Milk Money (7 page)

“I thought we both wanted the same things. I felt he made some wrong assumptions about me, and he just couldn’t accept me for the way I was.”

He gazed at the cornfield in the distance. “What kind of assumptions did he make?”

The negative memories washed over her. “Well, for starters, he didn’t know I wanted to continue farming.”

“Whoa. I’ve only known you for a few days, and even I can see how much you love farming. What were you all going to do?”

She gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, did you expect him to move into the house with you and your parents?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Since I thought we were planning to stay in the Baltimore County area, I was going to continue working for my dad. I’d planned on commuting to the farm from our new home.”

“I still don’t understand what the problem was. Besides, you were getting your degree in agriculture. Isn’t that a clue that you’d want to stay in the farming business?”

Emily chuckled, recalling her aborted engagement. “Well, sometimes Jamal was pretty clueless.”

“What did he want you to do?”

“He found a good job with an engineering firm, but it was located in Texas, so we’d have to move. He said once we were married and settled into our new lives in Texas, he didn’t want me to work.”

“What?”

Emily nodded. “He wanted me to be a stay-at-home wife and have kids and be a family woman.” She shrugged. “Again, I just assumed he knew what I wanted. I would love to have my own family, but I wanted to be a farmer, too. Since he wanted me to give up my profession, he obviously didn’t know me very well.”

“Is that the only reason you broke up?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

He shrugged. “I guess, but I was wondering if anything else happened between you two.”

She continued to think about her former fiancé. “Well, he said he was a Christian, and I thought he loved the Lord like I did.”

He frowned. “What made you think that he didn’t love God?”

She gathered her thoughts. “We were attracted to each other. We were
very
attracted to each other. When our engagement was official, he started pressuring me to make love to him. I told him I wanted to wait until after we were married, but he wouldn’t let it go. We argued about it constantly, and we also argued about my continuing to farm after the wedding.” She frowned. “It got to the point where I dreaded his phone calls and visits until I finally gave him his ring back. I started to feel like a prop.”

“A prop?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I felt like an actress or something.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Well, after I met him, we didn’t date for very long before we were engaged. Everything was so rushed that I felt like we didn’t get to know each other very much. I sensed he was desperate to get married and have a family, and I was there, dating him. We were attracted, so he asked me to marry him.” She sighed. “I don’t think we were really in love. I felt like an actress, playing the role of his fiancée, without his knowing me as a person.”

A warm breeze blew, tickling her cheek. When Frank took her hand, the warmth enveloped her fingers. “If you felt that way, why did you get engaged?”

“Initially I wasn’t honest with myself. I made excuses for our arguments and his behavior. Soon I got tired of making excuses, and I was just honest with myself. I sensed the Lord was telling me that Jamal wasn’t the right man to spend my life with.”

She mentally sighed when Frank seemed to be content with her answer. They silently rocked in the swing, holding hands, his leg jiggling.

Headlights of a car turning into her driveway shined on them, and Frank dropped her hand. Kelly and Christine soon strolled toward the porch.

Frank frowned, staring at the women. “Who are they?”

Emily touched Frank’s arm. “That’s Kelly and Christine, my friends.”

Kelly clutched a white grocery bag, and Christine held a box of Cinnabon rolls. “Hi,” Kelly greeted. “Christine and I didn’t realize you’d have company tonight,” she said, looking at Frank.

Emily gestured toward Frank. “He’s not company. This is Franklin Reese; he’s our new accountant.”

Kelly raised one perfectly arched eyebrow, and Emily sensed she was assessing Frank’s physical attributes. She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kelly, and this is Christine.”

Once Kelly shook Frank’s hand, Christine did the same. “Hi, ladies.”

She looked at Frank before gesturing toward the house. “I guess I’ll see you on Monday?”

Frank stood, causing the swing to rock. “Yes, I’ll be here on Monday.” He exited the porch and waved to the women before he got into his car and drove away.

Kelly placed her hands on her hips, and Christine stood behind her. “He stood me up! This is the last time I accept a date with that loser!” said Kelly.

They stepped into the house, and Emily turned on the kitchen light. She saw how much time Kelly had taken to prepare for her date. Her black hair was swept into an elegant bun, and she wore a new pantsuit. Expensive perfume wafted through the room as Kelly tossed her grocery sack on the scarred kitchen table and Christine placed the Cinnabon box beside it. Kelly pulled out two small ice cream cartons. “I got ice cream for both of us.”

Christine pointed to her treat. “And I brought cinnamon rolls for myself.” She rolled her eyes at Kelly. “She had the nerve to interrupt my lazy Saturday night.” She gazed at Emily. “I was going to spend this evening lounging around in my silk pajamas and reading a book and eating my cinnamon rolls with a cup of coffee.” She looked at Kelly. “Then she appeared on my doorstep, distraught that Martin had stood her up, and she insisted we come to visit you so both of us could cheer her up in person. She stopped for ice cream on the way.”

Emily sat, placing her head in her hand. “I’m not hungry now. I’m glad you brought me ice cream, but I can’t eat another bite.” She pointed to her take-out container. “Frank and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory.”

Kelly popped the ice cream carton open and fished a spoon from a drawer. “The Cheesecake Factory?” She sat, giving Emily a hard look. “Since when do you go out to The Cheesecake Factory with your business associates?” She grabbed Emily’s arm. “I thought you said Frank wouldn’t be a good prospect because of his drinking.”

Christine sat beside Kelly, taking a bite of her roll before speaking. “His drinking?”

Emily explained that she saw liquor bottles in Frank’s car. “We were talking about his drinking earlier tonight.”

Christine spoke. “Oh, I’m sorry, Emily. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have stopped by.”

“I’m glad you guys came by. Frank didn’t want to talk about it anyway.”

“He wouldn’t talk about his drinking problem?”

Emily shook her head. “He got upset when I asked him about it. I feel like he’s denying he has a problem.”

“What kind of problems could he be having that would cause him to drink so much?” asked Christine.

“I’m not sure. He mentioned that it had to do with his parents, but he didn’t give many details.”

“Do you mind if I make myself some coffee to go with my rolls?” asked Christine.

Emily stood, wanting to do something busy. “I’ll do it.” Fresh coffee soon dripped into the pot. When it was finished perking, she asked Kelly if she wanted some coffee, but she declined, so Emily poured two cups and removed the milk from the refrigerator and carried it to the table. She placed the sugar container beside the milk, and Emily and Christine sipped their coffee.

Kelly placed a large chunk of ice cream into her mouth. “Mmm. This is the best remedy for a broken heart.”

Emily scoffed. “You only went out with Martin once. You haven’t even known him long enough to have a broken heart!”

Kelly rolled her eyes, sampling another bite of ice cream. “Whatever. I thought he had great potential.”

“After only one date?” Christine interjected.

“But last week’s date was great!” She dropped her spoon on the table and modeled her recently manicured nails. “See, I even got my nails done.” The red, oval-shaped nails matched her outfit, and Emily could hear Kelly’s disappointment. “I’ve wasted my whole day getting ready for Martin, only to be disappointed.”

“Did you call him?” Emily asked.

Kelly raised her eyebrows, scowling at Emily. “Of course not. If I call him, he’ll see how anxious I am.”

Christine spoke. “Maybe you should call him anyway. Something might have happened. What if he was in an accident or something?”

Kelly widened her eyes. “Do you think something could have happened to him?”

“It’s hard to say,” Emily said. “Why don’t you call him, and if he doesn’t answer, you could leave him a message.”

Kelly pulled her cell phone out of her purse and pressed a few buttons. She spoke into the receiver, leaving Martin a message. She snapped her phone shut. “Hopefully he’ll call me back tonight or tomorrow.”

Christine spoke. “I wanted you all to see my new purse.”

Emily fingered the expensive handbag, and Kelly rolled her eyes. “You know you can’t afford that, Christine. If you want my advice—”

“Which I don’t.”

Kelly pursed her lips. “Whatever. But don’t come crying to me to borrow money when you can’t pay your bills. If you want to do what’s good for you, you’d take that purse back to the store tomorrow.”

Emily had learned a long time ago that you couldn’t reason with Christine. She decided to tell them about the discussion she’d had earlier with Frank. “You’ll never believe what Frank told me tonight.” She glanced at the clock. “I wanted to call Mom and talk to her about it, but I’m sure she’s in bed now.” She told them what Frank said about the files he’d found on her father’s computer, implying he may have been planning to sell their farm shortly before his death.

“Whoa!” Kelly interjected. “That’s deep. Do you think your stepmom knew about this?”

Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. I sense she might be trying to protect me from something….” She thought about it for a few minutes. “It makes my head spin when I think about it too much. My father is the last person who would sell this place. He always said he would farm until he died.” She covered her lips when tears came to her eyes. “And he did farm until he died.” Her mouth quivered, and she went to the sink and got a glass of water. A few tears spilled onto her cheeks, and Kelly and Christine were beside her in seconds, hugging her. “I miss Daddy so much, guys. It hurts so bad.”

Christine squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “I wish there was something I could do for you. With the Lord’s help, it won’t hurt so much after a while.” Emily breathed deeply and wiped her eyes. Kelly handed her tissues, and Emily dried her eyes and drank her water.

“There’s nothing anybody can do to make me feel better.” They returned to the table as she continued to speak. “You know, I feel like such a loser.”

“Why?” asked Kelly.

“I loved my dad and I miss him, but I seem to be the only one in my family who’s taking his death so hard.” She gestured toward the phone. “When I talk to Laura, she sounds happier than she was here at the farm. It almost makes me wonder if she’s planning on never coming back.”

Kelly slapped Emily’s arm. “Stop saying such nonsense. She’ll come home. I’m sure a change of scenery is helping her deal with her grief. What about your sister?”

“You know I only hear from Sarah when she needs something. Since she doesn’t live nearby, it’s not like I can just drop by her house and commiserate about Dad.”

Christine sighed. “Emily, you can always call your sister. I’m sure she’d find the time to talk to you. Besides, you don’t know how Sarah is dealing with your father’s death.”

Emily shook her head before changing the subject. “You know, I was cleaning up earlier, and I found a stack of programs from my dad’s funeral service. Remember my cousin Monica?”

Christine nodded. “Yeah, she’s the woman who just got married a year ago and lives on the Eastern shore. I remember she’s older than we are. One summer when she was staying at your farm, she drove all three of us to Baltimore to go to the movies.”

“Well, remember she was at the funeral with her new husband?” Kelly nodded.

“She scribbled her new phone number on one of the programs and told me to call her if I needed anything.” Kelly shrugged. “Have you called her?”

“No, I figured she wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

“Why?” asked Christine.

“You know how people are at funerals. They always say call me if you need anything, and half the time they don’t really mean it.”

Kelly snorted. “And half the time they do. You should call your cousin.”

“I still might give her a call to talk. She used to like visiting here when she was younger. Maybe I can invite her and her new husband to come over sometime.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You can give her a call in the meantime,” commented Kelly, scraping the last of the ice cream from the container. Once she ate the last bite, she smiled warmly.

“I can’t believe you ate that whole carton of ice cream,” said Emily.

Kelly nodded. “I did, and now I feel so much better.”

A cow bellowed from the barn. “Frank and I went to the auction today; then we went to dinner afterward because we were hungry.” Since Christine didn’t know, Emily explained how Frank had helped her with a breach birth.

“Maybe you can invite him to church and try to convert him,” suggested Christine.

“Convert him?”

“Yeah, invite him to church and share the gospel with him. Maybe he’s bitter about something and mad at God.”

“Do you really think I should ask him to visit our church?”

“Yeah, of course. What do you think God would want you to do?” asked Christine.

Emily silently thought about Kelly’s and Christine’s advice.

Kelly patted her full stomach. “Isn’t it a shame? Another good-looking man wasted? All three of us are twenty-eight, and it looks like we’ll never find husbands.” She gazed at Emily. “Do you remember what you used to tell me when we were teenagers? You used to daydream about your ideal husband.”

Emily grinned, recalling those times. “Yes, I used to say that my husband would be living on the farm with me, and we’d be working side by side, taking care of the cows, raising kids together.”