Hope for Tomorrow
Chapter 36
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The Sunday before Christmas was very busy as expected. Even though going slower after a hectic and successful Christkindlmarket to break down the tents and booths, the townsfolk wanted to get done as soon as possible so they could finish their Christmas preparations.
Father Ricardo and Pastor Joseph were working side by side together in preparing for the nativity program next weekend. Elizabeth was happy to help Rosemary with practicing the parts of the narrator, the shepherds, wise men, animals, and of course Mary and Joseph. Fiona had shared the James had an idea for the nativity program and he had hoped it would work, but when he told the ladies it was met with great hesitancy. They needed to run his idea past Fr. Ricardo and Pastor Joseph and of course, the other people involved. Promising not to say a word, they kept it to themselves for now.
Meanwhile James and Mr. Landis worked with the school band and the children's choir plus the Moretti family from St. James. It was a fun day going over and picking the songs out for the different parts of the Christmas program and trying out different children for various parts. Smartly, Rosemary had kept the costumes from last year to try on the children this year, so any adjustments could be made. Now they had Benjamin, Paul and new children to include from who had moved here when the men who were in the tent city brought their families to move into the new row houses.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ben and Trevor had pooled together and bought two row house next to each other where they lived together. It was a bit crowded, but at least they were out of Billees. Not that that was so bad, with the food there, but now they had a place that was theirs. They made a schedule of who would cook when, who chopped wood, who cleaned the fireplace, who did the dishes and so on. Often times they would all eat dinner at one place or the other. They were definitely the bachelors who liked to have fun, but were also hard workers. Gunther and Andy were down the road, but close by that they at times could have a loud rowdy party playing cards, that's when Nathan would speak up and suggest they take it to Billees where they could be loud, and play music while shooting darts, or playing cards.
The girls their age; Lisa, Katie, Rosaleen were kept busy going on dates. Lana was coming home from nursing school for the Christmas break. A few of the guys who attended Mass at O'Neill's barn met the older Moretti girls, Maria and Lucia and invited them to the next dance on New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve was the night that the Hopefuls had planned not only a dance but a moving picture too. This way the families could all enjoy the film and the teenagers could stay for a hour longer for the dance and finally at 11, only adults would stay up to welcome the New Year's! Right now though, everyone was focused on Christmas.
Andy and Gunther took Nathan up on calling their families to see if they wanted to come to Hope Valley for Christmas. The men had decided to offer up their beds for their parents and sleep in the living room, but knew it might be too crowded if their siblings came, so they decided to talk to Judge Bill about reserving rooms just in case.
Luckily, Nathan had the same idea too and put in a reservation for both his in-laws and Dorothy and George, Robert and Roberta. They still needed to call Dee's family, but they would come for sure, unless the weather held them back. So, when Nathan returned back home, he saw that his Ma and Dad with Allie were up and sitting at the table eating a hot breakfast.
"Good morning!" he greeted them all with a huge smile.
"Hello there daddy-o!" Allie gave Nathan a new name. "The movies use that word, so now that you have another child, I thought that you'd get a kick out of calling you that!"
Nathan laughed, "You can call me that, just don't call me late for dinner!"
Before Nathan even grabbed another cup of coffee, he bounded up the stairs to check on Dee and his son. He slowed down and softly walked to the door. As he peeked inside, he found Dee sitting in bed, half awake, half asleep nursing a hungry boy. She smiled warmly at him and motioned for him to come in and sit next to her. Nathan beamed as he took in the scene before him treasuring it in his heart.
"How are you feeling honey?" he asked tenderly.
"Sleepy, but good. I think Christopher is going to be awake for a while. Do you want to burp him?" she asked.
"Of course," Nathan enthusiastically held out his arms waiting for his new bundle of joy. As he felt the warmth of the little body over his shoulder, Dee tucked a diaper under Christopher. Nathan held him and kissed his forehead then he stood up and walked around the room gently patting his back until he heard what he was waiting for, the burp! It was loud and could be heard downstairs as laughter came from there.
Dee told Nathan she expected Faith to be over later on to check on her and Christopher. "Ma is going to mass soon; would you like me to bring up a hot plate of pancakes for you?"
"That sounds wonderful! I'm so hungry I could eat a bear!" Dee giggled.
"I'll be right back and I'll eat with you." Nathan said quickly before Dee could reassure him that he didn't have to do that.
Allie went upstairs and peeked in on her brother and gave him and Dee a kiss. "Oma says I need to go to church, so I'll be home right away, I promise."
Lee came shortly to pick up Allie and to drop off Emily and Archie at the O'Neill's barn. When the house quieted down it was just the three of them and Nathan was extremely happy and content. Dee asked Nathan to call her folks and Dorothy to let them know about their son.
"Oh, I didn't forget, I made reservations for them at Billees," he reassured Dee.
"I knew you would my love, you think of everything!"
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Flo was extremely busy answering and transferring calls. She kept up with the pace and wasn't feeling flustered, until she finally had a moment to breath. "Ned, I need to get some fresh air. I'll be outside on the front porch. Let me know if the lines start ringing." Flo grabbed her coat and a warm hat and walked quickly to the Mercantile door.
"Flo, are you, all right?" Ned asked puzzled as he ran to the switchboard.
"Yes, I am. I just need to step away. The phones have been ringing off the wall!"
It was a typical time right before Christmas when quite a few of the folks were either getting a phone call or making one. It seemed everyone was busy making plans for the holiday. Flo was convinced all the people waited for this particular day to finally contact their families. Taking her break helped her to calm down for a few minutes so she went back in.
Ned was relieved so he could return to the shop. Just as Flo was busier than ever, so was he. The townsfolk were ordering gifts and packages were arriving every day. Others were shopping from the merchandise that was already there. As flustered as they were, Flo and Ned knew the holiday season helped them financially through the rest of the year.
Katie was such a huge help for them this year. Her accounting expertise was put to good use when she did the ordering, paid the invoices, and kept supplies stocked. It was a long full day every day for the past few weeks. When the Yosts went home, they were exhausted, but it was part of their service for the town and they were happy to do it, after all the spirit of Christmas was in the air.
Gunther made the first call home to his family. His mother answered the phone, "Gunther, is that you? Ya? Let me call your father to the phone."
Gunther couldn't help it, he was excited since it had been over a year since he saw his folks. His father and mother both listened on the phone together. "Gunther, my boy, hey, it's so good to hear from you. Is everything all right?"
"Yes, dad, I'm fine. I hope you have received my letters." Gunther asked.
"Ya, ya," his mother answered, "We miss you son!"
"Listen, I can't take a lot of time on the telephone because I'm calling from the police office, so I need to make this quick. Sargent Grant informed me that I can't come home, but you can come here to Hope Valley for Christmas. Would you be able to visit?"
"Oh, I don't know Gunther," his father answered, "but we will give it some thought and see what we can do. Your sister and brother would love to see you too. Where would we stay?"
"I have a roommate, Andy, and we live in Sargent Grant's row house where he lived before he built his new house, so if you'd like you could stay in my room or there would be room at Billees a restaurant and hotel in town."
"Oh, that sounds wunderbar!" his mother said cheerfully.
"We'll get back to you tomorrow Gunther," his dad answered. "We love you son."
As soon as Gunther hung up, Andy took his turn calling his family. Sharing with them the possibility of them coming too for Christmas was a bit challenging since they lived farther away. His folks also said they'd have to get back in touch later.
As Elizabeth was hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree with Jack 'helping' she received a surprise call from Tom, her brother-in-law. He was back in Canada to sell tires. He was going to be in the area visiting all the gasoline stations gathering orders. It was a booming business now with most everyone investing in an automobile lately. In fact, he would be coming to Hope Valley to meet with Trevor, so he was anxious to have a chance to visit Elizabeth and meet Jack. He had been wanting to ever since he knew about little Jack as a baby.
Elizabeth invited him to stay with them. Tom was worried what people would think, but as usual Elizabeth didn't seem to mind. She did what she wanted, and let the chips fall where they may. Remembering when she went to Union City with Lucas Bouchard and stayed overnight, she thought then it would be a gossipy scandal spread about town, but no one said anything to her surprise.
She had no romantic interest in Tom nor he her, they were just good friends with Tom being Jack's uncle. Now, if her sister, Julie was in town, she'd be very excited and would hardly be able to wait. But, Elizabeth had already planned to go to Hamilton the time between Christmas and New Year's so they would be glad to have Tom there with them.
Dr. Faith had been over and checked out Dee and Christopher. Both were doing good, so Faith helped Dee downstairs, to have a nice warm bath. She knew she would benefit as it would help heal her sore bottom. She also showed Dee that Christopher seemed to be developing a little jaundice with the yellow in his skin, so after his bath, they moved the bassinet by the window to help it go away.
Assuring Dee and Nathan that the jaundice was really nothing to be worried about, but to nurse often to help flush the jaundice out, Faith left.
Emily agreed, "Both you and Colleen had jaundice and it resolves itself in a short while. It's nothing to fear," she told Nathan.
Dee's folks were ecstatic when they heard the news of baby bun and couldn't wait to visit. "Nathan, this is just wonderful, a son! We love the name too!" Marie said.
Handing the telephone to her husband, Ted thanked Nathan for the honor of having his first grandson named after him. "We can't wait to see you all, especially Christopher Theodore! As soon as we can make arrangements we will be down there."
Marie took the telephone again, "We'll call Dorothy and George. Once we make arrangements, we'll call you back and give you the details. Please tell Dee and Allie we love them and we're so looking forward to being together for Christmas!"
Nathan shared the good news with Dee, Allie, and his folks when he got off the phone.
"I think it's time we cut down a tree, what do you say Allie?" Nathan suggested.
"Oh, that would be fun. Yea, let's go dad!"
"Great idea," Dee added, "I want to take a nap with my little bun."
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The air was cold and had a sting to it when the wind came down off the Rockies. Snow was lightly falling so that promised a white Christmas for Hope Valley. As Nathan and Allie hitched up Newton and Penny to the wagon they headed out to the field that Lee had set apart for the townsfolk to find a tree to cut down and bring home for Christmas. Christmas was just a few days away and they still had to decorate the tree, put out their nativity sets, clean their Christmas tablecloths and towels, hang up their stockings, and wrap presents. Nathan was so grateful for best friends like Bill who offered to step in and help protect the town with Andy and Gunther so Nathan could be home with his newborn baby.
Allie spotted a tree that she thought was perfectly shaped and at closer inspection had Nathan's approval. He got busy cutting down the tree and Allie helped him lift the tree into the wagon. The horse's breath was like puffs of smoke as they trotted back to the house with their hoofs crunching the snow beneath. Penny hadn't pulled a wagon before and with it being new to her she started to balk at first, but when she heard Allie's voice calming her down she trotted right in time next to Newton.
After Allie and Nathan carried the tree inside and secured it in the stand, they went back out and unhitched the wagon, then fed the horses after a good brushing. Allie always gave them a treat of carrots or apples and Nathan pretended he didn't see it but it always brought a smile to his face. Like father like daughter!
Inside, they took off their wet boots and coats. Nathan brushed off the snow from his pants and went upstairs to change into dry ones. Dee was awake from her short nap and was happy to know they had a tree downstairs to decorate for Christmas. "Does it hurt for you to walk the stairs?" Nathan asked as he didn't want Dee to be in any pain.
"Not if I take it slow, but not more than a time or two a day," Dee answered.
"It's too bad we don't have a bathroom upstairs or you could stay up here all day!"
"I don't think I'd like being away from the family and festivities. I'll be fine honey, I won't break," Dee smiled.
"I love you, Mrs. Grant!" Nathan said as he kissed her tenderly. Nathan walked over to the bassinet and was surprised that Christopher was just lying there looking around and sucking his fist. "He's awake Dee!" he said smiling down at Christopher.
"I know, I just changed his diaper. Next time, I'll let you do the honors!" Dee laughed.
"Oh right, I can't wait. I'm going to change my pants and then help Allie and my parents with decorating the tree. Do you want to come downstairs?"
"No, not yet, I'll stay up here and let Christopher look and kick until he's ready to nurse. I want to write in my journal until he gets hungry," Dee smiled.
"Can I bring you some tea or something to eat?"
"No tea for me, Faith told me I can't drink any coffee or tea with caffeine. That's because whatever I drink or eat goes in my milk that Christopher drinks. So, I would like a fresh glass of water and a bowl of Ma's potato soup though please," Dee asked.
"Coming right up!" Nathan smiled as he blew her a kiss.
Emily had picked some berries from a mountain ash tree near their house to add to the popcorn garland that Allie and Archie were stringing together. When Nathan went downstairs, he put some music on their Victrola so naturally they started singing "O Tannebaum!" Emily sang it in German and taught the words to Allie. Her pronunciation was a little off, but her Oma had patience and helped.
Over at the O'Neills, it was Timi Anne's 1st birthday and they were having a party for her. Sean and Mary had decorated the tree with Christy's help. They were so proud of how beautiful it looked. Mary had a box of ornaments brought over from Ireland and some that were made when Rick and Timi Anne's father were little boys. This year they bought a few crocheted snowflakes at the Christkindlmarket to hang on the tree and they looked so delicate and pretty.
The Lipinskis were invited of course to enjoy the party and all the children were officially aunts and uncles of Timi Anne, yet they wore party hats and played with her so much that she was squealing with delight. She was just learning to pull herself up from a crawl so they had to make sure she didn't pull on the tree and go down with it. Her grandpa Sean, had made a little fence around the tree which prevented any accidents but fascinated the youngest Lipinski children as he set up his son's train that went around the tree inside.
The older children helped the younger ones at the dinner table as expected. Anne Lipinski had brought over some of her homemade pierogis and kolaches adding to the stew Mary had made with her Irish soda bread. Not one person went hungry. Then, they lit a candle on her birthday cake and sang to her Happy Birthday! Her little face lit up as bright as the candle. Her daddy, Rick, helped her blow out her candle and she clapped her hands with the rest of the family.
After eating they gave Timi Anne her birthday gifts. She was one happy little girl giggling at her stuffed animals, blocks, and a crocheted doll with it's own bed that Grandpa David had made. The grandmothers also sewed some smaller frocks and bow ribbons to match, for her hair.
Rick sat on the sofa next to Christy and watched as Timi Anne was the center of attention. They were so delighted to see how much loving she was getting. Rick put his arm around Christy and whispered, "When I think about her and you alone in that cabin just a year ago," he stopped to shake his head, "it tears me apart, but now look at us!"
"I know Rick, I'm so happy too," Christy smiled tenderly, "next time I'll be with you!"
Rick sat there and thought for just a second then asked, "Next time?"
Christy just smiled from ear to ear and nodded.