Chapter 2. Chance Meeting
The next morning, Julia awoke early, a little too early; chalk it up to the excited anticipation of a new day. She decided to get dressed and go for a brisk walk. When she was young, Julia loved the early mornings. When a chill was still in the air, the fog hovered low, and dew glistened on the grass. She walked down Main Street, past the livery, around a beautiful pond, past the church, and followed the path. Julia continued on until she was deep in the woods, and followed the path quite a while, until she came to a clearing. She gasped as she stepped to the edge of a large field full of wildflowers. Julia stood and tried to take in the sight. It was absolutely breathtaking...the flowers seemed to go on forever, the field bathed in colors she could not even describe.
As she stepped into the field, Julia walked faster, and faster still until she was running. The flowers just seemed to beckon her to run, and the air was crisp in her lungs. The fog was higher here and it was all wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Julia ran through the sea of flowers, her fingers almost skimming across the top of them. As she neared the other side of the field, Julia looked up from the flowers for just a moment, to see a tall red figure on horseback riding directly towards her. She had no idea how long he had been there, or how much he had seen, but Julia immediately began to slow her pace. By the time he reached her, Julia was at a walk, panting heavily from the exertion. Her hair was wind-blown, loose and cascading freely…sandy blond curls flowing across her forehead, tumbling across shoulders and down her back. Her cheeks were red hot.
Much to her chagrin, Julia recognized the rider from the encounter on the road the night before, he was the tall handsome Mountie on the tall regal horse.
Nathan had not slept well the night before, as would happen from time to time, though much less frequently, as of late. A broken heart takes time to heal, as he was learning the hard way. It had been nearly 9 months since Elizabeth had told him she wasn't in love with him, and broken his heart. He thought he should have been over it by now, but there were still some days when the "what if's" just wouldn't leave him alone. Nathan wasn't in love with her anymore, that he was sure of. But, it was letting go of the idea of sharing a life with someone, and all of the plans he had made mentally, with her, that was still hard. This was the brokenness of his heart mending at the moment; all the dreams that would never be: sharing a life, building a home, and making a family together. Here he was in the process, and unfortunately, sleep had eluded him, par for the course. When he had finally given up on sleep, he decided to get his morning rounds done early. Which is why he was high atop Newton, and coming back across the field when he saw her.
It took him a solid minute to realize it was even real. She looked so free and so full of life running towards him, almost like a figment of his imagination. Racing over the tall flowers in huge bounds, with her arms extended and fingertips almost skimming over top of them. Her sandy blond hair loose, long, and free trailing behind her, her cheeks red as roses from the cold air, and her blue eyes dancing with contentment. She was a vision that he did not want to interrupt, but then... she saw him. She slowed then, to a walk, and he was suddenly sorry he had interrupted her.
Once he was upon her, Nathan couldn't get his voice to work. Finally, he managed a simple, quiet, "Hi." Then, a second later, his Mountie instincts came back to him, and he dismounted in front of her. "Are you okay, ma'am?"
Julia was out of breath, but managed to say, with dimples, "Yes, yes, I am quite alright." She gestured back to the field of wildflowers, "I just couldn't resist. They are so beautiful. They seemed to beckon me to run." Julia told him honestly and simply, with a wide sheepish grin, unable to hide her embarrassment from being caught. And then, she tried a little joke, "I hope that's not a crime in Hope Valley?"
Nathan laughed out loud, much to her relief. And, she laughed, too. Nathan very amusedly told her, "No, no, there's no law in Hope Valley against running through flowers." That gave them both another reason to laugh, as they realized just how silly that sounded. The laugh broke the tension and seemed to lighten her embarrassment. Though, Julia was still as red as his serge. When she finally caught her breath, but she could not seem to get rid of the huge smile spread across her face.
Nathan honestly couldn't remember the last time he had laughed, and he remembered just how good it felt to laugh.
She put her hand out then, and introduced herself, "I'm Julia Matthews, Hope Valley's new nurse."
Nathan took her hand and shook it gently, "I'm Constable Nathan Grant, Royal North-West Mounted Police."
"Nice to meet you, Constable." she said.
"Have long have you been in town?" he asked.
Julia replied, "I just got in yesterday. I start my post at the infirmary today." She had no idea what time it was. "In fact, I should probably start heading back now."
"Well, I won't keep you. I'm sure we'll see each other around town. My office is just across the street from yours. It was nice to meet you, Miss Matthews." Nathan replied.
"It was nice to meet you too, Constable Grant." she answered. In one fell swoop he was back up on his horse and on his way across the field back towards Hope Valley.
Julia followed the same way, unable to take her eyes off his strong, tall, red frame until he was out of sight. She wanted to run back across the field, but thought better of it, in case he was watching her from under the trees on the other side. Julia walked briskly instead.
When Julia finally arrived back at her apartment, she took a quick bath and got dressed, excited about her first day in her new position.
As soon as she was ready, Julia went to the cafe to get a coffee and something to eat. She spotted Clara on her way in, working behind the counter. They chatted a little, and then she ordered a coffee and took one of the delightful muffins on display. Julia was back in the infirmary well before 8 a.m., to put on her nurse's apron and pin her hair up properly.
Julia's first day went by very quickly. Faith explained and demonstrated most of the morning. Then she left after lunch, and the afternoon went by fairly slow. Julia busied herself with moving over a few of her medical books and journals to the infirmary shelves. Then she reviewed their simple filing system, to be sure she wouldn't make any mistakes.
Later that evening, on her way over to the cafe, Julia saw the constable's horse tied up outside the Mountie office. He was such a regal horse. Julia approached slowly, and as she did, she saw his name engraved on the bridle. Newton. "Hello, Newton," she said, holding out her hand.
Newton nuzzled his nose into her hand immediately, so she stepped closer and petted him firmly on the side of his neck. He warmed to her quickly and so, Julia spoke to him some more. She told him in a soothing voice, "You are such a beautiful boy." Julia lingered a few minutes longer, just petting him. Then, she finally said goodbye and headed into the cafe to meet Fiona and Faith.
At the same time, Nathan, who had been in a long meeting with Bill in the Judge's office, rose to stretch his long legs. He looked out Bill's front window, and down through the middle of town, as was his habit. But something curious caught his eye. There, with Newton, was Julia Matthews, the new nurse. And she was petting him. And Newton, a horse that normally didn't take to people easily, was completely taken with her. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand.
Nathan couldn't believe it. And without even realizing it, a low quiet "traitor", slipped out of his mouth, under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Bill asked, not looking up from his papers.
Nathan was pulled from his pondering, and answered, "Never mind," with a deep chuckle and a shake of his head.
When Julia walked into the café, she spotted Fiona and Faith right away. As she walked over to their table, a very beautiful blond lady, with an exceptionally bright smile stood and intercepted her.
"Are you Miss Matthews, our new nurse?" the blond asked.
"Yes, I am. Julia Matthews, it's nice to meet you." Julia said, extending her hand.
The blond lady just laughed, waved her hand, and pulled Julia into a warm embrace. Julia smiled, and in that moment, was sure she had never met anyone so vivacious. When the blond pulled back from the hug, she looked Julia in the eye, and said, "I'm Rosemary Coulter. Welcome to Hope Valley."
"Mrs. Coulter, you are one who left me the beautiful gift basket, and the sweet note." Julia stated.
"Indeed, I am. I like to think of myself as part of the welcoming committee, though that's never been officially established." Rosemary said, with a huge broadway smile and a little wink. Julia realized it was a little joke, but a very cute one. "But please, call me Rosemary. I think you've already met my husband." Rosemary said, as she led Julia over to their table.
"Yes, he so kindly helped me with my luggage yesterday. Hello again, Mr. Coulter." Julia said.
He stood and said, "Please, call me Lee."
"And please, both of you, call me Julia." she responded. Julia could already tell that she was really going to like them. They were warm and kind, and absolutely adorable together. She hoped to get to know them better.
Before leaving them, Julia said to Rosemary, "Thank you so much for the welcome basket, it was so perfect, and made me feel very welcome, indeed. I can tell I'm going to like it here."
"Well, I'm glad. We are happy you are here, and look forward to getting to know you better." Rosemary replied, still holding that warm broadway smile.
Julia looked at both of them and said, "Well. Enjoy your dinner, and I'll see you around town." She excused herself and returned to Faith and Fiona.
Over dinner, Julia thought herself lucky to have these two kind and funny women to spend the evening with. It was just what she needed to get settled in, and she hoped it would become a regular thing. She remembered many lonely evenings when she had first moved west to Calgary. It had taken her a long time to make any friends. But, here in Hope Valley, she hadn't any time to get lonely.
Fiona discussed town gossip, and Faith, in her good-natured way, tried to keep Fiona in line. Clara was working so they talked to her a bit while they placed their order, and in between her duties. And, at one point while the three ladies chatted, Clara brought over a young man.
Clara presented him, for an introduction. "Julia, I'd like to introduce you to my husband, Jesse Flynn."
Julia stood, "It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Flynn. I'm Julia Matthews, but please call me Julia."
"And please, call me Jesse. We are glad you decided to come to Hope Valley. It's a really nice town, we hope you will like it." He kindly replied.
"I've already met so many nice people, and the infirmary seems like it will be a great place to work." Julia stated.
"Well, I'll let you ladies get back to your chatting," Jesse stated with a shy smile. "It was nice to meet you." He said towards Julia.
When Julia sat back down, Bill came out from the back to say hello, carrying their plates. He set the plates down in front of each of them, and asked Julia how her first day had gone. They chatted a little while, and eventually, Bill excused himself back to the stove.
As they began to eat, Fiona asked, "Julia, what made you decide to move here from the big city?"
"Well, the big city is so fast-paced. And even though, as a nurse, I was helping people everyday, it never felt like I was making an impact. There was always more to do, and I never got any follow up on any of my patients, after they left my ward. One patient left, the next one rolled in. One patient after another, and one day after the next. I realized that if I wanted to make a real difference, I should use my skills in a town that really needs me, where what I do could really matter to people. In a small town, more like the small town back East, where I grew up." Julia shared.
"You know, Fiona came here from San Fransisco. She knows all about the big city." Faith stated.
"What brought you to Hope Valley, Fiona?" Julia asked.
"Same as you, I was tired of big city life. Same thing, everyday, over and over. I had just broken an engagement, and I needed a change of scenery. I was working for the telephone company back then, and they issued a search for operators willing to move to small towns, to install new telephones and train others to operate them. I applied for this new position, and got it. I installed telephone systems in several little towns, before coming to Hope Valley. But, while I was here, I fell in love with this sweet little community. When the telephone company wanted to send me on to the next town, I hung up my hat as telephone operator, and decided to stay." Fiona shared.
"What about you, Faith?" Julia inquired.
"A bit the same story as you, Julia. I wanted to make a difference and knew about the need in smaller towns. I was only a nurse back then, but the need was great for anyone with medical training. I also fell in love with Hope Valley when I first came. I missed it so much when I was in Chicago for medical school. I didn't mention it before, Julia, because it's hard for me to talk about. But, I was in a relationship with a doctor here in Hope Valley, before becoming one myself. His name is Carson and he's currently in Baltimore for a surgical fellowship. He's been there almost a year now, and we still write back and forth. But, I don't know the future of our relationship. I was in Chicago for medical school, and then he left for Baltimore for a fellowship. It seems like we have spent more time apart than together. I have no idea what the future holds for us, as a couple, but it's hard to move on." Fiona put her arm around Faith then, and Julia could see the tears in her eyes.
"Faith, I'm so happy to be working with you. I can tell it's going to be a great working relationship. I might not be as good looking as your doctor, Carson, but I do hope that we can become great friends." Julia said, smiling.
Faith and Fiona both laughed at that last comment, and that seemed to lighten the mood. Just as Julia had hoped.
"I hope we can become friends too," Faith smiled and nodded.
Clara came back and asked about dessert, recommending the peach cobbler. They all three said yes, and the conversation continued.
The trio talked on for quite a while. When they were all done, they walked out together.
On the way to the infirmary, they ran into a couple with a very cute blond boy, coming from the Saloon.
Faith stopped to introduced them. "Julia, I would like to introduce you to Elizabeth Thornton, her son little Jack, and Lucas Bouchard." They all three smiled kindly at her.
Faith continued the introductions, "Elizabeth, Lucas, and little Jack, this is Julia Matthews, our new nurse. She'll be working with me in the infirmary." Faith turned back to Julia. "Elizabeth is our school teacher, and Lucas owns the Saloon and also part of Gowen Petroleum." Faith said, as she pointed down the street towards the office.
Julia shook both of their hands. "It's very nice to meet you." And, they returned the greeting.
Julia bent to shake Little Jack's hand too, and noticed that he was holding a hand-made wooden toy carved in the shape of a Mountie, complete with a bright red serge.
"Your little boy is so cute," Julia said, looking up at Lucas. "How old is he?"
Lucas suddenly looked uncomfortable, but smiled and said, "Yes, he is cute. Thank you. He's..."
Lucas squinted and looked over at Elizabeth, who chimed in, "He's three and a half, now."
By their discomfort, Julia realized she must have said something wrong. But, Elizabeth wasn't thrown off, she just smiled and said, "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Matthews. Welcome to Hope Valley. I hope you will grow to love it as we all do. I look forward to getting to know you."
And, they continued on their way. The lovely little boy held his mother's hand as they walked away.
When they were out of earshot, Fiona explained that Elizabeth had been widowed almost 4 years ago, and little Jack was born after his father died. She and Lucas were not married, but courting, which accounted for his discomfort when Julia had assumed Jack was his son.
Julia said good-bye to her friends and entered the infirmary, another amazing day behind her. As she lit an oil lamp, she wondered why the adorable little boy's wooden toy had brought to her mind the handsome Mountie on the regal horse. She decidedly shook it off, and crossed over to her apartment with a deep sigh, tired after a full day of new possibilities.