Slowly, But Surely
As Jack started feeling better after his harrowing experience of being swept by the water and having pneumonia, slowly but surely things were getting back to normal for him and Elizabeth. Jack took every opportunity to walk Elizabeth home from school each day…they took that time to catch up on that day's activities. One day, he asked her if she wouldn't mind stopping at the jail first, that he needed her help with something.
They walked inside the jail and Jack had one of his recent drawings on his desk. It was a picture of him and Elizabeth as they walked down the aisle together at Lee and Rosemary's wedding. In the picture, Elizabeth had just caught the wedding bouquet and the drawing reflected them both smiling at each other. Elizabeth always admired Jack's drawing ability. "Jack, you do such good work. You should have your work exhibited in a gallery or something."
"Elizabeth, I draw people and things that are important to me. I have no interest in sharing my art with anyone other than you. Will you help me determine where I should hang this picture? I'd like to put it near my bed somewhere."
Jack carried it back to his room. "Elizabeth, what if you hold up the picture and I'll stand back and see if everything looks good at that location?" So, Elizabeth stood there holding it to the right of his bed over by the window.
"How's this, Jack?"
"Well, things looks great from here, but how about over there?" Jack pointed to the other wall and Elizabeth held it up against the wall on the other side of the bed.
"How's this, Jack?"
"Well, everything looks great there, too. Hmmm. Let me look a little longer. You know, your hair is distracting me. Maybe you could put your hair over your shoulder?"
Elizabeth thought, "My hair? Why would that be distracting?" But she moved her hair anyway and stood their holding the picture up against the wall.
"Elizabeth, I can't tell which way I like things better…here or back over there. Would you walk back over there for me?"
Elizabeth walked back over to the other wall. "Here, Jack? Does it look better here? You know, you're going to have to make up your mind what you want!"
Jack walked up behind her and put his arms around her and put his head on her shoulder, "Well, if your hair hangs down in the back, I get to admire it. But if you move it over your shoulder, I'm able to kiss your neck like this." He began kissing her neck.
Elizabeth turned around. "Oh, I'm on to you, Jack Thornton. You didn't need help from me at all to hang this picture. You just wanted to …."
Jack said, "Admire you? Guilty." He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "Do you know how hard it was for me to wait all day for your kiss? But it was worth the wait, Elizabeth." They smiled at each other a. "Elizabeth, how about we have dinner at Abigail's tonight, and afterwards, I'll walk you home."
"I'm kinda tired tonight, Jack, so it would be nice to not cook. Thank you. It's a date." Slowly, but surely, things seemed to be coming together for Jack and Elizabeth.
A couple of days later, Jack was walking Elizabeth home after school and when they arrived, she fixed some tea and scones for them. "Jack, I dropped one of my earrings behind my dresser. Could you get it for me?" Naturally, Jack offered to get it for her.
They walked up the stairs to her bedroom. "Jack, I think I dropped it over there behind the right side of the dresser. As Jack moved the dresser and bent down to look, he decided to take off his Red Serge to protect it. He unbuttoned it and handed it to Elizabeth. Jack looked all over the floor but couldn't find her earring. As he got up from the floor, he looked over at Elizabeth and he watched her as she was embracing his coat and taking in his scent.
"Elizabeth, I can't find your earring anywhere. I've moved this dresser all around and it's nowhere to be found."
"Oh, look here, Jack. I must have put it on my nightstand. I must have forgotten." She looked at Jack and smiled.
Jack walked over to her and took the Red Serge and placed it on the chair. "Forgotten?" He smiled and looked at her, kissed her, and embraced her. They began to kiss passionately, not wanting to let go of each other. He pulled back slightly, slid his hands down both of her arms. He held both of her hands and they just gazed at each other. He then took his hands and slid them down her sides resting them on her waist. They gazed at each other and began kissing again.
After a couple of minutes, Elizabeth pulled back slightly and looked up at Jack. She then began unbuttoning his shirt. As she was almost to the last button, Jack grabbed her hands and said, "No, Elizabeth, we must stop. If we go any further, I won't be able to stop. We can't do this."
"Well then, do you have an extra Red Serge at the jail so you can leave that one here for me?" They both sighed and held each other.
About a week later, Elizabeth went to visit Abigail. On the way, she dropped off Jack's Red Serge at the jail knowing that Jack still wouldn't be back from Rock Creek. He had been placed on a special assignment and had been gone for a few days. Frankly, Elizabeth was happy that she didn't have to see him for a few days because her feelings were so strong around him she began to get concerned about herself. She sat down with Abigail and asked her, "Abigail, is there something wrong with me? I know that Jack loves me, but why hasn't he asked me to marry him? He was engaged to Rosemary so I know that he's capable of asking! I just don't know how much longer I can take this. I'm really struggling with resisting him."
"Elizabeth, I know this must be hard for you but please Jack more time. Slowly, but surely, he'll come around. You know that he needs to work this out himself. I honestly don't know what he's waiting for…he's head over heels in love with you. I don't understand this any more than you do." They talked some more but nothing Abigail said could cheer Elizabeth up or make her feel any better. Eventually, Elizabeth walked home thinking that she's had enough of "slowly, but surely."
The next morning, Jack was up early and went to Abigail's Café for breakfast. He noticed that Abigail wasn't her usual talkative self so he asked her if anything was wrong. She hesitated but finally said, "Suppose a bear and a deer love each other very much. How long do you think the deer will be willing to wait for the bear to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him?"
"What's going on, Abigail? Is Elizabeth alright? Is Charles back in town? Is that why she left my Red Serge at the jail?"
"Red Serge? Charles? What does the Red Serge and Charles have to do with this, Jack?" Abigail sighed. "Jack, you and I need to talk." Abigail didn't want to get involved in this matter but in light of her conversation with Elizabeth the previous night, she felt she needed to say something. "Jack, why haven't you asked Elizabeth to marry you? Do you know that she thinks there's something wrong with her because you haven't asked her yet? I know you love her. And you were able to ask Rosemary at one point in time…why not Elizabeth?"
Jack sighed. "Oh Abigail, you have no idea how much I want her to be my wife. I'm just afraid that…"
"Afraid of what, Jack? You know how much Elizabeth loves you."
"Will her love be enough, Abigail? I'm afraid that I can't offer her the things that she deserves. If she married someone like Charles, she'd wouldn't have to worry…"
"She wouldn't have to worry about what, Jack? Being loved the way a woman should be loved? You and I both know that Charles or any other man could never give her what you can, Jack. You can give her all the love that money can't buy. Elizabeth doesn't care about 'things'. You should know that by now."
"I know, Abigail. Maybe I'm just afraid that I won't measure up. You know, it wasn't easy for us in the beginning of our relationship. Maybe one day she'll wake up and decide she wasn't living the life she was meant to live!"
"Jack, you listen to me. You two have been in love from the day you met. The love that you share is rare, rare indeed. Everyone in this town saw it. Everyone in this town knew that you two belonged together. It took a while before you two would figure that out. Slowly, but surely, you both came to terms with it. Are you willing to throw that all away? And for what? A life apart from the One you love most in this world? Don't do that, Jack!"
"I want to propose, Abigail. I do. I love Elizabeth more than anything. I just want things to be perfect."
"Jack, nothing in this life is perfect. I guarantee you that Elizabeth isn't looking for perfect. She's looking for a commitment from the One whom she loves most in this world. She's looking for you."
Slowly, but surely Jack pondered Abigail's words. "Thank you, Abigail. I appreciate you talking to me about this."
A couple of days later, Jack stopped by the school to walk Elizabeth home and to discuss their day. "Elizabeth, will you go for a walk with me tomorrow? I'd like to share something with you."
"Sure, Jack, if you want me to. But I'm tired tonight. Do you mind if we don't have dinner together? I'm going to grade some papers and then go to bed early."
Jack knew that Elizabeth wasn't all that tired but he didn't want to argue since he had a big day planned for tomorrow. Jack knew that Elizabeth was disappointed in him. At least he could take the evening to prepare what he would say to her. He knew it wouldn't be perfect, but he wanted to give it his best shot.
It was late morning the following day, and Jack came by to take Elizabeth for a walk to his property. As they stood at the top of the hill, Jack said to her, "Elizabeth, do you remember when I brought you here before?"
"Of course, I remember, Jack. I couldn't believe it then and I still can't believe it now. This place is so beautiful. It would be so nice to live…" Elizabeth stopped talking after she realized what she said.
Jack turned away. Slowly, but surely, he felt all of these emotions welling up inside of him. The events of the recent past fell upon him. Here was this beautiful woman standing right beside him: she not only saved his life, but she stayed right beside him until he woke up from a coma. She loves him without question. He loved her more than he thought possible. In that moment he knew that he could wait no longer.
Elizabeth turned to him. "Jack, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"
"Elizabeth, when Charles showed up at the church and proposed to you, did you know that I had a ring in my pocket and I was going to propose to you that day, also? Did you know that when you and I walked up here before and I told you about building a big house, that I had a ring in my pocket then, too? I just couldn't do it, Elizabeth. I kept doubting whether your marrying me was the right thing to do. I questioned whether I was being selfish…and I thought that someone like Charles could give you so much more than I ever could."
"Jack. Why would you think…" Elizabeth began to say before Jack interrupted her.
"May I finish, please, Elizabeth? And today, right now, I realize how I don't want to wait another day, another hour, another minute, without asking you to be my wife. I love you so much, Elizabeth. I can't bear the thought of living this life without you by my side." Jack got down on one knee and looked up at Elizabeth. "Will you marry me?"
Elizabeth threw her arms around Jack and they fell back on the ground and she kissed him. "Yes, Jack, oh yes, I will marry you," Elizabeth whispered to him. They both just lay there with tears in their eyes.
Finally, they stood up and Jack placed the engagement ring on her finger. He kissed her again and put his forehead to hers. "Do you have a date in mind, Elizabeth?"
"How about today?
"Today, Elizabeth? Are you serious?"
"Yes, today! Let's go see if Pastor Frank can marry us this evening. I don't want to wait another day, Jack Thornton. You might just change your mind."
Slowly, but surely, Jack smiled, "I could never change my mind about you, Elizabeth! Race you to the chapel?"
And that day, Elizabeth Thatcher became Mrs. Jack Thornton.