Chapter 7:
A few days later, a party was organized in the saloon by Florence and Faith to celebrate the end of school for the children and the start of summer.
It had been a few days since Theo had arrived in town and everyone was aware of the chemistry between the two lovers. They were hiding but it was not always easy. People noticed quite easily that there was something under there.
Abigail has not looked like herself lately. She was constantly distracted and mentally absent. Her friends had, of course, noticed it. They often talked about it among themselves. Theo seemed, on the one hand, to make Abigail feeling good, but he also seemed to disturb her a lot. It was hard for them to explain.
Abigail had only confided in Elizabeth about her story, and only once. Since then, she did not want to talk about Theo. Whenever she was asked about him – and it often happened – she changed the subject. The townspeople were very intrigued by this story, it was their mayor after all. The gossip abounded and they tried to find out more by observing.
On the night of the party, Abigail was getting ready to go. She wanted to feel beautiful. She wanted to attract attention. It was not something she usually craved, but Theo awoke something in her that brought her back to her younger years with him.
They had made love again several times in the days following their first intimate encounter. She had the impression that everyone read on her face that she had intimate relations with this man and that made her very uncomfortable. These were things we did not talk about or brag about. These were extremely taboo things.
Her son Cody was rather skeptical of his mother's new friend. He was afraid that he would hurt her. He had never seen his mother so bewildered or so confused.
As he descended the stairs, he saw his mother looking at herself in the kitchen mirror. She had a constant look of confusion on her face. This man seemed to constantly pull her towards her past from which she was far from today. It was not a face of joy and happiness that she displayed. Still, for some reason that escaped Cody, she seemed fine. As if some of the void she felt in her life had just been filled.
Cody thought his mother was beautiful. She always was, but this time he was dazzled. She had a midnight blue dress with a low back and a modest neckline. Her dress was a little higher than any other she had ever worn. You could see her ankles mounted in black high-heeled shoes. Her hair was put in an elaborate bun with blonde streaks that fell around her face.
"You are beautiful mom."
Abigail turned at the sound of her adorable boy's voice.
"Aw, Cody." she whispered in a voice full of emotion. "Come here" she asked, holding out her arms.
Cody happily went into his mother's arms. She smelled even better than usual.
"Come on, come on, we're going to be late. Your friends will be waiting for you." Abigail said as she opened the kitchen door.
"Will Mr. Richardson be there?" Cody suddenly asked his mother.
Abigail, though totally surprised by her son's question, answered quickly:
"I don't know Cody."
"Are you in love with him?"
"What? Cody why do you…"
"Are you happy with him?" Cody did not let her finish her sentence.
Abigail was very surprised at her son's reaction.
"Cody, we're just friends Theo and I."
"That's not what people say." Cody retorted trying to understand.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I overheard Mrs. Blakely talking with Mrs. Sullivan the other day at the mercantile."
Abigail sighed at her friend Florence's ever so outgoing demeanor.
"Don't listen to what people say Cody. Especially when it's Florence." Abigail sighed. "Theo and I are not in love with each other."
"Yet you are close." insisted his son.
"Yes. It's true." confessed Abigail defeated.
Cody nodded. He was not at all reassured by the conversation with his mother. Things did not seem clear at all, and he did not like that.
"Come on, come on, otherwise we'll be late."
« Okay mom. »
The evening was going wonderfully. The children were happy to celebrate the end of school and the start of summer vacation. Summer was always a fun time to spend with friends and family for the people of Hope Valley.
Cody was talking with Robert, Opal, and Emily in a corner. There was music playing and the room was filled with townspeople.
Abigail was chatting with Bill, Carson, and Elizabeth about ending school.
"The kids were totally excited, I assure you, they were eagerly waiting for me to ring the bell. So much so that I rang it half an hour earlier." laughed Elizabeth. Her friends joined her in her hilarity.
"It's true that Cody only spoke to me about the end of classes. No offense, Elizabeth." Abigail joked.
Elizabeth made a false head injury to her friend.
"Speaking of Cody. How does he experience your relationship with Mr. Richardson?" Bill asked Abigail directly.
He had never been good at tact. He had always preferred to face it and once and for all, rather than beating around the bush. And the relationship between this man and Abigail worried him a lot for her. She never discussed it, so he always tried to get her to communicate information to him by asking differently worded questions.
Abigail sighed.
"Bill…" Elizabeth annoyed.
She was very unsettled by Abigail's relationship with this man. She felt like she was discovering another woman. For example, tonight she was totally gorgeous. She always was, but this time she was in a more open dress than she had ever seen worn. She did not even notice it, but the men looked at her with admiration. She saw Henry, in a corner of the room, sitting at a table, alone. He had been looking in Abigail's direction since she had arrived. Elizabeth did not know if he was looking at Abigail. But he seemed uncomfortable and angry.
For some time now, Elizabeth had noticed that Henry and Abigail had a close relationship. Their relationship had evolved so much since the time she had arrived in Coal Valley. She could not even come back. She felt like Henry had attached himself emotionally, even lovingly, to Abigail. He looked at her differently than he looked at other women. But ultimately, he had always looked at her differently, Elizabeth realized. But the arrival of Theodore Richardson seemed to have distanced them. Well, Abigail had drifted away from everyone a little bit since he came to town. She was very distracted and spent a lot of time with Theodore. Elizabeth realized, after a few days, after entering the cafe during an intimate moment of the couple, that they did not have only soft relations. Elizabeth obviously had not seen them going about their business. But she had arrived in the cafe and found them with their clothes totally crumpled, their hair disheveled and their looks completely distracted with flushed cheeks. She too blushed, but she did not comment.
"Elizabeth, I'm only worried about Cody." Bill defended himself.
"It's nothing Elizabeth. I understand that you are intrigued by my relationship with Theo. But he is a good person and with Cody we have already talked about it before coming."
"Don't worry, Abigail, you don't have to explain anything to us. Isn't that Bill?" Carson insisted.
Carson was not a gossip peddler. He hated it. Moreover, they understood very well the enthusiasm that there was around this relationship. He had discussed it with Faith in the infirmary. The fact that Abigail was the mayor and had always been a role model for the town made people want to know more about her. She probably did not realize the value she had in the eyes of the inhabitants of this city.
"Hmm."
Bill was unconvinced. He did not know why he was so protective of Abigail. Was it because he had hurt her when they were close? Or was it because he had never been able to completely forget her? In any case, this Mr. Richardson had no interest in hurting her. He had already had his eye on Frank when he arrived.
"Please Bill." Abigail suddenly declared as she approached him. "Promise me you'll leave him alone. You owe me that."
"So, he told you." laughs the future judge ironically.
"He told me that you asked him all kinds of questions."
"He exaggerates a little bit…"
"Bill." Abigail suppressed seriously.
Bill simply nodded to her friend to let her know he understood perfectly.
Speaking of Theodore Richardson, here he was walking into the saloon, still dressed in a suit. He was attracting attention and when he entered, Bill saw him look directly at Abigail. When he found her, he stood frozen for a few moments, gazing at her with admiration. It was true that tonight, the mayor aspired to admiration in her magnificent outfit.
Theo, arriving in the saloon, saw Abigail and froze for a few moments. She was gorgeous. He only saw her in profile and from a distance, but he already knew that. He approached her. She was talking with the doctor, the sheriff, and the schoolteacher of the town. Once he was close enough, he gently stroked her arm. She jumped a little as she turned, but when she saw it was Theo, she smiled softly at him.
"Good evening." Theo greeted Abigail's friends.
"Good evening" replied Elizabeth and Carson. Bill just nodded at Theo.
Theo looked at Abigail and kissed her softly on the cheek. He whispered to her:
"Do you want to dance?"
Abigail smiled and nodded, looking Theo in the eyes. He knew how much she loved to dance. He had not forgotten it. He took her by the arm to lead her on the dance floor in the middle of the other couples. They began to dance slowly, in rhythm with the music. Many eyes fell on them. Rosemary could not help but stare at them as she danced nearby with Lee.
"Rosy. Leave them alone." warns her husband.
"But they are so intriguing. Look, everyone is watching them. They don't even realize it. They seem to be immersed in a kind of nostalgia and an endless past."
"Is it the novelist analyst speaking? Mary-Rose?" Lee joked.
Rosemary rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious Lee."
"Me too, Rosy." insisted Lee.
Over an hour later, Bill was in the corner of the room with Clara, discussing her new position as a waitress at the saloon. She explained to him that Mr. Bouchard had kindly let her have the evening free so that she could participate in the party as a guest and not as an employee. Then, after a few moments, Clara saw Henry walking towards them. He came up behind Bill and addressed him.
"Bill? Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" he called out, playing with his hat in his hands.
Bill turned to Henry with a frown. They did not have the best of relationships. They had never liked each other, and it was no secret. So, it was rather strange that Henry wanted to talk to him about some things that seemed important, especially during a party.
"I will leave you." Clara said, smiling at Bill and heading for the drinks buffet.
"So." sighed the sheriff. "What can put you in this way Henry? Another problem with justice." Bill snorted.
Henry sighed and refrained from rolling his eyes.
"No. It's about... Well, it's about Mr. Richardson." the former mayor of Coal Valley hesitated.
The subject piqued Bill's curiosity as he suddenly gave him his full attention.
"What happened?"
"We played cards yesterday with Jesse, Carson, Lucas, and Mr. Richardson in the saloon." Henry began. "He was in front of me and when he took out his wallet to bet, I saw a picture of our city in it."
"What kind of picture?"
"I don't know, I didn't have time to see it well, but it had all the people of Hope Valley on it."
Bill waited a few moments for Henry to continue his story, but nothing came.
"And that's all?" the sheriff asked curiously.
"In fact, yes."
Bill crossed his arms.
"I don't quite see what you want me to do." Bill said confused.
"Do you think it's normal that he has a picture of us in his wallet?"
"Maybe he's not interested in us. Maybe that's the woman on it." Bill said, starting to slip away to where Clara had gone. "And when I say 'woman' I of course mean Abigail."
Bill turned away from Henry, who followed close behind.
"Please, Bill."
Avery paused with a sigh, then turned back to Gowen.
"Listen, Gowen. I don't trust Theodore Richardson either. But I told Abigail that I would leave him alone. I cannot do anything. In addition, I have already asked him questions and his story seems to me quite convincing."
Henry and Bill looked at each other for a few moments without saying anything, lost in thought. Gowen finally sighed and turned away from Bill.
"Thank you, Bill."
Avery watched Henry walk to the saloon door and exit. He frowned at his own thoughts. The former mayor was potentially right. Why would this man keep a picture of the whole town with him?
Note: Okay, okay! So, I hope you still like it. I have insisted a lot on the trouble that Abigail feels since Theo's arrival. In fact, in the trailer for the original episode 7 of season 6, we saw Cody explain to a man – whose face we do not see – that since Theo's arrival she seemed troubled and that he did not want to see her hurt. He seemed worried for his mother, and I wanted to transcribe that. I don't know if it worked haha!