Treasured Submission (7 page)

"Hi, Abby," Ian said when he answered Abigail's knock, bending to kiss her cheek. "You look beautiful," he added, taking in the dress and sandals.

"Thank you, Ian. I thought I'd dress up a bit for dinner. Where's Sam?"

"Right here," Sam said, entering the room and moving to hug Abby. "Wow, what gives? I haven't seen you dressed up in forever!"

Abigail smiled and offered the bottle of wine she had brought with her. "Stop it," she laughed. "Can't I put on a dress just for a change? It's no big deal."

Sam hugged her again and smiled, "You can wear whatever you want. It's just that you look really pretty tonight." Abigail smiled at the second compliment and they all went into the kitchen where dinner was almost ready. Ian opened the wine, pouring them each a glass. He pulled out a chair for Abigail and she slid into it, her mind going back to the previous evening as she remembered husbands pulling out chairs for their wives to sit. She looked up at Ian.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied, pulling out a chair for Sam as well before seating himself. They sipped their wine and then Abigail took a deep breath.

"Okay, Sam. You have some explaining to do, my friend."

Sam glanced over at Ian before turning to Abby. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. How could you possibly have mixed up Dean Koontz and Dean Koonig? Granted, their names are similar and they both have books with very similar titles, but, believe me, the contents couldn't be more different. I was so shocked last night! How could you send me to that review without telling me what the subject matter was?"

Sam's eyes flitted once again to Ian, who was closely following the conversation. Her mouth opened, but before anything was said, Ian interrupted.

"Samantha Anne Cross," he said, and Sam immediately dropped her eyes to her wine glass, her face flushing. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you," her husband said firmly.

Abigail watched as her friend lifted her eyes to focus on her husband. Hearing the tone of Ian's voice, and seeing Sam squirm as if feeling guilty, Abby wondered about the exact dynamic of their relationship.

"Are you telling me that you did not sit down and go over last night's review with Abby before she accepted the invitation?" Ian asked, disapproval evident in his tone.

Abigail saw her friend shift on her chair and listened as she answered. "Um, I guess I forgot to," she admitted, looking over at Abby. "I'm sorry, Abs. I didn't mean for you to be embarrassed."

Abigail reached out for Sam's hand. "I wasn't really embarrassed, Sam, I was just a bit confused, and shocked to say the least. Not only was I late, which I admit is all my fault, but I wasn't prepared either, and felt like a fool when I had Dean's book in my hand instead of Dean's… oh, you know what I mean."

Ian turned his attention to Abby. "I'm so sorry Sam put you in that position. It wasn't my intention to cause you any problems. When we purchased the ticket for your birthday, Samantha and I discussed her talking to you about it beforehand, to make sure you were comfortable attending the review. When we attended a class given by Dean, we both learned a lot and thought you might gain an understanding of the lifestyle."

Abigail looked between the couple and a light bulb went off in her head. Her eyes whipped back to Sam, and she saw a different woman seated before her. She realized that she hadn't seen her in anything but dresses or skirts in years. Samantha was sitting quietly, her hands wrapped around the stem of her wine glass, her eyes lowered. The twinge Abby had felt earlier became clearer, Sam looked exactly like Elaine had—even down to the slight squirming.

"Oh my God," Abigail said, and put her hand over her mouth. "Samantha, are you telling me? I mean, do you and Ian? Oh, my…"

Ian rescued her by saying, "I can tell that Samantha and you have plenty to talk about, Abby. I had been led to believe that this discussion had already taken place, well before the book review last night. I'm sorry to say that I was very obviously misinformed. Let's have dinner and then I'll leave you two alone to discuss the matter."

Sam jumped up, obviously relieved at his words. "Great idea, dinner is ready anyway," she said, hurrying to bring platters to the table while Abigail just watched.

Ian stood to help his wife. Right before they sat down, he turned to Abigail and said, "If you'll excuse us just a moment, we'll be right back to enjoy this delicious dinner." She nodded her head, taking another sip of wine. Samantha shook her head at something Ian quietly asked her and then blushed and nodded, hurrying out of the room with Ian following. Abigail helped herself to a dinner roll, buttering it and taking small nibbles. She was desperately trying to wrap her mind around this new discovery.

When the couple returned, Sam looked flustered, but slid into the seat that Ian pulled out for her. Abigail watched as Ian dropped a kiss on top of Sam's head before refilling all the glasses and taking his seat. They ate and talked about mundane things such as work and gardening, all trying to avoid the subject that had caused the evening's discomfort. As Abigail ate, she realized that she was the cause of the turmoil.

Laying down her fork, Abby said, "Look, it is okay. I'm perfectly fine and I apologize. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful—"

Ian interrupted, "Abby, you have nothing to apologize about. It is not your fault at all. I apologize for putting you in a situation where you were not only unprepared, but obviously uncomfortable. I ask your forgiveness and assure you that this will never happen again. Right, Samantha?"

Sam looked at her husband and then at her best friend. "Yes, Sir. Abby, I'm so sorry. I was supposed to tell you but, well, I just got embarrassed and couldn't. Didn't you read the brochure I put in the card? Didn't you know you were supposed to redeem the gift certificate for a copy of the book?"

"Samantha!" Ian said firmly. She looked over at him and had the grace to blush. She fidgeted in her chair as she watched her husband. He waited until he had her full attention, and then said, "Perhaps your little—'
reminder'—
wasn't enough."

Sam interrupted quickly, "No, I mean, it was, Ian, I'm—"

"I was speaking, Samantha." Ian spoke quietly, but his authority was evident.

Samantha blushed, looking down at the table. "Yes, Sir. Forgive me for interrupting."

"Don't you dare try to put this on to Abby! We specifically discussed all of this before we purchased the ticket. You had clear instructions as to what you were to do, how you were to prepare Abby and make sure she was totally accepting of the gift."

"Yes, Sir," Sam muttered, squirming a bit, looking very much like a naughty little girl. Abigail couldn't help but smile, seeing how much Sam reminded her of the young child she herself had been growing up, squirming in guilt standing before her parents, feeling naughty and a bit scared of what was going to happen. She reached over and patted Sam's hand.

"It's okay. I think I've gotten the picture. I understand," Abigail said, wanting the evening to become far less tense.

Samantha looked up and smiled at her and then looked at her husband and saw his very disapproving gaze. She turned back to Abby, sat back in her chair and said, "No, Ian is right. I was supposed to talk to you a long time ago, but well, when you said last night that you've read the book several times, I tried to convince myself that perhaps you understood what sort of review it was going to be. I–I admit I had my doubts but, well, just let it go. Ian has asked me to be honest with you from the very beginning and I, well, I lied to him. I told him you knew all about it and when he offered to purchase you a ticket and Dean's book so that you might be able to better understand, I told him it was a great idea and would make sure you were prepared. I'm so, so sorry I lied. I'm the one who needs to ask your forgiveness, and Ian's as well."

Ian smiled at his wife and said, "That's much better, sweetheart. You will have my forgiveness. Now, I feel it would be a good idea to leave the two of you alone for a bit. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Sam looked up at her husband, and smiled for the first time since the conversation began. "Thank you," she said, and he stood.

He bent to kiss her gently and said quietly, "You have a date at ten and you know what I expect, correct?" Abigail saw Sam's blush as her eyes darted from her husband's to Abby.

"Y–yes, Sir, I'll, I'll be ready."

"Good girl," Ian said, then bent to kiss Abigail as well. She smiled up at him but said nothing. His assurance that Samantha '
will have my forgiveness'
rolled around in her head.

Ian walked to the door and turned back to his wife. "Four B's and an E" tonight, young lady, not just the usual, understand?"

Samantha looked startled, her face turning bright red and answered, "No, I… please, Ian!"

"Obey me, young lady. It is not open for discussion."

Abby looked between the couple, Ian's face stern but not unkind; Samantha's flushed and yet somehow seeming to soften before Abby's eyes. Hearing her stuttered response was unfamiliar to her, as Sam had never before demonstrated what appeared to be difficulty in speaking.

Samantha looked up at her husband, her heart beginning to pound at the thought of her '
date
' and what he was telling her. She desperately wanted to plead with him, but had been his wife long enough to know it was useless. Realizing her cheeks were burning with her embarrassment, she also felt her body betraying her with a quickening deep inside. "Yes, Sir. I understand." Ian nodded and gave them a small wave. The women heard the front door open and then close, and a car start. Neither spoke until the engine noise had faded, and then Samantha turned to Abby, obviously shaken.

"God, I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into me. I've always been able to talk to you about everything. I just, it–it was just…"

Abigail softly suggested, "Hard?"

Samantha nodded and lifted her face. Two tears were rolling down her cheeks, which she swiped away with her fingers. She gave Abby a tentative smile. "I'm okay; I'm just embarrassed that you had to find out this way. I guess it serves me right, since I obviously caused you to be embarrassed last night." Abigail nodded, and picking up some dishes, carried them to the sink. The two women fell into a well-practiced routine, clearing the table and washing the dishes.

When the kitchen was spotless with nothing further needing attention, Samantha looked at the clock and said, "Okay, we are both big girls. Let's sit and talk and get the air cleared." Abigail agreed and they went into the living room, taking seats on the couch, new glasses of wine in their hands.

Samantha stood and looked around. "Let me see if I can find Dean's book," she said.

"No need," Abby replied, reaching for her purse and pulling her copy from its depths. "Dean gave me a copy last night—after he saw the book I had brought. God, I'm amazed he didn't burst out laughing."

Sam smiled, reaching out to accept the book from Abby. "I still can't believe you didn't redeem the gift card." Looking at the cover, she glanced up. "If you had, you'd have known what to expect. Geeze, Abs, what book did you think was going to be reviewed?"

Abby blushed before confessing, "
The Door to December."
Hearing Sam's giggle, she smiled. "Hey, you can't blame me—the titles are almost the same, and both authors are named Dean!"

Sam's giggle turned into a belly laugh as she shook her head. "Granted, their names are close, but, Abby, one book is a suspense story about a month of the year and one is about discipline." She paused, seeing Abby's rueful grin. "Okay, knowing how much you adore Koontz, and allowing that both books are sort of scary, I suppose I can see where you got confused."

Abby remembered telling Dean Koonig that she loved scary things, and flushed hotly.
God, what must he have thought, hearing me rave about the wrong author and proclaiming my love for his horror stories?
She took a sip of her wine and allowed she was impressed with Dean's ability to hide his amusement. Looking up, she saw Sam stroking her fingers across the cover of the book and shivered a bit, remembering the objects pictured.

"I guess you know by now that Ian and I practice domestic discipline," Sam said quietly. She looked up and saw Abby nod. "Well, um, well, Ian was raised with strict discipline all his life. His family is very strict but very, very loving. You've met his family, remember?"

Abigail nodded again, sipping her wine. "Yes, they all seem to be very warm and loving. That's one reason I was so happy when you decided to marry Ian. I never once thought that you'd be… well, I guess, unhappy in your marriage. It brought me comfort to know he treated you like a queen."

Samantha looked at her, a sad look flashing in her eyes. "Thanks, Abby. I know that you and Nick were never happy when you were married. I'm so sorry for that."

"Don't worry about it, Sam, it wasn't your fault, and you did try to warn me not to marry so fast. I guess I just wanted to be as happily married as my folks, and didn't stop to consider that Nick and I weren't anything like Mom and Dad."

Sam smiled. "Thank you. Ian and I are very, very happy and I love our marriage. We only dated for a few months before he sat me down and discussed how he would want a wife who was a willing participant in domestic discipline. Ian rules our household and I am very grateful for him and his strength. He has taught me so much and has allowed me to grow and become the sort of woman I always wanted to be. He treats me with nothing but love and respect, and expects nothing less in return. I love him with all my heart and soul."