Falling in Love With Her Husband (37 page)

“Am I? Agnes told me that Ann called me „Creepy

Alex" while we were growing up. She even said that Ann

once told her that she"d kill me if I ever became her brother-

in-law. Do you think she"s going to do something to the

dinner?”

After the wagon was in its proper spot, I unhooked

the horses. I knew I shouldn"t increase his anxiety but the

moment seemed too good to pass up. “I"l tell you what.

You ride Thunder and I"l ride Lightning.” I got the horses

ready while I talked. “We"l take a race. If you win, we"ll eat

in town. If I win, we"l eat here. Deal?”

He shifted from one foot to the other. “I don"t like to

make bets anymore.”

259

Falling In Love With Her Husband

“Just because you"re going to be a preacher doesn"t

mean you can"t have some good old fashioned fun. I

promise you that Ann wil not do anything to your food.”

“I don"t know.”

“Wouldn"t it be good to have a race for old time"s

sake? We used to have a lot of fun. Sometimes I miss it.”

He sighed. “I do too. When you go off to college,

everyone expects you to be serious.”

“Great. So throw off your hat and let"s have some

fun!”

“Alright. But if I win, we"re eating in town.”

“Agreed.”

As we got up on the horses, I asked him how long he

planned to stay.

“Two days,” he said. “Agnes and I stil have to visit

my aunt and uncle.”

“How are they doing?”

“They"re doing well. They wanted me to stop by here

first so I can give them an update on your progress out

here.”

“Then I"l have to give you a tour tomorrow.”

We urged our horses forward. I pointed to the route

we should use in our race. “Are you ready?”

He grinned. “On the count of three. One, two...” He

took off.

“You cheater!” I spurred my horse to action.

The ride felt wonderful, and I won despite his effort to

gain a head start.

“We eat here tonight!” I cheered. “Ann"s making your

favorite dish. Pot roast with vegetables. She"s going all out

for you and Agnes. She"ll make Agnes" favorite meal

tomorrow.”

“I can"t wait.” He didn"t sound enthusiastic.

By the time we went into the house, Ann was almost

done with the meal. Alex sat next to Agnes on the couch so

260

Falling In Love With Her Husband

I slipped into the kitchen, wrapped my arms around Ann and

kissed her on the side of the neck.

She jumped. “Why don"t I ever hear you when you

come into the kitchen?”

I chuckled. “Alex and I had a race to see if we were

going to eat here or in town. I won so we"ll be eating here.”

She frowned and turned from the sink where she

was washing some bowls. “Why doesn"t he want to eat my

food?”

“He"s afraid you"re going to put something bad in it. I

told him you wouldn"t but he believes the worst.”

“I can"t believe this. I went to great lengths to be

nice to him in the barn, and this is how he thanks me?”

For Ann, it probably was a big effort on her part. “I

know. You were wonderful.” I kissed her soapy hand. “I

think Agnes told Alex the „Creepy Alex" rants you had while

we were growing up. It"s got him paranoid.”

She seemed ready to protest but then she looked out

the window and slyly grinned.

“What are you planning?” I liked it when she had that

twinkle in her eye.

“You"l see.” She kissed me on the cheek. “I don"t

want you to have to share the blame.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just keep Alex and Agnes out of here. I want him to

know that no one was in here with me.”

I couldn"t wait to see what she was scheming. And

fortunately, I didn"t have to wait long. As soon as we sat at

the table, Alex led us in prayer.

“Lord, we thank You for the chance to get together,”

he began. “Most of all, we thank You for Your protection

from things we cannot see that may be out to harm us.

Please watch over us while we eat this meal and give us

long life afterwards. Amen.”

261

Falling In Love With Her Husband

I struggled to hold in my laughter, but Ann"s own

quiet giggles didn"t help. She nudged me in the side, which

only made the situation that much more funny.

“What is so funny?” Agnes wondered, bewildered. “I

thought that was a lovely prayer.”

I couldn"t look at Ann. I knew I would burst out

laughing if I did. Instead, I focused on my little sister.

“We"re just so happy you two are here.”

“Oh, that"s nice.” She smiled, content with the

answer.

Alex hesitated to eat the food on his plate. He

glanced around the table and sighed.

Agnes brought a fork full of pot roast up to her

mouth.

“Agnes, stop!” Ann cried out. “I gave you the wrong

plate.” She ran over to the other side of the table and

switched Agnes" and Alex"s plates. “There. That"s better. I

wanted to give the bigger potato to Alex. I know how you

men need your strength.” She sat next to me and took a bite

of the food on her plate. “Isn"t anyone else going to eat?”

I stared at her in awe. How could she do that with a

straight face?

I tried to eat but I was too busy fighting off my

laughter to do so.

“This is delicious,” Agnes said after she took a bite.

She glanced at Alex. “You should eat some. It"s your

favorite dish.”

“I"m not that hungry. Maybe I should just share your

plate,” he replied.

“You haven"t eaten anything since this morning.”

“Traveling affects my appetite.”

“You ate just fine last night.”

“Are you lying, Alex?” I pretended to be shocked.

“You can"t preach the Bible and lie.”

“I"m not lying. I real y don"t have much of an

appetite.”

262

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Ann groaned. “Alex, I did nothing to your food. I

must admit I"m disheartened that you would think I would do

such a thing.”

“Wel , you did put a squirrel in my bag during the

Christmas performance when we were fifteen,” he told her.

“I did not.”

“Sure you did. There wasn"t anyone else who could

have done it.”

“Oh no?” I spoke up.

He gasped as he turned his attention to me. “You

did it?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“But why? We were supposed to play pranks on

other people, not each other.”

“Do you remember that day you made me eat bugs

when we were twelve? Ann said I didn"t have to eat the

bugs but you told me to either eat the bugs or kiss her?”

He grinned. “That was great. I actually wondered

which one you"d pick. You were always praising her. It

would have been more fun if you had kissed her in front of

the whole school.”

“No. It wouldn"t have been fun. I was twelve.

Kissing girls was embarrassing back then.”

“So you waited for three years to put a squirrel in my

bag?”

“I have a lot of patience.”

Ann placed her hand on my thigh and smiled at me.

“Thank goodness for that.”

I returned her smile.

“So you see, you"re perfectly safe,” Agnes said. “I

swear, all the way out here, he kept fretting over all the

things he was afraid you were going to do to him. Now he

knows who he really has to watch out for.”

“Then explain why she changed our plates around,”

he insisted.

“She wanted to give you the bigger potato.”

263

Falling In Love With Her Husband

“I was just playing with you, Alex,” Ann interrupted.

“I didn"t touch your plate.”

“If it makes you feel better, you can have mine,” I

offered as I exchanged my plate with his. “Now if I die in the

morning, you"l know you were right.” I took a bite. “This is

really good, Ann. Once again, you outdid yourself.”

She blushed from my compliment. “Thank you.”

Alex slowly picked up his fork. “I guess I was wrong.

I"m sorry, Ann.”

“It"s alright, Alex. I spent a lot of time calling you

„creepy", so I can understand your hesitation.”

“I won"t call you „Scary Annie" anymore. Peace?”

“Peace.”

It was good to see them finally getting along.

264

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Todd’s Point of View

Ann"s parents and Ginny moved to Jamestown in

August, and the harvest came shortly after that so I spent

most of my time in the fields. Her father offered to help and

seemed to enjoy the process. It was hard work, but it was

work I enjoyed. I didn"t miss sitting at a desk at the bank

even though it meant regular work hours and weekends off.

Besides, by the time the crop was taken care of, I had plenty

of time to spend around the house getting things ready for

the baby.

John gave us a bassinet he made, and Barbara, Ann

and her mother sewed baby clothes. Whenever they

discussed the details of giving birth and taking care of a

newborn, I would find something else to do, even if her

father or John wasn"t around. I was happy and anticipated

the birth of my child, but enjoyed my ignorance on the topics

Ann loved to discuss. To her credit, she simply let me feel

the baby kick and didn"t say anything else.

265

Falling In Love With Her Husband

It was late November when I woke up in the middle

of the night and saw Ann sitting on the bed and staring out

the window.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I think the baby"s getting ready to come.”

I sat up in bed. “Why didn"t you wake me?”

She smiled. “It takes awhile. I could be in labor for a

day. There"s no sense in both of us not getting much sleep

tonight.”

Now I was beginning to wonder if I should have

asked for some of the details. “How long do you think it wil

be? When should I get the doctor?”

“The contractions should be five minutes apart when

you get the doctor.”

“Then I should probably keep track of them for you.”

“You don"t have to start yet. They"re far apart.

Besides, I"l keep an eye on the clock. I would like Barbara

and my parents to also be here when the time comes.

Barbara wants to help and I know my parents are eager to

see their grandchild.”

“Alright. Just tell me when I need to go.” I wished

there was more I could do for her, but I knew it was

something she had to do alone. “If you need anything, will

you let me know?”

She nodded. “I"m going to do some cleaning

downstairs. Try to get some sleep.”

“Shouldn"t you be taking it easy?”

“If I do that, the night will pass too slowly. I have to

do something.” She leaned over and kissed me. “You"re

going to be a wonderful father. I keep praying your father

will want to come here once the baby is born.”

I sighed and squeezed her hand. “Even if he

doesn"t, I"l be alright. You and our baby is what I"m

concerned about.”

She left the room and I managed to go back to sleep.

I didn"t realize I had slept in so long until I went down to the

266

Falling In Love With Her Husband

kitchen after getting dressed. It was almost nine. I didn"t

usually sleep this late. “Ann? Where are you?”

She didn"t reply.

I immediately ran through the house and breathed a

sigh of relief when I saw her doing laundry in the small room

off to the side of the parlor. Though I could tell she was in a

lot of pain, she didn"t scream as I expected her to.

When her face relaxed, I asked, “How far apart are

your contractions and what are you doing in here?”

“I"m getting things ready. I"ve decided to give birth in

here since it"s the easiest room to clean. I have clean

blankets, towels and clothes in the corner next to some

clean water. It"s real y a matter of waiting. I already cleaned

the downstairs. I got bored so I began washing some dirty

clothes. I"m almost done.”

“Ann, you"re pushing yourself too hard.” I didn"t mean

to sound stern but her actions worried me. I didn"t want her

to wear herself out.

“The work keeps my mind off the pain. I can

manage it better if I concentrate on something else.”

“I never realized how worrisome the whole process

could be on the husband,” I admitted, softening my tone. I