Hope for Tomorrow
Page 25
As luck would have it, the day was sunny but not too warm and there was a breeze blowing from the west. Rosemary announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, before you leave the baseball game, I'd like to tell you that we have games for all to play thanks to Brenda, Marge, and their helpers from the Chickadees. As suggested, we ask for a penny to play each game which will help fund the library with new books. Any books donated by a family should be clean and in good shape and taken directly to the library. Rosaleen will put your family's name on the inside cover indicating who donated it. She and the members of the Hopefuls will also sponsor our movie night, and tonight will be the first showing of Daddy-Long-Legs!
Rosaleen raised her hand, "Rosemary, please let me share a surprise for all to hear," she requested.
"Of course, dear, go right ahead."
"Speaking on behalf of the library committee, we've secretly come up with a fundraiser that I'm sure you will all enjoy. To our delight, Bed Carmon, Dr. James Scholl, Kevin Townsend, Gary Jenkins, Mike Hickam and Henry Gowen have all consented to be at your service of your choice for a dance or a serenade at our upcoming Thanksgiving Celebration in October. We will be hosting this raffle before the movie begins. So, please come and join in the fun bidding on your man!"
The oohs and ahhs from the crowd begged a question, "Are only single ladies allowed to bid?"
"It's for fun, so anyone can bid, even children or men for that matter!" Rosaleen had the group really roaring with laughter now.
Rosemary looked at the folks and reminded them that Pastor Joseph had constructed a dunk tank for the coaches, for a penny a throw, and a pie-eating contest between Bill, Lee, Ned, Jesse, Joseph, Dan, Bob, Sean, Carson, and their hero, Sargent Grant!
"All right folks, let the games begin!" Rosemary enthusiastically announced.
Brenda and Marge assigned their Chickadee helpers to host a game. Darlene was in charge of the ring toss. Luciana was in charge of the sack race, Maryann was running the wheelbarrow race, Nancy was in charge of the egg on the spoon race, Connie was running the toss the ball in the bucket game, and Teresa was in charge of the water balloon toss. As they were assigned they went to the games and began the fun.
There were so many races going on that the children would ask their parents for several pennies to try to do all of them. Most of the children knew school would be starting soon and noticed the new man in town, Superintendent Malone.
As Elizabeth was walking with little Jack he pointed to Mr. Malone and asked who he was. Elizabeth was surprised to see him out with the town, but also pleased to see him enjoying the fun. She walked up to him to greet him, "Good afternoon Mr. Malone, how nice to see you!"
"Why Mrs. Thornton, what a delightful day the town is having!" he said as he turned to greet her smiling, "Is this your little boy?"
"Yes, this is Jack. Can you say hello to Mr. Malone, Jack?"
"Hello," he said dutifully.
"Are you having fun Jack?" asked Mr. Malone. Jack just nodded as he clung to his mom's hand.
"Mr. Malone, would you like to meet some of the families while you're out?" she offered.
"You read my mind, please do," as he joined her walking in step next to her. Several ladies noticed the three of them walking together and were happy when Elizabeth introduced them to the Superintendent. The children were anxious to play the games, so they just nodded at the introduction and then took off.
"They are so excited and have been waiting for this Festival for quite awhile," Elizabeth explained, "so please don't think they are rude."
"Oh no, quite the contrary, if I were a child, I wouldn't want to be bothered to meet someone when there's games to play," he grinned.
Elizabeth laughed. Mr. Malone noticed the sparkle in his eyes when she laughed.
When they came up to the ring toss, Darlene handed the rings to Elizabeth while Jack handed her a penny. "Darlene, this is the new Superintendent, Mr. Malone."
"Welcome to Hope Valley, I hope you enjoy the day!" Darlene replied.
Elizabeth was taking turns with Jack while Mr. Malone continued to stay by her side. "Did you want to play?" she asked him.
"Sure, why not?" he answered, giving Darlene two pennies. "One for my little buddy too."
Elizabeth noticed Mr. Malone had a warm smile behind his proper exterior. She felt at ease with him. She watched as he interacted with Jack and was touched.
Nearby, Allie, Karen, Robert, Harper, Opal and Emily were running through the sack race, the wheelbarrow race, and the egg-and-spoon races. Elizabeth noticed how attentive Robert was to Allie and smiled quietly to herself. Nathan and Dee noticed too, keeping their eyes on her.
Over at the dunk tank, the boys baseball team was lining up to dunk their coaches. When they went down, they got a good soaking and came up swinging their head to get their hair off their faces while laughing. After 3 dunks, it was the next coach's turn. It was literally good, clean fun and they raised quite a bit of money. The last person that Rosemary insisted participate was Henry.
"This is too good to pass up!" Lee said as he threw the ball, but missed. On the second try, down Henry went. When he came back up he was not smiling, but Lee burst out laughing.
Bill was right behind Lee and knocked him down with his first shot. By this time Henry was definitely not a happy man. The others were really laughing now.
Nathan just couldn't resist, "Henry, are you ready?"
Henry yelled, "Stop, no more," but Nathan didn't stop and down Henry went.
"Okay, I'm done, no more, I'm getting out." Henry warned. Dottie came then and looked at the soaking wet Henry.
"Henry, I haven't tried yet, and it's for my daughter's fundraiser for the library, so just let me try please," she said so sweetly.
"All right, this is it." Henry thought she'll miss it anyways. Dottie threw her first ball and it fell in the water, so did her second, but not her third! Down Henry went again.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 26
Over at the pie-eating contest, just about the whole town gathered as the men who volunteered were all lined up at the tables with towels for bibs and hands behind their backs. The apple and cherry pies were donated by the Chickadees and thanked by Rosemary. The contestants were Bill, Lee, Ned, Jesse, Joseph, Dan, Bob, Sean, Carson and Nathan. After Fr. Ricardo laughingly blessed the pies, he called out 'Start', and they all began in a rush.
The folks had put pennies on who they thought would win. Each man had a cheering section led by their families. It was a boisterous, fun activity that drew a crowd. The little children were trying to sneak up front to get a good view and they laughed heartily seeing their dads and laughing at all the pillars of the community like Pastor Joseph, Judge Bill, and Mountie Nathan. The men's' faces were covered in pie, so whenever they stopped for a second to catch their breaths they looked so silly that everyone laughed. It seemed it was going to be a close call and then Jesse was done first and declared the winner! One by one, the men went over to the water pump and washed off their faces.
"Dad," Allie called to Nathan, "you should give Mom a kiss before you clean up!"
"You're right Allie!" He turned quickly to Dee and gave her a big, long kiss.
Dee tried to push Nathan away laughing. "That was very good apple pie, I must say!"
Nathan threw her his towel to wipe her face. "Glad you liked it."
Rosemary always the event planner, reminded everyone that the dessert contest over at Minnie's would start soon. "Don't forget, if you would like some sweet dessert yourself, go to Minnie's Cafe and bid on your favorite."
Rosemary caught up with Dee at Minnie's Cafe as they walked in to watch the dessert contest. "Dee, I have to ask you just few questions if you don't mind."
"What is it Rosemary?" Dee asked.
"Well, how long do I have to wait to feel the baby move? I've been waiting to feel a kick so I know that this is real!" Rosemary said with slight discouragement.
"I felt some movement in my 3rd month, but it was more like a ripple. In the middle of my 4th month I knew my bun was kicking. All I can say is, you'll know when the time comes. Besides, you wouldn't have been dealing with the morning sickness if you weren't pregnant." Dee reassured Rosemary.
"How are you feeling now Dee?" Rosemary inquired.
"Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm enjoying myself. I'm past the early pregnancy issues, the bun is kicking, and I'm not too big, so it's a good experience," Dee laughed, "Just think we'll be raising our children at the same time!"
"I can't wait!" Rosemary giggled.
James Scholl, Ben Carmon, and Gunther were the official judges and had already enjoyed a taste of the entries and cast their secret votes, but again the town was able to bid on their favorite dessert. No one but the bakers themselves knew who provided what dessert. Emily settled on cherry tarts, Catherine baked up a mean sponge cake, Margaret entered her fudgy brownies, Liz knew her almond cookies were a hit, Susanne baked her hubby's favorite lemon bars, Dawn's tasty treat were peanut butter cookies, Diane had a delicious banana bread recipe from her grandmother she baked, and Linda went all out with a peach cobbler!
It was definitely a hard choice for the judges. It seemed everyone wanted a taste of all of the desserts, but there was not enough to go around. Those that were lucky enough to get a taste, put their bids in. The competition was fierce with all the great bakers, so Emily wanted to make it a bit easier and told the judges she would withdraw her cherry tarts from the competition. The judges still couldn't decide so there was no official winner. The ladies were disappointed at first, but then decided it meant they were all winners!
Minnie had extra desserts for those who didn't get a taste which satisfied those who were hungry from watching the pie-eating contest and now the dessert contest were salivating for something sweet.
It was getting late in the afternoon and time to go home to relax and get ready for the silent movie later. Those that could stay helped take down the games and dunk tank and cleaned up the picnic area. It was such a fun day, that most everyone was cheerful and more than content.
Christy and Rick had only stayed for part of the day as Timi Anne was very tired and needed a nap. Clara had to take little Michael home earlier for a nap too, but Jesse joined her later after the pie-eating contest. He had an upset stomach after eating that pie so fast, that he laid down for a little while.
Some of the children didn't want the day to end, and went down to the pond to fish. Allie was one happy girl sitting next to Robert enjoying herself and talking about the day and the new school year coming up. Robert knew that he would miss not going to school to see his friends and shared with Allie how he was still thinking about pursuing a career as a Mountie. He had grown up with Bill Avery who was his hero as a little boy, and then watched as Jack Thornton won everyone's heart, especially Elizabeth's, and now he admired Nathan Grant. Allie understood why he felt that way. She shared with him how she got to know more Mounties being with her dad at Fort Clay and came to respect them all except for Hargraves.
"Are you going to talk to my dad about joining the Mounties?" she asked.
"I'm ready to, any day now!" Robert looked at Allie intently. "What do you think?"
Allie hesitated, but finally she told him, "Honestly Robert, I'll miss you, but I know being a Mountie is a great profession and I'd be very proud of you."
"You would?" Robert smiled.
"Yes, of course I would Robert, you're one of my best friends."
Robert grinned from ear to ear and grabbed Allie's hand, "You'll always be mine too." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Allie blushed but couldn't help but giggle.
Hope for Tomorrow
Page 27
Bill stopped by outside Nathan's home wanting to talk about the bravery medal Nathan was rewarded with earlier that afternoon.
"Man, it was fun watching Hargraves swallow his pride and present you with that Medal!" Bill was laughing.
"It was sweet seeing him having to eat crow," Nathan agreed. I don't necessarily enjoy watching a fellow Mountie be as uneasy as he was, but he didn't mind coming after me with false assumptions, so with him, I was tickled too!"
"He never looked straight at you, always off to the side," Bill added.
"I don't doubt it. He couldn't look at me straight in the eyes as he knew he was in the wrong all along!" Nathan nodded.
"Anyways, congratulations Nathan!" Bill shook his hand. I'm so glad you're my best man."
"Comes with the territory, Bill. You have my back and I have yours."
Inside, Emily and Archie were sitting in the living room relaxing after a busy afternoon. Emily was dozing off in her rocker and Archie too, on the sofa. Allie was busy fishing still, so Dee put her feet up and rested in the other chair. When Nathan walked inside he decided to join the group and quietly sat with his feet on the stool and laid back in his comfy chair. Even the dogs were settled in.
After about a half-hour Allie came bounding in with Robert, yelling excitedly that they both caught two fish each. Everyone was startled and woke up.
"Sorry, we didn't know you would all be sleeping!" Allie apologized.
"It's all right Allie," Dee answered, "we were tired, but need to get some dinner going before the movie tonight."
"Looks like you brought dinner!" Archie smiled.
"Yes it does, C'mon Dad, let's go out and filet the fish." Nathan suggested.
Dee got up with Emily to prepare some skillet potatoes and corn. Allie set the table while Robert checked with his family if he could eat with the Grants. Soon all six of them were sitting around the table saying grace. Archie felt so comfortable there that it was good for him to come for dinner as often as possible, which they planned. He even pitched in cleaning up so he would feel useful.
Shortly after, they got in Nathan's auto to ride to town since his parents were still tired. They drove over to Billees and Nathan helped his Ma and Dee out. Allie and Robert walked over, still full of energy.
They could smell the popcorn from outside and it smelled so good. The Hopefuls had the tables off to the side, put all the chairs in rows and popped the corn. There was lemonade and coffee provided too.
First though before the showing of the movie, the Hopefuls announced the raffle for a chance to have a dance or a serenade at the Community Thanksgiving dinner, by the bachelor of their choice: Bed Carmon, Dr. James Scholl, Kevin Townsend, Gary Jenkins, Mike Hickam or Henry Gowen! All proceeds would go for further rental of movies for a monthly show.
Each of the men went up one by one on stage to get their bids. The first one up was Ben. Most of the Hopefuls bid on him right away. Ben was embarrassed with all the attention, but glad to earn some money. Luckily, Lana won that bid.
Next up was Dr. Scholl and although no one knew much about him, the ladies knew he was darn good looking and they nicknamed him Dr. McDreamy. Any of them would love to dance or be serenaded by him. Not only did the single ladies bid, but so did Flo, and Molly. Ned and Bill were surprised, but just laughed it off even though they were wondering why. In the end, Fiona was the big spender, and Dr. Scholl seemed pleased.
Kevin Townsend was up and he attracted many a bid too, but in the end, Katie Yost sealed the bid. Mr. Jenkins the bank manager went up next and he was embarrassed, so he declined at the last minute, instead donating his own money toward the cause. Mike Hickam went up and a lot of the ladies bid again on this bachelor. Rosaleen beat out Lisa and won the bid to Gunther's dismay. Last, but not least was Henry Gowen.
"How did Gowen get roped into this?" Lee asked Bill.
"It had to be Dottie, who else?" Bill snickered. Molly nudged Bill to be quiet.
Dottie started the bid and waited for others. Fiona bid, but was passed up by Elizabeth. Dottie didn't like that one bit and bid over Elizabeth. For laughs, Bill bid and everyone burst out laughing, then Lee outbid Bill, but Nathan finally upped the bid and won. Henry shook his head and walked over to Nathan.
"You're the lucky dog!" Henry said as he kissed Nathan's head. That got all the men hooting and howling.
Maggie got on stage and thanked everyone for participating and offered them to get some popcorn and a beverage so they could start the movie. With that everyone got settled in their seats and sat back to watch Daddy-Long-Legs!