Ten days had passed since the incident at the school house. Elizabeth no longer wore the sling. She was very busy with the school year ending and her wedding day approaching. Her parents and Julie would be arriving in a few days. Julie was going to stay with her until the day of the wedding while her parents were going to have her old room over the café. Julie would take the small room off the kitchen at the café after the wedding. Julie joked that she could stay at the row house on the wedding night and would be quiet as a mouse but she wasn't serious. As much as she wanted to know everything about the wedding night, even Julie recognized that some things would remain private. That wouldn't stop her from trying to find out how things were.

Elizabeth and Jack were closer than ever. They hardly ever fought, although they did go a couple of rounds over the wedding plans. Each one would apologize to the other the next day. They knew it was just the stress of the wedding; their love for each other grew stronger with each passing day. So did their passion; they were both glad that the wedding was coming up soon. They both were having a hard time leaving each other at night. Not to mention they would often talk about their honeymoon, which they decided would be in Banff. They found it hard to discuss their honeymoon without letting things get out of hand.

Today was the last day of school for the summer. Elizabeth was excited because she knew in another week she would be married, but she was also sad. She wouldn't be seeing her students every day until school resumed in the fall. She had a hard time with the students that day. They were excited that school was coming to a close and that the wedding was a week away. Somehow, Elizabeth managed to quiet them down so she could start her lesson. Her lesson today was going to be about Banff.

At noon, she dismissed the children for lunch. She stayed for a moment at her desk and wrote a quick passage in her journal. She picked up her lunch and made her way outside to eat; it was a gorgeous day and she wanted to eat outside. When she opened the door, Abigail and many of the women along with the children were outside waiting.

"Surprise!" They all yelled.

Elizabeth jumped and let out a squeal. She looked around and noticed food spread out on one of the picnic tables and another table had gifts.

"What is going on here?" She asked, but smiled to let them know she wasn't upset.

Cassandra came forward. "The other children and I wanted to do something special for you on the last day of school. I thought a party at lunch would be fun. I went to Mrs. Stanton for ideas. She thought it would be fun to give you bridal shower. Mrs. Stanton talked to the other ladies in town and they all agreed." Cassandra paused, looking around. "The boys are only here for the food. They are going to play baseball while you open the gifts."

"Oh my goodness! This was so thoughtful of you, all of you. Thank you so much!" Elizabeth felt a tear of joy forming in her eye. "You all mean so much to me."

Emily and Opal came running to her. Each grabbed one of her hands. "Come sit here, Miss. Thatcher. By the gifts. We will get you a plate. What would you like?"

Elizabeth glanced at the table as she was pulled by the girls to her chair. Abigail had made sandwiches, chicken and ham, along with potato salad and assorted cookies. At the end of the table with a yummy looking cake. To drink there was fresh lemonade. "I would love a ham sandwich and some potato salad. Thank you, girls."

Opal went to get the lemonade while Emily fixed her plate. Once Elizabeth had started eating, everyone else joined in. After they finished, it was decided that Elizabeth would open her presents next and save the cake for last.

The girls had made their gifts. Elizabeth received candles, potholders and kitchen towels that were embroidered like Elizabeth had taught them and two aprons. Elizabeth hugged the girls and thanked them for the beautiful gifts. Then the boys were called back to the party so they could also have cake. As they were eating the cake, Elizabeth went to talk with some of ladies. She felt that the children were never calm down enough to have a lesson this afternoon and wondered if the mothers would take issue if she decided to end school early. No one minded.

Elizabeth gathered all the students. "Thank you so much for the wonderful party and the great times we had in the school room this year. My gift back to you is letting your summer vacation start early. Class dismissed!" The children all cheered, then came one by one to give her a hug.

Later that day, after Abigail and Elizabeth carried her gifts back to her house, Elizabeth put them all on her table and stared at them. The party had been so thoughtful. She felt the love she had for her students and that they had for her. Next week, she would marry her best friend. She couldn't wait to start her life with Jack. She was so blessed.

As she putting away her presents, there was a knock at her door and Jack poked his head in. She smiled at him as he closed the distance between them.

Hi, Sweetheart! How are you?" He asked as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I am wonderful, Jack! I was just thinking how blessed I am. The children threw me a wonderful party today, the ladies in town helped out and I have a wonderful fiancé." She gave him a kiss on his lips. As they drew apart, she said. "I can't wait till next Saturday."

"Me either." Jack replied with a twinkle in his eye. "Would you like to have a picnic supper tonight? Things are progressing nicely with our house and I thought we could have the picnic by the pond."

"That sounds wonderful. I would love too. Let me go see what I can put together for the food." She started to head towards her icebox when Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"No need. I picked up something from Abigail's. It's in the buggy I rented for the night." He smiled at her, picked up her shawl from the chair she had draped it on, then took her hand. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" She giggled.

Once they arrived at their land, Jack pulled the horse to a stop and helped Elizabeth down from the buggy. As she looked at the progress of the house while Jack grabbed the basket of food and a blanket. He set down the basket as he saw the awed expression on her face.

"It's really coming along." He said.

"It is. I can't wait until we can move in." She turned to Jack and gave him a quick kiss. "I can already picture us in the living room, sitting in front of the fire and maybe having an indoor picnic."

Jack closed his eyes, picturing what she had just described. "I can see it too. I also see us in a couple of years at Christmas time. A decorated tree with presents and a child or two running around it, anxious to open the gifts."

"That's a lovely thought" She agreed.

He took her hand and pulled her towards the pond. When they reached it, he set the basket down, then spread out the blanket. Once he had helped her down, he opened the basket and began pulling items out of it. There was fried chicken, more of the delicious potato salad, Abigail's biscuits and some of the cake from her party for dessert. They sat around eating and enjoying being alone together. After tomorrow, once her family arrived it would be hard for them to find a few moments for just themselves.