The cake was eaten, the guests full, and Vivian tired when Rosemary and Lee headed home. In her own tiredness, Rosemary completely forgot about what Nathan had said. Only later, when she was laying down, did she remember. So, the next morning, after Lee had gone to work and Vivian had eaten breakfast, they set out on their mission. Rosemary knocked on the rowhouse door, and Allie opened it. "Good morning, Mrs. Coulter!" She said cheerily.
"Hey Allie, is your uncle here?"
"No, he left for town early this morning. He wanted to work on something, but he should be back at the jail now."
"Oh. Maybe I'll go find him there."
"Do you need him for something?"
"Well, he said yesterday that he wanted to talk to me about something, so…" Rosemary stopped at the bright smile on Allie's face. "What?"
"So he finally asked you." Allie chuckled. "He's been meaning to for a while."
Rosemary suddenly had an idea of what Allie was talking about. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Yes." Allie nodded, still beaming.
"Well then, I have to hurry and find him!" Rosemary exclaimed.
"I'll come with you." Allie decided.
"Wonderful. And we can talk on the way there." Rosemary winked. They started off along the road. Vivian held Rosemary and Allie's hands while the two of them talked the whole way into town, gushing excitedly over the details.
From his office, Lee saw Rosemary and Allie hurrying across the street with big smiles on their faces and he shook his head. Something was up with those two.
The door to the jail flew open and Nathan looked up at the excited faces of Rosemary and his daughter. He had an idea of what the excitement was about too.
"Nathan Grant!" Rosemary exclaimed as she shut the door behind her. "Why didn't you come talk to me sooner?" Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but she kept going. "Never mind that, now I'm here and we can start talking. Oh, this is all so exciting! I know exactly what you need, and Allie and I talked all the way here…" her voice trailed off as she realized she was babbling. She stopped and smiled. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Nathan smiled and, reaching into his pocket, pulled out a small box. "This." He said simply.
"Ooh, show her!" Allie exclaimed and Rosemary's eyes grew wide.
Nathan opened the box and Rosemary gasped. Sitting in the middle was a beautiful, but simple, diamond ring. Nathan looked from Rosemary to Allie to the ring.
"Oh Nathan, it's beautiful." Rosemary sighed.
"Now I just have to give it to her." He sighed himself. Planning engagements – planning anything – was not his strong suit. Fortunately for him, it was Rosemary's.
"I have a wonderful idea." She said after thinking for a moment. "Let me lay it out." She laid out exactly what she thought, then held her breath to see what Nathan would think.
He nodded and smiled. "I think it will be wonderful."
"Wonderful!" Rosemary exclaimed. "So, I'll get everything set up, and you can do the magic."
"Okay. Thank you, Rosemary."
"Not a problem. I can't wait!" Rosemary clasped her hands together excitedly. "We should get going though, I'm going to have to spring it on Lee, right Vivian?"
Vivian nodded; excitement written all over her face too.
"Alright. I'll see you later then." Nathan replied
"See you," Rosemary's voice floated back as she closed the door behind her and Vivian.
Allie turned to her uncle. "This is going to be the best proposal ever!"
"I sure hope so." He nodded and took a deep breath.
"Guess what?" Rosemary exclaimed as she burst into the office. "Guess what!"
Lee looked up from the stack of papers in front of him. "What is it, sweetheart? Hey Vivian." He stretched out his arms to the little girl, who came running for him.
"Guess!" Rosemary urged him.
"Oh, uh, I don't know. Did you talk to Nathan?" Lee turned his attention to Vivian. "What are you and Mama up to, huh?"
"Yes, I did talk to Nathan and it's happening!"
"What's happening?"
"Lee!" Rosemary smacked his shoulder. "Really? Nathan is going to propose to Elizabeth."
"Well, that's wonderful. What do you think, honey, isn't that great?" He asked Vivian again.
She nodded excitedly. "It's exciting."
Lee looked back at Rosemary. "Is there anything else?" He knew it couldn't have been that simple and that there was a reason for Nathan asking Rosemary.
"Well…" Rosemary's voice trailed off and she smiled sheepishly. "I told him we would take care of the whole thing and we made plans."
"What plans?"
"It's going to be the best proposal ever. We have to make a picnic near the water, and they are going to go for a sunset walk, and the dock will be all pretty, and…"
"And that sounds like a lot of work."
"Lee. My best friend is getting engaged. I am willing to do all the work necessary to see it happen."
"You mean, you're willing to make me do all the work." Lee muttered to Vivian.
"It's happening next week, so we'll have to get ready soon." Rosemary continued excitedly. "Oh, there's so much to do! I should get home and start planning," she looked down at Vivian. "Are you ready to go, sweetheart? You can come and help me." Vivian slid off Lee's lap and held onto Rosemary's hand.
Lee looked from Rosemary to Vivian and he couldn't help smiling. "Alright, I'll see you in a couple hours."
"See you then." Rosemary smiled.
"See you then." Vivian echoed, smiling at Lee too. Then the door closed, and silence reigned once more in the office.
Lee put his head in his hands. He had been scooped up into another of Rosemary's projects and this couldn't have come at a worse time. The problem was, how was he going to make that clear to Rosemary?
"Alright sweetie," Rosemary said as she and Vivian entered the house. "What should we do first?"
"Hmm…" Vivian thought for a few moments before a smile lit up her face. "Decorations!"
"I like it!" Rosemary declared excitedly. She went to the cabinet and brought out some paper. "You can go ahead and draw some flowers on these, and I'll get some fabric." In a few short minutes, Vivian was working on flower designs while Rosemary was cutting and trimming fabric. They were still working on it a couple hours later when Lee came home.
"What are my girls up to?" He asked, coming around to give both of them a hug.
"We're working on decorations for the proposal." Rosemary told him.
"I've been making flowers." Vivian said, proudly holding up her papers full of designs.
"Those are beautiful." Lee assured her, giving her another big hug.
"And I've been working on some banners with this twine and fabric. We can put them around the posts." Rosemary revealed.
"Very creative." Lee remarked. He looked around the room.
"Supper is almost ready." Rosemary said.
He chuckled. "You know me too well."
"Actually, I should check it. Vivian, why don't you go wash your hands?" Rosemary suggested.
"I'll help you." Lee offered, grabbing Vivian's hand and then carrying her up the stairs. As Rosemary walked over to the stove, she could hear Vivian's laughter floating from upstairs. Sure enough, the roast was ready. She pulled it out and set it on the stove as Lee and Vivian came laughing down the stairs.
"We'll set the table." Lee offered with a smile. "Vivian, do you want to put these on the table?" He handed her three plates, and she skipped over to put them in their proper spots. Then she came back to him, and he handed her the utensils. Finally, she came back again for the cups. "I can take the cups." He assured her.
"I can do it." She said.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to drop them."
"I'll be careful." She promised.
"Alright." Lee handed her three glasses.
She took them, but as she turned around she accidentally bumped into Rosemary and the glasses went flying out of her hand, crashing into tiny pieces on the floor. She looked from the glasses to Lee and Rosemary's faces. "I'm sorry." She began.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Lee said. He stretched out his arms. "Here, I'm gonna lift you over the glass."
"I'll get the broom." Rosemary said after she placed the roast down. Being careful to avoid the glass, she went to get the broom. She swept all the pieces of glass into a pile, then Lee bent down with the dustpan, and she swept them in.
"I'll get rid of those and put the broom back." He said, extending his hand.
"Thank you, sweetheart." Rosemary smiled in his direction. She went over and knelt down by Vivian. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Vivian nodded. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, sweetheart." Rosemary gave her a big hug. "It was an accident. Why don't you go sit down and I'll get some more glasses."
Vivian's sweet smile returned. "Alright." She nodded and bounced back to her seat.
Rosemary got the glasses, Lee returned, and they all sat down together. "Is everyone here?" Lee asked with a slight chuckle.
Rosemary looked at Vivian and Lee. "We're all here." She smiled. "Just as it should be."
"Good." Lee returned Rosemary's smile.
The next morning, Rosemary had sent Vivian upstairs to play in her room while Rosemary worked on house cleaning. Lee was gone, and the house was quiet. When Rosemary had finished, she flopped down on the couch, out of breath. Being pregnant and cleaning extensively was enough to make anyone tired. "Vivian!" She called. "Vivian?" No response, no pattering of feet across the hallway and down the stairs. All was quiet.
Now suspicious, she pushed herself off the couch and stood up, then began walking slowly up the stairs. She pushed open the door to Vivian's room. It was empty, the room was empty. "Vivian?" She called as she walked around in it. She checked under the bed and in closet, but there was no sign of her little girl. As fast as she could, she waddled back down the stairs and outside. She checked the backyard and, in the shed, but Vivian was nowhere to be seen.
"Florence, connect me with Lee, quickly!" She urged when Florence picked up the phone. "Lee! Vivian's missing. I can't find her anywhere! Okay, okay. Don't tell me to calm down; just get over here!" The other phone line hung up and Rosemary put the phone down. The next five minutes seemed like an eternity as she paced back and forth, waiting impatiently for Lee to get home.
Finally, she heard the car pull into the driveway and in a few seconds, the door opened. "Rosie." Lee approached her and pulled her into a warm and safe hug.
She started crying almost right away. "I don't know where she is. I checked her bedroom and she wasn't there, and I checked outside too."
"It's okay," he gently rubbed her back. "I alerted Nathan and he's alerting more people. It's gonna be okay. We are going to find her, okay sweetheart?"
"I know." Rosemary stepped back. "Just bring her back safely."
"I'll try." He gave her a quick kiss.
The door opened again and Elizabeth came in. She went right to Rosemary and gave her a big hug. "It's gonna be okay." She too knew how losing a child felt, after Little Jack had been lost the fall before. "Lee, Nathan and a whole bunch of people are here."
"Thanks Elizabeth," Lee said as he walked outside.
When Rosemary had calmed down a little, she and Elizabeth walked outside. It seemed as though the whole town was there, ready to search for Vivian. Nathan directed them where to go, and they immediately began combing the town. "I want to go too," Rosemary said as she watched the townspeople disappear.
"Rosemary, you're hugely pregnant." Elizabeth objected. "You need to stay here."
"I can't stay here and wait! Elizabeth, I'm going to go crazy just sitting here."
"I'll stay with you. We can bake something for Vivian when she comes back. What are her favorite cookies?"
Rosemary smiled even as she felt the tears forming in her eyes. "Chocolate chip. Those are her favorite."
"Well then, why don't we start on those?"
"Alright." Rosemary took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Alright, let's do it."
Time passed quickly as Rosemary and Elizabeth talked and baked. People passed in and out, encouraging Rosemary and offering help. Rosemary tried to be polite and smile, but her heart was with Vivian and Lee. She kept on replaying memories of all of them together, and all she could do was hope and pray that they would both make it back safely. But when the cookies were done baking and Elizabeth was working on the dishes and there was no word from anyone yet, Rosemary's heart began to fall. Her stomach twisted, cramping from the baby pushing against it. Her eyes were glued to the door as she waited and watched, hoping that each sound she heard was either Lee or Vivian coming in. Day wore into afternoon, and before she knew it, she was hungry and her stomach was growling. Her eyes flickered in fatigue and she thought she heard voices.
"Rosemary!" Elizabeth called, rushing to the door.
"What?" Rosemary repeated sleepily.
"Rosie!" It was Lee's voice this time.
"Mama!" Vivian ran into the room and right into Rosemary's arms.
"Sweetheart," Rosemary gave her a huge hug as her own tears came falling down. "I was so worried."
As Lee came over to his girls and wrapped his arms around both of them, Elizabeth closed the door and walked out. "They're okay, everyone is okay." She announced.
Inside the house, Rosemary and Lee weren't thinking of anyone else. They were just glad to be all together and all safe.