#james allington

One winter evening when Elsie and James found some time for a romantic walk...

Finally.

Will was devasted.

He was sitting on his bed in his room, wondering what would happen now. The girl's mother had just left, leaving his parents alone to discuss what to do with their son and Will was sure they were disappointed in him.

Suddenly the door opened and his parents entered the room. Will looked up and realized he couldn't read their expressions. But they didn't look really angry.

"Will," James started calmly. "Could you tell us what happened?"

"Didn't Mrs. Jones tell you everything?" Will replied, looking anywhere but his parents.

"She told us only her version, which was... Very dramatic. We doubt you were raising money for local gamblers, so we'd like to hear what you have to say." Elsie sat down beside her son.

"I was just..." Will blinked a few times to keep from crying. "I wanted to help you with money. So Ruth wouldn't have to drop out of school."

The room went silent. After some very long seconds, James and Elsie exchanged surprised glances, and James joined his wife and son on the floor. "Listen, Will, no one is going to leave the school, okay? And it looks like we owe you a talk."

For the next half hour Elsie and James tried to explain that their financial situation wasn't bad, that he didn't have to worry about it for now, and that if he wanted to help them, he could just focus on working on the farm.

And although his parents managed to calm him down and assure him that everything was fine, Will understood one thing that night - he would have a lot of money in the future. So much that no one in his family would ever have to think that their financial situation was insecure.

Even though the days were getting shorter and and there was always something to do on the farm, the family still managed to find some time to spend together enjoying the last days of summer.

Elsie and James had been trying to have another child for some time, unfortunately without any results. So one can only imagine their joy when one day Elsie realized she was pregnant again. Suddenly all the stress of the previous days disappeared, at least for now.

Fortunately, for everyone, the birth went without complications and the family welcomed another boy – Joseph Allington, a calm blue-eyed baby who was growing so fast that it was hard for his parents to understand, even though they should have been ready for it.

As for Will, he didn't mind getting a baby brother instead of a cake. The no-longer-youngest-Allington became a cheerful, talkative child, with a freckled face and a head full of various ideas.

"I won't! I promise!" Giggled Ruth, with his brother on her back.

"Do it! Do it!" Will apparently had a different opinion on his own safety.

Elsie was watching her family with growing amusement. She was so grateful for all of them and soon they would finally welcome a new child.

Every day should be like this one, she thought. "Fun, pleasant, and full of laughter. Today she didn't even think about the ghosts of her past. And then it hit her. She had a good life here. She didn't really owe anything to her mother who once had made her bad days even worse, did she? She should be thinking about her own family now. The real one and she knew very well that their visit to Windenburg would be hurtful to everyone. It wasn't easy to say no, but she knew what she had to do.

"James," she said the same night when she and her husband finally had some time alone.

"Yes, my love."

"I was thinking about our visit to Windenburg. And I think I'm going to do something stupid."

"Do you think this stupid thing is the right thing to do?"

"I do."

James smiled and kissed his wife.

"Then, by all means, do something stupid."

She couldn't.

Luckily, James didn't seem to have any similar doubts. He was always there for Elsie and supported his wife in every step of the crazy and difficult journey. His behavior and kind words were definitely helping worried Elsie. On the other hand, she couldn't help but wonder why her husband didn't seem to be at least nervous at the thought of becoming a parent again.

"James, may I ask you something?" Asked Elsie one night, when they were already lying in bed, tired from a hard day's work."

"Of course," James replied with a warm smile, "You can ask whatever you want, unless you want to know what happened to the last piece of yesterday's cake. Then, for the sake of our marriage, please don't ask."

Elsie was pretty sure he had already said this cheesy joke a million times, but the way he spoke those words made her giggle.

"Aren't you worried about this child?" She finally said. "How do you do it? You don't seem to be afraid that there will be soon a new baby in our house. Please, don't get me wrong. I really want to meet them but‐"

She didn't get to finish her last sentence as James interrupted.

"Oh I am terrified! Of course I am! A new living being under our roof! That's terrifying!"

"Really?" Elsie's eyes widened in surprise. "Then how are you so… calm?"

"Because…" James started as he took his wife's hand. "I know we can do this. Elsie you are a wonderful woman who I love with all my heart and I know that we will both meet with this challenge. Fear is normal, but it will be okay. I promise."

James smiled and soon Elsie realized she was smiling too. Even though the conversation did not ease all her fears, it calmed her down. Elsie looked at her husband. She loved him so much and she was so lucky to have him in her life.