Chapter Five
"A good teacher is a determined person."
~Gilbert Highet
The next day, Elizabeth was sitting on the bench on the saloon porch, eating her sandwich and watching the children enjoy their lunch break. Most were in the street playing various games, having already finished their lunches. A few were sitting around the edge of the porch, still eating from their lunch pails. As Elizabeth surveyed her students, all of them seemed to be having a good time, with no disagreements taking place. She smiled, saying a prayer that the peace would last.
The sound of the saloon door opening startled her from her meditation. Her head swiveled to her left and she saw Ann exiting the saloon. Her eyes widened with surprise and some trepidation. She'd just met Jack's mother yesterday, and it was only for a few moments. Frankly, she was still very nervous about talking with her. She quickly offered another prayer, this one for the wisdom to say the right thing when she and Ann spoke.
When Ann stepped out on the porch, she looked around at all the children eating and playing. A smile filled her face. As she turned her head further to the right, she spotted Elizabeth sitting on the bench. She took a couple of steps toward her before speaking. "Hello, Elizabeth," she called.
Elizabeth smiled at Ann. For a moment, her mouth felt incredibly dry and she was at a loss for words. Finally, she was able to say, "Hello, Mrs. Thornton! How are you?"
Ann smiled. "I'm well. I'm afraid I slept very late. And I've been moving quite slowly this morning," she explained, seeming to be a bit frustrated with herself. "I never sleep past seven in the morning. And I certainly don't lay about all morning! I guess the trip here tired me more than I realized."
"Well, I'm glad you were able to sleep and get some rest. I hope we didn't bother you this morning when we were doing our lessons," Elizabeth replied.
Ann shook her head. "Oh, no...," she hesitated for a moment and then just repeated, "no."
Both women grew silent, unsure of what to say next. Elizabeth smiled at Ann, then turned to watch her students. Ann ended the awkward silence with a question. "How many students do you have?" she asked as she surveyed the children, again.
"Well, counting the five children that just arrived with the new miners' families, I have 28 students," Elizabeth told her.
Ann nodded, continuing to scan the students. "What ages?" she inquired.
"My youngest is five and the oldest is sixteen," Elizabeth responded.
Ann watched the boys throwing the baseball and then looked over at the girls jumping rope. She smiled, watching the girls giggle and all talk at once. After several moments, she turned back to Elizabeth and asked, "So, how long have you been teaching?"
Elizabeth had taken a bite of her sandwich during the lull in their conversation. It took her a few moments to swallow it and answer. "Actually, this is my first teaching assignment."
Ann looked at her, surprised. "Really?"
Elizabeth nodded and smiled proudly.
"This is quite an assignment for a new teacher," Ann observed.
"I'm enjoying the challenge," Elizabeth told her, enthusiastically, as she looked out at her students. "They are teaching me so much!" Then she looked back at Ann. "I'm sure you've had some challenges during your teaching career."
Ann nodded. "Oh, yes," she agreed. "I've definitely had some challenges in my time." She stared out to the street but didn't seem to be watching the students this time. Instead, she appeared to be remembering some of those challenges from her long teaching career. A few minutes passed before Ann looked back at Elizabeth. She was surprised to see Elizabeth watching her, smiling. Ann felt the corners of her mouth turn up as she, almost involuntarily, returned Elizabeth's smile.
Elizabeth's smile widened, pleased that Ann was smiling and feeling like they had just shared a moment between teachers. That moment did not last long as Ann's smile faded. She looked back out at the students playing in the street and asked, "You have them grouped by their levels?"
"Oh, yes, of course," Elizabeth answered, her own smile fading a bit as she was beginning to think Ann was quizzing her.
Ann opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted by Rosaleen Sullivan, a freckled, red-headed nine year-old. "Miss Thatcher!" she called as she and her best friend Anna Hayford approached the porch.
Elizabeth looked down at the girls standing in the street. "Yes, Rosaleen. What is it?"
"After lunch, are we gonna make some more decorations for the social?" Rosaleen asked, smiling. It was more of a plea than a question.
Elizabeth nodded as she answered, "Yes. We'll spend most of the afternoon finishing those. We have quite a few to do."
Rosaleen and Anna squealed with delight as they ran back to rejoin the other girls playing jump rope. They shared the good news about making decorations all afternoon with their classmates. More squeals and laughter could be heard from the girls.
Elizabeth laughed, delighting in her students' joy, as she turned back to Ann. Ann wasn't laughing, nor was she smiling. "You're making decorations?" she inquired.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "They're for the social tomorrow night."
Ann nodded but didn't say anything.
Elizabeth felt compelled to add, "The town's having a social to welcome two new families who recently moved to Coal Valley. Their fathers came to work in the mine. It was planned rather last-minute as the second family only arrived earlier this week."
"And the students are expected to make decorations for the social?" Ann asked, again.
Elizabeth nodded her head. "Well, they really enjoy making them. They are so creative!"
"Doesn't that take up instructional time?" Ann asked, finally getting to the point of her concern.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, surprised by Ann's question. "Well, we finished our reading and math work for the week this morning. So, no, we're not really missing instructional time," she explained. "I guess we did such a good job decorating for the Miners' Dance earlier this year, they wanted us to make the decorations again for this social."
Ann nodded and stated, "As long as it doesn't affect valuable teaching time."
Elizabeth looked at her, not sure what to say. So, she scanned the street, checking her students, again.
Ann studied Elizabeth a moment before she said, "Jack tells me that you and he are courting now."
Elizabeth's eyes widened with surprise and her mind raced. She didn't look at Ann. She had no clue what to say. She felt her palms sweating and she thought her knees might be turning to jelly.
"He seems very happy and I'm glad for that," Ann continued.
Elizabeth's breathing slowed a bit and her knees seemed a bit more solid. However, she still couldn't quite make eye contact with Ann. She was sure that her cheeks were now as red as the maple leaf in the Canadian flag.
"I'd like us to get to know each other better," Ann said. "Perhaps we could have tea one afternoon next week."
Elizabeth looked up and met Ann's gaze. She smiled and replied, "I'd like that, thank you."
Ann nodded. She, then glanced back to the children as she spoke. "Good," she responded. After a moment she added, "Perhaps we should discuss your plans for the future. You know, what your plans are for your teaching career." She hesitated just a moment before adding, "and other things."
Elizabeth was shocked and had no idea what to say. She just stood there, stunned. At that moment, Jack walked up.
"Hello, ladies!" he said as he stepped onto the porch. Ann looked at Jack and smiled at him. She watched as he stopped next to Elizabeth and reached to gently squeeze her shoulder. "How's your day been so far?" he asked, smiling. Then, his smile melted away as he saw that her face was flushed and she seemed a bit befuddled. "Are you alright?" he asked her, concerned.
When Elizabeth looked up at him, her face lit up. A smile filled her face again and she assured him, "I'm fine! It's been a good day! The children worked very hard this morning. Now, we're about to finish the decorations for the social." She certainly was not going to repeat to him what his mother had just said to her.
Jack's smile widened and his dimples deepened. "Decorations, huh? That'll be nice. It should be a great night!"
"So, you're excited about the decorations?" Elizabeth asked, teasing.
Jack laughed. "Well, I'm sure they'll be very nice," he told her. "But there are other things that I'm looking forward to tomorrow night!" he said as his eyes danced.
Elizabeth laughed and the color in her cheeks deepened again as she asked, "Oh really?"
Jack nodded as he laughed, too.
Ann watched their exchange with interest. Then, she looked around and noticed that some of the students were also watching. Many of the girls were giggling and some of the boys were staring. She turned back to Jack and Elizabeth and cleared her throat.
The sound jarred Jack out of his reverie. "Ahh... How are you, Ma?" he asked, looking at her for the first time since he'd joined them on the porch.
"I'm well," Ann answered. "Are you ready to have lunch?"
Elizabeth looked at Jack, her eyes questioning. He answered her unspoken question, "I'm taking Ma to Abigail's for lunch."
Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "Oh, that will be nice! She was making chicken and dumplings this morning. It smelled so good!"
They were interrupted by a cry from the street and Elizabeth spotted Anna and Rosaleen running toward her. "Miss Thatcher!" Rosaleen cried. "Emily fell and hurt her knee!" Anna added, "I think she hurt it bad!"
Elizabeth shoved the remnants of her sandwich into her lunch pail. "Oh, my goodness!" she told them as she stepped off the porch and headed to Emily, who was limping toward the saloon. She wasn't crying yet, but the tears were filling her eyes. "Let me see," Elizabeth requested as she placed one hand on Emily's shoulder to comfort her and motioned with her other hand for Emily to lift her dress.
Emily raised her dress and revealed a badly skinned knee. Both Rosaleen and Anna gasped. Responding to their reaction, the tears began to slide down Emily's cheeks.
"Oh, now, you did get a scrape, but it's really not that bad," Elizabeth told her, soothingly. "Let's get you inside and we'll get it bandaged. We'll have you feeling better in no time!" She directed Emily toward the saloon doors.
Ann and Jack watched Elizabeth as she led Emily back to the saloon. Ann called to Elizabeth, "We'll let you get back to your students." She nodded to Jack. "Let's head on to lunch." She took Jack's arm.
Jack looked back at Elizabeth. "See you later?" he asked just as she was about to enter the saloon. She glanced back at him and nodded. "Of course," she said around a smile. Then, she opened the saloon door and gently directed Emily inside. "Children," she called back to her class, "lunch is over. Gather your pails and the games and come back inside."
Jack and Ann watched as all the children did as she directed. Ann's eyes revealed that she was pleased to see the students following Elizabeth's instruction. Jack turned to his mother and said, "Okay, let's head to Abigail's. I'm getting hungry!" He led her off the porch and down the street to the café.