Joel's P.O.V
I collected my lunch wrapped up in the cloth and headed towards the door, Elizabeth didn’t follow me today. I stopped and frowned at her.
“Don’t I get a good bye today?”
Elizabeth walked towards me wiping her hands on her dirty apron.
“Yes sorry Joel, I’ll see you tonight. I won’t be up at the house today.”
I leant forward and kissed her on the cheek.
“Okay love, and tonight I want us to talk about the future.”
Elizabeth nodded but looked down at the floor, I felt my heart bleeding for her. I placed my index finger under her chin and raised it so she looked at me.
“Our future Lizzy, yours and mine and whatever form it takes, here in your time or back in mine.”
I kissed her so lightly on the lips Elizabeth questioned if I had kissed her at all, we looked deep in each others eyes for what seemed forever until I knew I couldn’t stay any longer, and I tapped her nose with my finger and went out of the front door closing it behind me.
All the way to work I thought about how Elizabeth had stolen my heart so very quickly, the fog had given me a future and hopefully one day a wife. Maybe the fog was there for me, maybe it wanted to take me all the time and this time it had succeeded, I wasn’t sure but in a strange way I was grateful to it, it had given me something very special, and someone I didn’t want to lose.
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I spent the day thinking about Elizabeth and what I would say to her, I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasn’t concentrating on my work and managed to miss the nail I was trying to hammer into the broken fence and smacked the hammer hard down on my thumb.
“Fuck! Stupid fuckin’ hammer, fuck!”
I dropped the hammer and turned around holding my thumb with his other hand. Sam was walking up to see me and managed to see the whole episode, Sam found this hilarious.
“For God’s sake boy, you really haven’t done work like that before have you? You are like a fuckin’ girl.”
Sam took hold of my hand and laughed seeing the blackness form under his nail.
“Hmm, you may lose it, maybe not.”
I looked horrified; of course I have done stupid things as a kid but not anything like this.
“Anyway I wanted a word with you.”
I groaned inwardly, I was sure I was going to lose my job. I tried hard but being a farm labourer wasn’t something I was used to.
“You’re getting rid of me aren’t ya? It’s okay, I understand.”
Sam shook his head and smacked me hard on the back. I stumbled a little at the force of the friendly gesture. Sam put his hands in his pockets and looked at me.
“I know you aren’t no cousin of the Cole’s.”
I felt panic rise up in my body.
“Don’t be stupid Sam.”
Sam snorted a laugh out; at least I was being faithful to Elizabeth to prevent any gossip of trouble from the townsfolk.
“Elizabeth told me, anyway I have known the Cole’s all me life so no point in lying to me... I won’t say anything, I think of Elizabeth like a sister…”
Sam paused and gazed at the ground for a moment trying to choose his words.
“What are your intentions? I know Elizabeth took ya in now I want to know if you are gonna leave soon or what your plans are. I could see you were thinking which is why I came up to see ya.”
In some ways I was pleased to have possibly found an ally in this world, someone other than Elizabeth to share my thoughts with and another man I could talk to on the same level would be good. I decided not to mention my strange arrival feeling sure Elizabeth wouldn’t have either.
“I like Eliza, a lot if I am truthful. I want to be with her either here or if I go back to California I want to take her with me… but……….”
Sam understood perfectly without me having to say a word.
“Our Elizabeth has had the life of a wife and mother since she was a very little girl, she was never a girl who had fun or a girl that boys would court. God if you tried the father would have killed you and once he had died the brothers would have. Elizabeth looked after everyone and they took her for granted, so when they left no one thought about taking her with them, they all wanted to find wives. The twins were married off and then the boys left, so now Elizabeth is this tough woman no one can ever get to.”
I sighed, I knew what Sam had said but to hear it from another’s lips made it truer.
“Sam, I won’t let Elizabeth down ever, I won’t hurt her and I will never take her for granted and as for leaving….. Never! If I leave here it will be with Elizabeth”
Sam surprised himself but he believed me, he could hear the sincerity in my voice. “Then I wish ya luck and if my word is anything to ya, you have my blessing too.”
He held his hand out which I gratefully shook and then he started to walk away, I was not happy with this, I needed help with Elizabeth not a few words to make sure I had honourable intentions.
“But Sam, what do I do, how do I win her over?”
Sam stopped and turned to look at me the boy who looked concerned and in some ways a little scared. He shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up.
“That my friend is a fine problem, one I fear no one knows the answer to. How to deal with Elizabeth Cole? All I can say is it will take one hell of a man to chip away the hard exterior she has built up over the years. She has a big heart, she’s pretty, hardworking and fiery as hell itself but still she would be one hell of a woman by ya side.
Maybe you are the one to get close to her, I dunno man, I really don’t.”
Shaking his head he walked away leaving me alone with his thoughts and a very sore thumb.
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End of Joel's P.O.V.