Chapter 93 – Sunday Night

Abigail left to find Cody and Wynn finished eating. Just as he was finishing, Dee and Elizabeth entered the cafe through the side door. Elizabeth put on some water for tea and motioned to Dee.

"Please." Dee said. "I was going to see if there was something to eat, but I don't see Abigail."

"She said there was leftovers in the icebox." Wynn said. "You two sit and tell me what is going on, I will get the food. I am still hungry also."

Dee and Elizabeth sat down and Wynn went about getting food ready for him and Dee. When neither said anything, he just looked at Dee and then Elizabeth.

"I already talked to Abigail." Wynn said. "I know you are up to something regarding Faith."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I had Dee help me wire Uncle Henry. I know that he has a fund set aside to help with certain things. I know it is used mostly for teachers in places that can't afford it, but I was wondering if he would use if for this. I think that was were the donations to the town in the form of emergency supplies as well as the stuff for the school came from. I had to ask. A traveling doctor once a month is not enough. I wish that there was a doctor, but I will take a nurse to start. I know that Jack would agree with me right now."

"I am not arguing." Wynn said. "I knew you were up to something. I saw that look on you face. I just wanted details. You realize that a nurse gets about twelve to fifteen dollars a month."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I get what things cost and I also know that I have been fortunate to have things that others do not. Both Jack and I have been fortunate. With both of us working, and keeping our expenses down, we have been able to save. I just want others to have the opportunities that I have had. Besides, Uncle Henry and Aunt Agatha have informed me that I will inherite much of their wealth when they pass. I just figured that if I could use the money now, why not?"

As Wynn was finishing getting the food ready, he heard Dee and Elizabeth whispering about something, but he couldn't make out what they were taking about. He was going to give them another moment and then say something.

"I thought that you two were taught better then that." Wynn teased. "What are you two whispering about? I can hear you, you know."

"Tell him." Dee whispered again, this time loud enough for his dad to hear.

Elizabeth just glared at Dee, but then turned to Wynn as he sat back down with a plate for both him and Dee. The smell was enough and she bolted from the cafe and was sick outside. Neither Dee or Wynn went after her, but just gave her a moment. Dee just looked at his dad, but didn't say anything. He just dug into the food that was in front of him. He wasn't going to say anything, but he wondered if his dad didn't already know. When Elizabeth came back in, she poured some tea and sat down.

"Better?" Wynn asked. "Want to tell me something?"

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "Dee knows and that was only because I needed his help sending a coded message to Aunt Elizabeth. But Jack and I are expecting. We haven't said anything to anyone else yet. We haven't even told his mother, so please."

"Congratulations." Wynn said. "I won't say anything. Aunt Elizabeth sending clothes from Sophie?"

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I haven't talked to Jack, but I was wondering if you and Aunt Elizabeth could come back this fall around the end of September."

"Whatever you want, my dear." Wynn said. "I am happy for you guys. Why don't you go lay down. We have plenty of time to visit later. Dee and I are going to be here for awhile."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said.

She got up and gave her uncle and cousin each a hug. She then headed upstairs to lay back down with Jack. She was really tired and it had been a long day. She was hoping to get back into the classroom that week, but wasn't sure what was happening with the injured. She knew that she needed to talk to Abigail and Bill, but that could be done later. A few moments after Elizabeth left, Cody came bounding in. He gave Dee a big hug and then headed over to give one to Wynn. Both were gladly returned.

"Alright." Abigail said. "Time for bed. There may not be school tomorrow, but there are plenty of chores to do. Remember that Mrs Thornton and Mountie Jack are probably asleep, so please be quiet."

"Yes, ma'am." Cody said heading up the steps.

"Elizabeth just went up a few moments ago." Wynn said. "I am sure Jack is sleeping. I didn't get up there. I needed to talk to Elizabeth. I will stop and see him tomorrow."

"Thank you for the food." Dee said. "Please let me know if there is something that I can do to help."

"Well." Abigail said. "I won't turn down a load of wood."

"Done." Dee said. "Oh, Dad. We are staying at Jack and Elizabeth's. Charlotte said that she will pitch a tent if she can't get her room in the saloon back."

"I feel bad about that." Wynn said. "But I am not going to argue about a warm bed tonight. I am too tired."

"Don't worry about Charlotte." Abigail said. "Personally, I think she likes being outside."

"Oh." Wynn said. "I promised my wife, that I would check with you how Becky is doing?"

"Getting there." Abigail said. "She is recovering, but it is slow. They were hoping that she would be back by now, but she hasn't seemed to regain her strength."

"Dee." Wynn said. "Wire your mother in the morning and also the hospital in Union City and see if there is anything that can be done to help."

"You don't have to do that." Abigail said.

"What is the point of having influence if you don't use it." Wynn said. "Sometime the doctors need to know that there is someone special investing in the case and they may see things differently."

"I wouldn't argue." Dee said. "He would do it anyway."

"Thank you both." Abigail said.

Wynn and Dee stood up and put their dishes in the sink. Abigail gave them a hug and directed them to leave. They wanted to help clean, but Abigail wanted them to head out to get some rest. Abigail quickly cleaned up the kitchen. Dee and Wynn made their way to the row house. Neither said anything. They were both tired and they knew that it was going to be a long week. When they got to the house, they saw Charlotte's tent in the side yard. They still felt bad about her sleeping outside. When they entered, they realized that she had set up the cot downstairs for Dee and also brought down blankets and a pillow for him. There was a note on the table to let them know that there was food in the icebox and they were free to help themselves. It also let them know that there was plenty of wood and water in the house. Wynn and Dee quickly changed and headed to bed.

Jack was asleep when Elizabeth got back to the room. She quickly washed up and then crawled in bed. She curled up next to Jack. It was a few moments and Jack stirred.

"Are we going to talk?" Jack asked.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Elizabeth said. "We can talk. Oh, by the way Uncle Wynn and Dee know. They promised not to say anything. I had to have Dee help me send a message to Aunt Elizabeth. I know that I am going to start needing new clothes soon. Then I got sick in front of Wynn, so I basically had to tell him."

"That is okay." Jack said. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Elizabeth said. "I hadn't even really thought about being pregnant until Abigail and your mother said something earlier. I know that we are going to have to tell them, but lets wait a couple of days. Things are kind of crazy right now."

"We can wait as long as you want." Jack said. "I had thought that you were pregnant in Hamilton and that was why you passed out, but when you said that you weren't, I was a little disappointed, but I also was enjoying our time together. I am glad that we know what is going on, but I am worried about you, especially since there is not a doctor around."

"Jack." Elizabeth said. "Most of the children in this town were not delivered by a doctor and there are plenty of women here that would be able to help. Besides, I have a feeling that Faith will be sticking around."

"Anything you care you share?" Jack asked.

"I had Dee help me send a wire to Uncle Henry." Elizabeth said. "I asked for help and said that it could come out of my inheritance if need be, but it was important to the town."

"Okay." Jack said. "If you are sure. I feel bad that you have to use your own money."

"Jack." Elizabeth said. "The money that I stand to inherite from Uncle Henry and Aunt Agatha, is a very substantial amount and that doesn't include Mother's money. I also have a trust fund from Father if he ever comes around. It is not a problem to spend a couple hundred dollars to make sure that there is a nurse in town."

"I am not even going to ask." Jack said. "As long as you are okay with it."

"I am more then okay with spending the money on this." Elizabeth said. "I can't think of a better use of it right now. We have it and there is a need, why not fill that need."

"Thank you for saying 'we'." Jack said. "But that is your money."

"Jackson Alexander Thornton." Elizabeth said. "I am only going to say this once – my money is your money and that is not up for debate. If there comes a time that you need something or our children need something, we will be able to take care of things."

"Fine." Jack said. "Let's go to sleep. I still feel weird about taking your money, but thank you and please don't use your scary teacher face and tone with me."

"Only when I have to get my point across." Elizabeth said with a smile.

Elizabeth leaned up and kissed Jack before curling back into his side. She was happy that things were falling into place. She was happy that they would be preparing for a little one. She also hoped that Jack was able to gain his strength back quickly and return to work. Jack feel asleep with a smile on his face. He had his wife and unborn child in his arms. He thought about how he couldn't wait to be a father.

Monday morning came early. Charlotte was up with the sun. She had heard Wynn and Dee come back to the row house the previous night. She quickly was up and dressed. She checked and both Wynn and Dee were still sleeping so she headed to town to help Abigail. When she got to the cafe, she saw that the lights in the kitchen were on, so she knocked on the side door. Abigail quickly greeted her. Clara and Mary Graves were already there helping. Charlotte insisted that Mary sit and rest as she was obviously pregnant. They talked about what needed to be done and each set about their tasks. At one point, Bill came over to see what was going on. Charlotte poured him a cup of coffee and indicated that she wanted to talk.

"What's up." Bill asked when they were seated in the dinning room.

"I have been thinking." Charlotte said. "I know that Faith had expressed some concern about putting a few of the patients in a medical tent, so I was thinking what if we put a couple of those families in Gowen's old house. I also noticed that there were at least three spaces that could be fixed up into apartments for a family. I think that it is important to get them settled and back into a routine as soon as possible."

"I couldn't agree more." Bill said. "I think that using the space we have to the best of our ability would be better. I think that there are also a couple of abandon cabins near town. They may need a little bit of work, but it wouldn't take much to get families settled. I think that the best thing is to first get them out of the schoolhouse and doing something. I think that we need to talk to Wynn and Abigail. I know from Jack's plan that there were twelve families at the settlement, which included ten of the men at the mine. There was one older widow who's son-in-law worked at the mine and then there were two single mothers, one had her estranged husband at the mine and the other I think her oldest child worked at the mine. I think that there were a total of seven children. So what are our numbers."

"Well we have two new widows." Charlotte said. "One with a child. That leaves ten families that worked at the mine. That also leaves us twelve single men that worked at the mine, not a hard count, but at least somewhere to start."

"Don't forget Lucy Benson." Bill said. "Her home was destroyed and she was injured, so I brought her back here. I don't know what her plans are, but I think we figure her into things until we learn otherwise."

"Good plan." Charlotte said. "So we need to figure out what the mine owners are going to do and what each family/person is planning on doing. But, I think that we need to get through the burial today and then deal with things tomorrow. I also think that we need to have a clear plan from the mine before we are able to move forward."

"Agreed." Bill said. "Burial first. I also think that Wynn was going to have Dee gather more information about the mine owners and what their plans are. We need to sit down with Wynn and Abigail to make a plan."

"Maybe we can talk to Wynn later today." Charlotte said.

"I heard my name." Wynn said coming in from the kitchen.

"We were just talking about a plan moving forward." Bill said. "We agreed that there needs to be more information, but also that each family/person has a decision to make – stay or leave. If they are going to stay, then it will be a matter of finding housing for people. We just don't have enough information to move forward at this point. As much as I would like to get people as back to normal as possible, we need more information before we can move forward."

"Sounds like you have been busy." Wynn said. "Let's get through today and see what more information we can gather before we start talking to people about housing."

"Agreed." Bill and Charlotte both said.

"Now." Wynn said. "Let's go eat the breakfast that Clara has made for us."