Let Me Call You Sweetheart Chapter 2, Page 17

Monday morning Emily headed for the Mercantile. She was hoping she wouldn't run into Nathan while in town.

"Guten Morgen Mr. Yost" she greeted Ned.

"My German is not so good Mrs. Grant good morning to you! Please call me Ned." he smiled. "How can I help you?"

"Ya, I'm looking for a special gift for Nathan and Dee's engagement!" Emily grinned.

"Sure thing, I told Allie ordering from the catalog was too late for this Saturday. So, let's see what we might have." Ned led her to the gift area.

Emily looked over what was there and was sure she saw what she was looking for. Allie had told her about cuff links that had two linked hearts inscribed on them and a locket with two linked hearts on the front. They came as a pair and to Emily's delight, she had saved enough money for her to purchase.

"Ned, these cuff links and this locket are perfect. I will buy these for my son and Dee." Emily brought them over to the counter.

Flo came over and joined them. "Those pieces are lovely! I know they will treasure them. Would you like me to gift wrap them for you?"

"Ya, ya, that would be very nice of you Flo. Danke." Emily was definitely happy. "I also want to order some Christmas gifts now, so they're here before. Do I have to pay now?"

"No Mrs. Grant, you have time, so pay when they come in." Ned said.

"Wunderbar! That will give me time to sell more bakery items at the cafe. Let me show you what I want to order. By the way, you can call me Emily please."

When Emily finished paying for the engagement gifts and ordered her Christmas shopping, she stopped by to see Minnie. "Hello Minnie!" Emily greeted her.

"Emily, hello to you. What smells so good?" Minnie asked.

I bring you Kaiserschmarren today. It is fresh from this morning. Just serve with confectioner's sugar. It's best warmed up though, so you might want to keep it on top of the oven. I'll be busy baking every day as I need to pay for my Christmas gifts!" Emily told Minnie.

Sam had already asked Lee to send Matthew over after work. So, he stopped by Gowen Petroleum and asked Henry to have Mark, Luke, and John stop by Billees before going home.

Henry asked how things were going at Billees and Sam told him that they didn't have too many customers during the week, but mostly on the weekends. Henry suggested he talk to Bill or Lee about having more entertainment to draw more customers. "I stop by for dinner, and a few other regulars like Mike and Archie, but you got to have something that'll bring couples to your place during the week. Maybe even a ladies' night out, or a family night, how about a dance night?" Henry suggested.

"We had a nice turnout when Bill and Nathan played their guitars, so I'm sure they'll be doing that more often. Meanwhile, we are busy with parties and come December we will have the pageant. Besides, I've got to first get some help. I don't know who would help, maybe some of the teenagers who pitch in from time to time, but I think it'll have to wait until the first of the year, although I'll keep that in mind." Sam agreed.

Sam went back to Billees to start the stew for dinner time.

Knowing they'd appreciate a bowl of stew, Sam was ready for the guys when they came over. "Listen guys, do any of you play football?"

"What? Why?" they asked surprised.

Sam told them about getting the boys busy after school with physical activity like football and that the boys were pretty enthusiastic about learning the rules of the game. "I need help with the boys training, obstacle courses, throwing and receiving. I can't do it by myself. So, any of you guys want to help?"

The guys were eager as they too enjoyed sports. "That sounds great, but I have to admit after working on the pipeline I'm pretty worn out." Mark said. "I would like to help on a Saturday though."

"I don't think we'll be too busy after Christmas with a hard freeze likely." Luke countered. "It'll be easing up, so I don't think it'll be a problem." John nodded in agreement.

"All right then," Sam started, "let's make a schedule and for the rest of the year you can take turns. I think this might eventually work out that we play other teams from local towns. What do ya say?"

The guys all shook hands and agreed. "Now, what shall we call our team?" asked Matthew.