Chapter 27

Hope for Tomorrow

Page 79

Molly and Bill were having a wonderful time driving in Bill's Roadster traveling to Vancouver. Just as beautiful as they had imagined, the leaves were simply splendid in their colors of orange, yellow, rust, and red. Riding along in their new automobile they felt the happiest they had felt in a long time.

Taking their time, stopping along the route for a bite to eat that was thoughtfully packed in a picnic basket with leftovers from their wedding reception, they just enjoyed being alone together away from their busy lives. Bill was relieved to know that the outlaws had been caught and arrested before they left, allowing him to relax and enjoy his time with his new wife.

Molly was a gorgeous lady with her long red hair and fair skin. He loved her Irish ways, hot temper and all which made her all the more attractive to a man like Bill. Nothing like a feisty challenge made his love for her stronger. Her zest to be the one who was 'right' had him eating out of her hand and they both knew it.

For Molly, Bill was the cream of the crop. Intelligent, caring, brave, thoughtful, and good-looking to boot! She knew she had him wrapped around her finger, but he could put his foot down and had his limits. For that she highly respected this man of hers and even though she could use her Irish temper to take advantage of him from time to time, she also knew when he had enough.

Fr. Ricardo hoped and prayed for the best in their marriage as he'd seen them try to mix like oil and water, but he also trusted since they both had been married before they knew what they wanted. He heard that love can be lovelier the second time around.

"Red, will you look at those leaves on that tree across the road, they are the same color as your hair! But, not nearly as beautiful as you!" Bill told Molly as he stroked her hair.

"Bill, what do you want?" Molly inquired with a questioning look.

"Just you, my darling, just you!"

"Right here, right now?"

"You better believe it!" Bill wrapped his arms tightly around his wife. His lips brushed against hers teasing her into a steamy kiss.

"Oh, Bill! We're outside and it's in the middle of the day!" Molly tried to push Bill away, but she didn't really want him to.

"Red, look we're in the picnic area sitting on a blanket with no one in sight. Who's going to care?" Bill started nibbling Molly's ear.

Molly heard Bill's heart pounding and she felt his hot breath on her neck. Surrendering to his advances, she kissed him back melting into him. They fell to the ground and laid side by side. Bill started to tenderly caress Molly as their passion grew. The lovebirds were oblivious to their surroundings as they held each other tight until they heard a loud MOO!

"Oh my goodness!" Molly shot upright.

"Holy cow!" Bill exclaimed.

Molly burst out laughing, "Yes, that's a cow, but I don't know if it's holy!"

Bill laughing too said, "Not after what he just saw!"

The two of them rolled around on their blanket laughing like two little children who got caught doing something naughty. Bill grabbed Molly's hand and helped her up.

"I hate to say it, we will have to continue where we left off later. Let's get back on the road Red, we've got a lot of ground to cover, if we want to get to Vancouver."

Molly reached up and gave Bill one more teasing kiss, "That one's for the road!" and then she scooted into the passenger seat of their roadster.

Nathan took his dad up to Clearwater to see Dr. Fisher for his follow up appointment. At first, Archie wasn't sure where or why they were going, but when Emily offered to go with them, he relaxed and got in the automobile.

"It sure is lovely out isn't it Ma?"

"For sure son, I love this time of year. God's artistry is glorious!" Emily said enthusiastically.

Even Archie remarked about the vivid colors and agreed it was very pretty. When they got to Clearwater, it took Archie a few minutes, but he remembered Dr. Fisher's office when they arrived.

They were all greeted by his nurse by name and Archie looked at Emily, "I must know her, she knows me." he chuckled.

Emily patted his hand. When they followed her into an examining room, Dr. Fisher

took it slowly allowing for Archie's memory to kick in. At first Archie didn't know Dr. Fisher, but as he talked, Archie asked if they grew up together.

"No we didn't Archie, but I bet had we, we would've been good friends," he answered pleasantly. "I need to see how your eye is doing."

Archie allowed him to do his examination without any fussing. He trusted this man for some reason and Emily seemed to too.

"Are you wearing your patch at night still?"

"Yes."

"Well, you won't have too anymore. Your eye is healed. Good job Archie!"

Everyone was happy except Archie when Dr. Fisher told him that after Christmas he'd schedule him for the other eye surgery.

"No, no more surgeries!" Archie demanded.

"Archie," Dr. Fisher approached him slowly. "Hold your hand over your left eye and look across the room. What do you see?"

"Letters."

"Read them to me please."

"I can't see them good Doc."

"Okay, then cover your other eye with your hand. Now tell me what letters can you read to me?"

"E,F,P,T,O,Z" Archie started.

"Good, see Archie we operated on that eye and now you can see much better. That's what we want to do for the other eye. Then, you'll have two good eyes to see with!" Dr. Fisher explained.

"Em? What do you think?" Archie asked.

"Dr. Fisher is right. Don't you worry, you don't have to have the surgery until after Christmas!" Emily answered.

"Ok, Doc, she's the boss!" Archie grinned.

Hope for Tomorrow

Page 80

The night had a bit of a nip in the air, so when Elizabeth and Jack stepped outside to join Mr. Malone for a dinner date at Billees, she grabbed them both sweaters.

"It's definitely that time of year when the nights are longer and the temperature drops, so we have to close our windows," Elizabeth remarked as his automobile door was open waiting for the two of them to step in.

"Elizabeth, I prefer that you please call me Will. I hope we are friends now and can be on a first-name basis, if that's all right with you."

"Yes, it's more than all right, I feel better calling you Will, more relaxed," she smiled.

They pulled up to Billees and Jack said, "It smells good out here!"

"Yes, it does," Will agreed. He reached for Jack to get out and Jack accepted his hand walking inside together, which wasn't lost on Elizabeth.

Inside, Sam greeted them and sat them by Rosemary, Lee, and Paul. Rosemary was surprised to see Elizabeth on a dinner date with the school superintendent and flashed Elizabeth a broad grin, "Good evening Elizabeth, Jack, and Mr. Malone."

"Good evening! Call me Will, please."

"Oh, all right then, Will."

"Hello, Mrs. Thornton," Paul popped up.

"Hi there Paul, hope you are enjoying your dinner," Elizabeth smiled warmly as he smiled.

Lee spoke up, "Are you staying around here now, Will?"

"Yes, actually, I'm going to settle down in Hope Valley. Right now, I have a room upstairs here, I'm surprised you didn't know."

"I leave that all in Sam's trusted hands," Lee nodded. "If you're looking for a permanent place, we are filling up most of the row houses now with the folks from the tent city. It's going to be too cold for them to stay outside. However, if you're interested, I can see what I can do."

"I just might be. I am waiting for Bill Avery to return, as I want to see what land was still for sale. I'm considering building a home in the country," Will said.

"Don't wait too long, the weather will change for the worse soon, and there will be no more digging once a heavy frost settles in," Lee advised.

"I will take care of this soon," Will acknowledged as he pulled out Elizabeth's chair for her and put Jack in his seat between them.

"What is your favorite food, Jack"?

"Mom's chicken!" Jack giggled. Elizabeth laughed.

"Of course, it is. Let's see what they're serving here tonight," Will suggested.

"Looks like the specialty is pot roast tonight, does that sound good to you Elizabeth?"

"Yes, it does, especially since I don't have to cook it!"

After ordering, Jack paged through the picture book that Elizabeth had brought with for him. This gave the adults time to talk.

"Will, I hope you remember that Dee Grant will be on maternity leave very soon. She's due in a few weeks. Dr. Faith wants her to rest up and she won't stay home until we get a substitute," Elizabeth sighed.

"Oh, I knew she was having a baby, but not that soon."

"Well, Mrs. Moretti and the family are singers. I was thinking maybe one of them could help out, but they're homes schooled and not licensed professionals. I was hoping maybe you could make an exception," Elizabeth pleaded.

"I would if I could, but I can't. However, isn't Dr. Scholl a singer?"

"Yes, but not a teacher," Elizabeth sighed.

As Will was drumming his fingers on the table thinking, Elizabeth remembered that Mr. Landis was playing with Dr. Scholl at the Clubhouse. "Mr. Landis!"

"What about Mr. Landis?" Will was puzzled.

"He is a licensed teacher and he plays piano. I would think he'd enjoy teaching while Dee was on maternity leave!"

"Now, that just might work. I'll contact him tomorrow. Look, here's our dinner, just in time, Jack is done with his book," Will added.

The three of them talked and laughed through the dinner enjoying their time together. Jack acted like he had known Will for all his life as the two of them played "This old man, he played one..." while waiting for their chocolate sundaes. The giggling was contagious and Paul came over joining them.

Paul couldn't wait to have a sibling. He was telling them all about how his mom was getting the nursery room ready for the new baby. Elizabeth was excited to see him so happy. Jack picked up on it and asked his mom, "Why don't you have a baby for us, Mama?"

Rosemary came over just then and told Jack that he could come over any time and visit Paul and the baby. She took Jack's hand and placed it on her tummy to let Jack feel the baby kicking.

"Oh wow! Is it a boy or a girl?" Jack asked.

"We don't know yet Jack, whatever God gives us."

Elizabeth was glad that Rosemary had come over when she did. Deep inside she knew she wanted another child too. Both Rosemary and Dee were having a baby and now with Jack gone and Lucas up and leaving her, she was doubting it would ever happen for her again. Feeling sad, she looked down at her lap and wished for another chance.

Will noticing the pained look on Elizabeth's face, tenderly reached for her hand and squeezed it. When she looked at him, he winked as if he knew what she was thinking.

Hope for Tomorrow

Page 81

Christy woke up to the crying of little Timi Anne. It was still dark and she fumbled for her robe that she left lying on the bottom of the bed. Rick was sleeping through it all and didn't stir. The men working for Lee had been working over time trying to finish building as much as they could before the deep frost hit, so they were all very tired at the end of the day. There was a full harvest moon casting its glow through the windows just enough allowing Christy to find her way to her daughter's bedroom.

Timi Anne sensed her mama was close and lifted her arms up. When Christy reached for her, she started crying louder. "There, there sweetie, what's bothering you?" She felt a little warm, but didn't seem to be running a fever.

"Let mama check your diaper. Are you wet?"

Christy was taking off Timi Anne's pajamas when Grandma Mary walked in. "I thought I heard her crying. Oh my, that precious little peanut is all upset."

Christy checked Timi Anne out, she was wet, but not that much to cause her to wake up crying, yet she seemed inconsolable.

"Mom, I think I'll try to nurse her, maybe she'll settle down. Sorry we woke you.

Thanks for checking on us," Christy smiled in gratitude.

"Let me know if you need anything," Mary said as she patted Timi Anne on the head, hesitant to leave.

When Christy settled in the rocking chair with Timi Anne bundled in a blanket, she tried to nurse, but after a few sucks she pulled away crying again. Christy knew she was fussy earlier, but not crying like this.

"Are you too warm, or too cold?" Christy asked pleading with her daughter to somehow tell her what was wrong.

She just held her and rocked singing her Brahms lullaby. The soothing song usually did the trick and would relax Timi Anne, but not tonight. Soon Rick walked in rubbing his eyes and asking what was wrong.

"Rick, I have no idea what's bothering her. She tried to nurse and pulled away crying, she's not wet, she didn't even smile for her grandma. I feel so bad for her."

Rick yawning, reached for Timi Anne and held her tight against his warm chest rubbing her back. "Now little girl, tell your daddy what has you so upset? Is mommy singing off key?"

Timi Anne quieted down for a few minutes so Rick walked to the crib to put her back in, but as soon as she felt the mattress she started crying again. Rick looked at Christy and asked, does she have diaper rash again?"

"No, I already looked, besides I applied petroleum jelly when I changed her last. Rick, I don't know what to do!" Christy was just about in tears too, when in walked Grandpa Sean.

Grandpa's warm voice got Timi Anne's attention as she looked for him. Sean took her in his big arms, "Hey there little one, we're all awake now and you have our undivided attention. Let's have a little talk while we walk together."

Rick shook his head, "Dad, she'll start screaming, just give her a minute."

"Just you two leave this up to me, go back to bed."

Rick didn't have to be told twice, he was exhausted so he turned and walked back to the bedroom and hit the sack. Christy couldn't leave Timi Anne, she was too worried about her.

"Dad, I know you mean well, but there's no way I can go to bed with her crying, something is definitely wrong," Christy sighed.

Sean stopped walking and looking at Timi Anne said, "Seems to me that your mama doesn't trust your old grandpa."

Then, looking directly at Christy, he said, "Honey, go to bed, I've got this," and winked.

Christy very reluctantly followed Sean's order and joined her husband. She figured she'd be up as soon as Timi Anne started crying again, so she didn't snuggle up to Rick, but laid there waiting.

Grandpa went into the kitchen and found clean washcloths. He let them get wet with cold water in a basin. Timi Anne was still fussing, not crying as she was very curious as to what her grandpa was doing. With one hand, he wrung out one of the cloths and laid it on the table, while putting the other one in the ice box.

Taking a dry towel along with the wet washcloth, he walked over to his big rocker in the living room. Grabbing a quilt off the couch, he and Timi Anne sat together in the rocker, with Sean putting his feet on the stool and the quilt wrapped around them.

All settled in, he gently rubbed his finger on Timi Anne's gums and felt around. There it was! The baby tooth that was causing so much trouble the whole house was awake. It hadn't broke the gum yet, but as soon as Sean rubbed his finger on it, Timi Anne seemed to relax.

"See old grandpa Sean knows what to do. Now, I want you to suck on this cold washcloth and see if that helps. If not, Grandpa knows where I can find some Irish whiskey to rub on there. Let's try this first, we don't want to get Grandma Mary mad at Grandpa Sean do we?" he chuckled.

Timi Anne began sucking on the cold washcloth and snuggled in her Grandpa's warm lap with her head resting on his chest. Sean quietly began singing, as his little munchkin began closing her eyes.

The whole house heard Sean sing and went back asleep smiling into dreamland.

"When Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure it's like a morn in Spring, In the lilt of Irish laughter You can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, All the world seems bright and gay, And when Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, they steal your heart away." Even Sean and Timi Anne fell sound asleep.