Happy Wednesday! Four more days everyone!
I do hope you're enjoying this little series! This particular day has a bit of a spin on it that I've had rolling around in my head for a while, and I'm glad it's finally out on [digital] paper! I will admit that there is, perhaps, a bit more Rosemary in this one than there is Lucas and Elizabeth, but I promise that it's all for a good cause! And maybe, someday soon, I'll write the companion piece to go with it. Enjoy!
Wednesdays were for mending.
And if there was one thing that Rosemary Coulter was good at, it was mending relationships.
Perhaps, over the years of designing and creating clothing, she'd learned a thing or two about fixing garments, and in the process, learned something about fixing relationships too. After all, her original column for the newspaper had quite the following, and now that she was writing once more, several Hope Valley residents had asked if she'd consider reviving the column. She said no, of course, in favor of more serious journalism.
But that wasn't going to stop her from fixing her best friend's relationship.
When Elizabeth had come storming into the office Rosemary shared with Lee in the midst of Hope Valley, she looked more than a little angry. It was an uncommon emotion for their schoolteacher, and Rosemary listened intently as Elizabeth related the story of her evening the night prior.
"So I told him he could go back to the saloon," Elizabeth finished firmly.
Rosemary stared at her friend, a bit of shock written on her face. "You kicked him out?"
"Well, he was going to have to go back anyway. It's not like he sleeps at my house." She blushed at the thought, despite the fact that she had thought about making it a reality more than a few times over the past year and a half. "I just don't understand why he wants to rush things."
"Elizabeth," the blonde replied gently, "he hasn't even asked yet."
"He has the ring though, and he basically said to me that he's going to. I mean, we've been courting for nearly two years already, so I suppose it's time but..."
"Technically it's only been a year and a half. I'm not sure any of us count those first six months."
Her friend scowled at her, "I do. Perhaps it seemed like I was uncertain at the time, but I was always certain in my decision to be with Lucas. He's the one that almost walked away." Elizabeth sighed, her demeanor quickly becoming more somber.
Rosemary laughed lightly, "it sounds to me like you already have your answer though."
The brunette looked at her, confused, "what do you mean?"
"You love Lucas, and I think you're more ready for that next step than you think. And even if he does propose, I'm sure he'll make sure he talks to you about it first, even if he usually has something up his sleeve."
"Well, until he unveils his latest magic trick, he's not going to get any sympathy from me."
~ E & L ~
Elizabeth had left soon after to head to school for the day, obviously still as fired up as she had been when she first walked into the office. Rosemary, on the other hand, watched from her window until her friend was out of sight and then bolted out the door, hurrying her way across the street to the saloon.
"Rosemary, where in the world are you going?" Lee asked as she raced past him without even a glance.
She skidded to a halt, dust flying around her as her heels dug into the ground. "To talk to Lucas," she stated matter of factly.
Lee looked down at his watch, "At eight in the morning?"
"Well you see," Rosemary started, taking a few steps back toward her husband so she could whisper without the entire town hearing, although Rosemary's whisper could typically be heard from miles away, "Elizabeth just came to the office and told me that she and Lucas had an argument last night about when he's going to propose. She sent him back to the saloon and they haven't talked since so I need to get Lucas' side of the story so I can fix it."
"Sweetheart, I don't think you have to fix anything. They'll be fine on their own," he suggested, catching her hands to hold them between them. "Lucas and Elizabeth are attached at the hip, and while I think he should've proposed months ago, he's a smart man, and I know he's careful to take Elizabeth's past into consideration."
"Well, I still need to talk to him," she continued, attempting to pull away with no luck.
"Or maybe you should let Lucas and Elizabeth work things out for themselves?"
With a huff, Rosemary relaxed her shoulders, "I suppose so."
Lee leaned in and kissed his wife lightly before moving her arm into the crook of his own to lead her back to their office. "They'll be fine," he reassured again when he recognized the still frazzled look on her face.
Rosemary Coulter did not believe him.
~ E & L ~
Rosemary knew that her best course of action would be to get the couple to simply be at the same place at the same time. Communication was the foundation of a relationship, and since Elizabeth and Lucas were actively avoiding one another, it seemed that it was up to her to make a meeting happen.
The time and location were obvious. Elizabeth would finish school and Lucas would finish his work out at the oil derricks, and she'd ask them both to meet her at the library shortly after.
The pretense, however, of why they would be meeting her there, was slightly more difficult. Getting Elizabeth there was easier, with Rosemary asking her friend early the next morning to join her at the library after school, where they could shelve books to get Elizabeth's mind off of the situation. She'd agreed, of course.
Which just left Lucas.
She caught the saloon owner as he was on his way back to the petroleum office from the oil derricks, calling out and stopping him before he could enter. From down the street, Rosemary had watched Elizabeth enter the library a few minutes prior, so his timing was perfect.
"Rosemary, what can I do for you?"
"A shelf fell in the library," she lied, "normally I'd ask Lee to come help, but he's out at the mill and I just don't want any others to fall."
Lucas looked concerned, making the exhaustion already evident in his expression more noticeable, and he immediately turned in the direction of the library. "I was just there a couple of hours ago and everything seemed to be fine then."
Rosemary shook her head fiercely, "it just happened."
With a nod, Lucas started in the direction of the blue building at the end of the street. As she followed, Rosemary smiled, eager to see her plan in action. If Lucas and Elizabeth weren't going to talk things out on their own, then she'd see to it that they did.
But when they entered the library, no one was there.
And the shelves were not only intact, but they were perfectly organized.
"Rosemary, I thought you said a shelf fell?" Lucas asked, eyebrow raised as he took in the tidy room.
She shrugged, "someone must have fixed it."
"You said it just happened."
With a weak smile, Rosemary looked at the clock that sat atop one of the shelves, "time flies when you're having fun, I suppose."
He didn't seem to buy her answer, narrowing his eyes a bit as he tried to interpret what might be going on. "You weren't setting it up so Elizabeth and I would both get here at the same time and be forced to talk to one another, were you?"
"No, of course not," Rosemary admonished. "What makes you think I would do that?"
He sighed, "Rosemary, you know that Elizabeth and I both love you, but please just let us figure this one out on our own."
"Absolutely. I wouldn't think of interfering." She swallowed then, but put a smile on her face and thanked Lucas for his time.
Plan C it was.
~ E & L ~
"There were flowers on my doorstep this morning," Elizabeth commented as they walked toward town, baskets in hand. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you?"
"Of course not. Why do you think I would?"
The schoolteacher frowned, '"Well, the last time flowers came to my door without a note, it started a betting war throughout town about whether Lucas or Nathan left them for me, only for us to learn later that it was you all along."
"Well, this time it wasn't me. And I'd be shocked if it had been Nathan. So that just leaves Lucas."
Elizabeth hummed, "I suppose so. Also, I apologize for not meeting you at the library yesterday. Opal sprained her ankle just after school, and Allie came looking for help, so I was with them."
Shaking her head, Rosemary patted her friend's arm, "it's not a problem. We can shelve books any day."
She hid her disappointment well, even as a new plan began to form in her mind.
~ E & L ~
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about a box that Lucas received today, would you?" Lee asked when he entered the office. Rosemary was at her desk, typing away at her latest article.
"What box?" she asked innocently.
Lee leaned back against the side of her desk, his arms crossing over his chest. "A box of chocolates it sounded like. An interesting choice, honestly. Lucas is, after all, allergic to walnuts and half the chocolates had them. But who else in town would be sending him a heart shaped box of chocolates other than Elizabeth? And wouldn't she know about his allergy?"
"Lee Coulter, if you're insinuating that I've been conspiring to get Elizabeth and Lucas to communicate, then you're absolutely wrong," she returned pointedly.
Lee held up his hands in defense, "I'm not saying you are, Sweetheart. But," he continued, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek, "if you are, I suggest you leave them to their own business."
He moved to the opposite side of the room and his own desk, but he still caught the disgruntled expression on his wife's face.
~ E & L ~
It had been five days since Lucas and Elizabeth had fought, and still there was no sign that they'd had any sort of communication at all. Rosemary would walk into town with Elizabeth each morning, watching as her friend made her way to the schoolhouse. She'd then watch Lucas as he appeared on the second story of the saloon, just like every morning, tea cup in hand. Elizabeth would leave for home in the afternoon, just after Lucas had returned to the saloon from the oil derricks.
They didn't cross paths, she didn't notice him at her house at any point, and Elizabeth certainly wasn't at the saloon.
But Rosemary was running out of ideas.
She'd tried the meet-up approach, but they'd gone in different directions. The flowers had been questioned, the chocolates divided up between Hickam and the other petroleum workers. She'd left notes that had blown away or been missed, tried to leave them alone at every opportunity, and encouraged Lee to talk to Lucas while she talked to Elizabeth, just to nudge them back in the right direction, but nothing had worked.
"Sweetheart, I think you need to stop worrying about them," Lee suggested, the couple walking hand in hand toward town. He'd noticed the crestfallen expression she wore, well aware of what was making her feel like a failure.
"I just figured that it would be easier to get them back together. Elizabeth has gone through so much pain, and she and Lucas were so happy. I just don't understand what happened."
"People fight in relationships, Rosie. We certainly do from time to time, but we always make up eventually, and so will they."
As if on queue, they spotted the couple in question ahead of them, walking in their direction, hand in hand.
"In fact," Lee pointed out, "it looks like they already did."
"Elizabeth! Lucas!" Rosemary greeted them, a bit astonished. "You're…here…together," she stumbled out, Lee chuckling beside her.
"We are," Elizabeth returned with a slight nod, looking over to Lucas and leaning up to kiss his cheek. Her arm was tucked in through his and they stood closely crowded together.
"What happened? The last I knew, you two weren't on speaking terms?"
Lucas cleared his throat, patting Elizabeth's hand, "we talked it out a few days ago actually."
Rosemary's mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed it. "Which means…"
Laughing, Elizabeth used her free hand to reach out and take Rosemary's. "We were never apart, Rosemary. It was just an argument. We've settled it now and everything is fine."
"But how did you settle it? What did you agree on? When exactly did it happen?" The reporter fired off questions as though this was her next big story.
"Rosemary," Lee interrupted, "I think that's something that Elizabeth or Lucas could tell you about later, on their terms, if they want to."
Elizabeth and Lucas looked at one another again, grins on both of their faces. "When we get engaged," Elizabeth started, and Lucas kissed her forehead in response, "you'll be the first to know, I promise."
Calm seemed to flood over Rosemary, and a genuine smile appeared on her lips. "I'm just glad you've mended things, that's all." She was about to continue, but a glance from Lee told her otherwise. "Well, we'll leave you two to your evening."
"Have a wonderful night, Rosemary. Lee," Lucas continued, nodding to his friend.
They said their goodbyes, walking in different directions. "And Rosemary?" came Elizabeth's voice a moment later, halting the two couples a few yards apart, "Thank you for the flowers."
She and Lucas left without another word, walking hand in hand down main street in the direction of the rowhouses.
As they watched them go, Rosemary could only smile. Mending relationships was her thing, after all.