Moments later, Catherine and Jennifer entered the Hall, and as they approached
the table, both Ronald and Vincent stood to greet them.
Yes, Catherine looked radiant, and Jennifer, herself, never looked lovelier, and
so sweetly Jennifer greeted Ronald, saying, "Hi Ronny, how are you?"
To which Ronald warmly replied, "Good Jenny, and you?"
Shyly smiling, Jennifer answered, "I am good...very good."
Presenting her place at the table beside him, Ronald said, "Sit with me Jenny."
Happily, Jennifer sat down, and smiled over at Catherine who had taken in the
interaction between them, and with a smile back, she acknowledged things were
looking pretty good from where she sat.
Meanwhile, Vincent politely assisted Catherine too, and as she smiled up at him,
he took his seat beside her, and under the table, they discreetly held one
another's hand.
Everyone around the table greeted each other, and it was Rebecca who first
mentioned the Engagement Party on Friday night. So she turned to Jennifer, and
asked, "Didn't you say that would be a good night for you Jennifer?"
Saying it was, Jennifer then excitedly added, "And I will bring the dishes we
spoke about too!"
Upon hearing Jennifer was bringing down a haul, Ronald offered, "Maybe I
could come and escort you Jenny, sounds like you may need some help."
Nodding yes, Jennifer didn't need to think twice, as she said, "That would be
great!"
As the conversations drifted to and fro, everyone began to thank Jennifer for the
Putt Putt course!
Upon hearing the Putt Putt course was a hit, Jennifer beamed, and then asked,
"What about the kids? Have they played yet?"
To which both Jamie and Brooke, in unison said, "Yes! And they loved it!"
And then Brooke added, "Accept poor Zach! He was boinked in the head by a
flying golf ball!"
With a giggle, Laura added to the story by signing, "Yes! Kipper has quite a
swing!"
After hearing it wasn't a serious injury, Jennifer thankfully said, "Oh good,
hopefully Kipper will aim for the hole next time!"
Meanwhile, as the dishes of food were passed about, private conversations soon
ensued, and Jennifer turned to Ronald to say she enjoyed his visit last night.
In reply, Ronald said he did too, and then added, "I didn't intend to stay so late!
But it was fun watching the movie with you."
To which Jennifer expressed, "I had fun too. And I never would have watched a
suspenseful SCI-FY movie by myself!"
In reply, Ronald smiled, as he responded, "Yeah, well "Alien: Resurrection" sure
kept you on the edge of your seat in a few parts!"
And then Ronald added, "You know...I can't remember the last movie, I had
seen! But I really enjoyed watching it with you."
Graciously Jennifer offered, "Maybe the night you come for dinner, we can
watch another movie."
Nodding, Ronald warmly said, "I'd like that Jenny."
It was then Rebecca covertly suggested to those who wanted to help, "I think
this would be a good time for us to slip away and get Peter's chamber ready. It
looks like they are still finishing their meals."
And so Rebecca had several volunteers! Vincent, Catherine, Pascal, Ronald,
and Jennifer headed to the new expansion area, so they could light the wall
mounted torches, and candles within Peter's chamber, to enhance his first
impression for when he first walks in.
Meanwhile, after the others had finished their dinner, Jacob stood, and turning
to Peter he casually said, "Peter, we have time before Mary's class, shall we go
for a walk and see how your chambers coming along?"
As Peter rubbed his belly, he liked the idea of a stroll, and so he said, "Yes, I
need to walk off some of this delicious meal!"
Peter then asked, "Oh Mary, will you walk with us? I would like to take
advantage of your decorating expertise! I may need some ideas."
Upon which, Mary hid her excitement, as she said, "I would love to."
It was then, Mary and Jacob then shared a knowing smile, both eager to see
Peter's reaction, when he first sees his already decorated chamber.
Mary then chided Jacob a bit, by adding, "Yes, a walk is definitely a good thing,
especially for those of us who had two servings of "Cherry Blueberry Pie!"
To which Jacob protested, "What are you looking at me for? I dare say the first
piece of pie I barely tasted! Little Natalie commandeered it under the guise of
wanting me to tell her a story as she sat upon my lap. The next thing I knew,
my pie...was gone! I believe I was duped!"
Accusingly Mary noted, "And I noticed you enjoyed every moment of being
duped too Father."
With a gleam in his eyes, Jacob chuckled, as he admitted, "I confess I did."
So as Jacob, Mary and Peter began walking through the tunnels, toward the
expansion area, Peter kept glancing back, wondering why so many of the
community seemed to be following behind them.
And so Peter finally asked, "What is this a mass exodus? Why is everyone
following us?"
And because Jacob knew the community was anxious to see Peter's reaction to
his chamber too, Jacob innocently suggested, "Hmm, perhaps they wanted to
walk off their dinner as well!"
Meanwhile, Rebecca's gang of sleuths had everything ready, candles and
torches were lit, pillows fluffed, and last minute primping had been completed,
and all ready for Peter to see his new place!
And so as Jacob, Peter and Mary approached, Jacob, directed them, "Ah, we're
here..."
And so as Peter rubbed his hands together, he excitedly said, "Can't wait to see
the progress..."
And as he stepped up to the threshold, peered inside, and could not believe his
eyes! His digs were all ready for him!
Click to see Peter's Chamber
Yes, Peter was overwhelmed! He looked around, and saw the beautiful window
Vincent had installed, the quilt upon his bed...the furniture all arranged so cozily,
and then as he looked to the table, he saw the End of the Trail statue, which he
knew was from Catherine...
As a lump came to his throat, he tried to regain his composure as he walked
around his chamber, saying, "This is too much! I don't know how you all did
it...but hey, I love it!"
Peter then warmly said, "I know where I am spending part of my vacation next
week! Hey what can I say everyone, thanks."
Proudly Jacob said, "We all owe you so much, and we wanted you to be able to
officially call the Tunnels home."
Jacob then added, "So...officially we all want to say, "Welcome home."
Peter made his rounds thanking everyone, and with a hug he expressed his
gratitude to each and everyone.
As he stepped up to Catherine, he said, "Cathy, are you sure you want to part
with the statue you inherited from your Dad?"
Catherine tearfully said, "Yes Peter, I know he would love for you to have it."
Nodding, he silently mouthed to her, "Thank you..."
Just then Mary excused herself saying, she had some final preparations to take
care of before the appreciation class. She then announced, "Remember...I will
be expecting you all in about 15 minutes, promptly at 7!"
Jennifer and Ronald also left for his chamber, because he was wanting to show
her some Native American artifacts they had talked about the night before,
which had been passed down through his family.
As the crowd began to dwindle, soon only Vincent, Jacob, and Catherine along
with Peter were left behind, and Vincent thought maybe this would be a good
time to break the news about the change in the wedding date to his Father.
Genteelly he stated, "Father...Peter, Catherine and I wanted you both to be the
first to know our Wedding Day has been changed..."
With a great sigh of relief, Jacob expressed, "Good...good, I am pleased you
both have come to your senses! There is no reason to rush into these
things...and time, you need more time to plan! Mary was only just saying at
Dinner, she didn't know how in the world she would be able to get all that needs
to be done, finished in time! And I too pondered..."
Catherine winced at she looked up at Vincent, knowing Jacob had
misunderstood! The date was not being moved back, but rather...forward!
With admiration, she watched as Vincent gathered his mettle, and interrupted his
Father, saying, "Father...Father, we are moving our wedding day up to an earlier
date not back to a latter. We have decided on June 6th, which was Catherine's
parents wedding day."
Jacob stunned by this newest revelation, dazedly said, "Moving the day
up...what will Mary say?"
Peter snapped Jacob into reality, by saying, "Mary will rise to the challenge to
be sure Jacob! Come on, you know Mary! She isn't happy unless she is
frazzled, and running short on time! She will be in her element."
Jacob chuckled and said, "I suppose you are right Peter...still, I don't wish to be
the one to tell her!"
They all laughed, and decided they would tell her together, since there is safety
in numbers.
Peter with an approving nod, said, "So you are getting married on your folks
anniversary. I think that is great."
Catherine said she could think of no better day, and then lovingly asked, "Peter,
will you do me the honor of giving me away?"
As he scooped her into a Fatherly bear hug, he said, "I would love to kiddo. I
was hoping you would ask."
As Catherine gave him a squench back, she looked up at him, and said, "You
have always been there to help me through the saddest of days in my life, now I
want you to be there, for my happiest too."
As they discussed a few more details, they realized it was time to head over to
the Reading chamber pronto.
As they picked up their pace, they crossed paths with Lisa, who was also
rushing to the meeting! After giving Jacob and Vincent hugs, she then said a
warm hello to Catherine and Peter as well.
Enthusiastically, Lisa explained, "I was talking to Samantha and lost track of the
time!"
She nearly let it slip, that Samantha asked her help in directing the scene she and
Kipper had planned to act out for the Friday night Engagement celebration.
What Lisa had promised Samantha was, that she would be back tomorrow
around 4, and then, they would have a rehearsal, for this very special program
the children wanted to do for Vincent and Catherine.
As they entered the reading chamber, it was just as they had feared, everyone
else was there and all settled, when the five of them walked in! As they nodded
greetings to everyone, they then sheepishly, took their seats.
Mary cleared her throat, and then bluntly said, "It appears we may now begin
our discussion."
Pacing in front of the class, she took a moment as she stopped in front of Lisa,
and with a pleasing smile, she gave her a hug, and said, "I am happy to see you
were able to come tonight Dear."
Elegantly Lisa smiled in return, and whispered her apologies to arrive late, but
that she had been talking to Samantha! Mary picking up on the intonation of
that meeting, simply gave Lisa's hand a small squeeze, sharing the excitement of
the secret of the children's program.
Meanwhile, Jennifer could feel Ronald's posture grow rigid at the arrival of Lisa!
Seeing how beautiful Lisa looked, she knew her beauty must be hard for any
man to resist.
And so Jennifer vowed to herself, to hang in tight, knowing she and Ronald
have made some progress in the last few days. They had grown more and more
comfortable with one another, and she hoped his feelings will deepen for her, as
hers had for him.
Just then Lisa glanced about the room, saying silent hellos to everyone, and as
she looked Jennifer and Ronald's way, she lowered her eyes, oh so discreetly,
before saying hello to them too.
Jennifer could not breath, as she now felt so inferior! She wondered if Ronald
wished he was sitting by Lisa instead! She wondered that is until...Ronald
whispered, "I am so happy you are here Jenny."
Looking up at him helplessly, she inquired, "Really Ronny?"
Nodding, he softly said, "Really." and then reached over, and tenderly, he held
her hand in his.
To be continued
Chapter Eleven
| Sweet Dreams! By Sharon Holtz Chapter Ten |
