Let Me Call You Sweetheart Chapter 4, Page 34

Rosemary and Lee were finishing the last touches in the guest room for Paul. Rosemary had sewed flannel pajamas for him and picked up some clothes at Union City, washed them and put them in his dresser. While she was there she browsed through the book store and bought some home, like "The Magic of Oz, and Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes and a teddy bear. Rosemary did get Paul Lincoln Logs at the Mercantile so she was quite pleased with her shopping.

Lee was all about painting his room a brighter color. He chose blue for the bottom and white on the top of the walls with wainscoting. Then he added a picture of a sailboat and shelves for the books and toys. Both Rosemary and Lee knew that they wanted him to have more toys for Christmas, so it was hard not to give him more this weekend.

They left early on Saturday morning and when they arrived at the orphanage, Paul was already packed and ready to leave back with them to Hope Valley. Lillian told them that he could stay overnight again this weekend, but when Christmas arrived, he could probably stay longer. There would be no school so he was free to stay.

"We were hoping if this weekend works out as well as last weekend, we could get official papers started for his adoption!" Rosemary told Lillian in private.

"Are you sure? Being a lifetime, I want to make positive that this is the best decision for both you and Paul." Lillian advised.

"At least let us fill out the papers and bring them back with Paul when he returns, please?" Rosemary pleaded.

"I'm sure that will be just fine. During this weekend try to imagine how your life will change with Paul in it permanently. He'll be needing lots of attention, he's been neglected and is always on guard not to do something wrong. Are you both up to the challenge? Don't answer me now, just please give it serious thought. If you still want to proceed, bring the papers back filled out and we can get the process going." Lillian explained.

"Oh, we love this little guy already!" Rosemary squealed.

"You can talk to him about him staying for a longer time at Christmas, but for his sake, don't make it sound like it's a definite decision. See what kind of reaction he has when you mention it. We have to take small steps. The actual adoption can take awhile." Lillian cautioned.

"Thank you Lillian," Rosemary hugged her goodbye. "Lee's already in the automobile with Paul so we'll see you tomorrow night."

Rosemary and Lee talked with Paul about the past week as they drove back. When they arrived at their home, Paul was happy. His smile took over his face, he grabbed his bag but his legs couldn't run fast enough to go up the stairs to the door. Lee opened the door and all three of them went inside, except Paul never stopped running and went straight up to his bedroom.

"Oh boy! Oh wow!" Rosemary and Lee laughed as they heard Paul while joining him upstairs. Looking in they saw Paul's eyes light up as he looked around the room. He was taking in everything. The color of the walls, the flannel pajamas Rosemary had sewn for him near his pillow, the teddy bear on the shelves with the Lincoln logs and books. Rosemary stepped in and pulled out one of the dresser drawers without saying a word and held up his new clothes.

"What do you think buddy?" Lee asked as he met Paul's gaze.

"Mr. Lee, is this for real?" Paul asked.

"It sure is, just for you." Lee gushed.

Paul wasted no time running into Lee's arms and then gave Rosemary a hug too.

"This is neat! Thank you!"

"Today is your day, so would you like to just play with the toys and have some lunch?" Lee asked.

"Can you play with me Mr. Lee?"

"Sure thing. How about the Lincoln Logs, we can build whatever you want?" Lee suggested.

"I'll go make us some lunch. Tomorrow is the Children's Christmas pageant and you can see other children then." Rosemary giggled as she looked fondly at the two of them playing together.

Dee was busy sharing with Faith what she saw upstairs above Dottie's shop. "It really was quite interesting, like a wedding frozen in time."

"What did Henry say about it?" Faith inquired.

"That's just it, he didn't want to talk about it to Dottie. I think he was hoping she'd shrug it off, but when she told Rosemary, you can imagine what's going through their heads. When the two of them showed me, I wondered myself the mystery behind the clothes."

"What kind of shape are the clothes in?" Faith was getting more and more curious.

"Very good shape, it's hard to tell if they've been worn or not. Plus, there's boxes that are sealed, a dress form, a mirror, and other items." Dee shared.

"Maybe someone was sewing the dress so that could explain the dress form and the mirror for the woman to look at herself in the dress." Faith guessed.

"I haven't told Nathan, but I'm thinking about it. I just don't want Allie to hear this because then all the children will hear too. Let's just keep it to ourselves please." Dee asked Faith to keep this quiet for their part at least.

"I will, I promise."

"One good thing though, I like the style of the dress very much, so that helped me to decide what I to look for. There are so many decisions and this is one less." Dee smiled.