A New Kind of Bliss (24 page)

Teddy was a perfect gentleman at lunch, making only one reference to our affair. “I missed you,” he said as we were pulling bills from our respective wallets to pay the check. “But you seem happy, and I’m not going to interfere with that. I want you to be happy, Emily.” He sounded sincere, and I believed he really meant it.

It was nice to be cared about.

I looked at Arden’s neat cornrows quizzically as she got out of the backseat after tagging along on Kirsten’s driving practice, which we now did once or twice a week, with me staying for dinner afterward. “Your hair wasn’t like that yesterday, was it?”

She giggled. “No, a friend of mine did it at school today at lunchtime.”

“Oh. Well, it looks very nice.”

“You really like it, Emily?” she said, obviously pleased.

“Yes, I do. Do you plan on keeping it in long?”

“That’s going to depend,” Kirsten said a tad ominously as we walked into the house.

I thought I might be missing something, or walking into a trap, but I asked anyway. “Depends upon what?”

Before either girl could answer, Beverline appeared. “Arden? Is that you?”

“Hi, Grandma!” Arden patted her hair. “I had my hair braided at school today.”

“So I see.”

Had I imagined it, or was there disapproval in Beverline’s tone?

“Emily just told me how nice it looks,” Arden said proudly.

I understood what was going on here even before Beverline gave me a stare that could put out a forest fire. “Oh, she did?”

“I seem to have stumbled into the middle of a family disagreement,” I said quickly. “Arden, maybe it’s best that we forget about what I said.”

“Arden is well aware of my feelings about those hairstyles,” Beverline said in her snootiest tone. “Young lady, I want you to know that it doesn’t matter in the least to me whose opinion you solicit.
I’m
your grandmother. And no grandchild of mine is going to walk around looking like…a field hand.”

Every fiber of my being wanted to jump to Arden’s defense. Even though I didn’t appreciate her setting me up, I also felt that Beverline was overreacting to a ridiculous extent. Arden’s hair couldn’t have been braided neater. Her parts were straight and even, and the coated rubber bands that kept her hair from unraveling were all black and blended nicely with her hair.

Beverline brushed past us in a manner that suggested she wanted nothing more to do with Arden until she took out her braids.

I expected to see a chastened Arden come to the dinner table with her hair brushed out. I was surprised when, in an obvious show of defiance, she appeared with her hair unchanged. Aaron, unaware of the tension between his daughter and mother-in-law, remarked, “Arden, you got your hair braided.”

“Yes. Do you like it, Daddy?”

I averted my eyes downward. Sometimes it was nice to know that even parents got used as pawns.

Beverline cut off Aaron’s response. “I was telling Arden that no granddaughter of mine would wear her hair that way.”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed. “Beverline, stop acting like Mrs. Astor.”

She recoiled as if Aaron had slapped her.

I silently told myself over and over that the best thing I could do was stay out of their business, but I heard myself speaking, “So Aaron, what do you think of Arden’s hair?”

“I think it looks really cute,” he said without hesitation. “Whoever did it did a good job.”

“I’m surprised there’s anyone at that school who even knows how to braid
that way
,” Beverline said. She pronounced “that way” like she was talking about something illegal, like hot-wiring a car. “Who did it, Arden?” she demanded.

I couldn’t help thinking that Beverline’s agitation was more in keeping with the reaction of a parent upon learning her unmarried daughter was pregnant.

Aaron ignored her, instead asking me, “Do you like it, Emily?”

“Yes, I do. Cornrows are always so nice and neat.”

“Can I keep them in, then?” Arden asked Aaron, hope in her eyes.

“It’ll probably be just a few days before strands start coming loose, but it’s all right with me if you keep them.” His eyes on Beverline, he added, “Don’t worry about your grandmother. She and I will talk after dinner.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Arden gave me a shy smile. “Thank you, too, Emily.”

“You asked me if I liked them,” I explained, “and I do, so I told you as much. Just for future reference, I won’t lie to either of you girls, so you might not want to ask for my opinion unless you really, really want to know the answer.”

“Thanks for sticking up for Arden,” Aaron said to me later, while we enjoyed our after-dinner cocktails—actually wine for me—in the living room.

“It’s like I said. If I didn’t like the way her hair looked, I would have said so.” My voice had a deliberate coolness to it.

He reached for my hand. “I have to ask you, Emily, are we all right?”

I sighed. By nature I disliked confrontations, but we had to talk this out. “Aaron, if you and I are going to work, you have to trust me. I’m not sure you do.”

“Of course I do. I never said I didn’t trust you, Emily.”

“No, but can you honestly tell me you didn’t think about what Tanis said on New Year’s?”

“All right, I did, but just for a second. Come on, Emily. Maybe I came off sounding like a jerk when I asked for an explanation, but you told me what happened, and that ends it. We can’t let this interfere with what we have. Especially not now that the girls are really warming up to you.” He held my gaze. “I love you, Emily.”

How could I resist? “I love you, too.”

He leaned in for a kiss, which made me forget about everything else.

Aaron might be a bore in the bedroom, but the man could kiss me senseless.

I
just about choked on the tapioca balls on the bottom of my iced tea at the Asian restaurant when I saw the glistening diamond in the box Aaron had just presented to me. It brought tears to my eyes. “Aaron…I don’t know what to say.”

“You could say yes.”

I laughed nervously. For the first time I understood the meaning of the clichéd expression, “This is so sudden!” But it truly was.

Aaron and I had been getting along great, and he never failed to defend me against Beverline’s criticisms, which had diminished in recent weeks. A fed-up Aaron had told her that if she couldn’t be pleasant to my mother and me, she would have to go. Of course, she still resented my presence, although Kirsten and Arden had lightened up considerably, and Billy was a doll, like always.

Mom was doing well also, having adjusted completely to our new home. I giggled at the crazy thought that if Aaron and I did get married, both Mom and I could move into the house and put Beverline in the guesthouse. Or, as she liked to think of it, “the servants’ quarters.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing really. Just a nervous reaction,” I answered semihonestly. “I’ve got to tell you, Aaron, I really didn’t expect this.”

“Emily, I get the distinct impression that you’re avoiding giving me an answer.”

He was right, of course. Our relationship had actually headed down that primrose path my mother so badly wanted it to, but I knew that sex with little to no spontaneity for the rest of my life would be a hard sell. Yes, I’d get to live in a luxurious house and have maid service, take fabulous vacations and buy pretty much whatever I wanted, but would that really be enough to fill that void?

“I don’t want to pressure you,” he continued. “But everything’s been going so well the last couple of months, since you and your mother moved into the guesthouse. We’re in love, and I don’t want it to ever end. I want you close to me always.”

I caught my breath. Aaron spoke so simply, yet eloquently. His words came from the heart. He spoke the truth. I did love him, and he loved me. The sex wasn’t quite there, and I had to consider that it might not ever be. In nearly a year’s time we’d made love in two positions, with just two out-of-the-ordinary sessions. But I did love him; I truly did. I reminded myself that it was up to me to get more juice in our sex life. In the meantime, in asking me to marry him, Aaron was practically placing a kingdom at my feet. I’d be crazy to turn it down.

My lips curled up in a smile. “The answer,” I said softly, “is yes.”

The next thing I knew we were kissing, and then I heard the sound of applause from the other restaurant patrons. We had an audience.

He slipped the ring on my finger. “I took a guess about the size.” He twirled it, and it was a nice fit, not too snug. “Looks like I was right on the money.”

“Oh, Aaron, it’s a beautiful ring.”

“If you’d like something different we can always exchange it.”

“No, it’s perfect.” The ring, a gleaming solitaire, made my fingers look long and tapering and my entire hand look pretty…as well as in need of a manicure. “My mother’s crazy about you, so I know she’ll be thrilled. But what about your family? Things have gotten better between Kirsten and Arden and me, and of course I’ve never had any problems with Billy, but even he might feel differently when he learns we’re getting married. And we both know how Beverline will feel.”

He delivered his words with steely determination. “I love my children, Emily, and Beverline held us together during a very difficult time for our family, but none of them has the right to determine what I do with my life.”

I appreciated his firmness, but I was worried just the same. “You can’t blame me for being a little concerned, Aaron. I mean, although Kirsten and Arden and I have been getting along a little better these days, a shock like this is likely to wipe out all that progress. Do they have any idea you were going to propose to me?”

“None. I figured it would be best if you and I told them together. Why don’t we all have dinner Friday night? I’ll get Shirley to fix something special. I’d like your mother to join us as well. But I have to ask that she not give anything away before that.”

That wasn’t the same as asking me not to tell her the news. How sweet of Aaron not to ask me to keep my big news away from Mom. No wonder I was so crazy about him.

A little voice spoke to me.
Emily, you just agreed to marry the man. You
have
to be in love with him, not just crazy about him, and if you’re not, you need to give him his ring back.

My inner voice started having a conversation with itself, right there in the restaurant.

It’ll be fine. I
do
love him…a little bit. The rest will come in time. You wait and see.

Yeah, fool yourself. But you can’t fool
me.

My mother grabbed my wrist. “Emily! Oh, my goodness. Is that a diamond?”

“Ouch! Lighten up on your grip, will you, Mom?” I doubted police handcuffs hurt that much. “Yes, Aaron gave it to me last night.”

“You did it!” Mom cried out joyously. “You’re going to be Mrs. Aaron Merritt. Oh, I’m so happy.” Her voice cracked a little, and she quickly wiped the outer corners of her eyes with her fingers.

“Mom, try to control yourself.”

“Oh, you don’t know how I prayed this would happen. Your father would be so happy.”

I had to admit, I felt a little giddy myself.

“I always knew you’d get married again one day,” Mom said. “But I had no idea it would be to someone as good as Aaron. Now, don’t misunderstand me….”

I chuckled. This was the part where Mom was going to say that his being a doctor didn’t have anything to do with it, that she would love him equally as much had he been a bus driver, just because he made me happy. Such a line of shit.

“Now, the fact that he’s a rich, successful doctor is more of a bonus. He’s still a good catch for you, Emily, even if he dug ditches for a living, because he treats you well.”

I couldn’t dispute that, but she had to be kidding with that example. What mother in her right mind wouldn’t object to her daughter marrying a ditchdigger?

“Ooh, and just wait til I tell Mavis. She’ll turn green as a peapod.”

“Mom, you can’t do that. Aaron’s kids don’t even know about it yet. This is really important, okay? You can’t tell anyone until after his family knows.”

“Of course, dear. I won’t do anything to give it away. But when do you plan on telling them?”

“We’re having dinner over there tomorrow night.”

“So Beverline doesn’t know yet, either.”

“No.”

Mom smiled in a manner that suggested she should be holding a pitchfork in one hand. “Oh, I wish I could save the expression on her face when she finds out for posterity. Wouldn’t it be great if she picked up and left rather than live there with you, the mistress of the house?”

“It would be wonderful, but I think she’d rather stay on and stay in my hair.”

I was careful to remove my ring before leaving the house the next morning. I hated to put it away, but it really wouldn’t be fair for anyone at work or any of my friends to learn about my engagement before Aaron’s family knew about it. As Mom said, I’d be mistress of the house.

That gave me an idea. If I was going to be the lady of the house, I might as well claim my position now.

Friday morning I dialed Aaron’s home to put my plan in motion. I hoped Shirley would answer. I didn’t want to speak with Beverline.

“Good morning; Merritt residence.”

“Hello…Shirley?”

“Yes.”

“This is Emily.”

“Hello, Emily. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good. I suppose Dr. Merritt has told you my mother and I are coming for dinner tonight.”

“Yes, he did. I just made up place cards, as a matter of fact. I always do them when the doctor has extra guests for dinner.”

I laughed nervously. “That’s exactly why I was calling. I know this is going to sound like a strange question, but where do you plan to have me sit?”

“I put you to the right of the doctor, like I usually do. Is that all right?”

“Actually, I’d like you to put me at the opposite head of the table.”

Shirley’s uncertainty came through as loud as a sonic boom. “That’s where Mrs. Wilson usually sits.”

“Go ahead and place
her
on Aaron’s right. And I’d like my mother to be on my left. Billy can be between my mother and his grandmother. And of course, Kirsten and Arden will sit next to each other on the other side.”

Shirley didn’t respond, and I realized she was concerned about taking orders from me. “If you’re worried about any repercussions, don’t be. I’ll clear it with the doctor.”

“I’d appreciate that, Emily.”

“I know this seems a little strange to you, but you’ll understand after dinner.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, sounding as if she’d put two and two together and gotten an engagement. “Very well, Emily. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

Already she sounded as if she was ready to take instructions from me. It felt rather good.

I reached Aaron afterward and told him about my request. In the few minutes in between conversations I became nervous. Had I really done the right thing, or was I being too eager to move into my new role?

Aaron was busy, as usual, but he did take time to listen to my concern. “Sure, I don’t have a problem. It’ll probably be a little difficult for Beverline, but she’s going to have to get used to it sooner or later…so why not sooner?”

I sighed in relief.

When we went to sit at the table, Aaron escorted Beverline, leading her directly to her new position.

“What’s this?” I heard her say as I led Mom to her seat. “I don’t normally—Aaron, what’s going on? Why am I sitting here?” She looked at the opposite head of the table just in time to see me stand behind the chair. “And why is
she
standing
there?
”

“Humor me, Beverline,” he said calmly as he pulled out her chair and seated her.

She cast a tight-lipped stare at me. Aaron then darted over to the opposite end of the table and pulled out my chair. I couldn’t actually hear what she said, but from the movement of her lips it looked like her familiar, “I
see
.”

Beverline pretty much guessed something out of the ordinary was going on. “Well, this is certainly nice, Aaron, having Shirley make us this wonderful dinner, and having company to share it with.” She nodded at Mom and me.

It was all I could do not to blurt out our engagement. I was getting tired of Beverline and her continued efforts to make me feel like I didn’t belong. Maybe Mom could be considered company, but I’d eaten at this table on a semiregular basis for months now.

“Yes, Aaron,” Mom spoke up. “What’s happening in your life? Have you been promoted at work?”

I made a mental note to tell her when we were alone what a wonderful performance she was giving.

“No, Mrs. Yancy, something even better than that.”

“What happened, Daddy?” Arden asked.

“I know. We’re going to Orlando,” Billy said hopefully.

“All right, all right. There’s no easy quick way to say this.” Aaron paused dramatically. “Emily has consented to be my wife. This dinner is to formally announce to all of you that we’re engaged.”

Ten seconds wasn’t a long time, but it certainly could seem that way when a room containing seven people suddenly became completely graveyard quiet.

Billy was the first one to recover. “Emily, you’re going to be our new mother?”

Nothing like starting in first with the tough questions. “Actually, I’m going to be your friend. But if you want the technical term, I guess stepmother fits as good as any. I’ll never take the place of your own mom. No one can do that. And no one should. But as a part of the family—as your stepmother—I’ll help your father take care of you. And I hope that we can all learn to love each other.” I glanced at Aaron to see how he reacted to my explanation. His beaming face told me he approved.

Then I looked Beverline’s way. She was putting up a good front, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, which clearly showed fear and anxiety.

Mom clapped her hands, looking almost childlike. “Well, I must say that I’m thrilled to hear this. I just know you two will be very happy together.”

Maybe Aaron’s kids believed that our engagement came as news to Mom, but I knew her performance didn’t fool Beverline.

Billy piped up again. “Does this mean I’m going to have a little brother or sister?”

I chuckled, joined by Aaron and my mother. Beverline still looked shell-shocked. “Probably not, Billy,” I said. “I’m not a young woman anymore.”

“So why are you getting married?” Arden asked.

“Let me put it this way,” Aaron began. “It’s always a good idea to be married when you have kids. I’m certainly expecting that from all of you. But you don’t get married just because you want to have children. Emily and I love each other, and we want to share our lives together.”

I felt I needed to say something. “Arden, I hope you don’t think I’m trying to take your mother’s place,” I added.

“I think it’ll be nice to have a lady around all the time again,” Billy said cheerfully.

Kirsten turned on him. “Have you forgotten Mom already?” Her voice broke.

Aaron held out a hand. “Kirsten, you have to realize that Billy doesn’t have the memories of your mother that you have. You and Arden are older. You have a lot more to remember.”

“Of
course
I remember Mommy,” Billy said indignantly. “But she’s in Heaven, and she can’t come back. All my friends have mothers. I’d like to have one again, too.”

I got out of my chair to give Billy a hug. He seemed comforted as he embraced me. I returned to my seat.

Beverline cleared her throat and spoke for the first time. “Well, this explains a few things, Aaron. Like why you took down Diana’s portrait.”

“I didn’t take it down, Beverline; I moved it to the girls’ room. Don’t make it sound like I stuck it in the garage or something.”

“This certainly is a surprise,” she replied, ignoring his remark. “I suppose I should have seen it coming. When do you plan to get married?”