Author's Note: Hi everyone! ASianSuccessor2012 here! Here I am again with another B&B story...my third one actually. I've been taking a break for writing stories for this fandom, especially from one of my stories "A Christmas Miracle on Pepperinge Eye," which is on hiatus for the time being, but then, after a looong break...I'm back!
Anyways, back to the story, it takes place sometime in 1941 around the time Miss Price is still taking custody of the Rawlins children during the war when Mother's Day is fast approaching, therefore dampening the mood of both the children and Miss Price; mainly because the children lost their parents to the war and Miss Price's mother is long since gone. But due to time ticking quickly towards the very holiday, it won't be long until they realize that they can celebrate mother's day after all; the children having Miss Price as their nearest mother figure. The only thing is, it'll take a bit of time for them to figure it all out...together. I know it's WAY past Mother's Day, but hey, it's never too late to spread the family fluff, right? If truth be told, if you're a fan of this film or at least saw it, there's no way to doubt the adorable family relationship Charlie, Carrie and Paul share with Miss Price.
Without further ado, here's the first chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review too! Constructive criticism is always welcome, but flames are an absolute NO-NO.
~ASianSuccessor2012
P.S. As I (and many authors) always say, I own nothing. All these characters belong to Disney (except for eventual/possible OCs).
Also, be prepared for a double-dose of imagination because this story may contain long chapters (at least I think the first chapter is an exception)! At the moment, I don't know how far this story will go in terms of chapters, but I will tell you this: this story isn't going to be a very long one. Let's say it'll be at least 3 or 4 chapters in the minimum.
Chapter 1: Sound Advice
It was a rather blustery Friday morning, the 9th of May in 1941, in the quaint village of Pepperinge Eye and as quiet as it always seemed in the past due to the ongoing war, today and the remainder of the past week seemed to be brimming with activity, mostly taking place in the town's various shops. The card shops and flower shops were overflowing with customers, both young and old alike, scrambling through the isles as if a special holiday was on its way. As a matter of fact, an immensely special international holiday would be taking place in two days time and it was none other than Mother's Day, falling on Sunday, the 11th of May.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hobday was tending to the flower shop's counter along with a number of her fellow vendors, trying her best to compose herself in front of the rapidly rolling sea of customers coming in and out by the millisecond, it was beyond overwhelming for her, as exciting as the holiday was.
"Goodness gracious!" the elderly saleslady murmured to the vendor next to her, "That's quite a wave of customer we're 'avin' today! Don't they know that it ain't the Christmas season yet?! Blimey!"
The wave of customers she mentioned didn't seem to stop rolling until next in line, an extremely familiar face of a woman with short, curly blonde hair, a lilac-blue beret and a beige-colored trench coat with a serious, no-nonsense look on her face, holding a bouquet of wild roses to pay at the counter caught her eye. The customer lay the medium-sized bouquet at the table and smiled warmly at the sight of her now dear friend.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Hobday," the customer greeted.
"Ah, Miss Price! Good mornin' to you! 'Ow are you doin' today?" Mrs. Hobday asked, mustering up a pleasant expression on her face despite the rapidly growing crowds of customers lining up behind her and browsing the isles like there was no tomorrow.
"I just came to stop by and purchase these wildflowers you happened to have in stock, which is quite unusual for a flower shop since you normally sell manufactured flowers rather than these ones that are usually grown in far-off gardens and forests," Miss Price said, holding up the deep dark red-shaded wild roses with their rigid petals and taking a closer look at them.
"So it's these wild roses that caught your eye today, eh?" Mrs. Hobday chuckled, furrowing an eyebrow towards the mysterious bouquet, "Why these of all the flowers you could possibly choose m'dear? There are 'ole lots in store, you could even add a few more variations and you'll be all set!"
"Oh Mrs. Hobday, you don't understand!" Miss Price said, still pleasantly while shaking her head, "I picked these wild roses in particular because there's something about them that always seems to bring me close to home."
"I see..." Mrs. Hobday drawled in a friendly-teasing manner, "Let me guess...is it because these very flowers define your name, Eglantine?"
"Well...partially," the slightly younger woman added as she turned her eyes back to the bouquet with a hint of melancholy in her eyes, "But there's something much more to that."
Mrs. Hobday noticed the evident sadness displayed in her friend's eyes and with sympathy, placed her hand on her shoulder. Immediately, it seemed as if she knew the whole reason why Miss Price's mood seemed to dampen.
"It's because of the coming 'oliday, isn't it?" she asked, receiving a slow nod and sigh in response, "I know that Mother's Day isn't the most joyous of celebrations for you, but that shouldn't be stopping you from at least celebrating it, y'know? Maybe to pay your dear mother homage at the cemeteries?"
Miss Price flinched at the mention of her late mother, pausing for a moment before she spoke, as she began to ponder deeply about her unlike she ever did in a really long time.
"Erm...yes, Mrs. Hobday, that is precisely what I intend to do. That's why I came by to purchase this bouquet," she responded briskly, her voice nearly quivering, in attempt to change the subject, "For the meantime, I have decided to spend this rather commercialized holiday in serenity under the safety of my own roof, if you don't mind."
"Well, it's your loss, Miss Price," Mrs. Hobday said in a far more serious tone with a shrug as she sorted out the loose flowers behind the counter, "If you don't do anything else to honor her, you'll probably regret it this year, and I dare say...maybe even for the rest of your life."
The slightly younger woman's eyes widened at Mrs. Hobday's sudden remark though still trying her hardest to brush away the thought of the fast approaching holiday even if it seemed more than likely impossible. She thought of her friend's words for quite some time before she dared to utter another sentence and the feeling of regret and the depressionthat came after it was something someone like Miss Price definitely desired to avoid...again.
"Don't worry about me Mrs. Hobday," Miss Price suddenly spoke softly as she reached into her trench coat's left pocket for coins, handing them to Mrs. Hobday, "I'll see what I can do to at least take part in the celebration."
"Well, good for you, dearie!" the elderly saleslady said, reverting to a pleasant manner with a light chuckle as she claimed the money from Miss Price's hands, "It looks like you already 'ave been takin' part just by purchasing the flower bouquet."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Mrs. Hobday," Miss Price simply replied with an almost visible smile on her face before she turned away with the bouquet of wildflowers on her left hand, "Have yourself a good sale-day!"
"'Ave yourself a lovey day, Miss Price!" Mrs Hobday waved cheerily, "Take care of yourself on the way out, and for goodness sakes, keep taking good care of those children!"
"Will do! So long!"
And with that, Miss Price clung tightly to her delicate bouquet, managing to squirm her way out of the flower shop through the numerous waves of busy customers and heading off towards her motorcycle. She then placed the bouquet of flowers on the side car next to her, and applied her rigid, rubber-made safety goggles on. Miss Price was about to push on the motorcycle's pedal to start its engines, but before she could proceed, a pleasant-sounding, smooth-talking, friendly voice suddenly came towards her direction, coming from none other than a tall yet slightly younger man with groomed black hair and a priestly outfit and flat-top hat matching its color...Mr. Jelk.
"Why, good afternoon Miss Price!" the cheerful minister greeted, marching right up to her motorbike.
Miss Price silently rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, friendly as his approach was towards her. With that particular sort of greeting, she knew that Mr. Jelk perhaps wanted something from her or maybe even more than that, which was something she dared not to mention or in the least to think about. She then attempted to the best of her ability to remain friendly and polite towards him, yet keeping a blunt, rushed and furtive demeanor whenever she was in his prescence.
"Good afternoon Mr. Jelk," she replied brusquely, avoiding his eye contact.
"How goes your day despite all this secular busyness around you, hmm?" Mr. Jelk asked with an even brighter smile moving closer towards the side car, thus making the slightly older woman feel rather uncomfortable.
"I was just on my way to pick up the children from school. Now if you'll excuse me Mr. Jelk, if I don't fetch them right away, I'm afraid I'll be late and I certainly don't want to keep them waiting, now do I?" Miss Price rushed with her words with a serious tone in her voice, looking away from the young minister as she always did.
"Certainly not Madam. I do hope I'm not being much of a bother to you," he said, taking his hat off in respect of the older woman.
"If you don't want to be much of a bother to me, I suggest you'd kindly allow me to pass this instant," Miss Price said in a straightforward manner with her voice trailing upwards, showing the slightest hint of annoyance towards the determined minister.
"Why, yes of course Miss Price, how silly of me to refrain from being a gentleman!" Mr. Jelk chuckled, moving aside to allow a passageway for the motorbike to cross.
"There's no need for that right now Mr. Jelk, although in all sincerity, I do appreciate your efforts towards me," Miss Price said, giving off a rather sarcastic smile, "Nice try though."
The vague expression of Miss Price's face seemed like a challenging puzzle difficult for Mr. Jelk to comprehend that he could do nothing but crack yet another smile and a gradual creeping blush upon his cheeks.
"Heh, well Miss Price, erm...I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about," the young minister chuckled in between his words, still clinging onto his hat, fiddling with its edges out of mere nervousness, "I only meant to ask you if you planned on visiting your mother's grave this coming weekend."
Miss Price's sarcastic grin all of a sudden reverted to a more solemn expression again at another mentioning of her late mother. Especially since the weekend was all centered on Mother's Day Weekend, now simply wasn't the time to avoid the subject of mothers being brought up.
"As a matter of fact I do. Well, long after the children have gone to bed, that's for sure. I don't want them to know what is going on just yet," she admitted to him; something she never thought she would do for the very life of her.
"Well Miss Price, sooner or later in the weekend, which happens to be very very soon, those children will eventually have to find out about the heaviness you feel in your heart about Mother's Day, and there's certainly no escaping that feeling of heartbreak every time you think about her that's for sure. But believe it or not, I think they happen to be sailing on the same boat as you are, my dear friend. You mustn't forget that they too lost their mother earlier in the war. Your situations aren't as different after all, you know. You and the children just have to find a way to make it through this celebration together. Make sure it's meaningful! Don't forget to open up to them! They've been with you for quite a while now..." Mr. Jelk offered his sound advice, trailing off before he gave her a warm smile, the blush still remaining planted on his cheeks, "...You don't always have to be so mysterious, you know. Everyone has their vulnerable moments in life and no human being is an exception. Including you."
Miss Price couldn't help but smile at the minister's words of wisdom. For that moment at least, it didn't seem like a sermon she'd seem to hear almost every Sunday, but it was more like sound advice coming from a friend...well, almost.
"Thank you, Mr. Jelk," she mustered up a small smile, "Your words never fail to resound in it's meaning."
"Anything for a dear friend of mine, especially a brilliant woman like you," Mr. Jelk responded with another creeping blush.
Miss Price seemed to notice the bright-red color on his cheeks and decided to herself that she had found yet another opportunity to send him off with a tease.
"You know something Mr. Jelk, I'm surprised that it's only now that I realized something about you that you've had for quite a while now that I've failed to notice even on Valentine's Day and a many great holidays even for the past few years that we've known each other," she began with a smile creeping up her face.
"And what is that something, may I ask?" the minister furrowed his eyebrows in a curious sort of way.
"Admit it, Father Jelk, you fancy me!" Miss Price proclaimed to him with a wide, sarcastic grin as she quickly pushed on the pedal to speed off on her motorbike, "Good day!"
"Wait, what?!" he exclaimed, dumbfounded by her unprecedented remark.
Before he could question her any further, it was already too late as the motorcycle had already taken off in full speed away from his direction. Without anything further to do, he turned away and chuckled, her last few words to him replaying constantly on his mind.
"The woman thinks I fancy her, eh?" Mr. Jelk murmured to himself, his blush growing even bigger, "Not too shabby for wishful thinking, that's for sure."
With that, he walked away from the dirt road and into the flower shop, without a doubt, still thinking about the words Miss Price had uttered. But for this moment, he was just thankful to have given her some sound advice she never thought would come from him, although in most cases, she would very seldom follow it. Perhaps she would listen to it. Perhaps she would. This feeling of gratefulness seemed short-lived, however, because a small afterthought quickly passed the young minister's mind that simply said, "What if she is the one who fancies me?"
A/N: Well, here's the first chapter for you! Expect the next chapter to come in the next day or two, because it seems that my writer's block is at this moment, officially broken. I hope you enjoyed this chapter...stay tuned for more! Don't forget to leave me a REVIEW!
'Til next time...
~ASianSuccessor2012
P.S. Did any of you notice some one-sided Miss Price/Mr. Jelk towards the end of this chapter? Don't worry about any pairings for this story...it's not the main focus here! As always, Miss Price will always belong to Professor Emelius Browne (who knows? He might be in this story as per any request. Let me know if you'd like him to be in it and PM me suggestions as to how he may be able to fit in this story.)