Into the Garden Ch. 22-24

From the way she was acting, dressing and putting on her makeup as if it were any evening out, Sam guessed Belinda wasn't up for a big talk any more than he was. He changed into slacks and a dressy sweater then sat down to watch Belinda finish up, admiring the graceful way she did little things like putting in a dangling beaded earring or slipping on a pair of strappy silver sandals. They held hands as they left the apartment and walked down the hall to the elevator. They weren't exactly talking, Sam couldn't help but notice, but at least they weren't screaming. Belinda's purse buzzed as her cell-phone vibrated inside. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

"Hi Momma, Merry Christmas! It's so good to hear your voice. . ."

If Sam had had something to throw, he would have thrown it. He felt his anger building up inside him as Belinda chatted easily with her mother, acting as if their earlier conversation had never happened.

"Listen Momma, can I call you tomorrow? Sam and I are just about to be seated for dinner and talking on a cell phone while people are trying to eat is just so common. Okay. Love you, Momma. I'll call you tomorrow. Merry Christmas!"

Sam knew this was one of Belinda's ploys for getting along with her mother, mirroring back Susannah's thoughts on things like cellphone etiquette as if they were her own, but at this moment, he didn't care. It was enough that Belinda was putting him first, even if it cost her an opening with her family. He squeezed her hand tighter as they stepped into the elevator and pulled her close for a hug.

Once they were actually at the restaurant and had been seated, Belinda said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you my news with all Christmas busyness! Lana, the owner of that interior design shop, called me back. She's going to hire me to work for her for the next few months. I'm going to get her shop's records in order and hopefully I learn some more about the design business."

"That's great," Sam answered. "Is that going to be too much for you though? Dr. Davidson said you might get tired more in the last few months of the pregnancy."

"Well, it's just part-time and I'm only taking one entry-level class. It's worth a shot and I'm excited about it," she answered.

"Let's see how it goes then. You can always quit if you need to, right?" Sam felt a surge of protectiveness and leaned over to rub Belinda's tummy, which earned them a few looks from the other diners, some nice and some less so.

"Right. If Dr. Davidson thinks it's too much or if I get worn down, I'll just cut back or quit," Belinda said, smiling at Sam. It was adorable how careful he was about her and the baby, she thought. "Anyway, I won't start until after we get back from Chicago, I'm so excited about our trip. I can't wait to see your family. Your mom says Sean has a new girlfriend, although it doesn't sound as if she likes her too much."

"Well, I just hope she's black," Sam clowned. "I don't know if my family can handle the scandal of an interracial relationship." Belinda's laughter filled the room as she struggled to get herself under control.

"Cut it out, Sam. Don't make me laugh like that. People are staring."

"They are just looking to see the beautiful woman," Sam said, lifting Belinda's hand to his lips. "And don't ever stop laughing like that. It's one of my favorite things about you."

CHAPTER 24

It felt good to be back in Chicago. With none of the "will-they-like-me" or "will I throw up all over the plane" jitters of her first trip to meet Sam's parents (Michael, his African-American banker father, and Colleen, his Irish mother), Belinda was free to enjoy the bustling energy of the city and the warmth of Sam's family, although the wind was chilly, even though she was bundled up in her new parka and snow boots. She still wasn't sure how she was going to adjust to the Midwest after they finished school and Sam started his management training job. Equally chilly was Sean's girlfriend's Janice's reception as she looked Belinda up and down critically. "Let's just say she's probably doesn't want to me my new BFF," Belinda told Sam when he asked how the meeting had gone. Sam and his dad had been out scouting neighborhoods the newlyweds might live in when Janice had stopped by.

"Back up, back up," said Sam's dad Michael as he tried to catch up on the conversation Belinda and his wife Colleen had been having when they walked in. "Belinda, your mother is organizing a scholarship campaign for underprivileged African-American boys?" He clutched his chest and staggered around the room, shouting dramatically, "You hear that Elizabeth? I'm coming to join you honey!" Belinda didn't get the reference, but Colleen and Sam had seen this act before and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, Belinda. Old television show. But seriously, this is kind of a turnaround from her banning you from your house when she found out about you marrying a black man," Michael continued.

"I know, I know. But you have to know my momma. I didn't understand it either until I heard the whole story from my dad. Apparently when they went to church on Christmas Day, the pastor of our church, Pastor Riggins, made a big to-do when he shook my parents' hands on their way out. He had heard about the talks Sam gave at the different churches over the summer, encouraging young black men to go to college or get some trade education to expand their prospects and setting up mentors for them. So he started praising Momma to the stars, going on about how 'so many people still raise their children with backwards ideas about race' and how proud she must be to have such a 'broad-minded daughter.' Then he told the people behind her in line that 'Mrs. Sutter's lovely son in law had made such a fine impression on his colleagues on the Ecumenical Council' and that if any of her Junior League ladies wanted to support Sam's efforts to provide mentoring and help fund education for local boys, the Methodist Ladies Auxiliary would be sure to work with them. You have to understand, getting on the Ladies Auxiliary is about as likely as being struck by lightning. You have to be old money, related to church founders, the whole thing. Even then you have to be voted in and they only add new members when an old one dies or retires. Very exclusive, dahhhling," this last phrase, Belinda said with her best faux British accent while deliberately sticking her nose in the air. "There's no way Susannah Sutter is turning a chance like that down, especially since she gets to lord it over her 'narrow-minded friends who are stuck in the past.' I don't know what got into Pastor Riggin, but I don't much care. Her motives may be mixed, but it's better than nothing. And she's sweet as pie to Sam now. . ."

Sam made a face. He still wasn't thrilled about the recent developments, but he was trying to make his peace with the situation. Still, he couldn't get a dig in. "Yeah, too bad your mother's superior parenting techniques didn't rub off on your brother," he said snidely. Belinda stuck out her tongue at him, being careful that his parents didn't see. Her brother Chip was a sore subject, but she wasn't going to get into a fight with Sam in front of his family. She wasn't raised to air her dirty linen in public.

"Anyway, tell me more about the New Year's Eve Party we're going to tonight," Belinda asked her father in law, changing the subject.

"My firm throws one every year for the employees and the clients. It's at a fancy downtown hotel called The Drake. Some of the clients get pretty loaded, but employees are limited to two drinks, so you won't be the only one having sparkling cider. It's over at 10 p.m. so people can join other parties, so we'll have you home before you turn into a pumpkin," Michael explained.

"I'm starting to feel like I look like a pumpkin," Belinda said, rubbing her baby bump. "It's a good thing I didn't get an orange dress to wear. But I think I'm going to go rest up a bit before it's time to go. The new bed you got for our room is so comfortable, Colleen," she added, remembering how she and Sam had made love on the floor the first time they had visited because the rickety old bed squeaked so much.

Sam woke her from her nap with kisses. "Wake up sleepyhead. It's time to get ready for the party. I already showered so the bathroom is all yours." Belinda wrapped herself in a fluffy robe, grabbed her dress bag and makeup bag and padded barefoot down the hall to the guest bath. She liked it when her husband watched her get ready to go out at home, but she wouldn't feel comfortable with him sitting in the bathroom in her in-laws house. It would be nice to surprise him with her transformation for a change, she thought. After a relaxing shower, she put on her makeup, applying dramatic dark eye shadow that made her green eyes even more arresting and curling her honey-brown hair, letting it hang loose to her shoulders. She slipped on the new dress she'd bought just for the party, feeling a little worried she would look conspicuous. The dress had come in royal blue and black, but Sam had convinced her that for a New Year's party, red wasn't too over the top. Southern belles didn't typically wear read, she'd tried to explain, but Sam had convinced her. The dress had elbow-length sleeves and came to just above her knees. With a deep scoop neck that was alluring without being too revealing, the soft fabric was draped to accentuate her growing bosom and belly. A flash of metallic sparkle on one hip gave it a festive holiday feel. Belinda slipped on a pair of black patent kitten-heel shoes and put the diamond studs she'd gotten for her 18th birthday in her ears. They were too big for every day, but perfect for special occasions. She finished off the look with a rich red lipstick with a matte finish that gave her an elegant appearance.

Sam stood up as she walked into the living room, remembering the first time he saw her, bouncing down the hill of her parent's estate where he'd worked for a summer as a landscaper and handyman before starting the final year of his M.B.A. At six feet tall, he towered over her 5'4" frame, and they were a study in contrasts in other ways, his chocolaty-brown skin so much darker than her pale white hue as they laced their hands together. Only their eyes were the same, a striking green hue both had inherited from their respective mothers. "You look stunning, Lindy. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at you."

She wrinkled her freckled nose at him and laughed. "You'll get tired of me when I'm big as a house with this baby. You'll be saying, 'Belinda, put on some more clothes. You're scaring the neighbors,'" she said, voicing a very real fear in the form of a joke.

"I doubt it. I worried about that actually, but the baby has just made you sexier. I love the changes to your body," he said quietly, spinning her around and hugging her so he could cup her breasts in his hands. They had grown from a B cup and were now threatening to spill out of the new C cup bras she had bought early in the pregnancy.

"Stop it, Sam," she said, pushing his hands away. "Your parents or Sean could come in any minute."

"Well, they'll be going out to late-night parties after we come home, so I'll have my way with you later," he murmured, nibbling on her earlobe and kissing her neck lightly.

"Promises, promises," she replied, her voice husky as his lips began to warm her up, but before they could continue, Michael and Colleen came into the room, with Sam's mother calling for his brother Sean to get his coat on and join them because their cabs would be there in a moment. Sean stepped out of his room, a younger version of his brother, the two of them dressed in elegant grey suits and white shirts, collars open at the neck. Belinda looked back and forth between the two of them. Sean was handsome enough, but he wasn't as muscled as her husband--he hadn't done the work to earn it like Sam had--and his skin didn't have the same hue Sam's did. Belinda had never seen another person with Sam's exact color, almost the color of her favorite Belgian chocolates, but slightly lighter and with a warm glow that seemed to come from under the skin. She felt her nipples tighten as an image of how his naked body looked pressed up against her came suddenly to her mind.

"Everybody got their coats and gloves? It's cold out," Colleen was hustling everyone out the door in her efficient fashion.

"Mom, we're not kids. Give it a rest," sighed Sean.

Outside the building where the Green's lived in their tony two-story penthouse, two cabs pulled up just as the family exited. "Sam, why don't you ride with your parents? I'll go with Sean," Belinda said, leaving both brothers looking surprised.

"Your face looks like mine used to look before family dinners at our country club," Belinda observed to Sean once they were settled in the cab, "like you'd prefer a lit cigar up your nose or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." Despite himself, Sean laughed. "How long do you have to stay before you can meet up with Janice?"

"Probably an hour. Any less than that and Dad will be pissed," he answered.

"What do you guys have planned?" Belinda inquired. "Don't look so scared, Sean. Your pregnant sister-in-law isn't going to crash your party. I'll be lucky to stay awake until 10."

"We're just going to a club. To dance. You could go if you wanted," he said, the last part less than sincerely, but finding himself liking Belinda more than he had in the past.

"Oh please, Sean. Do I look like I'd fit in a dance club? You're sweet, but it is home to bed with my boring, married self. I have no dance moves in me, unless it's a slow dance or a ballroom dance."

"Seriously? Like the fox trot and all that?"

"Seriously. You have to learn to do ballroom dancing to be debutante. And that, sir, is not an option when you are Miss Belinda Sutter of Mississippi."

"I could probably teach you a few things," Sean offered. "I mean, for some other time."

"I doubt it. Sam and his friend Rick tried to help me learn to dance. They almost broke a few bones from laughing so hard. I missed the coolness gene. It's hopeless. I'm doomed." Belinda put her the back of her hand to her forehead in a dramatic pose, throwing herself back against the seat of the cab, for emphasis.

"Okay, okay, I'll take your word for it," Sean answered, smiling. "But if I ever need to do the merengue, I'm coming to you."

"Deal."

The cabs pulled up in front of The Drake. Sam opened the door for Belinda. "Oh, Sam, I was just telling Sean I was going to show off dance moves you and Rick taught me tonight." Sam had been worried about the cab ride; Sean had a chip on his shoulder about being biracial at times and hadn't been exactly thrilled by Sam marrying a white woman. But now he doubled over in laughter, slapping his leg to try to stop himself.

"Please, no. We'll be banned from this hotel for life. I love you, honey, but please, for the sake of my family's good name, don't do it."

"All right, since you asked so nicely. But now you have to buy me all the sparkling cider I want for the tremendous insult I have just suffered," Belinda said with mock anger.

"Can do, baby. It's an open bar," her husband answered, taking her arm as he led her into the grand hotel.

The ballroom was elegantly decorated, and waiters and waitresses hurried around with trays of delicious appetizers. A live band played covers of classic soul and R&B—Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and the like. People with money all had the same sort of parties, Belinda reflected, North or South, there were only slight differences. Michael proudly introduced his son and his daughter-in-law to colleagues and clients before Sam swept Belinda off for a slow dance.

"You know, that was really cool of you to ride over with my brother. It seems like you finally broke the ice with him. I know I get on your case for being too nice, but I really appreciate that you made the effort. I know he hasn't been so welcoming," Sam said.

"Thank you, but let's not talk about it right now. I really don't want to get into family issues. Just dance with me," Belinda said, laying her head on Sam's shoulder as the band played Ray Charles' classic, "Baby It's Cold Outside." Sam couldn't help himself; he felt his cock grow hard as Belinda's belly and breasts rubbed up against him. His hands slid across the softly silky material of her sexy red dress and her alluring scent--she didn't wear perfume and yet she always smelled so good--were all conspiring against him to make him feel like a horny high-school boy.

"Should we make our way home then?" Belinda purred in his ear.

"I'm regretting not booking a room in the hotel, but there's no way they've got one vacant on New Year's Eve. Let's go home, Lindy. I think I'm ready to redeem that Christmas gift certificate. . . "