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Awkward Marriage 14
He walked over to his desk and sat in the chair behind it. “I know husbands who are controlled by their wives. It’s not pretty.” He took out some paper he had neatly folded into his breast pocket and set them on the desk. “It’s official. I own a building which will become Mitchell Bank in a matter of weeks.” “That’s wonderful!” He smiled. “I already asked Justin Monroe to be the vice president. He and I will turn in our resignation letters to Conrad Leroy right after New Year’s Day.” “You would be surprised how many people in this town are afraid of what will happen when Conrad retires. George doesn’t have a very good reputation with the women I’ve talked to. He keeps a mistress in another town, and women don’t like the thought of their own husbands being unfaithful.” “Is that why you said you could hurt his reputation in this town?” “Women are as upset about infidelity as they are about children being forced out of their homes because of foreclosure.” “
Awkward Marriage 15
OuT of curiosity, Jake decided to attend the Christmas play at the auditorium later that day. He was surprised by how many people went to the event. Mrs. Walker was at the table collecting donations. “You don’t have to give if you don’t want to,” she told each person who walked through the door. “Where do your donations go?” one man asked. “To fixing the library, costumes and other supplies for future plays and additional books,” she warmly replied. “My goal is to provide a fun place for adults and children to enjoy the thrill of reading.” “I can handle that.” “Oh, you can just slip the money into this box. I don’t want to know who gives what. I’m just pleased people offer so much. This donation takes care of the entire year most of the time.” “Well, I can’t wait to see Trevor’s play this year,” another man commented. “My son is one of the lead characters.” “Really? My little Annabelle is one of the Temptations. I believe she’s named Lazy Time.” J
Awkward Marriage 16
The next afternoon after Jake came home from work, there were five dozen flowers sent from different bachelors congratulating Sue on her part in the play. What are single men doing going to these events? It was clearly a family-oriented production. “Has Sue seen these?” he asked Lydia. “No, sir. She’s been at work all day,” she replied, her eyes wide. “Who knew she would become so popular after marrying you?” “Indeed. Who knew?” He scowled at the flowers. “Throw them out. This is my house and she is still my wife. Those men have no right to try to court her. They should at least have the decency to wait until May 21.” “Right away, sir.” “Wait!” He took the cards. “I want to know who I need to watch out for. And I don’t want Sue to know about this,” he growled before he headed for the den. He sourly sat at his desk and sorted through the cards. Dear Sue, I saw the performance last night. You did a wonderful job as director, and Trevor’s writing cont
Awkward Marriage 17
He took an early lunch from the bank so he could get to the library a little before noon. He carried the dress in a brown paper bag so no one would know he was carrying it around. He had to ask the woman at the front desk where Sue was, and the woman directed him to the children’s room. He quietly entered the room and stood behind a bookshelf so he could watch Sue without her noticing him. She still wore her hair down, except today she had it pulled back with two barrettes. She wore a navy blue dress that showed off her hourglass figure. It was a good thing he was here to stop Mr. Martin before he got started. A group of about thirty children and their mothers sat in a semi-circle to listen to her. He didn’t recognize eight of the women. Mrs. Monroe, Mrs. Hawke, Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Edwards, and Mrs. Gregory were the women he recognized because of their husbands who did business with him. He shook his head in amazement when he noticed Mrs. Parker sitting with three children. M
Awkward Marriage 18
Sue finished packing her suitcase. She added the new pants and flannel shirts she asked Mrs. Parker to make for her so that she could help her brothers with some of the farm work. She included a couple of her new dresses, which she had to admit, she enjoyed wearing. She was very satisfied with her bedroom now that the bed had thick dark blue blankets and hunter green pillows on it. It didn’t look exactly like Jake’s bedroom, but that was fine with her. It held a small lamp on her oak night stand which she used to read a book late at night. The new oak headboard provided ample support for her back and the large pillows were comfortable so she could sit all night reading if she wanted to. She didn’t bring many personal belongings. There was a picture of her family and a couple of worn out books she owned, one being her childhood Bible. From the wedding gifts, she took a gold and oak clock so she knew what time it was, a crystal musical jewelry box so she could keep the diamond
Awkward Marriage 19
Sue woke up early the next morning, excited about getting outside and enjoying the freedom of riding a horse on the open land. The acreage was mostly cleared of trees but a forest and clean river passed within walking distance to the three bedroom home. Jeremiah and Gloria lived in a two bedroom cabin nearby. Her parents had one bedroom, Trevor and Luke shared a bedroom and Patty had her own bedroom. Sue was sleeping in Patty’s bedroom and Jake was sharing a bedroom with Trevor and Luke. She quickly put on a pair of dark brown slacks and a dark green and brown plaid shirt. Then she slipped on her brown boots and slipped on her old brown coat and gloves. She wanted to see the horses before anyone else woke up to open Christmas gifts. She quietly made her way to the barn and opened the door. She sighed when she saw the condition of the place. It needed repairing. She knew she could reinforce the stalls and shelves but there was no way she could repair the leaking roof. The
Awkward Marriage 20
The next day passed with little event. Sue listened as Jake sat down and discussed how to effectively manage money. When he discussed business, he handled himself with confidence and professionalism, so it was easy for her to see why he attracted so many customers at the bank. She found that she enjoyed watching him work. He still wore a suit, but she noticed that he didn’t have his tie so tightly knotted around his collar. He seemed to enjoy watching her family’s good natured banters and even followed her and her siblings to the barn and the pig pen. She hid her laughter at his apprehension about being so close to dirt and animals. He was a true city boy at heart. On the farm, he was clearly out of his element but he maintained himself with a quiet dignity that impressed her. Though her family did like him and went out of their way to be nice to him, he was still an outsider to their world. At lunch on the fourth day of their visit, Jeremiah brought in the Rocky Mountain
Awkward Marriage 21
Later that evening, she discovered the first part of her brothers‟ plan, and even worse was the fact that her parents were a part of it. “Well, we do like Jake,” her father said. “It would be nice to keep him in the family.” “He treats you well too,” her mother added. “I like to see my children taken care of.” “But we don’t love each other,” she protested. “Give it time.” She shook her head in bewilderment that Jake could come into her home and win these people over in less than a week. That night as she pulled on her nightgown in Trevor and Luke’s bedroom, she decided that she wasn’t going to explain the sudden sleeping arrangements to Jake. The last thing he needed was to be pulled into her family’s elaborate schemes. Jeremiah claimed that there was a mouse running loose through his cabin, so he and Gloria had to sleep in Patty’s bedroom with Patty sleeping on the floor. Trevor and Luke offered to sleep in the parlor. There wasn’t enough room for Ja
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