"I suspect these poor flowers are beyond redemption," he muttered, laying the pathetic bundle on the desk. "Supper...yes, that would give us an opportunity to organize our next moves."
The prime example of romantic!
He looked down at the flowers and shrugged. "It seems that the wildest of things can be plucked, but then have the hardest time flourishing, or even surviving..."
He wasn't really sure where that had come from, and he shook his head, smiling. "So, where shall we sup?"
"Actually, as nice as the gesture is, Jonah, I have to agree with you, the flowers are goners. And you are right about wild things picked but unable to flourish." She grinned, "Many have said that about me, you know. They have likened me to a wild thing seemingly untamable, but somewhere along the way, I found that there were things in this life beyond the wildness and the idea that being a Steelgrave made me better than the rest of Kalispell.
"The fact is, I was not nearly as good as any of them, let alone better. So, I have begun trying to be on par with the citizens of this community. To contribute to the well-being of the community because I am able to do so. I have a great deal to make up for around here, and Jonah, don't you dare say anything to the contrary. I know who I was, who I am, and, hopefully who I will be."
"So my thought about supper, The Lickskillet. The hotel is very nice, but Emeline's cafe is perfect. With Cara running the place for the time being, well you wouldn't know Emeline has been away. How does that sound?" She asked.
"The Lickskillet is an excellent choice." It was casual, with good food and not expensive. "Shall we? Once fortified with good home cooking and delicious pie, we will have the strength to start organizing the next move."
Now that the building was well underway, they could expedite the opening of the hospital by having the things in place that they could, and those that they couldn't, they could at least have on order.
"It's amazing, isn't it, after all they've put you through, by Spring we'll have a hospital right here in Kalispell!" An orphanage soon after, and possibly the railroad...soon they would rival St. Louis, except they had the advantage of being more remote, a place that would be sending out goods like lumber, cattle and minerals, but not the hub of commerce that St. Louis was.
"Shall we?" Smiling, he offered his arm.
Leah laughed, "We shall Jonah, we shall indeed! I am so happy looking at what is already done, and that we can actually order furniture and equipment for the time when it can be moved into our hospital. And I have to agree that the sooner we have the things we need on hand and ready to be moved in, the better." She pauses, "There is just so much that needs to come from the east, or perhaps San Francisco, which would be closer and take far less time to receive, though the snows will get in the way unless the good Lord provides us with a light winter."
"And yes, the Lickskillet will provide all we need in a good meal, nothing against the Hotel you understand, but yes, a bit more relaxed to do some planning for this marvelous building."
"It's amazing, isn't it, after all they've put you through, by Spring we'll have a hospital right here in Kalispell!"
"Yes! And all of that matters not at all. We will have our hospital." She took his arm and said, "Perhaps we should wait for Mister Aldridge before we go traipsing off."
@JulieS @Bongo
"Of course, Mr. Wentworth will certainly have some valuable input." Especially considering that Jonah had never done anything like this before, so he was open to all the suggestions available!
He grinned as he patted her hand without letting go of her arm. "It's all going to come together, and I have an idea that when it happens, it will be so fast it will make our heads spin!" Not necessarily a bad thing, but the more prepared they were, the better. Even so, there was a part of him that dreaded that something might go wrong, and this would never happen, as unfounded as that was.
"It's sometimes hard to think of him as Mayor Wentworth after always addressing him as Matthew or Mister Wentworth, and yes Jonah, he should be a wealth of information to help us along with the business side, not that I don't think you and Josiah Boone can handle whatever needs to be done." She said, smiling. It was so exciting standing in what was to be the foyer of Kalispell 'Regional' Hospital, Regional just what was needed within that part of the territory. It was a long way to any city or large town with a hospital, an awfully long and sometimes treacherous trip!
He grinned as he patted her hand without letting go of her arm. "It's all going to come together, and I have an idea that when it happens, it will be so fast it will make our heads spin!" Not necessarily a bad thing, but the more prepared they were, the better.
"I agree, wholeheartedly. It will come faster than we can prepare. There is so much to do and so little time what with the winter coming on and the hospital only half done. Not that I'm complaining, but the Town Council sat on those right of ways and the vote so long, they only hampered our efforts to accomplish a gift to the community. Sometimes, men can be so bull headed, present company excepted. We could be finished already and open." She replied still smarting after all the timer it had taken to get that far.
"Well, I do agree you are right that there is a factor of jealousy involved," Jonah commented, "at least with some of the men, upset that they didn't think of this themselves, or that they could actually pull it off." Chuckling, he shook his head. "Ego over all, right? No mind common folk have to suffer for it."
He didn't believe that of all the council members, of course, but he did know there were some who would have liked to have come up with the idea of a hospital and had the means to carry it out so they could plaster their name on it. Leah had deprived them of that, and gave them cause to stonewall her efforts.
"No matter now, you got it past them, and there is no stopping you. By mid-spring, we'll be up and running, an it will be amazing." Maybe not comparable to a hospital in a big city like St. Louis, but more than adequate for a place like Kalispell.
"Yes, yes we did get it past them, and honestly, it should never have been so difficult. I mean I realize that I'm a Steelgrave and as such under suspicion. But the right of ways should have been enough proof for anyone." She chuckled, "Obviously not." She paused.
"Well now I expect Mister Aldridge has gotten himself delayed, so I think we need to get ourselves over to the Lickskillet if he's not here shortly." She added, then, "Maybe another five minutes, but I could use a cup of hot coffee and a nice warm meal, I don't know about you, but at the moment that sounds lie heaven to me. If he show, he can come along or not. His choice."
@JulieS @Bongo
"I'd be remiss to turn down a good, hot meal!" Jonah declared with a grin, offering Leah his arm. "Mrs. Armentrout is a great cook, but she doesn't always have time, what with all those little ones running around!"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't know how she does it, handling all that. And they're smart little buggers, too, know just what to do and when to do it to get under your skin, but not so much that you can give them a whopping!" He chuckled again. "Reminds me of me when I was that age, only..."
With a shrug, he mused, "Chicken and dumplings sound real good, don't you think?"
"Little ones? Oh my, how does that woman do that? Care for her children and take care of your house plus fix you meals as well? Now that takes a lot of energy. I'd suppose you're no bargain either what with the wash that piles up. She do that too?" Leah asked good-naturedly, always looking to tease when she could.
"Chicken and dumplings? That does sound good. Well, if Cara has them made up, that sounds more like a Sunday supper meal to me. Just depends I guess, on what she has to hand." She smiled then, "I am getting tired of my own cooking, that's for sure. The boys across the street sortta fend for themselves when it comes to eating. This will be nice."
She looked around for Aldrige, but whatever happened, he just was not around and the warm confines of the Lickskillet sounded a whole lot better than standing in the unfinished hospital. I suppose you heard all about poor Jemima Wigfall, still awaiting trial. I just don't know what will happen to her."