The Dreams We Share

Chapter 9 Anticipation

Allie had spent much of her Saturday with Emilia, Constance, and their mother shopping in town while Lucas and James spent time at the men's club discussing strategy. It was summer, and the growing season was well underway. There would be several very busy months implementing the first steps of the exchange. They hoped that by fall the farmers would be seeing the benefits. One of the initial challenges was to determine what crops, and in which locations, there was either a deficit or an excess. Both Marcus and James' assistant Jules oversaw the large map of Alberta that had been placed in one of the small conference rooms. An intricate network of crop movements was forming on the map. They were the point persons, but they had help from two others to diagram and coordinate with targeted farms for movement of goods. The idea was to gain the trust of the farmers to distribute throughout the summer and fall as opposed to waiting until the end. This was true for crops with a longer growing season; others like corn, were harvested in a shorter period and would see a spike in distribution. It took a tremendous amount of coordination until the plan had been exercised and farmers took much of the responsibility over.

On Sunday it was time for Allie to return home. He drove her to the train station and handed her bag to the porter.

"Well, I have enjoyed your visit very much, Allie," Lucas told her.

"Oh, Lucas, I cannot thank you enough for letting me stay with you and for arranging such a wonderful time! I am glad I got to meet some people while I was here. I am excited to hear from the school, hopefully with good news of course," Allie said as she leaned in for a hug.

"You tell me as soon as you know, okay," Lucas ordered to which she nodded vigorously.

"The minute I hear, I will call you," she promised.

"Would you mind calling me this evening just to let me know you are home safely?" he asked.

"Of course, I will call as soon as I am back home."

The train whistle sounded, and they heard "all aboard!" being called. Lucas helped Allie up the steps, and she took her seat to wave at him through the window until she was out of sight. He was going to miss her cheery presence in the house. He realized that his life had gotten quite dull except for his work which he found extremely challenging and gratifying.

"I need a more active social life," he said to himself. This led his mind to wander back to Miss MacKenna. He normally was not very enthusiastic about the official social events at the Ministries that he had to attend. He was always courteous and gracious, but while dancing as was expected, he tended to stick to the wives of his colleagues. He just did not want to mislead any young available women while his heart was not in it. But suddenly she had turned that all around. He was looking forward to the evening with great anticipation. In fact, Saturday could not come soon enough.

That night Allie called him as promised. She put Nathan on the phone as he wanted to thank Lucas. Apparently, Allie had filled him in on the wonderful time she had.
"It was no trouble, Nathan. She was great company for this stogy old bachelor." He realized by Nathan's silence that he thought Lucas was referring to the breakup. "Relax Nathan, it was just a joke," he told him. He heard Nathan breathe a sigh of relief and chuckle. "I'll say goodbye" and with that Lucas hung up the phone.

He threw himself into work that week, not only because he felt a little behind because of Allie's visit, but because he was eager to find himself absorbed so that time would fly by.

On Wednesday he and James were having a late afternoon meeting. "Why don't you come by for dinner this evening. Marcus can call Gustave and let him know you will be dining out. And I will call Mary to let her know to expect one more," James told him.

"Are you sure it will not be an imposition? Lucas queried.

"Not at all, Mary is accustomed to having extra guests for dinner now and again. She will not mind, I assure you. And chef always prepares enough just in case."

"Alright, I could use a night away from the deafening quiet at my house. Marcus can be quite good company, but we already work all day together, so we try to spend a bit of time apart while at home."

Mary and the girls welcomed him. They were happy to have someone else as a target for their steady conversation. He tried to politely listen and on occasion interject so as not to appear rude. Finally, Mary got his full attention, "Constance, you must tell Mr. Bouchard about the volunteer work for my group you are doing this summer until you are in classes for Fall term."

Constance looked at Lucas and said, "are you sure I won't be boring you?"

Oh yes, he was absolutely sure, but he tried to keep it light as he didn't want to appear too eager in front of Mary. "I will not be bored. I find it very admirable what Mary and the women's group is doing for the poor," Lucas told her.

"Well, I am helping to serve the mid-day meal on weekdays at St. Joaquim's now that I am out of school. I also sometimes help to begin prep work for the dinner service until the cook arrives," she told him.
"How many times a day are meals served?" Lucas asked her.

"Three; breakfast is served early. Sometimes some of the people find an odd job or two during the day so they get a meal to get them going. The children as well. Some of them are of school age and go to class at the parish school so a meal in their stomachs is essential. Then there is the midday meal that I help with. There are two of us serving along with the cook. There is sometimes someone who tends to donations that might have been dropped off. And then of course there is the evening meal. There are often three servers then as that meal has the most draw. Professor MacKenna helps several times a week. You remember her, don't you? We met her at the symphony."

"Yes, I do recall your mother telling me that she was a volunteer for her group. Very commendable," Lucas said as he looked down at the plate that had been placed in front of him. He knew Mary was watching him.

Emelia then interjected, "Miss MacKenna is going to the ball on Saturday. You will be going of course?"

Oh, my. The young ladies seemed to have made it their mission to take an interest in his love life or lack of one to be more accurate. "Yes, of course. The Premier expects all the ministers to be in attendance."

"Well, Constance and I will be going for the first time. You must ask us to dance so we do not look like wall flowers," Emelia told him.

Lucas chuckled, "yes of course I will do my best to ensure that all the young gentlemen will be seeking your company. I will make it my mission."

"Well, that will certainly be better than just entertaining us older woman with your charms," she laughed letting him know she was on to him. "And I am sure that Miss MacKenna would be also enjoy a twirl around the dance floor."

He imagined taking her in his arms for a dance, and then quickly redirected his attention to his food. "That is a vision for later," he told himself; maybe over a brandy before he retired. Right now, he needed to gather himself and change the topic. He looked over at James who seemed quite amused by the torture his wife and daughters were putting him through.

"Sorry friend, I can't help you on this one," said James. "You are out flanked."

"Do I surrender?" Lucas asked rhetorically.

"That is up to you but let me point out it is three to one," James laughed. "And they are all too persistent."

Lucas smiled. He did not think he minded at all, but he did hope they would not push in front of Miss MacKenna. He was ready but wanted to do it in his own way on his own timeline.

"Don't worry Lucas," said Mary. "We will keep your confidence for now but do not be too slow about it. Right girls?"

"Yes, Mama," they said in unison putting on their sweetest smiles for Lucas. He wasn't quite sure what they had in mind but he smiled back.