"The Full Story Without The Theatrics"
Rosemary sat at her typewriter and reluctantly removed what Bill called 'her theatrical language.' "Bill has taken all the drama out this story, but I suppose he's right," Rosemary said aloud. She finished writing and had all the papers printed by 3 o'clock in the morning. "I'll need to hire an assistant if my little publication takes off. I must talk to Lee about that, and I'll need a bigger space; probably my own space, and definitely an assistant. Right now, I need to go home and get some sleep." Rosemary walked through town and out to the row houses. She was glad she had brought a lamp. The sky was dark, and clouds now blocked out the stars. "Oh my, it's getting cold. I'll be glad to get home."
Rosemary quietly went into the house so she wouldn't wake Lee. However, she found him asleep in a chair. "Lee, dear, wake up. I'm home."
"Rosemary, what time is it? I wanted to wait up for you, but I must have fallen asleep."
"It's after 3 o'clock. Time to get some sleep."
"Did you finish your story?"
"I did. Bill reviewed it. He said I had all the facts written correctly, but he thought the language was too theatrical. I had to go back and re-write it. Everything is printed, on my desk and ready for Robert to deliver in the morning."
"Well done, sweetheart. We can talk more about it in the morning."
Lee woke early, dressed and went to the office so Robert could pick up the papers for distribution. He wanted to let Rosemary sleep. He was sure she would want to go to the Town Council meeting that afternoon.
Fortunately, the mail was ready early, so Robert was out making deliveries by 10 o'clock. Hope Valley residents could hardly wait to read Rosemary's account of the previous day's activities. Things this big hardly ever happened in Hope Valley, and the residents knew Rosemary would never leave out even the smallest detail from her story. By the end of his delivery, Robert only had a couple of papers left when he returned to the Mercantile.
"Is that all you have left, Robert?" asked Ned.
"That's it. Some people wanted more than one copy, but I knew I would run out. I think Mrs. Coulter is going to have to print more papers."
"The Town Council is meeting this afternoon, so I'm sure she'll have more information for another story. Rosemary may be up writing late again tonight," added Ned. "Are you available in the morning before church to deliver papers?"
"Yes. I can do that. I'll get my chores done early, and I can be here by 7 o'clock."
"Thank you, Robert. I think you can head home now."
"Thank you, Mr. Yost. See you at church."
Rosemary woke up at 10 o'clock and went downstairs. Lee had made breakfast for her and was sitting and reading the Valley Voice. "Lee, good morning. You made breakfast. Thank you." Rosemary kissed Lee on the top of his head.
"Sit down, sweetheart. I just finished reading your article. It's a fine piece of work. You should be proud of yourself."
"I hate to admit it, but I think Bill was right. Sometimes simple language is best. I'm just going to sit and eat my breakfast. I really need a cup of coffee."
"There's plenty of both on the stove. I've already eaten, but I'll sit with you, and we can discuss your story if you like."
"I would love to have you sit with me, but I know all I need to know from you with the compliment you just made. You are such a dear, Lee Coulter, and I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart. I'm glad you're happy with the newspaper. It suits you."
By mid-afternoon, the Town Council was ready to take up its business. There wasn't an empty seat to be found in the library. Rosemary sat up front so she could be certain to get all the details for the newspaper.
"I call this emergency meeting of the Hope Valley Town Council to order. We have two matters to discuss on the agenda. We need to approve the minutes of yesterday's meeting. Mr. Hickam, would you please read the minutes." Hickam read the minutes, which were quite lengthy. "Thank you, Mr. Hickam. Can we have a motion to approve the minutes as presented?"
"I move to accept the minutes as presented," said Faith.
"I second the motion," responded Elizabeth.
"Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor of approving the minutes as presented, please raise your hand. Very good. The minutes are unanimously approved in the affirmative by the Town Council. Thank you, Mr. Hickam," said Lee.
Hickam was happy to be a member of the Town Council and have an important role in running Hope Valley's government.
"The second item on the agenda is to discuss the land that has been purchased by Mr. Walden. I have asked Judge Avery to fill us in on that," announced Lee.
"Thank you, Mr. President. My stipulation in the arraignment yesterday was that Mr. Walden could not sell the properties he owns until the case against him has been fully adjudicated. I would reconsider that only if the former owners of the property have first right of refusal. If those owners do not want to buy the property back, then Hope Valley residents would have second right of refusal. Beyond that, I have no control. So, I'm asking if you're having second thoughts about selling your property or if you're interested in purchasing property, please keep that in mind. I'm sure we'd all like to see this entire matter behind us. Right now, Mountie Headquarters is handling the investigation. I think Rosemary did a great job providing all the details of the arraignment in the Valley Voice." Everyone clapped for Rosemary, and she smiled ear to ear. "If any Hope Valley residents have questions, you can see me in my office. If the Town Council has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them now or later on if you prefer."
"Thank you, Bill. It wouldn't hurt for those of you who may have an idea for a business in town to start setting money aside. The Town Council will not be acting on this matter until we know if Mr. Walden will be selling. In the meantime, I'd like to suggest you start writing up a business plan and discuss financing with your bank, so that if and when the time comes, you'll be ready. The Town Council will be glad to assist you in any way possible. We have some time for public comment. Does anyone have anything to add?" asked Lee.
"Mr. Coulter, may I say something?"
"Mrs. Sullivan, by all means. Please stand if you would."
"Thank you, Mr. President. I would just like to express my appreciation to Judge Avery, Constable Grant, Constable Kinslow and the members of this esteemed Town Council for their handling of this matter. Things could have gone terribly wrong, but they didn't, and I believe that is due to those people I mention here today. Thank you." Everyone clapped and cheered.
"Thank you, Mrs. Sullivan. We all appreciate your very kind words. Well, due to the fact that this is an emergency meeting, and we can only discuss the items on the agenda, I'd like to call for a motion to adjourn," announced Lee. A motion was made, seconded and passed to adjourn the meeting. Some people stayed to visit with friends and neighbors, but Rosemary politely pushed her way through the crowd to head back to Lee's office to write her story.
"Whew. I'm glad to be out of that library. It was so crowded and hot in there. I think I'm feeling a bit queasy. I didn't eat lunch today. If I have a little something while I'm writing, I'm sure I'll feel right as rain," Rosemary said to herself.
By 6 o'clock Rosemary was finished with her story, and Lee came to the office to help her bring the papers to the Mercantile. "Sweetheart, you must be exhausted. Let me help you with these. We're going to have dinner at the café. You don't need to cook tonight."
"Oh, thank you, Lee. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Well, you'll never have to worry about that." Rosemary smiled at Lee, and they walked to the Mercantile. "You're awfully quiet tonight."
"I think I'm just very hungry and tired. I'll be fine once I've had some dinner and a good night's sleep. It was nice of Ned to keep the Mercantile open so we could drop off the papers. Ned said that Robert would be there by 7 o'clock in the morning to distribute them. I can't believe he sold out this morning. Well, never mind. Let's have dinner and just talk about everything except Cathcutter and Walden. Let's only talk about us at dinner. What do you think, Lee?" asked Rosemary.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. I do have something to talk to you about. Now is just as good a time as any," said Lee. "Let's go inside and find a table."
"Good evening, Clara. It's so nice to see you," said Rosemary.
"Oh, my goodness. Your story, Rosemary. I couldn't put it down. I read it while I was drinking my coffee this morning. Bill kept calling me to bring breakfasts out front, but I just couldn't help myself. Men can be such babies sometimes. It was fine for him, because he knew what was in the story, but I didn't. You did such a great job. Here, come in. I'm going to seat you in the back by the window where it's quiet, so you can relax. You look tired." Rosemary nodded. "Our specials tonight are fresh fish and meatloaf. The meatloaf is Bill's mother's recipe. I'll be back with some coffee and warm bread. I made the bread myself."
"Oh, dear. I am hungry, but I really don't have the appetite for fish. Maybe I'll have the meatloaf," said Rosemary.
"You have whatever you like, sweetheart."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Lee?"
"Let's wait until we order, and then we can talk."
"My, it sounds serious."
Clara brought Lee and Rosemary hot coffee, water and warm bread with butter. "I think we both know what we're going to have, Clara, so we can order now if that's alright with you," said Lee. Clara took their order and left them alone.
"So, Lee, come on, out with it. The suspense is killing me."
"Rosie, I know you've wanted a child. We both do."
"Yes, Lee. You're right. I would love to have a child, but it may not be in the cards for us. No one is more sorry than I am."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. When Gabe was here, he was telling me about Grace and Lillian and their orphanage in Brookfield. He said they had just been given charge of a baby boy. Gabe said the baby was three months old. His parents died of the Spanish flu, and an elderly aunt brought the baby to Grace and Lillian. What would you think about adoption?"
"Is that something that you'd be alright with, Lee? I know you wanted a child of your own."
"But that's exactly it. This would be a child of our own. My mother used to say that children belong to the people who love them. You know we would love this child as if he were our own natural child. What do you think, Rosie?"
"Lee, I would love that. We don't have anything for a baby though. When would we pick the baby up? What's his name? Would Grace and Lillian take care of him until we could get there? We could turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. Elizabeth has things Little Jack has outgrown. They'd be perfect. Lee, I'll have to start knitting right now. Where is Clara with our food? I have things to do, Lee!"
"Slow down. I already spoke to Grace and Lillian. They know us both well and said we'd be perfect parents for this baby boy. They are not going to consider any other potential families until they hear from us. We're going to have a nice, leisurely dinner and then go home and telephone Brookfield. Florence is working at the switchboard until 9 o'clock. We have plenty of time."
"Lee, this is going to be like a dream come true, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. Now, let's just take a deep breath and enjoy our dinner."
Author's Note: Next week's chapter will be published on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.