Chapter 43
The last day of school came quicker than expected for Elizabeth. She was so thankful for Julie's help. Elizabeth had finished all the report cards and the students were excited to show their parents the work they had done the last few weeks. The party and year end celebration were planned for the next day. Given that it was a Saturday everyone should be able to attend without conflicts. The children enjoyed having Julie with them and so did Elizabeth. Having two sets of hands made the workload easier. Allie was a little bubblier in school because both her aunt and mom were there. She loved Elizabeth so much and was such a big fan of her aunt. Allie loved being a part of a bigger family, after it just being the two of them for more than six years.
After dismissal, Elizabeth reminded Allie about the sleepover at Anna's that night. She told her to stop at the house and get her bag. When Allie ran off to join her friends Elizabeth and Julie both yelled, "have fun!" Julie and Elizabeth went straight to work getting everything they could prepared for the next day. The set up the chairs and tables outside and moved the pews to easily display the student's artwork and class projects inside the school. They decorated what they could but they knew that most of the decorations would need to be done the next morning.
To make things easier in case the weather was bad they had arranged for the dance and thank you party to be held at the saloon. It would make things easier for Gustav with the food and this way Julie could get Gustav to help with the decorations. Julie had paid for the saloon for the entire Saturday so she would have plenty of time. Gustav was still going to bring a cake and food for the school celebration to the school house just before the parents were to arrive. Elizabeth, Nathan, and Julie would be very busy the next day.
Luckily for them, the next morning was beautiful without a cloud in the sky. Laura had come at dawn to watch Jack so that they could get to the school house, she was going to bring him later that morning. Nathan had gone ahead with Julie while Elizabeth had waited for Laura. When Elizabeth arrived at the school, she was surprised with how much they had accomplished already. The decorations for the school celebration were finished and they had started setting up the carnival activities. She knew that it wouldn't be anything grand but she knew the children and their parents would have fun much like the fundraising carnival they had years prior.
Elizabeth quickly went into the school house to change before the children arrived. Julie was about to go change when Gustav arrived. He had outdone himself, he had bags of popcorn, candy apples, and all sorts of picnic type foods. Julie helped him set up the food tables. She set the cake next to all the jars of candy she brought from Hamilton. She hoped the chocolates wouldn't melt. She thanked him and told him that she would be over before the party to decorate. He assured her that everything would be taken care of and that she would only have to do any alterations if needed.
Julie and Nathan both went to get ready while Elizabeth waited at the school to greet her students and their parents. A few of the other townspeople arrived as well to support the students. Once all her students were in attendance, Elizabeth started the celebration. She gave each student their certificate and final report card of the year. She invited the parents to view their children's work inside and then invited them all to the picnic set up behind the school. She was so proud of the young men and women that attended her school. She loved being their teacher.
The students and parents were thrilled with the picnic and carnival games. The three-legged races were a blast to watch. The children loved all the candy Julie had brought. There were plenty of sugar highs that day. Elizabeth was so happy that the carnival was well received and thought that maybe they could have one every year. She did agree to get more help. A lot of the parents had pitched in because Nathan, Julie, and Elizabeth were trying to be everywhere at once at it was nearly impossible.
After a few hours of fun, Elizabeth announced that there would be one last surprise that day. There would be a dance and dinner at the saloon and that she hoped everyone would attend. She was going to make sure everyone who wasn't at the carnival knew as well by sending Nathan door to door. He was already on his way to the office to change into his uniform. He was going to do his daily rounds at the same time. He wanted to make sure he was back in time to escorting Elizabeth and Julie to the dance. It would be the first dance they attended since their wedding reception. This time he wouldn't be in uniform.
Julie went to the saloon to check on the progress while Elizabeth took Allie and little Jack home. She knew that they would have to change before they went to the saloon. Both the kids had grass stains from the carnival activities and picnic. Elizabeth got them cleaned up and Elizabeth presented Allie with a present that she had Julie bring from Hamilton. It was a new party dress with matching shoes and hair bow. Elizabeth had gotten little Jack a new outfit as well. She had also got Nathan a new dress shirt that would complement her new dress as well. Allie squealed with delight when she opened her gift and ran to her room to get dressed.
Elizabeth got little Jack ready and then started to get herself ready. Elizabeth was having trouble with getting the zipper done up and was just about to call Allie when Nathan entered their room planning to get ready himself. He reached for the zipper and pulled it up. Elizabeth noticed the dress was a little tight but not overly so. She wondered if the seamstress had used the wrong measurements or if she had Julie had written them down wrong. Nathan thought Elizabeth looked gorgeous and got dressed. He wore the new shirt that she had bought. They made a striking pair, as he glimpsed their reflections in the mirror.
They heard a knock on the door and knew that Lee, Rosemary, and Julie were waiting for them. They had made plans for them all to walk together. If Lee's car was bigger, they would have drove but the day was still quite warm. The Grants went to greet their guests and proceeded towards the party. Julie was anxiously awaiting Elizabeth and Nathan's reaction to the party. She knew it would be a mix of Hamilton and Hope Valley. She wanted to make her sister proud and make the residents of Hope Valley feel special. She knew that this town was a community that felt more like extended family. She loved Hamilton but she never felt included like she did in Hope Valley.
Gustav served a combination of family style dishes like pot roast, and gourmet fare as well. Julie had given free rein with the menu as long as he promised that there would be something for everyone including the children. The whole town had showed up for dinner and raved about the food. They had sampled some of each dish. It also gave Gustav the idea to add a daily special to each day's menu so he could be more creative and introduce new foods to Hope Valley. He was starting to feel like part of the community unlike his boss.