1890s: Two deaths and a birthday
That night, Joseph decided it was time for a serious talk with his son. Yes, the talk. After all, Frank is on the verge of aging up and will be getting married soon. It's important he knows how to treat his new, young wife.
In the end, both Joseph and Frank end up wishing they'd never had the conversation at all.
That night, two surprising deaths occurred in Willow Creek. For the Bradshaws tragedy struck when Dereck, the father, unexpectedly dropped dead from a heart attack, but what the neighborhood is bustling about is not Dereck's death, but the death of the beautiful, young, vivacious, Valeria Godeau, who fell to her death from the top of the stairs in the middle of the night, and not only that, Matthew Godeau showed up in town that morning sporting a new and nasty looking cut across his face and eye!
What happened in that home that night?
The entire town is speculating about this one. The marriage itself had seemed unlikely and had been a complete surprise when it was announced. After all, Valeria was barely out of her teens when the already adult Matthew proposed and quickly married her. And there were so many questions back then. Why the engagement was announced right after the death of Matthew's mother. Why the wedding was so soon after the engagement - and so soon after Valeria's father's death. Why it took so long for someone so young and beautiful to have a first child. Why no second child seemed to follow even after several years. And now this!
Matthew Godeau tells the story of a tragic accident, involving their new dog, who scared Valeria so badly she fell down the stairs. His own new scar is a result of stepping in between, trying to save his beloved Valeria. Mean tongued rumours says otherwise and speak of a miserable marriage and a husband bored with his barren (or possibly just uninterested) wife. Whatever the truth is, Abigail is very grateful she never went down that particular path.
As soon as the children are off to school the next day, she heads over to her friend Christine, who has kept her three children at home to mourn their father today. She herself is heartbroken. As a lonely widow, with three teenagers and a toddler, how will she cope? She never really bothered to learn Dereck's business, and so she is quite at a loss. Yet she wants her son to finish high school, to possibly get a university degree before he takes over. But can she manage that financially? At least the two girls are soon at a marrying age, although how to afford their weddings, Catherine has no clue.
On Wednesday, it's time for Josephine to have her first birthday. With a good friend of the family so recently dead, however, and Frank aging up to a young adult on Saturday, Joseph and Abigail decide to keep the birthday low key with only the family. Joseph has bought new toys for his little princess, something entirely new on the market: the teddy bear, named after the president himself. Of course he bought the biggest one he could find too.
Meet Josephine, a very fussy little toddler:
On Thanksgiving, there is no way not to host something, and Joseph and Abigail invites his sister, Frank's future in-laws and the Prestons, for Ida to get more familiar with Nathaniel, his sister and his mother.
Still, the night is quiet and a bit subdued, and everyone is happy when they can return to bed. Friday, in return, is all about preparing for Frank's big day. As he ages up from a boy to a man, it's time to set his wedding date, to prepare him for university and to make the final arrangements for adulthood. Abigail invites all his classmates to the party.
As he blows his candles, Frank is finally ready to face adulthood. And hopefully, marriage, as the date has now been set for the Christmas week, giving Frank and Emily several days to enjoy a honeymoon before he goes off to university and Emily settles in with the Whittakers until he's finished.
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