A/N: So, as I've been writing this "season" of this story, I've come to want to incorporate the one shot that I did last month. So, I weaved it in along with some additional things for this specific story. I hope that you enjoy!
Chapter 48: A New Tradition
Robert climbed the stairs to the rowhouse late that Tuesday afternoon and knocked on the Grant's door. Allie answered the door and smiled brightly at her friend standing before her. Robert smiled back and handed her the mail in his hand. Allie looked down to see that the top piece was from her grandmother in Rock Creek. She thanked Robert, said goodbye, and closed the door. Immediately, she went to the sofa and opened the letter from her grandmother.
Inside the letter, her grandmother shared how things were there, inquired how Allie and Nathan were doing, and finally explained what she had included with the letter. Along with the letter, Allie found a recipe written in her grandmother's impeccable handwriting. The recipe was her Grandma Nellie's own, created specifically for Thanksgiving time in October and her grandmother thought that Allie might want to try making it this year.
Allie thought for a moment about how she would go about it. She knew that she could go to the mercantile and pick up some fresh cranberries easily enough, but then she remembered that there was an area of shrubs full of cranberries, not too far from the rowhouse. Yes, that's what she'd do! Once her dad got home from work, they could go there and pick some cranberries for their upcoming Thanksgiving dinner later that week.
Later, when Nathan came home, Allie gave him a moment to get out of his serge and settled before she approached the subject. "Hey Dad, Grandma sent a letter, and she included a recipe for Thanksgiving. Do you think it's possible if we could go get something for that recipe tonight? I'm so excited, I really don't want to wait!", Allie looked at Nathan with pleading eyes.
Nathan looked over at his daughter and chuckled. He loved how she and his mother had bonded over the last few years and how Allie had developed a new interest in trying new recipes. He nodded his head in response and stood, saying as he did, "Sure, why not? It's a beautiful fall afternoon. So, what do we need to pick up from the mercantile?"
Allie went into the closet by the door and took out a basket. She shook her head at her father. "No, we aren't going to the mercantile, Dad, we are going to the shrubs down the road that have those fresh cranberries on them. I'm going to make Grandma's homemade cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving feast and I want true, fresh cranberries.", she said with a look of confidence on her face.
Nathan just smiled at her and gestured for her to lead the way. With their coats on and baskets in hand, Allie and Nathan started down the dirt path where they were surrounded by trees filled with amber, copper, and crimson leaves. Before long, they came to the shrubs that were filled to overflowing with the small sour berries.
Nathan and Allie went to work immediately, picking the berries from the shrubs. They talked about the upcoming holiday and how Nathan had celebrated the holiday back when he was Allie's age. Once the basket was full, the father and daughter duo headed back on the path home. Allie looked over at Nathan as they walked. She placed the basket of cranberries in her right hand and, with her left, she grabbed Nathan's free right hand. Nathan glanced down at their interlocked hands and then back at Allie and smiled at his daughter. He thought to himself, what a fun new tradition that they had started.
As Nathan walked out of the livery, a taxi was pulling into town late that Friday afternoon. He quickened his pace, so that as the taxi pulled to a stop, he was able to open the door for its passenger. "Mrs. Thatcher! I'm so glad that you made it safely! I'm ...", Nathan started but was interrupted as William Thatcher walked over from the other side of the vehicle.
"Constable Grant! It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm William Thatcher and this is my wife Grace. ", William said, extending his hand out to Nathan.
Nathan smiled, taking the older man's hand and confidently shaking it and said, "Pleasure to meet you, sir!" He looked over at Grace once more with a smile, offering his hand to her and saying, "Mrs. Thatcher, it's a pleasure to meet you as well!"
"With everything that Elizabeth has told us about you and Allie over the last four years, Nathan, I feel like I already know you," Grace smiled as she shook her head at Nathan. "It's good to finally meet you!", she said as she embraced him tightly.
Nathan stood there shocked for a moment and then embraced the older woman as well. He silently chuckled to himself as he was reminded of Elizabeth's hug a few years prior, not far from where they stood.
As Grace pulled away from the hug, she smoothed her skirt. Nathan cleared his throat and then spoke. "Listen, I was just getting off from work myself for the day and was headed home to the rowhouses. Would you like to walk with me?", Nathan asked the Thatchers, looking between the two of them.
William spoke up first and said, "Yes, that would be nice, Constable. I haven't been to Hope Valley in about five years, so I don't quite know my way around. "
Nathan smiled as he nodded and said, "Please, call me Nathan, Mr. Thatcher." Then, he directed them to the path and gestured for them to walk alongside him.
Elizabeth had baked a pot roast on low heat and decided to take Little Jack outside to enjoy the autumn afternoon. Immediately, Jack went about looking for rocks around the front yard. Elizabeth had brought out her journal and was writing as she kept an eye on Jack. As Jack rose from his spot, he noticed someone coming their direction from a distance while on his way to take his finds to his mother. He ran over to Elizabeth and cried out with great excitement, "Mama! Mama! Mountie Nathan is coming, and he's bringing Grandpa and Grandma Thatcher with him! " The small boy pointed in the direction in which the three were walking. Elizabeth looked up from her journal and spotted the three at a distance and smiled. She closed her journal, stood up in her spot on the steps, and said, "Come on, Jack! Let's go see Grandpa and Grandma.", Elizabeth extended her hand to the youngster. He smiled at his mother, dropped the rocks on the ground next to the steps, and dusted his hands off. He placed his little hand into his mother's and responded, "Let's go, Mama!"
When they were close to meeting up with the Thatchers, Grace stopped in her tracks and bent down. She smiled warmly at her grandson and held out her arms to him. In response, Jack smiled, let go of Elizabeth's hand, and ran straight into his grandmother's loving embrace. After a few moments, Grace whispered something into his ear, and he nodded. The small boy went over to his grandfather and tugged on his pants. William looked down at his grandson, and the small boy waved. William gestured for Jack to come into his arms, and once he did, the older man hoisted his grandson up. Elizabeth placed her hand to her heart as she watched the scenario before her. She loved the relationship that had developed between Little Jack and her parents over the past year. They were such different people when they were around him.
"Mother! Father! You made it! How was your trip? I'm so happy to have you visit us here in Hope Valley!" Elizabeth asked as she warmly embraced each parent and kissed their cheeks. "I see that you've already met Nathan. ", she added and smiled as she looked over at Nathan.
"Yes, we did. He was kind enough to walk over with us. Our trip was good and the business part of it is over, so you will have our full attention over the next several days during our visit.", William responded with a smile as he straightened his grandson's shirt as he held him in his arms.
As her parents interacted there with Jack for the next few moments, Elizabeth walked over to Nathan. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and then weaved her arm into his arm. Nathan glanced over at her and smiled, and she looked up at him lovingly and said, "Thank you for bringing my parents here. Would you and Allie like to join us for dinner tonight? "
Grace turned her attention away from her grandson at overhearing the question and chimed in as she said, "Oh yes Nathan, please do! I would love the opportunity to talk to both you and Allie more. "
As if she had heard her name, just then, Allie appeared on the path returning from Emily's house. "Hi Dad! Hi Mrs. Thornton! Hi Jack!", she said with a bright smile as she walked over to them. She then extended her hand to Grace and said, "Hi, I'm Allie Grant, Nathan's daughter. Are you Mrs. Thatcher? " Grace nodded and smiled before pulling her in for a hug. Allie, like Nathan earlier, stood still for a moment, shocked, and then allowed herself to hug the older woman in return. After that, she turned to William, holding out her hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Thatcher. I'm Allie. It's so nice to meet you. Mrs. Thornton has told us a lot about you both." William grabbed Allie's hand in his two hands and held it there as he greeted her warmly.
The six of them returned to Elizabeth's rowhouse. Nathan sat in the armchair as the Thatchers sat on the sofa across from him in the living room. Jack crawled into Nathan's lap and sat there contentedly as he listened to the grownups visit amongst themselves. Allie and Elizabeth worked in tandem in the kitchen to finish up the dinner.
As they sat around the table a little later, eating their dinner, they discussed their plans for the weekend and the preparations for the holiday on Monday.
"Mrs. Thornton, would you like to come over on Sunday after church and once lunch is done to bake your sweet potato casserole as I make my Grandma Nellie's cranberry sauce?", Allie eagerly asked as they were discussing their plans.
As Elizabeth thought about the question, Nathan chimed in and said, "That's a great idea, Allie! Elizabeth, I can take Little Jack fishing while you two do your thing. And, Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher, you could join too, if you'd like.", Nathan said as he went from looking at Elizabeth then over to the Thatchers.
Grace scrunched up her nose and Elizabeth covered her mouth to hide the chuckle that wanted to escape. "Thank you for the offer, Nathan, but I think that Mrs. Thatcher and I will stay back at the inn and rest before we meet up for dinner that night." responded William.
"Well, Allie, it sounds like our families have worked the afternoon out for us. I would love to join you on Sunday in making our special dishes for our Thanksgiving feast!", Elizabeth answered.
Allie wore a big smile and said excitedly, "This is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever!"
So, as planned, Elizabeth and Allie got together that Sunday afternoon, to prepare their dishes for the holiday potluck feast the next day. As they were hard at work, Nathan and Little Jack went fishing for the afternoon, and the Thatchers stayed behind to rest before dinner.
Elizabeth had gotten fresh sweet potatoes from Laura earlier that day, straight from her farm. Allie brought out her basket of cranberries. The two of them resolved that they would work on their separate dishes but to be there for one another for any necessary support.
As the two prepared their dishes, they chatted with one another about various things. When the dishes are completed, they set a small amount aside for tasting purposes. They placed Allie's dish inside of the ice box and covered the sweet potato casserole with a dish towel for the time being, allowing it time to cool.
They took their tasting samples over to the table and clinked their forks. Both decided to taste Allie's rendition of her Grandma Nellie's cranberry sauce. "Oh, my goodness, Allie, this cranberry sauce is amazing! It is the perfect balance of tart and sweetness. And I love the touch of cinnamon and allspice that I am tasting as well!", Elizabeth raved as she put her fork down and patted the teen girl's back. Allie beamed happily as she nodded in agreement.
They moved on to Elizabeth's sweet potato casserole. During her visit, Abigail gave her the recipe, and Elizabeth decided that she wanted to give it a try. As the two tasted the casserole at the same time, they looked at one another with wide eyes. "Mrs. Thornton, this is like a dessert in a meal! The creaminess of the sweet potatoes mixed with the sweet, buttery crunch of your topping. Simply, wow!", Allie exclaimed, as she scraped the small remaining taste of it off her small plate. Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded as she chewed her last bite. She opened her eyes, looked over at Allie, and commented, "I have to agree, Allie. This is probably one of the best things I've ever made, but I give all of the credit to Laura's fresh sweet potatoes and Abigail's recipe."
The two of them laughed and got up to do the dishes. It had been a great time together, baking and trying new things. "Mrs. Thornton, thanks for spending the day with me and doing this with me. I'm excited to share these dishes tomorrow.", Allie said as she hugged Elizabeth.
Elizabeth pulled away from the hug and looked at Allie. "I always love spending time with you, Allie! Thank you for including me in on this! I hope that we can do something like it again soon. And I'm excited to share these yummy dishes with everyone tomorrow too.", Elizabeth responded with a smile and a wink.
"Hey, maybe we can do something like this again at Christmas. What do you think?", Allie asked excitedly.
"That would definitely be fun!", Elizabeth answered with a smile and another hug.