Men in Her Life Ch. 06

Grace, unable to keep her mouth shut, or thinking she is entitled to the last word, saves her words until the front door quietly closes. When she is sure she has the attention of everyone at the table, a table which is large enough to seat all ten of the diners, "I cannot abide "those people" they think we should accept them as if they are normal, just like everyone else."

Callie, so far kept quiet, or just watching the entertainment, says, "Well you better never want those fixed," she nods toward Grace's hands and shakes her own mother's hand off her arm. "That tall girl you just insulted is the best bone and joint surgeon in this town, the best bone and joint surgeon in this state, and likely among the best five in the whole country." Callie, having had her say, sits back in her seat and says, "Marva, if you feed Charles like this every night, he's going to gain so much weight, he will need a hoist to get him out of his new truck."

Marva looks at him, "New truck? Charles, you got it today? You didn't say anything." She swats at him and says, "And I haven't even had a ride in it yet. Can I drive it? Huh, can I? Does the seat move far enough forward for me to reach the pedals?"

Charles throws back his head and laughs at her enthusiasm, "Yes, yes, yes, yes and I think so." He looks at everyone around the table and says, "See what I have to put up with?"

Horace adds his own comment, "If she feeds you like this all the time, it may be worth it." He turns to Marva, "Little lady, that was a wonderful meal, but you keep him on that treadmill. It's easier to keep it off, than it is to take it off." He pats his slightly rounded paunch in illustration of his point.

Everyone else around the table is soon joining in one conversation after another, laughing or moaning about what they have been through in the past few months. Without exception, or perhaps with the exception of Elizabeth, everyone is crossing their fingers that they only have four more days to go to see the end of it.

Elizabeth looks around the table and says she had so much fun she would like to do it again, and then ducks when Callie throws her napkin at her older sister. Bryan asks Callie when she is going to open her own business as a wedding consultant. Callie looks at him, sits up straight, and gets a calculating look on her face.

Charles leans over and playfully socks Bryan in the arm, "Good lord, don't give her ideas. She will find something for everyone in this family to do to help her and I'm worn out."

Callie looks at Charles and says, "Oh by the way, now that you have your pickup, will you ...," but she does not finish the request, if there was one.

Charles holds his napkin up to cover his face, saying over and over, "I am not listening. I AM not listening. I am NOT listening."

Callie slips out of her chair and hides behind the door to the hall. When Charles lowers the napkin he looks around and Callie pops out from behind the door, "Oh yeah? The keys, please, Marva and I are going for a ride."

"Not on your life," he exclaims, and then turns to tell Marva. "I got a car for graduation. It wasn't a new car. We couldn't afford things like that. I let Elizabeth drive it around the block. She couldn't drive very well, but I was just a dumb teenager. She brought the car back, without telling me she had driven over some trash in the gutter. It was construction trash. When I left their house, I had two flat tires and no spare. From that day to this, I do not allow Elizabeth or Callie to drive my vehicle. I figure if Elizabeth couldn't drive worth shit, and she taught Callie, I'm not taking any chances."

Grace sits quietly as Horace and Polly tell about Charles taking both flat tires off of the car, putting them in the back seat of Polly's station wagon and going to find a late night service station to get the flats fixed. Both tires had four holes in them. Then they had to go home and put the tires back on the car before Charles could take his mother home.

Elizabeth asks her father, "Where were you and Uncle George?"

Around the room, almost in unison, The Belvins's family says, "Working," to which Charles adds, "And I think I went to work the next morning."

Grace, finally deciding she can rejoin the conversation says, "Yes dah'ling, and you took that tiny little company and turned it into an internationally successful business. I saw this morning's newspaper. How much of that twelve million dollars will go directly into your pocket?"

Charles stares down his mother and then cocks his head to one side, and answers, "A little more than two fifty, in all, for a whole year's work."

Pulling her hand out of her lap, she reaches over and drops something into the middle of the thick whipped cream on top of Marva's uneaten serving of cake, as she says, "Then I see no reason for you to deprive me of something I have cherished for almost forty years." She mashes her hand down on top of Marva's cake, wincing from the pain.

Marva, surprised at the woman's action, jerks back in her seat and almost stands up, but Charles has an iron grip on her arm, holding it to the table. He whispers quietly, "Baby, please," pleading with her, using his voice and his eyes.

Grace stands, wiping her hand on her napkin and looks straight at Elizabeth. "Dah'ling, might I impose upon your lovely fiancé to take me to my hotel. I believe I have had enough excitement for one day."

Callie is beside Marva as soon as Grace Tester leaves the room, telling her that the woman lives so far away, she won't have to put up with her very often. Marva is not crying. She is just so shocked she does not know what to do. Callie tries to settle Marva. In Grace's wake, Bryan and Elizabeth leave, handing her car keys to her mother as she walks by. Polly sits shaking her head. Horace groans long and loud, but doesn't really say anything. Grace is his older sister, he has lived in her shadow all of his life, listened to her complaints, and watched her browbeat everyone she comes in contact with.

Charles picks up Marva's dessert and leaves the room, but returns shortly afterward, his face full of anger.

"Charlie," Callie says, "Help me get Dad's wheelchair into my car. I'm gonna take them home and go spend the night with Richard. I need to be with someone who doesn't hate."

- - -

When Charles returns to the house, Marva has half the dishes in the dishwasher and is working on putting the leftovers in containers. Charles makes numerous trips from the dining room, bringing her the remaining dishes. It takes less than half an hour for Marva to be comfortable enough to turn off the kitchen light. She asks Charles three times what Grace dropped into her whipped cream, but he refuses to answer.

"Are you done in here?" He asks again.

"Yes, okay, I'm done," she finally says. "What is so important about getting out of the kitchen?"

Charles puts his arms around her and says, "I need, you understand the word need? I need to take my girl for a ride in my new truck."

"Oh damn," Marva says, "I forgot about the new truck. Can I drive it?"

"Yes, but not tonight. I'm driving my best girl. I'm going to lift the armrest and she's going to sit as close to me, as she can get and I might play with her pussy as I drive down the street. You know, it's a lot easier with an automatic transmission. I used to teach all my girlfriends to shift for me, when I was in high school."

"You did not," Marva tells him, and cannot resist laughing. "Callie said you were scared of girls when you were in high school."

"It is not fair to have relatives around who know all your secrets" he complains. "I think I'll have a talk with Richard."

Slapping his back as they walk out the garage door, Marva warns him, "Don't you dare, I like Richard."

"Well maybe I won't talk to him, but I could threaten Callie that I'm going to," he teases. "Maybe that will keep her mouth shut."

"Nah," Marva says, "She likes those big dramatic statements too much. Boy did she do it about Karen. I almost wanted to stand and cheer."

"Wait a minute," Charles says. "I'll help you get in. I have to take it back to the dealer tomorrow. They're going to install some of those power steps on the sides for me. Or rather, they're doing it for you. They gave me a hard time when I asked to see what styles they had. I finally told them my future wife only comes about an inch above my waist."

"Charles, I'm taller than that."

"Yeah, but they don't know that. The sales manager said he'd like his wife face in his fly, too."

"CHARLES!"

He leans over and kisses her quickly, "Its okay, baby, he knew I was teasing."

After a few minutes of driving, Charles pulls into a parking space of one of the city parks. In the day time, the park is always filled with children. At night, it is a quiet place, with strings of lights along the sidewalks and low lights which fill a small stage where an occasional sundown concert is held on warm summer nights. He gets out of the driver's door and walks around to sit in the passenger seat and pats his lap.

"Come here, Baby. I gotta do this now, or I'll loose my nerve."

When she is comfortably seated, he manages to get his hand into his pocket and holds her hand, putting a ring on her finger. The ring is much too large, but she closes her fist when he begins to talk. "You are the fifth generation of women to wear that ring," he says. "The first one wore it across this country. Half of the time she walked beside a wagon which contained all of her worldly goods. The second woman was my great-grandmother. She buried empty coffins because three of her sons were put in graves in foreign countries. I remember seeing my grandmother wear that ring when her husband was buried. Baby, I'm sorry I'm telling you about sad events, but those are the ones I remember. The last woman to wear that ring has done something to it, which is unforgivable. She has taken the center stone out of the ring. I do not know what she did with it, or why she had it removed, although I can guess. I will get it back, or she will, I don't care what it costs. I want you to wear it because I believe you will return its honor."

She has not looked at the ring. Instead she asks, "Will you ... I'd like for you ... I don't even know how to ask. Charles, can you keep it for me? I'll wear it. I'll try to give it the honor it deserves. But ... just, not yet, okay?"

"I understand. Yes, I'll keep it for you and give it back when it is whole," he promises. "I'd like to do that. Oh baby, hold me, just hold me. I hurt and I don't mind that you know it."

- - -

Weddings do not always happen as the bride and groom expect. However, occasionally a wedding happens with only minor glitches. Such is the wedding of Bryan Preston and Elizabeth Blevins. The majority of the credit for the seamless activity of the event is certainly attributable to the Maid of Honor. The bride could not possibly have done such a superb job. The reception is almost prefect, if you don't count the fact that the bride dropped the knife when she was cutting her cake. And if you don't count that she drug part of her veil through the icing on that cake. And if you don't count that she stepped on her train as she and the groom were dancing, almost falling down and very nearly taking the groom with her. But at least it was a happy event, if judged only by the amount of laughter around the large rented hall.

The pregnant bridesmaid did not faint. The other pregnant bridesmaid's condition was not known or revealed until several weeks later and then only to a very few people, the future grandmother not among them. She only discovered her pending grandparent status, when she came for her next doctor's appointment, where her doctor suggested she have extensive surgery on her hands, beginning with the left hand. She declined the surgery, partly from fear of loosing control of those around her and partly from fear her helpless state might be reduced. She enjoys being waited upon and likely thinks of those who do so, as her private servants, as that is how she speaks of them.

- - -

About a week after the wedding, Marva collects the mail from the front porch and leaves it on the table beside the front door. That evening, when Charles gets home, he goes through the mail while walking into the kitchen. He hands Marva one envelop. She sees her name in the clear window of the envelope and opens it. She removes a check and sees that it is from the payroll account of Tester Constructors and is signed by Millicent Grier.

"Charles, what is this?"

"Oh, that's your first paycheck, I guess."

"I don't work for Tester Constructors." Marva says, still, not understanding. "And I have never made this much money in a month in my whole life, not even with a whole lot of overtime."

"Oh, that's not a month's pay. It's a weekly paycheck. I told Millie to send some of my salary to you. I couldn't do that until you quit working for Thomas Rowe."

Marva looks at the check again and says, "You need to take this back to Millie. She's made a big mistake. It's way too much money."

He takes the check from her, looks at it, and hands it back. "I don't think she made a mistake, it looks about right to me."

"CHARLES, QUIT LOOKING AT ALL THAT STUFF AND EXPLAIN THIS TO ME." Marva has finally absorbed what he is telling her and has just blown a fuse.

"What is it, baby? Is your name spelled wrong or something?" He is holding his grin in check but it is a great effort.

Calculating in her head, Marva is beginning to realize that this man is not what she thought he was. "CHARLES, okay, okay, I will be very calm about this. Please talk to me."

Taking a deep breath, Charles says, "Marva, you have never, not one single time asked me anything about money." Very slowly she nods her head. "I think you have no idea what my income is, or even what this house is worth or anything like that. Do you?" Slowly she shakes her head.

Pulling an envelope from his shirt pocket, he hands it to her and tells her to open it. It is his paycheck. She does some quick math and sits down in her chair, hard. "But you said ... all that stuff about all the suckers bleeding the company, and me keeping my job ... and making sure your Uncle Horace ... and your Mother ... and paying for a wedding ... and ... and I guess I didn't understand."

"I didn't say I couldn't afford to do those things, I just said I didn't like it. I have a good income, the company has a good income and now you have a good income, too. This house and everything in it is paid for. I have no reoccurring debts." He stops talking and looks at her. "Now, I'm going to ask you the same thing I have asked every day this week. Can we please get married? I'm sure not going to be happy to let my son grow up and think his parents HAD TO GET MARRIED."

"Yeah, sure, okay, I'll marry you. I always said I would. I just wanted everything to calm down. I'm ready, whenever you are." She looks at her lap and he knows she wants something, but she may be afraid to ask.

"Alright, what is it?" He asks, waiting for her to tell him, but guessing what she wants. As soon as she opens her mouth, he holds out his hand, opens it, and shows her he has the ring, and the center is filled with a diamond. It is the first time she has seen the ring, really seen it. Her breath catches in her throat as she bends to look at the ring. There is a large diamond in the center, a circle of diamonds around the center stone and a second circle of smaller diamonds around the other circle.

She looks up at him and holds out her hand. As he slips it on her left hand, he tells her, "The bank had it. They knew I would redeem it. The ring needs to have new mountings and it needs to be made to fit you. But I wanted you to see that it is now whole."

She puts her right hand around her left hand, holding the ring in place. He tells her, "There have been times in the past when that ring is all that stood between a woman and the possibility that her children would go hungry. Although she may have used the ring, as security for a loan, she has always redeemed it. I hope you will feel you can do the same. My mother used the center stone to supplement her regular paycheck. She wanted more money every year and I refused to pay her any more. I pay all of her expenses and she asks for more every time I speak to her. She used some of the money for a trip to Europe and some to pay a full-time companion to go with her. I don't know what she did with the rest, probably just bought things she thought she wanted. The companion chose not to continue as her employee. He must be a smart man, but he's not much better than she is. He has done the same to several other women."

"Charles, I know I said I will marry you. But can we please, please, please, have a very small wedding, just us, just family." Putting her hands on her stomach, she adds, "Just our family, you, me, and our baby."

THE END

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