All I Want For Christmas – Chapter 12
A feeling of ease had settled over the Thatcher household as Christmas Day was coming to an end, the closeness that had been rekindled between them all during the day still very much evident. Optimism hung in the air as each of them reflected on the choices they had to make about their future knowing that they did so with the support and love of everyone around them no matter what path they decided to take.
William and Grace sat together by the fire, contentedly watching while their daughters and their partners played a game of parcheesi, all squashed around the card table that had been put up hurriedly when Elizabeth came running down from the nursery with it in her hand.
"Do you remember we used to play Jeu de Petits Chess when we were young? she asked Viola and Julie excitedly. "I don't think we ever really knew what the rules were but because it involved horses and it was in French we thought it was ever so grown up. It took me a long time to realise that it was just another version of Ludo!"
Suddenly it was as though they had been transported back to the years when this house was filled with the sound of young voices, the girls arguing over minor things until someone else dared to challenge one of them and then they became a united front, no matter the rights or wrongs of the issue.
"Those poor men don't know what they are in for playing a game with our girls", William said, looking down at his wife with so much love in his eyes that Grace felt a huge tug at her heart. She realised now that not only had she stopped herself from admitting how she felt about him all these years but she had prevented him from truly expressing his love for her. How hard it must have been for him to keep his feelings in check for fear of receiving her scorn.
"If only we could go back and do it all again, William. There is so much I…"
Before she could say another word he leant across and brushed his lips across hers. "There is no looking back Grace. We have a wonderful family that we created together, never forget that. Now we must just be grateful that we have each other for as long as God allows."
At the table Julie made a slight coughing sound and when the others looked towards her she nodded her head in the direction of where their parents sat as she whispered, "Young love, isn't it wonderful".
This brought a giggle from her sisters and a resigned expression from William as he looked across at them. "Even with a wife and three daughters I shall never understand women," he declared so that they could all hear, "I am willing to concede that it is a lost cause".
A while earlier Julie and Tom had finally spoken to each other, encouraged by Nathan and Elizabeth to be honest with their words and, most importantly, to listen to what the other had to say.
Tom suggested that Julie begin by telling him her news so that they could then work out what they needed to do, as clearly there was some conflict of which he was unaware. As she explained her own offer he began to see how she must have felt about what he had said.
"I'm sorry I panicked before", Julie went on, in an effort to make him see. "I was so excited to tell you about my apprenticeship, which I thought was going to make everything so easy for us, when you told me of my father's offer to you. Suddenly I felt as though outside factors were once again deciding my happiness for me. Or at least forcing me to choose between two things I feel so deeply about, even though I know that was not father's intention."
He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face up towards him, his expression serious but with just enough of a hint of a smile on his lips and affection in his eyes to give her hope.
"That's just it Julie. You should never have to give up what you care about and I would never ask you to do that. There is always an answer if you look hard enough for it. If we work together we can find it."
She nodded at what he was saying, still unable to see a way for them to have the time she knew they needed if they were to properly consider a future with each other. She struggled to find her own words to emphasise to him how hard this was and how much both he and her art meant to her.
"It is just such an exciting opportunity and not something that is likely to come my way very often, if at all, again. I have dreamed of such a chance and, if I'm honest, I'm still pinching myself trying to believe it is true. I had planned to tell everyone on Christmas Day when suddenly there you were, back in my life as though you were never gone. Those same feelings were still there although this time it is different. We are older, wiser maybe, and certainly each more sure of who we are. That in itself is exciting too. I want to explore us, see if what we feel for each other is enough for a lifetime together."
She was looking directly at him now, searching for a reaction to the words that she was speaking from her heart. "I've never felt this way about anyone else Tom. Can you understand why I panicked? Suddenly I felt as though my chance of true happiness was going to be snatched away from me one way or the other."
She stopped speaking and waited for him to say something, anything, but he was just looking back at her, his eyes not giving away what was going on inside his head. Eventually he began to nod and in a measured tone said, "I know. I want that too. And I am sorry that I caused you to become upset, you must understand that I would never knowingly do that. Perhaps I didn't choose my words well enough earlier. I guess I was still astonished that your father was offering me a job in his company, considering my history with him. I had been deliberating all night, wondering if I had done the right thing in turning him down."
He heard the soft gasp that escaped Julie's lips and knew she would quickly realise that he had done that without knowing her plans so before she could come to another misguided conclusion he hurriedly continued.
"I explained to your father that I have my own business. One that I have worked very hard to establish over recent years and I am only now at the point where I feel comfortable with where it stands. My trip here was to speak to potential investors and partners with a view to expanding across to this side of the country. I guessed immediately that your father already knew that and I was glad. Considering his thoughts of me in the past I expected him to have checked me out before making his offer."
Julie gave a wry smile as she thought of her father and how protective he was of his family. He would do anything to ensure their happiness and so she could never be angry with him for talking to Tom.
Seeing her relax more with each of his words Tom continued.
"The automobile industry is only going to get bigger and I intend to be at the forefront of that in Canada. It will mean me travelling back and forth quite a bit between Vancouver and here in the early stages but after that I can choose where I want to base myself. That is one of the reasons I was able to say no."
Julie was trying to take it all in and work out what that meant for them.
"So you turned him down on the job offer?"
Tom nodded, "Not only on that but on his offer to invest in my company right now. I have secured a deal and I will not go back on my word, as tempting as it may be to have Thatcher Industries backing me."
He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before his voice became even more serious.
"So I told him that if I am going to have a future with his daughter then my success needs to be achieved without his help. I want your family to respect me, Julie, and I want you to have confidence and pride in me."
She flung her arms around his neck, almost strangling the last few words he was saying as she began speaking between the kisses she was raining down on his face.
"Oh Tom, I am such a fool. I was just so scared suddenly and instead of listening to you I let my imagination take over. Promise you will stop me if I do that again!"
Finally all the tension between them was gone and he laughed as he replied. "Well I did try but you can be a force unto yourself when you want to be, my love. I guess we will have to promise each other to always listen rather than jumping to conclusions. I remember how much hurt doing that caused Jack and Elizabeth. We will find a way to be together as often as possible, I promise. Victoria and Vancouver aren't that far apart after all."
It had been clear to the others when they walked into the drawing room that the misunderstanding had been resolved and as Julie excitedly began explaining everything to her sisters Nathan walked across to greet Tom, patting him on the back as he drew alongside him.
"I'm glad to see that peace has been restored between you two. I won't pretend it is easy to love a Thatcher woman. They have minds of their own so my advice to you would be to choose your battles wisely. Sometimes it is easier to give in on the small things to make life run smoothly."
He jerked forward suddenly as Elizabeth gave him a soft clip across the back of his head. "I heard that!"
Unable to keep a straight face she burst out laughing as she looked at Tom and added, "My husband is a very wise man, you should probably heed his advice on this".
Upstairs Allie was still awake, her book lying beside her on the bed, the last chapter having been read a few times with nothing taken in as her mind was elsewhere. She was beginning to doubt the plan that had immediately come to mind when she overhead Arthur's conversation with his mother.
If I tell him about Robert will that work? Or will it just make him more determined?
She kept asking herself this over and over but couldn't find the answer, never having faced such a situation before.
She had loved being here, spending time with a family that she could now call hers. As the days had gone by she had come to feel as though she had always been one of the, that she belonged, and that was what worried her now. What if she did something to upset everyone and they didn't want her anymore? She had to be certain that however she dealt with Arthur it would not cause any problems between them. She had too much to lose if things went wrong.
"Even with a wife and three daughters, I shall never understand women", William Thatcher declared to the men gathered around him. They were seated at one end of the drawing room, each clutching tight to a brandy balloon as they used the heat from their hands to bring the liquor up to the perfect temperature for drinking.
Around the fire Grace and her daughters were happily chatting about the all that had been disclosed that evening and what these changes would mean to the family.
Viola was speaking now, explaining how she and Lionel had come to the decision to move their family to Hamilton. "It is such a different world in England these days. Everyone seems to be trying so hard to put the war behind them and make up for the tragic loss of so many. The young men who are reaching maturity now are finding themselves having to take on roles for which they were not properly prepared as they were the younger sons of whom little was expected. And if you are not of the highest levels of society then you had better excel on the playing field or have a family business that means something. I know this is the 1920s and things are changing but not fast enough to make a difference to us, I'm afraid."
She was in full swing now, detailing the travails of a world that had been decimated by the loss of so many young men in the war, some would say needlessly. And then of those who had survived so many were struck down by the Spanish flu.