Chapter Fourteen
"Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life.
Work's important, family's important,
but without excitement, you have nothing.
You're cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what's coming."
~Nicholas Sparks
Elizabeth was working with Sarah Hansen on her handwriting. Her hand clasped the large pencil very awkwardly. She was biting her lower lip, concentrating very hard on forming the letters. However, despite her efforts, the letters were not quite correct. She stopped writing, dropped the pencil, and informed Elizabeth, "My hand hurts!"
Elizabeth had become very familiar with Sarah's complaints and knew that when she complained that her hand hurt, she was actually getting frustrated. "It's okay, Sarah," Elizabeth encouraged. "You can do this! You've improved so much in the last month."
Sarah looked up at Elizabeth. Seeing Elizabeth's reassuring smile, she picked up the pencil and continued writing. She bit her lip again, focusing all of her attention on forming the letters.
Suddenly, the saloon door opened and Jack and his mother walked in, gaining the attention of everyone in the class. "I'm so sorry, Eliz...," he began but stopped. "Miss Thatcher," he corrected. "We're sorry to interrupt. I'm just showing my Mom back to her room."
Elizabeth looked at Jack and noticed that his mother held his arm and he appeared to be leading her. A concerned expression filled Elizabeth's face. "Oh! Are you okay, Mrs. Thornton?"
All the students watched the exchange, curious about the interruption.
"Yes, of course," Ann informed Elizabeth as she quickly stood up straight and released Jack's arm. She took a couple of steps toward the children's tables and looked around the room, checking out the children's activities. "It looks like everyone is busy and working hard. I'm sorry if we've interrupted your lesson."
Elizabeth looked to Jack and noted his worried expression. He reached for his mother's elbow but she stepped away. Elizabeth looked back at Ann and shook her head. "No, it's perfectly alright," she assured Ann. "With our school in the saloon, we've gotten used to people going in and out." She smiled at Ann.
Ann met Elizabeth's gaze and a smile curled at the corner of her mouth. Jack reached for Ann's arm again and said, "We'll just head upstairs and let all of you get back to your lessons." Elizabeth watched as Ann and Jack crossed behind the tables, heading to the stairs.
As Jack and his mother began climbing the stairs, Elizabeth turned back to her students. "Children, back to your assignments." She watched for a moment as the students returned to their work, except for James. He turned to Gabe and started to say something but stopped when Elizabeth cleared her throat. He swiveled his head toward Elizabeth and saw her looking at him. He frowned and returned to his work.
Elizabeth turned her attention back to Sarah and encouraged her to practice her handwriting a little more. Sarah slowly wrote her name, her letters less legible than before. Elizabeth realized Sarah was tiring and they needed to stop their writing practice. "Okay, Sarah, that was good work for today." She smiled warmly and Sarah returned the smile as she let the pencil drop from her hand to the table. "Why don't you head back to your table?" she told Sarah. Sarah nodded and stood up. She walked back to her assigned seat, her gait very unsteady. Elizabeth watched her, worried that Sarah would stumble. However, as usual, Sarah made it back to her seat without mishap.
Elizabeth stood, gathered Sarah's practice materials, and started to address the class when she saw Jack descending the stairs. Their eyes met and she realized that he wanted to have a word with her. "Okay, class," she called, "it's time to finish your reading assignment. Finish answering the questions on your slates and then set them on the front table. We'll be working on our history lesson next."
Jack approached and stopped in front of her with his back to the class.
"Is you Mom okay?" she asked in a whisper.
He shook his head and answered in a low voice. "I'm not sure. She said she was just tired, but..." He didn't finish.
"But you aren't so sure?" Elizabeth completed.
He shook his head. "I don't know, Elizabeth. Something just doesn't seem right with my Mom."
"Is she ill?" she asked.
Jack shrugged. "She says she's not. She just... just doesn't seem like herself."
Elizabeth started to say something but then her eyes wandered from Jack's as she took a deep breath.
"What?" he asked.
She saw that her students were getting fidgety waiting for her. She turned back to Jack. "We do need to talk, Jack, but I better get back to my class. Can we talk after school? I have to go out to the Weavers' house to talk with Wyatt's mother about his college applications. Would you walk with me out there?"
Jack glanced back upstairs toward his mother's room before meeting Elizabeth's gaze. "My Mom and I are supposed to have tea, but she may not be up for that. Even if she is, there should be time to walk with you before tea."
"I really think we need to talk, Jack," Elizabeth entreated him.
Jack noted her seriousness and nodded. "Okay," he agreed. Their eyes met and both smiled. Jack leaned just a bit closer to her and whispered, "I certainly can't pass up a walk with the pretty schoolteacher."
She felt the color rising in her cheeks and gave him a reproving look. The class grew louder, telling her that she needed to get back to them. "Okay," she said removing her hand from his arm. "I'll see you then!" She, then, turned and headed to her desk. "Okay, children, we're going to study the confederation of Canada..."
Jack watched Elizabeth begin the history lesson for a few moments. He glanced up to the second floor of the saloon, remembering his earlier conversation with his mother and her concern about his career. His mouth went into a straight line. Her words had stung him.
"...remember that Queen Victoria granted her assent to the confederation in 1867..." Jack heard Elizabeth continuing her lesson and shifted his eyes to her. She met his gaze and gave him a questioning look. Some of the students, suddenly realizing the constable was still in the room, turned their attention to Jack. He realized he was, again, interrupting Elizabeth's lesson and immediately felt uncomfortable under their stares. He nodded at Elizabeth and walked quickly out of the saloon.
Postscript: Okay... full disclosure here... I am a teacher. In fact, I am a special education teacher. So, this chapter was inevitable at some point in my writing. The Bo Grady storyline is near and dear to my heart. I can see Elizabeth teaching all of the children in Coal Valley, even those with physical disabilities, like Sarah. I hope you enjoyed it!