Chapter 178 – A Relaxing Evening (short)
Shortly after Frank and Nathan left, Rob, Chris and Katie excused themselves to head back to the hotel. Chris let Gran and Lee know that they would be around the next couple of days and to just send a message if they were needed, but they wouldn't be up at the house unless there was a need. As much as Gran wanted to have them for meals, she knew that they wanted to maintain a boundary more for their sake and also because they didn't want to be treated differently by other employees if it got out how much time Chris, Rob and Katie were spending at the house.
As much as Katie M wanted to spend time with Nathan, she also knew that she needed to head to her apartment and get Opal settled. Katie knew that Nathan would be around for most of the rest of the summer, so she knew that she would get to spend time with him. She was also hoping that he kept his word and spent time with Opal. She knew that Nathan was busy since he was working and also spending time with his new friends, but she held out hope.
"Katie." Gran said.
"Yes, ma'am." Katie said.
"I know that you are spending the day with James tomorrow." Gran said. "You will be in the office going over paperwork and talking more about what is going to happen. What I want you to know is that if for some reason, Opal doesn't want to be in the office all day with you, she is welcome to come up here and spend some time. I can't promise that I will have time to watch her in the pool, but there are puzzles, books and other games up here for her to play with."
"I will be here as well." Lee said. "I know that the rest are taking off in the morning, but Opal is more than welcome to come up and hang out with me. I will be on the laptop most of the day or hanging out downstairs."
"Thank you both." Katie said. "We will see what happens. I know that you guys got her some coloring books and things so that she can spend time with me in the office as I adjust to the job. We will have to see. Opal is used to spending her days playing quietly wherever I am working."
"I just want you to know that the option is out there." Gran said. "She is a child and should be allowed to be out and play in the sunshine."
"Again thank you very much." Katie said.
"Also if there is anything else that you need." Jack said. "I hope that you feel comfortable asking. My grandparents and I will do what we can to help you. We will be back sometime after lunch on Thursday and as I told Opal, I promise I will take her for a ride at some point soon. We will just have to see what is going on. It might have to wait until this weekend."
"Thank you very much." Katie said. "Hopefully, I will be able to get on a horse again soon as well and then I can always take Opal out for a ride."
"We will make sure that you have some time with one of the trainers." James said. "Everyone must show one of the trainers that they are able to ride before they are allowed to ride unaccompanied."
"I completely understand." Katie said.
After thanking everyone again, Katie and Opal headed to their new apartment. Opal was excited to spend time with Gran over the next few weeks. She was also excited about riding a horse. The horses where they had been living were working horses and not for riding. Katie was also looking forward to getting back on a horse. She was already planning on talking to James about getting Opal riding lessons and maybe she will like jumping. Katie was excited about helping on the farm and she didn't even know what Jack and his family all had planned.
After Katie and Opal headed to their new apartment, Jack insisted that they would clean up from supper. Elizabeth, Doug and Lee quickly helped Jack clean up. When they were done, they gathered their laptops and headed downstairs. They wanted to get things ready to head out in the morning. Jack went to his room and retrieved Elizabeth's passport and also grabbed the garment bag that had the two dresses in it. He went and knocked on her room.
"Hey." Jack said. "These are what I picked out for our date. You can take both of them and decide tomorrow or you can take neither and choose something else. I am taking black dress jeans, my dress boots and a couple of tops to choose from."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will look. I will pack an overnight bag and then I think I will come out to the tv room."
"I was going to do the same." Jack said. "I do need to run down and check on the horses, but I think Doug wanted to wait for Frank and Nathan to get back."
"Sounds good." Elizabeth said.
Jack leaned in and gave Elizabeth a quick kiss and then turned to head to his room. Once he was there, he quickly got what he needed and put it in the small overnight bag. He put the check in his messenger bag with his laptop and made sure he had everything else. Once he was done, he went out to the tv room and sat with Lee who had turned on the game. It wasn't long and both Elizabeth and Doug wandered out and joined them. They were watching the baseball game when Frank and Nathan came downstairs.
"Get everything?" Jack asked.
"I think so." Frank said. "They didn't have a great selection of polo shirts."
"We have plenty." Doug said. "Nathan, show him the walk in. I am sure that between Jack and I there is something that will fit him. He can always go ask Grandpa James as well."
"We will look." Nathan said.
"Did you pack?" Frank asked.
"I am ready." Jack said.
"Me too." Elizabeth said.
"I was waiting to see what shirts you guys had for tomorrow night." Doug said. "Everything else is ready."
"You guys figure things out." Jack said. "I am going to run down and check on the horses for the night."
"I will go with you." Doug said. "Nathan, I trust you to grab me a shirt that will go with what you guys pick out. The dress code for the place is business casual and up."
"No problem." Nathan said.
"I need to throw a load in." Frank said.
"I can show you." Nathan said.
Jack and Doug headed to check on the horses, while Frank and Nathan headed to the bedroom to figure out what they needed. Lee and Elizabeth went back to the game. Elizabeth wasn't all that into baseball, but since Jack liked it, she was going to try. Lee was nice enough to explain things as she had questions.
"You really are okay staying?" Elizabeth asked at one point.
"Yes." Lee said. "Like I said, I am not a huge fan of flying. I will do it if I have to, but I prefer to not."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
"Besides." Lee said. "I can get things done for the show and also help Gran with Opal."
"Good point." Elizabeth said.
Once they had their bags packed and laundry in, Frank and Nathan joined Lee and Elizabeth to watch the game.
"I am glad you are staying." Elizabeth said to Frank.
"Me too." Frank said. "I love this area. I wouldn't mind looking for a job up here. I am between things right now and trying to figure out if I want to stay in the city or what."
Elizabeth smiled at what Frank said. She knew that Jack would be happy to hear that and she hoped that Frank would take the job as property manager for their new place. She still hadn't gotten a lot of the details on Jack's grand plans, but she had glanced at the paperwork that Jack had given her and asked her to read when she had time.
"So you think you will come back for the show?" Lee asked.
"I am going to really try." Frank said. "It depends on what happens between now and then. I have been looking for a job in the city, but I am not sure I want to stay. The Army buddy that I had been working with moved to Michigan to work with his new father-in-law. They left a few days after he did. I was only working at the company to help him out and I didn't particularly like the boss, so it was okay."
"What were you doing?" Elizabeth asked.
"Construction." Frank said. "I have my money from the Army, but I like to keep busy."
"I understand that." Nathan said.
"So if you could have any job?" Elizabeth asked. "What would you like to do?"
"I grew up around horses and farming." Frank said. "I love the outdoors, so maybe something with that. I just want to work for good people. I don't necessarily want to have a bunch of horses of my own."
"That makes sense." Elizabeth said.
"What makes sense?" Jack asked walking down the stairs.
"I was telling them that I wouldn't mind working with horses or on a farm." Frank said. "But I don't necessarily want a bunch of horses myself."
"Oh." Jack said. "I was going to ask if you were thinking of going back to construction or what your plan was."
"Something will come along." Frank said. "I trust God will put me where I am needed."
Jack just smiled as he sat down next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth leaned into Jack as they sat watching the game talking about different players. After the game was over, the guys headed to their room. Jack and Elizabeth sat there for a moment and then he walked her to her room. When they got to Elizabeth's room, Jack pulled her close.
"Are you okay with offering Frank the job?" Jack whispered.
"I think he would be perfect." Elizabeth said. "I am glad I got a chance to get to know him today and will get to know him even better as time goes on. I know that you were looking forward to Father Mark coming along, but it will be okay."
"I know." Jack said. "I am excited to take you to dinner. Did you like the dresses?"
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I am bringing both. I will decide tomorrow."
"Good." Jack said. "Just so you know I like the black and white one just a bit better."
"Noted." Elizabeth said.
Jack gave Elizabeth a quick kiss and then headed to his room. Elizabeth watched him walk away and knew that they were pushing boundaries with their physical contact, but for the time being she knew that they would be okay. She just worried if they would be able to last until Christmas if the Bishop denied their request. When Jack got back to his room, he went to the safe and pulled out the white gold pearl set and added it to his bag to give to Elizabeth. After crawling into bed, Jack said a quick prayer then rolled over and dreamt of Elizabeth.
After watching Jack walk to his room, Elizabeth went into her room. She quickly pulled out her journal and sat down at the desk. She wrote her thoughts about Frank as well as the ideas that had come to her about what she wanted for their new property. She had seen a few commercials during the game and ideas started coming to her. She pulled out a blank piece of paper and made a list of the things that she wanted for the house as well as the property. She also made a list of things that she thought they might be able to add as far as fruit trees.
Once Elizabeth had written in her journal, she double checked the small bag that she had packed as well as the clothes that she had laid out for the trip. Once she was happy she remembered everything, she crawled in bed and thought of Jack. She was hoping to sleep and have a wonderful dream. She knew that they had moved fast, but she also knew that her future was with Jack. She had never been more sure of something then she was of Jack. She knew that there were things that they still needed to work on, but she knew that Jack loved her and she loved him. She wasn't sure what would happen in the future, but she knew that they would face it together.