[Canadian West 02] - When Comes the Spring (3 page)

I hummed to myself as I walked slowly to the parlor. I had
intended to be in the parlor waiting for Wynn when he arrived, instead
of entering rushed and harried after he had already come ... like I had
done on so many previous evenings.

Wynn was listening attentively to the chattering Katheen, and I couldn't help but smile at the homey picture they made.

'An' after that, we went an' looked in the store windows-just for
fun," explained Kathleen. 'An' then we took a ride on the streetcar just
as far as it would go-just to see where it went-an' then we took it
back all the way home again!" Kathleen waved her small hand to show
Wynn just how far all the way home really was.

Wynn smiled at the little girl. Clearly he was enjoying their conversation.

"Was it fun?" he asked, not because he needed the answer but
because he sensed Kathleen needed to be able to express it.

"It was lots of fun!" exclaimed Kathleen. "We ate two kinds of ice
cream. Even Aunt Beth ate two kinds. An' we brought home lemon
drops for Sarah and William-Baby 'Lisbeth might choke on lemon
drops," she explained seriously, so Wynn would understand why Baby
'Lisbeth had been left out. "Then we walked all the way up the hill,
right from the bottom, 'stead of ridin' the streetcar-'cause Aunt Beth
said she needed the ex'cise." She giggled. "To work off the ice cream,"
she added. "And we sang songs when we walked."

It had been a fun day. I realized it even more as I listened to Kathleen share it with Wynn.

"Next time will you take me, too?" Wynn asked seriously, and
Kathleen nodded, suddenly feeling sorry that Wynn had missed out on
so much.

"Maybe we can go again tamora," she said thoughtfully. "I'll go ask
Aunt Beth."

Kathleen bounded from the couch to run to my room and then
noticed me standing by the door. Wynn's eyes looked up, too. Surprise,
then pleasure, showed on his face as he stood to his feet and held out
a hand to me. Neither of us spoke, but I could read questions coming
my way.

"We had a wonderful day," I confirmed Kathleen's story.

"You look like you've had a wonderful day," Wynn said, taking my
hand and drawing me closer to him. "Your cheeks are glowing and
your eyes are shining-even more beautifully than usual."

I pulled back a little as Wynn tried to draw me close, thinking of
the curious eyes of young Kathleen. Wynn must have read my
thoughts.

"Kathleen," he said, turning to the wee girl, "why don't you go out
on the step and wait with Sarah for your daddy and William to come
home. They'll want to hear all about your big day, too."

Kathleen ran from the room, and Wynn smiled at me and pulled
me close. I did not resist him. The strength of his arms about me and
his gentle kiss reminded me again of how much I had missed really
spending time with him during the previous distracting days. I would
be so glad when the long weeks ahead had finally passed by and I
would be Mrs. Wynn Delaney. Right now it seemed forever. I forgot
about all I had to do in the next few weeks and thought instead of this
man I loved.

When he stopped kissing me, he whispered against my hair, "I love
you, Elizabeth. Have I told you that?"

I looked up at his face. His eyes were teasing, but his voice was
serious.

"Not often enough, or recently enough," I teased back.

"I must remedy that," he said. "How about a walk in the moonlight tonight?"

I laughed, thinking of how late the Alberta night would be before
the moon was shining.

"Well," I said, "I'd kind of like to hear it before that. You know it
doesn't even start to get dark until after ten o'clock. That's an awful
long time to wait."

Wynn laughed too. "Let's not wait for the moon then," he agreed.
"I'd still like to go for a walk."

"We'll walk," I promised, "and just talk. We have so much to talk
about, Wynn."

"More wedding decisions?" He sounded almost apprehensive.

"Not tonight. That can wait. Tonight we will talk-just about us.
There is still much I want to know about the man I'm going to marry,
you know."

Wynn kissed me again.

The sound of the front door told us that Jonathan had arrived
home. He entered the house to encounter his two young daughters
talking excitedly. Jonathan tried to listen to them both, attempting to
share in the excitement and the enthusiasm they felt. And William had tales of his own he was bursting to tell. He had worked just like a man
at his father's business and was making great plans for all the money he
was sure to make over the summer.

Mary joined the happy commotion in the hall and was greeted by
her husband with a warm hug and a kiss. Jonathan did not agree with
the tradition of parents hiding their affection from their children's seeing eyes.

"Who needs to know more than they, that I love you?" he often
told Mary; and the children grew up in a household where loving was
an accepted and expected part of life.

At the sound of the family moving our way, I drew back reluctantly
from Wynn. Perhaps now wasn't quite the time for me to openly show
my feeling for Wynn in front of Jonathan's children, though I knew it
was not in the least hidden. How could I hide it, feeling as I did?

The pleasant supper hour seemed to pass very quickly. All around
the table was shared laughter and chatter. The children were allowed
and even encouraged to be a part of it. Baby Elizabeth, who now
insisted on feeding herself, was the reason for much of the merriment.
Her intentions were good, but not all of the food got to its intended
location. She ended up adorned with almost as much as she devoured.
The children laughed, and Elizabeth put on even more of a show.

Wynn enthusiastically entered into the gaiety of the evening. Now
and then he reached beneath the damask white tablecloth to give my
hand a gentle squeeze. From all outward appearances, he was his usual
amenable self; but, for some reason, the meal had not progressed very
far until I sensed that something about him was different. There
seemed to be an underlying tension about him. I looked around the
table to see if any of the others had noticed it. Jonathan and Wynn
were talking about some of the new businesses that had recently been
established in our very young city. They were pleased for the growth
and what it meant to the residents of the town. Jonathan seemed to
sense no difference in Wynn. My eyes passed on to Mary. Though busy
with the struggling Elizabeth who was refusing her proffered help,
Mary seemed to be her usual relaxed self. I decided that maybe I had
imagined the undercurrent and concentrated on what was being said.

But, no. I was sure it was there. The way Wynn looked at me, the way he pressed my hand at every given opportunity, the way he leaned
slightly my way so his arm brushed against my shoulder-all sent
unspoken little messages to me. I found myself anxious for the meal to
end so I might be alone with this man I was to marry.

I had no appetite for dessert. I begged off with the excuse that I
had already eaten two cones of town ice cream with Kathleen. I sat
there, impatiently twisting my coffee cup back and forth in my hands
as I waited for the rest of the family to finish the meal. I had determined to be completely relaxed tonight-completely relaxed and a
pleasant companion for Wynn. I had determined to push aside all of
the plans and decisions concerning the coming wedding so I might
concentrate only on him-and here I was, tensing up inside again. And
for no reason I could explain.

"Why dolt we take that walk?" I asked Wynn when the meal was
finally over. I was rewarded with a broad smile.

"Why, there is nothing I would rather do, Miss Thatcher," he
teased. But I saw a certain seriousness in his eyes, and a funny little
chill of fear went tingling through my body.

We left the house and strolled, up the familiar street. We had not
gone far when I turned impulsively to him and asked, "Would you
mind very much if, instead of walking, we went for a drive? I'd love to
drive up to where we could see the mountains."

He smiled. "That's a wonderful idea," he agreed. "Perhaps we can
stay and watch the sunset."

The sun would not be setting for several hours. I smiled back at
Wynn. It sounded good to me-all of that time to sit and talk.

We walked back to the house and were about to enter Wynn's car,
when he suggested, "Perhaps you should have a shawl or coat, Elizabeth. It may be cool before we get back. Can I get you one?"

"I left a light coat in the back hall. It will do."

Wynn helped me into the car and went for the coat. I imagined
that while inside he also told Jon and Mary of our change of plans.
When we were on our way, Wynn chatted easily. We left the city and
drove up the familiar hill to the place we could look out at the mountains to the west. Still I could sense something, though I did not question him.

When we reached the summit, we left the car and walked to a
fallen log. It was a perfect spot from which to look out at the mountain
grandeur before us. I sighed as I settled myself. In just about seven
weeks' time, I would be visiting those mountains-visiting them as
Mrs. Wynn Delaney. I wished instead that our wedding would be next
week-no, I wished that it were tomorrow!

Wynn sat down beside me and his arm pulled me close. He kissed
me and then we fell into silence, both of us gazing out toward the
mountains. His arm tightened. He must have been thinking of the
coming honeymoon, too, for he broke into my thoughts with a question.

"You aren't going to change your mind, are you, Elizabeth?"

"Me?" I said, astonished.

"Well, I wondered with all the work and preparations if you might
decide that it wasn't worth it after all."

I sighed again, but this time for a different reason. "I've been a
bore, haven't I? All the talk and all the fretting and all the frustrations
showing. I'm afraid I haven't been much fun to be with recently, but
I-"

Wynn stopped me with a gentle kiss. "I haven't been very supportive, have I?" he confessed. "The truth is, I would like to be, but I just
don't know how. I had no idea that along with a wedding came so
much planning and ... and ... frustration," he ended weakly. "I'm
sometimes afraid it will all be too much for you and for Mary. You
both look tired and pale."

"Oh, Wynn," I almost wailed. "It's awfully silly. Today I saw just
how silly. I'm going to talk to Mary tomorrow. We can do things much
more simply. There is no need to wear oneself out before beginning
life together. Why, if I put half as much effort into making a marriage
work as I have put into trying to prepare for a wedding-"

I left the sentence dangling. Wynn's arm tightened about me again.

"Is that what is bothering you?" I finally asked.

I felt the tension in Wynn's arm.

"Did I say something was bothering me?" he asked.

"No. You didn't say it," I said slowly, "but I could sense it somehow. I'm not sure just how, but-"

Wynn stood up, drawing me with him. He looked deeply into my
eyes.

"I love you, Elizabeth," he said quietly. "I love you so very much.
How foolish I was to ever think I could live without you."

He pressed my head against his chest, and I could hear the low,
steady beating of his heart.

"There is something, isn't there?" I asked, without looking up,
afraid of what I might find in Wynn's eyes.

Wynn took a deep breath and lifted my chin so he might look into
my eyes.

"My posting came today."

His posting! My mind raced. It must be a terrible place to make
Wynn look so serious. Well, it didn't matter. I could take it. I could
take anything as long as we were together.

"It doesn't matter," I said evenly, willing him to believe me. "It
doesn't matter, Wynn. Really. I don't mind where we go. I've told you
that, and I really mean it. I can do it-really I can."

He pulled me against him again and pressed his lips against my
hair.

"Oh, Elizabeth," he said, and his words were a soft moan. "It's not
where, it's when," he continued.

"When?" I pulled back and searched his face. "When? What do
you mean?"

"I'm to be at my new post by the first of August."

My head refused to put everything into focus. I tried hard to get it
all to make sense, but for some reason nothing seemed to fit.

"But you can't," I stammered. "Our wedding isn't until September
the tenth."

"But I must. When one is sent, one goes."

"But did you tell them?"

"Certainly."

"Can't they change it? I mean-"

"No, Elizabeth, they expect me to do the changing."

"But where are you posted? Is it up north as you had hoped?"

"Yes, it's up north."

`But that's such a long way to travel to come back for the wedding. It really doesn't make sense to ... It would be such a long trip back
and forth and would waste so much of your time-"

"Elizabeth," said Wynn gently. "The Police Force does not allow
men to come out of the North until their tour of duty is finished."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that once I go to my posting, I will be there-probably
for three or four years without returning. It depends on-"

But I cut in, my eyes wide and questioning. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there can't be a September wedding."

I felt the strength leave my body. I was glad Wynn was holding
me-I'm afraid I could not have stood on my own. For a moment I
was dazed, and then my foggy brain began to work again. No September wedding. The Police Force would not let Wynn travel back from
the north country once he had set up residence there. Wynn was to be
at his posting in only two short weeks. That didn't leave much time.

I willed the strength back into my legs and lifted my head to look
at Wynn again. I had never seen his face so full of anguish.