July 1916
After purchasing the baseball bat for Cody, Henry proceeded to look around the shops in town. Abigail guided him around the place where she grew up, telling him stories here and there about things that happened to her as a child here. He found himself smiling at how happy it made her to be home again and out of the house to relax, finally, away from the troubles at her parents' place.
Henry soon found a book about architecture that he bought for Becky and some flowers for Vivian. Once he got a great new pair of farm boots for Jedidiah, he then asked Abigail what she wanted. At first, she refused to humor him into allowing him to buy her anything, but eventually, he convinced her to point out something she had her eye on in one of the boutiques. It was a beautifully handcrafted hair clip decorated with lovely purple amethyst jewels, to match some of her favorite lavender clothes back in Hope Valley. Henry did not mention it, but he noticed how Abigail's smile would not go away after he had purchased it for her and it felt as though he had bought himself a gift by seeing her so happy.
Abigail bought some groceries for herself to make for dinner that night and they headed back on the path toward the dirt road that led to the Adler house.
"I had a really nice time, Henry." Abigail admitted to him on their walk back. "Rebecca was right. I really needed to get out of the house for a while."
"I am glad you feel a bit better." Henry said to her with a soft grin.
"I hope I didn't talk your ear off too much." She told him. "I'd almost forgotten how long it's been since I've been back here. Seems I miss it more than I thought I did."
"You almost make me wonder if you will ever come back to Hope Valley when you talk like that." He admitted.
"Oh, Henry, of course I will. Hope Valley is my home. The cafe is there. My job as the mayor is there. I love all our neighbors. I just cannot leave Daddy alone with all the housework when he has farmwork to take care of. I have written to my brothers and they have all agreed to come and help out when they can as well. Once that happens, then I should be able to return home. I know Cody misses being home too." She looked at Henry beside her who was listening with his head down, watching his own feet as they walked. "I will return. I promise." She told him. "I need you to just be a bit more patient with me." He didn't respond to her and his silence caused Abigail to realize that it seemed something was on his mind. "What is it, Henry? I can tell something is bothering you. Did something happen with Christopher when you went to see him? You have seemed a bit…perplexed since you arrived."
"Have I?"
"Yes." She told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I just didn't want to say anything, because I hoped you would tell me yourself. But I see you are still hesitant to be the first one to open up."
"Beatrice kissed me."
Abigail unintentionally stopped walking, her hand on Henry's shoulder dropping back to her side as Henry stopped walking as well. "What?"
"My ex wife." He told her. "We had a conversation about how things turned out and she began to cry thinking of her late husband and it just happened."
"Did you kiss her back?" The cafe owner asked him.
"I don't really know. I can't remember."
"How can you not remember?" She wondered.
"It was a bit of a blur. But I know that she didn't mean anything by it. She was upset and I just happened to have the closest set of lips."
"How does it make you feel when you think about it?" Abigail wondered and they both began to walk again.
"I am not sure. That is why I tend to get lost in thought a lot the last few days."
"Would you ever-" Abigail began to ask him something but changed her mind. "Nevermind. It is none of my business."
"Yes?" Henry tried to get her to finish her question.
"No, no. Forget it." She told him, looking down at her own feet now as Henry looked over at her beside him.
"I don't know, Abigail." He said, answering her question though she had not asked it aloud. "I don't know if I would take her back had I been given the chance to. I don't know."
She half smiled to herself for two reasons. One, because she was happy that he could tell what she wanted to ask and two, because an 'I don't know,' was much better than a simple 'yes.'
"You never really talk about how you felt when she left you." Abigail pointed out to him.
"That is because how I felt then does not matter." He told her.
"I think it does. It would define the things about you that I cannot yet quite understand when it comes to the way you approach relationships. All this time I thought you pushed people away because you were not a people person or because of what happened to your parents. But when you told me that Beatrice left you and took your son with her, it began to make a bit more sense to me. I think she hurt you and you are afraid to open up again."
"I wouldn't say that she hurt me." He shrugged. "I just realized there is no reason to trust anyone."
"You trust me, don't you?" She asked him.
"Hm…" He looked down at his feet again while he thought about her question for a moment and then he finally answered her. "Yes. I do."
"Good." She smiled at him beside her. "And I trust you."
"Even though I let another woman kiss me?"
"Well…I suppose there is nothing wrong with that considering."
"Considering what?" He asked her.
"Considering the fact that we are not officially courting." She told him, disappointment and sadness in her tone. "You are not mine. Technically, you can kiss whoever you want."
"And so can you." He told her, looking over at her as he wondered if she had thought about kissing anyone else.
"Yes. I suppose." She said, unenthusiastically. "Though I would prefer to only kiss you."
He didn't know how to reply to that, only looking at her beside him with a soft smile and no response. Abigail smiled back at him before they continued their walk in silence.
Once they reached the porch to the house, Abigail stopped for a moment with an inhale. "Do you smell that?"
Henry sniffed the air a bit as he looked at her. "Yeah."
They opened the door to see the living room and kitchen were engulfed in a light cloud of smoke. "Becky, dear?" Abigail set her paper bag of the things they bought today down on the coffee table in the living room as she headed to the kitchen.
"Mom. I'm sorry." Becky said as she opened the oven door to reveal a burnt chicken. "I tried to start dinner for you. I don't know what happened."
"That's alright, sweetheart." Abigail said, grabbing the oven mitts really quick and putting them on to take the chicken out of the oven, setting it up on top of the stove. "I think you just had the oven temperature up too high." She explained to her daughter.
"I'm really sorry. I wasted the chicken." Becky said, feeling terrible.
"Oh, don't worry about it, honey. I bought us some more groceries to cook with for tonight, okay? What's important is that no one got hurt. Where is Cody and Grandpa?"
"Cody is still finishing his homework upstairs and Grandpa is out milking the cows." The sixteen year old said, a hint of guilt still in her tone as she eyed the blackened chicken on the stove.
Henry had set the things down that he had bought and entered the kitchen to help Abigail wave away some of the smoke. "Henry, can you-" Before Abigail could even finish her question, Henry had opened the back screen door out of the kitchen to allow some of the smoke out as if he had read her mind. "Thank you." She softly smiled at him, her heart beating a bit faster as she realized just how much she wanted him to be hers.
Once the house had finally cleared of the cloud of smoke, Abigail brought the groceries into the kitchen and began to take them out of the bag. Becky tried to help her though she was cautious, afraid she might mess up again. Soon, Abigail noticed Becky's wariness and reassured her that everything was alright and that she would help teach her how to make dinner.
Henry sat at the kitchen table, looking over some Gowen Petroleum paperwork that he brought along with him as he watched Abigail and Becky bond over the cooking. Becky listened well and Abigail gave great advice. He smiled to himself when he heard Abigail tell little jokes and Becky would giggle, noting that this was the most time she ever got to spend with her mother. She hadn't told anyone, but she had been secretly jealous of her brother and the time he got to spend with Abigail. She had about a year or two left of school and she could not wait to finish so she could get as much time with Abigail as Cody had.
After about two hours or so, supper was ready and Becky went outside to notify her grandfather whilst Henry went upstairs to tell Cody. They all went to the dining room table together and ate as they joked around and made small talk. Henry made note of the fact that this was the first time he had attended a true family dinner since before his parents died over 30 years ago, aside from the occasional holiday dinners held at the saloon in Hope Valley. He watched as Abigail laughed and smiled with her father and her two children, feeling for the first time that he was part of something other than just himself. He was actually enjoying it.
"So how was your tour of our little town today, Henry?" Abigail's father asked when they were almost done with the meal. "Is it any different than Hope Valley?"
"There are some differences, yes." Henry nodded a bit.
"Like what?" Jedidiah wondered.
"Well, Fulton Hills is a bit bigger." He told him. "But the people here don't look at me funny." Henry tried to joke in his uncomfortable state of not knowing how to interact with others well, though Jedidiah did not understand the joke.
"People in Hope Valley look at you funny? Really? Is that because of the money laundering?"
"That and other things." Henry responded honestly, though he did not intend on going into detail.
"Other things like what?"
"The mining accident." Cody said before taking the last bite of his potatoes.
"The mining accident?" Jedidiah looked between Abigail and Henry who sent each other wary eyes. "The one that-…"
Henry gulped, looking at Abigail's father guiltily. The table grew silent as, even Becky and Cody, looked back and forth between the adults cautiously. Cody then looked at Abigail, silently hoping she wouldn't be upset with him for blurting that out.
"I see." Jedidiah soon broke the silence again as he noticed the kids had grown uncomfortable as well. "So you are responsible for my grandson's death along with his father." The man's tone was unreadable. Calm, yet strong. Stern, but soft. It was silent again for a moment before he looked at his daughter. "Abigail, darling, may I speak with you outside?"
Almost as if she were a little girl in trouble again, Abigail nodded at the kids as if to let them know she would be right back and she stood up, her chair making an irritating sound on the wood floor in the dining room. Her eyes moved to Henry, who looked up at her apologetically as if he was a young boy who had gotten her into trouble. She tried to send him a reassuring smile before following her father through the living room toward the kitchen and out the back door by the chicken coop.
"Nice going, Cody." Becky said as soon as they heard the door shut.
"What? I thought he already knew." Her brother countered defensively.
"Excuse me." Henry nodded to both kids before standing from his spot at the table and he went up the stairs to Cody's room where he had been sleeping.
Gathering his things and packing them back up into his suitcase, he came across a letter that had fallen out of his jacket pocket. He lifted it up to read his name on the envelope. After opening it, he pulled the piece of parchment out to read something he had never thought he would hear in his lifetime.
Dear Henry,
After seeing how much you have changed and hearing the way you speak with Christopher when you two bond, I regret never allowing you to get to know him. I know that what I did by leaving you and taking him with me without your knowledge was wrong and I truly am sorry if what I did hurt you. I was too busy thinking about my own feelings back then to even remember that you had feelings of your own and I apologize. I am going to tell Christopher the truth about who gave up on our marriage back then and come clean about taking him without your knowledge. He deserves that. You deserve that. I am so proud of who you have become and proud of your accomplishments. I pray that your oil company keeps thriving and you continue to make your own dreams come true. I admit that I am too proud myself to tell you all of this in person or perhaps I am just too stubborn to admit when I am wrong out loud. That is why I am writing you this letter and I intend to slip it into your coat pocket before you board the train toward Hope Valley. The town sounds interesting from what Christopher and Rachel have told me. Perhaps one day I will visit to see where you have made your place in this world. I never pictured you settling in a small town but in a large city one day. I am curious to see how that town has taken your heart. Maybe one day.
Beatrice, Your Dove
P.S. I also apologize for catching you off guard, but it was nice to kiss your lips again.
He felt something in his heart and stomach leap as he read the words she had signed the letter with and his feelings of losing her in the past came flooding back to him. He could, very slightly, hear muffled arguing from the backyard and folded the letter before setting it in the trash bin. He finished packing his suitcase and left the bedroom.
As he walked passed Vivian and Jedidiah's bedroom, he could see Abigail's mother through the half-open door, laying in the bed with her head propped up enough to see him and she softly smiled.
"You must be Henry." She spoke, her voice weak. "Come on in, dear."
"Actually, I was just about to leave." Henry told her, lifting his suitcase up only an inch to bring it to her attention.
"Please?" She asked him, slightly lifting her left arm to beckon him into the room with her forefinger. Henry hesitated but soon opened the door some more and stepped inside. "You are much more handsome than I imagined." Vivian smiled as best as she could. "Abigail lights up when she speaks of you." She informed him.
"Well, she shouldn't." He told her.
"Why is that, dear?"
"I am sure she or your husband will tell you one day." He said nonchalantly though he felt his stomach aching. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Adler. I do hope you get well soon." He sent her an empathetic smile before turning to leave the room.
Vivian tried to speak up to tell him something, but she was too weak as she watched him go.
Just as he reached the front door, his heavy coat on him with his suitcase in his left hand and his bowler hat in his right, he looked at Becky and Cody in the dining room who had watched him come down the stairs.
The sixteen year old girl stood from the table and walked closer to the man. "Don't go." Becky looked at him sadly. "Not like this."
Henry looked at her big brown eyes and almost set his suitcase down to grant her her wish, but he held strong, placing his hat upon his head. He switched his suitcase from his left hand to his right and placed his left hand upon the doorknob. "I don't want to cause anymore trouble in this family." He told her before his eyes looked to Cody briefly.
Just as Henry pulled the door open about a foot, he heard the kitchen's back door open and looked over to see Abigail stepping back inside the house. She froze as she saw him in his coat and with his things at the door and a lump grew rapidly in her throat. She gulped looking into Henry's eyes as they told her goodbye without a word and he left, a tight pain growing in her chest as she let out a pained sigh. The pain in her chest moved down to her stomach and she felt the urge to cry.
Swallowing back her pain, Abigail made her mother a plate of food and headed upstairs to feed her, not even hearing Becky call out, "Mom?" as she ascended the stairs.
She fed her mother in silence and helped her get ready for bed, dodging the woman's questions about why Henry left so suddenly. Once Vivian was tucked in and was given her medicine, Abigail kissed her on the forehead and left the room to go into the room Henry had been staying in briefly. She wasn't sure exactly why she had gone into the room, but she looked around as if wishing Henry had stayed long enough to tell him that she had explained to her father that he had changed, that he had become a better man the last few years. She had told her father all of the great things Henry had done for her and for others in the town to convince him that he was not just some scoundrel living off of him and his farm for the last week or so. It took a bit, but soon her father believed her and told her that if she trusted Henry then so could he.
But Henry had gone before Abigail or Jedidiah could tell him.
As she stood in Cody's room and looked around, she caught a glimpse of the letter Henry had thrown into the trash bin and went to pick it up. After reading it, she sighed again, realizing just how much Henry may have loved Beatrice and the fact that he wouldn't tell her when she asked him before only confirmed to her that perhaps his ex wife did hurt him more than he let on.
"Mom?" Becky's voice came from the doorway to the bedroom. Abigail turned her head to see her daughter there and she cracked a forced smile with the letter in her hands. "Aren't you going to stop him?" Becky wondered.
"Oh, sweetheart. It's not that simple." Abigail informed her.
"Yes, it is. You go to the train station and find him and you say, 'stay.' What's so hard about that?" She asked her mother, making it sound much easier than it was. "I can tell that he likes you." She finally said what she had been thinking for days. "You should see the way that he looks at you when you aren't paying attention."
Abigail let out a small, but sad chuckle before looking at the letter in her hands again and she sighed before throwing it back into the trash bin. "I need to let him get back to his life at home."
"He hardly even has a life back home. All he has is his stupid oil company. No family. No friends. YOU are his friend. He should be here with you, Mom."
"I am afraid that's not how it works, sweetheart."
"How what works?"
"Life."
"Why not? You can MAKE it work like that." Becky tried to convince her. "I want you to be happy. I have never seen you smile as much as you did when you came back from your day out with him today. PLEASE go catch him at the train station, Mom. I want you to smile like that every day."
Abigail wasn't entirely sure which part of her conversation with Becky officially convinced her to go chasing a train, but the next thing she knew…she was rushing through the train station toward the tracks, holding her long lavender skirt up so as not to trip while she ran. She certainly could tell that she was not young anymore as she felt a cramp in her stomach from the combination of a large meal at dinner and the speed at which she had accelerated to in order to catch the travelers boarding the train that would pass Hope Valley.
She soon, finally reached the correct platform, trying to push by businessmen and families on trips to hopefully find Henry before he could get on board. Any man in a bowler hat would fool her for a moment before she composed herself and continued her search through the crowd.
Soon, the platform emptied and she noticed the crowd of people had subsided to a mere number of only ten and she looked back and forth toward every bench nearby in the hopes to find Henry Gowen, sitting at one of them with a newspaper in his hands, too distracted by some stocks to invest in to notice that his train had boarded.
But then she spotted him. Through the window of the train. He was already in his seat as the large hunk of metal began to slowly move.
She waved, calling out his name though he could not hear her through the thick glass of the window. Beginning to jump a bit, though she was already way too out of breath from the running, Abigail tried her best to get his attention before the train sped up and, eventually, left the station with Henry on board.
She stopped jumping as her eyes filled up with tears and she finally let them fall down her cheeks. The farther the train got from her, the worse she felt.