Chapter 3 - Double Issue
Rosemary Coulter struggled to wave a hand as she hurried down the rapidly waking street.
"Florence! Oh, Florence! Hold the door, if you please!"
Florence turned just in time to see Rosemary vault the steps to Yost's Mercantile. Beneath one arm was a stack of freshly printed copies of The Valley Voice. The always-put-together new writer appeared frazzled, with her normally perfect hair coming undone. Be that as it may, Rosemary still smiled widely as Florence put a hand out to stop the door from closing.
"Rosemary!" she said, stepping back as her friend came through the door. "What's all this?"
"Saturday's edition of The Valley Voice, hot off the press!" Rosemary replied, holding up the stack of papers with a flourish. "It's a double issue. I think I underestimated how long it would take to literally double my workload, but ta-da! Here it is, ready for all of my ravenous readers!"
As if on cue, Ned Yost, newly married to Florence, and owner of the mercantile, came around the corner with his hands outstretched.
"I was wondering what the hold-up was. You're never this late, Rosemary!"
"I know," Rosemary replied, handing off the stack. "And I'm very sorry about it, but I think the attention to detail will really benefit all my readers. Who knew that there was so much happening in a small town like ours?" She clasped her hands together and sighed. "The stories are literally endless. Don't you agree? Drama! Intrigue! Maybe a little comedy sprinkled in."
Florence reached out a hand to touch Rosemary lightly on the arm. "It looks to me like you are enjoying the paper a lot more than working at Dottie's shop."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Rosemary frowned good-naturedly. "It's just that I've traded one form of editing for another. Instead of cutting fabric, I'm cutting words off the page. And believe me, with someone like me who loves to talk...well." The two women shared a chuckle. "Let's just say that my red pen gets a lot of use - which reminds me, can you put in a new order for a set of five for me, Ned?"
The short, friendly man set down the stack of papers and hurried behind the counter to fill out an order form. "Consider it done."
"Wonderful! Now, if Robert is all set, we'll get these papers out the d-" She glanced around, blinking. "Wait, where is Robert? He's usually nothing if not punctual."
"He decided to take a bit longer to eat his breakfast down by the pond," Florence explained. "Since you were running behind, we thought it wouldn't hurt."
The answer wasn't exactly what Rosemary wanted to hear, but she nodded just the same. "Alright. As long as he doesn't take too long."
"Oh, I don't think he'll be much longer," Ned said, causing Rosemary to turn her befuddlement in his direction. He glanced up at her, his pencil scratching along the order form. "Constable Grant just arrived in town, and he made a bee-line for the pond."
Rosemary's frown deepened.
"Why would Nathan be involved in retrieving Robert from enjoying his breakfast? That seems a little over the top."
"He's not going to get Robert," Florence said, her expression going from amusement to concern. "He's going to get Allie, who has hardly left Robert's side since our wedding."
Dawning flitted across Rosemary's face. "Ahhh. Of course. Oh, yes - I see them coming up the road." She spied the three of them out the window, Nathan, Allie, and Robert with his lunch pail dangling from the crook of his elbow. They were still a few moments away from reaching the mercantile. Rosemary lowered her voice.
"How is Nathan doing? Does anyone know?"
Ned went to answer, but Florence beat him to it.
"If anyone knows, it's Faith. But, she's being tight-lipped about the whole thing. You can't blame her. They may be two very different people, but yet they're dealing with incredibly similar circumstances."
"I agree," Rosemary nodded. "It doesn't take a journalist to see that."
Out the window, Nathan stood firm as Allie said goodbye to Robert, and the Constable escorted her away. Robert made his way up the steps and into the mercantile.
"Good morning, Miss Coulter!" he said, cheerful as ever, even as his crush was dragged down the street by her guardian. "I'm sorry I'm a little late - I was finishing my breakfast."
"I'm the one who should be sorry," said Rosemary, her upbeat demeanor returning. "It took forever to finish those papers, but they're all ready to go. Don't forget to drop one off at the barber shop! There's a story in there that Fiona won't want to miss."
"I won't," said Robert as he added the papers to his satchel. Wasting no time, he bid them all farewell and was off on his route. He was about halfway down the street when Nathan and Allie disappeared into Nathan's office.
The frown returned to Rosemary's face. She brought a hand up to her lips and shook her head.
"If there's one thing I know," she said, more to herself than to Ned and Florence, "it's that the pain will pass. Eventually. The real trick is going through the grieving process. That part takes time."
She was lost in thought, but the touch of Florence's hand once again on her arm pulled her back, along with a warm smile.
"I think the three of us all know what that feels like," said Florence. "It's the loving friends who pull us through the hard times."
"True," said Rosemary. "I just wonder which friend is going to get Nathan out the other side?"