Chapter 9 - Best Foot Forward

"No…" muttered Lee Coulter as he stood in front of the mirror. "This won't work at all."

"Are you sure?" Joseph Canfield stepped up beside him, holding two jackets folded over his arm. "I think this one makes you look very...trustworthy."

"Trustworthy?" Lee turned and raised an eyebrow. "That's not exactly the kind of word that immediately springs to mind for me." He glanced at Joseph in the mirror. "What would your wife say if it was you wearing this jacket?"

"Honestly?" Joseph shrugged. "Minnie thinks I look good in whatever I choose to wear."

Lee groaned. "I was afraid you'd say that. I wish my job were that easy, but..." He stepped back and started taking off the jacket. "I usually stick to the same thing over and over. I like what I wear, and I don't think that anything looks too bad on me. It's just the whole 'dressing up' part." He grimaced.

Joseph chuckled at that. "Been a long time since you wore your Sunday best?"

"You could say that. I think I've gained a few pounds."

The jacket looked nice. How it felt was another issue altogether. It was a rather snug fit. Lee hadn't worn it in a few years, mostly because it was tucked in the back of his closet. Once the jacket was off he tossed it onto one of his couches in the living room and reached out towards Joseph.

"Next option, please?"

Joseph, who agreed to help Lee at the last minute, had to keep himself from grinning as he held out another jacket for his friend to try.

"I think you're overthinking things," he said. "Don't the people of Hope Valley see you every day?"

"Yes," answered Lee, shrugging into the lighter colored jacket. "But, they don't see me frozen in time. It's not every day that I get my photograph taken. This image needs to be so good that people don't forget it - and that means being dressed to the nines." He turned, looking at himself from the side. His expression curled up to one side, considering. "Hmmm. And there's another thing that you're forgetting."

Joseph raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Rosemary is the queen of fashion. If I have so much as a button out of line, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Good thing she's not here, then." Joseph grinned.

As if manifesting her on the spot, suddenly the front door flew open and in hurried Rosemary. As always, she was half in her own mind, half looking out for where she was going. There was never any doubt when Rosemary entered a room.

"Oh boy…" muttered Lee as Rosemary closed the door and turned to face her husband. Her eyes widened, a huge smile on her face.

"Lee!" she said, hurrying into the living room. "What's all this? I thought you would still be at work?"

"I closed up early," he explained. "I needed a little bit more time to prepare."

"Prepare?" She cocked her head slightly to the side as she stopped beside one of the armchairs. "What are we preparing for?"

"I," he clarified, "am preparing to have my photograph taken tomorrow afternoon. For our very first election fliers."

Rosemary's brows raised so high they threatened to leave her face completely.

"You didn't tell me that you were having fliers made! Lee Coulter, how can you keep a secret like that from your own wife?"

"I wasn't keeping it a secret," Lee explained as he walked towards her, his arms outstretched as always to draw her in for a peck on the lips. "It's just that I wanted to see if I could get it right on my own. After all, if I'm going to be running for mayor, I have to show that I have a fashion sense of my own."

He returned to the mirror as Joseph brushed the back of the jacket for him. Lee turned so that he could see himself profile, frowning.

"Not to mention," he continued, "that I'm probably one of the oldest people running for the spot."

"Lee Coulter," Rosemary scolded, wagging a finger. "You are not the oldest person running for mayor. Not to be insensitive, but Bill Avery is also running - and he has a few more years on you yet. Still, that doesn't mean that you're out of your league, or that you have a disadvantage. You have me after all."

"Of course," Lee smiled, holding his arms straight out in front of him as he studied the jacket on himself.

"And you have Joseph, who I must say is doing a pretty good job at looking out for you."

"Thank-you, Rosemary," said Joseph. "I'm glad that you have that kind of trust in me."

"If there's one thing I've learned," said Rosemary, walking over to stand beside the man, "it's that you should never underestimate a preacher." She brought a hand to her chin, studying Lee with the same scrutiny that he placed upon himself. She nodded to Joseph. "What jacket do you prefer, Joseph?"

"Honestly? I like the darker one."

"Hmmmm. I agree. You have a good eye."

Lee glanced at them over his shoulder.

"The dark one? Really?"

Rosemary frowned.

"Lee Coulter, if there's one thing you will be above all else, it's the best dressed. Try on the darker jacket one more time."

He shrugged out of the lighter jacket and handed it off to his wife. Joseph held the first one out so that Lee could slip his arms into it easily. Then he was back in front of the mirror, though his expression was not one of confidence.

"I really don't know about this one," he muttered. "It looks a little…tight."

"Don't worry about that," said Rosemary. "I'll pull some strings at Dottie's. I'm sure that it can be spruced up in no time. Clara would love to do it. If I'm being honest - and don't tell anyone that I told you this - but, she's getting bored working on only dresses."

"Really?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, his mouth tugging into a smile.

"Of course!" Rosemary took the jacket from her husband. "After a while it becomes so monotonous. A hem here. A ribbon there. Just being given the chance to work on something masculine is a blessing!"

Lee turned around to face them both. He tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Well… If you're sure," he said. "I don't want to impose. It was my idea to have my photograph taken, after all."

Rosemary gave him a stern look.

"You're running for office," she told him. "If you expect the people of this town to trust you with the running of…well…everything, then you need to start trusting them back. I have never known the people of Hope Valley to not do their part to make things work. We're there for each other, and that's no different now as it was yesterday. Or the day before."

"Or the day before that," Joseph chuckled, to which Rosemary motioned to him with a pointed finger.

"Exactly! That sort of trust comes with practice."

Lee practically blushed at everything that was coming at him.

"Alright," he said, wrapping his arms around Rosemary to give her one more kiss. "The dark jacket it is. I suppose I can start trusting everyone."

"Of course you can," she replied with a smile. "You can start by trusting your beautiful wife. Have I ever led you astray?"

Lee grinned broadly.

"No," he said. "Never."

"That's right. And I don't intend to start now!"