Chapter 4: The New Normal

It had been two years since the opening of the Silver Coin Saloon.

Even though a great deal of town residents still despised the building and its operations, it was hard to deny the impact it was leaving on Walnut Grove. Instead of bringing in wild drunks and risky gamblers as many predicted, the people who visited the saloon were more subdued compared to the rowdy customers of the big cities. Maybe that was thanks to it being situated in such a small country town. The worst that normally happened was the occasional group of visitors who would stumble from the saloon back to Nellie's hotel after a night of heavy drinking.

Townsfolk also hated to admit that business for all of the other shops had increased as well over the past few years. More people spending nights and eating meals at Nellie's, more crowds spending in the mercantile, and even more patients for Doctor Baker to make real cash money off of for his services. People were learning how to live with the saloon, despite their dislikes still smoldering.

One sunny afternoon, Almanzo was taking his break from working at the Feed 'n' Seed and went over to the mercantile to do a bit of window shopping for something very special. The shop seemed rather busy with people from out of town perusing through what the Oleson's had to offer. Almanzo pushed his way through the crowd to meet Nels at the counter. "Afternoon, Mr. Oleson."

"Hello, Almanzo." Nels looked up from counting coins, happy to see a familiar face. "Can I help you find anything?"

"Well, actually yes." The young man answered. "I was wondering if you had any nice rings."

"Rings?" Nels smirked. "Can I ask, does this have anything to do with your engagement to Laura Ingalls?"

Almanzo glanced down in embarrassment before nodding his head yes.

About a year ago, and after only a few months of courting, Almanzo had asked Laura to be his wife. She said yes and wanted to marry her love right away, but it was Charles who put a halt on their wedding plans. Laura was still only sixteen when Almanzo asked her if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and Charles thought she was still too young and naive to be married off. Almanzo was of course heartbroken, but he understood her father's concerns. It was agreed upon that the couple would wait until Laura was eighteen to get married.

"Haven't you two been engaged for over a year now, and Laura has never had a ring?" Nels asked to clarify the situation.

"I was trying to save up to buy her a real nice one, but I used all of my savings to by Mr. Gray's land so we can start building a house." Almanzo explained. "I figure in a couple years I can buy her a real ring for an anniversary, but for now I hate seein' her walk around town without one."

Nels smiled and shook his head in understanding. "I think that's a fine plan, Almanzo. Let me grab the jewelry box. I'm sure you'll find one Laura will like."

Almanzo smiled, thinking about his bride-to-be.

Outside and across the way from the mercantile, the school students were enjoying their lunch break, while Miss Wilder and Miss Ingalls finished grading the history tests they had just finished taking. A group of boys were sitting at the side of the schoolhouse comparing answers.

"The Constitution was signed in eighty-seven, right?" One of the younger boys, Bobby Todd asked the group.

"Yeah, it was." Willie of all people confirmed the information. "I got stuck on the question about the Whiskey Rebellion."

Another older boy, Jason Allen started chuckling. "Maybe if you would have had some whiskey to go along with your studying, you could have remembered that better."

The rest of the group laughed along, all except for Albert who had been staring off in another direction. A group of older girls were sitting on the schoolhouse steps, discussing their own test answers. However, Albert was only really interested in one of them.

"Hey, Albert." Andy elbowed his friend, knocking him out of his trance.

"Uh. What?" Albert whipped his head around to see the rest of the boys smirking at him.

"You're just as bad as when Laura...Miss Ingalls caught Willie staring at Rachel Brown during class." Andy taunted.

"Hey!" Willie kicked his foot out in Andy's direction.

"Just go over there and talk to her." Jason suggested to Albert.

He simply shrugged off the idea. "No, not when all of them are sitting together like that. Besides, I don't think Michele even knows who I am."

"Well, you'll never know unless you try."

Just then, Miss Wilder came out from the schoolhouse and started ringing the bell for her students to return to class. "Lunch is over, children!"

Everyone quickly ran inside. Albert's eyes were still stuck on Michele Pierson, who was indeed blissfully unaware of his presence.

On the other side of town, the men at the mill were working fast to fill a large order, with the saw running loud and the slamming sound of wood planks filling the air. Charles and Jonathan were working together to load the lumber onto the awaiting wagons.

"You think we'll be able to get this finished by the end of the day?" Jonathan asked his work partner.

Charles wiped his face with his sleeve after slamming down a stack of planks. "I think we should be able to. I'm gonna sleep well tonight after working this hard."

"And wake up sore tomorrow." Jonathan joked to keep their spirits high.

The two did not notice another man stumbling up to them, one who had almost tripped and fell onto the table saw. "Excuse me, fellows!"

Charles and Jonathan paused their work and looked over at the stranger. "Do you-do you fellows know when the next stage is coming?"

With the slur in his voice and the lack of coordination in his step, it was obvious that the man was drunk. Charles sighed in annoyance. "No, but it picks up at the hotel. Maybe someone there might know."

The man smiled, not being able to sense the short temper Charles had for him. "Well, thank you mighty kindly. Take care, fellows!"

The man stumbled away, waving his hand in the air as if saying goodbye to a friend. Jonathan and Charles watched the drunk slowly make his way over to Nellie's hotel. "It's the middle of the day. That place shouldn't even be open this early."

"Suppose Brady started an afternoon special." Jonathan tried joking around again, but this matter was more serious to Charles.

"I don't think it's funny."

Jonathan sighed. Two years since the Silver Coin had been opened and Charles was still angry as ever. He did not even like to look in the saloon's direction or drive his wagon by the building. He was lucky the saloon had not turned out to be an even bigger problem for the town than it was. "Come on, Charles. After all this time, you're still butt hurt."

"I'm just surprised the saloon has lasted this long in Walnut Grove." He admitted. "After we couldn't get it to close, I was hoping bad business would take it down."

"Suppose Brady was right about his investment after all." Jonathan said before the two of them went back to work.

Later that evening at the Oleson's residence, Nels was kicking his feet up in the parlor room of his home. It had been a long day for the store owner and all he needed was a quiet moment to relax.

"Neeeeelllssss!" Harriet yelled across the house. "Did you finish checking the stock today?"

"No." Nels rubbed the side of his head at the sound of his wife's loud voice. "I didn't have the time, Harriet."

"What do you mean you didn't have the time?" Harriet walked into the parlor room. "I saw you going through the supply room this morning."

Nels sighed. So much for his moment to relax. "Well, when you left to go help Nellie at the restaurant, a whole slew of customers came into the store and I didn't have time to finish checking the stock."

Harriet tilted her head at her husband's tone of voice. "Are you alright, Nels?"

"I'm fine." Nels stated bluntly.

"It's just that you seem a bit...irritated."

"Harriet, I've had a long day. I just wanted some time to relax." Remembering that his home was far from a nice place to rest, thanks to his loving wife and children, Nels made a decision. "I'm going for a walk."

Before Harriet could respond, Nels went out the front door and into the cool night air. Walking off his property, the man pondered on where he should take his nightly stroll. He glanced around the town, with his eyes getting stuck on the lights of the Silver Coin Saloon.

Nels was one of the citizens who had gone to Redwood Falls to protest the saloon's opening, but he was also once employed at the Dakota Saloon back in Winoka. Harriet had forbid him from ever entering the building. Her hatred ran more deeply than his. But after living down the street from the saloon for two years, curiosity was finally getting the better of him and Nels walked across town.

After passing through the doors of the Silver Coin for the very first time, Nels marveled at the decorations he had only seen through the windows. It was indeed far nicer than the saloon he had worked in. A few men were sitting around the bar, while some others were sipping on drinks at their own tables. It seemed to be a quiet night at the establishment.

"Mr. Oleson?"

Nels turned towards the bar to see Pierce staring at him with a questionable expression.

"Pierce." Nels swaggered over to the bar, trying not to seem like an outcast in his own town. "Do you work this bar every night?"

"Most nights." Pierce was put off at the sight of Mrs. Oleson's husband in the saloon, figuring something must be going on. "Can I help you?"

Nels nodded. "Yeah. I'll take a whiskey."

The bartender whipped his head back. "I didn't know you were one for drinkin'."

"I'm not normally. But I figured tonight, why not?"

"What about your wife? I thought she hated the saloon the most out of everyone in town."

Nels pulled a bar stool over to himself and took a seat. "I'm a grown man. I can do as I please."

Pierce shrugged, took out a glass and poured his newest customer a smooth whiskey. Nels picked up the glass and wasted no time taking a sip of the bronze liquor. After setting down his drink and taking another long look around the saloon, Nels turned back to the bartender.

"You like working here, Pierce?" The older man tried to make conversation.

"Some days are better than others." He answered. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd like working in a small town. Thought I'd miss the bustle and crowds of the city place I used to work in for Brady. Maybe I'm finally getting old and starting to enjoy the slow life."

Nels nodded his head in agreement about enjoying a more slow paced lifestyle, then took another sip. "Top me off."

As the night went on and the Silver Coin was coming to closing time, Nels showed himself out and made his way back home. Having only had three maybe four drinks, he was not necessarily worried about his wife, who was probably already in bed by now. But in actuality, Nels was greeted by his wife sitting in the parlor room in her nightgown. "Harriet, what are you still doing up?"

"Well, I did go to bed, but it was getting so late and you weren't back yet." Harriet began to explain as she stood up from the chair.

"Oh. I'm sorry if I made you worry." Nels started stepping away from her to go upstairs, not wanting his wife to have time to get any suspicions about where he was. "I think I'll go on to bed."

Just as Nels was lifting his foot to take a step up the staircase, he stumbled and had to catch himself on the handrail for balance. Maybe he had one too many drinks after all.

"Nels! Are you alright?" Harriet walked towards him before being shooed away.

"Yes. yes. I'm fine, dear. Just tripped over my own feet. It's really dark in here." Nels responded before racing upstairs as fast as he could. "Good night!"

Harriet stared up the staircase, confused by her husband's odd behavior. "What on earth will I do with that man?"