Chapter Nineteen

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

~Aesop

The next morning, Elizabeth descended the stairs to the kitchen. Abigail looked up and immediately noticed Elizabeth's disheveled hair and her pale complexion. "Elizabeth!" she called. "Are you feeling okay?"

Elizabeth looked at her, opened her mouth to speak but only a squeak came out.

Abigail's mouth opened with realization and shock. "Oh my goodness! You've lost your voice!"

Elizabeth nodded and cleared her throat. She again tried to speak, but wasn't even able to make a squeak this time.

"What are you going to do?" Abigail asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. She tried to tell Abigail something with hand signals, but Abigail just shook her head, not understanding. Elizabeth threw her hands up in frustration and then suddenly remembered her school slate. She hurried to the sitting area and retrieved it, along with some chalk, from her school basket. She quickly wrote a message and turned the slate around so Abigail could it read it.

"I don't think I can teach school like this!" Abigail read aloud and then nodded. "I don't think so either," she agreed.

Elizabeth frowned before erasing the slate so she could write another message. She flipped it around for Abigail to read.

"A substitute teacher?" Abigail read. "I don't know where we'd find one. I guess I could close the café and go over there," she offered.

There was a knock on the back door. Elizabeth was closer to it so she moved toward it. When she opened, she was surprised to see Jack there.

"Elizabeth, we need to talk," he said as soon as she opened the door. "I'm so sorry about..." he stopped short when he suddenly noticed Elizabeth's uncharacteristically unkempt appearance.

She just looked at him. Jack wasn't sure what was wrong but he thought she was so mad at him she wouldn't even speak to him. "You have every right to be angry with me," he told her.

Elizabeth shook her head. Jack was confused, unsure why she wouldn't speak with him.

"Can we please talk?" he asked.

"I don't think that's possible today, Jack," Abigail called from inside.

Elizabeth opened the door wider and motioned for him to enter. He stepped through the opening and questioned Abigail, "What do you mean that's not possible?"

"She's lost her voice, Jack," Abigail told him.

Jack shifted his attention to Elizabeth. She put her hand over her throat and shrugged her shoulders.

"You're sick?" he asked, very concerned. "What happened? You were fine yesterday?"

Elizabeth picked up the slate again and began writing as Abigail told him, "When she came back from the Weavers last night, she just got a cup of tea and headed to bed. She said she felt like she might be coming down with something. I guess she was."

Elizabeth turned the slate over for them to read. "My throat is a little sore. I feel a little tired," Jack read aloud.

"Did you sleep last night?" Abigail asked.

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Me, neither," Jack mumbled.

"You didn't sleep either, Jack?" Abigail asked, concerned, "Could you be coming down with this, too?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I just... just had a lot on my mind." He glanced at Elizabeth and she gave him a questioning look.

Abigail looked between Jack and Elizabeth and she suspected something was not right.

"Who's going to teach school today?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth and Abigail shrugged. "We don't know. I guess I could," Abigail replied.

At that moment, Ann entered the café and saw Jack standing in the kitchen. She walked towards him, calling to him when she was within a few feet, "Good morning, Jack!"

Jack turned around. "Good morning, Ma," he responded. Then, his eyes widened with realization. "Ma!" he exclaimed.

Abigail and Elizabeth, too, had the same realization shortly after Jack did. "Yes, Ann! Of course!" Abigail called. Elizabeth frowned and slowly shook her head from side to side, clearly not liking this idea.

Ann looked at Jack, uneasy. "What?" she asked.

"You're a teacher!" he said loudly and happily.

"Yes, I've been one your entire life, Jack," she concurred, confused.

"No, no!" Jack corrected. "Elizabeth's lost her voice. So we need a substitute teacher."

Ann looked at Elizabeth. "You've lost your voice? But you seemed fine last night," she observed.

Elizabeth lifted her hands upwards in a questioning gesture as Abigail answered for her, "Well, she obviously isn't fine now. Ann, don't you remember that she said she was tired last night? She didn't eat anything."

Ann nodded and looked down at the floor. Elizabeth could swear she saw a little fear in Ann's eyes before she looked away.

"So, Ma, will you substitute for Elizabeth?" Jack asked.

Ann turned back to Jack. "Maybe it would be best if they just closed school for the day and let Elizabeth recuperate," she told them.

"Ma, you've always been such a great teacher," Jack cajoled.

"It would help, Ann," Abigail agreed. "The children wouldn't miss a day's lessons."

Ann looked between Abigail and Jack and realized that she was going to have to do it. She sighed and turned to Elizabeth and asked, "Where's your lesson plan book?"

Surprised and trepidatious, Elizabeth moved to retrieve her school basket from the living room. She brought it back to Ann and showed her the lesson plan book. Ann opened the book and read over the lessons Elizabeth had planned for today. While Ann read, Elizabeth wrote on the slate, "Thank you for helping out." When Ann looked up, Elizabeth showed her the slate.

Ann read it and nodded. Then, Elizabeth erased the slate and wrote again.

Ann read it aloud, "Rachel and Gabe will be great helpers for you. I hope you have a good day." She smiled and looked at Elizabeth. "I'll do my best," she told Elizabeth. "I hope you feel better."

Elizabeth, taken back by Ann's kindness, nodded. She mouthed the words thank you to Ann.

Ann turned to Abigail. "May I have a cup of coffee before I head off to class?"

Abigail smiled. "Absolutely!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to the coffee urn.

Jack took some steps toward Elizabeth. "I'll see if the company doctor is in town," he told her.

"I don't think he is," Abigail told them as she handed Ann the cup of coffee. "She'll have to rest, drink some tea with honey and lemon, and gargle with warm salt water. That should help get her voice back."

Jack nodded and turned back to Elizabeth. "First thing, you need to rest. So, you need to lay down." He reached for her arm. Elizabeth smiled and let him lead her to the couch in the sitting room.

Ann set the coffee cup on the table and rubbed her hands together. She and Abigail watched as Jack guided Elizabeth to raise her feet, pulled the afghan from the back of the couch, and placed it over her legs. Elizabeth made a motion with her hands, as though one hand was writing on the other. Jack smiled and nodded before he returned to the kitchen to get the slate and chalk she'd been using. He brought it to her and she wrote something on it. He knelt down next to her and read the slate when she held it up. Ann and Abigail leaned closer, but couldn't read the slate from the kitchen. Jack nodded and said, "Not really. I was thinking about what you said."

Elizabeth erased the slate with her hand and wrote again, as Ann and Elizabeth continued to watch them from the next room. Jack read the slate and then told her, "I know. We do. But it can wait until your voice is back."

Abigail suddenly became embarrassed that she was eavesdropping and straightened up. She glanced up at the clock and turned to Ann, "Oh my goodness, Ann! You better get going or the students will get to school before you do!"

Ann looked at the clock and her eyes widened. Abigail thought she saw Ann frown before she set down the coffee cup on the table. "Good luck!" Abigail told her.

Ann nodded and scooped up the basket. She gave Abigail a wan smile before she hurried from the café.