Chapter 8

Monday was as busy as Elise thought it would be. She planned on being "open for business" on Wednesday and making sure she was going to hit her goal meant a lot of hours of hard work. She had painted her office the week before, but the floors and windows needed to be scrubbed, boxes unpacked, furniture rearranged, her desk organized - all of the things she needed to make sure she was good to go.

Plus, she was taking time after school to help work on Allie's project. Mrs. Thornton had approved it, very interested in the concept that Allie had chosen without knowing the book. The two of them had their work cut out for them as it was quite ambitious. They would be installing it Thursday after school, that way it was ready Friday morning when school opened. Nathan was busy on his rounds and dealing with a new conflict regarding the new factory, so Elise did not get a chance to see much of him, other than seeing him ride in and out of town on Newton.

At the end of the day Tuesday, he stopped by her office to pick up Allie, and he took in the space. He thought it was lovely and showed her personality. She had painted the space a light blue with sleek, white curtains at the windows to allow the light to continue to filter in. The bookshelves were full of law books and case studies, including her books from law school. There was a table in a corner with a fresh bouquet of flowers on it. In one half of the room sat her desk, a brown, medium size wingback chair behind it, and on the other side, two larger, matching wingback chairs. The desk held a cobalt blue tinted stain glass lamp, a small vase with wildflowers, and pictures of her parents. On the walls were large photographs of the mountains and valleys, all resembling the areas around Hope Valley.

Elise caught him looking at the photographs, something that Hope Valley inspired when she first stepped off the train. "I contacted the forest service and they sent them to me. I told them I wanted to feel like the Rockies were in my office, and this is what I got."

"Mission accomplished". He looked down at her, filled with pride for the passionate little spitfire that appeared in his life. "Maybe I need to redo the jail."

She laughed and said, "Hopefully I will be too busy for that". She turned and walked around her desk, sat down in her chair, and placed a pair of reading glasses on her face. She looked at home behind the big desk and was completely in charge of what would happen within those walls. Without a doubt, he knew she was meant to practice the law.

Wednesday morning Elise was contemplating what to wear for her first official day of being open. She finally settled on one of the new suits she had the dress shop design for her. She loved it. The jacket was beautifully cut and hugged her in all the appropriate locations, and the skirt fell just above her ankles. She was a woman on a mission most of the time, and the last thing she needed was to worry about holding up her skirt. But that was not it. She also had pants designed in the same material on the occasions when skirts were not practical, such on days when she needed to ride out and meet with clients. Until she was able to afford a car, Storm was still her source of transportation. The best thing about the ensemble was that it was pinstripe, and she felt it made her look taller. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a high bun, and she placed simple pearl earrings on her ears. She looked dignified and professional, and she was excited to open the doors to her own shop. As she walked through her living room to leave, she looked at a photograph of her parents. "Wish me luck", and with that, she grabbed her briefcase, put her sunglasses on, and made her way out the door.

The day went by quickly as curious citizens of Hope Valley made their way into her office to see what was going on and booked a couple of appointments for the following week. Bill stopped in on his way to his own office, bringing her a cup of coffee and a muffin from the cafe. They chatted for a few moments, then said "I'm right next door if you need anything. My door is always open". A short time later Lee and Rosemary stopped by and congratulated her on opening her doors. Lee mentioned about having her look at some of his contracts to see if they need to be updated or improved. She promised to swing by the following day to look at them.

Before she knew it, Allie was bounding into the office to finish working on her project, but not before she told Elise all about her day at school. Elise loved having the girl around. She reminded her of herself at this age. Both of them had lost their mother and were lucky enough to have women in their lives to encourage and foster strength in them. Elise was glad she could be there for Allie, for as long as she had the opportunity to. She knew there would come a day where someone amazing would walk into Nathan's life, and that person would influence Allie's life instead of her, but for now, she was going to do the best that she could.

Nathan had finished up his rounds and paperwork for the day and was ready to go get Allie from Elise's office. He picked up the package off his desk and smiled, hoping Elise would like it. He had wrapped it in a dark blue shawl that he saw in the dress shop window, thinking that it would help keep her warm in the evenings when he knew she would be sitting at her little table and chairs watching the sunset. He could not wait to hear how her first day went and see how Allie's project was going, so with a little skip in his step, he made his way down the boardwalk towards her office.

When he walked in the door, he found the girls hard at work doing the finishing touches to the project. They didn't hear him and looked up in surprise when he cleared his throat. "Oh Nathan, I think we lost track of the time. It is all ready to be installed tomorrow."

"Uncle Nathan, this project is going to be so amazing! I can't wait for the other kids to see it."

"I can't wait to see it all put together either. The two of you have worked hard on it. You should be proud." He looked at Elise, and with his crooked grin and twinkle in his eye said, "I brought you something." He had the package in his hand behind his back and brought it out and handed it to her. She looked up with surprise in her eyes as he handed it to her. She started to unwrap the shawl, and he suddenly got very nervous. What if she didn't like it? "That's to help keep you warm at night…." She looked back up at him and smiled, and then she got to what was inside of the shawl. It was a simple plaque made of wood, perfectly sanded, and stained. It said

Elise Monteith

Barrister

Hope Valley, AB

EST. 1920

Elise looked up at Nathan with tears in her eyes. She was speechless. Other then her father, no one had ever given her a gift such as this.

"I noticed you did not have a shingle yet, and a good barrister needs a shingle".

"You made this?" He shook his head yes. She ran her hands over the letters, the same letters that his hands had touched, and it took everything in her to hold the tears back. "This is amazing. Thank you so much. Will you help me hang it?"

"It has a wire on the back, and I put a hook outside early this morning. Let's go hang it." They walked out the door together, and Nathan placed the plaque on the hook while Elise helped him center it. They stood back and took it in. "It will work until you can afford something a little fancier."

"I don't want something fancier. Its perfect. Its better than anything I could have asked for. I will treasure it always".

Friday morning finally arrived, and Allie was biting at the bit to get to school to see how her teacher and her friends responded to her project. She was nervous everyone thought it would be over the top but putting it together with her Uncle Nathan and Elise the night before had been a lot of fun. After it was installed, Nathan and Elise sat on one of the benches and watched as Allie practiced her presentation. Nathan was happy to see Allie so animated, and Elise loved watching Allie take a book and create something magical in her own imagination.

As Nathan and Allie headed down the lane of rowhouses, Elise stepped out on her porch, briefcase in hand, sunglasses on her face, and joined them.

"Are you nervous Allie?"

"A little bit, more excited than anything".

"Well, just remember to slow down, speak clearly, and you will be fine".

"Yeah, don't be like me and clam up in front of your audience". Nathan interjected.

"I'm not shy like you Uncle Nathan".

"Hey, I resent that. I'm not always shy!" The girls laughed. Soon they were in front of the school. Mrs. Thornton had the doors closed, which was strange. After a moment, she came out of the schoolhouse, and made her way over to the trio.

"Good morning Allie, Nathan, Miss Monteith. I thought I would save the surprise for you Allie. Would you like to ring the bell and open the doors for the day?"

"Yes ma'am!" Allie hurried and hugged Nathan and Elise, then grabbed the bell from Elizabeth and ran for the schoolhouse doors.

"The classroom really looks amazing. She did such an amazing job. She really went above and beyond, literally and figuratively".

"Well, it all started when Elise started reading the book to her," Nathan informed her.

"Really? Well, I should get into my classroom. Good day Constable, Miss Monteith."

Nathan raised his eyebrows, and looked down at Elise. "That was odd. Well, may I escort you to work m'lady?"

"Yes you may kind sir". She tucked her arm into the corner of his, and they turned and made their way into town.

"Good morning class. As you know, today we are going to present our projects from books of your choosing. And since the classroom has been turned into an art project, why doesn't Allie be the first one to give her presentation."

Allie moved to the front of the classroom and opened "Peter Pan" to the first section that she chose to read. In the back corner of the classroom, there was a cutout house, Mr. and Mrs. Darling, and their dog, Nana. Above her head and over those of her fellow students, stars and clouds hung from the ceiling. Flying through the clouds, was Peter Pan, Wendy, John, and Michael, and one very small Tinker Bell. In the distance, in the opposite corner of the classroom, was their destination, Neverland, where there was a pirate ship, Captain Hook, Lost Boys and a crocodile.

" 'All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this forever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.'"

Allie, who must have taken a page out of Rosemary's play book, took the class through the story of Peter Pan. She took them to his home, 'second star on the right and straight on till morning. She spoke of the children's adventures with the Lost Boys, being taken captive by Captain Hook and almost eaten by the crocodile, and how finally, they made the choice to return home.

She quoted her two favorite passages – 'It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness', and ended with Peter's promise to Wendy – "You know that place between sleep and awake where your always dreaming? That's where I'll always love you. That's where I'll be waiting."

When she was done, she said thank you to the class, sat back down, and smiled. She did it, and it turned out better then she could hope for, because of the people who loved her, and would be waiting for her at the end of the day, ready to help her make her dreams come true.

Barrie, J. M. (2016). Peter Pan. Kingman Books.