What happened after Gretta opened the door was simple: Gretta and Nicholous fought so hard one would have thought they were actually physically fighting.
A crowd gathered around the doorway, for the multi-lingual fight was quite amusing to other people, but not for Ryan. There he was, sitting in his bed in his nightshirt, while strangers crowded about his room, and Gretta and Nicholous fought long and hard.
Finally, the voices died, and drifted to a somewhat consistent English. Gretta and Nicholous were actually talking! Well, since they had ceased to fight, the crowd began to recede, and soon it was just Gretta, Nicholous, and Ryan again. A kiss on the cheek and large hug settled everything, and then Nicholous left, and Gretta explained everything.
"I'm going back," she said radiantly, "Nicholous finally agreed with me. He's really not a bad person, Ryan, he's just so stubborn he doesn't like to do anything unless it's his way. And if it's not done his way, he's very unreasonable. But we managed to work it out, right here, can you believe it?"
"When will you leave?"
"Next spring. We might make it across the ocean before the ice forms, but we wouldn't make it over the mountains of Switzerland before the tracks froze. Listen Ryan, about your proposal.."
"I understand," he said, trying to hide his disappointment. Gretta smiled, and much to his amazement, she kissed him.
"Thank you," she said softly, and then quietly left the room.
After Gretta left, Ryan lay silently. He was quite disappointed that Gretta did not accept his proposal of marriage...and he was amazed at his disappointment.
He had truly believed that the proposal was merely a sincere offer of help.
Charity.
A marriage of convenience at best.
Yet Gretta's gentle rejection had stung.
Badly.
Dr. Bell had wanted...had planned to return to work tomorrow...or the day after at the latest, but now, all he wanted was to disappear.
Maybe he could suffer a relapse...that would be easy enough...Ryan laughed sarcastically to himself...
"Well at least I wasn't in love with her. I'd hate to think how I'd feel if I had been."
His lip trembled almost imperceptibly, and there was a single tear. Ryan quickly ran a hand across his face.
"No." He decided. "I won't accept it."
But he wasn't sure whether he meant that he wouldn't accept Gretta's rejection...or the fact that perhaps he really did love her...
Suddenly, Ryan was cold. And very tired.
As he pulled the blankets up around him, and began to fall asleep, all he could see was Gretta's beautiful face...
Gretta returned to the Sully's homestead. She sat and talked with Michaela and Sully for awhile before she excused herself to go to bed.
Gretta was still so confused. She was happy that after their discussion, Nicholous had finally understood. She would return to Switzerland in the spring and make things right with her family.
But what about Ryan? It was so good of him to want to help her...to go as far as to propose marriage...but when she declined his proposal, could she have been mistaken?
Gretta was sure she saw pain in Ryan's eyes for a second before his face became blank. Or was she simply transferring her own feelings to him. "Surely Ryan couldn't love me..." Gretta thought to herself. But she wondered. And the thought kept her awake most of the night...
A couple of weeks went by...it was now the first of November. Dr. Bell had long since gone back to work and was keeping himself extremely busy. Gretta had been such a huge help to Michaela lately, much more than she had been hired for.
Both Ryan and Gretta were trying to keep their minds off each other, but neither one realized what the other was thinking. Sooner or later, they would have to see each other again...but neither Ryan nor Gretta could trust their own feelings...and risk hurting, or being hurt...
Daphne and Gilda were working together on putting a show together in time for the holidays. In spite of the way the show had come about, Gilda St. Clair and Daphne Pennington Bell worked very well together, their talents complemented each other nicely. These simple country folk would love them!
They decided to set a date for the performance shortly after Thanksgiving, so that Gilda would have time to spend her Christmas in Philadelphia...as a surprise for Colleen.
"This time, Colleen will come with me! Her husband will just have to accept it!" Gilda said to herself.
Alexandra Pennington was having a lovely birthday. Nathaniel had been so very attentive to her all day, beginning with a very special breakfast in bed...making quite sure she didn't overtax herself, then in the afternoon, Clara, Colleen and Erin surprised her with a wonderful birthday/baby shower/tea party. Later that evening, Colleen and Andrew would join Alexandra, Nathaniel and Erin for a night at the opera. Sasha was ecstatically happy... she only wished her mother would have been a part of it. "Oh well.." she thought, "Perhaps at Christmas..."
Meanwhile at the Colorado Springs' train station a family got off with a lot of baggage. In fact they had all their personal
possessions with them.
"Jacob, Abraham, and Rebekkah come with me while your father checks the luggage," said Mrs. Weiss. As she headed
toward the general store. Mrs. Weiss was dressed in a plain blue cotton dress, an off-white shawl, and had her hair done up.
Five year old, Jacob, and three year old Abraham were both in slacks and shirts, while Rebekkah had on a purple cotton dress,
and couldn't seem to stay still.
"Mommy, can I go play with those girls and boys," she said pointing toward a group of girls and boys about 9 and 10 years old.
"Not right now Rebekkah, we have to go find out how to get to the spring chateau," responded Mrs. Weiss. "Oh no Jacob,
are you ok?" she cried as Jacob slipped and fell on his arm.
"Owe, it hurts, it hurts mommy make it stop it hurts," cried Jacob in tears.
"What hurts?"
"My arm it hurts my arm make it stop!!!"
Then Abraham started to cry because he realized that something was wrong.
"Oh someone please find a doctor," cried Mrs. Weiss as Mr. Weiss walked out of the telegraph office.
"Come with me," I know where the doctor is said Myra as she saw what was wrong. They all went to the clinic and Myra
knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Dr. Mike. Myra opened the door...
Michaela was sitting at her desk when the group walked in.
"Why, hello Myra, how are you?" she said.
"Fine. Dr. Mike, this little boy needs some treatment. He fell down on his arm. Scraped it pretty badly."
Michaela got up and walked to the little boy. She took his arm and starting examining it. His shirt was bloody, and it was a nasty wound on his arm.
"Well, its not very bad. But I will have to clean it," Michaela said. As she went to go get some bandages, antiseptic, and a cloth, Jacob turned to his mother and burst into tears.
"Mommy! It's going to hurt. I don't want the lady to fix it! It's going to hurt!" Jacob cried out.
"Shhh...Quiet. The lady will fix it," Mrs. Weiss said. Dr. Mike came back just then.
"Okay, are you ready?" she asked. Jacob trembled for a second, then nodded.
Dr. Mike began to clean the wound. Tears began to spill out of Jacob's eyes. Tears also began to come out of Abraham's eyes too, even though he wasn't injured. Finally, Michaela wrapped a bandage around Jacob's arm and gave him a smile.
"All done now," she said. She turned to Mrs. Weiss.
"That'll be 25 cents. Oh, I didn't catch your name?" Michaela said.
"Its Weiss. Ummm..could I possibly pay you later? We just moved here to town," Mrs. Weiss said.
"Of course. And what are your names," she asked the three children.
"Jacob."
"Abraham."
"Rebekkah."
"Nice to meet you all. Now Mrs.Weiss, do you need any help, any one to watch the children?" Michaela asked.
"Why, that would be helpful. But I don't want to trouble you..." she began.
"Oh, its no trouble at all." The group moved outside of the clinic.
"I love children. I have 4 of my own...and here comes one of them right now."
Brian and Sarah were walking down the street. Dr. Mike waved her arm to catch their attention.
"Brian! Come meet Mrs. Weiss and her children."
The two of them walked over and bid hello. Brian started to turn away, but Dr. Mike grabbed his shoulder.
"Brian, watch Mrs. Weiss's children. They're new to town, and they need help."
"But Ma...."he whispered.
"Just do it, please?" Dr. Mike whispered back.
"Okay. Come on. Let's go." Brian called to them.
The three children stared at him.
"Its all right. Go on. Mommy will see you later," Mrs. Weiss called out.
Brian and Sarah took the children all over the town. They introduced them to Mr. Bray, Mayor Slicker, Mrs. Jennings, Mr. Lawson, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E., Preston, and all the rest. It seemed that they had barely begun to sightsee when Mrs. Weiss came to fetch her children. Just the same, Brian was glad to be alone with Sarah again.
A few weeks passed and Thanksgiving approached quickly.
In Philadelphia, Colleen got out of school and Andrew took some time off so they could spend a few days in Connecticut. Colleen was packing when Andrew came home. He had tickets reserved and the depot was holding them.
"Almost done?" Andrew asked. Colleen paused to give her husband a kiss.
"Almost. Andrew, do you think we'll be going to any restaurants?"
"What? Restaurants. Why?"
"because if we are I want to pack something formal. See here! What are these doing in here?"
She pulled out a pair of old gray, threadbare pants. Andrew had had them since he graduated. They were his favorites, and he wore them all the time, despite the hidden patch on the cuffs.
"Colleen, I were them all the time! Why can't I take them?"
"Andrew, they're too old! Didn't you say your friend has a house and his own practice? He and his wife are probably very dignified, and it just wouldn't do to have you walking around in patched trousers!" She flung the pants on the floor replaced the gap in the suitcase with Andrew's new dark gray suit.
"There! That about does it!"
Nearly nine hours later, the Cooks were speeding across the land in their train. Colleen looked out at the landscape while Andrew read one of his medical journals.
"Next stop Faireplace, Connecticut!" The conductor yelled.
Colleen snapped her head up and began fidgeting and primping while Andrew gathered their luggage. When the train stopped, Colleen and Andrew were the first in line to get off. It had grown dark, but the lights of the depot made it seem like day. There was a crowd, and Colleen noticed Andrew was straining to see.
"Andrew!" Someone yelled. "Andrew!" Andrew looked about until he saw a tall man in a black overcoat waving. He waved back. Colleen saw a small woman in furs standing next to him, also smiling and waving. The Cooks got off the train and the other couple greeted them warmly.
"John!"
"Andrew!"
"It's been much too long!"
"You can saw that again! Andrew, this is Audrey, I believe you met her once a few years ago."
"Oh yes! How are you Audrey?"
"Oh! Much better now that I know your both here safely! And is this Colleen? Why Andrew Cook you still haven't learned to stop under-exaggerating! How do you do? I'm Audrey Hamilton."
"Colleen Cook. It's so nice to be meeting you!"
As soon as she met them, Colleen fell in love with the John and Audrey Hamilton, which wasn't hard, because they were lovely people. They were always laughing, or smiling, or just down right being merry. It was hard to be blue when you were around them.
"Come," Audrey was saying, "our carriage is just over here."
'A carriage!' Colleen thought in awe. The mile to the Hamilton's house went like a dream. It was full of merriment and laughter. The house itself was medium, and made of brick.
"You might as well spend the extra money and get brick as long as you live in the North East," John told them. "For it's much warmer in the winter." It was a three-bedroom house, with a library/study, a front and back parlor, a family room, dinning room, kitchen, and a magnificent entrance hall. Everywhere there were crystal candy bowls, books, decorative china, figurines, and trinkets.
"Wedding presents!" John scoffed. "There's five siblings in my family, and nine in Audrey's. I don't believe we'd have been able to buy a house if we'd had to buy all this stuff ourselves.
Later, while the Cooks unpacked, Colleen said,
"Andrew, I'm glad we came to Connecticut. I really am." Andrew just smiled in return.
Andrew took his wife in his arms. "I'm glad to hear you say that! I really am."
Colleen smiled and then wriggled away to finish unpacking. After all, it would never do to allow Andrew's new gray suit to become wrinkled! She hung it up, as well as several of her own dresses and other things. Finally, she and Andrew snuggled into the warm bed, tired from the long trip, but glad to be there.
In Colorado Springs, things were well under way for Thanksgiving. Robert E. had made Grace promise to hire more help because he didn't want his wife on her feet for very long in her condition. Michaela and Sully were disappointed to see that Andrew and Colleen couldn't get home, but were anxiously making plans for their Christmas trip to Philadelphia. All in all, Colorado Springs was greeting the approaching holidays with a genuine joyful spirit.
Alexandra sighed as she read the note from her father. Her mother had refused to come to the Thanksgiving dinner she had planned because she was still mad at Erin. Honestly, this was getting out of hand! Finally, Alexandra decided to see if she could talk some sense into her mother.
Michaela and Sully sat at the kitchen table, talking about their trip to see Colleen and Andrew.
"Oh, I miss her so much. It still seems like only yesterday..." Michaela said. "But, I can't wait to see her face when she hears that we're going to spend Christmas with them!"
"Spend Christmas with who?" Michaela and Sully turned around in their chairs. Matthew had entered the room and was taking off this coat and hat. "Don't tell me you're going to Boston again," Matthew joked.
"No." Michaela made a face, while Sully laughed. "We're making plans to go see Colleen and Andrew this Christmas!"
"Really? Have a fun time." Matthew started to walk out of the room.
"But Matthew! This is for the whole family. You, me, Sully, Katie, and Brian! We need time to relax and spend time together. Now, don't worry about Gretta. She said she'll spend the holidays with her brother," Michaela said.
"Let me think about," Matthew said.
Michaela gave him a strange look as he walked away. "What's the matter with him? He should be happy!"
"I don't think that's the matter. He wants to see them, but he doesn't want to leave a certain person here," Sully said knowingly. "Just leave him alone," he added, when he saw Michaela's confused look. "He'll know what to do."
Alexandra, Erin and Nathaniel were sitting at the breakfast table, arguing. As far as arguments go, it was not that fair of a fight, considering that it was two against one, Alexandra being the minority.
"Erin, I do not want to have a holiday where my family is fighting! Mama's first grandchild is due in a little less than seven weeks, and I refuse to allow this fight to go on and hinder that event for everyone. Besides, I am not saying that you have to give in. You know that I support your decision one-hundred percent!"
"Sasha, I am not going to have my appetite ruined on Thanksgiving because Mama refuses to see my side, and besides, talking to her will do no good! Daddy's been trying for months and has gotten nowhere!"
"Alex, I have to agree with Erin on this one. Talking to your mother will only end up upsetting you, and in your condition, undue stress could be very dangerous. Sweetheart, you know what happened last time!" Nathaniel pleaded.
Alexandra got up from the table with some difficulty and stood to face her husband and sister.
"I can't see the harm in having a civil conversation with my own mother in an attempt to save an already doomed holiday dinner. Erin, I will try to talk some sense into her, and Nathaniel, I will be careful of my health. You know that nothing in the world means more to me than the health of our child! Now, I hope you all have a good day. I am leaving." With that, she turned and walked from the breakfast room to go get ready to leave.
Nathaniel and Erin looked at each other, shaking their heads.
They both rose, coming around on either side of Alexandra, each taking her by the arm. Nathaniel spoke first. "In that case, I'm coming with you."
"We both are." Erin said, just as resolved. Alexandra looked at her husband and sister in amazement. She was not used to either of them behaving in this manner.
"You can't!" she said, trying in vain to disengage her arms.
"Either one of you! Now let me go!"
"If you get yourself upset now, you won't be going at all." Nathaniel said calmly.
Erin nodded in agreement.
"I'm not upset." Alexandra forced the agitation out of her voice.
"I simply don't see any reason for the two of you to accompany me to visit my own mother. Besides, you two will only upset her, especially you, Aria...at least she's not actively mad at you, Natty, but if she sees you there for my protection..."
"Which I WILL be!" Nathaniel added.
"From my own mother?!?" Alexandra nearly shouted.
Erin said, "Do I hear ANOTHER reason for Sasha not to go?"
"You will not be going without me." Nathaniel said, still calmly, but his voice had an edge to it.
He was quickly losing his patience.
"...and as long as Nathaniel's going with you, I don't necessarily HAVE to go..." Erin said, trying to help matters.
"NO!" Alexandra said.
"That will never do! You're both staying...I'm leaving!"
She finally got her arms back and started to go.
Nathaniel cut her off by putting himself directly in front of her.
"You'll do no such thing! I forbid it!!!" he shouted, angry now.
"You what?!?" Alexandra shouted back, just as angry.
It had been a long time since Nathaniel and Alexandra had argued like this. They usually got along so well...even minor disagreements were extremely rare, but when they DID get into this sort of discussion...
Suffice it to say, neither one noticed that they had guests.
Erin had tried to get their attention, but it did no good.
"Excuse me! Did we come at a bad time? We could always come back later!"
Nathaniel and Alexandra turned around, both becoming visibly pale when they realized Alexandra's parents were standing there...both smiling, and that Catherine was the one who had spoken.
She continued. "I have decided to become the peacemaker in this family. Apparently not a moment too soon."
Alexandra took Nathaniel's hand, looking at him with a silent apology. She hadn't meant for this to go as far as it did, but she truly thought her husband would have given in long before now...
Nathaniel returned the look in kind; thanking God their argument had been stopped dead in its tracks. He would never have forgiven himself if THIS would have threatened Alexandra's health or that of their baby.
"As I said..." Catherine spoke again, "It's time we all discussed this matter...CALMLY. I promise. We need to think of my grandchild!"
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