My Loving Family Ch. 03

Willa's story

Chapter Three

Nels and John returned to the farm when they heard that Sam had died. I was certain God was punishing me for my wicked ways, and except for cooking and taking care of the children, I spend most of the day, every day, in my room, praying for Sam's soul.

Then, a month later, when things couldn't get worse and I was still sick with grief and despair, Nels brought me a telegram from Mr. Enders' office in Winnipeg. "We at Bose, Rothchild and Gibbens are very sorry to inform you that Mr. Joseph Enders passed away in Malaysia on the 19th of last month from complications from malaria. His lawyer tells us he hopes to read Mr. Ender's will on the 10th of next month. We're looking forward to meeting you." It was signed, "Sarah Kincaide."

Now, even the brutal security Mr. Enders represented was gone! Wordlessly, I handed the yellow paper to Nels. "Well, this changes things, doesn't it?" he said.

I could only nod. "I'll tell the others at dinner," I whispered.

Nels and I took the train to Winnipeg. I called the Sarah Kincaide who had sent the telegram from the train depot. She insisted that as soon as we were settled in a hotel that we come to her office.

When we arrived at the hushed, carpeted offices of Bose, Rothchild, and Gibbons, we were met by Sarah Kincaide. She was a woman about my age, dressed in a short, dark dress that seemed to emphasize her bust line and her long, shapely legs. I wondered briefly what it would be like to wear a dress as revealing as hers.

After extending her condolences, and offering us tea, she invited us to sit on a leather covered couch while she sat in a plush easy chair facing us. "I don't know how much Mr. Enders may have told you about his work for our office, but he was a highly valued employee. He was overseeing the opening of a tin mine when he became ill.

"Naturally, as his widow," she said, looking directly at me, "you're entitled to his pension and an indemnity payment. Unfortunately," she continued, "it's not a large sum, but the partners would like to express their gratitude for his devotion to the firm by offering you an opportunity to join us in whatever capacity seems best."

I must have betrayed my surprise, because she quickly added, "Please, I didn't mean to sound so crass; it's just that, as personnel director, my mind naturally leads me to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s." She smiled for the first time. "Please join me for lunch. Then, I understand, you have an appointment at Brothers and Steele at 2 pm?"

Sarah quickly added, "Those are the lawyers handling your husband's estate. Nels stood. "I'd like to join you," he said, "but I can use this time to look at some tractors. I'll meet you at the lawyer's office. OK?"

Although none of us were practicing Mennonites, we still clung to the old ways and the idea of a tractor on the farm seemed odd. My surprise must have been obvious, because Nels had smiled. "Times change, mom."

Mom? This was the first time in the 20 years I'd known him that he called me anything but Willa. What was he trying to say?

That question remained in the back of my mind as I followed Sarah down the hall to the elevator. She had noticed Nels' peculiar form of address, too, because later, after we had been seated in a quiet restaurant on the ground floor, she mentioned it. She looked up from her menu. "It's none of my business, Willa; may I call you Willa? But I'm curious why Mr. Enders referred to you as mom? He's clearly several years older than you are."

I had nodded. "Yes, he's nearly 40 years old. This was the first time he's done that, and I'm as surprised as you are."

There was nothing more said about Nels. Our conversation veered into different channels, and I don't know if I have ever met a more interesting person. Sarah explained what Mr. Ender's role with the company had been. I was surprised. I had thought he was a sort of traveling overseer, but evidently he had been directly in charge of various overseas ventures. Sarah explained, "He had a wonderful talent for getting the most out of the local natives."

I shuddered inwardly, because I knew about that "talent." Knowing his feeling about sin, I doubted whether he had sired half-caste children, but I was sure he had been a brutal boss. But I was listening with only part of my brain because I think I fell in love with Sarah almost from the very beginning. When she asked me to return to her office after meeting with the lawyer, I was almost giddy with joy. I longed to touch her hand and to give her some indication of the feelings that were bubbling inside.

Sarah flagged down a cab, and gave the driver very explicit directions. She also gave me her business card and told me that when my business with the lawyers was finished, that I should show the card to another cab driver.

Nels was waiting for me in the lawyers anteroom. As soon as I walked in the door and identified myself to the pretty receptionist, she led us down a short hallway to Mr. Steele's office.

A very personification of Mr. Pickwick rose to greet us. He briefly expressed his condolences and after we were seated, he opened a file. "This won't take long," he said. "Mr. Enders left only two bequests. He directed that his real property, which is the farm, should pass to his oldest son, and that his personal property should pass to his widow." He paused to let us absorb this news.

Then he continued, "There is a problem with the first bequest, since under the law of Manitoba, the deceased cannot cut off a widow's portion of real property. Therefore, unless you two can resolve this issue, I'm afraid this matter will need to be settled in probate court."

I was completely confused. I had no idea what the man was talking about, but Nels seemed to understand because he was nodding his head as the lawyer spoke. I started to ask for a more detailed explanation, but Nels patted me on the hand, and said, "I'll explain this later." Then he stood, although it seemed to me the lawyer had more to say, thanked him, and taking my hand, led me out of the office. In all, the reading had taken less than five minutes.

Once back on the street, Nels said he wanted to look at more farm equipment, so he put me in a cab and gave the driver the name of our hotel. For some reason, I remained silent until he turned away. Then I handed the driver the card Sarah had given me, and asked instead to be taken to that address.

The Bose, Gibbons offices occupied much of a modern, seven story building in the very heart of downtown Winnipeg. I paid the driver, and feeling very brave, entered an elevator alone for the first time in my life, and pressed the button for the third floor. Sarah's office was near the end of a long corridor. I knocked on her door and heard her respond, "Come in!"

Sarah was standing to one side, silhouetted against a window, as I entered. Her slender form caught my eye, and I blushed when I realized I was wondering what her nude body might look like.

She greeted me by taking my hands in hers and leading forward to kiss me on the cheek. "Was it very difficult for you at the lawyer's office?" she asked.

I shook my head. "It was over so fast that I hardly remember anything the lawyer said." Then, as best I could, I told her what I had seen and heard. It was a very short description. Then she asked if the lawyer had described the personal property I had inherited. I shook my head. "Nels was upset when he learned that the will would have to go through a court."

Then I told her how Nels had cut the meeting short even though I was fairly sure the lawyer had more to tell me.

We were sitting facing one another in the soft furniture in the corner of her office. She had not released my hand since I had come into her office, and she continued to hold it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Has it occurred to you, dear, that Nels may not have your best interests at heart?"

Obviously, it had; otherwise, I would have let him know I was returning to Sarah's office, but I loyally shook my head.

"Tell me about your family."

I began by describing the farm, and then my children. Whether it was her quiet acceptance, the first sympathetic ear I had found since Sam's death, or something more basic, I can't say, but I was horrified when I suddenly realized I was telling her about Sam, and I began to cry. Sarah moved from her chair to the couch where I was sitting, and took me in her arms.

The floodgates opened. The first thing I knew, I was telling her about our incestuous relationship between great wrenching sobs, and Mr. Ender's brutality. I was also clinging tightly to her. She tilted my head up and kissed me softly on my lips.

Something passed between us in that instant. I was astonished to feel a familiar tingle in my nipples, and a warm wetness in my panties. Then I realized that Sarah was also crying. Partly to comfort her, and partly because I wanted to taste the sweet flavors of her mouth once again, I put my arms around her neck and pulled her mouth to mine.

There was nothing soft or tentative about that kiss. Rather, it was a lover's kiss; open, demanding and wet. My heart soared as she responded with a passion that equalled my own. Then, breathless, we released one another and sat back. Her makeup was a mess. I hadn't worn any except a touch of lipstick.

She spoke first. "That was a surprise!"

I could only nod in agreement. "I've. . .never. . ."

She smiled. "There's always a first time for anything." Then she added, "Did you feel you wanted to go further?"

Shamefaced, I slowly nodded.

"So did I," she said. "It's only natural. Some women do this all the time. Did you know that?"

I shook my head. Then I looked at my watch. "I must go meet Nels," I said.

"Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

I sadly shook my head. "I'd really love to, but we're leaving in the morning. I have a family to look after, you know."

"Your children must be old enough to look after themselves."

"Ruthie is 13. Abe is 15 and Joseph is 17. They're old enough to get into trouble, you mean."

Sarah stood and held out her arms. I allowed myself to burrow into her solid warmth, and as we held each other in a tight embrace, our open mouths met again in a wet lover's kiss. By unspoken consent we stepped back and openly regarded one another. She spoke first. "I don't think I ever met anyone who attracted me more on such short notice than you do, dear. May I call you dear?"

"Call me anything you like, darling," I whispered in return. "I feel the same way." Then an odd notion seized me. "Can I ask for something special?"

"Anything, dear."

"I wonder what your bare breasts would feel like against mine?"

"Let's find out," Susan said as she swiftly stepped to the door and turned the lock. I watched, mesmerized, as she slipped out of her jacket, unbuttoned her blouse, pushed her slip shoulder straps down, reached behind and unhooked her brassiere.

I waited, holding my breath, for my first glimpse of another woman's bare breasts. And then she lifted her brassiere away

I was stunned by their beauty. Creamy, lushly pear shaped, they stood away from her chest, canted slightly apart. Her nipples were almost like tiny penises, betraying her arousal by standing hard and alert from their beds of pink puffy areola. Never taking my eyes from them, I hastily unbuttoned my dress, slipping it off my shoulders, and then removing my own brassiere.

We stood silently for a moment, each studying the other's body. Then she opened her arms to me and I happily entered her embrace, enjoying an incredibly erotic feeling as our engorged nipples and puffy breasts touched, then crushed as we tightly hugged each other. Again we kissed.

I don't know what Sarah was feeling, but I was almost faint with arousal, and I distinctly felt moisture trickling down the inside of my right thigh!

Reluctantly, we separated again. "I wish we were in my apartment," Sarah said. "But we can't go further than this in my office -- if anyone were to see us like this, I'd be out of a job in a heartbeat."

Impulsively, I leaned over and licked a crinkled rosy nipple and was instantly rewarded by Susan's swift intake of breath. Then I kissed her hard little spike, and reluctantly picked up my brassiere.

Still flushed, I ran my fingers through my hair, kissed Susan goodbye, and left her office, but not before she hastily scribbled her home address and telephone number on another card and gave it to me.

Nels was impatiently waiting for me in the hotel lobby. "Where have you been?"

I shook my head, asked for my room key, and hurried to the elevator. Once inside my room, after turning the night latch, I quickly undressed, and drew a hot bath. Then, as I soaked, remembering the taste of Sarah's mouth and the crinkly texture of her bare nipple, I began trying to relieve the urgent itch in my own hard nipples by twisting and pinching them with one hand, while my other hand responded to the cravings of my body by exploring the mysteries in my delta.

Masturbation was nothing new, but the intensity of my arousal was. The only time I could remember when I might have been more excited was when dear Sam and I finally consummated our love for each other years ago in that grassy meadow near Virden.

Memories of that blessed moment combined with the stimulation of my recent encounter with Sarah, helped by the urgent stroking by my busy fingers, soon caused a tidal wave of relief to wash through my body. When my breathing slowed, I quickly dried off and got dressed. Then I returned to the lobby.

Nels and I had supper in the hotel dining room. Then he asked me to marry him. It wasn't a flowery proposal on bent knee with a proffered engagement ring. We were finishing our coffee. He had been withdrawn during supper, and for a guilty moment, I had wondered if he somehow knew about my sudden infatuation with Susan. I needn't have worried.

He looked up from his coffee cup. "You know, Willa, I've been thinking. I mean, I have two-thirds of the farm while you evidently have one third. Why don't we get married so we can each own the whole thing?"

I stared at him in surprise. 'You mean so you can own the whole thing,' I thought as I studied his face. He not only talked like his father, be was beginning to resemble him, and evidently was even beginning to think like him. I shuddered inwardly at the thought.

I couldn't imagine marrying the man, but something warned me to avoid irritating him. "That's an interesting idea," I said, "but marriage means more to me than a business merger."

"I didn't mean it to sound that way," he said. "I've been thinking about asking you ever since we came to Winnipeg."

"It's been less than a week since we learned that Mr. Enders had passed away, Nels," I reminded him. "To be honest, I think it's much too early for us to be talking about getting married. After all, your father is hardly cold in his grave."

Nels nodded solemnly. "You're right. I just wanted to let you know how I feel before you take up with somebody else."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Nels." Hoping I wasn't leading him on, I added, "And I'm flattered that you think someone else might be interested in an old woman like me!"

I expected him to respond with a courteous, "You're not that old," or something like that. But instead, he merely nodded and said, "Think about it."

We returned to Virden the next day.

Nels was never much of a talker, but he scarcely said two words to me after my gentle refusal at supper the previous evening. Instead, he morosely stared out the train window at the passing landscape.

When I stepped down from the railroad car, I was relieved to see our team tied to the hitching rail by the tiny depot. Maud and Molly were getting along in years, and were much less likely to be spooked by the train than younger horses who were sometimes tied out of sight of the train depot.

Joseph helped his brother load the wagon with things Nels had bought for the farm. Then he surrendered the reins to Nels, and sat between us for the hour-long ride back to the farm.

Three nights later, I woke out of a deep sleep to feel a hand on my breast. At first, I thought I might be dreaming, but the hand was too insistent; too aggressive, and I suddenly realized that someone was in my bed!

My first impulse was to scream, but as quickly as I took a breath, a rough hand covered my mouth to stifle it. "You don't want to wake the kids!"

It was Nels! "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I come to claim what's rightfully mine!", he said as he stripped the covers away.

"You stop it this minute!!" I whispered.

Instead of replying, he straddled my body, sitting on my thighs, and reached for the collar of my night dress. I tried to stop him, but my pitiful strength was of no use. Ignoring my feeble efforts, he ripped the fabric all the way to my waist. Then he reached through the opening he had created, and began rubbing and squeezing my tender breasts.

I beat at his invading arms with my clenched fists, but my efforts seemed only to goad him into taking further license with my body because he moved further back and ripped the material down to my knees. "Why are you doing this, Nels?" I asked between sobs.

"I have my reasons," he muttered as, holding my wrists in one hand, be lifted the hem of my ruined night dress to my waist with the other. Then he shifted his weight and wedged a sharp, bony knee between my thighs, forcing my knees to part. "If it was good enough for my daddy, it's good enough for me!"

I suddenly realized that Nels was naked! Still holding my wrists in one hand, he forced my legs further apart, and I felt a searing pain in my crotch as he began thrusting his naked cock at my womanhood seeking my pussy.

It seemed an eternity before I felt his cock enter me. The pain was excruciating as he savagely thrust himself into me. I was sure I was suffering physical harm, as he continued his mad dance into my privates. Suddenly, he went rigid, and I felt his seed splashing into my womb.

He grunted his satisfaction and withdrew his cock. "You're my woman, now," he hissed, "and don't you forget it!"

If I had had a kitchen knife at that moment, I would have killed him!

In the morning, as I served breakfast, Nels treated me no differently than on any other day. After breakfast, he and Joseph went out to the barn to harness the team. I knew they would be gone until dinner time, so after they disappeared, I hastily packed a bag. Then I sat down with Abraham and Ruthie and told them I had to leave the farm; that they were free to come with me or stay behind, just as they chose.

It broke my heart, but Abraham, the child I had borne my brother/lover, Sam, elected to remain with his brothers. Ruthie, however, seemed glad for a chance to leave the farm and chose to pack a bag for herself. Together we trudged out to the main road.

It wasn't long before a truck stopped, and we gratefully rode the rest of the way into Vinton. The driver was kind enough to take us to the station depot, and it's a good thing he did because we were just in time to catch the train into Winnipeg.

When we reached Winnipeg, I called Sarah.