"Thank you Mister Alderidge. She said graciously as they stepped into the empty foyer."Empty now, but not for long." She smiled at Jonah and Alderidge as well. "Come a long way it has. The these rooms? Oh, the plans, I've not seen them in quite some time. I remember that the offices had wavered in thought as to either here on the first floor or on the second, but I think the plans were revised so that the second floor would house the wards, with the offices and the surgery were here on this floor."

She looked at Jonah hoping he might remember, almost giggling she continued, four of five offices if I remember in the hopes they would be filled. But that may well be a ways off. Jonah and Doctor Boone, when he is here will be the initial staff. Oh and nurses, we'll need a nursing staff. This is just so exciting, we're so close!"

Jonah stood aside to allow Leah to go in ahead, then followed her, feeling a surge of excitement as he looked over what was there.  He'd watched from the outside as the building had taken shape, but this was the first time he'd actually been inside.

"This is really amazing," he murmured, smiling as he reached to take Leah's hand, but checking that just as their fingers touched.  As much as he'd like to take her hand, this wasn't the place, and he wasn't really sure that Leah would welcome the gesture, despite the little shock he felt as their fingers brushed against each other.

"It makes good sense to have the long-term stays upstairs, and the clinics and offices downstairs," Jonah agreed.  "And if it doesn't work out for our purposes we can always move things around."  After all, he really had little idea what he was doing, although he had, at least, spent some time during the schooling that he had, in a hospital.

"We should have Doctor Boone come by to take a look and offer suggestions before snow makes travel difficult."  It would be good to have the older doctor's opinion.

The smile plastered on Leah's face might not come off until June she was so happy with what she saw and all she could envision as she looked over the entryway to their hospital. It was the culmination of half of her dream!

"Yes, yes, we need to send up a wire and invite him down for a look and his opinions. We can put him up at the hotel." She spun herself around to see it all in one panoramic view, and it was amazing. "Mister Aldridge, the men have done just a fabulous job so far. I can hardly wait, but I do realize that winter is almost upon us and whatever they would be doing would be inside for as long as they are able to work."

"Jonah, this is just wonderful! And yes, should things not be as we think they will be, we can and would make those changes. We do need to get Joshiah Boone down here as soon as possible."

"I'll do that as soon as we leave here," Jonah agreed, "I'm sure he'll be impressed, and he'll have good ideas."  He glanced at Aldridge.  "I suppose there's no reason the work on the inside can't continue during the winter?"

As long as there were walls and a roof to protect the interior, it seemed that there could still be construction going on inside, but then, Jonah didn't know anything about construction, and if things such as temperatures could affect materials such as paint.  "It really is going to be something, no question on that, and Kalispell will be all the better for it!"

He glanced at Aldridge.  "I suppose there's no reason the work on the inside can't continue during the winter?"

"Oh my, is that possible Mister Aldridge?" She asked, eyes wide in anticipation. "Why, we can start ordering furnishings, and medical equipment as they progress. Is that really a possibility?

Mason nodded, "Yes it certainly is a possibility. In fact, I would suggest that you start ordering things now just in case winter comes early."

Looking around, Mason continued, "Hopefully, the glass for the windows will be here by the end of the month or early next at the latest.  Once we get it installed, we should be able to make the building waterproof and warm enough to do work inside.  Unfortunately, there will be a little work that needs to be done on the wood heaters and fireplaces before we can start using those as we have to make sure that they will be safe enough and not cause any unexpected fires."

@Bongo

@Flip

"We most certainly don't need any unexpected fires," Jonah declared, trying to maintain his composure as Leah's soft fingers gently squeezed his.  It had been a hard enough fight to push down his feelings for her, or, more rightly, to deny them completely.  She was an amazing woman, intelligent and independent, and she deserved far better than a shiftless grifter, and as much as he had no desire to walk that path any more, it was just a matter of time before his past caught up with him.

"Well, then, I suppose we'll see," he declared with a smile, looking around, "contingent on windows and such, but we'll need to be ready so we can start bringing in equipment as soon as it's feasible."  A good deal of the vital equipment had been ordered, and it was a matter now of letting the dealers know when to send it.

"We could talk to Miss Chappel about storing some of the hardier equipment in her barn, so we have it as soon as we're ready for it."

Leah's smile came and quickly vanished at Jonah's statement regarding fires, which would devastate her plans and set them back, depending on how bad it was. The town had no fire department as say Helena, Virginia City, or any of the other large towns, they would have to rely on a bucket brigade.

"Well, then, I suppose we'll see," he declared with a smile, looking around, "contingent on windows and such, but we'll need to be ready so we can start bringing in equipment as soon as it's feasible."

"Yes, now that we can send for it it seems like we're almost ready to open, but I know we have the second story yet to complete before that can happen." She let slip a giggle.  "I can hardly wait!"

"We could talk to Miss Chappel about storing some of the hardier equipment in her barn, so we have it as soon as we're ready for it."

"Yes, yes, that would be excellent if she had the room for what would be coming. Some of those pieces are already warehoused in Helena. Things that their hospital had no need for, or were ordered in error, but some of the others are back east and we would need to beat the snow to get it here." She agreed, stating the obvious. "We can wire the suppliers today if Addy has the room." She grinned, "What do you think Mister Aldridge? Getting things in place to move in, seems to me to be the wise choice."

@JulieS

Bongo

"I wholeheartedly agree," Mason replied, "Even if for some reason we don't get around to putting some of them during the winter, we will be prepared to do it at the start of spring.  It will save waiting for weeks to get the pieces here and we can get back some of the time we might lose."

Being an observant man, Mason couldn't help but notice that there was something going on that was more than friendship between the doctor and Leah.  It wasn't it what they said but the way they were acting.  Besides the wilting bunch of wildflowers was a dead giveaway.  Maybe this was a good time to leave them to have some time alone.

He turned to the doctor and pointed to the flowers he had in the hand that wasn't holding Leah's "I think we should get those flowers into some water before they're too far gone.  There might be an empty jar in the office."

The office was a makeshift building that was part wood and part canvas that had been constructed prior to the hospital construction.  It was the most logical place he could think of to make a discrete exit to.  "You two just keep looking around and I'll be back shortly."

With that, he left the doctor and Leah to their own devices.

@Bongo

@Flip

Leah looked at the wilting flowers, even in the cold they were not hardy enough, but it was the thought, and perhaps a jar of water might just resuscitate them. "You know, Jonah, what Mister Aldrige is thinking, was thinking, when he saw those wildflowers you brought along. And don't you think for a moment that I don't appreciate the thought, because I most certainly do!"

The smile was genuine, and it just seemed natural for him to think of flowers to bring when he saw them. Flowers would be dying out soon enough, and for the moment they would be a touch of beauty in this otherwise drab world of Kalispell's dirt streets and clapboard buildings with their false fronts and windows of wavy glass.

But with all that was going on with her father and a dozen other things, it was home, bodyguards and all. She belonged here and she was actually beginning to fit in, at long last. "Perhaps, Jonah, we might consider supper, unless you had other plans." Mason Aldrige would be returning soon, and there were still spaces to investigate.

@JulieS

Bongo