"Sur la grand' côte elle est monté."
"Sur la grand' côte elle est monté."
"Elle a perdu son tablier. Ti ta ti dla dla dla lam!"
"Ti ta ti dla dla dla lam!"
Woodie sighed happily at the sound of Lucy's singing voice.
"Oh how I've missed singing with you Lucy. You have such a pretty voice."
"Oh, Woodie." The axe giggled. "I've missed it too. Now if only we could dance again too."
"I'm sure Wilson will find a way for that to come true soon. We just gotta be patient."
"Right. For now, shall we bring our load back to camp?"
"But of course! We made a bounty today!"
Woodie looked behind him, grinning at the nicely sized pile of logs he had on his cart.
"Then let's show 'em!"
"Aye!"
Woodie gave a holler, swinging Lucy over his shoulder before hurrying back to the camp. He gave a big grin, greeting anyone he saw as he made his way for the log pile. The place was starting to look more like a village with crops being properly organized and structures of houses finally taking form. It was becoming home and Woodie couldn't be happier about it.
He hummed a tune as he started to unload his logs onto the pile. Wasn't long before the cart was empty.
"There."
"Ow…"
"Hm?"
Woodie looked behind him, seeing Charlie by the fire pit. She was sitting down on one of the hay bales, rubbing her feet. He frowned, noticing there were some blisters on them.
Goodness. What she do to herself?
Woodie made his way over to her, sitting next to her.
"You alright, Ms. Charlie?"
"Huh?" Charlie looked up, surprise in her eyes. "Oh, just you Woodie. I'm alright. Just a little sore."
"I think those blisters say otherwise." Woodie pointed to her feet. "What you do?"
Charlie looked back at her feet before sighing a bit.
"I was trying to help with some work around the camp today and… well… my shoes are not exactly suited for heavy work. Nor are my clothes suited for anything for that matter." She lowered her head a bit. "I want to help, I just sadly don't have suitable attire. I try to work with what I have but I either can't do much because my dress gets caught on something or is restrictive or my shoes turn on me because they're not meant for heavy lifting chores or long distance walking." She sighed again. "I just don't want to sit by and do nothing. I want to help… and it takes my mind off things."
Woodie frowned.
"I understand, Ms. Charlie but you should be more careful. You don't want to ruin those feet of yours now."
"I know. I'm just not sure how I can fix it. I know nothing about making new clothes and I really don't want to bother anyone about it."
"Hey, we're all here for each other." Woodie gave a gentle smile. "And I might be able to help you with your clothes problem."
"Oh, might?" Lucy giggled. "Woodie, more like you KNOW you can."
Charlie titled her head.
"How?"
"Well." Woodie rubbed the back of his neck. "I do happen to be pretty good at sewing. So, if you let me, I could make you some new clothes."
Charlie's eyes got wide.
"You… You would do that for me?"
"Of course!" Woodie chuckled. "We're all friends here and I always do all I can to help my friends."
Charlie squealed a little before hugging Woodie.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you, Woodie!"
Woodie smiled, giving her a quick hug.
"You're welcome, Ms. Charlie." He pulled back, looking at her carefully. "Hm… Yes, I think I know something that'll suit ya. I'll just need measurements."
"Easily done." Charlie smiled. "And I'll get you materials too-"
"Nope. I'll handle that too, Ms. Charlie. You rest your feet. Leave the hard work to me."
"Are you sure?"
"I am." Woodie got up, rubbing his hands together. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll handle this."
"Alright then. Thank you again, Woodie."
"Anytime."
oooooo
Woodie waited patiently outside a tent, whittling away at a twig with a knife.
"Everything okay in there, Ms. Charlie?" he asked. "Hope I didn't make them too big."
"No, they're perfect."
Woodie looked up as Charlie came out. He grinned at the look on her face. She was smiling happily as she twirled a bit in the new outfit she had on. It was a loose light purple blouse with a long dark purple skirt. The final touch, work boots made with a soft material so they weren't hard on her feet.
Woodie whistled, giving a thumbs up.
"You look beautiful, Ms. Charlie."
Charlie giggled, giving a bit of a curtsey. "Why thank you, Woodie. These are perfect. I just love them. The fabric breathes and everything feels so much more comfortable." She smiled. "I appreciate it."
"You're very welcome. Doing chores should be much easier now for ya. That skirt is made of a strong material so even it gets caught on something it won't tear easily. You'll be just fine now and you shouldn't get blisters in those boots."
She hugged him quickly.
"You really know your stuff about these kinds of things."
Lucy giggled.
"He should. He helped plenty with some of my dresses."
Woodie grinned, stroking the base of the axe.
"Yep, every last dress she wore I helped do repair work for or made it for her."
Charlie's gaze softened. "Woodie, that's so kind. You're just a big sweetheart."
"He is. That's why I married him." Lucy agreed. "Would never find a kinder man in all of Canada."
Charlie blinked back confusion.
"Wait a minute, you two are married?"
Woodie grinned, taking off his glove to reveal a ring made of wood on his left hand.
"Eh, not traditionally but we are. Let's just say I didn't get the father's approval entirely because he wasn't fond of his daughter running off with some "hick" as he put it."
"So, we found a priest and tied the knot. Small wedding but it's just what we wanted." Lucy sighed happily. "Happiest day of my life."
"You eloped." Charlie giggled a little. "I never would've guessed. I mean I knew you two were close but… I just never thought..."
"Well, we don't really bring it up." Woodie shrugged. "Plus, I always have my gloves on so no one can see the ring. I was so grateful my curse didn't destroy the thing. It took forever to make it smooth to the point of no splinters." Woodie grinned. "Regardless, being married doesn't mean flaunting the fact it happened. Being married means living for one another and sticking it through to the end no matter what comes your way."
"That's so true, Woodie. Being with the one you love. Caring for each other." Charlie smiled. "Anything anyone can hope for, right?"
"I like to think so." Woodie eyed the ring on Charlie's finger. "I imagine that's something you'll be experiencing yourself once William wakes up."
She nodded, a nostalgic look coming to her eyes as she adjusted her ring. "And he's all I want. I don't need a second ring or a fancy dress. I just want my William. See him smile, hear his laugh."
"He's a lucky man to have you waiting on him." Woodie smiled gently. "If you ever need help with anything else clothing related, let me know. Okay?"
Charlie smiled back.
"Of course. Goodness, my sister used to say that all the time. She was a tailor. That dress I was wearing, she made that herself."
"Quite the designer then." Woodie chuckled. "Those materials must've been hard to come by."
"She had her ways." Charlie giggled a bit. "Hope she's doing alright. I haven't seen her in so long."
"Well, who knows." Woodie got up, touching her shoulder. "You might see her again at some point."
"Right. Thanks again Woodie. You're a real friend."
"I do my best." Woodie smiled. "William's jaw is going to drop when he sees you in those duds."
She giggled blushing a little.
"Here's hoping. I just want him awake but no one said I couldn't doll myself up a little for him."
"Exactly."
Charlie nodded, waving before running off.
"I better go help with chores now, see you!"
Woodie waved goodbye before looking to Lucy.
"Well my dear, shall we go out for a walk in the woods?"
"I'd like nothing more!"
"Then let's get to it, my love."