Part 1: Chapter 31: 1887: Red Deer, Alberta,

In Winnipeg: Part 1

The train soon pulled into the train station and James helped the Grant family with the smaller bags they kept with them and showed them to their seats. They were in very nice sleeper cars. Right now the beds were stored up and away so that they could sit on benches around a table.

With the rocking of the train, Colleen easily fell back to sleep on the bench. Nate was looking curiously out the window watching the land pass them by. Ophelia was certain that Nate would fall asleep soon, as well.

"You didn't have to get cabins, James. We would have been just fine in the other cars," Ophelia said as she looked around at the inside of a sleeper car for the first time.

Archie nodded.

James shook his head.

"You do know that Edith checked the tickets I bought yesterday? I would have been in heaps of trouble had I not gotten the cabins," James said as he sat and thought of his wife.

"I don't think we can pay this back, though," Ophelia said.

"You're not supposed to," James said with a stern glance to the couple.

"How are we getting to Regina's house?" Ophelia asked to change the topic.

"Harris is sending a driver," James said simply.

"Driver? I wasn't aware she did carriages," Ophelia said.

"She doesn't. This is a driver of a new automobile," James added.

Ophelia and Archie looked between the two of them again. This would be a very new experience for all of them.

"Are there any etiquette lessons we need a crash course on?" Ophelia asked with slight fear in her tone.

James smiled at them.

"Not for this trip. You are there to see your family. That is the only thing that the people who truly matter care about," James replied.

Archie and Ophelia nodded.

They sat in silence until Colleen and Nate had rested and needed to walk about in order to get their bearings and wiggles out (more Colleen than Nate). Colleen had already been exploring the room and looking into its cabinets to find their own bathroom attached. The group decided to walk down the train.

"Are you all hungry?" James asked, looking at his watch and noticing it was lunch time.

"Mama packed sandwiches," Colleen stated firmly.

James looked at them.

Ophelia just nodded in slight embarrassment.

"That's alright, yours are probably better than the dining car's, anyway," James said.

"Can we try one?" Colleen looked up at her parents.

"One, Colleen, and you have to share it with your brother!" Ophelia said.

Colleen cheered and grabbed her and Nate's coats to walk to the dining car.

"Colleen, hold yer brother's hand, please!" Archie added as the two walked into the hallway. Archie helped Ophelia into her coat then held out an arm for her to take.

"Come on, Nate!" Colleen said excitedly as she pulled her brother towards the end of the cabin car.

"Colleen! Slow down!" Archie and Ophelia said out.

Colleen turned around to smile back at them. James had just finished locking their cabin door. Colleen and Nate were waiting somewhat impatiently (Nate was the "somewhat," Colleen was the "impatient"), at the end of the cabin car when the adults caught up with them.

"Listen here, both of ya. Yer in public on this train, do NOT go off without one of us wit' ya," Archie said as he pointed to himself, his wife, and James behind them.

"Yes, Daddy," Colleen agreed.

Nate nodded.

The family negotiated the step to the next car until they made it to the dining car. They found a nice table with a white table cloth. The waiter quickly served them water and gave them menus. Ophelia and Archie blanched at the prices, even for sandwiches.

"Edith said that I shouldn't let you see a full menu," James said as he noticed their reactions.

"Well, we don't want to take advantage of your generosity," Ophelia said.

"Order whatever you want, and take this as an opportunity for you to try things you wouldn't before, and for you not to be cooking for everyone else," James said to both of them, but the last statement was directed at Ophelia.

Archie and Ophelia looked back at the menu, but agreed they would share a sandwich, too.

The waiter took their order and James shook his head at the couple sitting across from him in annoyance. Soon their attention was taken in by Colleen asking a thousand questions about the dining car. Nate was looking around from his seat and seemed very focused on a painting above the bar man. It was of a valley with many horses galloping in the tall grass.

"I think General's brother might be in that painting," James whispered to Nate as he had noticed what had the toddler's attention.

Nate nodded and smiled having noticed one of the horses looked like General.

"Do you miss him, Uncle Norman?" Nate asked.

"Every time I am away from him," James said.

"Me, too," Nate said simply with a small nod.

The waiter then brought out their lunches. Colleen and Nate shared a roast beef sandwich. Ophelia and Archie shared a turkey sandwich. James had soup and grilled cheese.

Ophelia and Archie looked at James' lunch with teasing smirks.

"What? Sometimes one needs one's childhood comfort foods. Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich are mine," James explained as he picked up half of the sandwich and dipped it into the soup. Colleen and Nate both took a bite of theirs, chewed on it a bit, and both were trying to politely swallow. Nate had a look of disgust on his face. Colleen gulped once, but then spit it out.

"That's the worst sandwich, I've ever tasted!" Colleen said as she pushed her plate away.

"Ya need to eat what ya ordered," Archie said.

"I can't eat that," Colleen protested with a firm headshake.

"Here try ours," Ophelia passed over her half split in half for her children. Both took a bite and while their disgust wasn't as present, she could tell that they still didn't like it.

Meanwhile, Archie pulled their plates towards him and Ophelia and took a bite of Nate's sandwich. Archie chewed a bit. Then coughed into a napkin.

"She's righ'. That's really bad," Archie winked at his daughter.

Ophelia took a bite from Colleen's and was shocked about how bitter it tasted. She spit it out and opened up the sandwich. The roast beef had gone slightly bad. Ophelia grabbed all the plates and checked each of them. The turkey was borderline okay.

James quickly split his grilled cheese and soup so that Nate and Colleen could have their lunch. Once they were settled, he got the attention of the waiter. He showed his displeasure of being served bad food by glaring at the waiter.

"We'll get this cleaned up right away, sir!" the waiter took all of the plates with the bad food on them.

When he returned it was with the manager of the dining car.

"We're so sorry! We managed to find all the sour food, and promptly got rid of them. Your meals for the rest of the trip are compensated for your entire party!" the man said with horror in his voice.

"Is there anything else we can get you right now?" their waiter asked.

"No. Your food service for lunch is ending soon. We have snacks in our cabin," Ophelia said kindly.

They let the children finish their meal, and then they walked back to their cabin.

"That was really good, Uncle Norman," Colleen said as she walked more slowly with Nate.

"I'm glad," James said with a smile.

"Welcome to being a parent," Archie teased as they followed behind the children. "It's filled with not eating what ya want and cold meals."

James just laughed.


Archie and James kept the children entertained while Ophelia was knitting., until dinner. The dinner service went much better than lunch had, and they were able to eat a nice warm meal. James showed the Grants how to put down the beds and mattresses, before moving into his own sleeper car. He could hear the children's reaction to their bedtime story through the walls.

"Why isn't Uncle Norman still here?" Colleen asked as they finished with the story.

"Because he has his own room," Archie answered.

"Isn't that lonely for him? Auntie Norman isn't here," Colleen asked again, her care for James' coming into her tone.

"This isn't the first time they've been apart, nor will it be the last," Archie whispered.

"That doesn't mean he isn't lonely," Colleen pointed out in protest.

"Fair enough," Archie said, "but there's not much we can do about it."

Nate must have handed over something.

"Ya want me to give this to him?" Archie said in surprise.

James could imagine the sweet nod and charming grin on Nate's face.

"Alrigh'," Archie agreed and put it to the side.

Archie kissed them both goodnight.

"You gotta go now, Daddy!" Colleen reprimanded her father when he hadn't passed along whatever Nate had given him.

"Alrigh', I'm going," Archie picked up the thing and put on some slippers and a robe and walked to the next cabin over before knocking on James' door.

James hadn't quite gotten into bed yet, but was also in his robe and slippers. When he opened the door Archie gave him a contrite look.

"The kids are worried about ya being alone," Archie said as he handed over the toy General. James took the outstretched toy.

"Give them my thanks," James said.

Archie nodded and walked back to his cabin.

Colleen was right about him being lonely. James never slept as well without Edith, and he had gotten used to the Grant children being around in some form. James held the toy General softly between his fingers. Then he placed it on his bedside table so that he would wake-up to it in the morning.


The family traveled in more comfort than they were used to (except James) and it did help with their weariness and not having to worry about letting Colleen and Nate run around. When they pulled into the Winnipeg train station, the driver Harris had sent was waiting professionally with three other porters to help with their trunks and bags. They somehow managed to get all of the luggage and the family in with room to spare. Soon they were traveling the city streets of Winnipeg. The driver took them to lanes of large, elaborate houses, finally pulling into one that had a gate around it.

The staff was waiting for their arrival with Harris standing at the top of a the entry staircase.

"Children, you are NOT allowed to break anything while you are here," Ophelia said as they admired the large house, knowing that the family wouldn't be able to pay for damages in this type of house.

"This is the biggest house I've ever seen!" Colleen said as her father carried in his arms as they walked forward. Archie then helped Ophelia and Nate out. He was just about to pass Colleen to Ophelia to help with the bags, when Harris drew his attention away.

"Hello everyone! I am so glad most of you are here," Harris said as he approached the group.

"Hi, Harris. You live in a castle," Colleen said.

Harris and James laughed.

"Not quite. I've seen some pretty awesome castles, though," Harris said as he looked at his cousins.

"Really? What were they like?" Colleen asked eagerly.

"I will tell you after everyone is settled in," Harris promised.

Colleen looked disappointed at this statement.

Archie turned around to start with their bags, only to find that their staff had already whisked away with them, and were nowhere to be seen.

"Follow me. I will give you directions to your rooms and then you can refresh yourselves," Harris said as he gestured them inside.

The interior was elegantly decorated with fine furnishings, but without making too much of a statement of wealth. Harris led the Grant family to one side of the house.

"This is the side Grandpa and Grandma are on. I figured you would want to be close to them," Harris explained as he opened up the Grant family's suite.

"I think our house can fit in here twice over," Colleen said.

Nate nodded as they looked at the large set of rooms.

"Uncle James, I am putting you and Aunt Edith, when she gets here, in the same wing with mother and myself," Harris said.

"Wing? It isn't a bird," Colleen asked in confusion.

Archie couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips. Ophelia blushed in embarrassment.

"I'll explain it when we are settled," Archie said in response.

"Meet us back in the foyer when you are done?" Harris asked.

Ophelia nodded.

Harris and James left them to get settled.


Harris was waiting on both James and the Grants before discussing either sick woman in his house. He was standing in front of a painting when they all approached from different directions.

Harris led them into a parlor near the front door and gestured for everyone to sit.

Ophelia made sure Nate and Colleen were busy being entertained with their play before they started their conversation.

"What's happened, Harris?" James asked succinctly.

"Grandma hasn't gotten up in some time. She is staying in their rooms. They have to stay quite dark."

Archie took Ophelia's hand in comfort.

"Mother is not well herself. But with Richard sniffing around, she says that she will live long enough to make sure he isn't a threat to us, but I am not sure how that is going. She has been trying to read through some legal documents, but neither of us quite understand it well enough."

"Has she put a new will in place? And on that note, have you?" James asked Harris.

Harris blushed.

"No, neither has occurred. Although, Mother has been saying in her sleep that she would like to be buried near Nathan, but I don't think she feels like it is right to ask," Harris said as he looked over at Ophelia.

"Oh, that will be fine with us. Mom and Dad are going to be buried near Nathan. We didn't actually have a body to bury for Nathan. It is just an empty spot marked with a headstone. Although, we paid for the space for a full burial. It is not in a glamorous space, though. It is quite dingy and beneath her class. She is welcome to use that spot or not," Ophelia said kindly.

James smiled at her.

"Can you show us where it is? Grandpa and Grandma haven't been out much. We haven't been able to find it," Harris said with annoyance.

Ophelia nodded.

"Thank you, Aunt Ophelia," Harris sighed in relief.

The group made plans to go out the next day. They decided to see just how sick both women were before leaving the house for errands again.

They went to Wilma's room first. Harris gently knocked and then softly opened the door only wide for them to squeeze through. Wilma and Ted were awake. Wilma was looking at them through blurred vision.

"Hello, Mother," Ophelia whispered from the foot of the long feather bed.

"Ophelia? What are you doing here?" Wilma puffed out in a grimace.

"Harris said you and Regina aren't well. James and Edith offered to bring us," Ophelia answered as she gave the man a small smile of thanks.

"That is nice of them. How did you travel?" Wilma asked.

"We came by train. Edith is arriving by carriage in about a week," Ophelia whispered.

"Who came with you?" Wilma asked.

"Colleen, Archie, and Nate are all here along with James," Ophelia said softly.

"That is quite the distance to travel with everyone!" Wilma said with a suck of pain as her headache throbbed.

"Family is worth it," James whispered while looking at the Grants.

"That is true," Ted whispered as he wiped Wilma's forehead.

"How did you like the train ride, children?" Wilma asked softly, knowing it was their first time on a train.

"Oh, it was a lot of fun! Uncle Norman had us in cabins!" Colleen went into a long explanation of all that they did on the trip.

"Nate, did you enjoy yourself?" Ted asked.

Nate nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, it was fun. Not as fun as riding General, though," Nate finally said.

The adults all laughed at this.

"It never is," James admitted with a twinkle in his grey eyes.

Wilma actually smiled at the banter.

"Colleen, I was wondering if you could make me a lavender flower chain?" Wilma said.

"Sure, Grandma! I just need to find some lavender flowers," Colleen said excitedly.

"There seems to be a garden somewhere on the property. Harris has said they have brought some in for the rooms," Ted said softly.

"And Nate, Harris seems to forget that he is just a boy himself, will you make sure to play with him?" Wilma asked.

Nate and Harris looked at each other. Nate nodded.

"I'm so glad you're all here!" Wilma said with more emotion that she had ever said anything before.

"We're glad to be here," Ophelia added as she squeezed Wilma's hand.

"I would like to rest for a bit, though. I'm sure you have other things to be doing," Wilma said as she put her head against her pillow.

"Sure, Mom! Sleep well," Ophelia said as Colleen and Nate gave Wilma hugs and kissed her cheeks.

As the party was about to leave, Ted included, Wilma made one last request.

"Archie, I would like to talk with you for a moment."

Archie froze in place, but agreed.

Wilma had never liked him. This couldn't be good.

Ophelia gave him a small smile and a wave before shutting the door softly behind her.

"Ma'am?" Archie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Archie, it is no secret that I haven't thought much of you. You have let your gambling hurt my daughter. I realize that it is hard to overcome something when one is so set in one's ways. I was like that. I thought that just because we never drank, smoked, or gambled meant that our vices were small in comparison. I hadn't realized how badly I was set in my ways until I saw Colleen looking at me in fear because I yelled at her. I know that you moved to Red Deer to change your habits with gambling. But I also know that is a moot point with the new saloon. You are a good man right now, Archie. Don't let this addiction take you down a bad path. Don't become so set in your ways, that you only realize how bad your actions are when you are staring down the face of your child or grandchild to see fear or worse in their eyes. Colleen and Nathan should be your reasons for staying clean," Wilma lectured at him.

"What makes ya think anything will happen?" Archie asked.

"Because the look of fear in your eyes when I mentioned the saloon. You're already fighting it, and I don't think you can stay away," Wilma whispered firmly. "I pray that you do. I keep a picture of my Nathan and Ophelia so that I can remind myself that I love my family."

Wilma pulled out her locket that had never come off of her.

"Perhaps, Mrs. Normandeau can supply you with small portraits to fit in here," Wilma said as she handed over the necklace.

"Ma'am, are ya sure about this?" Archie asked, knowing how important this piece of jewelry was to her.

"Yes. I think Harris was right to ask you to come. I feel weaker everyday. It needs to go to someone. Ophelia is surrounded by love for her children; her purpose has always been them. She will walk through temptations without needing the extra reminder, like we do," Wilma said as she pressed the locket into Archie's fingers. This was the first time Wilma had ever said they had something in common. Archie took the locket and put it safely into his pocket.

Wilma nodded in satisfaction. Then rested her head back and closed her eyes again. Archie took this as the dismissal she had intended it to be, and he left the room for her to rest.

The group had waited for them to be done in the entryway.

"I could've found me way," Archie said as he rejoined them.

"Daddy, we're in a castle. You would have gotten lost," Colleen said matter-of-factly.

"Well, thanks for waiting," Archie winked at her.

They walked down the other side of the house and then were led to Regina's rooms. James knocked firmly.

"Enter," was Regina's pained response through the door.

James opened the door and the family came in.

Regina was sitting up in her bed. Her long hair in a French braid down her left side. Her face was pale and her bed was surrounded by phlegmy handkerchiefs. She turned to look at the people in her room with surprise.

"What are all of you doing here?" Regina asked as she sat up straighter and began to organize the paperwork she had been looking through.

"Harris sent a telegram," James explained.

Regina looked at her son and gave him a look of disapproval.

"Don't lecture him, when you should have been the one to do it yourself," James said firmly as he watched his sister.

Regina glared back at him.

"How do you feel, Auntie Regina?" Colleen asked sweetly from her mother's arms.

"Not so great today, my darling! It is hit or miss sometimes," Regina answered honestly.

"Is there anything we can do?" Colleen asked kindly.

"Actually, I could use a hug," Regina smiled at Colleen.

Colleen and Nate were placed gently on her bed. They crawled slowly and carefully to Regina's side and hugged her. She put both arms around the darling children and kissed both of their heads.

"Aunt Ophelia has agreed to show us where Nathan's gravesite is," Harris said as Colleen and Nate scooted back a bit, but were still on Regina's bed.

Regina raised an eyebrow at Ophelia, who just nodded.

"We thought we would go tomorrow, if you feel up to it," Harris added.

"That sounds good," Regina said with thanks.

"Have you made any headway with Richard?" James asked.

Regina looked up at her brother in surprise.

"I see this isn't just a social call," Regina said tersely.

"We're here to help, Regina," James added tersely back.

"I got this," Regina said stubbornly.

"Really? Because it doesn't look like it from where I'm standing," James retorted back.

Both were glaring at each other with folded arms.

Harris looked at the two of them in worry that he may have mis-stepped in asking for his Uncle's help.

"This is normal," Archie said as he noticed Harris' look of fear.

"Fighting is normal?" Harris asked.

"With siblings, especially," Ophelia said with a light chuckle.

"They're not even REALLY fighting yet," Colleen said knowledgeably.

Nate nodded.

"But Nate and Colleen don't fight," Harris protested as he thought back onto their interactions when they had visited.

Every single Grant in the room just laughed loudly.

"They fight like cats and dogs," Archie said.

"Nate wasn't around enough during the summer for you to get a feel for how they really interact," Ophelia added.

"Siblings argue, Harris," Regina added. "It's how we say 'I love you.'"

"Yeah, especially when the sister is being bone-headed and ridiculous," James gave a soft glare at Regina.

"I guess I got used to being in your bad graces. I forgot that it's okay to ask for help," Regina explained with a blush as she looked into her brother's eyes.

"Regina, you're my sister, that is all I need to know. Even if we hadn't made up during the summer, I would have been here to help," James explained.

Regina smiled in thanks.

"Well, I have no head for legal jargon," Regina added as she looked at the papers surrounding her.

"Which is why I am here, let me have a go at it," James said as he picked up the pieces and stacked them in a neat pile.

Regina smiled as she handed over the pieces in her hands.
"I'm tired, but feel free to whatever you need, and go wherever you need to go," Regina added softly as she leaned back into her pillows the same way Wilma had done.

"I think we will be exploring the ground. Wilma asked for a lavender chain," Ted responded.

"The gardens are beautiful. There's also a pond with fishes, if you want to fish while you're here," Regina said.

"I think that is what we'll do," Archie said as he watched Nate light up at the prospect of fishing.

"Take care, Auntie Regina," Colleen gave her one last hug and kiss.

Nate did the same.

Then they were ushered out by their parents.


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