I Am Not Yours

Old Sourpuss

December 1913

The next morning, Elizabeth dropped by the cafe to discuss some things with Abigail about the Christmas festivities. They had just finished speaking about Elizabeth and Jack missing the Mountie Christmas Ball when Cody approached them with his baseball glove.

"Can I go play with Robert?" He asked Abigail.

"Yes, if you are back in time to get ready for the pageant." She told him with a smile.

He turned to leave when Elizabeth had noticed that he was missing the signed baseball that Lee and Rosemary got him on their honeymoon. He explained to the two women that he traded it with Sam, the peddler, before leaving without another word nor explanation.

Abigail then approached Sam outside to ask him what Cody had traded it for and when she was told that he traded it to get a doll that one of his classmate's wanted, she felt so proud of him and almost cried right then and there. But thankfully, she held it together as Sam tried to ask her if she needed any more gifts to buy for Christmas before it was too late. She had told him no and that she had gotten something for everyone already. But then she remembered one person whom she did not get a gift for.

"You sure you haven't forgotten anyone?" Sam asked her.

"Well...there is Henry Gowen." She wasn't quite sure why she said it out loud. "But he doesn't want anything from me or...anyone else."

"Yeah, I saw him out for a walk this morning. He looked like a real sourpuss to me." The peddler admitted.

"That's him alright.'" Abigail almost chuckled at the word used to describe the current mayor.

"So why are you worried about him at all?"

"I don't know...Maybe because he is one of us...for better or worse."

Sam's eyes lit up a bit. "Have you told HIM that?"

"He didn't give me a chance. He said I was pretending to care to keep up appearances." Abigail repeated Henry's words with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Oh, that can't be true." Sam said to her.

Abigail looked at him, thinking about her conversation with Henry yesterday evening and a part of her started to understand why Henry might have thought that about her...But she knew that she truly did care about him. "It's not."

________________________________________________

"...the best gift you could give Old Sourpuss...is the truth."

Mr. Bailey's words rang in Abigail's ears just as she took the first few steps up the stairs to the mayor's office, heading up to the room above it. She had figured he was there since smoke rose out of the chimney above town hall.

She stepped inside and softly knocked on the open door.

"I meant to lock that door." Henry said in a somewhat, exhausted tone before he looked at her from his chair. "I thought we were done here."

"We were....and then someone started me thinking." Abigail stepped further into the room until she was in front of him. "And I realized something...There's a reason you're here, Henry. There's a reason you came back."

Henry shook his head. "I don't need to listen to this right now."

"Yes, you do and you're gonna hear me out whether you like it or not." She counter-argued. "You came back to Hope Valley because this is your home." There she went again...reading his mind. "And the people here are your family. You need us, Henry."

"I don't know about that." He protested.

"You do. And the truth is....I need you. So you were right after all. I AM here for me. I have a town to run and I need your help to do it. And I won't let you push me away. I'll be back tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that....I am giving you a gift for Christmas. And that gift is a second chance. A chance to start over....Merry Christmas, Henry. And welcome home."