Chapter 269 – Quiet in the Chaos
Wynn dropped Elizabeth Rose off at the hotel, he had wanted to walk her up to the room, but she insisted that she was fine. Wynn did wait until she had gotten completely out of sight before he left.
"Is Aunt Elizabeth okay?" Cody asked.
"She just doesn't feel good." Wynn said. "Traveling is not easy for her. We were also up early yesterday and stayed up late. So I am sure after a nap, she will be just fine. I don't want you to worry. Do you like the new titles?"
"Okay." Cody said. "Very much. I don't think I have ever had aunts and uncles before."
"Well." Wynn said. "I am glad. Family is what we make it. You guys created a new family and I am so happy for you and your sister. I know that you guys are going to miss us, but I promise we will be back before you know it."
"Becky said you would be back after Mrs Thornton has her baby." Cody said.
"Yes." Wynn said. "I don't know how long we will be staying. But I think we will also be celebrating Christmas in Hope Valley as well. I know that we have to go back to Hamilton in October for a little bit, along with Mountie Jack and Mrs Thornton. But we are trying to make plans to celebrate Christmas in Hope Valley again."
"Do you think Mrs Thornton will still be our teacher after she has the baby?" Cody asked.
"Yes." Wynn said. "She told you as much. She will take some time off and return after Christmas."
"Okay." Cody said. "Some of the older kids said she won't come back."
"I think you need to listen to what Mrs Thornton is saying and not the older kids." Wynn said.
"Okay." Cody said. "So what are we going to do at headquarters?"
"I need to see what Dee is up to." Wynn said. "I also need to make a call. How about I set you up in one of the offices. You can draw or work on your writing."
"Okay." Cody said. "Then the park."
"Yes." Wynn said. "Maybe I can see if one of the guys even has a ball we can toss around."
"That would be great." Cody said with a huge smile.
"I promise to be as quick as I can." Wynn said. "But I don't want you to complain if my phone call takes a bit. I promise we will go to the park. It is still plenty early in the afternoon."
Cody nodded.
Elizabeth Rose got up to her room and called down. She ordered some ginger tea and a hot water bottle. It wasn't long and one of the maids brought it up for her.
"Do you need me to call the doctor, ma'am?" The maid asked.
"No, but thank you." Elizabeth Rose said. "I think a hot water bottle and a nap will be enough."
"If something changes, please call down." The maid said. "We do have a doctor on call for hotel guests."
"I will keep that in mind, but I just need a rest." Elizabeth Rose said.
The maid nodded and left. Elizabeth Rose poured some tea and sipped it while holding the hot water bottle. She only had about half of the cup of tea before she knew that she needed to lay down. She went to her room and curled up on the bed with the hot water bottle. Her mind was racing. She had never had problems like this since after losing her first son. She thought more about what Patty said, but then dismissed it, because it couldn't be. She just put the whole thought out of her mind and said it wasn't possible.
Before she fell asleep, Elizabeth Rose said a prayer.
"Heavenly Father." Elizabeth Rose prayed. "Please be with me as I am in pain. I hope that it is nothing serious and just normal womanly pains. I pray that I am alright, Wynn has already lost so much. I know he wouldn't survive losing me. Please be with him as I know he worries about me. We have had such a wonderful time in Hope Valley, despite why we were there. I pray that You continue to keep us safe as we travel back home. I pray for Frank and Abigail as they start their new life as a married couple. Bless their family as you see fit. I thank you for such wonderful family and friends. Amen."
Elizabeth Rose then snuggled down into the bed and closed her eyes more at peace. She had dismissed the idea of her being in the family way again, but felt peace that her future as a mother wasn't over. She was just convinced that it was because there was an older child for her and Wynn to adopt.
Frank, Abigail and Becky had a nice afternoon at the department store. Abigail was able to get yarn and a few other things for the two babies that she knew were going to be born in Hope Valley soon. At the last minute, she grabbed a third pair of booties. Frank and Becky went to look at the books and each found a couple that they wanted. Becky found one on bridges and another on buildings. Frank got both of them for her. Frank picked up two books as well. One was quotes from famous philosophers and the other was about Thomas Aquinas. While Frank might not have completely agreed with the Catholic Church, he liked some of the writings from the early church. The other thing that Frank got for Becky was some new sketchbooks. He knew that she would use them and they were cheaper than ordering them from the mercantile.
"Who is that?" Becky asked when she saw the second book.
"Thirteenth century Italian priest." Frank said. "He talked a lot about both faith and reason. While I don't fully agree with everything that the Catholic church stands for, I do love many of the early church writings. They have a wisdom about them and are some of the only early Christian writings there are."
"Okay." Becky said. "Might want to borrow that. I love reading different things and different perspectives."
"That is very mature of you." Frank said. "You are free to borrow any of my books at any time. Hopefully the library is done and open before you leave. But either way, you will be able to use the library at university. Just remember that you have your own voice and don't lose that by reading too many different voices."
Becky looked at him questioningly. Frank motioned for them to sit on the bench.
"I love to read and learn things." Frank said. "But there was a time where I let what I was reading become too much of what I said. I kind of lost myself for a long time. I let other voices, whether it was books or the people I surrounded myself with, be more important than my own voice. Does that make sense?"
"Don't lose who I am, no matter what I read or other people say." Becky said.
"Yes." Frank said.
"Is that what led you to not doing such good things?" Becky asked.
"Yes, in part." Frank said. "I think it was a lot of little things, but losing my own voice for a long time was a big part of it."
"Thank you for telling me." Becky said. "I don't need to know more, but I can see what you mean. I see how other people can cause people to lose their voice."
"Just remember that." Frank said. "If you know who you are, are strong in your convictions and are able to speak for yourself, then there is nothing that you can't do."
"Thank you for that." Becky said. "I hope I get into school in Hamilton. Wynn and Elizabeth Rose offered to let me live with them. I like that idea. I don't want to have to worry about too much while trying to focus on school."
"I agree that it would be better." Frank said. "I also think it would be easier on your mom to know that there was someone looking out for you."
"Aunt Elizabeth said the same thing." Becky said.
"Speaking of mom." Frank said. "Let's go see if we can find her. But first, can you pick our two books for Cody."
"Okay." Becky said.
Becky found two books she knew that Cody would like. One was about baseball and the other was a cowboy adventure book. Once they had their books, Frank and Becky found Abigail. Frank saw the items that Abigail had and raised an eyebrow. She just glared at him.
"I told you." Abigail said. "Jack and Elizabeth are expecting. Mary is due anytime and I don't have enough yarn. I also saw these booties and loved them."
"But three pairs?" Frank said.
"I don't know." Abigail said. "Two just didn't seem right. I can't explain it, but I know they will be given to another baby. I got all white as I felt they could be for a baptism."
"Fine." Frank said. "I am not arguing."
They got their items and Frank decided to show Becky some of Union City since she had been in the town for months, but didn't get to see any of it. Abigail was fine, she loved watching Frank with Becky. She knew he was meant to be a father and repeated her own prayer about expanding their family if God so granted it.
Wynn got Cody set up in one of the conference rooms, but many of the younger Constables were more interested in talking to Cody than letting him practice his writing. Wynn shook his head. He wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed that Cody charmed everyone. A thought crossed Wynn's mind and wondered if he needed to plant the idea of Cody maybe becoming a Mountie. Wynn thought he would be a great member of the force. Wynn liked the idea of him shaping another generation of Mounties.
Wynn went to the office that he used when he was in the area. He then called Fort Garry and got an update from them. After he got off the phone with Fort Garry, he called Regina to see if he really needed to stop or was there just stuff that they could send. It was agreed that a Constable could meet the train and give him a packet of information. Wynn felt better about that. He knew his wife said she was fine, but if he could get home sooner, he would feel better. He worried when she didn't feel well. They had never shared with others, but they had lost three other children other than their stillborn first son. So every time Elizabeth Rose wasn't feeling well and said it was a woman's problems he worried and always had. He supposed it was getting past that time, but he still couldn't help but worry. They had been very active together and he thought losing another child would break both of them.
Wynn stopped and said a prayer for his wife. While he was taking a moment, he also prayed for Frank and Abigail. Even though Frank would never admit it, he knew how much Frank wanted a child of his own. He knew it was a long shot, but he prayed that God would bless them with a child of their own. He knew that it would make a huge difference to Frank. Wynn knew that Frank loved Becky and Cody, but he knew that a child of his own would be a huge thing. Wynn finished his prayer by praying for his niece and the children she was carrying. It was at that moment that Wynn was sure it was two. Jack had shared he felt it was twins, but Wynn told him to not spread that around. Suddenly Wynn was sure Jack was right and a smile came over his face. He knew that Jack wanted a house full of children and they were going to have their hands full, even with help.
As Wynn was finishing up the stuff that he needed, he saw the sergeant.
"Sergeant." Wynn called.
"Yes, Sir." The man said.
"Is Captain Anderson around?" Wynn asked.
"He is questioning the couple that was brought in this morning in connection with the jewelry shop." The Sergeant said. "There are still two Constables down there sorting through things. I believe one is your son."
"Thank you." Wynn said. "I will catch up with him later. I will let you carry on. I am almost done."
"Your grandson is amazing." The Sergeant said.
"He is not my grandson." Wynn said. "He is my new adopted nephew. My grandson is only a few months old."
"Understood, Sir." The Sergeant said.
The sergeant walked away and Wynn gathered his items. He then went to find Cody.
"Look." Cody said, holding up two gloves and a ball.
Wynn smiled and shook his head.
"Did you say thank you?" Wynn asked.
"Yes." Cody said. "They said it was fine and you could return them to the station before you left."
"I will do that." Wynn said. "But you will need to remind me tomorrow."
"Yes." Cody said.
Wynn took Cody to a nearby park. They walked over to a wide open space and started to throw the ball back and forth. Wynn hadn't played ball like that in years. He loved playing with Cody and as he was, he realized just how much he had missed when Dee was growing up. He knew he was going to have to take time to play with his grandson as he got older. Wynn continued to play ball with Cody and realized Elizabeth Rose was right, they still had a chance to make a difference in a child's life. He vowed to himself that as soon as they got back to Hamilton, he was going to look into adoption. He had asked his wife years ago and she was resistant, but if she was ready, he was going to do everything to make her wish and dream come true.
"I need to sit for a moment, Cody." Wynn said.
"Okay." Cody said. "Can I play on the swings?"
"Stay where I can see you and make sure you put that glove over by me." Wynn said.
"Yes, Sir." Cody said.
Cody ran up and gave Wynn a hug and then set the glove and ball down with the other glove next to Wynn on the bench. Wynn watched as Cody went over to the swings. Wynn knew that he was going to miss Cody. The boy had stolen his heart back at Christmas and he only got worse with the longer he spent with the boy. Wynn knew that Cody's adventurous outlook was much the same as Dee's when he was that age. Wynn missed a lot of time when Dee and Sophie were growing up so watching Cody was special. It also gave Wynn that strong feeling that his wife talked about that their days as parents were not over. Wynn took a deep breath and pulled out his little notebook. He made a few notes and was going to talk to his wife. But he thought of each a boy and girl between the ages of ten and thirteen. That would be perfect, the children would be old enough to be left at home alone at times, but still young enough to need a home for years to come.