Hope for Tomorrow
Page 34
It was moving day for Nathan, Dee and family. It was a good thing that Nathan got that wagon left from the Toliver gang at the livery from Kevin when he did, as he and Bill would be using it all day long to move their furniture and boxes. Dee and Allie were over at the new home waiting for the men when they brought in loads and they were busy unpacking and having fun doing it.
"This is like Christmas, mom!" Allie was excited.
Dee laughed, "Not quite, but finding new places to put the items is like a treasure hunt. It's so good to have more room, isn't it?"
"A room for grandpa too," Allie remarked, "I'm glad Oma is with him now helping him pack. I think he'll be calmer with her, don't you?"
"Yes for sure, your grandmother is a remarkable woman. After all she's been through, she's still able to find compassion in her heart for your grandfather."
"Mom, I think they truly loved each other at one time," Allie stopped to talk as Dee listened intently to her daughter's observation. "I mean, Oma had wonderful, sweet memories of grandfather that she shared with me last summer. And, grandfather always tells Oma he loves her and looks for her, so that tells me there was once a great love between them."
Dee marveled how insightful Allie was for her age. "You've really matured Allie. Your understanding of the situation is very perceptive for your age," Dee complimented her with a hug. "I'm proud of you!"
Allie smiled, "I hope that grandfather will be all right now living with us."
"Oh, I think he'll be much better off with his family for sure. There will be plenty of good times made here. I can anticipate it as I look around," Dee was daydreaming again of the baby and having all the family right there.
"Do you miss your mom and dad?" Allie asked.
"Yes, of course I do, but I know they have a farm to manage and can't get away. I'm hoping though with bun coming in November they will come for a visit around Christmas time, but we'll see if they can even make it," Dee shrugged.
"Maybe Aunt Dorothy and Uncle George will come with the twins!" Allie raised her eyebrows and grinned.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves honey, we better keep unpacking," Dee laughed.
"At least now we have a water closet, running water, and a bathtub!" Allie said cheerfully, "This is going to be like heaven!"
Bill and Nathan brought over the beds and dressers first. "I'm not so young to handle this anymore!" Bill grabbed his back. "I think, I'll go get Gunther, if you don't mind, but I can help with the boxes."
"Thanks Bill, any help is appreciated, we wouldn't want an injured groom for his wedding!" Nathan laughed.
"How you ladies doing?" Nathan inquired.
"We're good, dad. Mom and I are having fun unpacking," Allie said happily.
Dee just smiled.
"Can we bring Penny here tomorrow?" Allie was keeping her fingers crossed behind her back.
Nathan sighed, "Let's see how much we get done and how your grandparents do with the change first, all right Allie girl"?
Allie was disappointed, but she understood, "Well, as soon as we can, please?"
"Of course, I want Newton here too."
As the day went on Gunther asked Matthew to help with the rest of the furniture from the living room and kitchen. It went faster with the young strong lads helping handling the heavy furniture, so Nathan and Bill could focus on the boxes and rest of the items.
It excited Gunther to know that he would be moving in to the row house once the Grants were settled in their new house. He had never been totally on his own before. After school he enlisted in the Royal NorthWest Mounted Police Academy in Regina. Soon after entering, it was a transitional time to the new name of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and RCMP headquarters moved to Ottawa from Regina. Always part of a patrol he was now assigned to Hope Valley under Sargent Grant's supervision. Another Mountie who had been here earlier helping with the soldiers returning from WWI, Andy Roberts, would be coming back and joining Gunther in October. The two of them would be bunking together in the Grant's row house. He was looking forward to that time. As he looked around the row house, he knew he had to sweep and clean up after the move and then he could move his belongings there. Bill would be moving in with Molly once married, anyways. He told Gunther he could have the bed and dresser as he wouldn't need them any longer. In fact, he could take the kitchen table and sofa too, as Molly's house was all complete. This was really working out for him.
The day was long, so they all went to Billees to eat. Sam had cooked up a wonderful chicken dinner for everyone and they were all famished. It wasn't too busy that night, so they just took their time and relaxed. Molly joined them and brought some flowers to take to their new home and put on their kitchen table.
After dinner, it was time to take Archie over to the new house. Emily had prepared him explaining what was going to happen, and as long as she was with him, he seemed fine. Grabbing his suitcase with his clothes and a few boxes of his belongings, they rode over to the new house. As they pulled up in the driveway, and got out of the automobile, they stopped to look at the house that was now their home. The sun was setting in the west and they saw it's reflection in their big window glowing. Ella and Ginger ran around sniffing and checking out the new smells and scents all the while wagging their tails. They could hear the little stream flowing in the distance, and it all was so peaceful.
Nathan wrapped his arm around Dee, looking at her, he tenderly said, "Welcome home, Mrs. Grant," then slowly leaned into her lips and melted into her embrace.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 35
Benjamin was doing good in school. Having Mrs. Thornton working with him in a special tutoring session at her home, was really making a difference. Benjamin needed that one-on-one attention to help him focus.
Elizabeth knew Benjamin needed to accomplish the basics first before he could begin his studies. Her first goal was for him to learn to read. She helped him by sounding out letters followed by combination of letters together.
"Benjamin, now that you know what letters sound like, I'm going to show you how blending two letters together make other sounds."
Little by little he was catching on and began combining letters together to make words. This is where Dee worked with both of them. She had songs that she used when she taught phonics. She knew that a melody like the ABC song helped students learn new concepts. Dee would sing and ask him to repeat after her.
"Do you like practicing sounds with music?" Dee asked him.
"Sometimes, I feel it's childish, but I know that the jingle helps me to remember better, so yea, I guess I do."
It didn't take long for Benjamin to catch on that the words, when he sounded them out, were pretty easy to write. At night, he'd ask Karen to check his work. She explained to him that there were always exceptions to the rules and English can be confusing. That's when he'd learn "i before e, except after c" and the differences with different spelling and description of the same word.
His mother, Marie, was making sure his nutrition was the very best she could provide with a variety of the four food groups. Being harvest time, there were plenty of crops available and Marie made the most of the selection.
Dr. Carson checked on him for his physical well-being noting that he was gaining some weight and that was a good sign. He was still growing, so Dr. Carson told Marie that he expected him to "shoot up like a weed" the next summer.
Not knowing the game of baseball was hard for him too. Bob worked with him after dinner practicing with him how to catch and pitch. The official baseball season was over, but with the warm weather, Gunther would come over and work with Benjamin teaching him how the game worked and the rules. Paul who was also at New Hope Orphanage when Benjamin was there, was usually playing with him. Having a good buddy he could count on was something everyone needs and they found it in each other.
All this extra help made Benjamin a happier boy as he grew more and more confident. Elizabeth and Dee both thought that by the end of the school year, Benjamin would have all the tools he needed to continue to succeed. It was going to be a slow process, but so far they were on target.
There were other new children starting school from week to week. As soon as a family moved into a new row house, that usually meant one or more new students.
"We sure have our work cut out for us this year!" Elizabeth told Dee after school.
"Yes, it is. Is Mr. Malone still in town?" Dee looked at Elizabeth inquiring.
Elizabeth looked up, "Come to think of it, he never came to say goodbye, so I believe so."
"I thought you two were enjoying the Fun Festival together. So, how did that go?"
Dee smiled.
"It was fine," Elizabeth answered quickly.
"Just fine? C'mon Elizabeth you can tell me more," Dee encouraged.
Elizabeth blushed and while shuffling her feet replied, "You know, it was nice introducing him to the families."
"Goodness gracious! It's like pulling teeth with you! Inquiring minds want to know!" Dee insisted.
Now the two were laughing, "All right, you win. It was delightful. He is very well educated, dignified, and engaging. Little Jack likes him too," Elizabeth finally spilled the beans.
"Nice looking I might add," Dee grinned.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "I hadn't noticed," and then burst out laughing.
"For your sake, I hope he sticks around, maybe he just has to be invited over for dinner." Dee winked.
"Dee Grant, you know I can't have a man over in my house!"
"Well then, when we get settled in, I'll have both of you over to see our new home. Emily loves company and will make a delicious dinner. All I have to do is ask," Dee made the offer hard to refuse.
"You are so lucky to have her there to cook. What I wouldn't give to have her in my home! I'd love to come over for dinner," Elizabeth replied.
Dee teased, "Only if Mr. Malone comes the same evening. Otherwise, you're uninvited."
"That's a deal," Elizabeth laughed. "But, he better agree, I want to see your home."
"You are always welcome, we just need a little more time to get situated. I'm sure Nathan will agree to have an open invitation." Dee nodded.
"It's going to be a busy few weeks with the bridal shower and bachelor party, so I'll have you over very soon," promised Dee.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 36
Before Nathan would allow Dee to enter their new home, while on the porch, he swept her up and carried her over the threshold. The couple were elated that the time had finally come for them and their family to begin a new chapter in their lives. Nathan happily kissed his wife, grabbed the bottle of champagne that Bill had brought, and poured some in the glasses sitting on the dining table. Dee and Allie had sparkling wine that Bill ordered especially for Dee and other pregnant ladies.
Holding up a glass Nathan fondly looked at his family and friends, "Today, we wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for the help of good friends Bill, Molly, Gunther, and Matthew pitching in and moving our furniture and belongings! The Grant family is truly indebted to our friends and I will be the first to raise a glass to their support and kindness!"
"Here, here," Dee added, "may there be many sweet memories made right here over the years with our good friends and family! Cheers!"
"Wundebar!" exclaimed Emily.
The merriment was contagious. Dee showed Molly around as she was the only of the visitors who hadn't been inside the house. When she got to the nursery upstairs, she looked around with excitement for Dee.
"This is going to be little bun's room," Dee grinned from ear to ear as a surge of happiness filled her causing her eyes to gleam.
Molly noticed how thrilled Dee was and gave her a tender hug. "I'll never forget when I first brought home Rosaleen with her beautiful eyes peeking out of the curly red mop of hair. How she stole my heart! You'll see how quick time flies, so treasure the early days even if you barely get any sleep."
"We will be right next door and Allie on the other side, so bun will be well attended!" Dee laughed.
"That's wonderful that you have a room for the baby. Allie deserves her own room at her age," Molly confirmed.
"That's what we were thinking too, as long as we were building, we thought even if Allie goes on to higher education, we will have her room for another little one some day," Dee said wistfully. "We like having Ma on the main floor so she didn't have to do any stairs. Plus she's always in the kitchen anyways. When we decided to move Nathan's dad in too, we had to ask Lee to turn the back porch we wanted, into part of the house. Nathan said that a front porch would be better anyways since we will be facing the west and can watch the sunset over the Rockies."
"It all sounds so charming!" Molly said. "Bill is moving in with me when we marry. I'm not sure if Rosaleen will stay with us, but I doubt it. She's already talking about getting a place with Katie Yost. We'll have to see soon what we can arrange."
As the Grants were settling in, it proved stressful at first having Archie joining them. He had a bedroom next to Emily on the main floor, which helped, but he was still disoriented with learning new surroundings. It was hard for him to realize that this was going to be his new home.
Nathan sat with him the first night in his bedroom and explained again to him what was happening.
"Dad, I know this might be confusing for you right now, but this is my new home and I want you and ma to live with me. I think, in fact we know, that this will be your last home. So, it's best you share it with your family. We want you here with us."
Archie seemed content with what Nathan told him, at least for the rest of the night. Nathan helped him unpack his clothes into a dresser he bought for him and noticed that his clothes were getting shabby.
He told Dee, "I think I have a good idea for dad's Christmas gifts this year. I'm going to go through his dresser and write down clothes and shoe sizes. I do know though that he'll need new pajamas for his stay in the hospital when he has his cataract surgery. I'll have to get them soon."
Dee helped Emily unpack the kitchen allowing Emily to choose where to put the pots and pans, dishes, and utensils. Nathan had promised that they would take a drive up to her old farmhouse to pick up the mahogany hutch that he had built so lovingly for his Ma years ago.
Jack and Carol knew they would come back to the farmhouse for it some day. Nathan and Dee decided it would be before the baby came, so it would be soon. Emily was anxious to see old Berta and hoped to visit some friends while there. Nathan and Dee would be staying at her folks, the Gleixners, in her old bedroom. Ted and Bertie told them that they would make up the spare room up for Emily and Allie to share. Dee was excited to see her parents and brother, Walter. When she told Allie, it was a surprise, as she had just told her it might not be until after the baby was born, which was true. For them to come to see their new home and little bun her parents would have to wait until Christmas to come.
As the night was coming to a close, everyone got ready for bed. Nathan made sure his ma and dad were settled in before he went upstairs to join Dee. He looked at her laying in bed almost asleep and content with a sweet smile on her face. He felt the cool night air gently blowing in through the window. Before he closed it, he looked out and took in the beautiful countryside and the soft whispers of the stream trickling across the stones. It would be a beginning of a new life with his wife and family and he felt tremendously satisfied and happy.