Carol Ritten Smith (30 page)

“After you,” he said, motioning with the luggage for Beth to enter.

Davy was on the bed, bouncing wildly. The joints of the old brass bed squeaked in objection. Something compelled Beth to look at Tom at the exact moment he looked at her. She glanced away. Suddenly it seemed as if the bed were the only piece of furniture in the room.

“Stop it, Davy!” she scolded. “Beds aren’t made for bouncing on.”
Especially this one. And especially when there’s going to be four in the room.
She dared not look at Tom, but she wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

Mercifully, Bill broke the awkward silence. “Hey, Davy! Let’s go see if they’ve got an indoor toilet somewhere. I bet they do, a fancy place like this.”

“Wow!” Davy bounced off the edge to the floor.

Beth realized she was about to be alone in a room with her husband and a bed. Though she knew it was absurd, she felt anxious. “Wait a minute!” she erupted, then unable to think of a suitable excuse to keep the boys in the room, she ordered, “At least, take off your good jackets and ties.” Within seconds, jackets and ties landed on the bed and the boys charged off to explore the facilities.

Tom laughed and set the luggage down, giving the door a kick behind him to close it. “Kids!” he chuckled.

Beth laughed too, more nervous than amused.

“Well, might as well unpack.” Tom skirted around the foot of the bed to the armoire where he hung up his clothes. She tried to do the same, discovering too late there wasn’t room along the side for both of them to stand.

“Oh, here, let me get out of your way.” He carefully stepped around the bed as if touching her skirt might be lethal.

It took Beth all of one minute to hang up the clothes she and her brothers brought. She could feel Tom watching her and she wished she could crawl inside the closet herself and shut the doors. She needed time to sort through her emotions. With all the rush and confusion of getting married and catching the train, she hadn’t given tonight any thought.

What would happen between them, she wondered. It was their wedding night. If the situation were different, if it were just Tom and her alone in the room, then she had a pretty good idea what they’d be doing in that bed. A tingle she now recognized as desire raced through her and she forced it to cease. Nothing would be happening tonight. Or would there, she wondered. What if he pressed her into performing her marital duties? What if the boys overheard?

She calmed herself. Tom wouldn’t put that kind of pressure on her, she was certain, but still she worried. What if her nearness aroused him beyond the limits of common sense? What if his nearness aroused her beyond the limits?

Tom chuckled and she turned to see what entertained him so. He was looking at her.

“Isn’t life funny?” he commented with a half-smile. “Here I am, in a hotel room with my beautiful wife, and she’s acting as if she’s afraid of me, and by God, if I’m not acting the same way. Somehow I imagined our wedding day would be a little different.”

He had introduced the subject and she knew if she wanted to talk to him about what he expected tonight, it was now or never. “Tom, I know you must be disappointed … I mean … with the boys and all.”

Suddenly there was a quiet knock at the door and her opportunity to speak frankly with him was gone.

“Guess who,” she said, her brows raised in a sheepish apology.

“I think I already know.”

It was Bill, looking embarrassed.

“Uh … me and Davy are going to explore around town.” He nervously avoided looking Tom in the eye. “We won’t be back for a couple of hours … at least that … maybe more. I thought I should let you know.”

Tom smiled. The boy had the subtlety of a whorehouse madam. “A walk around town sounds like a good idea. We’ll change and be down to join you in a couple of minutes. Wait for us in the lobby.”

Bill looked surprised. “Ah … okay … good.” He bolted down the hall as the door closed.

“Well, Mrs. Carver, we’ve been invited to see the sights of Tannerville. I would be honored to be your escort.” He bowed and presented his hand.

She placed her hand in his. “Mr. Carver, I would be most pleased to accept your invitation.”

They laughed, glad to have the mood lightened even for a moment. “I guess we’d better change.” Immediately the awkwardness returned.

Sensing her reluctance to disrobe in front of him, Tom suggested he wait outside for a few minutes. He stood in the hall, receiving some quizzical stares as people passed to go to the lobby. A minute later, Beth opened the door a crack.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Not exactly,” she whispered. “I need your help. I can’t undo all the buttons.”

Twenty pearl buttons trailed down the gown’s back and while she could unfasten most of them, she couldn’t manage those centered between her shoulder blades.

Tom’s throat constricted. He’d resolved there would be no intimate contact tonight, but his decision to remain celibate was much easier to maintain when his lovely bride was fully clothed. Sweat formed under his starched white collar as his fingers fumbled nervously with the buttons. If he was affected this much undoing her buttons, how was he going to be able to lie next to her all night?

“They’re tight little suckers,” he said, hoping she’d think that was the reason for his ineptitude. When the task was completed, Tom turned his back to face the wall. “If you don’t mind I’ll just wait in here. I feel kinda conspicuous standing in the hall.”

“Oh … of course.”

His ears strained, listening to the rustle of silk. What his eyes didn’t see, his imagination did. In his mind he saw her clad in only a chemise and drawers. Delicate lace …

“Okay. You can look now.”

She was already dressed in another outfit, neckline up to her chin and buttoned securely, sleeves full and cuffed tightly, bulking skirts adequately hiding her shape. Tom was surprised, and at the same time relieved. If she were just in her undergarments, as he’d imagined, he’d be hard put to meet the boys in the lobby in a few minutes.

Hoping she wouldn’t notice he was fully aroused, he maneuvered around to the armoire to get a change of clothes. He glanced at Beth. She turned and stood with her back to him. Turning his back also, he peeled off his suit jacket and hung it up. He undid his trousers, let them drop, stepped out of them and then bent over to pick them up.

Beth had the uncontrollable urge to peek, but when she caught sight of his white underwear, she quickly turned away, her cheeks flaming. She tried to forget what she had seen, but it was too late. The image of him bent over, his behind toward her was burned into her memory, and even with her eyes closed she could make out the strong shape of his buttocks. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.
Shame on you! What if Tom had peeked when you were dressing?
And then she wondered, had he? Her heart pounded louder.

“Are you almost ready?” she asked, anxious to escape her self-induced torture chamber.

“Just about.”

A second later, he stood in front of her. Lord, but he was handsome, she thought. With or without clothes. Pushing her racy thoughts aside, she strode toward the door, saying, “We’d better get downstairs.”

But Tom caught her and pulled her back against his chest.

“No, not yet,” he whispered. “There’s something I must know first.” He ran his hands gently down the front of her dress, over the swell of her pounding breasts to stop at her tummy. “Ever since we met there have been secrets. But there is no need any more, honey. We are husband and wife, ’til death do us part. Tell me,” his voice was a breathless whisper, “is there going to be a child?”

Her answer was equally breathless. “Yes.” She tipped her head back to gaze at her new husband, and he saw the truth in her eyes and she saw the love in his. “We’re going to have a baby in December.”

He came around her and bent to kiss her tenderly. “I am pleased beyond measure,” he whispered against her lips.

• • •

Tannerville had a population three times that of Whistle Creek and a main street twice as long. Being Sunday, the stores were closed, all except the restaurant in the hotel. They stopped there first for some freshly baked pie before going window shopping. Davy dragged Bill ahead down the street, bouncing with energy and excitement.

They passed a brick building — the courthouse — and Tom glanced across at Beth. She was staring straight ahead, her head held proudly, but tears were glistening on her eyelashes. He knew what she was thinking. The same thoughts crossed his mind. What if they lost the boys? He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and left it there as they strolled down Main.

“We have to tell Davy,” she said, her voice almost breaking.

“I know. But not yet.” Their feet thudded on the boardwalk. It had a calming effect on them, almost like a mother’s heartbeat. “Let’s let him enjoy this day. We’ll tell him tomorrow, right after breakfast.”

Beth nodded, watching her brothers. “Bill’s scared. He hides it well, but I can tell.”

“We’re all scared.” This time Tom stopped. He turned Beth by the arm to face him, his grip tight. “Beth, I swear, even if we all have to move a thousand miles away, I won’t let Mead have the boys.”

They continued their walk in grim silence.

Three hours later, after having strolled up and down every street in Tannerville several times, they returned to the hotel. To pass the time before they went for supper, the boys played tic-tac-toe.

They went down to the hotel restaurant late, and after the main course, Tom lingered over a second and third cup of coffee while the boys ate dessert. Davy chattered nonstop, a welcome distraction for the rest of them, but the thought of what tomorrow might bring was never far from their minds.

When they returned to their room, they found two cots and extra blankets had been supplied. One was placed at the foot of the bed and the other on the side opposite the armoire, leaving very little floor space to move about in the crowded room.

Beth and Davy played I spy, while Tom and Bill stared unseeingly at the walls. The moment the room became dim, Tom suggested they get to bed, saying, “Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

“Why? What are we doing?” Davy asked, his interest piqued.

There was complete silence in the room. Bill’s head snapped around to look at Tom. Tom, in turn, looked in Beth’s direction, obviously at a loss for words.

She came over and pressed her face close to Davy’s. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out … tomorrow. Right now, it’s bedtime. Out of your clothes, mister.”

Davy stripped down to his underwear, causing her to fret about changing into her nightgown. Bad enough to have the first-night wedding jitters without having an audience. While Davy peeled, the other three in the room cast anxious glances at each other.

Finally, Tom suggested, his words coming out croaky, “How ’bout Bill and I go down to the lobby while you two get into bed? It’s so crowded in here, we’ll be tripping over each other.”

She almost sagged in relief. “Oh, yes, that would be fine.”

Ten minutes later, with Beth safely on the far side of the bed and the blankets tucked up to her chin, Tom returned.

“Where’s Bill?” Davy asked, sitting up in his cot.

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Tom stole a quick glance across the room at his bride before extinguishing the lamp. Aided by the street’s gaslights filtering through the curtains, he began to change.

She forced her eyes shut. Her ears strained to listen. The bed creaked, and Beth felt the mattress sink under his weight as he sat on the edge. She heard his shoes clunk on the floor, then the soft sliding sound of his pants coming off, first one leg and then the other. Presently, the bed creaked again, and his stocking feet padded around to the armoire. Its doors clicked open and coat hangers slid along the wooden bar inside. After a moment, she heard the door click again, follow by more footsteps.

“Ouch! Confound it!”

“What happened?” Beth’s eyes flew open. Tom was in his underwear, looking like a ghostly apparition, standing on one leg and holding the other foot in his hands.

“I cracked my toe on this stupid cot.”

“Sorry,” Davy whispered in the dark.

“It’s not your fault,” Tom replied irritably. “It’s this tiny room. We’re crowded in here like fleas on a small dog. The hotel should make their rooms bigger.”

But he and Beth knew it wasn’t the room’s size triggering his sour mood.

Cool air seeped under the covers as he slid in beside her. He stayed on his side and she on hers, keeping a proper distance between them as if they were strangers instead of husband and wife.

A couple minutes later Bill came along. He, too, undressed in the darkness, but dumped his clothes on the floor.

“Great,” Bill muttered disgustedly, getting into his cot, “my feet stick out the end.”

“You’ll just have to make the best of it like the rest of us.” Tom didn’t feel much compassion for the youth. If anyone had reason to complain, he did. He was in for one uncomfortable wedding night, sleeping five inches from his bride and not being able to make love to her as he so desired.

“Are you all right, Davy?” Beth asked.

There was no answer, leaving everyone to presume he was already asleep, but a minute later his little voice piped up, “Boy, did I ever give God lots to listen to tonight! I had to thank Him for a whole bunch of things … the wedding … and the ride on the train … and the supper. Oops! I forgot to thank Him for the dessert.”

Beth smiled in the darkness and Tom chuckled. “He knows, Bud.”

“Do you say prayers, Tom?” Davy queried in the dark.

Beth waited in silence, realizing she didn’t know how he would answer. In fact, she knew very little about her new husband or his daily habits.

“Ah … well … I used to. I guess I sort of let it slip.” By God, if he wasn’t blushing.

“You should say prayers,” Davy lectured. “I prayed things would work out for us in Whistle Creek and they did.”

The boy’s confession tore at Tom’s heart. “Well, I guess I’d better start again. Goodnight, Davy.”