Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show (7 page)

Scott
agreed with her suggestion. “I think you are not only beautiful, but also very smart. It’s time for us to move on.”

She leaned forward and gave
Scott a quick kiss before giving him one of her scheming looks. “I believe you said something about a Jacuzzi and a bottle of champagne before we were sidetracked.”

Having helped
Michelle to her feet, they began their trek back to the house. She stopped on the bottom deck step and looked at him for a moment before speaking. “If you and I are going the distance tonight, you have to make a commitment to me now.”

Scott
looked back at the ocean and then at her. “I made a commitment to you years ago, but I don’t mind making it again right now. We are celebrating our lack of Independence Day and unless you run away, we will be having this same celebration fifty years from now.”

CHAPTER
VI

Scott
woke up at ten-thirty on Thursday morning to the sensation of Michelle kissing his cheek. As he rolled on his side to face her, the first thing he saw was her devious little smile. “So, what are you thinking?”

Looking into her beautiful blue eyes,
he replied, “I think you have given me the best 4
th
of July in my life. To be completely honest, this has been a long time coming, but was very much worth the wait.”

Michelle
placed her hand on the side of his face as she spoke in a soft voice. “I am very happy right now and I am at total peace with myself. I know we are going to take very good care of each other from now on.”

Throughout the day,
he noticed a change in Michelle from what he had seen over the past few weeks. She was relaxed and appeared to be very happy, even when they did something as simple as taking a walk on the beach. He was sure she was being honest when she said she was at peace with herself.

For all practical purposes,
their relationship was like a jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces falling into their proper places. Somewhat to his surprise, even the more intimate times they shared together on Wednesday night and Thursday morning were free from any sense of awkwardness.

Late on Thursday afternoon,
William called to say he would be coming for a visit Friday morning. They assumed he was coming to offer them another “opportunity” but neither of them could decide what the offer might be. Rather than using their time to solve the “mystery opportunity”, they spent the afternoon and evening on the beach, playing miniature golf and swimming in the ocean. 

True to his word,
Betsy and William arrived at ten o’clock on Friday morning. After exchanging their greetings, William and Scott sat on the deck overlooking the ocean while Betsy and Michelle fixed soft drinks and a snack in the kitchen. A gentle but steady breeze kept them comfortable as the sun rose higher in the sky. William spoke as he was sitting down, “I suspect you would need a wheelbarrow to carry all of the girl talk going on in that kitchen.”

“I think you might be right. I want to thank you and
Mrs. Broughton for letting us use you beech house. You have a great place here.” Scott replied.

William
took a cigar from his pocket and looked at it, but did not light it. “Well, I have worked hard for what I have and I’ve been lucky. Many times, luck is more important than hard work, but you don’t really want one without the other. By the way, you can call us William and Betsy. I don’t think you need to be quite so formal.”

Scott
realized he had the chance to gain insight about Michelle’s relationship with Betsy. “Michelle seems very close to Betsy. I think it has been good for her to have Betsy to talk to through the years.”

He started smiling. “
Michelle’s mother is my sister so I have to be careful what I say. Mothers and daughters have a strange relationship, especially during the teen years. They would be willing to die for each other at the same time they are clawing out the other’s eyeballs. Betsy has the luxury of listening to Michelle without having to play the role of parent. She offers Michelle some guidance without being judgmental.”

Scott
continued his fact-finding mission given the fact that William was talking. “I have the impression it was not easy for Michelle growing up with three brothers.”

William
put the cigar in his mouth, but still did not light it. “Well, until she was in ninth grade, we weren’t completely sure George and Sally didn’t have four boys and no girls. Her brothers used her to balance the teams in whatever kind of sport they were playing at home. Sally and Betsy started leading her in a different direction while trying to get her out of the tomboy role she was playing.”

Scott
started laughing as thought back to their days in junior high school. “I remember those days well, but to her credit, she was better at baseball than some our male team members. I guess having three brothers teaching you to play paid off for her.”

“Having three brothers was not a bad thing either. She learned to fight for herself and stand up for what she thought was right. You would be well advised to be careful with her.” He replied, with a slight grin.

Scott was also smiling while remembering some of his encounters with Michelle. “She has mellowed out some over the years, but she remembers how to stand up for herself, which I respect.”

The smile
left William’s his face as he turned to Scott. “You have been a very good friend to Michelle through the years and you kept her from taking the wrong path more than once. You have been very protective of her.”

His
response to William was made with the same serious tone. “It’s been a two way street with us. She jerked my chain a few times and made sure I didn’t stray too far from the beaten path. We tend to listen when the other is speaking.”

“She looks very happy to me, more so than I have seen in months if not years. I think the two of you coming here together might have been a good decision.” He replied as he lit his cigar.

Feeling more comfortable with his position, Scott decided to challenge William. “I don’t think we ended up here by accident and I am equally sure you and Betsy had something to do with our being at this beach house.”

Before he could offer a rebuttal to
Scott’s suggestion, Betsy and Michelle joined them on the deck. Michelle stood behind William as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. She then put her hands on each of his shoulders and started to pat his shoulder. With each word she spoke, her pats grew stronger, as did the determination in her voice. “I think you owe Scott and me an explanation about the little performance you dreamed up for us in your barn on Wednesday night.”

Scott
glanced at Betsy and saw her smiling while Michelle was making her accusation. William took his hand and placed it on top of Michelle’s hand. “I think your question would be better directed if you talked to the architect of that plan who happens to be the lovely lady to my right.”

Michelle
’s mouth opened widely for a moment before being slowly replaced with a smile. “That was your idea?”

Betsy
playfully fanned herself with her hand as she replied, “Modesty requires I share the credit with William.”

Michelle
sat next to Scott before she spoke. “This inquisition is getting us nowhere.”

Betsy
took a sip of her Coke before she replied, “Several weeks ago when you and I talked about your wedding plans, you showed all the enthusiasm of a woman going to an oral surgeon. When I brought up the subject of a wedding gown, you told me we would look later and that you had better things to do. Clearly, you were not acting like a young woman excited with the prospects of getting married.”

William
spoke next as he directed his comment at Scott. “The day you and Michelle went to Cape Lookout was the first time you knew she was planning to get married. Your father told me you came home from the beach, didn’t eat any dinner, casually mentioned the fact that Michelle was getting married, and then you acted like a zombie for the rest of the week.”

Michelle
, having been surprised by that news, reached up and touched Scott’s shoulder as she was grinning. “I didn’t know my potential marriage had quite that strong of an effect on you.”

Before
Scott could defend himself, Betsy pointed out something Scott had not known. “Michelle, a touch of humility might be in order. If you recall, I asked you if Scott would be attending the wedding and you started crying.”

Scott
made a face at Michelle before she hit him on the shoulder and said, “Stop looking at me like that”.

Scott
was still bothered by the way they had intervened at the barn given Michelle had made the decision not to tell anyone her wedding was off. “I’m not sure any of us had the right to try to influence Michelle’s decision to marry Tom. That was her decision and we should have all supported it.”

Michelle
nodded her head. “I agree with Scott. That was a rather public effort to get Scott and me together at a time when I was getting married to someone else.”

Betsy
smiled at Michelle and spoke in her typical soft voice. “Sweetheart, you weren’t getting married to Tom and your mother and I knew it, but didn’t tell anyone. Tom’s mother was on the phone with your mother before your plane ever took off from the runway. I might add the conversation was not very pleasant.”

If looks could kill, the one
Scott saw on Michelle’s face was unusually deadly. “She called my mother and told her we weren’t getting married? Is that what you are telling me?”

William
took a puff from his cigar and blew the smoke in the air. ”According to what Betsy told me on the trip over here today, she actually called five or six times.”

Michelle
looked directly at both of them and spoke in a soft voice, but Scott knew from experience she was furious inside. “From this point on, I will handle this myself. I can fight my own battles and I really didn’t want my mom to hear any news from that witch.”

Without the wisdom of forethought,
Scott said something when he should have kept his mouth shut. “What a wimp.”

Michelle
turned quickly and looked at him. “Are you calling me a wimp?”

Scott
could see a slight grin on William’s face as he chose to stay out of the fray. Scott then focused his attention on Michelle. “I was making a reference to Tom. I have better sense than to call you a wimp.”

Michelle
grinned for a moment, and only a moment, to let Scott know she was not angry with him. “I would like to tie his mother’s apron strings around his throat. What a jackass. I wonder if his mother will go along with him to meetings should he make it to the corporate world.”

Betsy
cleared her throat is a way that caught their attention. “As I was saying, we would not have interfered if we thought you were going through with the wedding. However, we all agreed that the time had come when the two of you had things that you both needed to say to each other and you needed to get on with it.”

William
made his case with far less tactfulness. “Good Lord above. I have seen some lengthy courtships in my life, but the two of you take the cake.”

Michelle
couldn’t help but grin at her uncle as she chose to defend their hesitation. “Excuse me. It so happens Scott and I had already planned to sit down Wednesday night and have a long talk.”

Betsy
once again intervened. “Michelle, when you and Scott agree to make popcorn, the two of you usually end up eating a bowl of ice-cream.”

Michelle
was now smiling at Betsy. “What is that supposed to mean?”

William
came to Betsy’s defense. “It means if the two of you start out for the North Pole, there is a good chance we will find you somewhere in the South Pacific. The two of you get distracted when you try to deal with each other.”

Michelle
then turned to Scott. “Do you agree with what they are saying?”

Scott
shrugged his shoulders and replied, “It sounds fairly accurate to me.”

She had a look of defeat as she spoke. “It sounds
right to me too. I’m not sure what that says about us.”

William
stretched his arms across the table. “It says that you needed a kick in the ass to get you headed in the right direction. Can I assume we now have you moving down the right highway?”

Scott
spoke while looking at Michelle for conformation. “I think we are on the right highway and I don’t think there are any more exit ramps for us to take. Wherever we are going, we are going to get there together.

Michelle
then looked at Betsy and William. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone about the wedding being called off. I wanted to take a few days and make sure I was doing the right thing before I said anything. This thing between Tom and I has been going downhill since the day after he asked me to marry him, but I’m okay now. Actually, I am better than okay. I’m very happy right now.”

William
nodded his head. “That’s good news that I can carry back to New Bern. I’m sure both sets of parents will be happy to know you are both doing well.”

Michelle
was watching Scott as she replied, “I called mom this morning to tell her all was right with the world.”

William
glanced at his watch. “Good. Betsy and I have a tight schedule, as I need to be home for my one o’clock nap. I think Mark and Sally told you both that I have a proposition for the two of you.”

“She did mention the possibility
, but she didn’t give either of us any details.” Scott replied.

William
leaned back in his chair before he spoke. “We would like to offer you both the opportunity to come and work for Brother Willy’s Traveling Salvation Show.”

While
Scott was about to burst out laughing, Michelle was able to contain her laughter long enough to speak. “I don’t think I am familiar with that company.”