Chapter 23. Day off
Julia decided to spend her day off the way she had originally planned, out in nature. She packed a lunch and took off early for a long walk. She followed the same path she had on her very first walk in Hope Valley. She walked for a long time, climbed the small plateau, and arrived at her meadow. The orange, gold and white flowers were speckled with tall stalks that held perfectly round purple spheres. Julia remembered that he father had once called them Allium. They stuck out above the other wildflowers, tall and round. The colors were vivid and beautiful.
She decided she would take her time and walk through them today, instead of run as she had that first time. She wanted to enjoy every minute. And, when she saw a particularly beautiful or perfectly shaped flower, she picked it and carefully laid it in her basket. She stayed on the path, only straying to pick flowers here and there. When she got to the other side of the field, she decided to go even farther, just to see where the path would take her.
Julia walked a long time through the forest, and finally decided to turn around and head back. When she came back to her field, she found a soft place to put her blanket, and she sat down. She laid down and looked up at the sky. She felt so at peace here and decided she would stay as long as possible.
When Julia finally walked back down to Hope Valley, she felt refreshed. She had taken time to read, pray, and rest in her field. She had a basket full of flowers, so many that she wished she had brought a bigger basket.
As she neared the school, Julia heard the children laughing and playing, and she realized school must be letting out. As she came closer, she saw Cooper, Allie, and Angela starting up the path back to the row houses.
When Allie saw Julia approaching, she asked the others to wait until Julia caught up.
"Hello, Miss Matthews," Allie said with a big smile. Julia thought it was so very nice to see her smiling again.
"Hello, Allie. Hello, Cooper and Angela. How was school today?" Julia asked.
"It was fine, I guess. Nothing very interesting happened." Cooper answered.
"Luke didn't bring any garden snakes?" Julia joked.
"No, Miss Matthews, not today." Allie said, laughing and happy that Julia had remembered that story. "Do you have any frogs in your lunch pail?" Allie teased Julia back.
Julia laughed and hooked her arm through Allie's. "Not today, Allie." They walked on together for a while and then Allie couldn't resist.
"When Miss Matthews was young, she put a big 'ole bullfrog in her lunch pail and brought it to school." Allie told Cooper and Angela, who were walking arm in arm beside them.
Angela laughed, "Really? I can't imagine. What did your teacher say?"
Julia laughed, "Nothing, she fainted!" Cooper and Angela laughed too. And Allie just smiled up at Julia.
"Allie, how's your dad today?" Julia asked.
"He was doing great this morning when I left for school. He's still sore, but doing much better." Allie said.
Julia asked, "Allie, will you please tell him "hi" from me?"
Allie smiled and said, "I'd be happy to."
When they got to the Canfield's, Cooper and Angela said good-bye to Allie. They were about to say good-bye to Julia when she said to them, "I was actually on my way to see your mother when I ran into you all. Is it okay if I come with you both, to see if she's home?" Julia asked Cooper and Angela.
"That'd be fine, Miss Matthews. I'll take Angela in and see if mama's home." Cooper said.
"Thanks, Cooper." Julia replied.
Julia turned toward Allie and said, "Bye, Allie. I was nice seeing you, and it was even better seeing you smile." That brought one more smile to Allie's face, and she gave Julia a hug.
"Bye Miss Matthews. I hope I'll see you again soon." Allie said, as she backed away and continued on her way home. Julia waved at her as she climbed the stairs at the Canfield's.
Cooper held the door open for Julia and said, "Come on in. Mama's in the kitchen."
Julia walked into the warm, cozy house and found Minnie.
"Hello, Julia. What brings you by?" Minnie asked.
"Well, I was hoping we could talk a minute. Am I interrupting anything?" Julia asked.
"Nothing at all, would you like a tea? I was just going to make one." Minnie asked.
Julia answered, "That would be very nice, thank you, Minnie."
Minnie took out some biscuits and set them on a plate, and put them, together with the sugar and honey on the table. When the tea was ready, she brought it over to the table and the two ladies sat down.
Julia smiled, and said, "I came by because I wanted to bring something to your attention. I'm sure Angela would be interested to know as well. When I was recently making a house call at Nathan's, I noticed that Allie's birthday is coming up."
Minnie looked very pleased, "Oh, I'm so glad you told me. With Nathan being hurt, he probably hasn't had the chance to plan anything."
"Exactly what I thought. And, in his condition, he probably won't be able to, either. If anyone else would be interested in organizing something, I'm sure it would be a huge blessing to both of them." Julia surmised.
Minnie was excited, "You just leave that to me. Angela and I will take care everything. And, we can have the party here, so it will be easy for Nathan to participate."
Julia smiled and was so thankful for Minnie's offer. Julia didn't want it to be overlooked, but knew it was not her place. She knew Allie would be so blessed if it were the Canfield's who hosted it. "Her birthday is the 25th of May, so we have a little more than a week."
"Angela and I can even work on invitations tonight, so that she and Cooper can give them out in the morning. We can play games in the field across the way. Do you happen to know her favorite kind of cake?" Minnie asked.
"I don't but I'm sure Angela could find out. That's certainly something you share between bosom buddies." Julia winked as she replied.
"I'm so glad you thought of it. It will be so nice to get people together. Joseph might even be off his crutches by then." Minnie said. "How's Nathan doing?"
"It's my day off today, so I haven't been by since yesterday evening. But, Allie said he's doing very well today. He still has to take it easy for a while though, I hope he obeys." Julia said, wondering if he really would be able to stand it.
"When we heard about the fever, we had all of Hope Valley praying." Minnie said.
Julia ventured, "Well, that's the heart of community, right? To be there for one another and share each other's burdens?"
"It sure is." Minnie agreed.
"And, I can honestly say, I believe the prayers made all the difference." Julia smiled, as she thought of how drastic an improvement he had made. In the middle of the night, she thought they would lose him, and then just a few short hours later, he was awake and flirting with her. It had to be the prayers.
Just then, Joseph came home, walking in on his crutches. He came over and greeted Julia, and then he leaned down and kissed his wife on the cheek. He sat at the table with them, glad to get off his feet.
"How was your day, honey?" Minnie asked. She rose to get him a tea cup, as well.
Joseph answered, "It was very good. I just came from Nathan's and he is doing much better. He even came downstairs."
Minnie shared, "Julia was just telling me that he made a pretty remarkable turn, once all the town was praying."
Joseph smiled at Julia and said, "Yes, he shared with me. That must have been very frightening for you, Julia."
Julia smiled shyly and said, "Yes it was. It's never easy when a patient takes a turn for the worse. But, I'm so thankful that he came out of it. That's all I can ask for, as a nurse. That my patients recover." Julia added, smiling doubtfully, "Now the challenge will be to keep him off his feet."
Minnie laughed and said, "I know exactly what you mean." As she looked over at Joseph. "Good luck. Right, Joseph?"
Joseph smiled and said, "It was so hard to obey doctor's orders. But I didn't do too bad, Minnie. You kept me in line." He paused, "I will be happy to get rid of these crutches, though. They really wear me out."
Julia encouraged him, "It won't be long now. I seem to remember Faith mentioned only a week or two more, the last time we went over your case. So, stay the course, you're almost there."
Julia decided she should head home. "Thank you all so much for your warm welcome, but I think I better head home now. I've been gone all day."
Minnie said, "Thanks so much for stopping by. I'll go up and talk to Angela right away about the party for Allie. And, we'll keep you posted on how the planning is going." Minnie turned around a second later, an idea coming to her. "we might even make it a surprise party. I'll talk to Nathan about it."
"Thank you so much, Minnie. I know she will be touched." Julia replied. "Joseph, it was good to see you."
Minnie walked Julia to the door, and she went on her way, basket in hand.
When Julia arrived back at her apartment, she put all the flowers in water. Julia went to work making a nice bouquet for Faith, tying it up with a pretty white ribbon. She wanted to say thank you for the day off. When she was done, she cracked open the infirmary door, and saw Faith sitting at the desk.
"Hello, Faith." Julia said as she came over and presented her with the bouquet. "I made you a little something, to say thank you."
"Julia, wow, they are so lovely. Where did you get such vibrant colors?" Faith asked.
Julia answered, "I like to walk, and I have a secret place that I really love to visit. It's up the path a good ways, as you go up the mountain. A lovely field of wildflowers. And, today, they were so radiant. I filled my basket full."
Faith smiled, "It sounds like you are feeling better." She paused and looked at her flowers. "Thanks for these, they are lovely!"
"It was my pleasure. I do feel much better, Faith. A day off was just what I needed. Thank you so much for being such a great boss." Julia said, sitting in the chair next to her.
Faith said, "I'm glad you had a good day." She paused and then added, "Our patient had a really good day today too. He's doing much better."
Julia looked at her hands, "I wasn't going to ask." She looked back up at Faith, "but the truth is, I really do want to know. So, thanks for telling me."
"You got a letter today. Ned delivered it in the afternoon." Faith said, handing her the envelope.
"Oh, it's from my Aunt Eleanor!" Julia exclaimed happily. "She's a doctor in New Brunswick, one of the first female doctors in her area."
"Wow, is that where you got your interest in medicine?" Faith asked.
"It is. I spent a summer with her when I was 15. There was a cholera outbreak that year, and she trained me to be her assistant. All summer, we didn't do much else, but see patients. But I loved every minute of it. She's my mother's younger sister, and one of my favorite people. She's young, interesting, fun and very strong." Julia answered.
"She sounds amazing. I hope she'll visit sometime." Faith replied.
"I've been asking her, but it's a long way to travel. And, she's very busy." Julia answered, hopeful. "But, maybe someday."
"I'm meeting Fiona later at the café if you want to come? I have to make one house call first, but we are meeting at 7 p.m., in case you are interested." Faith stated.
"That sounds like fun, I would love to join. It's been too long since we had any girl time." Julia replied. "I'm going to go get freshened up, and then I'll meet you there."
Faith stood to go put her flowers in water, and Julia headed back to her apartment.
That evening over dinner, Julia, Faith, and Fiona had a great time. It was just what Julia needed. She was so blessed to have friends she could count on. They laughed and talked all evening. And, no one mentioned Nathan, which was another thing she needed. He was on her mind enough, without anyone mentioning him. And, today, though it took her making a conscious effort, she had only thought of him a couple times. And, thoughts of him didn't bring up fear or bad memories, but only warm feelings. Warm feelings like before.
When Julia was finally too tired to keep talking, and her sides hurt too much from laughing, she decided to head home. When she got back to her apartment, she looked at the two remaining bouquets she had made. She had brought back so many flowers, she was able to make three bouquets in total. She would keep one for her apartment, but couldn't decide who to give the third one to. She decided to get ready for bed, and perhaps she would feel inspired in the morning.