“Did you order the flowers?” Toria sampled the chocolate frosting she had made the evening before and shuddered. This wouldn’t do. She got out another bowl and began to make the recipe again.

“Yes, I did, dear,” Mortimer called out, already exasperated and sick of wedding planning.

“What about a new suit jacket for yourself? The one you keep wearing has holes in it!” Toria called as she walked to the pantry to get more flour, one hand at the small of her back to help support the weight of the baby.

“Yes, Toria,” Mortimer replied dutifully.

Toria adjusted her apron and walked over to Mortimer, who was seated at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. She kissed him. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been absorbed by planning this wedding.”

“Yes, you have. And you’ve been so distracted, you’ve forgotten about another special date.” Mortimer didn’t like to complain, but he felt it was important to remind his wife of what she had forgotten.

Toria frowned and thought about it. Suddenly, realization and guilt dawned on her. “Your birthday! Oh, Mortimer, I’m so sorry!”

Mortimer leaned back in his chair. “It’s all right. I know you’ve had a lot on your mind. If Patience’s parents were more involved in this whole . . . thing, I don’t think you would have had to do as much.”

“I think you’re right,” Toria agreed. “I don’t mind doing the work because it will ultimately benefit John, but it would be nice if there were others to share the work. We can’t really do anything about that right now, though.”

“Well, the wedding will be over in a few days, and then we can get back to our regular routine. Of course, my birthday will also be over in a few days . . .” Mortimer pointed out.

Toria ran her hand through her hair. “I have an idea. This Friday, don’t make any plans after work.”

Mortimer wrinkled his face. “Toria, since when have I made plans after work?”

Toria laughed and kissed her husband again. “You’re right. Good point.”

Before John and Willie left that morning for their deliveries, Toria explained her plan to them. “After we have closed the mercantile and made all the deliveries for the day, I have made a reservation for all of us at Graham’s Grub. Mortimer doesn’t know. It’s a surprise. I’ve made arrangements so Lydia will make his favorite dinner and dessert.”

John hesitated. “I know you think this is a good idea, but I have a feeling the Grahams’ minds are already made up. I don’t see how a dinner at their restaurant is going to change anything.”

“You may be right, John, but I’m going to ask you to trust me on this one.” Toria’s eyes sparkled. She thought she would be able to help John and his soon-to-be-in-laws get along better. If she couldn’t, John and Patience may have some difficult times ahead of them.

* * *

All week, as Patience and her parents prepared for Mortimer’s surprise birthday dinner, Patience was secretly thinking about the wedding that would take place the following day. Reverend Bing had agreed to marry them on Saturday evening, and Toria was making all the arrangements for everything Patience could possibly need. Flowers, baked goods, suits, everything!

The only thing Patience didn’t have was a wedding dress. Toria had offered to make one for her, but with so little time, Patience didn’t feel it was right to ask her future mother-in-law to work around the clock to finish it. She also didn’t have enough time to order a dress from a catalog. Patience had always dreamed of wearing a wedding dress, but she had a nice white blouse she could wear instead.

John and Patience continued to see each other nearly every day. Neither of them could wait for the upcoming wedding. Patience couldn’t wait to truly become man and wife in every sense of the word, and she had a feeling John couldn’t, either.

On Friday evening, Mortimer’s birthday, Toria helped him lock up the building after work.

“I know you said I shouldn’t make plans, but I thought we would stay in tonight. Where are we going?” Mortimer asked, surprised.

Toria smiled. “I have a little surprise for you. We’ll take the wagon.”

John and Willie were already at the restaurant, but John had left the delivery wagon so Toria and Mortimer could use it. Mortimer flicked the reins, and they set off for Graham’s Grub.

Many people milled about on the street outside the restaurant. In the days after the stabbing, business had slowed a little, but now the crowds had returned in greater number.

After Mortimer parked the wagon, Toria led him by hand into the restaurant. At the entrance, Patience greeted them.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. I mean, Mortimer and Toria.” Patience flushed, remembering that the Jacksons had asked her to call them by their first names. “Follow me right this way.”

Mortimer arched an eyebrow at Toria. “What have you got up your sleeve?”

“Nothing,” Toria replied with an innocent smile.

Patience led the Jacksons to a small private room near the back of the restaurant. In the room, John, Willie, and Beatrice and Arthur Jameson, along with their small daughter, Sally, were waiting for them.

Mortimer beamed with joy. “What are all of you doing here?”

“We’re here to celebrate your birthday, of course, dear.” Toria took his arm and guided him to his seat at the head of the table. “Happy Birthday!”

As the others gave Mortimer their well wishes, Toria excused herself. She had another motive for scheduling Mortimer’s dinner at Graham’s Grub, and she was about to act on it.

She walked through to the main dining area of the restaurant, where she saw three familiar men drinking out of the same flask at a table. The men were laughing loudly and carrying on despite the fact that there were families with small children around. Toria frowned at their antics, trying to place their faces. It came back to her with a jolt. These were the men who had carried on in the mercantile, trying to convince John to go drinking with them. She quickly passed by them, avoiding eye contact. She still believed these men were trouble and didn’t want to get involved in any way.

Toria saw Lydia Graham near the front of the restaurant. “Hello, Lydia,” Toria said warmly. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you and your husband.”

Lydia looked puzzled. “Of course,” she replied. She couldn’t refuse the polite request of one of her customers. She gestured for Toria to follow her back into the kitchen.

“Hello, Robert. Good to see you both,” Toria began. “I wanted to talk to you about a sensitive topic.”

Lydia and Robert were horrified. What was Toria about to say? Lydia’s mind went to Patience first. Had the girl gotten in some type of trouble? And if she had, how was Toria the first to know?

Toria saw the expression on their faces and fought off laughter. “Oh, it’s nothing like that, I promise! I wanted to talk to you because I know my John has strong feelings for your daughter, Patience. My understanding is that you’re both concerned that he has a reputation for drinking. I can assure you that I have not seen him take a drink in over three months. What’s more than that, he’s a good, decent, hardworking man.”

Toria continued. “I know you want what’s best for your daughter. That’s what we all want as parents. I just wanted to tell you that the John I know is a wonderful young man who deserves a chance. I hope you’ll give it to him.” Toria finished her impassioned plea and took a deep breath. “I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out. I’m sure you will make the choice you feel is best for your daughter. I needed to defend my stepson, though, because I know rumors and gossip can be damaging to a young man.”

Lydia and Robert looked surprised, but not upset or angry. “We appreciate you coming to talk to us, Toria. Thank you.”

Toria could tell that neither of them was going to say any more on the subject, so she thanked them again and excused herself.

When she got back to the table, servers were pouring punch for everyone at the table, and the group had begun to order food. Patience took their orders, writing them down on a small pad of paper.

Toria smiled and squeezed Mortimer’s hand as she sat back down.

“Are you all right, dear?” Mortimer whispered.

“I’m just fine. Thank you for checking,” Toria replied.

Mortimer had a feeling his wife was up to something, but he decided to let it go and enjoy his birthday festivities instead. That was what marriage was all about sometimes. Deciding which things to fight over and which ones to let go. All in all, Mortimer was very lucky to have a woman as smart and hardworking as Toria by his side.

Mortimer relaxed and watched his friends and family laugh and catch up. He wished that Patience didn’t have to work that evening, but soon enough, she would be an official part of the family. He had never had a daughter before. He wasn’t sure exactly how it would work, but he was sure that Toria would figure it all out and explain it to him. She was very good at that.

“To my father!” John shouted out of nowhere. “May you have many, many more birthday celebrations!”

Mortimer frowned. John’s voice sounded a little odd and distorted in some way. Perhaps his hearing was going. That wasn’t a good sign. “Thank you, son.”

Beatrice and Toria were busy exchanging details about the baked goods they made and sold at the mercantile. They were constantly changing the numbers and types of their delicious baked goods so they could keep up with demand. The men of Creede adored their baked goods and often bought them just as quickly as they were offered.

It looked like Arthur was talking to John, but John wasn’t paying much attention. He stood up, walked to the head of the table, and threw his arms around his father. “I love you,” John said unsteadily.

Mortimer frowned. He appreciated his son’s sudden energy, but he didn’t understand where it was coming from. His son was normally very reserved with his emotions. “I love you, too, John,” Mortimer said softly. He looked at Toria for support, but Toria hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.

The servers came to refill everyone’s punch glasses. “I need more!” John called, still standing at the head of the table. “I need more!”

Mortimer looked at John’s glass. It was still half-full. Something wasn’t adding up. “Let’s get you back to your seat, son.” As Mortimer helped John back to his seat, John seemed to have trouble walking in a straight line. Mortimer waited until John was seated and then went back to his own chair. Mortimer shook his head. What in the world . . .

Just then, Patience arrived with plates of food for the table. She began setting them down one by one in front of the guests. Lydia and Robert followed closely behind with even more plates.

John leapt up from his chair once again. Mortimer winced. What was his son going to do now?

John grabbed Patience’s arm. “This is the woman I love! I love this woman! Patience, you’re the best woman I’ve ever met.” Patience froze, mortified. She couldn’t believe John was carrying on like this in front of her parents. He had been trying for so long to make a good impression, and now he was squandering all of the good will he’d built.

Toria was finally paying attention, an alarmed look on her face. She sprang to her feet and walked over to John. “Are you all right? Maybe you have a fever.”

As soon as Toria was right next to John, she knew immediately what the problem was. John was drunk! She didn’t drink herself but had previously worked for men who were big drinkers and could always identify what they were drinking based on how it smelled. Whatever John had had didn’t smell, but his cheeks were red and his eyes seemed unfocused.

Judging by what John’s breath smelled like, he had been drinking moonshine. Toria felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. John had sworn to her that he was never going to drink again, and she had believed him. And now, here he was, carrying on and making a scene in front of his future wife and her parents. The very parents she had tried to convince earlier that night that he was as sober as a judge!

John wasn’t cooperating with Toria, so she placed a hand on his arm. “I think we should take you home. You can finish celebrating with your father later when you feel better.”

To her surprise, John swatted her hand away, accidentally knocking into Patience, who spilled the hot plate she was carrying all over the front of her dress.

Patience yelped as the hot food splattered across her clothing. Lydia cried out and tried to help her daughter, but Robert just stood there. “Do something, Robert!” Lydia commanded.

Robert walked up to John. “You need to be more careful, son. You could have seriously hurt my daughter.”

John looked at Robert and drew himself up to his full height, so he was looking down at the older man. John had at least two inches on Robert. “I would never hurt your daughter. I love your daughter. I’m marrying her tomorrow!” John slurred his words and rocked from side to side, pounding his chest.

Now Mortimer understood. His son was as drunk as he had ever seen a man. Mortimer was so embarrassed by his son’s behavior that he wished he could sink into the floor and never be seen again.

If Mortimer was embarrassed, Patience was humiliated. There was no way she could marry this man. He was a drunk who had spilled hot food all over her and then had not even helped her clean it up. She couldn’t believe that he had broken his promise to her never to drink alcohol again. And in her parents’ restaurant, no less. It was clear to her that John had a drinking problem that could not be fixed by a quick courtship and marriage. He had problems she would not be able to help with.

“Come here, my bride,” John continued, reaching out for Patience.

Patience steadied herself for what she was about to say. “I’m not your bride, and I never will be, John Jackson. You’ve brought shame to me and my family. I never want to see you again!”

Patience burst into tears and ran off, shocking every person in the room into silence.

Lydia chased after her daughter and trailed her down the hallway.

Patience went into the storeroom for lack of a better idea. She had no plan or agenda. She just knew she couldn’t stand another minute in the room with John and all of the others.

Lydia held the heavy storeroom door open after Patience had passed through it and followed her daughter into the dim room. “Are you all right? What was that horrible man talking about?”

Patience could barely catch her breath. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lydia walked over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. “There, there, dear. It will be all right.”

Patience didn’t think her mother was right about that, but she didn’t feel like getting into an argument. She also didn’t want to tell her mother about the plans she had made with John. She couldn’t believe that she had actually been ready to marry the man! She felt horrible that she had believed all of his lies about being done with drinking.

She had seen him drunk with her own two eyes, and she had hated every moment. The man she had watched throw food all over her in the restaurant was not the man she had fallen in love with. He was selfish, mean, and unaware of his surroundings. He had hurt her and embarrassed her, all at the same time.

Patience pulled away from Lydia and looked down at her blouse. There were stains all over it. She began wailing again, and Lydia hugged her close.

After a few minutes, Patience stepped out from Lydia’s embrace and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Thank you, Mother. I think I need to be alone now. Is that all right?”

“Of course, dear. Don’t worry about the restaurant—we will be fine without you for a few hours. I’ll see you in the morning. Hopefully your father has already dealt with that awful man.” Lydia shook her head. The nerve of John Jackson to come into her family’s restaurant and behave in such a horrible way simply appalled her. And to think that he had tried to call her own daughter his bride! She hoped her husband had dismissed John once and for all.

Meanwhile, Mortimer paid Robert Graham for the dinner and apologized profusely for his son’s antics. Arthur and Beatrice looked on, embarrassed and sad for their friend. Beatrice comforted Sally, who had begun to cry, and Willie, who seemed scared and upset that his friend John was behaving so oddly. Toria and Mortimer dragged John into the family wagon.

Toria didn’t know if she would be able to speak, she was so angry. She was normally calm and collected, but she felt ashamed that she had stuck up for John to Patience’s parents only to have him embarrass himself and his entire family in their restaurant. Toria’s face burned with humiliation. Still, despite how mad she was, she worried about how John was.

Mortimer was silent on the trip home. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about where he’d gone wrong. He had truly believed John was on the right track. In the past few months, John looked better and was more pleasant to be around. This seemed completely out of character.

“How are you feeling?” Toria whispered to John.

A troubled feeling had begun to settle over John. “Why are we going home?” John felt confused and upset. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Mortimer and Toria looked at each other. Toria didn’t know how to explain to John what had happened. She worried that her words would be too harsh.

Mortimer took a deep breath. “You had a few too many drinks—and I don’t understand how because you seemed fine when we got to the restaurant—and you made a mess out of things with Patience. We had to leave to save you from further embarrassment in front of the Grahams.”

“What? That can’t be true. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol in months!” John protested.

Now Toria grew even more concerned. Was there something seriously wrong with John? He was acting like he didn’t remember anything. “John—you spilled hot food all over Patience and called her your bride in front of her parents. She was so humiliated that she ran out of the room. Do you not recall any of this?”

John hung his head in shame. “I do feel very strange. Like I used to feel when I went drinking in the past. But all I had to drink tonight was punch.” He didn’t understand.

Mortimer frowned. His son had never lied to him before. Even when he was drinking, he was honest about where he had been and what he had been doing. He looked to Toria for help.

“John, lying won’t help you. You’ve made a mistake, and now you are going to face the consequences,” Toria explained. She knew her husband didn’t have the heart to be hard on his son, so she was going to have to do it.

John shook his head. “That’s the thing, though. I just don’t remember!”

They pulled up to the house. Mortimer helped Toria out of the wagon, and John followed her into the mercantile’s back entrance as Mortimer tied up the horses. They quietly walked up the stairs to the house.

Toria poured a glass of water for John and handed it to him. “Well, maybe you’ll remember in the morning. Tonight, you get a good night’s rest.”

“I have a lot of apologizing to do tomorrow before the wedding,” John said with a sigh.

“John, Patience doesn’t want to see you right now. There is no wedding,” Toria said gently.

“What do you mean?” John’s heart began pounding. “No, she can’t just give up on me, just like that!”

“I’m sorry, John,” Toria continued. “I think you need to respect Patience’s wishes and give her some time to think. I don’t think she wants to see you right now after what you did.”

John was too upset to respond. He put his hands to his head, trying to ease the pain he felt in his temples. He felt exactly like he did after an evening of heavy drinking, but how was that possible? There had to be some kind of explanation. He had heard of other men losing their memories after drinking, but that had never happened to him. He couldn’t accept the idea that the love of his life had given up on him. There had to be something he could do to make her take him back.

John went into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Toria was right. He needed a good night’s sleep. Maybe in the morning, things would make more sense.