His Perfect Love

Chapter 5

Sunday morning dawned anew. Allison was excited to go to the church service this morning. She and Clayton had missed last week's service because they needed to look after Riley. But now that she was feeling much better, she said they could go. They held church in the schoolhouse. The town really should hold a fundraiser to build a church building, but the school would do for now. The congregation was not extremely large, but it was growing steadily with the advancement of the town.

Allison washed her face with cool water from her basin, it taking away any traces of sleep. After fixing her hair, she walked over to her wardrobe and perused her dresses. She picked out her cheery pale yellow Sunday dress. White lace trimmed the cuffs and neckline, and satin bows adorned the cuffs. This dress had belonged to her mother. She remembered her mother wearing it, a bright smile on her face. Allison took great care of it along with her mother's other possessions. They were so precious to her.

She walked to the kitchen and got out some biscuits that she had baked yesterday and some strawberry jam. She pulled some potatoes out of their bag in the cupboard. Some hash browns would do nicely with the biscuits, she thought. She put on her apron over her dress so as not to dirty it. She set to chopping the potatoes in exceptionally thin strips and fried them in the pan to make them crispy. When she was done she put them in a serving dish and moved everything to the table.

Then she served up some breakfast for their guest and moved to take it to her. She knocked on the door and Riley called for her to come in.

"Good morning! I brought you some biscuits, jam, and freshly made hash browns. I didn't want to make a lot since there is going to be a potluck dinner after church. Is it all right if you eat some leftovers from supper last night? I can set it out for you before we leave."

"Thank you. That's fine, have fun," Riley said.

"I'm sure we will. I wish you were well enough to join us. But only a few more weeks," Allison proclaimed.

"Yes, I can't wait. What did you make for the potluck?"

"Oh, I made a blueberry pie yesterday. I've been told its blue ribbon worthy," Allison gloated.

"I sure wish I could taste some," Riley whined.

"That's why I made two. One for the here and one for the potluck. I can give you some when I get back, how does that sound?" Allison said and smiled.

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"You're welcome. I've got to go get Clayton so he can eat and we can leave. Goodbye."

"Bye. You look really nice by the way," Riley told her.

"Oh thank you! This dress belonged to my mother," Allison said sadly.

Allison gave a little wave and left the door open an inch or two. She smoothed down her apron as she made her way to her brother's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar so she nudged it open. The covers were folded back, pillow rumpled. Clothes were strewn across a chair and the rug was bunched on the floor.

She sighed. Her brother was quite messy, and he was also not there. He must be already up and she must not have heard him. She made her way outside to look for him. She checked the horse stables, he wasn't there. Then she looked in the barn. He was feeding the cows.

"Morning, Clayton. I have breakfast waiting for you."

He looked up at her and smiled, "Good morning, Allison. You look nice today."