Hope for Tomorrow
Page 13
Gunther didn't waste a minute, so right after the luncheon for Benjamin was over, he sought out Rosaleen. She was standing in the sun by the pond. When he spotted her, the full sun shone brightly lighting her red hair like fire. He saw a few wildflowers, stopped to pick them up and came up behind her encircling her with the bouquet in his hand.
Startled, Rosaleen giggled. "Well, hello there Gunther!"
"Hello there yourself," Gunther grinned. "Are you enjoying this fine day?"
"Yes, indeed, it's been a great morning, hasn't it?"
Gunther asked if she was ready to take a walk. "If you still want to, that is," he studied her face to get a clue.
Immediately she shook her head yes, "Of course, silly, it's too beautiful of a day not to, and besides how can a lady resist when a man brings her flowers?" she laughed while subtly batting her lashes.
The two of them began their walk around the pond, "A penny for your thoughts," Gunther quipped.
"Well, I must admit, it was a lot of fun last night dancing at Billees!" Rosaleen said jubilantly. "I never thought this old town that I grew up in would ever have so much fun!"
"From what Nathan told me, Billees used to be a saloon, and there was mainly drinking, gambling, and not much else. When Walden bought it he wanted showgirls like Ravenous Roxy to entertain the men who would be coming here for work and that didn't sit well with the town," Gunther said. "Now, it's a much better place for the town to gather together."
"Yes, Mom told me that's when Bill and Lee bought it and they turned it into a more social place for families," Rosaleen nodded. "I sure hope we can get some moving pictures soon!"
As they continued around the pond, they talked about the baseball game yesterday and how most of the town showed up for it. "I am going to umpire a father/son game during our town festival in a few weeks. I think that'll be fun." Gunther added.
"Hey, we should have a dunk tank too. The boys on the team can take turns trying to dunk all you coaches, and you too!" Rosaleen spun around and laughed.
Rosaleen had a quick idea pop up, "We need a fundraiser for purchasing more books for the library, this might be one way to raise funds.
Gunther started to get excited, "Heck yea, we could ask Nathan, Bill, and Lee, to be willing to be dunked too!"
"Maybe even Mr. Jenkins, Ben Carmon, Dr. Scholl, Dr. Carson, Henry, Ned, anyone!" Rosemary got more enthusiastic thinking about it. "I'll have to tell my mom, and see if we can get her thoughts."
"Do you think your mom being engaged to Bill will put a halt on it?" Gunther inquired.
"No sir, moms got a great sense of humor and she'll be the first one to pay for a ball to throw at Bill, believe me!" The two of them were having such a fun time talking together as it all came so natural to them.
After cleaning up Billees, Nathan and Dee went outside to see how Emily and Archie were doing. They strolled over to the bench by the pond and saw Archie had his arm around Emily sitting side by side. They were engrossed in conversation which made them both delighted to see.
Dee heard the giggling and laughter echoing across the pond and lightly jabbed Nathan getting his attention. "I think we have a young couple over there enjoying themselves quite a bit. Who is it?"
Nathan held his hand over his eyes and looked carefully, "Well, I'll be doggone! It's Gunther with Rosaleen."
"Wonderful! I love to hear their laughter!" Dee smiled.
"All right Mrs. Grant, what would you like to do for the rest of the day?" Nathan pulled Dee close to him.
"You know, we could take a wagon ride out in the country. I know you see it every day, but I would like to have a change of scenery being such a pleasant day today," Dee suggested.
"You better convince me first," Nathan's eyes twinkled. "How about a back rub?" Dee asked. "Just sit down right here on the grass, and I'll give you one."
"If you weren't pregnant, I'd pull you down on the grass with me," Nathan teased, "but, I'd be happy to feel the sweetness of your lips!"
Needing no prompting, Dee tiptoed high to reach her tall, dark, handsome husband's lips and she melted into them.
That's when they both heard a whistle. Stopping, they turned around to see Emily and Archie smiling and watching them kiss. Nathan chuckled.
"All right you two, Dee suggested we go for a ride into the country. Would you like that?"
"Oh, that would be wunderbar!" Emily started, "I want to bring Fr. Ricardo a banana bread to welcome him to his new home in the cabin, ya?"
"Sure Ma," Nathan grabbed his mother's arm. "I haven't seen it all fixed up, so we certainly can do that! Let's walk to the livery and we can hook up the horses and go for a ride."
"What about Allie?" Dee asked.
"She's with Karen and Benjamin. She asked to play with them, so we'll tell her before we go. Ready?" Nathan looked around at his family and smiled with love.
Page 14
Rosemary was over at Dottie's when Molly came over to see the bridesmaid and matron of honor dresses for Rosaleen and Flo. As they unboxed the dresses, they were pleasantly surprised how much nicer they were in person compared to the catalog.
"Oh, these are simply delightful!" Molly ogled as they fell down into place from the boxes.
"Yes, yes they are!" Rosemary added with her eyes dancing from dress to dress.
Dottie was sure relieved that they were both very pretty after noting the price. "I hope you saw the price tags," Dottie squinted.
Molly stopped, looked at her, and read the tags. "Oh my, oh my!" was as far as she got before Rosemary peered over her shoulder.
"Oh, my heavens!" she gulped.
"Is this for real? I don't remember those prices!" Molly was fanning herself hoping not to faint.
Dottie grabbed the catalog and looked, "There are no prices here, how did we miss that?" she scratched her head trying to remember the transaction.
Rosemary grabbed the catalog quickly from Molly to see for herself. As her eyes scanned the page, she found the picture of the dresses they selected and saw Dottie was right, there were no prices! "What are we going to do?"
"Send them back!" Molly cried. "I can't afford to pay for Rosaleen's dress at that price and I certainly don't want Flo to put out so much money!" With that she sunk down in a chair collapsing with frustration.
"Let's think," Rosemary pondered as she paced the apparel floor. "Your wedding is next month; can we order material and sew dresses in time?" she asked Dottie.
"Maybe, but it'll be tight. I don't know what else to do. It'll be too late to order something new and expect it to arrive in time!" Dottie answered.
"Will I get my deposit money returned?" Molly worried.
"Not until they receive these dresses back," Dottie shook her head.
"Oh, this is getting worse by the second," Molly was crying full on by now.
Just then, Flo hurriedly swept in to see her dress. "Got your message Rosemary, and I'm really looking forward to seeing my..., what's the matter?" she asked as her concern took over seeing her good friend crying.
Dottie filled her in on the dilemma while Flo sat next to Molly, holding her hand and trying to comfort her.
"Maybe Bill can help with the cost?" Rosemary was desperately searching for an answer.
At the same time, Bill and Nathan came driving into town in their new automobiles, honking their horns, with Lee grinning in his auto right behind them. "There he is now, Rosemary shared, "Lee drove them to Clearwater to buy their automobiles."
Molly peered out the window and saw Bill smiling from ear to ear sitting in his brand-new Buick Roadster. He saw Molly and waved, jumped out of the automobile and ran to get her. She quickly dabbed her eyes dry and greeted him was a pasted smile on her face.
"Hello ladies, I hope you won't mind if I take my lady outside to see our new Roadster!" he crowed while holding his arm out for Molly.
Molly took a deep breath and put her arm through Bill's, walking outside while glancing back at the ladies with a tentative half smile. Rosemary followed behind them and met up with Lee. Soon most of the town was coming over to see the new Buick Roadster. Bill was so proud of it, that he didn't even notice Molly wasn't her usual bubbly self.
As the town was milling around eyeing Bill's new treasure, Dottie was on the telephone to the place she purchased the two dresses. She insisted on talking to the person who took her order, Deborah White, but that person was not in that day. Others tried to help, but Dottie told the person on the other end that she had better get a return telephone call from Miss White first thing tomorrow and slammed the receiver down. She put both of the dresses back in the boxes and closed the lids. Sighing, she opened the door hesitantly, forced herself to look happy and joined the others.
Meanwhile, Nathan had a standard Model T with room for four, but someday he thought he'd have to buy a bigger one, but this would have to do for now. Just like Lee and Henry started, automobiles were getting to be a necessity for most families now.
Nathan drove his Model T home and honked the horn. Allie, Dee, and Emily came out to see it. Allie was first and hopped in the back, Dee sat next to her and Nathan helped his Ma in the front. Dee handed Emily her babushka and put hers on too. Off they drove into town.
The group that had been eyeing Bill's new Roadster, saw Nathan and family come in and now they all hustled to their new Model T automobile. Gunther who had been minding the RCMP office was watching from the window but when he went outside to see it firsthand, he almost tripped. Next to the door, was a wicker rocking chair. It had been all cleaned and spiffed up sitting next to a flower box under the window. He had heard nailing and saw Ned out there, and asked what he was doing. Ned told him he was just following Dee's orders, yet he never said anything about the rocking chair. Oh well, he'd find out soon enough, right now he had to see the new automobiles, and see what was all the commotion about!
Page 15
Bill reveled in showing off his new Roadster. Men were whistling at how 'fine' it looked so Bill was just lapping up all the attention he was getting. Molly admitted it looked very classy and was happy for her fiancé. But her happiness felt like a controlled robotic feeling as she was still reeling from the cost of the dresses. When the crowd moved over to see Nathan's Model T, Molly asked Bill if she could talk to him back in the Apparel shop.
Bill's charming smile left his face as a puzzled look took over. "Molly, honey, aren't you happy with this new automobile?"
"Why yes, Bill it's very nice, very nice indeed, and I'm looking forward to riding in it with you, I am, but I've had some very shocking bad news!"
Bill's eyes were questioning as he studied Molly's face for clues, "Is this serious?" he asked concerned.
"Oh, Bill!" Molly blurted as she began to speak, "our wedding is ruined!"
Bill's face was incredulous as he pulled Molly into a hug, "Now, take a breath, and tell me what happened, from the beginning."
Molly buried her face in Bill's shoulder and started to whimper. "The dresses for Rosaleen and Flo came in today, and they were stunning!"
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Bill was confused.
"Yes, that is good, but the prices are much more than we thought when we ordered them. Dottie is trying to call the saleslady who sold her the dresses, to ask about the cost," Molly started to explain the problem.
Bill suggested, "Send the dresses back and just have them wear a nice dress they already have and it'll be just fine," Bill smiled thinking he had just solved the dilemma.
"Bill, no, they can't do that, not for our wedding for heaven's sake!" Molly shook her head.
"Hey Red, YOU are the bride, as long as you have a new dress, it'll be fine." Bill didn't see what the big deal was.
"Oh Bill!" Molly stormed off to go to work at the infirmary.
"What did I say?" Bill hollered after her. "Hey, don't you want to go for a ride in the Roadster?"
Molly threw her hands up in the air, "No, I don't, Mr. Avery!" and ran in the
infirmary door.
Bill stared after her, shook his head befuddled and mumbled, "Women!"
Nathan took his family out for a little ride in the Model-T just to see what it felt like. All three of his ladies were proud of Nathan's selection and felt very proper sitting in an automobile. He drove them home and dropped them off as he had promised Gunther a quick spin for rounds instead of riding their horses.
"Here you go Mrs. Grant," he said as he opened the front door for his mother, followed by Dee and Allie.
"Oh Dad, that was the bee's knees! I can't wait to drive!" Allie's face lit up.
Nathan laughed, "Not so quick on the draw Allie girl, your mom needs to learn first."
Dee looked surprised, "Me? I haven't driven except for a tractor on the farm back home. Why do you think I should drive?"
"Why not? We'll be out in the country soon in our new home, and I'll be taking Newton with me on rounds. If there's a need for you to come into town, you'll have the automobile."
Dee thought about it and liked Nathan's suggestion. "Sounds like a date to me," she smiled and then gave Nathan a quick kiss, "See you for dinner, hot shot!"
Nathan was laughing as he drove back to pick up Gunther who was outside sitting in the rocking chair waiting. "Ready?" he asked as Gunther jumped in.
"Sure am!" Gunther answered, "Can I drive?"
"Wait, what's that you were sitting on?" Nathan was staring at the porch outside the RCMP office.
"The rocking chair." Gunther shrugged, "Why?"
"When did we get a rocking chair?" Nathan looked at Gunther confused.
"Same time Ned put a flower box under the window yesterday."
"Why did he do that?" Nathan asked trying to figure this surprise out.
"He said, Dee asked him to." Gunther answered.
Nathan just shook his head and said, "Women!"
Gunther smiled, "Yea, ain't they grand?" thinking of one particular woman.