Chapter 11: Preparations

Lee and Rosemary get back to life in their wonderful little town. Rosemary keeps herself busy at the dress shop, working on a quilt for Patrick each night, hoping he will be living with them soon and getting involved in everyone's business. Lee spends most of his time at the sawmill and then with Rosemary and little Jack. They both find it is a lot easier to stay as busy as possible, so they don't always think about Patrick. They continue to have breakfast and dinner together as well as lunch here and there. Before they know it, three weeks have passed, and still no word on when they can get Patrick. Luckily, they have been sending telegrams back and forth, so at least they have some contact with him, but they long to bring him home. Each morning they wake up and think, "Will this be the day?"

Lee and Rosemary decide to meet for lunch that day at Abigail's. Bill is working in the café this particular day, and he is glad to see them come in for lunch. Bill has been noticing how hard it has been for them the last few weeks, and he could tell they were trying to make the best of the waiting game. He is confident they will hear about Patrick any day now. Bill thinks to himself, "If they don't hear anything in the next couple of days, I should call the adoption folks in Hamilton again."

Just as Bill brings out their order, Carson walks in the door with a box in his hands, "Oh, good. I was hoping to find you two here."

Lee asks, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm here to deliver your photos. I finally finished them," replies Carson.

Rosemary gasps and takes the box from Carson, "Thank you so much, Carson. I have been waiting for these."

"Sorry, it took so long. It has been kind of busy around here lately."

Rosemary says, "No worries. You did us a big favor. We can never thank you enough!" She starts to look through the photos and tells Carson, "These turned out great. I am so thrilled."

"Well, I have to get back to the infirmary. Have a good rest of your day."

Both Lee and Rosemary say, "Thank you and goodbye."

Carson shouts to Bill, "Goodbye," and walks out the door.

Rosemary hands the photos to Lee, and he flips through them with all the good memories flooding back to him. Lee takes Rosemary's hand, "That was a good trip. Wasn't it, sweetheart?" Rosemary smiles. "Well, I need to get back to the office. Are you going back to the dress shop?"

Rosemary responds, "Yes, I need to finish up some designs and help Clara with a few things. Care to walk me there, my darling?"

"It would be my pleasure, Rosie," as he stands up and offers his arm to her.

As Lee is finishing up work for the day, Ned comes in with a telegram. He immediately opens it up to read and can't believe what it is saying. He quickly rereads it just to make sure and is overcome with such a feeling of joy. Lee sticks it in his pocket, grabs his stuff to put in the car, and runs over to the dress shop. He can't wait to tell Rosemary the news they have been waiting and praying for since meeting Patrick. Lee opens the door looking for Rosemary, but Clara tells him she has already left for the day. She wasn't feeling well, so she left a couple of hours ago. He thanks her and runs to the car with concern on his face. He drives home as quickly as the car will take him, and he runs into the house. Lee instantly smells the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen, which he knows is his favorite steak and potato pie. He then sees her sitting on the settee reading a book. Rosemary looks up and sees Lee walk up to her holding out his hand. She takes his hand and stands up just as he twirls her around and gives her a deep and passionate kiss lingering there a few moments longer.

Rosemary blushes and responds, "Lee Coulter…what has gotten into you?"

Lee takes a look at her and asks, "Are you okay? Clara said you weren't feeling well."

"Oh, I was just tired and thinking about Patrick. I didn't feel like being there anymore, so I just left." She rubs his chin with her thumb. "Now, are you going to tell me what has gotten into you?"

"Patrick is coming, and we can officially adopt him! Grace is bringing him in a few days!" Lee picks Rosemary up, spinning her around a couple of times and putting her down.

"Wait, what? Are you serious?"

Rosemary reads the telegram and looks up at Lee with a big grin on her face, "I cannot believe this is happening. We are going to be parents!" Lee smiles. Rosemary continues, "We don't have much time. I need to finish his quilt and make curtains to match. We need to get him clothes and toys and books. What do you think he will bring with him? Lee, I need to make a list. We need to go to Benson Hills. I don't think Ned will have everything we need."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!"

"Slow down? Oh no. There is no time."

"We can go in the morning. I will finish making dinner while you start your list."

"Well, okay. I guess we can see what Ned has before we go. We need to send a telegram back to Grace and ask what Patrick has and what size he wears. Also, to ask if he will bring any toys or books with him. Can you please do that, Lee? Oooh. Do you think it is too late to send tonight?"

Lee looks at the time and answers, "It probably is too late to send tonight. They probably don't receive or deliver telegrams after they close the office. I will send one in the morning. Hopefully, they will get back to us before it is too late to go to Benson Hills." He shooed her away, "Now, go make your list, and I will call you when dinner is ready."

The next morning, Lee and Rosemary both wake up early with excitement. They eat a quick breakfast and then drive into town. Lee sends the telegram to Lillian and Grace before joining Rosemary in the mercantile. She finds one bolt of fabric she likes, and Lee finds the Lincoln logs. They pay for their items, and as they are putting their purchases in the car, Ned comes running out after them with a telegram. Rosemary tries to grab it, but Lee holds on tight and opens it up to read. She asks, "So, is it from Lillian and Grace?"

Lee hands her the telegram and answers, "Yes!"

"Oh, Lee. We better get going. Can we drop these things back at the house before we go?"

"Sure, let me go tell Jesse I will be out for the day, and then we can go," answers Lee.

They drive out to their row house, and Lee takes everything in while Rosemary goes next door to tell Elizabeth where they are going. Rosemary meets Lee outside, and he opens the car door for her, and they drive away. They make their way to Benson Hills with Rosemary talking Lee's ear off with so much enthusiasm. He hasn't seen her look this happy in a while. Lee and Rosemary spend the rest of the day buying fabric, toys, and books. They spare no expense for anything they think Patrick will need. Lee even suggests they purchase a couple of outfits just in case Rosemary doesn't have time to finish sewing everything, for which she is very grateful. The next shop they go into is a bookstore. They wanted to get Patrick's favorite books and some of their favorites when they were growing up. Lee and Rosemary walk out with no less than a box of books. The last shop on their list is the toy shop. Rosemary's eyes widen when she sees the most perfect train set in the display window. She insists they must get this for Patrick, and Lee happily agrees. As they are loading the train and various other toys in the car, Rosemary inquires, "Lee, do you think this is enough?"

"Sweetheart, I am sure we bought him more than enough. He is not used to having much anyway. He will love whatever we give him."

"I just want Patrick to have everything he has ever wanted or dreamed of in his entire life." Lee ensures her, Patrick will love everything we will give him because it is from us. Most importantly, he reminds her they will have a lifetime to spoil him and love him wholly and unconditionally.

Rosemary smiles and says, "I love you, Lee Coulter!"

"I love you too, Rosie!"

"Well, we better get home, my darling. I need to start stitching."

When they arrive back in Hope Valley, Lee suggests they pick up dinner from the café. He knows his wife very well, and he knows once Rosemary gets home, she will focus solely on her projects until they are completely done. Sure enough, as soon as she walks in the door, she pulls out the quilt, thread, and needle and starts working. She is about a quarter way done with hand quilting the top, batting, and backing together using the animals' outline on the top as a guide. Lee fixes her a plate of food and some water and sets it next to her, insisting Rosemary eat and drink something. She takes a bite of bread and sips some water, and gets back to work. Lee softly says, "Okay, then. I will just eat over there. Don't mind me."

Rosemary merely mumbles, "Mmmhmm." Lee eats his dinner in silence, does the dishes, and sits down on the settee to read the newspaper. Every so often, he puts the paper down and just watches his wife work. Lee loves her more now than the day they said I do. He knows what a great mother she will be to Patrick and any other children who come into their home. He then daydreams of a time when Patrick will be their son, and they will read him books on the settee, make up stories together, give him hugs and kisses, tell him they love him every day, and him calling them Mama and Papa. Lee gets up to make some tea and hands Rosemary a cup. She squeezes his hand, and lovingly says, "Thanks, sweetheart."

Lee kisses her on the cheek and tells her, "I am going to bed. Do you need anything before I go?"

Rosemary gives him a tender kiss on the lips and whispers, "I am good. I will be up as soon as I finish this next square."

"Don't be too long. You need to get some sleep."

The next morning, Lee comes down and sees Rosemary sleeping with her head on the table. He gently wakes her up by rubbing up and down her back. She slowly looks up and inquires, "What time is it?"

"It is 7:30 am. Why didn't you come to bed last night, sweetie?"

"I was planning on finishing the next square, but I just kept going. I guess I rested my eyes for a minute and fell asleep."

"Let me make you some breakfast. Do you need to go to the dress shop today?"

Rosemary answers, "I think Clara can handle it today. Can you please tell her I am too busy when you get to town?"

"Of course, I will. Do you want me to tell Clara why?"

Rosemary shakes her head no. "We can tell her later with the rest of our friends when we introduce him to everyone." He acknowledges her with a smile. She holds up what she has been working on and inquires, "Do you like the quilt so far? I hope I can finish before he gets here."

"He will love it. Why don't you go take a nap for a little while? I'll leave some breakfast for you."

"I might after I finish stitching the second row," responds Rosemary.

Lee reluctantly agrees, "Okay, if you aren't going to take a nap, I will make you eggs and toast. Please will you at least sit and eat with me before I go into the office?" She gets up to make the coffee while Lee cooks the eggs and toast. They sit down together, like they do every morning, and enjoy this one-on-one time. Lee offers to do the dishes, and Rosemary sits back down, stitching away. After cleaning up the kitchen, he softly says, "I need to get to the office, but I will check on you later."

"Thanks for breakfast, sweetheart." He kisses her on the head and walks out the door. Rosemary spends the next hour or so finishing up the second row and then decides to start on the curtains. She can feel herself dozing off again, so she decides to rest on the couch for a little while.

When he gets back from the mill, Lee sees Elizabeth and little Jack coming out of the mercantile. Lee asks Elizabeth, "Can you check in on Rosemary in a little bit? He tells Elizabeth about Rosemary stitching through the night, getting ready for Patrick."

"Yes, I'll drop off little Jack with Laura, and I will go over there."

"Thank you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth knocks on Rosemary's door and walks in. She is surprised to see her sitting up, "Oh, did I wake you up? I am so sorry."

Rosemary looks for the time, "What time is it? How long have I been asleep?"

Elizabeth replies, "It's about 10:30 am. Do you need any help?"

"I think I have it under control. I need to finish sewing the curtains, hand stitch the rest of the squares, attach the binding to the quilt, and I'm counting on Lee to help with moving the furniture and setting up the toys tonight. Would you like to see what I made?"

"Of course," replies Elizabeth.

Rosemary walks over to the table and shows Elizabeth the quilt she made with alternating blue and gray fabric squares with bears, tigers, elephants, and horses stitched on each of them. Each animal and square are also outlined with hand stitching. Rosemary inquires, "Do you think he will like them?"

"Oh, Rosemary. This quilt is wonderful. He will love them. Are you sure you don't want some help? Little Jack is with Laura, so I have some free time."

Rosemary thinks for a moment and responds, "Would you mind? I could really use your help finishing the quilting. I have about half left."

"I would love to help you, Rosemary. Should we see if Clara can help as well? She will be much faster and more help than me."

"That's a great idea. I will give Lee a call and see if he can talk Clara into coming over." Rosemary and Elizabeth start stitching on opposite sides of the third row. They are pleasantly surprised when Clara and Molly walk into the row house twenty minutes later.

Clara happily reports, "We are here to help. I just happened to see Molly leaving the mercantile and asked if she had time to help as well."

Rosemary is overcome with emotion, "Thank you so much for helping ladies. It means the world to me." With Clara and Molly working on the fourth row, the ladies get busy stitching.

Molly asks, "Who is this adorable quilt for, Rosemary?"

Rosemary gets up and asks, "Who wants some tea?" The ladies all acknowledge, and Rosemary puts the kettle on the stove to boil. "Elizabeth and Bill are the only ones who know, but Lee and I are going to adopt this seven-year-old boy from Brookfield. Grace will be bringing him tomorrow evening."

Clara and Molly are shocked but happy for them. Clara asks, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, we didn't really want to tell anyone until we knew it would happen. We finally received word Patrick is coming two nights ago."

Clara responds, "That makes sense. I am so happy for you and Lee. You two will make the best parents."

Molly adds, "I totally understand. I agree with Clara. You and Lee will make fabulous parents."

Rosemary finishes making the tea and pours a cup for each of them. "Thank you so much, ladies. I think with the four of us, we will finish in no time." The afternoon is filled with chatting and stitching and seems to fly by quickly. They were almost finished when Lee, Jesse, Nathan, Allie, and little Jack walk in the door with dinner.

Lee announces, "We know the four of you have been hard at work, so we thought we should bring you supper. Can you take a break and eat some food?"

Rosemary answers for them all, "Yes, we will gladly take a break and eat something." She pats Lee on the cheek and whispers, "Thank you, sweetheart." Lee smiles back and helps Rosemary set the table and put the food out while Elizabeth tells Nathan and Jesse about the quilt and all about Patrick. The nine of them sit down to eat spaghetti and meatballs. Rosemary looks out at the table of their closest friends and realizes how blessed she is to live in Hope Valley, where everyone is family. She notices everyone looks like they are done, so she signals to Lee to get the blueberry pie and some plates to set on the table for everyone to have a piece.

Jesse chimes in, "Bill sure knows how to make a good meal and dessert." He looks at Clara and adds, "Not as good as yours, honey."

Clara laughs and says, "I know what you mean. I agree. He does." Lee offers to do the dishes, so Rosemary and the ladies can get back to the quilt.

"Thank you, gentlemen. We should be able to finish up in about an hour," responds Rosemary as the ladies excuse themselves to the sitting area. Lee and Nathan do the dishes and clean the kitchen while Jesse and Allie entertain little Jack. Rosemary and the girls work diligently for the next hour and finish up the final quilting stitches. They hold it up and admire their work.

Rosemary exclaims, "It's perfect! I couldn't have finished all that without you three. Thank you." Rosemary walks over and initiates a group hug.

Clara inquires, "Is that all you needed help with, Rosemary?" She nods.

Jesse adds, "On that note, I would like to escort my lovely wife home." Clara blushes, and they tell everyone goodbye and walk out the door.

Rosemary puts her hand on Molly's arm and thanks her again for helping today. Molly smiles and states, "It's my pleasure. Thanks for the dinner and good company." Molly excuses herself and walks out the door.

Elizabeth inquires, "Are you sure you don't need help anymore?"

"No, I am sure, Elizabeth. I just need to attach the binding and finish up the curtains, and then I'm hoping Lee can help me move the furniture around and put everything in its place." Lee smiles and nods in agreement.

"Well, we will get going then. Let me know if you need anything," responds Elizabeth.

"I will. Thank you for being here today," answers Rosemary as she gives Elizabeth a hug.

Elizabeth says, "Always." She picks little Jack up, and she, Nathan, and Allie say their goodbyes and walk out the door. Lee and Rosemary are left alone, so they sit down on the settee and sigh.

Rosemary says, "Thank you for asking the girls over to help and for bringing supper and for making this night one I will always remember."

"Anything for you, Rosie."

She puts her hands together, "Now, I need to get back to the quilt and then finish sewing the curtains, and then can you help me put Patrick's room together?"

"You bet!"

Rosemary finally finishes the binding and sewing the curtains and holds them up to admire. "What do you think, Lee?"

"They look great. Now, can we go upstairs and work on Patrick's room? It's almost midnight." She hands him the quilt as they walk upstairs to his room. Rosemary takes the quilt and makes the bed. Next, Lee helps her hang the curtains, and then she shows him what she wants to do with all the furniture. They move everything around until she is happy with their placement. Then they start putting the train set together. While Lee is putting the final pieces in place, Rosemary starts putting the Lincoln logs and other various toys they bought him in his new wooden toy box. Lee then fills the shelves up with the books they bought him in Benson Hills while Rosemary admires their work. He looks over at her and mentions, "Patrick is really going to love this, sweetheart. You are going to make a terrific mother!" Lee pats the floor next to him and tells her, "Come and sit with me for a minute."

Rosemary comes over and sits next to Lee and says, "I can't believe we are going to be parents tomorrow! This is a dream come true."

"I know. I feel like this will be the start of something great for us. I believe we are meant to be Patrick's parents, and I can't wait to start this journey, the three of us." He rests his forehead on hers for a few moments, "Why don't we go to bed? You can finish up the last-minute things tomorrow. They should be here right before dinner time!"

The next morning, Rosemary is struggling to get everything just right. Lee tries his best to keep up with her, but she is constantly running around doing various chores. Every time he tries to help her, he feels like he is getting in the way.

Rosemary shrugs, "Lee, what are you doing? I need to whip up some cookies, and I don't need to worry about what you are doing."

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help you. Do you want me to get Elizabeth?"

"I've got everything under control, Lee."

"I can see that, but I think I am going to get Elizabeth." He's not sure if she is actually listening or just concentrating on the peanut butter cookies she is making. She throws the first batch in the oven while he slips out. Lee walks over and knocks on Elizabeth's door.

Elizabeth asks, "Is everything okay?"

"She won't admit she needs help, but I can tell she is struggling. Can you please come over?" Lee clears his throat and adds, "I will watch little Jack for you."

Elizabeth smiles and gets little Jack out of his playpen. They follow Lee next door, and Elizabeth hands off little Jack while she goes to find Rosemary. She finds her sitting on the small settee in Patrick's room, just staring off into space.

Elizabeth walks in and sits on the edge of the bed. "Everything looks amazing. What still needs to be done?"

"Oh, just the cookies. I just put the first batch in the oven." Rosemary thinks about whether she wants to tell Elizabeth what she is feeling. She takes a deep breath and just goes for it, "I'm getting nervous. I already love him so much, and I don't want to disappoint him in any way."

"Rosemary, from what you have told me about him, I know he loves you and Lee just as much as you two do. He will be so happy to come and live with you…he won't be expecting anything special."

"I know. Lee tried telling me the same thing. You know me, I just like for everything to be perfect."

"Can I give you some advice on being a mother? She nods. "Nothing will ever be perfect again. Your life will not be about you or Lee anymore. It will always be about your child first. And I am sure you know that children, especially boys, will always be sticky and get into things they shouldn't."

Rosemary smirks and says, "Don't remind me. I am well aware of how sticky children can be." She thinks to herself, "I sure have come a long way since I got married from thinking children are sticky to wanting a child more than anything else in this world."

"Rosemary, please don't worry. You are going to be an excellent mother."

Rosemary gives Elizabeth a hug and offers, "You have no idea how much that means to me." She jumps up and adds, "Well, enough dawdling, I have work to do." Rosemary runs down the stairs with Elizabeth following her. She takes the first batch out of the oven and puts in the next one. "Would you and little Jack like to stay for lunch? I can make some tomato soup and cut up some fruit for little Jack."

"Are you sure? I don't want to keep you from your work."

"The only thing left are these cookies. Thanks to you and Lee and Clara and Molly."

Elizabeth responds, "Okay. Sounds delicious. Let me run next door to check on something while you heat up the soup." Rosemary acknowledges. By the time Elizabeth came back over, the table is set, and the soup is in everyone's bowls. "Thanks for having us over again; I am so happy for the two of you." Elizabeth quickly eats and tells them she needs to get little Jack home for his nap. "I'll see you later...secretly knowing what is in store for them.

Lee suggests, "Why don't you lay down and take a nap? I will finish up the cookies."

"Closing my eyes for a little bit sounds amazing. If I don't come down in an hour, please come and get me." Lee acknowledges.

Rosemary takes a short nap and walks down the stairs to find Lee when there's a sudden knock at the door. Lee yells, "Come in!"