And the greatest of these is Love

Chapter 13

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It wasn't that the girls couldn't start the bonfire, but they knew if they let the guys build it, that would increase their egos. Yes, although in their young to mid twenty's the Hopefuls were enjoying the time of their lives and learning to play the dating game. Some of the best jokes, stories, and teasing kept the group happy and going strong.

Most of the girls were flirting with the guy she had a liking to and more often than not there were more than one girl interested in the same guy. The guys didn't mind at all, but there were more guys than girls so some guys . They enjoyed all the attention, but some couples were definitely headed in a more serious direction.

Lana Peterson and Trevor Donovan were one such couple. Keeping in touch while Lana was off to nursing school helped to keep the flame between them flickering. Trevor wanted to take Lana out for a romantic Italian dinner for two, but that had to wait for a bit as Lana had already planned the bonfire with Lisa at their horse farm. Whoever wanted to come was welcome.

Bill had given Maggie and Sam the night off to go out on a date, so Bill tended to the customers at Billees with help from Molly. Rosaleen, Katie, Debra, Luke, Matthew, Mark, Gunther, Andy, and John also came to the bonfire. A little later, after their toddlers had gone to bed, Christy with Rick, and Clara with Jesse, came together and joined them too.

The guys tossed a football around and the girls talked until the guys decided to settle down to eat. Sam and Maggie had a large pail of Bill's famous chili that was kept hot close to the fire. They roasted sausages on a stick while Lisa and Lana ran into their house to grab some cool drinks and popcorn to pop.

As the night swallowed up the twilight, the stars popped out shiny and bright in the sky. The birds were settling in for a good night's sleep, except for an occasional owl hooting in the distance. The fire was crackling and sending sparks into the air, but the heat felt good while the night air took over where the sun warmed air left.

Tonight those who played guitar brought theirs with. Lana had sweet talked Trevor to lead the group in song. Most of the group didn't know Trevor had such a good voice as he never sang in front of anyone else before just Lana. As he began to sing, the girls piped in, and little by little the guys did too. Soon all were singing, "Hail, hail, the gang's all here," "If you knew Susie," and laughed through "Yes sir we have no bananas."

A few of the girls started to dance the Charleston to show the guys and now the atmosphere was really joyful as they tried their best to learn the new dance. It turned out to be a fun evening full of possibilities of new love.

At the next Tuesday Bible study the ladies all gathered to discuss the summer Bible Camp. With the theme of Fishers of People, Minnie called the group to order with a prayer. Pastor Joseph had already agreed that the church would be the most practical and best place. He and Fr. Ricardo would help with prayers and lessons too.

With the pond so close to the church they would ask for a donation of a small fishing boat to use as a prop. Several of the husbands had fishing poles and nets to use too. Dottie and Debra would work with any other volunteers in making the costumes for the children. "I'll order the fabric right away today," Dottie assured them.

"I'd be happy to sew," Susanne offered.

"Me too," Cheryl added.

Kathie suggested, "We could ask the children to be the 12 apostles, and a few to be Mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene, and Jesus, of course."

Elizabeth spoke up, "We need someone to write a short play."

"Of course, I will!" Rosemary gushed, "I've been in plenty of plays in my day, so I know first-hand what to do."

Christine asked, "Until Rosemary is done, what songs can we plan?"

"I'll work with Rosemary and help pick out some songs," Sherri offered.

"I'm sure Allie and the other children who are in the school choir or band, will help sing and play their instruments," Dee nodded.

Dawn offered to plan games for the children. "It'll be so much fun, I can't wait."

Ann agreed and told Dawn she'd help her.

"I still don't know about a dance yet," Jane sighed, "I have to put my thinking cap back on."

"Ladies, we must have crafts! The children will want to do stuff with their hands!" Teresa declared, "so, I'll be getting together some projects and supplies."

"Yes! I'll help with that," Frieda said, "I love crafts!"

Carole and Brenda offered to plan the food for each day and make sure parents sent along their contributions for the day they were assigned.

"I'll look through our library books for bible storybooks," Rosaleen suggested.

"I think this is one of the best projects we do for the community! The kids learn and we all work together," Linda shared happily.

"I'm so proud of you all," Minnie agreed.

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Brook and Carl were happy to meet new people. The ladies who came over to learn about weaving baskets when Carl was home to help with the language barrier were very friendly and enjoyed their new craft. Sometimes the husbands would accompany their wives just to get to know Carl more. It turned out to be great for new friendships to develop.

Ned Yost went with Flo on a Sunday afternoon to visit both Carl and Brook. They welcomed the Yosts, offering them a cup of tea and a pulled out chairs for Flo and Ned. "Welcome, please have a seat."

"Thank you, we hope we aren't bothering you, but Flo and I want to offer Brook an opportunity to sell some of her baskets at the Mercantile. We don't have anything like them and they are very useful," Ned spoke first.

Flo added quickly, "The baskets are very decorative too, making them not only useful, but attractive."

"Would you take orders?" Carl asked.

"We could just buy a small quantity of various sizes and shapes for our first order, then see how it goes. Maybe taking orders if we have special requests," Ned replied.

"That's something I'd like to talk to Brook about. It sounds like a good idea to me, but she's the one who has to keep up with the orders. I'll get back to you on this."

As they enjoyed their tea, Brook just smiled and listened. Flo admired several baskets around their home. After a short but pleasant conversation, Flo and Ned left for home. Brook never stopped smiling.

Earlier at church Fiona stopped the Huttons and with her wonderful warm attitude she invited Brook, "I would like to have you come to Nichols and Dimes as my guest for a spa treatment as my welcoming gift to Hope Valley."

Brook looked puzzled and searched Carl's face. Carl spoke to Brook in what a cross between her mother's native tongue and French. When she understood, a big smile came across her face and she asked, "Thank you, when"?

"Just as soon as you can," Fiona answered.

Looking at Carl again, Brook smiled and said, "3 days."

"Wednesday, all right?" Carl asked.

"Perfect. I'll look forward to seeing you then," Fiona smiled.

Elizabeth was tutoring Brook and after each lesson Brook learned several words in English. It was going smoothly and the Huttons were reassured that the move to Hope Valley was exactly the right move. That Monday, the next day, Elizabeth came to Brook's home for her lesson.

"Elizabeth," Brook said slowly, "come with me."

"Where?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hair face," Brook tried to say.

Elizabeth thought for a minute and then it came to her, "Do you mean the salon?"

Brook didn't recognize that word and looked questioningly.

"Does Nichols and Dimes sound like the place you are talking about?"

Brook smiled broadly, "Yes."

"All right, when?" Elizabeth asked.

Brook wrote on paper a sketch of the days of the week and checked off Wednesday showing it to Elizabeth.

"Wednesday, yes, I will go with you," she nodded.

Brook had never been to a salon before and was anxious as she wasn't sure what would happen. When Christy heard that Elizabeth was accompanying Brook she offered to give Elizabeth a treatment while Fiona took care of Brook.

It was a delightful surprise for Brook to be pampered with a facial massage, shampoo, style and manicure.

"Oh, your hair is so beautiful Brook!" Fiona declared as she brushed out Brook's braid and felt her thick, long, black hair.

She wrapped a towel around her hair and then applied a soft, velvety cream around Brook's eyes, nose, cheeks, and chin, allowing her to relax as she massaged. While she sat in the chair letting the cream seep into her skin, Fiona picked up her hands one at a time and soaked it in soapy water, and then grabbed a nail file to smooth out and shape her nails.

Massaging more cream in Brook's hands she felt the smoothness of her skin under the roughness caused by so many baskets she had woven in her days. Brook was so relaxed she almost fell asleep, until Fiona brought a hot towel and gently wiped the cream off of her face and let it lay there for a minute to steam her face.

After that, she was treated to a shampoo and a style. Fiona braided her hair like she was used to, but this time she weaved a piece of satin ribbon in the braid and then wrapped it around the top of her head. Brook watched Christy doing the same thing to Elizabeth and couldn't help but giggle.

Fiona gave her the mirror, Brook saw a beautiful lady staring back at her. She reached up and touched her hair and smiled. Fiona watched her as she looked like a young girl amazed at what she looked and felt like all prettied up. She stood up and gave Fiona a big hug, "Merci!"

And the greatest of these is Love

Page 39

Violet was going door-to-door visiting the families that weren't registered in the Infirmary records, but were registered in the town roster. Dr. Carson and Dr. Faith wanted all medical records in order to know any situations before they had to treat anyone they weren't familiar with, and to make sure anyone who is need of immunizations would be taken care of promptly.

Elsa was surprised to find someone at her door, but when she heard the knock she walked over, "Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Violet Taylor, and I'm working for Drs. Faith and Carson Shepherd," she introduced herself to Elsa Andersson.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Elsa asked.

"May I come in, I'd like to talk to you about your health for our records?" Violet asked politely.

"Oh, pardon me, yes please come on in," Elsa opened the door further.

Violet smiled and stepped inside.

"Please have a seat. I am trying to organize our belongings, so be careful," Elsa warned, "can I get you a cup of tea or coffee?"

"Why tea would be wonderful, thank you," Violet replied. Elsa was a striking woman with her light blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She was definitely of Scandinavian heritage one could tell easily.

When Elsa gave Violet a cup of tea, she also offered some muffins on a lovely painted plate with flowers on it that matched the teacup and saucer. There was also a bouquet of wild flowers in a clear vase in the center of the light pastel yellow linen tablecloth that dressed the table.

Violet became aware of the beautifully constructed wood furniture that was throughout the lower level of Elsa's home, "Thank you," she said as she received the tea. Your home is beautiful!"

"William made all our furniture. He has a steady hand and is a great craftsman. I am so proud of him," Elsa smiled widely.

"William? Is he your husband?"

"Yes, William Andersonn. He is a lumberjack for Coulter Lumber. You can't miss him when you see him. He's very tall and muscular. Handsome too," she giggled.

"I see the woodwork is amazing. How did he learn to make these pieces?" Violet asked.

"Back home in Sweden, William learned from his father. It was a trade passed down through the ages. My father-in-law, Sven, was a big man too and well-known in our town. He and my father, Erik, both were best of friends. Our marriage was sealed with a handshake when William and I were just little tykes. It's a good thing we fell in love," she laughed.

"How did you come to Hope Valley?" Violet was curious.

"We arrived in the States first and settled in Minnesota near our relatives. Some still live there farming. Our parents are there, but we heard the lumber business was booming here in Canada. We miss our family very much, but William says we will have our own family soon," Elsa said as she rubbed her tummy.

"Congratulations Elsa! How far along are you?" Violet asked.

"In my 5th month, thank goodness. I'm finally over my morning sickness, and enjoying this time now."

Violet was excited as she explained to Elsa that she was a doula and would be happy to oversee her pregnancy, "I'm trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth. I'm also finishing up my studies to be a midwife, so I will sooner than later, be trained to deliver babies too."

As the two talked they discovered they were both new to town and close in age. Violet asked about their medical history, and then they just chatted. They hit it off so well, that Violet stayed a little longer than she had planned.

"Oh, you should go by Nichols and Dimes where our Mayor Fiona works. She offers a spa treatment for all the new ladies. Believe me, it is heavenly! I have to go now, but please come by the infirmary for your first visit tomorrow, we need to get your vitals and make sure everything is going well," Violet suggested.

"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow morning," Elsa grinned as she shut the door. She went outside the back door and picked up her kitty, Olaf. "My sweet baby boy, did you see that nice lady who came to visit mommy? She is my new friend. Her name is Violet," she told Olaf as she sat outside and took in the sun and enjoyed her flowers starting to break soil. "I think this summer is going to be fun!"

Violet continued on down the street meeting two more ladies who were home, Brook, who said as best as she could to come back when Carl was home from work, or on a weekend.

The next house she went to she met Marie Landoch. Marie was proud to tell her of Bob who was a foreman for Lee and who probably knew Violet's husband, Will. It was so fascinating for her to see how the towns folk were close being a small but growing community.

"We used to live in Brook Springs before we moved here. That's the town where Nathan and Dee Grant both grew up. Their daughter, Allie became best friends with our daughter Karen. We adopted Karen and she made us feel like a real family. So, we had such a wonderful experience we adopted Benjamin too," Mary told her.

"That's wonderful that you adopted two children. Orphans deserve to be loved in their own home with their own family," Violet shared her appreciation with Mary.

Mary shared the medical records were up to date, and that luckily they haven't had any medical issues to deal with recently. The two ladies talked for a little while and then Violet left waving goodbye and thanking Mary.

As Violet walked happily back into town, she was met by Gunther. "I'm sorry Violet to surprise you, but Dr. Faith told me where you might be. I need you to follow me to the infirmary right now."

Violet's smile was wiped off her face. Thoughts swirled through her head as her heart pounded. What was wrong? Why was she met by Gunther? Was it Jake? as she stumbled into Nathan's automobile.