Chapter 12: A Tribute to Emily

Jack spent his first week back in Hope Valley talking to the townspeople, doing his rounds, and exploring the surrounding countryside in order to re-familiarize himself with the town and its inhabitants. A few days after his conversation with Elizabeth, Jack was riding in the direction of the schoolhouse on his mid-morning rounds, when he saw Lee Coulter directing a group of men who were unloading lumber from the back of a cart about fifty yards from the schoolhouse,

"Hello there," Jack called out as he rode near the men. Lee called back, "Good morning, Jack." Jack stopped his horse and asked, "What are you all doing here?" Lee answered, "We're about to start building a gazebo. It is going to be dedicated to a Hope Valley girl who died a few months ago, Emily Montgomery." Lee looked at Jack to see if he had any recollection of Emily, but Jack's face remained impassive. Lee continued, "Elizabeth was the one who suggested we build it near the schoolhouse and dedicate it to Emily – I'm donating the lumber and some of the townsmen are donating their time."

Jack replied, "Very nice," impressed. Jack turned towards the schoolhouse, where he saw excited students running out of the schoolhouse for recess, Elizabeth following behind them smiling. Elizabeth glanced over and nodded at Jack and Lee. Lee waved at Elizabeth with a large, rolled up piece of paper in his hand.

Lee told Jack, "Excuse me, I need to review the floor plans with Elizabeth," and strode over towards Elizabeth, carrying a small folding table under his arm. When Lee reached Elizabeth, he opened up the table and rolled out the paper on top. Jack watched as Lee and Elizabeth bent their heads together over the paper, engrossed in their discussion of the plans for the gazebo. Jack said, "Good day," to the men who were still unloading the lumber from the wagon, and continued on his rounds.

The next morning, Jack rode over to the schoolhouse in work clothes. When Jack saw Lee and the men working on the gazebo, he said, "I'd like to help - is that okay?" Lee smiled and answered, "Yes, absolutely. You may not remember, but you're quite handy with a hammer and saw. You practically built half the schoolhouse yourself!" Jack chuckled and replied, "I did some carpentry work during my retraining at Cape Fullerton, so I'm happy to help out." Jack reviewed Lee's plans and joined in with the other men as they started laying the floor of the gazebo. After a while, Lee left to return to the saw mill.

Later that morning, during the children's recess, Jack looked up from sawing wood boards to see Elizabeth walking towards him carrying a package. Jack put his saw down, wiped the sweat off his brow, and walked over to greet her. "Good morning, Elizabeth," Jack said politely. "Good morning," Elizabeth replied, just as politely.

Elizabeth added, "I see you're helping with the gazebo." Jack replied, "Yes, I'd like to do my share." Elizabeth hesitated, and then asked, "Do you remember Emily at all?" Jack frowned and answered, "Unfortunately, no. But I understand she was a very special little girl." Elizabeth looked at Jack and replied, "Yes, she was – she was an angel, and we all miss her very much."

Elizabeth continued, "I saw you from the schoolhouse this morning and it occurred to me that you might be able to help me with something." Jack, curious, answered, "Yes, of course. Anything to help."

Elizabeth reached inside the package she was holding and pulled out a frame with a photo in it. "This is a photo taken of my students earlier this year, and here is Emily – she's the little girl standing right next to me." Jack wiped his hands on a nearby cloth, and then took the photo in his hands to examine it.

Jack declared, "I must have taken this photo." Elizabeth, surprised, looked at Jack and asked, "How do you know that?" Jack answered, "The Mounties provided me with a camera that can take a wide-lens photo like this – for investigations and other purposes."

Elizabeth, impressed that Jack deduced that, answered, "Yes, you did. It's a lovely picture – I treasure it." Elizabeth stood silently looking at the photo.

After a bit, Jack asked, "And how can I help you?"

Elizabeth came out of her reverie and replied, "Oh yes. Well, I would like to arrange for a plaque to be designed with Emily's face on it that would go on the gazebo. I was looking for someone to help me design it. I tried my hand at drawing Emily's face, but it didn't come out very well."

Elizabeth pulled a piece of paper out from her bag and showed it to Jack, who furrowed his brow as he looked at Elizabeth's drawing. Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and declared, "Okay, I'm not the best artist, I admit that. But, you may or may not remember that you're a very good artist. Do you remember that?"

Jack grinned and replied, "Yes, the doctors actually had me drawing a lot at the hospital to help me remember things."

Elizabeth got excited. "Perfect! Would you try your hand, then, at designing the plaque for Emily? I mean, only if you have time, of course. I thought you could use this photo as a guide. I don't want to impose, though, so I would pay you for your efforts . . . "

Jack interrupted Elizabeth. "No, please, I'd be honored to do this – no payment necessary. I often draw at night to relax. And I'll have the Mounties create the actual plaque – they do things like that all the time. After first checking with you about the design, of course."

Elizabeth smiled, proud of herself for coming up with such a good plan. "Thank you very much – I truly appreciate it. We all do."

Jack smiled in return. "My pleasure." Jack examined the photo again and commented innocently, "You look very beautiful in this photo – great smile."

Elizabeth's eyes went wide, and she stopped smiling as she stuttered, "Uh, thank you. We were all smiling – you told us to smile when you took the photo."

Jack corrected himself, "Yes, you and the children all have great smiles in this photo . . . good call on my part!" Jack joked. Elizabeth looked at Jack dubiously. "Uh, yes. Well, I need to get back to my students. Thank you, again," Elizabeth said carefully. Jack nodded at Elizabeth.

As Elizabeth turned to leave, Jack called out, "I'll try to work on the design for the plaque over the next day or so. Once I'm done with a first draft, I'll come show it to you, and you can let me know what you think. Is that okay?"

Elizabeth replied, "Of course. That sounds like a good plan. Thank you, Consta . . . thank you, Jack," Elizabeth said warmly.

Jack nodded and smiled at Elizabeth in return. Then Jack set the frame aside, balanced a wooden board on the sawhorse, and started sawing again.

Elizabeth watched Jack work for a moment, then quickly turned away, walking purposefully back towards the schoolhouse. Elizabeth whistled through her teeth, thinking to herself, "He may not remember me, but I certainly remember those muscles!"

Little did Elizabeth know that Jack was, at the same time, watching her out of the corner of his eye while he was sawing, admiring the view as she walked away. One of the men called out, "Better watch yourself, Constable, or you'll be losing a finger along with your memory!" The other men guffawed as Jack, abashed, shook his head and returned his focus to his work, thinking to himself, "Do not get involved, Jack . . . do not get involved . . . ."