May 1917
As soon as the stagecoach pulled away, Rosemary told the crowd of people to back away from Abigail and the baby. They did as she said and gave them some space before Abigail smiled at Rosemary as if to thank her.
"We didn't know you were going to be home." Elizabeth smiled at Abigail, resting a hand on her arm. "How long are you visiting?"
"We aren't visiting." Cody said excitedly. "We are home for good."
Elizabeth's face lit up. "Oh, that's so wonderful!" She said as she readjusted her one year old, moving him onto her other hip.
"Hello?" Rosemary interrupted the excitement for a moment. "Does no one else see this beautiful baby? Abigail, explain to us what prompted you to adopt a baby?"
"Well…she was an old friend of mine's baby. She, unfortunately, died in childbirth and her father passed away only a few months after she found out she was pregnant. I had reconnected with her mother, a woman who I had gone to school with, when I was in town selling eggs one day. I was there when she went into labor. She was an only child and her parents died twenty years ago. So Josephine, here, had no family to take her when she was born. So I adopted her. I apologize for not reaching out to anyone in a while, but taking care of her and Cody and my mom took up all of my time." She smiled down at the baby in her arms. "But she was worth it. Weren't you? Weren't you?" She asked her new daughter, giving her a small Eskimo kiss.
"Oh, Abigail. You must be so exhausted." Rosemary said, placing a hand on the mayor's back. "Let's get you home so you can sit down and rest."
"Hey, did any of you see where my dad went?" Christopher asked.
"I think he went back to work." Florence answered him, looking down the street toward Gowen Petroleum.
"Thank you." Christopher said, picking up his suitcase and Rachel's. "Mom, are you coming with us?" He asked Beatrice as she lifted up her own suitcase.
"Yes, dear. I am right behind you." The brunette woman told her son and she followed him and Rachel to Gowen Petroleum.
"So how old is she?" Molly asked Abigail as the mayor sat down on the sofa in the back of her cafe.
"Almost five months." Abigail told them, cradling the baby and gently bouncing her. Josephine's eyes widened as she looked up at the ceiling in this new place.
"She is so sweet." Elizabeth smiled, sitting beside her best friend with Little Jack in her lap.
"Isn't she?" Abigail agreed. "And she has been so amazing. Not too fussy."
"That's wonderful, Abigail. You look so happy."
"I am." Abigail looked around at her friends. "I never really had a chance to be a mom to a girl. And Becky is wonderful, but she is already a young woman. I've always wanted to get to brush a daughter's hair and get her new dresses and new dolls. So I am excited to do all of that for Josie."
"She is so lucky to have you." Dottie told her, sitting in the chair across from the sofa.
Little Jack started to babble a bit, looking at the baby younger than him. He tried to hand her a toy that he had with him, but Josie just stared at it. "Oh, that's sweet, Little Jack, but Josie doesn't really play with toys like that yet." Elizabeth tried to explain to her son.
"Aw, how sweet." Florence said. "Maybe I should adopt a baby. I really miss having one and babysitting Jack has really given me that itch again."
"Yes, I know how you feel." Molly agreed.
"Speaking of babysitting, Abigail…if you ever need someone to watch Josephine, I'd be more than happy to." Florence smiled at the baby from her seat.
"That's sweet, Florence. Thank you." The mayor and cafe owner told her.
"Yes, and me as well." Molly offered.
"Thank you." She smiled at all her friends. "It is so nice to be home again. I missed you all."
"And we missed you, Abigail." Elizabeth gently touched her arm.
"That Bill Avery has been getting on our last nerve." Rosemary told her.
"I heard." Abigail chuckled. "I am so sorry I couldn't return sooner."
"How is your mother?" Molly asked.
"She is wonderful. She will never walk again, unfortunately. But we found she is actually quite efficient still, even in her chair. There are some restrictions, of course, but we found a nice young lady to help out when she can and her fiance helps out with the farmwork. It all worked out in the end."
"That's so wonderful to hear, Abigail." The schoolteacher smiled.
"And little Cody must be so happy to be back." Rosemary said. "His little notes to Lee were so sweet."
"Yes. He missed everyone very much. Especially Robert and Elizabeth." His mother said.
"And what about Becky? Does she know about her new baby sister?" Dottie wondered.
"Yes. She was actually on school break when she was born so she already got to meet her." Abigail informed them.
"When is her birthday?" Elizabeth asked.
"January 4th." The mayor said.
"Oh, a New Year's baby! How exciting!" Rosemary exclaimed.
They all chuckled and continued to catch up on things Abigail missed when she was gone. After about an hour or so, Florence and Molly headed out to get dinner ready for their kids at home while Dottie left to get some work done for the dress shop. Rosemary and Elizabeth stayed with Abigail to talk some more and eventually, Little Jack grew a bit fussy, prompting Elizabeth to head home as well whilst Rosemary went out to find Lee and learn what their plans for dinner with Rachel and Christopher were.
Once Abigail was alone, she headed upstairs to find Peter's old bassinet. She placed Josephine inside it and carefully carried it downstairs. Setting it in front of the sofa, Abigail sat down and began to rock the cradle of the bassinet while she smiled down at the baby and talked to her.
Soon, Minnie arrived to begin preparations for the dinner rush in the cafe and after Josephine had fallen asleep, Abigail went into the kitchen to help her. They finished getting everything ready just on time as the door to the cafe opened and their first few customers arrived, taking their seats at separate tables.
At around six o'clock, Christopher, Rachel, Beatrice and Henry arrived, sitting at one of the square tables by the far left wall and saving the table beside theirs for Lee and Rosemary, who arrived only a few minutes after they did.
"Hi, Mom." Cody said as he came in from outside. His mother was peeking into the cafe dining room at Henry, who sat beside his ex wife, missing what her son had said. "I'm home." Cody said to try and get her attention. "Hellooo? Mom?"
"Oh! Sweetheart!" Abigail finally turned to look at Cody. "I'm sorry, I was a bit distracted."
Cody peeked into the dining room as well, immediately understanding why she had been. "Mhm." He looked back at his mom.
"How was your time with Robert, dear?" Abigail asked him as she helped Minnie prepare a couple plates for a table of two.
"It was fun. You should see his sister now. She is so much bigger than when we were home last year already."
"Yes, I am sure she is. Babies grow quite fast." Abigail informed him. "Speaking of baby sisters…why don't you go and keep an eye on Josie for me while I go and take a few orders, okay?"
"Okay. Do you know where her baby rattle is?" Cody asked his mother.
"It is probably still in one of my suitcases…Thank you, honey."
"You're welcome." Cody told her before going to find the rattle to entertain his sister with.
Abigail brought the two plates of food out to the correct table before stopping by Henry's table. "Hello again." She said to Christopher, Rachel, and Beatrice. "Have you three gotten settled into your rooms at the saloon yet?"
"Actually, Abigail, we offered to let them stay at our place." Lee told her.
"I still feel silly imposing." Beatrice said.
"You aren't imposing, you are family now." Rosemary stated. "It may get a little crowded in our rowhouse, but we can manage."
"Well, I would offer you a room here, but unfortunately we don't have enough space." Abigail told her.
"I really wouldn't mind staying at the saloon by myself." Beatrice said.
"Too bad no one has a big enough space for all of us." Christopher said before sending his father a questionable look. He knew Henry had a mansion, he had seen it the last time he was in town. And though Henry was not living there at that time, his son knew that he had re-required it since then.
"You could stay at my place." Henry finally said, his eyes looking to Abigail briefly as he had actually planned on letting her visit him later on so they could catch up, but he now knew that might not be ideal with Beatrice there.
"Are you sure, Henry?" Beatrice asked him, placing a hand on his arm.
He looked at her beside him and forced a smile. "Why not?"
"Well, that'll be nice." Abigail told them before quickly changing the subject. "What can I get you all to eat or drink?" Her eyes flashed to Beatrice's hand still on Henry's arm and she held her smile well, though she wanted to frown.
After taking their orders, she went back into the kitchen and told Minnie what they wanted as they both began to get their plates and drinks ready. She would occasionally look into the living room at Cody playing with his baby sister and she would smile before focusing on her work again.
Later on that night, Henry had finished getting Christopher, Rachel, and Beatrice settled into their guest rooms in his house before Christopher and Rachel left to take a walk into town for some ice cream. Beatrice sat in the living room to work on her handmade jewelry whilst Henry stayed in his office to work on the ledger from the oil company.
He couldn't take his mind off of Abigail. He was so happy to have her back in town yet he could not think of a way to show her. He also was not sure how appropriate it would be to bother her when she had a baby to take care of now. He regretted giving in and inviting his ex wife to stay in his house, knowing that he could have invited Abigail over to talk after dinner had he not. He would have even told her to bring the baby. But with Beatrice around, it wouldn't have felt right.
"I always thought you looked good in glasses." Beatrice said, standing in the doorway to his office. "Mind if I come in and bother you?" She asked him, knowing good and well that she was going to enter even if he said he did mind.
Looking up from his papers, Henry took off his glasses and gestured toward the chair across from his desk. "What can I do for you?"
Rather than going to sit in the chair, the dark-haired woman stepped into the room and went around to stand on his side of the desk. She sat down on top of the desk without permission and picked up one of his quills to play with the feather on the end of it.
Henry looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asked her.
"I got bored." She told him. "Wanted to see you hard at work….This is nice. It would have been better when we were married if you worked from home like this. I would have seen you more."
"I thought you wanted to see less of me. That's why you left." He set his glasses down on the desk beside her.
"I left, because you worked too much and we still didn't have enough money to buy the things we wanted." She paused long enough to hear him sigh and watch him pinch the bridge of his nose. "To live in a house like this." She smiled at him. "This is the version of you that I always knew you could be. I was just…too impatient." She placed a foot up on Henry's chair between his legs. "But seeing you like this…makes me wonder if we should try again." She watched him look down at her foot. "Do you remember all the crazy things we used to do?" She asked, setting her foot up on his crotch. "Before we had Christopher?"
Henry gently pushed her leg away and stood up. "I am seeing someone, Beatrice."
"Seeing someone? Or SLEEPING with someone?" She wondered, watching him walk around to the other side of the desk and she hopped off of the top of it to turn around and face him.
"What does that matter?" He asked her.
"If you are seeing someone, then you are courting and you have not had sex. If you are sleeping with someone then chances are, it is ONLY sex and you won't be getting married any time soon."
"What if we are courting AND have had sex?" He asked her.
Beatrice immediately began to laugh. "No woman is going to give up herself before marriage. Especially in this little conservative town."
"I AM seeing someone, Beatrice." He told her.
"Then…" She walked over to him and reached up to run a hand through his hair. "...-you are not having sex." Her eyes looked him up and down. "Which means you must be dying for a woman to touch you. And Henry…I am dying for a man to touch me. It's just the two of us here…No one will ever know. And it won't have to mean anything if you don't want it to." She moved her hand from his hair to cup his cheek. "I can do that thing that you like. You know…the thing I did when we first met."
Henry reached up and gently took her wrist, pulling her hand off of his face. "No, Beatrice. She is all I think about."
"That's alright. You can imagine I am her."
He cringed at her words and his whole body pulled away from her. "I don't want to, Beatrice. You left me, remember? And just because I've got money now, doesn't give you the right to want me back." His ex wife opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on his front door. "I have to go get that." Before allowing her to reply, he left the office and went to answer the door.
"Hello, Henry." Abigail smiled at him when he opened the door, holding Josie in her arms.
"Abigail. Hi." He gulped a bit, hearing Beatrice's high heels follow behind him and stop at the bottom of the staircase, before she leaned against its bannister.
"Is it alright that I'm here?" The mayor asked, looking at Beatrice behind him.
"Yeah, of course." Henry said, moving aside to let her in. "Come in."
"Are you sure it's alright that I bring the baby in?"
"Yeah, it's no problem." He told her and opened the door more for her.
Abigail smiled at him and stepped inside before smiling at Beatrice as well. "Hello again. Did you get settled in alright?"
"Yes, I did." Beatrice told her. "How's the little short stop?" She asked with a smile.
"Cody is great. I can tell he is very happy to be home." Abigail chuckled.
"Good." Beatrice nodded.
"Mind if we have a minute alone?" Henry asked his ex wife.
"I'm not even here." She said and went back into the living room.
Henry led Abigail into his office and he closed the door. "Have a seat." He gestured toward the small sofa he had in there.
"Thank you." She said before sitting on the far right side of the couch. "Are you alright? You seem a bit…indifferent."
"Oh, I was just having a conversation with Beatrice. Actually…she was doing most of the talking."
Abigail nodded. "I see." She looked down at Josie and gently poked her on the nose. "Hi, sweetheart." She watched Josie's eyes search the room. "What are you looking at, huh? What do you see?"
Henry's heart jumped as he heard the voice she used to speak to the baby. "So how long are you staying this time?"
"For good." She smiled up at him. "Mom and Dad found a couple that is willing to help them with the chores after all."
"Why didn't you tell me?" He wondered.
"I wanted to surprise you. But what a funny coincidence that I came back the same week that your son and his mother came to visit."
"I see now, why your letters stopped." He said, looking at the baby.
"Yeah." Abigail smiled. "Do you want to hold her?"
"I don't know…Babies tend to cry if I get too close." He chuckled as he shook his head.
"Oh, nonsense. Come sit." She patted the spot beside her. "She isn't much of a crier. If she cries, it's mostly because she just needs a diaper change or she's hungry. Other than that, she's very good with people, even strangers. Don't worry."
He hesitated for a moment before going to sit down next to her and she carefully handed the baby to him. "Am I holding her right?" He asked as his body temperature quickly rose in fear of doing something wrong.
"Yes, just make sure you keep your arm under her neck to support her head." Abigail helped him keep the baby in the right position before finally letting go. "Just like that. Perfect." She looked up at him and smiled as she saw his face turn red.
"She's…very light." Henry said, having forgotten what it was like to hold a baby since Christopher. "And tiny."
"You should have seen her when she was born. The doctor said she was just below average in her weight."
"Oh wow." He looked at Abigail for a second. "What is her name again?"
"Josephine. Cody calls her Josie." Abigail rested a hand on Henry's shoulder. "She was named after my old friend who passed away."
The baby cooed and reached up to touch Henry's face with her tiny hand, causing Henry to look back down at her.
"See? I told you she wouldn't cry." Abigail lightly nudged him. "You seem to be better with children than you think you are. Remember Millie from two Christmases ago? She and her sister really took a liking to you."
"Only because I reminded them of their father." Henry countered, looking at Abigail again.
"And because you were kind, gentle, and open with them. Babies….children, they can often read a person's heart and nature better than us grown ups can. And if they did not believe that you had a good heart, they would not have felt comfortable around you." She looked back down at Josie, relaxing in Henry's arms, her eyes even beginning to close. "And Josie would not be falling asleep right now." She told him.
He looked back down at the baby in his arms. "Oh, um…should you take her home then?"
"Yes, I suppose I should. I am a bit tired myself after all the traveling." She stood up and carefully took Josephine back from him. "I just wanted to come and say hello…I have a few offers from ladies who would like to babysit Josie whenever I need them to, so perhaps you and I can have lunch together soon."
"Yeah." He nodded. "That'd be nice." He stood as well and walked her to the door of his office, opening it for her and she headed out into the entrance hall by the front door, followed by Henry. "It is nice to have you back, Abigail." He said as he opened his front door for her as well.
"It's nice to be back." She smiled at him and stepped outside, turning around to face him. "Goodnight, Henry."
"Goodnight, Abigail." He weakly smiled at her before she turned and headed home.
