The Depths of Despair
Nathan arrived home early enough to put together a nice picnic supper for he and Allie. He packed some fried chicken he picked up at Abigail's Café, some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers left from his garden and a bowl of potato salad. Nathan was not a fancy cook, but he made delicious potato salad just like his mother and his sister, Colleen. He and Allie made it every chance they got.
The day had been fairly routine for Nathan. He and Judge Avery discussed the land transfers. They reviewed documents and tried to decide exactly what Wyman Walden and the Pinkertons were planning. Bill Avery had good instincts from his many years of service to the Mounties, as the Sheriff of Hope Valley and now as a judge. He was all business and no nonsense and was never one to mince words. He had handled Allie's adoption earlier in the summer, and Nathan and Allie were now waiting on the final paperwork.
Nathan and Bill could not find any good explanation as to why all the land transfers were taking place. They planned to interview some of the sellers in the next few days to see if they could find a common denominator among them. They hadn't found anything improper in the paperwork, but Bill and Nathan knew something wasn't quite right.
Elizabeth walked to Abigail's Café after school to talk to Minnie Canfield about her daughter, Angela. She told Minnie how Angela and Allie vowed to be bosom friends and the part Allie play in swaying Mr. Landis to allow Angela to continue in school.
"Minnie, it was like a miracle! I wasn't terribly polite to Mr. Landis. I really thought no matter what I said, he was just not going to change his mind. It was Allie who did it. Just like that, Mr. Landis said he would recommend to the Board that Angela remain in the school. He said that if Angela does well, the Board would consider having other blind children attend classes in schools throughout the province. You would have been proud of both of them."
"Well, Elizabeth. I certainly didn't see that coming. My prayers have been answered. Thank you. Thank you for believing in my Angela. How can I ever re-pay you?"
"Minnie, I'm so grateful everything worked out. Thank you for trusting me," responded Elizabeth. I have to go. Laura is with Little Jack, and I promised him we would go for a walk after supper. Bye now."
"Good night, Elizabeth, and God bless you."
Minnie finished up the entrees for that night's specials at the Café. She would be leaving soon to have dinner with her own family. Joseph had run into Nathan earlier in the day and invited him and Allie over for dessert after their fishing expedition. Clara had just arrived at the Café to finish preparing the potatoes and vegetables and to help serve. "Clara, I'll be leaving now, if you think you're set for the supper crowd. I need to get my own family fed. Nathan and Allie are coming over for dessert tonight."
"Minnie, are Nathan and Allie doing OK? I heard about what happened yesterday. It's a small town. No one meant any harm. They were just concerned."
"I don't know, Clara. I think that's why Joseph invited them for dessert. He said that Nathan and Allie had a picnic supper planned by the river, and they were going to do some fishing. He didn't want them to be alone tonight."
"That's so nice. I hope they're OK." Clara took Minnie's hand. "Thank you for all your help today, Minnie."
Minnie said good night to Clara and walked home. Angela had already started cooking dinner by the time Minnie arrived. Joseph was nearby in case she needed help, but he let her take the lead.
"Joseph, I'm home. How was your day today? Wait, is our daughter making dinner?"
"Yes, she is. She told me she could do it by herself."
"Angela, baby girl, that looks delicious. Thank you so much for helping out. I'm so proud of you."
"Mama, I want to try. Look, I made apple pie for dessert too. I'm glad you already had the crusts made. Papa helped me peel the apples."
"You never stop surprising me, Angela. Thank you." Minnie kissed Angela on the forehead. Where's Cooper?"
"He's upstairs finishing up his homework, mama."
"Well, now I've been surprised twice tonight. Joseph, how did you get Cooper to do his homework?"
"It wasn't me. It was Angela."
"Thank you, Angela. How was your first day of school? Tell me all about it."
Angela told her mother about her and Allie vowing to be bosom friends and about Allie standing up for her with Mr. Landis. She said that was the best part of the day. "Mama, just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, Mrs. Thornton told me that Mr. Landis is going to recommend to the Board that I stay at the Jack Thornton School. Isn't that wonderful? It was my dream, mama, to go to school and make friends just like everyone else."
"I can't think of anything better than that. Mrs. Thornton stopped by and gave me the good news. Your papa invited Constable Grant and Allie over tonight for dessert. I think we have reason to celebrate!"
Nathan and Allie found a quiet spot by the river bank where the water formed a cool, quiet pool. It was a perfect fall evening. They had their picnic supper, and Allie told Nathan all about her first day of school. "Uncle Nathan, it wasn't bad at all. Angela and I are bosom friends now."
"You're what?" Nathan looked confused.
"Uncle Nathan, you sound just like Mr. Landis. He didn't know about bosom friends either." Allie explained it all to Nathan and told him that Mr. Landis had agreed to allow Angela to remain in school. "After school, Mrs. Thornton talked to me. She apologized at least a dozen times and said she didn't mean to hurt either of us. I don't think I've completely forgiven her yet, but I think it will be OK."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Allie. How did you like the fried chicken?
"It was delicious. It's one of my favorite meals, along with the potato salad of course."
"Mine too. Let's get these hooks baited and see if we can catch some fish. We've been invited to the Canfield's house for dessert tonight." Allie gave Nathan the biggest smile he had seen from her in a long time.
Allie and Nathan sat by the river and just talked and laughed. Allie told him all about Angela and their vow, and Nathan made a few of his silly dad jokes. They even caught a couple of fish. They were quiet for a time, and eventually, Allie spoke up.
"Uncle Nathan, do you think we could head over to the Canfield's house now? I really want you to hear Angela play the piano."
"Sure, let's go."
They packed up the remains of their picnic and their fish and walked over to the Canfield's house. They climbed the steps, and left their baskets on the front porch. Before they even had a chance to knock on the door, Cooper saw them and anxiously invited them in.
"Nathan, Allie, it's so good to see you. Thank you for coming by."
"Thank you for inviting us, Joseph. I hear Allie and Angela are now best friends."
"Uncle Nathan, we're bosom friends." Allie whispered, "I told you all about that, remember?" Allie rolled her eyes and went to sit by Angela.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Allie and Angela are bosom friends." Now it was Nathan's turn to roll his eyes. "Allie and I have had to move quite a bit, so we haven't been in one place long enough for Allie to make a lot of friends."
"Yeah, we've moved quite a bit too. Well, I'm glad they've found each other, aren't we, Minnie."
"Oh yes. Angela told me all about it. I'm so glad you could come by for dessert. We're having apple pie. Angela actually made it herself," Minnie proudly reported.
"Uncle Nathan and I both love apple pie," said Allie. "In the spring Uncle Nathan tried to get me to try rhubarb pie, but I didn't care for it at all."
"Allie, you told me you liked that pie."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Nathan. I didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"Well, tonight we're all having apple pie," said Minnie. "Come and sit at the table."
The Canfields and the Grants enjoyed Angela's delicious pie, and the children talked about their first day at school. Angela and Cooper asked to be excused, and they took Allie over to the piano. Angela played a soft, sweet melody that was a perfect back drop to their easy conversation and friendship.
"Nathan, it looks like we're the only ones without something to do. Minnie said she would clean up the dishes so we could go for a little walk. Do you mind?"
"No, I'd like that," responded Nathan. They went outside into the cool evening air. "I think fall will be setting in quickly, Nathan."
"Yeah. I think you're right. Joseph, you didn't just ask me to go for a walk for no reason. What's up?"
"Can't two friends just go for a walk if they want to?" Nathan was not buying it. "OK, well, I just wanted to see how you and Allie are doing. We care about you."
"Well, I think Allie is doing alright. She told me that Eliza—I mean Mrs. Thornton—apologized to her. According to Allie it was at least a dozen times. Angela has certainly helped her a lot. I'm so grateful that they're friends. They really do seem to have a lot in common."
"Yes indeed, they do, and how about you? How are you doing?"
"Not great, but I'm trying to not let Allie see that. I don't want her to worry."
"That's where I come in, Nathan. You can talk to me. Whatever we say stays between us."
"I appreciate that, Joseph." As soon as Nathan relaxed enough to speak to Joseph, they both spotted Mrs. Thornton and Little Jack walking towards them on their way home. "Great. Just what I need."
"Just small talk, Nathan. Don't stop. Say hello, and keep walking my friend."
Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, and then regained her composure. She kept walking towards Nathan and Joseph. It was Joseph who broke the silence.
"Good evening Mrs. Thornton." He looked down at Little Jack. "And good evening to you too young man."
"Good evening, Joseph, Nathan. Nice to see you." Elizabeth spoke to them in a monotone.
"Good evening, Mrs. Thornton," said Nathan. Elizabeth and Little Jack continued to walk past them.
"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" said Joseph.
"Yeah. Right. For you, sure."
"So, she's Mrs. Thornton now and not Elizabeth?" asked Joseph.
"Yes. I think that's best. I need to keep things professional," responded Nathan.
"Sounds like a good idea. So, where were we? Oh, well, can I offer you some advice?"
"Sure."
"It might be best for you to keep some distance between you and Mrs. Thornton for now. It will give you each time to get used to things. I'm sure you'll see her with Mr. Bouchard sooner or later. You're a good man, Nathan. Stay strong. You can get through this. Remember, I'm always here to talk to. Mrs. Thornton has made it clear that she doesn't need to talk to me about her situation, so you don't have to be concerned about that in the least."
"Joseph, thank you. I really mean that. I'm not sure anyone else would understand."
"Sometimes I think it's best in a situation like this to keep your confidants close. If you open your heart to too many people, no matter how well meaning, it can easily turn into gossip. I can assure you that anything you tell me will go no further than us, and God."
"I was pretty shook up about things yesterday, and I still can't make sense out of any of it, but I have to try to let it go. It's going to take me a little time, but I have to let it go, Joseph."
"You keep focusing on that, doing your job and taking care of Allie, and you'll be able to get through this. I promise that life will be a little better each day. Well, look at that. We've walked to town and back again already."
"Thank you again, Joseph. I guess I should get Allie home, if I can pry her away. I'm sure she hasn't done her homework yet, and there's school tomorrow."
Nathan and Joseph went back inside. Everyone said their good nights, and Nathan and Allie walked the few steps back to their row house.
"Did you have a nice time tonight, Allie?"
"Yes, I did. Thank you for everything, Uncle Nathan. I thought this would be the absolute worst day of my entire life. I thought I would be in the depths of despair, but I wasn't."
"What? The depths of despair? Never mind. Do you have any homework to do?"
"No, we just had to read one chapter, and I did it at school. How about you, Uncle Nathan? Did you have a good day?"
"You know, if you had asked me that yesterday, I would be lying if I said yes. Today, I can honestly tell you it wasn't bad. Now, why don't you head upstairs and get ready for bed. You have school tomorrow."
"Thank you, Uncle Nathan." Allie squeezed Nathan so tight and gave him her biggest and best smile. Nathan kissed the top of her head, and she was off to bed.