brought in.

Katherine ran into the store. "Mrs. Watson, what are you doing here? What happened to my husband?"

"She saved his life with her quick thinking," said one of the men from the medivac.

"Katherine, when I got off the bus, I noticed the lights on. You never keep the store open this late. I decided I had better check and found Paul on the floor. Since I knew about his heart problems, I called the medivac unit to come and administered CPR until they could get here."

"Oh, thank you so much. There could have been a robber or someone else menacing in the store. That was so brave of you," she said, giving Mrs. Watson a hug.

"It was the least I could do, Katherine. You and your husband have always been kind to me. Is there anything else I can do? I don’t have a car, but if you have yours here, I could ride over to the hospital with you."

"No, thank you. I’ll call my son, Larry. He’ll come over and drive me. You need to go home to your little girl. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what happens."

"Please do. I’ll check up on him tomorrow while I’m on duty. I work in the cardiac ward. I’ll be sure to see he's well taken care of."

Now, do you see what I mean about her being such a kind person? I'm sure she will take good care of Paul while he's in the hospital.

What is Larry doing? He's taking me off the shelf and putting me in a box. I wonder if they're going to put me in the storeroom since no one bought me again this year. Katherine's here too. She's putting a turkey and a lot of other food into a box. Now I can’t see. Larry closed my box. I can still hear though. What's that loud noise? I seem to be moving but I can’t see anything outside this box. I wonder if they are going to just take me to the dump. I wish Mrs. Watson had been able to buy me.

We're stopping. Someone's lifting my box and walking with me. I hear a bell and a door opening.

"Hello, Mrs. Watson."

"Hello, Larry, Katherine. Please come in. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh no. You have already done more than anyone could expect. Paul told us how you came to see him whenever your shift allowed. We appreciate all you've done for him. We have something for you."

"Something for me? I don’t need payment for being a good neighbor. Any good Christian would have done the same."

"Please don’t think of this as a payment but as a thank you gift for all you've done. My whole family will be at the hospital on Christmas, with Paul. I won’t have time to cook the turkey I bought. I thought you might make good use of it. It can’t be refrozen and I don’t want it to go to waste," said Katherine, directing Larry to put the box on the table.

"I will take the turkey only if you let me bring some of it to you at the hospital."

"Paul said he has seen you and Mary looking at this doll every time you come into the store. He said she needed a good home and insisted I give her to you for Mary," Katherine said, handing her the box.

"Oh!" she said as she opened it up and saw the doll. "How can I ever thank you?"

**** Christmas day was wonderful. When Mary opened the box and saw me, she shouted out in happiness.

"Mommy, look what Santa brought me! Isn’t she beautiful? She even has some more clothes in the box so I can change her to look pretty."

Later that day, Larry came and picked us up in his car to go to the hospital to visit Paul and his family. We took a whole dinner with us to share with them.

"The aroma from that table is making me hungry, Mrs. Watson," remarked Paul as we entered his room. I'm sure it will be healthy and delicious."

"Please, Paul, call me Nancy. If we are to share a dinner together, I think we should be on a first name basis."

Mary's a good girl; she carries me everywhere she goes. She hugs me and kisses me and takes very good care of me. I even get to sleep in bed with her.

Copyright © 2004 Joan McNulty Pulver

About the Author
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Joan McNulty Pulver moved to Florida about 30 years ago and decided to stay. She has five children (two girls and three boys) and five grandchildren (four boys and one girl). An Administrative Secretary for the State of Florida, she plans to retire in about seven years and then start her real career, writing. Joan hopes to have at least one novel finished and published by that time. She does a little volunteer work here at WVU and enjoys this community of writers. "I have learned so much here and like helping others learn along with me."