A Special Dinner

Angela and Allie walked back to town after their encounter at with Mr. Spurlock. Neither of them said a word until they arrived at the row houses. They were both understandably frightened.

"Allie, are you going to tell your Uncle Nathan what happened with Mr. Spurlock?" asked Angela.

"I can't. I'll be in big trouble. Uncle Nathan told me this morning when he gave me 75 cents for the corset that he trusted me. When I first came to Hope Valley, I got into a lot of trouble. I skipped out on school. I learned card tricks from Mr. Bouchard and tried them out on the other children. I won a lot of things from them with those card tricks, but I had to give everything back. It wasn't honest. I know that now. Uncle Nathan said he trusted me, and now I've let him down. I can't tell him, Angela. Are you going to tell your parents?"

"I don't know, Allie. I know I promised you, but it doesn't seem right to keep it from them."

"Do you think we could just sleep on it and decide tomorrow?"

"OK. We have church tomorrow. It will be hard going to church knowing I'm keeping a secret from mama and papa."

"If we could just sleep on it, we can tell them together after church. Please, Angela?"

"OK, but it has to be right after church. Wait for me outside, and we can tell them together."

"Thank you, Angela, from the bottom of my heart. I think it won't be as hard if you're there with me. It wasn't your fault. It was my fault. It was my idea to go to the cabin, and I know we shouldn't have."

"It will be alright, Allie. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Angela." Allie and Angela hugged, and Allie walked Angela up the stairs to her row house. She left and walked directly home.

"Allie, you're home early. How was your leaf collecting?"

"Not good. Angela and I were walking arm-in-arm getting ready to collect leaves when my boot got caught in a tree root, and I fell, taking Angela down with me. We didn't get hurt or rip our dresses or anything, but we decided we could collect leaves after church tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Uncle Nathan. I'm alright, and so is Angela. I just walked her home."

"Why don't you get washed up. I can fix your hair for you if you like, then we can go to the café for dinner."

Allie remembered the last time Nathan tried to fix her hair for Mr. Yost and Mrs. Yost's wedding. She smiled. "It's fine, Uncle Nathan. I can just pull it back with a ribbon. My dress isn't dirty. I'll only be a couple of minutes."

Allie and Nathan walked into town together. The air smelled like fresh-cut hay from the nearby farms. There were people sitting in front of the shops chatting and others were walking to the saloon and the café. Ned and Florence were out walking after closing the mercantile for the day.

"Florence, Ned, it's nice to see you."

"Good evening, Constable. Allie, how are you?" asked Florence.

"I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for asking."

Florence and Ned looked at each other and then looked at Nathan.

"She read it in a book."

"Oh, I see. Where are you two headed?" asked Ned.

"We're going to have supper at the café."

"So are we," said Florence. "Why don't we walk there together? We have lots of catching up to do."

Nathan and Allie looked at each other. They both knew what Florence was up to. She would want to know everything about Nathan and Elizabeth and their encounter in the jail.

"So, what have you two been doing? I haven't seen either of you for days. I heard that,"

Nathan interrupted. "Florence, I've been working on something with Judge Avery that I really can't talk about. How was your honeymoon?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. We had the best time. Ned had business to take care of, so I came back to Hope Valley earlier than him. I thought I told you all that before. But, anyway, I wanted to ask you about,"

This time it was Allie who interrupted. "Mr. Yost, do you sell blotting paper at the mercantile? Angela and I will need some for our school project. We're collecting different specimens of leaves, and we have to identify them. We were thinking we could put them between sheets of blotting paper so they won't get moldy. What do you think? Do you think that would work?"

"Well, yes. I guess it would work. We sell blotting paper, Allie. Why don't you and Angela come see me Monday after school."

"We will. Thank you, Mr. Yost. Oh, look, Uncle Nathan. We're here already. That was a quick walk. I hope you both have a lovely dinner. Come on, Uncle Nathan. I'm starving."

Allie grabbed Nathan's hand and pulled him into the café. They left a confused Ned and Florence outside.

"Well, that was rude of that child," said Florence.

"Oh, Florence, she's just a child. I think she was trying to get Nathan inside the café before you asked him about Elizabeth. I know you, Florence. I know you don't mean any harm, but if Constable Grant wants to talk to you about Elizabeth, he will. Otherwise, I think it would be best to not bring up the subject. Agreed?"

"Yes, of course. You know I'll find out what happened eventually. Someone is going to talk about it."

"Yes, that's probably true, but it doesn't have to be you. I think it's best to just leave it be for now," said Ned.

"Yes, dear. Come on now. I'm starving!" Florence said, mimicking Allie.

Clara was serving dinner, and Bill was in the back cooking with help from Jesse.

"Good evening, Clara. We'd like a table for two, please."

"Good evening Nathan, Allie. How are you? It's good to see you. I have a nice table for you right by the window. Please follow me." Clara sat them in the back of the café by a window, so they would have a little more privacy. She saw Ned and Florence coming in behind them. "I'll be right back to tell you what tonight's specials are."

"Good evening Ned, Florence. Would you like a table for two, or are you meeting someone?"

"Could we sit with Nathan and Allie?" asked Florence. Clara looked at Ned.

"Dear, I think I would like to have you all to myself this evening. Clara, we'll take a table for two. Could we sit over there, please?" asked Ned. Ned pointed to a table on the opposite side of the café from Nathan and Allie. Clara looked relieved.

"Now you just sit and relax, and I'll be back in a minute to tell you about the specials."

Nathan and Allie enjoyed a delicious pot roast dinner together. They talked about their day, and Allie told Nathan all about learning scales and a little more, but not everything, about the mishap she and Angela had in the woods. Ned and Florence also enjoyed their dinner for two.

"Uncle Nathan, when you told Mr. and Mrs. Yost you were working on something with Judge Avery, what is that? Is it something dangerous, or is it about my adoption?"

"It's not about your adoption, Allie. I can't talk about it. You know, it's Mountie business, but you don't have to worry, OK?"

"OK. I won't ask, and I'll try not to worry." Nathan smiled at Allie. Sometimes she was just like a mother hen.

Bill and Jesse were in the back cooking and getting plates ready for Clara to carry to their guests. "Jesse, what in the world are you doing to that pie? You're supposed to cut it into eight pieces. It's not a tree. You don't have to saw it."

"Bill, I'm sorry. You know I'm not good at this. Clara, help me out here."

"Jesse. I know you're doing your best. Here, let me finish. Why don't you take these to Nathan and Allie's table."

"Wait. Nathan and Allie are here?" asked Bill.

"Yes, they're ready for their dessert."

"Give me those plates, Jesse. I'll take them out," said Bill.

Bill brought the pie to Nathan and Allie's table. "Nathan, I didn't know you are Allie were here. How was your meal?" Bill didn't wait for an answer. "Hey, listen. We need to talk about, you know, our inquiry. How is Monday morning?"

"Sure, Bill. That's fine. Come by the jail."

"See you then. Oh, and the pie is on the house. Don't worry. It's not a bribe."

"Thanks, Bill. I didn't think it was a bribe. See you Monday, then."

Nathan and Allie finished their dinner and paid Clara. Nathan nodded to friends in the café, said good night to Florence and Ned and left before Florence could swallow her mouth full of food and start a conversation.

"You're pretty smooth, Uncle Nathan. That was good. You know, it was nice to go out. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Yes, it was nice to go out."

"Did you see the look on Mrs. Yost's face when we were leaving? I thought she was going to spit her food out to try to talk to you. I know what she was doing. She wanted to ask about Mrs. Thornton."

"I'm sure she did, but there's nothing to talk about. Come on. Let's go home. We can sit on the porch and look at the stars tonight." Allie smiled, and they continued their leisurely walk home.

"It's good to be home. Look at all those stars, Allie. You can see them so clearly here. There's no light to dim them like there is at Fort Clay."

"It sure is beautiful. I'm glad we came to Hope Valley, Uncle Nathan."

"So am I."

"Are you sure? I know Mrs. Thornton hurt your feelings. Are you sure you're not sorry we came here?"

"No, I'm not sorry at all. I admit I wanted things to work out between Mrs. Thornton and I, but they didn't. I'm trying my best to move on. We'll be fine, Allie. I know we will."

Allie was already asleep on Nathan's shoulder when he looked down. He smiled and agreed with Allie that Hope Valley was the right place for both of them.