Elizabeth and Rosemary had a wonderful afternoon. Elizabeth put Jack down for his nap in the bassinet that the Coulters kept for Jack in their living room. The two ladies prepared potatoes and chopped vegetables for the meal. While the roast was cooking, they made some coffee and sat at the kitchen table. Elizabeth looked down at her cup, stirring the coffee thinking about her day. Rosemary looked over at her friend, concern on her face.
"How was your first day back in the classroom?"
Elizabeth looked up at Rosemary, "It was so great to see all the students again. I missed them all so much. I did worry about leaving Jack and I missed him too. I know that you don't mind caring for him, but I don't want to take advantage of our friendship either."
"Elizabeth!" Rosemary exclaimed reaching out for her hand. "You are not taking advantage of anyone. I am thrilled to help you in any way I can. Jack is the sweetest little boy. I know that Lee and I have not been blessed with children, but I would care for Jack as if he was my own. I hope you know that."
"Of course I do. And I know that you and Lee are meant to be parents one day. You are so great with Jack. I just feel like I need to find a long term plan for caring for Jack, I'm just not sure what that is."
Before Rosemary could answer her, Lee arrived home. "Hello everyone!" he said a little softer than normal seeing Elizabeth there, knowing that Jack may be sleeping in the house. Lee walked over and gave Rosemary a kiss on her cheek. "How was both of your days?"
"Excellent honey! Jack and I had the best day while Elizabeth was at school. We are just waiting for the roast to finish cooking for dinner. How was your day? Anything interesting happen in town today?" Rosemary stood as she spoke to Lee, getting another cup to get him some coffee as well.
Lee took the coffee from Rosemary, adding milk and sugar to make it how he liked it. Once he took a sip, he turned to the ladies, "I saw Tom outside the saloon today. He said he has been living in Union City to take care of his mother in law. The travel is becoming too much for him and he is considering selling the saloon."
"Selling the saloon?! But what would the town do without the saloon? That is where we hold all the town events and gatherings. There isn't another space like that in town," Rosemary said looking between Lee and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth asked, "Does he have a buyer in mind?"
"Not that he said. He said he loves the town. I think he would be open to offers if someone local wanted to buy it. I saw Henry and Bill as I was walking home and both of them seemed interested when I mentioned that Tom might be selling."
"I hope someone in town buys it. If someone from a big city were to buy it, we do not know what their plans for it would be," Elizabeth said.
"I will talk to Henry and Bill tomorrow. Once of them will buy it, I'm sure," Rosemary said.
Lee took her hand and kissed it. Lee had been worried as well when he heard that Tom was selling the saloon. He agreed that the best thing for the town would be for someone local to purchase it so they could continue to use it like a community room, rather than a traditional saloon that larger towns had. Hope Valley had always been a quiet town and there would be concerns over the type of crowd a new saloon would bring in. If there was someone who could talk Henry and Bill into doing something, it was his wife.
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Florence had agreed to watch Jack this morning at Elizabeth's house. Rosemary came over in the morning so Elizabeth could leave for school. Once Florence arrived, Rosemary decided to walk to town. She wanted to find Henry and Bill this morning to talk to them about the saloon situation. Lee had already gone to his office with the saw mill earlier because he had a busy day ahead. Rosemary decided to go to his office first to see if she could find Henry there. Even if he wasn't, she thought maybe she could talk Lee into going to breakfast with her.
Rosemary walked into the office as Lee was working at his desk. He looked deep in concentration on some paperwork and didn't even look up as she entered. Rosemary knew that he had been busy lately and she could see it on his face. Yes, she thought, breakfast would be a wonderful idea for her husband. Rosemary put her hand on his shoulder as she came up beside his chair.
"Hello, sweetheart. How long have you been here?"
"Just a couple of minutes. You looked busy so I didn't want to bother you. What do you say to a break for a breakfast date with me? I have some time before I go look for Henry and Bill."
"That sounds great," Lee said looking up at her. "Actually I think Henry said he was going to the cafe so you might be able to find him there."
"Why didn't you say so earlier! Let's hurry before we miss him!" Rosemary said, almost pulling Lee out of his chair. Lee chuckled to himself as he had just enough time to put down his pencil and grab his jacket off the back of his chair.
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Rosemary walked over to the cafe with Lee, her arm woven through his. She loved having time together with him, but with his job getting busier it seemed to be more difficult to find the time. As much as she wanted to talk to Henry, she also wanted to spend time with her husband. Lee opened the door for her and guided Rosemary into the cafe. She immediately began looking around for Henry, hoping they could find a table near him. She was in luck! she thought to herself. Henry was sitting by the window and the table across from him was open.
"Hello Henry, how nice to see you today." Rosemary sat down at the table across from him, motioning for Lee to join her. He smiled, shaking his head, knowing what she was up to.
"Hello Rosemary, Hello Lee," Henry replied. Lee smiled sat down. Clara came over to give Rosemary and Lee both coffee and take their order. They both ordered the special of the day, which was fried eggs with bacon and toast.
Henry was sitting drinking his cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Rosemary knew she was going to have to lead this conversation. "Henry, have you heard the news about the saloon?"
"Yes, I did. I heard yesterday that Tom was considering selling the saloon. This morning he put up a for sale sign with a closed sign on the post outside."
Rosemary was surprised it was moving so fast. She thought she would have time to convince Henry or Bill to move forward in purchasing the saloon. If Tom already had a sign up, maybe he knew of a buyer already. "Did you talk to Tom, does he have a buyer in mind for the saloon. I would hate to have someone new come into town."
Lee looked up from his coffee. "Hey, I was a newcomer to town at one point. I don't think that turned out that bad, do you?" he said smiling at his wife.
"No, that was the best thing to happen to me. But what if the town isn't so lucky another time." Rosemary then turned to Henry, "I heard that you might be interested in purchasing it Henry."
"I thought about it but I only have about half the money that Tom is asking for it."
"Oh." Rosemary said. "Well, I may have an idea on that. Let me see what I can find out and I will let you know." Rosemary turned back to Lee as Clara brought over their food. She would finish her breakfast with Lee and then go to find Bill. Maybe this would work out after all.