Chapter Four
eager (adj): keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing
"Abigail?" Clara called as she stirred the large pot on the stove in the cafe kitchen.
Abigail looked up dough she was mixing by hand in a large bowl.
"Does this look right?" Clara asked, her eyes revealing that she doubted it did.
Abigail set down the bowl and wiped her hands on her apron as she crossed over to the stove. She peered into the pot as Clara told her, "I've never made rice pudding before. I'm just… just not sure… not sure I'm doing it right."
Abigail smiled and gave Clara's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "It looks absolutely right," she told her daughter-in-law. "Just keep stirring it while it thickens. Then, once it does, you can add the maple syrup and raisins."
Clara exhaled her relief and returned Abigail's smile. "Oh, thank goodness," she breathed. "I was worried that I'd added too much milk."
"No, it just needs to come up to a boil so it will thicken," Abigail told her as she returned to the dough she'd been working on. "Now, let me get these dumplings ready or we won't be having chicken and dumplings for dinner." She glanced up at Clara. "Thanks for helping me this evening."
Clara returned the smile. "Oh, I'm glad to help," she told Abigail. "I finished Mrs. Greene's dress this morning and things were slow at the dress shop this afternoon." She looked down at the pudding for a moment before looking back at Abigail and exclaiming, "Oh!"
Abigail suddenly looked back at the pot of pudding, her eyes wide with concern.
"Dottie told me that Rosemary was working on bridesmaids' dresses for Elizabeth's wedding today," Clara said, punctuating the statement with a shake of her head and a sigh.
"Again?" Abigail asked. She shook her head, too. "She has come up with some pretty outlandish dresses so far."
"I know!" Clara interjected. "And Elizabeth has been so kind… so careful turning down all those crazy designs."
"The purple lace one was amazing!" Abigail said and looked at Clara. Both women burst into laughter.
"Well, that was better than those bright yellow one that was…. well…" Clara struggled to describe the dresses.
"It was cut far too low," Abigail finished. "Elizabeth was blushing just looking at the drawing!"
Clara nodded and laughed as she continued to stir the pudding.
"I wonder what Rosemary will come up with next," Abigail mused as she began cutting the dumplings. "We should probably warn Elizabeth!"
"How is Elizabeth?" Clara asked. "Excited?"
Abigail considered the questions as she cut the dumplings. "Oh, I'm sure she is. And anxious, of course, to see Jack." She finished the dumplings, stood up straight, and met Clara's eye. "This next day or so might be the longest of her life."
Clara nodded. "I know," she said simply. "I'm just so happy for Elizabeth. For both of them."
"For all of us," Abigail agreed with a smile as she turned back to the dumplings and placed them on a plate. "Hope Valley hasn't been the same since Jack left."
Clara nodded her agreement and returned to stirring the pudding. Quiet fell over the kitchen as both women concentrated on their work preparing dinner. But the quiet was soon broken when the door flew open and Rosemary Coulter entered followed by her husband, Lee. "Is it true?" she demanded. "Is Jack on his way back home?"
Before Abigail or Clara could answer, Lee added, "We were just at the Mercantile and Katie told us that there had been a telegram from Jack."
"What did the telegram say? Is he coming home? Is he alright?" Rosemary implored.
Abigail nodded and smiled before replying, "Yes, he's coming home. And it seems he's fine."
Rosemary expelled a relieved breath. "Oh my goodness! Thank the good Lord!" she exclaimed. Then she turned to Lee and pressed her hand on his forearm. "Oh, Lee! Jack's coming home!"
Lee nodded and placed his hand over Rosemary's. He started to say something but Rosemary suddenly spun around to face Abigail again. "We must get started on his welcome home party!" she asserted.
Abigail nodded and returned to her work, carrying the plate of dumplings to the stove. Clara told Rosemary, "Abigail is already working on that. She's got the menu all planned."
"Oh… oh… well," Rosemary stuttered, clearly taken aback that Abigail had already planned the menu. However, she quickly recovered. "Well, then, I'll make the decorations," she pronounced. Then she turned back to Lee, "We're going to need a large banner hung over Main Street." She raised her hands and motioned toward the ceiling, moving her right hand to punctuate each word as she instructed, "Welcome… home… Jack." She considered it for a moment and added, "I think the lettering should be in red."
Lee looked at her, a bit surprised at his wife's demand though he knew he really shouldn't be after all the projects and schemes he'd seen her devise over the years. "Where am I supposed to find a large banner like that?" he asked. "And in what?" He looked to Abigail. "A day? Two?"
"Well, we're planning for two nights from now but Bill said we may want to be ready for tomorrow night since we know Jack is in a hurry to get home," Abigail answered.
Lee shook his head and looked at Rosemary. "You can't expect to get a printed banner in less than a day!" he told her.
Rosemary immediately pressed his shoulder, urging him toward the door. "I'm sure you can do it, sweetheart. You always do!" she assured him. Then she snapped her fingers as she thought of something. "Oh! Send Murphy or Hickam to Buxton! They can get it done there!" Then, she called to Abigail and Clara, "I'll see you two tomorrow and we'll talk about all my ideas for decorations." She pushed Lee through the door and quickly followed, slamming the door behind them.
Abigail and Clara stared at the door for a few moments before Abigail said, "Well… it appears that Rosemary will be handling the decorations." They both burst into laughter.
Author's Notes: Well, you knew that I was going to have to work Rosemary and Lee into this story sooner rather than later. Love those two! Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Please post a review if you have a few minutes.
