LGB
Hope Valley
December 16, 1918
My dear Elizabeth,
I just finished my meeting with Rosemary and Fiona to review the state of the preparations for the Christmas Festival; Gustave joined us for part of the meeting. I thought I was in my prime and full of stamina, but let me tell you that best friend of yours is a force to be reckoned with. Between her and Gustave, I am exhausted, mostly from intervening in their squabbles. In addition, these last couple of weeks have been so full, and the end is not in sight until after Christmas.
Despite my complaining, you know how much I am actually enjoying all this activity. It warms my heart to be part of the community's activities for the holidays and also to have you and Jack in my life. The trip to find the Christmas trees for the house and saloon was such a joyful excursion. Jack was so excited for his first tree hunt. Of course, he loved the first tree we saw, but I finally convinced him that we had to find the "perfect" ones. Thank goodness for Mike as I am not certain I know how to chop down a tree, let alone having to do it with Jack underfoot and you watching me. I don't know what I would do without Mike on so many fronts; he has made himself invaluable.
Even the small things seem so big when you are in the holiday spirit. Our little rest, after the trees were loaded on the truck, turned out to be not so restful, as Mike started that snowball fight. Another first for Jack, who had a lot of fun with a little help from his pal. I got pelted trying to make Jack snowballs to throw. Mike finally got the message that we are playing with a little guy and to slow down a bit and play accordingly. You thought you had escaped; until I pulled you to the ground and rolled you in the snow. In the end, you got the worst of it …. or the best of it if you count the snowy kiss we shared. Of course, Jack soon found us and jumped on us all excited to play with us in the snow. The hot chocolate that Gustave sent with us was so appreciated as we all needed something warm, by the time we were ready to set out on our return trip.
At least Gustave was in an agreeable mood when he met with us before dinner. He can sometimes be touchy, as evidenced this morning, but he seems to want to please you, so the meeting went rather smoothly. I think he has drafted a nice menu for the restaurant guests and our family dinners. And he did agree to have some of the town's bakers add to the spread for the community events and any of the buffet meals for family. All in all, I think we have a good plan with respect to meals, although Rosemary tried to intercede a bit sending Gustave in a fret. He is calmed down now and assured that he is in charge of the menu and Rosemary has domain over the decorating of the saloon. Rosemary and Fiona of course have the lead on the festival events and vendors.
Tomorrow is your last day of school before Winter break. As agreed, I will swing by and take you to school since you have some treats to deliver to the children. I plan to put this letter in your basket for you to read during lunch. Remember that I will pick you up after school as it is quite icy for walking, and then I will spend a little time playing with Jack while you do what you need to do before our dinner at Abigail's. I love eating there with you two. It makes me feel like I am bringing my family to dinner as opposed to having you dine at "my establishment". And it frees me of the inevitable distractions when we dine at the Queen of Hearts.
Well, my love, I think that catches us up with the comings and goings. What is left is for me to tell you how much I love being together and sharing our lives as we do. You and Jack are the family of my heart. I promise you that soon we shall be an official family as well. But as I plan to marry once, I want to take all the proper steps. So please be patient just a little while longer my darling.
Love,
Lucas