Felicity Ch. 13

Chapter 13. George and Martha

Martha was at her desk that late June afternoon. She was alone at the school district office since her young assistants James and Jay were involved in a wedding that weekend, the first was a nephew and an usher and the other was the groom. For a change she had escaped having a major role in the proceedings. She had a curriculum project to complete.

Martha sensed that someone was at her office door just looking at her. She lifted her head and caught her breath.

She said, "Hello George."

"Hello Martha," he said.

More than thirty years disappeared between them. Their minds went back to when they were inseparable friends. To the time they were lovers. They had lost their virginity to each other.

She had promised him she would wait until he returned from the war. She had not.

George graduated from the university a semester before Martha and was immediately drafted into the army. While he was at officer candidate school Martha brooded. When George finished the training they spent their last weekend together in a hotel. She promised to wait for him.

Before Martha graduated from the university she allowed another guy to sweep her off her feet. His name was Harvey and he was the life of the party. She married him even though her father and sisters had grave reservations about him. She did not have a real choice by then, she was pregnant.

She did write George and told him as honestly as she could about Harvey. He wrote back wishing her well.

She never saw him after he returned from the war and never heard from him directly, but the very first flowers each of her daughters received were on the day they were born and they were from him. He had signed them "Your friend George." He was still in Asia when her first two daughters were born so Martha was curious about the logistics but her life had rapidly careened into crisis-to-crisis mode so she gave it little thought.

Martha had frantically tried to find him when her youngest daughter Carly's flowers were delivered to her. Her marriage to Harvey had ended almost exactly nine months before and she wanted George back in her life. But no one knew where he was, not even the local florist. They had all been phone orders.

The flowers for the girls continued through their eighteenth birthdays. On those occasions the girls got eighteen pink roses.

Martha began to get roses on her own birthdays after her marriage ended. They were signed "Your friend George." Martha was very irritated by the fact that George knew everything going on in her life yet she knew nothing about his. She did not know if he was a hundred miles away or ten thousand miles away.

Now, there he was standing at her office doorway, still slim although he had added the fifteen pounds he had always needed to. His hair was sprinkled with gray. He still had the erect bearing; he still flashed that endearing shy smile.

"I was hoping you would be free for lunch," he said.

"Absolutely," she said and stood as she picked up her purse.

As they neared the outer doors of the school Martha dropped her purse and flew into his arms and gave him a crushing embrace. She cried. He held her in his arms until her sobs ebbed. Martha did not hear his sigh of relief as he held her.

"I'm sorry," Martha said. "As you see I am still prone to sudden emotional outbursts."

George said, "I did enjoy that one."

He took her to the resorts restaurant and he enjoyed seeing Martha receive kisses from fellow diners, waitresses, and cooks. He also saw that a few did a double take then smiled widely after Martha said, "This is George," without further explanation.

They were just finishing their appetizers when Martha's sisters Wendy and Mo rushed in. They each gave George big kisses and ferocious hugs.

Mo was never shy about digging for information and for once Martha was glad for that characteristic. Under Mo's intense interrogation she learned that George had been widowed for two years. His son worked for a major corporation in Chicago and his daughter had married just two weeks before and moved to Shreveport with her husband, an Air Force captain.

About himself George said that he had been part of an investment firm that dissolved when the face of the firm died. He considered himself to be retired.

When Mo asked where he lived he said, "I have been living in The City since I returned from the war but I just put my house up for sale so I don't know where I am going to live next."

Wendy saw the expression on her sister's face and immediately decided it was time to leave them alone. She and Mo kissed both and left as abruptly as they had entered.

Martha had done her best to keep a pleasant face all through their conversation but she knew that Wendy had read every emotion that touched her. The sadness at hearing he was a widower, the relief that he had lived a happy life were likely obvious enough for even Mo to see them. But Wendy had also seen the flash of hopefulness that came with his alleged homelessness.

Martha was concentrating so hard on keeping an even keel that she did not notice that Wendy had not taken part in the interrogation of George.

Before their lunch was over each of her daughters called Martha and asked to speak to George. The each told him they loved him, thanked him for their flowers and made him promise that he would not disappear until they had a chance to kiss him. Although each of them had learned about him from their mother and their aunts none of them had ever met him.

Martha's oldest daughter Rhonda told George that her Aunts Wendy and Mo had been ragging her mother for thirty years about picking the wrong guy. She told him that her mother had conceded that her sisters were correct. That she should have waited for him. She was in effect asking George to forgive her mother.

Martha did not hear that of course and all she heard George say to Rhonda that was not a problem and congratulate her on her landslide victory in the mayoral race.

Martha was truly at a loss for words that afternoon. She wanted to ask him to consider Felicity as his new home, to escort her to the wedding rehearsal dinner the next day, To give her another chance.

She knew he should hate her. Martha was pretty sure he didn't but she knew he had a good reason to hate her.

Martha described her recent life and her joy at having all four daughters' back home. She told him about being coerced into being part of the town council and drafted as school superintendent but somehow she felt he knew all of that.

She did commit a small error as she valiantly rambled on, she let it slip that he still had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

He said, "You must not check yours in the mirror very often."

She was already blushing at her own faux pas and his compliment just compounded it. She felt her face begin to burn and her grin become uncontrollable.

But there were no further exchanges as their waitress suddenly appeared with their bill. Martha did not remember eating lunch.

George took her back to the school and walked her to the door. He thanked her for her company and kissed her cheek before he left.

Martha went to her office and sat at her desk. She picked up the papers she had been working on but she soon noticed she had lost her ability to read. She was crying.

Seconds later Wendy and Mo burst in and led her out to their car. Wendy took her to her home as Mo drove Martha's car behind them. Martha's little sisters soon had her in the hot tub with a glass of single malt scotch in her hand. They all sat in silence for a while until their glasses needed re-filling.

Mo ended the silence by telling her big sister, "You fuck this up again we will kill you ourselves!"

Martha said, "George was just visiting an old friend. I am happy just to know he does not hate me."

Mo was about to jump back down Martha's throat when Wendy shushed her and said to Martha, "What we saw was a man that has never stopped loving you. What we heard was a man looking for you to give him an excuse to move back home. To be close to you"

"Don't fuck it up," Mo repeated in a softer voice.

Martha resumed crying. Her sisters kissed her and allowed her to cry herself out. After her sobs ended the sisters sat and sipped their scotch in silence for twenty minutes or so.

Martha broke the silence by asking, "What should I do?"

Mo immediately suggested that she find his hotel room, walk in naked and fuck him into the last century.

Wendy and Martha giggled at the suggestion and that turned their mood to the better for the rest of the day.

They did come up with even more outrageous plans that had each other in stitches but they settled on simply asking him to join them at a wedding rehearsal dinner.

They were going to encourage his attendance by saying that, Martha's daughters would be there and he would have the opportunity to visit with them. It took another scotch before Martha got the nerve to call him. Terrified as she was she still tried to make her suggestion as casual as she could.

She sensed a bit of hesitation on his part so she hurriedly added that the girls were very excited about meeting him in person and as she prattled on she mentioned that," He would be her date but she did not want him to feel he was being pushed into anything because it was not a real date unless he ,,,,,...."

Wendy stopped her with a hug and a kiss.

However Martha's prattle was enough to get George to agree to accompany her the next afternoon. He admitted he would feel a bit awkward going to a rehearsal dinner to a wedding he had not been invited to attend but would do so for her and her daughters.

Tell him he is invited, that the wedding planner just invited him," Wendy said.

"Oh, but you are invited Wendy said."

"In that case I would be proud to be thought of as your date."

It took Martha nearly thirty minutes to process that last sentence in her head.

George told Martha that he looked forward to meeting her daughters and to call him about thirty minutes before they wanted him so he could get ready.

It was then that it occurred to Martha that she had not told him that the rehearsal was going to be at a banquet room of the Seafoam resort where he was staying.

After she added that piece of information George said, "In that case call me five minutes before my attendance is required."

"See you then," Martha said.

She began to tremble as soon as she hung up the phone. Although Martha was surprised at the intensity of her emotions as she conducted the phone call her sisters were not. They immediately surrounded her with their arms and held her as her trembling subsided.

"You have never stopped loving him either I see," Wendy said. "What were you so afraid of those many years ago?"

Martha looked at her with a sad smile as a tear ran down her cheek. "I was afraid he would not come back from the war alive. I was protecting myself; I was looking the other way."

"So Harvey was your distraction?" Wendy asked.

"Yes."

"Harvey was there so you would not spend time worrying about George? To be Rhonda's father."

"Yes."

"Did it work?"

"No."

"What do you mean to be Rhonda's father?" Mo asked.

Wendy ignored her question and said to Martha, "OK, now we understand. It was still a phenomenally stupid thing for you to do but we understand," Wendy said.

Martha wondered out loud why he had not contacted her when he got back and how he knew what was going on in her life.

She saw the expression in Wendy's face and suddenly knew.

"You have been in contact with him all these years! Why didn't you tell me?" Martha shouted at her sister.

"You knew?" Mo asked Wendy.

"Yes, I knew. I knew his wife. She was a sweet woman. He was married when he returned. She was Vietnamese of French descent. She had a French passport and she was about five years older than he. She was beautiful inside and outside, very intelligent and highly educated. They had apparently risked their lives to save each other.

She worshipped George and he was very fond of her. He was as loyal to her as she was to him. Bringing you back into his life would have made things very difficult for him and would have destroyed Mai. I loved her. I attended her funeral. I still miss her, she was a good friend.

Their daughter asked me to be the "mother of the bride" at her wedding. That's where I was two weeks ago. Jim came with me and he and George are now friends.

Jim was the one that suggested he visit his hometown before deciding where he was going to go when he sold his house. I was very surprised and relieved when Jim said that to him. He does not know that there was a history between you and George and Jim only brought it up because he loves Felicity.

I was afraid to ask George to come see you and probably would not have done so but he told Jim a visit to Felicity was a good idea. I did suggest to him that he take you out to lunch.

I was the one relaying the flower orders from him for your girls. I was the one that relayed his flower orders for you on your birthdays that Harvey took credit for."

"We told you he was a bastard," Mo suddenly said.

"So you were protecting George from me?" Martha asked.

"I would not have put it that way but I guess that is right. I was protecting Mai too, and his children, and you," Wendy said.

The sisters were silent for a while and during the silence they re-filled their glasses.

Mo broke the silence by saying, "He is an empty-nester now and so are you. Don't fuck it up."

She elicited smiles from her sisters with that remark and soon after they exited the tub and got dressed.

"I'm glad you wore that dress today, you look good in it," Mo said.

"I only wore it because I forgot to do my laundry and had nothing else. Do you think he liked it?"

"I think he liked you in it," Wendy said.

Mo had volunteered to stay in the tub naked in case Wendy's husband Jim got home early. Her ass was swatted by both sisters for that.

After apparently coming to a decision of some kind Martha apologized for not being able to wait for Jim herself because she had to go to the resort and check on the rehearsal dinner reservations. She claimed she needed to add George to the list.

Her sudden resolve caught her sisters by surprise. They had not heard George's end of their conversation so they had no way to guess that Martha had just fully processed something he said to her.

In her head Martha had at last heard him say he would be proud to be her date.

After Martha left Mo asked Wendy, "Is she going over to fuck him into the last century?"

"Oh, I sure hope so," Wendy replied. "I need to get back to work. Come with me, we may be able to run a reconnaissance mission from there."

All the sisters knew there were no names on the guest list, only an approximate number. They also knew that the hotel staff understood to expect a bigger number of people than was indicated. Adding George to the guest list was completely superfluous and Martha knew it.

Their not so covert action had not produced any results however, no one had seen Martha at the hotel. They resigned themselves to the fact that they were going to have to break their sister down during interrogation the next day.

But no interrogation was needed. When George and Martha joined them in the restaurant the next afternoon they knew. Not from their wide grins or the fact that they stood close to each other as they held hands.

What told them their big sister had taken the bold step Mo had first suggested was the fact that she was wearing the same sundress she had been wearing when she left Wendy's house the previous afternoon.

Wendy and Mo shared a high-five with each other and started to go up to their sister but were beaten to Martha and George by all of her daughters. George disappeared behind a storm of redheads trying to drown him with kisses.

They saw a tears form in Martha's eyes. Wendy and Mo soon had to dab away the tears from their own eyes.

What should have been was.

At the end of the rehearsal dinner when Martha joined George at the bar after the food fight she had a Jello cup for his crotch. Unlike the other ladies that had plastered their men with Jello she did not run away. Martha wrapped her arms around him, kissed him, then took his hand and led him back to his room.