Jack spent most of his time over the next two weeks working on the school house, but also focused on the row of bungalows. In particular, the one that would be home for him and Elizabeth. Sooner those were ready, the sooner he and Elizabeth would be married.
The sun beat down on him hard as he carefully braced himself on the roof of the school house. There was a great deal of excitement around the structure today. Since it was being built on the land that laid between the mission and the village itself, many people came to sit on the grass and watch the men at work and celebrate. From Jack's perch on the roof he could see the villages dancing and singing.
"What are they celebrating?" Jack asked Leo.
"Life, my friend. Life." Leo said, lifting his face and hands to the sky. "Just wait till your wedding day. The whole village is happy. There will be dancing in the streets and music till late in the night."
"Wow, that sounds like quite a party. Why would there be so much celebration for us?"
"Jack, do you not know?" He laughed. "You and Elizabeth have shared your lives and given so much of yourselves to this place. You show respect to everyone, no matter how poor or who the call God. You are one of us now. It is good, yes?"
"Yeah, I like that."
"It is a blessing, to be sure. It can be hard for a community such as this to be trusting to outsiders. Our history has a great many miss steps."
"True. I'm grateful to you and everyone here."
"They know, and we are all excited to bless you and your marriage. Will your families be attending?"
"Yup. I've gotta say, I'm looking forward to seeing William Thatcher in the middle of an Haitian celebration."
Leo laughed loudly. "Oh we will give him a very big welcome! He will never forget it!"
As the hour continued, the music and dancing did not stop in the village. Under the pavilion, Elizabeth and her students danced about as they sang their memorization songs of arithmetic and spelling.
Over the past couple weeks since she'd returned, life had been very busy. Her class size doubled with the new influx of people to the village, causing her to change her routine up a bit. Now she focused on early ages in the morning, and the older ages after lunch. She never turned away a child, or a parent that wanted to learn, so some stayed for both.
When the school day was over, Elizabeth accompanied Sofia and some of the children from the orphanage to the beach.
While she sat in the sand, a 6 year old darling named, Cassandra, stood behind her braiding her hair.
"Where yesterday's braid go Ms. Thatcher?" the little one said.
"I took it out when I showered, sweetie."
"Ah ok. Maybe I teach you how to do this, ya?"
"I'd love that!"
"Good," she smiled, kissing Elizabeth's cheek. "If you have a daughter some day, you need to know this."
"Very good point, Cass. Who taught you?"
"My mother did not teach me, but Ms. Sophia did and I help with the little ones."
"You're a very big girl now, aren't you?" Cassandra nodded.
Toward the end of the dinner hour, Elizabeth made her way through the mess hall and grabbed two Haitian rice and bean meals to go and went to meet Jack. He'd gone straight from the school house to their future home without much more than a water break and a kiss as he'd passed by earlier.
"Dinner delivery!" She sang as she entered the clearing at the top of the hill. It was all pretty dark except for the glow of Jack's lanter, lighting his workspace.
"Awesome, I could use a break. Will you stay?"
"Of course. I brought my dinner too."
Elizabeth laid out a blanket on the newly built floor of their future home and the two sat. Linking hands, Jack prayed a blessing over their food.
"I love you," he said with a kiss.
"I love you too. It's been wonderful being back here."
"Totally." Jack hungrily ate his dinner, leaving little space for conversation. Once they were finished, Jack moved their togo containers to the side and laid back. Taking Elizabeth in his arms as he went. "So what do you think?"
"The floor's nice," she giggled. "Not sure how that giant hole in the roof will work come the rainy season."
"Maybe it's a skylight. People pay good money for that, you know?"
"Oh of course," she laughed. "It's great Jack, really. When do you think it will be ready?"
"Three weeks."
"Same time left before our wedding, coincidence?"
Jack just smiled.
"I saw Lynn today," Elizabeth continued. "She's so excited to move up here too."
"She picked the bungalow all the way in the front there. Less distance to walk she said."
"Makes sense."
"She may have also said something about being farther away from the newlyweds…"
Elizabeth burst out laughing. "She doesn't hold back much does she?"
"Not even a little." Jack chuckled.
"She did show me some paint colors. I guess Frank said we could pick the colors?"
"He did, yeah! I have some sample colors here." Jack reached over and grabbed the sheet of bright colored swatches. "Very Haitian, don't you think?"
"Ooo, look at the pink one!"
"What? No, no pink house."
"Oh come on! You just said it's all very Haitian."
"Yes, but that's Haitian girlie. I'm a guy. How about the green?"
"Purple?"
"Blue."
"Blues good," she laughed. "This aqua one?"
"Sure," he kissed her head. "I'm gonna add on a porch I think. That way we can sit out at night and watch the stars. Then a little ways out from that I'll make a fire pit."
"Sounds romantic." Elizabeth's speech slowed, she was falling asleep in his arms. "Except… for the outhouse."
Jack laughed. "I'll make that as nice as possible. I promise."
"Okay…" she said with a yawn. Her eyes mere slits.
"Should I walk you back to the dorms?"
"Not yet. I like it here."
"If you're sure."
"I'm sure. I just danced too much today."
"You're a wonderful teacher."
"Thanks."
"Hey, angel?"
"Huh?"
"I think I could be happy here for a good long while. What about you?" She said nothing. "Beth?"
"5 more minutes…" she mumbled.
"Alright, angel," he laughed. "You sleep."
Jack hated the idea of waking his angel, but after an hour, he had to. He woke her up, "Sleeping Beauty" style.
"You're such a goof," she sassed with a yawn.
"You picked me, remember that."
"Oh, I do!"
Jack gathered the tools he needed and tossed them in the wheelbarrow to take back to the mission tool shed. Elizabeth took another look around what would soon be their home before grabbing the blanket and their food boxes.
"Jack, do these little homes have electricity?"
"In theory, yes." Jack said, placing a large sander into the wheelbarrow. "It was added at some point after the original construction date and very primitive from the start. It will be replaced before we or Lynn move in."
"I didn't know you were also an electrician, too."
"I'm not, really. I can do it, but don't worry. That particular aspect of the job will not be done by me."
"Is there an electrician nearby?"
"Yeah. Leo said there's a guy around our age now living in the village here with his family. They traveled here from the city because things were getting too dangerous for them. Especially for his younger sister. She's 14, and I guess some of the local gang members were threatening her."
"That's awful!"
"Yeah…" Jack sighed. "Jet, that's his name, he took matters into his own hands when his parents wouldn't. He's married with a child of his own and now he, his wife, child and sister are here."
"They'll be safe here, won't they?"
"They will. It's just hard on him because he's a trained electrician now living in an impoverished village. That skill isn't really in demand here. Anyway, Leo asked Frank to meet with him and see if his skills could be used here. Frank was of course willing to meet him. Now he'll work alongside Leo and I."
"Jack, that's wonderful!" Making sure they had everything, Elizabeth turned and followed Jack down the hill.
…..
The next morning right after breakfast, Jack and Elizabeth met with Frank in his office for premarital counseling. This was their second visit, with two more remaining. So far, the discussions were rather simple for the young couple. Talks of budgeting and expectations of responsibilities in the home. Both Jack and Elizabeth viewed their marriage as a partnership. No one task would be left to one versus the other, and both agreed that any major decisions would be discussed as a couple.
Today's session was focused on the idea of love languages, ways in which a person shows and accepts love. They were asked to take a survey, but they both already knew the answers. Jack showed his love with acts of service and physical touch. That physical touch was also how he accepted love. For Elizabeth quality time and words of affirmation were huge.
"Now," Frank said. "This next topic is for you two to discuss together without me. It's more of a personal nature."
They nodded together, sitting in front of Frank's desk, hand in hand.
"Everyone has a past." He continued, "Our past relationships can play a very large and sometimes detrimental part in marriage if they are kept secret from one another. Expectations and fears from those past relationships can be like a dent in your armor. Things like, have either of you been engaged before, have you been intimate with someone else?"
Elizabeth felt Jack's hand loosen slowly then drop out of her grasp. Concerned, she glanced up at him but his eyes remained fixed on Frank.
"What just happened?" she thought.
…..
Jack heard very little after Frank's assignment that they needed to talk about their past relationships. When Frank dismissed them, they walked out onto the front porch of the main building, just outside Frank's office. Jack fought off the urge to retreat into himself even further than he felt he had already.
"You alright?" Elizabeth asked, sliding her hand back into his. "You seem quiet all of a sudden."
"Frank's talk today was good."
"Yeah, I thought so too. This assignment should be easy. I think I've told you all about my past. It helps that it wasn't terribly exciting." She laughed.
"About that…." The sound of loud little voices interrupted their conversation. He looked over her shoulder and saw the pavilion filling with children. "Looks like your class is waiting for you."
Elizabeth smiled over at them and gave them a wave. Speaking in French, she told them she would be there soon. "We can finish our conversation first if you want. They'll wait."
"It's okay." He scratched the back of his head. "I should get to work," he said, trying to act natural. "Your school house is almost finished."
"You mean the town's," she smiled, but he did not return one. "Jack? Is something bothering you?"
"No… I mean, maybe. We'll talk later, okay?"
"Sure. Are you thinking about something Frank said?"
"Yeah. We'll talk about it later, okay? He kissed her cheek and walked off to start his day. "I'll see you later, angel."
"Okay. Bye."
Confused, but confident she would know all she needed to later, Elizabeth hurried to her students to begin their morning lessons.
"Carson?" Jack called into the not yet busy clinic. "You here?"
Carson was in the supply room, checking inventory. Hearing his friend's serious tone of voice, he came out. "Hey, Jack, whats up?"
"You got a minute?"
"Sure." He placed his clipboard down.
It was clear to Carson that whatever his friend had on his mind was serious. They said nothing as they walked down the path towards the public beach. There were a dozen or more people there, but everyone there was busy getting started on their days. Fishermen were getting ready to set out and probably wouldn't be back till nightfall. Others were collecting driftwood and other things for use around their homes or projects to sell at the markets.
The two friends sat on the beach, facing the surf.
"Alright, time to have it out. What's got you tied in a knot?" Carson asked. "Counseling not going well with Frank?"
"Do you remember high school?"
"Frankly, I try not to," Carson chuckled. "That feels like ages ago now. I wasn't my best self back then."
"Me either." Jack stared out to the ocean, watching as the waves touched the sand and then retreated back into the sea.
"You had a good reason, man. Your dad had just gotten sick, life was rough. All the pressure about school and future."
"Here's the thing though, I never told Elizabeth the details about that time. Like, how… I was with someone."
Carson's eyes grew wide with shock. "What do you mean you never told her?"
"Is there another way to say it? No, I never told her."
"Um, okay. How big of a deal is this going to be? I mean, she was almost engaged before. Maybe she's…"
"No. She was never with him."
"Okay, well…"
"I screwed up big time."
"Jack, you were a totally different person back then."
"I'm not talking about back then. I'm talking about now. I hadn't meant to not tell her but to be honest, once I got my act together I tried not to dwell on my mistakes from the past. I needed to move forward and since meeting Elizabeth, all I think about is her. I love her so much, its not possible for another person to enter my brain like that."
"Well, tell her that, and fast. You're getting married soon! Don't let it linger any longer."
"Yeah, I know."
Jack did his best to focus on his work throughout the day. Elizabeth must have had a busy day with her students because she didn't come by for lunch. He was disappointed, but also relieved. A lunch break wouldn't have been an appropriate time to have their discussion and he knew she wouldn't want to let it linger any longer than they had to.
The winds picked up around the mountain top village, making roof work dangerous. Jack called it a day early and went to find Elizabeth. Her school day would have been over and if she didn't have a lot of prep work to do, now might be his chance. He needed to get this out there.
"Hey handsome." She walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss. "I have some time to kill before dinner. I was thinking… we could go for a walk and finish our conversation earlier."
"Sure." He took her hand as they walked off on a trail. When it came time to turn towards their special spot, he stopped. "Not there."
"Why?" she asked, stunned.
"I need to share something with you, and that spot down there is full of memories. I don't want you leaving me to be one of them."
"Leaving you? Jack, what on earth is going on? You're not acting like yourself at all."
"Frank said we needed to be up front about everything from our past."
"Yeah… is there something I should know?"
"Yes, I just… I don't know how to say it."
"Okay," she sighed hard. "Lets go walk to the sugarcane fields. The work day is ending so we'll probably be alone."
Elizabeth was right. All those working the field passed them as they walked, calling it done for the day. They walked a bit into the field before sitting in a small clearing between the tall stocks. "Alright. Maybe you should just say it, Like ripping off a bandaid. Can't be too bad, babe."
Jack fell backward onto his back and laid there for a bit before standing up, pacing. "First, I want you to know something. This thing I'm about to tell you, I never purposely kept this from you. I just… it's not something I give thought to, you know?"
"Oh my gosh, Jack!" she huffed, standing as well. "You're scaring me. Please just say it!"
"I've been with someone." She stepped back from him. "It was a long time ago and only once. In high school."
Elizabeth blinked rapidly at him. "No."
"What?"
"You said… you told me you've never been in love before. That's what you said!"
"And that was true. I haven't been. Not till I met you."
"Then why would you…"
"It was high school. I was young, angry and stupid and well… I wasn't the man I am now."
"So why never tell me? Not during any of the deep personal conversations we've had? Why now just a few weeks before our marriage is about to begin?"
"I don't dwell on my past, Elizabeth! Especially during that time of my life. It was right after my Dad had cancer, the first time. I told you about that. How hard it was and how angry I got at God and the world. I didn't want to give God the time of day. I turned my back on him."
"I knew that." She sighed. "So why hide this part?"
"I wasn't trying to hide it."
"Sure seems like it."
"You're mad."
"No… well, maybe. I don't know. I'm confused, that's for sure. Anything else you forgot to tell me? You have a child or criminal record that you've chosen to forget about?"
"Angel, please…."
"Jack, stop talking."
"But…"
"Shush!" She covered his mouth with her hand. "Don't you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The crying. Listen!"
He did. Off in the distance he could what sounded like two voices crying out. He closed his eyes, concentrating on finding the noise. "This way, come on!"
Just like that, their intense conversation was put on hold. Elizabeth ran with Jack, keeping up with his fireman's pace and they rushed out of the sugarcane field and through the tall grass towards the noise. She did her best to not think about the snakes that could be under her feet, hiding in the thick weeds.
"Wait here," Jack said as they reached the steep decline of the hillside. Carefully, he peered over the edge. "I see them! Hey!"
Nearly ten feet below were two young boys, clinging to each other while hanging on for dear life to an uprooted root. Beneath them was what Jack estimated, a thirty foot drop that ended with rocks and waves.
"Hang on!"
One of the boys, the older of the two, yelled something back to Jack in creole. "Pran frè mwen an! Mwen glise! Mwen glise!"
"He said to get his brother, he's slipping!" Elizabeth translated.
"You understood that?" Jack said surprised.
"Of course! I've been learning. You know that!"
"Sorry," Jack sighed. "Come here." He reached out his hand and helped her stand beside him. "I'm climbing down. Lay here on your belly. I'll lift them to you. Can you help them the rest of the way?"
"I'll try. Be careful, Jack!"
"I will. Stay low so they don't pull you over, got it?"
"Got it!" She did exactly as she was told then called down to the boys, "Ede isit la." Help is here.
The descent to the boys was challenging, even for Jack. The soft damp land was eroding away at his touch. That must have been what happened to the boys. They were probably walking along the edge when the ground gave way beneath them.
"Take my hand!" He told the younger of the two. Instead of doing as instructed, he rambled something in creole. "Angel, I need some help here!"
"Non ou?" she asked for his name.
"Peter."
"Peter, bay men ou!"
He hesitated a moment, then gingerly reached out to Jack.
"That a boy," Jack said. "Non… ou?" He asked the older boy, trying to repeat Elizabeth's words.
"Ray."
"Sit tight, Ray." Elizabeth translated and Ray nodded.
Jack was weak and exhausted by the time he and the two boys were back on solid ground. He laid on his back trying to catch his breath while both boys clung to Elizabeth.
"Well done, babe," she said. "When you're ready, we should get them to the clinic and try to track down their parents. They're pretty scratched up."
"I'm ready now." He stood, taking the bigger of the boys from her and carrying him.
A couple of the villagers that they passed on the way ran ahead of them to alert the clinic. One who recognized the boys as being from one of the newly arrived families, ran off to alert the parents. When they reached the mission, Carson and Faith were hurrying towards them.
"I hear we've got some young explorers today?" Faith said. Jack explained the situation and what their primary language was as they carried the children into the clinic, handing them over to be examined.
Knowing that Peter and Ray were in good hands now, Jack and Elizabeth went to the veranda to wait. The silence was heavy between them as they each leaned against opposite sides.
"Can I ask you something?" Elizabeth asked, breaking the stalemate.
"You can ask me anything."
She avoided his gaze as she spoke. "When we were laying in bed together, or the times we've come so close to coming together... did you ever think of her?"
"No. Not once."
"Really?"
"Yes. Elizabeth, I don't want you thinking it was some grand affair. It was a bad choice between two young people. We both regretted it after the fact. We'd been dating for six months, seemed like forever to two 17 year olds."
"How longer were you two together after?"
"We… weren't. Took awhile to even be friends. We just… we never meant for it to happen. We broke each other's trust."
She nodded, but stayed silent until a group of women rushed towards the clinic. It was the boy's mother and family. Lynn had seen them coming and came out to the porch to give them an update.
The mother, whose name was Esther, grabbed Jack and Elizabeth, pulling them into a tearful embrace as she thanked them in her best, but broken English.
Knowing that the boys were safe and with their family, the couple left. Walking side by side, Jack felt as though Elizabeth was a million miles away from him and his heart hurt. Taking a leap of faith, he held out his hand. Much to his relief, she took it without hesitation.
"We make a good team, don't we, sweetheart?" He hoped his comment would ease the tension.
"Yeah, we do."
"I'm so sorry, angel. It kills me that I've hurt you."
"You didn't hurt me, Jack. Took me by surprise, yes. I understand that my vow to stay pure isn't common. It wouldn't be necessarily fair to expect everyone to be the same."
"I think you sticking to your vow is one of the most admirable things I could ever imagine. I had made the same vow years ago, but I messed up. It took me a long time to not let that night, that failure, own how I viewed myself. I wish I could take back my choice to take that step, but I can't."
Cupping her face in his hands, he looked deep into her eyes and said, "This feels new to me. You and me. It's different. Way different. We aren't two stupid teenagers. We're in love. You, Elizabeth Thatcher, are the great love of my life. When we make love on our wedding night, it will be a first for us both. That is the way I see it."
"Well," she said with a sly smile. "On the bright side, I guess one of us will know what they're doing."
"Um, don't hold your breath on that one." He laughed, bashfully. "I was 17, remember? Pretty sure we bonked heads at one point and it was short. Very short."
Elizabeth gently tickling his side. "A little clumsy, were you?"
"Yeah, yeah." He wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her head. "I'm sorry, Angel."
"Jack, I love you. Thank you for telling me about your past. You could have just kept it to yourself and I'd never have known, but you didn't. You know what that shows me?"
"What?"
"You put me first. You put the truth first. I love you, Jack Thornton."
"Oh, Elizabeth," he pulled her hard against his chest. "I can't wait to marry you."
They walked the rest of the way back, arm in arm.
"One more thing," she asked. "What was her name?"
"Does it really matter?
"Not particularly. I just want to know because her name is totally off limits when it comes to naming our kids one day!"
"Yeah, that's fair," they laughed together.
