22) Town

As soon as April's boots crunched upon the dried up leaves along the uneven dirt path, she felt herself begin to whistle a merry tune.  There were only the stark trees against the pale blue sky and the gurgling stream that watched as April danced around, feeling the Christmas spirit this early December.  She was off on a little adventure to town.  She had always enjoyed the bustling patrons and fascinating diversions that seemed to assemble there.  It was quite different from where their little home sat nestled in the countryside.  And, even though she loved the peaceful quiet, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of the excitement away from her normal routine.  It was always a special affair when she had the time to get away and have some extra egg money to shop.  With the children still in school (only for another week until Christmas break), she had some free time on her hands which she playfully indulged herself in on this brisk afternoon.

Leila whinnied from the distance as she watched April's retreating figure begin to disappear.  April turned to give her a friendly wave good-bye, quietly reminding herself to walk over and give her an apple or two later.  She took a deep breath and then exhaled; her breath coming out in white wisps.  Suddenly, she staggered backward for an instant as a forceful wind gripped her and almost swept her up and away.  She tried to pull her winter coat closer about her, but her protruding middle made it difficult.  She laughed.  Then, after only taking a few more steps, she paused at the top of the hill.  Just below her were all these little shops, all standing in rows on either side of the street.  Her hand clutched tighter at her small handbag made out of a feed sack where her meager amount of coins jingled each time she took a step.  

She looked back where all she could see was the path, winding up to her house which was now just a dot from where she stood.  Then, looking ahead with a well, here we come!, she made her way gingerly down the grassy slope.

~*~

With a hubbub of customers surrounding her; mostly strangers who were passing through, most likely looking for work somewhere, April browsed over the different patterns of material.  Her eyes expressed her delight with a particularly striking blue fabric.  Why, Drew loves blue, was her first thought, recounting the many times he had said it brought out the color in her eyes.  But when her gaze fell to the price tag, her eyes widened and her shoulders momentarily sagged.

"Oh, well," she said aloud, placing it back on the shelf and immediately turning away.  "I can make do with what I have for now."

She was making her way to the door when something caught her eye.  She wheeled around and met a pair of strangely familiar eyes.  She gasped.  A hand threw to her throat unconsciously.

"Oh my goodness, it can't be," she whispered under her breath, shaking her head unconsciously.  "No, no, it is!  It's you!"

And there stood Will, looking just as befuddled as she.

~*~

Silence.  A lifetime passed between them.  Memories flooded back.  And then Will stepped away and caused more surprise-- there she met a dark set of unblinking eyes and a small slip of a girl that Will introduced as his wife.

April, trying to put her wild thoughts back into place from meeting this old friend, shook hands with his pretty lady, smiling softly.  "It's so wonderful to meet you."  

Rose, the newly wedded bride of this long-ago beau of April's, nodded her head primly, her eyes curious but her actions clearly cautious.

April wasn't sure what to say next and she despised awkward silences.  "Well, um... er, how did you make your way out here?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, we're not staying," Will was quick to put in.  "Just passing through.  We're on our way south.  Rose has family there."

"Ah, I see," April tried to make conversation, twiddling with her handbag, glancing over at his wife who was staring back at her, eyes wide and face expressionless.

"What about you?" he said, glancing over her from head to toe, obviously making note of her pregnancy.

April shifted uneasily under his scrutinizing gaze and replied evenly, "We're doing fine," she said, emphasizing the word we.  "Drew-- you remember me speaking of him, don't you?-- are married now and have three children with one on the way.  It's been quite busy over at our household, I admit."  She tried to keep her tone light and jovial.

He seemed to ignore the latter, his eyes widening as he asked, "Three children, you say?"  His eyebrows arched questioningly.

"Adopted."

His forehead scrunched up in surprise.  "Ah," he nodded.  "You always were compassionate toward the less fortunate, weren't you?" he said with a drawl.

April wasn't sure what his comment implied and felt her face burn crimson.  The first thought that flitted through her mind was to get out of there as fast as she could.  And, thinking of some quick excuse without trying to make it sound like some flippant remark, she said quickly, "Well, time surely does fly, doesn't it?  I best be on my way.  It was good to see you again, but I'm afraid I have quite a few more errands to run."  She forced a smile at the both of them and turned on her heels, trying to keep from flying out the door.  She could just feel Will's penetrating gaze bore a hole in her back as she walked briskly away, not giving a glance backward which she was sure she'd be met by a knowing smirk.

~*~

"Of all the nerve!" she exclaimed for the fifth time, ignoring the stares of pedestrians as she practically stormed past them.  "I almost pity his dear sullen wife!"

She had purchased a few food items, had checked the postal service for any mail from her family, and then ran almost the whole way home.  She hadn't even cringed when passing the town saloon that always reeked of putrid smells and pierced the air with the sounds of raucous laughter.  Neither did she sing cheery hello's to those who passed by as she had before in passing.  She hadn't even listened into the amusing conversations that sprinkled with things like, 'My goodness, I can't stand this hypothermic weather!' and the like.  In fact, she was so consumed in her own thoughts that she nearly plowed into a puffed up businessman who was leaning back on a wooden post, smoking his pipe.  She had quickly apologized, but he only shooed her away, his tone obviously terribly annoyed.

Goodness, how embarrassing, she thought, quickly hurrying away.  Then her thoughts turned to, I thank my lucky stars that I will most likely never set eyes on that man again, referring to Will.  Off to the south he is, indeed, and I'm staying put right here!

She placed a hand over her mouth, chuckling to herself.  Soon she was lying flat out on the grass in an outburst of laughter; quite a ways from town by now to be seen.  My goodness you never know what a day will hold, do you?

Her eyes lifted to the sky and she wrapped her hands around her middle.  "What would I have done if I would have never returned to Drew?  I can't even imagine where I'd be now.  You really had everything perfectly planned, didn't You?" she asked, her eyes smiling up at the heavens.  "Thank You for wanting the best for me.  I'm doubly blessed to have him in my life.  Ach, I love Drew," she shook her head, blushing.

With those thoughts out in the open, she picked herself off of the ground carefully; more excited than ever to get back to her countryside home where Drew would soon be coming in the door and his arms around her.  He'd be teasing her no doubt as he had last night when he'd returned and she was dusting up, whispering playfully in her ear, 'You know, I worry that you're getting too big for me to put my arms around, darling.'  And she had quickly disarmed herself from him in a playful manner and tickled him mercilessly with her feather duster.  They'd had a good laugh between them.  I'm perfectly and incandescently happy, she thought, then her eyes twinkled as she added, with darling Mr. Carter. <3

Author's Note

:3 I just had to put a heart there.

I hope you laughed, smiled, were surprised and felt terribly awkward in this chapter. :) It was one of my favorites to write. The sudden incorporation of Will was actually all last minute-- let me know what you think!

I love your reviews, so please send me one! :) Thank you!

Reviews

[Missy Moooooo]

Will is just creepy

[❤ Maggie ❤..]

Ahhh!! It was so good! Crazzy about Will! I was like O_____O NO WAY. CRAZINESS. Lol I loved it though(: And I loved the heart(: That was sooo sweet! I love Drew so much(: He is just sooo adorable and sweet and...Well, there's so many words to describe him!!! Great chapter(((: We NEED to talk!

[Erinne S.]

"As soon as April's boots crunched upon the dried up leaves along the uneven dirt path, she felt herself begin to whistle a merry tune." You need a comma between the words 'leaves' and along' to break up your sentence a little better.
"A hand threw to her throat unconsciously." This sentence doesn't quite make sense to me. Perhaps you can reword it or possibly just add something totally different right there.
Also, be careful with some of your descriptions. If April is getting larger from the pregnancy she wouldn't be running or falling down in the grass (cause it would be difficult to do with a big belly) so, just watch some of those areas and make sure it stays intact with what a real preganancy would be like for her.
There were a few other grammatical mistakes here and there, but if you did some proofreading you would be able to spot them and easily fix them :)
Now, I really loved this chapter! I think you did an excellent job with it and I love that you threw in the surprise of her seeing Will again (and his wife, who seems kind of strange to me. Haha) Your descriptions were written very well and I was able to picture things clearly. I am anxious to read your next chapter when you are able to post it!

~Erinne