Meanwhile, below in the tunnels, the candle makers were feeling quite triumphant the Winterfest candles had been dipped!
And so now, the candles merely need to hang in wait, until the moment arrives, when they can be delivered to all of their helpers above!
And as they stood admiring the candles, it was then a message was sounded for Mary, saying fabric from Lin had arrived, and would be delivered to the sewing chamber.
Upon hearing the announcement, Mary whipped off her sweat band, and declared, "Land sakes Rebecca, let's go see the material Lin sent down for me!"
But because there were a few tasks left to be done, Rebecca selflessly said, "You go Mary, I will meet up with you in a bit...I just need to finish a few things."
To which Vincent stepped up to say, "You go too Rebecca, I can put out the fire, and drain the vats. I am sure you must be excited to see the fabric as well."
In an effort to contain her excitement, Rebecca confessed, "Oh, I am Vincent...but I hate to ditch you, and leave you alone with the clean up..."
And then like an angel, Mouse appeared! But when he saw he was too late to help with the dipping, he felt quite disgruntled! And so he pouted, saying, "I wanted to help too Rebecca! Like I did with the Thanksgiving Candles!"
Feeling badly she didn't ask Mouse to help, Rebecca apologized, saying, "I am sorry Mouse, I didn't know you wanted to help again."
As Mouse crossed his arms, he pouted, saying, "Well I DID!"
So in effort to get Mouse on board helping, so the ladies could check out the fabric, Vincent gave his pal a slap on his back, and told him, "You can still help, you may assist me with the aftermath..."
Vincent then turned to Rebecca, and said, "There you see, I won't be doing the clean up alone. My faithful friend Mouse has come to the rescue."
To which Mary urgently said, "Let's go, you heard Vincent! And not to feel left out Dear, I have a Stately Gray bolt of material for you."
And so Rebecca gave both Vincent, and Mouse an affectionate hug, and then dashed out with Mary.
But after they left, Mouse frowned and said, "I didn't say I liked the cleanup part! Just wanted to do the dipping!"
With a turn to the vats, Vincent could see there was still enough wax to make a few more candles. So Vincent assuredly told Mouse, "And so you shall my friend, and so you shall!"
So together Vincent and Mouse dipped as many as the wax supply allowed, and the additional Winterfest Candles ended up looking really quite superb!
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Meantime, because everyone had heard the message about the fabric, Mary and Rebecca were joined by all the other females of the tunnels, even the little gals, who were all so excited to see what Lin had sent for Mary!
But to everyone's surprise, there wasn't just one bolt of fabric, but several! As Mary looked at everyone, she said, "Oh my golly! What have we here?"
And then she cautioned, "Be careful Natalie, no climbing, watch her will you Samantha?"
To which Brooke said, "I have her Mary, she's fine."
And to show she's also responsible, Samantha chimed in, "And I was watching her too Mary!"
With an approving nod, Mary thanked the two girls, and it was then Mary suggested, "Well, let's see what Lin has to say, shall we?"
Dear Mary,
Upon my return after your and my visit today, I told Grandfather I was going shopping for some material. Well it was then he thought to tell me about all the bolts of fabric he had stored in the attic of his shop.
As the story goes, when my Uncle Lee retired, and closed up his dress factory, he gave the left over bolts of material to my Grandmother.
So needless to say, I did not need to go shopping afterall, which made my frugal husband Henry, very, very happy.
After I chose my material, Grandfather gave me permission to offer bolts of material to you, and to the other ladies as well.
I think and hope you will agree, they are all beautiful, however the material I envisioned for you Mary, is the coral, but please feel free to make your own choice, and then distribute the other bolts of fabric around to anyone else who might be interested in sewing a new dress too.
Happy sewing!
Sincerely Lin
Squeals could be heard all around, as the girls started to shuffle through the assortment of material, each wanting to find their favorite.
In an attempt to reel in the girls, Rebecca reminded them, "Girls, let us remember Lin's instruction. Mary is to make the first choice!"
To which Mary humbly said, "Oh my, Well I suppose I will remain true to the coral hued bolt Lin had chosen for me. It is so pretty and I cannot remember when I last wore such a lovely shade of pastel!"
In agreement, Rebecca nodded and said, "Yes Mary, I agree with Lin...even though there are a dozen beautiful colors to pick from, the coral is a perfect shade for you!"
And because there were several beautiful bolts of colorful material to choose from, Mary then looked down at the Gray bolt of material she was going to offer Rebecca, and humbly said, "I suppose you would much rather choose a bolt from Lin's selection...I want to assure you there will be no hurt feelings if you do Rebecca..."
And because of course she did want to pick a more livelier color, Rebecca was careful not to be too eager, and so she thoughtfully said, "May I save the gray bolt for another project Mary? I wouldn't want to hurt Lin's feelings by not picking from the gift she sent down to us today."
To which Mary nodded, and said, "Very thoughtful of you Dear. So yes of course, save the gray, and choose your Winterfest Dress fabric from Lin's."
Relieved she could now dive into the bolts, Rebecca had a ball along with the other girls choosing her color! And so it went, was Rebecca chose a shade of light blue satin, Jamie chose the deep purple colored bolt, Laura chose the vibrant red. Samantha picked the light green colored satin, Brooke picked rich royal blue, and then Olivia chose the rose pink satin, with Heather choosing the light purple, and pink for little Natalie!
There were a few bolts left over, and they all decided they would be used for some contrasting aprons, sleeves or bows!
The girls were all in heaven and were about to begin their dresses, when Mary stopped them, and insisted they write thank you notes to Lin first.
And so as they all agreed they should, Rebecca pulled some paper from the desk, and they all wrote a note, expressing their gratitude, and then asked a sentry to pass the notes onto a helper, for Lin.
With their polite task behind them, they then excitedly retreated to their sewing areas, to begin their dress making!
But before they began to gather supplies, Mary cleared her throat, and with a terse tone said, "I see my seam ripper has vanished! Now we each have our own, so there is no need to use anyone else'! So whoever borrowed it, please return it, and as long as I am scolding, whoever was here last, did not put their supplies away! I see several measuring tapes and spools of thread left in machines as well."
So to end on an optimistic note, Mary held up her finger, and joyfully said, "As my Grandmother used to tell me, "Remember a tidy work space is a happy productive place!"
Were the girls listening? I don't think so, however the guilty party (Brooke) did return Mary's trusty Seam Ripper back to her! Saying, "Sorry Mary, our colors are so close, I thought it was mine."
To which Mary said, "Thank you Brooke, and you are right, they are so much alike. No harm done, as my Grandmother used to say, "Feel free to borrow but remember to return it tomorrow!"
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Meanwhile, Jacob turned to the voice that called out his name, and widely smiled as he found it was Jessica, and she was running toward him!
As they both embraced, Jacob asked what she was doing there.
In reply, Jessica looked at Jacob with adoration, and said, "Well I am resting in between jaunts. Tomorrow, I am heading for Kings Bay to photograph the Manatee."
To which Jacob thoughtfully recalled, "Hmm, let's see if I recollect my geography correctly, Kings Bay is off of Georgia is it not?"
In response, Jessica smiled, and said, "It is! And you Jacob, what has been urgent enough to extract you from your tunnels?"
Upon hearing Jessica's terminology, Jacob laughed as he noted, "Extracted...Jessica you make me sound as if I were an abscessed tooth!"
As the two started to walk together along the beach, Jacob explained how Peter had forced him to come with him for some R&R.
Kindly, Jacob turned to Jessica as he said, "Now...I am so very glad that he did."
To which Jessica happily said, "Oh me too Jacob! May I join you?"
And then Jessica teasingly added, "Besides, walking a Florida beach alone can be quite treacherous for a man, you know!"
To which Jacob widened his eyes, as he asked, "Treacherous?"
With a nod of her head, Jessica assertively replied, "Indeed! Florida is just crawling with lonely widows, hoping and praying to catch a live one! And a handsome man such as you...well you would hardly stand a chance!"
With a gallant nod, Jacob chuckled as he said, "Then for my safety sake, you must join me!"
And after Jacob picked up another shell, he mentioned, "I thought I would gather a few shells to pass out to the children..."
Loving to collect shells too, Jessica disclosed, "Gathering seashells happens to be one of my favorite hobbies while I am here...please allow me to help."
With a look, Jacob replied, "Of course..."
And so when they were getting close to having more than they could carry, Jessica then turned to her home, and sweetly offered, "Won't you come inside Jacob, I would love to make us some refreshment..."
Jacob pleasingly replied, "Sounds lovely Jessica."
To which Jessica with stars in eyes, walked arm in arm with Jacob, back to her beach front home.
There they were able to enjoy their time, as they reminisced and caught up with one another, both being careful not to mention, the heartache of when they last parted.
Yes...it had been a painful decision for them, as they both ultimately agreed, since there was no middle ground, they each needed to live out their lives, in their individual, life-style of choice.
There was a time, when Jessica had tried living below with Jacob, but because of her restless spirit, she found her life was to be lived above.
And Jacob's attempt to live above failed as well, as his preoccupation with the tunnels, proved equally conclusive...and as he found his heart was in the tunnels...Jacob realized he could not leave his visionary world, no matter what the cost.
And the cost was high...sacrificing his personal happiness for the sake and fellowship of his tunnel family.
So meanwhile, present time, as Jessica prepared some iced tea for Jacob, their time together visiting was joyful, and enjoyable, and they filled their afternoon with laughter, and very fond memories.
And it was as the mantle clock sounded, that Jacob realized the time, and as he looked out on the beach, he could see both Peter and Charles, calling and searching for him.
And so Jacob worriedly said, "Oh my, my travel companions look as if they are wondering where I am!"
Finding a bit of humor in the situation, Jessica started to laugh and say, "Oh I do hope they don't think you were washed away with the tide Jacob!"
To which Jacob laughed too, and then said, "Well if they do, then I must put them at ease right away!"
And so Jacob opened the door, and loudly asked, "Looking for someone?"
Relieved, Jacob was found alive and well, Peter and Charles looked at one another, and then approached Jessica's home.
And since Peter had known Jessica, by her past relationship with Jacob, he warmly greeted her, and introduced Charles to her.
Politely greeting Charles in return, Jessica poured them all some tea, and as they sat around her patio table, Jessica invited them to a party she was having later that night.
By which, Jessica informally said, "I am having a small dinner party. I suppose sort of a farewell, as it is my last night here, at my beach home for a while. So, I thought it would be fun to plan a gathering of my good friends...please say you will all come too..."
Looking at the other two, Peter was the one to accept for them all, as he said, "Just tell us what we can bring!"
To which Jessica unequivocally said, "Not a thing! I am having all the food catered, we'll be having a bisque, followed by a lobster bake out on the beach...so all you need to bring are your appetites!"
As the three golden boys promised to be back later that evening, Jacob and Jessica shared a lingering look, and then said good-bye.
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Meanwhile, Vincent told Mary, and Pascal, that he would be going above to visit Catherine, and that he wouldn't be gone long.
And so as Vincent left the tunnels, and out into the night air, he thought of tomorrow, and wondered what it will be like, dining with Catherine, enjoying each other's company, as any other couple might do. And he could not help but smile, as he contemplated this time together, and the fact, it will be a surprise for Catherine, which only added to the excitement.
As he tapped lightly on the pane of glass, he could see Catherine approach the doors, and thought she looked so very beautiful.
As the doors opened, they both looked at one another, and Catherine welcomed him by saying, "Come in out of the cold. I have a fire burning."
And so Vincent stood for a moment, before he lowered his eyes, bending to give Noodles a pet on his head, and then he stepped inside.
To be continued
Chapter Twenty
| Protector of my Heart! By Sharon Holtz Chapter Nineteen __________________________________________ |
