|
Andy March is the new Reverend at the Baptist Church who has replaced Hank Buchanan. He has asked John to come over to fix some of the floor boards in the parsonage. While John is checking them in a closet he falls through the floor and discovers a skunk living under the house. John escapes just in time but the Reverend gets the full blast of the skunks spray. John bring him home for a tomato juice bath in a basin out in the barn and invites him to stay for a few days until the skunk clears out. Elizabeth helps to deliver more tomato juice for the Reverend’s bath. She engages him in a debate about forgiving the skunk for its ways. The young man threatens to give her tomato bath and she dumps a jar of juice over his head.
John and Andy go fishing down at the pond and the minister has caught all the fish so far. Elizabeth shows up and tells her Daddy that he needs to make a return phone call to a customer. She takes her Daddy’s fishing pole when he goes off to the mill. Andy notices that she has a book of English Poetry that she needs to memorize for school. He helps her through the passages. As she recites the romantic words she becomes entranced by the young man beside her. She fails to realize that she has caught a fish.
While Andy is up on the mountain, Elizabeth decorates the garden shed with some flowers, cookies and a lamp to brighten his stay. Her Mama comes in and is pleased to see what she has done. Elizabeth asks her Mama if she could make a dress with the material saved in the attic that wasn’t used to make a dress for Erin. Her Mama agrees and Elizabeth also asks for some silk stockings.
Elizabeth visits the parsonage and helps Andy to clear out the curtains, rug and clothing that still contains the smell of skunk. She asks about his life and learns that he is an only child and that although he has had a few girlfriends in the past none of them had that deep sparkle.
At home Elizabeth works on her new dress with her Mama. She asks whether she has any sparkle. Jim-Bob and Ben walk in with a load of firewood for the stove and tease her about her interest in Andy. She protests and her Mama sends her upstairs to fetch some thread. Mama then straightens out her sons and forbids them from teasing their sister any further. John comes in and is surprised to learn that Elizabeth is having “romantic notions”. Olivia says that it is no surprise to her. Their daughter is 13 now and she is glad that her interest is in a man like Andy March.
Andy practices his sermon for Sunday in the garden shed. Elizabeth escorts Corabeth to the shed where she delivers some items to help his situation with the skunk. A book on Animal Husbandry, some pot pourri to improve the smell of his clothing and some cologne in case he has another run in with the skunk. Elizabeth quietly chuckles at Corabeth’s pompous pretense which amuses Andy as he graciously accepts Corabeth’s gifts.
While returning in Andy’s car from the parsonage, Elizabeth and Andy sing “By the Beautiful Sea”. Andy gives her his cap as thanks for helping him clean the parsonage. Later, at home, Elizabeth irons his shirts which needed to be washed 3 times to rid the smell of the skunk. Jason walks in and informs her that Andy is on his way back from Ike’s. She quickly goes to the mirror to fix her hair and pinches her cheeks to make them blush. She then switches his shirt for her new dress on the ironing board so that he sees it when he comes in. As he walks hp to her in the kitchen he comments that she is going to make someone a terrific wife someday. She asks if he likes it and calls her a heartbreaker but he says yes but it’s missing something. He places a daisy in her hair and kisses her on the cheek.
With this new motivation Elizabeth writes Andy a beautifully worded love poem and signs it with an “E” Andy mistakes the “E” for Erin and he approaches her on the porch as she is about to leave for the Baldwin’s house. Erin corrects Andy that she is not the only Walton girl whose name begins with the letter “E”. Finally the penny drops for Andy and he goes to see John for advise on how to deal with the situation he now realizes he is in. John agrees that he should level with her but to let her down gently.
Andy asks Elizabeth to go for a walk. He tells her that he will be returning to the parsonage that evening. She protests hoping he can stay longer. He then thanks her for all the sweet gestures she left for him but he says that they will remain the best of pals. Elizabeth forbids him to say anymore and runs off into the woods.
Later, Elizabeth mopes in her bedroom. Her Mama comes in and asks if she will come down to say goodbye to Andy. Elizabeth can’t bring herself to do that yet but her Mama encourages her to try and move on. She then asks if Elizabeth will help her hang the curtains in the parsonage the next day. Elizabeth is still not willing to agree and asks her Mama if she will give Andy’s cap back to him. Olivia says that is her daughter’s job to do.
The next day Olivia helps Andy hang the curtains in the parsonage. He says he never intended to lead Elizabeth on or hurt her. Corabeth arrives to help Andy settle in. Andy uses her arrival as a cue to go find Elizabeth and make amends. He finds her on the bridge at Drucilla’s Pond. He apologizes for leading her on but he truly values their time together over the past few days. Growing up as an only child meant that he never had a brother or a sister and he would like to think of her as a sister. She says she has enough brothers but now that John-Boy is away she could maybe accept him in place of her older brother. He asks if they could go fishing in a couple of days but she says it is still too soon.
Elizabeth arrives at home and states that she will never wear her now dress when he mother tries to hand it to her. She runs upstairs to her bedroom and John chooses to go up and talk to his daughter. Daddy tells Elizabeth that in the past few days he has witnessed his daughter grow up and become a woman as she discovered that she could love someone else. He then tells her that he once fell in love with his history teacher when he was 14. He says with time the pain of loss will go away. He then asks if she will put on the dress and go with him to Charlottesville for dinner and some dancing. She is not sure and he says that he will be waiting downstairs he she changes her mind.
Elizabeth does indeed come downstairs in her new dress and her Daddy asks Jason to play a song for them to dance to so that her Mama can see what they will look like when they go out on their date.
|
