Chapter 41 – A Long Anticipated Return Home

Tuesday was a long day for Elizabeth. The children wanted to be outside and she wanted to get them into a routine. It was also hard to get them to focus, because they learned that Adam Miller, the only miner pulled out alive after the disaster was coming home the next day. Elizabeth promised the children that they could make signs the next day as long as they got through what was needed in front of them. It took a bit, but she was able to get the children to focus. By the time that she let them go, Elizabeth was looking forward to a cup of tea and some quiet. She quickly picked up the classroom, ran to the mercantile to get extra paper and paint for the next day before heading to the cafe.

When Elizabeth got to the cafe, it was anything but quiet. She headed to the kitchen, made some tea and headed upstairs. It was quieter up there, but Elizabeth also felt bad about not helping Abigail. She had only planned on being up there for a short time, but fell asleep at her desk. When she Elizabeth didn't come down for supper, Abigail went to check on her when she had a break. She found her right where she had fallen asleep at her desk. Abigail didn't want to wake her, but knew Elizabeth would be sore if she let her sleep like that.

"Elizabeth." Abigail said softly touching her shoulder.

Elizabeth didn't move, so Abigail tried again, that time, Elizabeth stirred.

"Elizabeth." Abigail said. "You need to wake up."

"Uh." Elizabeth said opening her eyes.

"You fell asleep at your desk." Abigail said.

"What time is?" Elizabeth asked.

"After supper." Abigail said. "I have to go back down and clean up, come down and eat."

Just then they heard boots on the steps. Abigail looked up and saw Jack standing in the doorway.

"Sorry." Jack said. "I saw the lights on, but when I knocked no one answered. I let myself in. I was worried something happened."

"It is okay." Abigail said. "I just closed up and Elizabeth hadn't come down so I came to check on her."

"Okay." Jack said.

"I will give you a minute." Abigail said. "Then come down and eat, both of you."

"Thank you." Jack said.

Elizabeth sat up and tried to smooth her hair back. Abigail headed downstairs.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I just fell asleep after school. No big deal. I haven't been sleeping well at night."

"Why didn't you say something?" Jack asked. "If things are too much, maybe we can get you some help."

"It is not that." Elizabeth said. "It's just … Never mind, I am fine."

"If there is something wrong, you can tell me." Jack said.

"It is nothing." Elizabeth said. "I can handle it, I have been for years."

Jack was going to say something and then it dawned on him – women's problems. He wasn't going to embarrass Elizabeth anymore.

"Okay." Jack said. "But you know that you can always talk to me."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Let's go eat. Then I will turn in early."

"Okay." Jack said.

They went downstairs and Abigail already had their plates ready. They sat and talked about school, the cafe and Adam coming home. Jack kept an eye on Elizabeth, but didn't say anything more. As soon as they were finished, Jack picked up the dishes and took them to the sink. He looked at Elizabeth and she nodded her head. She wished both a good night and headed back upstairs. Jack stayed and helped Abigail clean up. He didn't say anything, because he figured that she knew. When they were done, Jack left promising he would be back for breakfast.

Jack woke up early and went on rounds. He wanted to be back in town, because he knew a lot of people were going to be there to welcome Mr Miller home. Even thought he wasn't scheduled to be there until later in the afternoon, Jack didn't want problems. Elizabeth was up and over to the saloon early. She didn't see Jack, but when she went out to welcome the children she saw his horse. It was hard to get the children to focus that morning, but Elizabeth did the best that she could. After lunch, she let the children start making signs. She had assigned some reading for them that they could also do.

Everyone excited because they knew that Adam Miller was coming home. He had been the only miner pulled out after the mine disaster. He had been in the hospital since he had been moved to Union City. Because they were short on funds, his wife and daughters hadn't seen him. Jolene and Morgan-Rose were so excited that they were almost bouncing on their feet. As the time got closer, Jack came into the saloon to get Elizabeth and the children. When Jack walked into the saloon, he could feel and hear the excitement. As Jack had gone to get the children and Elizabeth, most of the rest of the town was gathering near where the stagecoach would stop. Everyone that wasn't working in the mine had gathered to welcome Adam home.

Of course he was dressed in his red serge because he wanted to be able to talk to the drive for a moment as well as welcome Adam back and let him know that he wanted to talk when he had a chance. Jack had been looking into the mine explosion and from everything he had read and learned, the explosion should have never happened with proper safety measures. He had talked to a number of miners that had been in the mine before the explosion and had learned what they had seen, heard and even smelled. Jack was anxious to talk to Adam. The Mounties in Union City had tried to talk to Adam in the hospital, but they were limited to only fifteen minutes at a time and that wasn't enough to get into things. The one nice thing about the Mounties visiting Adam in Union City was that they were able to give Jack a heads up about his leg. Jack didn't say anything, but he assumed that Adam had written to his wife to let her know.

Elizabeth saw Jack when he came into the saloon and started gathering the children. What Elizabeth didn't notice right away was the smile that was on Jack's face.

"Alright children." Elizabeth called out. "Gather your signs. The stagecoach will be here soon."

When Elizabeth walked up to Jack, he chuckled.

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack didn't say anything, he just cleared his throat and let out a small chuckle.

"Nothing." Jack said. "It just looks like you have been busy."

Jack wasn't going to say that Elizabeth had purple paint on her nose.

"We have." Elizabeth said. "The children are very excited to welcome Mr Miller home. I don't think anyone could be more excited then his girls, but the other children are also excited. Even though they have been through a lot, they are glad that Mr Miller survived and is coming home to his family."

"It is a good thing." Jack said. "Over four months in the hospital is a long time. I am sure that it is a bitter sweet day for many."

Elizabeth didn't say anything, but just nodded. She knew what Jack was talking about. She had seen the look on Abigail's face when people talked about Adam coming home. Elizabeth knew that look to be one of longing. She was sure that each widow was thinking that they wished it was their husband that would have survived, but no one was going to say anything because they didn't want to make Laurel feel bad about Adam coming home.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Hopefully more sweet then bitter."

As Jack and Elizabeth were talking the children had gathered their signs and headed outside. The last two out were Jolene and Morgan-Rose, they were waiting to walk with Elizabeth and Jack. Jolene was so excited about her daddy coming home that she had been telling everyone and anyone who would listen about him.

"Hi." Elizabeth said to Jolene and Morgan-Rose. "You both must be very excited."

Morgan-Rose rose just nodded and let out a little giggle.

"Hey." Jolene said. "Have I told you that my daddy was the top miner in town."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I think that you told me that time or two."

"He once dug two miles through the mountain." Jolene continued.

"Is that so." Jack said. "You must be proud. I think it is time to head out."

"You look silly." Morgan-Rose rose said with a giggle pointing at Elizabeth.

Jolene took Morgan-Rose's hand and they went out to find their mother.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked as they walked away.

Jack couldn't help himself. He had to turn away because he was laughing. His dimples were on full display. Jack turned back to Elizabeth as the girls went out the door. He let out a sigh and tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't and gave Elizabeth a full dimpled smile.

"I have paint on my face don't I?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack reached up and touched her nose and showed her the purple paint on his finger.

"How long were you going to let me go on like that?" Elizabeth said wiping the paint off her nose and then wiping her hands on her dark skirt.

"I don't know." Jack said with a laugh. "All day."

Jack smiled at Elizabeth and they walked out of the saloon and toward were the stagecoach would be arriving any moment. As they joined the group, they heard Laurel talking with a couple of the widows.

"I am so nervous to see him." Laurel said. "He wouldn't let me visit him in the hospital, he said that we couldn't afford it."

In that moment, Jack wondered if she knew what he knew. He had hoped that Adam would have told his wife, but in that moment, he wasn't sure.

"Yeah." Cat Montgomery said. "He's a proud man. All the men in this town are."

"Look here he comes!" Rachel Stonelake called out.

As everyone looked, the stagecoach was just coming around the corner of the buildings on the southeast end of town.

"All right children." Elizabeth called out. "Hold up your signs so he can see them."

Everyone was excited as they waited for the stagecoach to pull up across from the saloon. There was chatter and excitement all through the crowd. As the stagecoach stopped and Adam opened the door and stepped down, people fell silent as they saw he had a peg-leg. Jack felt bad for Laurel and the girls because they hadn't been prepared for what they saw. Adam stopped and looked around. Adam caught Laurel's eye and smiled.

"What's wrong with daddy's leg?" Morgan-Rose asked softly.

"Hush now, Morgan-Rose." Laurel said.

It only took a moment of shock and Jolene shook it off before running into her daddy's arms. Adam had dropped his bag as he saw Jolene running toward him and he caught her. Jolene was crying when she was scooped up by her father. Laurel pushed Morgan-Rose to go give her dad a hug and followed shortly afterward. Words of love were exchanged between the group. Jack could see it in Adam's face that he felt bad about not telling his family, but from the way Laurel reacted, it didn't appear that she cared. The only thing that Laurel was thinking was about how much she had missed Adam. She wrapped him in a large hug and 'I love yous' were whispered between them. After Laurel stepped back, Cat approached.

"Welcome home, Adam." Cat said offering her hand for him to shake.

"Thank you Mrs Montgomery." Adam said shaking her hand.

A few other people called out 'welcome home' as Adam picked up his bag and lead his family back toward their row house. Since the official welcome home gathering wasn't until Sunday, the rest of the crowd started to disperse and go about their day. Elizabeth still stood there a little stunned. Jack didn't leave, he wanted to make sure the crowd dispersed and that Elizabeth was okay.

"Laurel didn't know did she?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't think so." Cat Montgomery said.

Elizabeth had to go to the saloon to finish cleaning up after the children. Dottie and Cat walked with Cat.

"That must have been must have been quite a surprise for Mrs Miller and those poor girls." Dottie said.

"They're a strong family of faith." Cat said. "They will get through this."

"It's almost barbaric." Elizabeth said. "That in this day and age a hospital would issue a peg-leg when they have prosthetics available."

"We're people of modest means." Dottie said.

In that moment, Elizabeth couldn't believe Dottie had said that. Normally, Elizabeth would let Dottie's comments go, but she had enough. Dottie was not one of Elizabeth's fans, especially since Elizabeth had told her what for when she was helping the lady miners.

"Really, Mrs Ramsey." Elizabeth said. "Maybe some of the other people of this town, but you forget that I come from Hamilton and I know how much that dress you are wearing costs. There is nothing modest about you. I am sure that you spend more a month on dresses then I do at this point. I won't even go into the hat and shoes that you are wearing. You may try to convince others what you want, but I know the truth. Don't try to tell me that you are of modest means. You have more then most everyone in the valley."

Dottie was taken aback by Elizabeth's comments. Cat just looked between the two of them and knew that Elizabeth was telling the truth. Dottie didn't reminding others that she was the mayor's wife. She tended to walk around with an air of superiority.

"Excuse me." Cat said. "I need to get the children home."

"See you later, Cat." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth didn't say anything else and went into the saloon leaving Dottie Ramsey standing there on the boardwalk.