Chapter 4 - Blinded by Love
The next day, Elizabeth overslept after having had a restless night, and then she had difficulty finding a cab. By the time, she got to the LaPointe's, it was already 11:00 am. She hoped Jack would be in a better mood today. Elizabeth was grateful that the LaPointes had opened their home to him. She knew that ever since Jack had saved Sabrina's life and helped deliver Jacklyn two years ago, there was an unbreakable bond between Paul, Sabrina, Jacklyn, and Jack.
Knocking on the front door, Elizabeth was surprised when it was opened by a boy of about three or four years old, who politely asked her if she wanted to come in. She quickly looked at the house number by the door just to confirm that she had the right place. As she entered the home, the little boy ran back to playing on the floor with Jacklyn and a girl, who looked about the age of two.
"Hello" Elizabeth said in a friendly voice.
"Hello", all three children replied, as they looked at her and then went back to playing with their wooden blocks.
"Jacklyn, is your mother here?", Elizabeth asked as she looked around.
When Jacklyn simply shook her little head and said "No", the boy spoke up.
"Mrs. LaPointe went to the market and my mama's in bed with Uncle Jack. "
Well, that doesn't sound good!, Elizabeth thought in surprise.
Walking across the living room, Elizabeth heard a woman's laughter coming from Jack's room. She paused in the doorway when she saw a woman sitting on Jack's bed, her back to the door. Jack was shirtless and chuckling about something the woman had said. Elizabeth could see a large bruise on Jack's shoulder. That must be from falling on the rocks, Elizabeth realized.
"Now you look much better for your fiancée'", the woman exclaimed happily as she handed Jack a fresh shirt and helped him put it on, easing in his arms, and then buttoning it for him.
"I told you, she won't be my fiancée for much longer", Jack said as his smile was replaced by frown.
"Hello", Elizabeth said tentatively.
When the woman turned around, Elizabeth saw her huge eyes ringed by long lashes. Her pale alabaster complexion revealed perfect skin and exquisite features. Her nose, her cheeks, her lips, . . . everything about her seemed perfect. Elizabeth knew immediately that this must be Doris. For a fleeting moment Elizabeth was glad Jack's eyes were bandaged. My goodness, can you imagine if he saw someone that gorgeous sitting on his bed when he's half-naked?! She frowned when she remembered that Jack had an excellent memory and could simply picture Doris in his mind based on his past attention to detail.
"Hello, I'm guessing that you're Elizabeth. I'm Doris. We were just getting Jack freshened up," the woman said pleasantly as she got up from the bed. When she stood up, Elizabeth realized that even the woman's figure was perfect.
"I'll go check on the children", Doris explained as she gathered Jack's laundry, a bowl of water, the wet sponge, and the damp towel.
When Elizabeth came out of Jack's room a few minutes later, she saw that Sabrina had returned from the market. Elizabeth explained to the two women that Jack wanted to rest. Elizabeth was embarrassed; it was obvious that Jack didn't need to rest; he just didn't want her around. Other than to urge her to go back to Hope Valley or to visit her family in Hamilton, he had given her the silent treatment. If he's encouraging me to visit my family, he must really want me gone, she thought ruefully.
Elizabeth noticed a look pass between Doris and Sabrina.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"What are you going to do about him?" Sabrina asked.
"What do you mean?" a puzzled Elizabeth responded.
Elizabeth noticed another look pass between Sabrina and Doris. This time, Doris spoke up. "He's trying to protect you, Elizabeth. Do you love him enough to not let him?"
"Protect me from what?", Elizabeth asked in confusion.
"From being saddled with a blind man", Sabrina said matter-of-factly.
"Bri -, not so harsh", Doris tenderly reprimanded Sabrina.
"I'm telling her like it is, Doris."
Doris gently explained that Jack probably felt like his life was spiraling downward, and he didn't want to drag Elizabeth down with him. He may never regain his full sight. He was giving her the chance to get out while she still could, before they were committed in marriage.
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard." Elizabeth remarked. "We're supposed to handle every challenge together."
"Well of course it's stupid. But it's a man thing. Men can be stupid, especially when they're in love and trying to be strong. When Paul got shot two months before we were to be married, he tried to break off our engagement. He told me that he didn't want me to ruin my life by marrying him and ending up a Mountie's young widow one day", Sabrina said.
"What did you do?", Elizabeth questioned.
"I told him that if he didn't marry me, I was going to marry the first eligible Mountie I saw just to spite him. . . . And let me tell you, there were a lot of eligible Mounties around."
Elizabeth looked at Sabrina in shock. "You wouldn't have, would you?"
"Of course not. I love Paul too much to even think about another man. I could never marry someone else", Sabrina said dismissively. "But I think he was actually worried I would do it just to spite him. He ended up moving up our wedding date and marrying me the next week", she said with a laugh.
"Well, I don't think that will work in my situation. Jack would never believe I'd marry another Mountie. If I threatened to marry someone else, he'd probably tell me that I'd be better off now that he's injured." Elizabeth said with a sigh.
"Yes, you're probably right." Sabrina agreed.
"What about you, Doris? Has your husband, Aaron, done anything like that to you?", Elizabeth asked.
"Not as bad, but yes, he's tried to do what he thought was best for me. His first assignment after we got married was to a desolate outpost. When he got the orders, he told me that I'd be more comfortable and safer staying with my family for the six months. "
"What did you do?"
"I started crying", Doris admitted with a shrug.
Elizabeth tried to stifle a giggle as she saw the disgusted look Sabrina made at Doris' confession.
"I couldn't help it! I cry easily!", Doris said defensively.
"What did Aaron do?"
"He felt so bad that I was crying, that he immediately apologized. He told me to forget he had ever suggested being separated. He said I was going with him and we would never discuss it again."
Sabrina let out a sigh. "Maybe we're not the best people to give you advice, Elizabeth."
After a moment's pause, Elizabeth asked curiously, "how was the desolate outpost?"
"It wasn't too bad. We had a lot of time to spend together; that part was nice. By the time the six month assignment was over, I was pregnant", Doris said with a smile.
Elizabeth spent the rest of the afternoon helping with laundry, cleaning, and watching the baby. Feeling the need to get out of the house after hours of dealing with Jack's sad silence, she took Jacklyn with her when she went to send a telegram to Abigail. She intentionally kept the telegram vague; Jack was going to be fine, it was nothing life-threatening, and they would be home as soon as he could travel.
Not only was Jack ignoring Elizabeth, but even his namesake wasn't interested in her. What is it with these Jacks?!, Elizabeth thought, feeling slightly dejectedly. Although Jacklyn remembered Elizabeth from her visit to Hope Valley, the little girl didn't seem too concerned or enamored by her. Instead she kept asking where Abigail was with cookies. Finally, Elizabeth stopped at a fancy bakery on Sparks Street and bought a bag of overly priced cookies for Jacklyn and the other children. When she handed the bag to Jacklyn to carry, Elizabeth was rewarded with a big smile. I should have been a baker rather than a school teacher, she thought discouragingly. At least one of the Jacks now appreciates me. One down, one to go, she thought with a sigh.
Returning back to the house, Elizabeth encountered the visiting doctor who was just finishing examining Jack. After the doctor left, Doris showed Elizabeth how to use the ointment and bandage Jack's eyes. Elizabeth walked away when Jack made it obvious that he wasn't going to be friendly to her.
Elizabeth was in the kitchen stirring the stew for dinner when she heard Jacklyn talking to Jack in the other room. Quietly walking to the doorway, she watched as the little girl climbed onto the couch next to Jack.
"Little Piggy, Little Piggy", Jacklyn implored.
"Jacklyn, I can't do the Little Piggy story. I can't see your feet," Jack explained patiently.
"Pleeeeassse", she pleaded as she took Jack's hand and placed it on her tiny bare foot.
"Okay, Little Jack. One time", Jack relented.
When Jack got to smallest toe and the part of the story of the littlest piggy, Jacklyn's squeals of laughter filled the room as he tickled her tiny foot. Her laughter was so infectious that Jack couldn't help but chuckle.
"Again! Again!", Jacklyn happily begged through her giggles.
Elizabeth smiled as she watched Jack recite the nursery rhyme again and again. After each time, Jacklyn gleefully begged "Again!", and each time, Jack complied until Sabrina finally rescued him by telling the little girl that it was time to wash up for dinner. This was the future Elizabeth had imagined that she and Jack would have; Jack holding one of their children, maybe a little girl named Halley, laughing happily.
Elizabeth knew she may have to give up some of her dreams with Jack, but she would not give up this one. She would not give up the dream of a family with him. She knew that if he didn't regain his sight, it would be hard at first, but eventually it would get easier. She loved him too much to let him go.
As she stared at his handsome face, she realized that he had no idea that she was watching him. In the past, she had often found herself staring at him when he filled out Mountie paperwork or worked on his sketches. She had gotten lost looking at his face and thinking about how lucky she was to have him. Usually, he sensed her eyes on him, or that she hadn't turned a page in her book for a while. He would look up at her and give her a quizzical look until he realized she was just admiring him. Then his face would break out in a grin and his dimples would show, causing her to blush and him to chuckle. Tonight, he had no idea she was across the room staring at him.
Later that evening, Elizabeth tried her best to ignore Jack's hostility and silent treatment as she spent time with him. He was even ruder to her today than he had been yesterday.
When she offered to try to shave his face, he told her that she wasn't needed and that Sabrina and Doris could take care of him just fine. Besides, he had to learn to do things by himself, he informed her. Once again, he told her that her students were waiting for her in Hope Valley and she would be of more use there.
She threw up her hands in disgust. "I'm not going back to Hope Valley without you!", she said in exasperation, and stormed into the other room to calm down.
That night, Elizabeth tried to start another conversation. "I've been working on the wedding plans. Things are coming along nicely," Elizabeth said in a false upbeat voice as she sat with him.
"You need to cancel the wedding", Jack said curtly.
"What?!"
"Elizabeth, look at me! I'm blind. I can't be your husband!"
"You stop right there! How dare you even consider breaking our engagement. Is that all I am to you . . . a pretty face?! Are you telling me that because you can't see me, you don't want to marry me?"
"Elizabeth, that's not what I'm saying!"
"Well it certainly sounds that way to me. That's what our love was based on?! How good I look to you? Don't you even care about my mind?! "
Somehow Elizabeth had managed to twist this conversation around to make her look like the victim. Jack wasn't sure how she had managed that, but suddenly he found himself defending himself.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, knew perfectly well what she was doing; she was fighting back. She would not allow Jack to pity himself, and she didn't need protecting. Mounties aren't the only brave ones!, she thought defiantly.
"I may never get my sight back. I can't be a Mountie! I won't have a job. I won't be able to support you. What can I do?!", Jack shouted.
"First of all, you don't have to support me! If you remember, I have a job and a trust fund!", she yelled back at him.
When she saw his scowl, she realized it probably hadn't been a good idea to mention the trust fund. Remember for next argument, never mention family money, she told herself.
Quickly changing her tone, Elizabeth continued, "Jack, you don't know whether your vision is permanent or not. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Elizabeth, it hasn't gotten any better!"
"If I were blind and couldn't be a school teacher, would you leave me? No, you wouldn't. So, don't you even think of breaking my heart and leaving me now," she said firmly.
"Now, I'm going to back to the hotel. I've had a long day. I'll get you some warm milk to help you sleep before I go."
As she exited the room, Jack shook his head in disbelief when he heard her mutter, "Now suddenly, I'm no longer good enough for him!"
Standing by the stove and pouring the warm milk into a mug, Elizabeth remembered Sabrina's words; she could cry when she was in bed tonight, but not yet.
Elizabeth put on a brave face, and carried the drink to Jack's room.
"I won't ask you to walk me out because I know your ankle still hurts."
Jack shook his head in frustration. I'm the one that's blind, but she's the one that can't see it has to be over between us.
He knew that if she were the blind one, he would never leave her. But this is different!, he told himself. I'm the one who is supposed to support us and protect her. It's my job and I can't do it if I'm blind, he thought sadly.
That night, Elizabeth lay in bed, remembering something Jack had once said to her in a simple broom closet; that he would never end things with her. She realized that he couldn't end things, he loved her too much. But he was going to be as rude and obstinate as possible to try and get her to leave him. Well, I'm not leaving him, so he might as well give up trying!
Elizabeth slept fitfully that night as she dreamed of dragging a kicking and screaming Jack down the wedding aisle.
