Chapter 147 – Easter Sunday Morning part 1
Easter Sunday dawned bright and a little on the cool side. The cadets and a few of the Mounties were up with the sun. Cadet Leader Edwards had asked McGinty where they could go for a run. McGinty had shown him the loop that took them out of town to the mine and then up by the row houses and back to town. So on this cool Easter morning, the cadets, McGinty and Constable Gill all took off for a morning run. On their second time coming back into town they saw a few people moving about. McGinty saw that the lights were on at the cafe, so he stopped there as the rest headed to the jailhouse to get washed up. McGinty knocked on the back door of the cafe.
"Morning." Abigail greeted as she opened the door.
"Morning, Mrs Stanton." McGinty said. "I was wondering if there was coffee and biscuits."
"If you give me about fifteen minutes." Abigail said. "I will have fresh coffee, biscuit and gravy for you and the cadets. Please go get washed up, then come over and I told you to call me Abigail."
"Thank you, Abigail." McGinty said with a smile.
"Any idea how many?" Abigail asked.
"Ten or eleven." McGinty said. "Someone has to stay with the prisoner and I don't know where Bill went, he was gone when we went for a run."
"I will have enough for all of you." Abigail said. "Then you can take something back for your prisoner and send whoever didn't eat over here."
"Thank you." McGinty said. "We will be over in about fifteen to twenty minutes, after we get washed up."
Abigail closed the door and McGinty headed back over to the jail. He went out to the tent and let the cadets know to be out front in fifteen minutes and he would take them to get breakfast. McGinty then went over to the other tent and Corporal Carlson said he would stay with the prisoner while the others ate.
"As soon as I finish." McGinty said. "I will come over and you can go eat."
"Sounds good." Carlson said.
McGinty went back into the jail and found Bill there.
"Where were you this morning?" McGinty asked.
"Checking something." Bill said.
"Okay." McGinty said. "Abigail said she would have breakfast for us in about fifteen minutes."
"I will go help her." Bill said. "Wash up, change and then bring everyone over."
"Carlson is staying here with the prisoner." McGinty said. "As soon as I eat, I was going to switch with him."
"I will come back as soon as I help Abigail." Bill said.
"Sounds good." McGinty said.
Bill headed out and McGinty got ready. It didn't take McGinty long to get washed up and changed into his uniform. As the rest gathered out front, Carlson came in.
"Remember." McGinty said. "No one speaks to him."
"Got it." Carlson said. "Either Sheriff Avery or I will be over as soon as we can."
Carlson nodded. The two men exchanged a salute and McGinty went out to meet the others. As they were walking past the saloon, Jacobs and the Delaneys came out. With the Delaneys was Patty. The cadets snapped to a salute that was returned by Wynn and Jacobs.
"How are you this morning, Joe?" Wynn asked.
"Not bad, Sir." McGinty said. "The cadets, Gill and I went for a run this morning. Patel took guard duty at Jack's, now that the sun is up there is only one person there. If you want two, we can send someone else over, but it should be alright for now. Carlson is with the prisoner."
Wynn nodded.
"Seen Bill this morning?" Wynn asked.
"He is at the cafe helping Mrs Stanton." McGinty said.
Wynn nodded and they headed to the cafe. Bill saw them coming and greeted them at the front door.
"Have a seat." Bill said. "We will have breakfast for you in a bit."
"Wynn." Elizabeth Rose said. "Patty and I are going to go help Abigail."
"Have fun." Wynn said, giving his wife a kiss.
Elizabeth Rose and Patty headed to the kitchen to help. Bill directed the cadets and other Mounties to have seats. He sat McGinty and Wynn closer to the kitchen. He then went and got coffee to serve everyone. Elizabeth Rose and Patty headed to the kitchen to immediately wash their hands and grabbed an apron. When Bill saw that Abigail had help, he headed out to send Carlson over.
"What do you need?" Elizabeth Rose asked.
"Please make sure that everyone has coffee." Abigail said. "I should have biscuits and gravy in a bit."
"I will get the coffee." Patty said.
"Elizabeth." Abigail said. "Can you make another batch of biscuits? Or do you want to stir the gravy."
"I will deal with the gravy." Elizabeth Rose said. "Your biscuits are better than mine."
"Okay." Abigail said. "There should be about three minutes left on the first batch. It should be enough to get everyone started with one. The sausage gravy just needs to be stirred. It should be hot."
"Got it." Elizabeth Rose said.
Just as Abigail put flour down to roll the biscuits out, Becky called from upstairs.
"I got her, Abigail." Wynn said, jumping up.
"Thank you." Abigail said. "She is dressed, but wasn't ready to come down before."
"I got it." Wynn said.
Wynn turned and motioned to McGinty who was quickly on his tail as they went upstairs.
"Everyone has coffee." Patty said. "Bill is heading back to the jail and sending the other Mountie here."
"Good." Elizabeth Rose said. "Bill doesn't usually eat breakfast and he likes his own coffee."
The timer rang and Elizabeth Rose pulled out the pan of biscuits. She started plating them. Patty came over and as Elizabeth Rose put a biscuit on the plate, she covered it with a scoop of sausage gravy. As soon as Patty had three, she took them out.
"There is more, but we are only starting with one so everyone can eat." Patty said.
Elizabeth Rose was quickly behind Patty with three more plates. Patty went back and got the last two as Wynn and McGinty came down with Becky walking down the steps.
"So good to see you up and moving." Elizabeth Rose said.
With three steps to go, McGinty scooped Becky up when she faltered and carried her the rest of the way down.
"Very good, Becky." McGinty said. "You almost made it down the steps. Keep trying. I am sure that you are tired, but how about you come sit with us in the dining room and have some breakfast."
"What did you make?" Becky asked, looking at Abigail.
"The guys are having biscuits and gravy." Abigail said. "Is there something that you want?"
"We usually had pancakes on Sunday." Becky said.
"I can make pancakes." Elizabeth Rose said. "Or do you want French toast?"
"I don't think I have ever had French toast?" Becky said. "What is it?"
"It is like pancakes." Elizabeth Rose said. "You dip bread in an egg and milk mixture and fry it in a pan. My kids loved it."
"I wouldn't mind trying that if you don't mind." Becky said.
"French toast coming right up." Elizabeth Rose said.
"Wynn." Patty said. "Did you want some coffee?"
"Yes, please." Wynn said. "McGinty will take some as well."
Patty poured two more cups of coffee and gave them to Wynn and McGinty who had taken the table closest to the kitchen. Patty then went to check on the other guys eating.
"No wonder Thornton wanted to come back here." Cadet Peters said. "If I had food like this I wouldn't want to leave either."
Wynn smiled when he heard the cadets talking about the food. When Carlson walked in he saw Wynn and McGinty and headed to sit near them. McGinty quickly got up and went to get him some food. Patty shooed him out of the kitchen and brought coffee and a plate for Carlson. Becky wheeled herself out and sat with McGinty and Wynn.
"I bet that you are glad to be back." McGinty said. "I know that Jack was worried about you."
"You know Mountie Jack?" Becky asked.
"Yes." McGinty said. "He is one of my best friends. That is why I don't mind being here helping him while he heals."
"I am glad that he is going to be okay." Becky said.
"We all are." Wynn said. "I hear that you want to be an engineer."
"Yes, Sir." Becky said. "Most people laugh at me since I am a girl."
"I would never." Wynn said. "People told my daughter that she couldn't do a lot of things and she has proved them wrong. You should talk to my son, Dee, sometime."
"Why?" Becky asked.
"He loves math." Wynn said. "He also likes to draw things. He will show you some of his sketches if you ask him."
"Really?" Becky said.
"Yes." Wynn said.
"I like to draw as well." Becky said.
"Maybe you should share your drawings with him." Wynn said.
"Are you sure he won't make fun of them?" Becky asked.
"You let me know if he does." Wynn said. "He knows better than that. He loves art and has been to many art exhibits back east. There was a time that he wanted to be an architect."
"Why didn't he?" Becky asked.
"Something happened to his sister." Wynn said. "He decided that he wanted to protect people who couldn't protect themselves after what happened to his sister."
"He told me a little." Becky said. "He didn't say what happened, but that she struggled and had a hard time, but with a lot of work she proved the doctors wrong."
"That is right." Wynn said. "She was pushed down a steep cliff at Niagara Falls. She was injured badly and we weren't sure if she would wake up and when she did, she didn't really have much feeling in her feet and legs. She injured her back when she fell. The doctors said that she would never walk again or have a normal life. She worked really hard, but she can take a few steps and she walked down the aisle when she got married. Yes, she leaned heavily on me and had to sit when she got to the front, but the point is that she did it."
"Dee also said that she just had a baby." Becky said.
"Yes." Wynn said. "He was born February 16th."
"Wow." Becky said.
Just then Elizabeth Rose came out with three plates of French toast and set them in front of McGinty, Wynn and Becky. Jacobs looked over at what they were eating. He then looked at Elizabeth Rose with a grin.
"I will make you some." Elizabeth Rose said. "Two or three?"
"Two please." Jacobs said.
Wynn shook his head.
"Let's pray." Wynn said.
McGinty and Becky bowed their heads.
"Heavenly Father." Wynn said. "We come to You this day that Your Son rose for us. We come with humble hearts. Please be with us as we spend time with family and friends today. Help those with a heavy heart to know Your comfort today. Bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."
"Amen." McGinty said.
"Amen." Becky said. "That was a nice prayer. I miss that. We didn't pray at the orphanage. I asked to speak to a pastor when I was in the hospital, but the man that came wasn't very nice."
"I am sorry about that." McGinty said.
"Do you have a Bible?" Jacobs asked.
"No." Becky said. "The one I had was taken from me at the orphanage."
"I will see if we can find out what happened to it." Wynn said. "The orphanage was shut down and the children were all moved."
"Mountie Jack said something about that." Becky said.
"Until then." Jacobs said. "I will get you one."
"Thank you." Becky said. "You don't need to do that. You have plenty to do to keep you busy."
"No problem." Jacobs said.
Elizabeth Rose brought out Jacobs French toast and then she pulled up a chair near Becky.
