It's Bliss (13 page)

He was so nice about it and joked with me. The next time he came in, he was alone. He ordered french fries and a malt. This time, I was determined I wasn’t going to spill anything. I was very careful, but somehow I managed to tip the french fries right into his lap.” Margaret put her hands over her face, laughing with the rest. “You finish the story, Will.”

He chuckled and began, “You see, Sheldon, from the time she tipped over my malt, I was smitten. I came in alone hoping that lightning would strike the third time, because I had planned my tactic. I was delighted when she tipped the french fries into my lap. When that happened, this is how it went:

“
Miss, I said in a stern voice, would you please tell me your name?”

‘
Please,’ she said, afraid I was going to report her, ‘I told you I was sorry. I . . . I won’t let it happen again.’

“
All I’m asking for is your name. I replied.”

‘
If I give it to you, are you going to complain to my boss?’

“
I said ‘No. It’s just that I can’t talk to you without a name.’ She was still nervous, but she told me it was Margaret Gray. I said, ‘Thank you, Miss Gray. My name is Will Bliss. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me how many nights you work?’”

‘
Six.’

“‘
What are your hours, Miss Gray?”

“
She began to get suspicious. ‘Why do you want to know, Mr. Bliss?’”

“‘
Answer me please, Miss Gray, or I’ll have to go to your boss,’ I said. She was beginning to get quite put out with me by now.”

‘
My hours are 6:30 to 8:30 Monday through Saturday, Mr. Bliss. Now, I have to get back to work.’

“
Please give me one more minute, Miss Gray. May I have a date tomorrow night at 5:30—before you start work—to buy you a sandwich and a malt right here?”

“
She was so surprised, she was speechless for a moment, then she asked abruptly, ‘Why?’”

“
I answered, ‘Because bringing you here on a date and letting someone else wait on us is the only way I can eat here without getting food dumped on me!’”

Sheldon laughed. “Very clever, Will.”

“
And very romantic,” sighed Billie.

Sheldon smiled. His idea was working out even better than he had planned.

-

At Billie’s request, she and her professor were seated on the back porch.

She chose to sit on the swing, while Sheldon sat on a comfortable patio chair.

How pleasant, he thought. The balmy evening air brought with it the comforting smell of fresh-mown lawns and the delicate scent of flowers, mixed with warm, moist earth.

“
Dr. Ackerman?” Billie questioned, breaking into his thoughts.

“
Yes, Miss Bliss?”

“
You and everyone in this household are calling each other by first names, but you continue to call me Miss Bliss. You may call me Billie, if you like. I know you have to be more formal in the classroom, but since we’ll be working together for some time in these private circumstances, it just seems more natural.”

He looked perplexed. “For some time now, I’ve been wanting to ask why your parents named you Billie.”

Her brown eyes twinkled, and with a little smile she said, “I’m sure you think that my father wanted to name me Billie because he wanted a boy.”

“
I think one might assume that, yes.”

“
That isn’t the case. Papa was thrilled to have a girl, even knowing that Mother couldn’t have any more children. It was my mother who named me Billie, feeling sad that my father couldn’t have a boy to carry on his name.”

Dr. Ackerman still looked puzzled. “That was very kind of her, but Billie doesn’t fit you,” he said flatly. “I agree that the formality could be done away with under these circumstances, but I wouldn’t know what to call you since, as I said, Billie doesn’t suit you.”

“
Well, my middle name is Margaret after my mother, so calling me that would be confusing.”

They fell silent.

Sheldon studied her as she swung gently back and forth on the swing. He remembered the dreamy expression he had seen on her face when she talking about that elusive thing called romance.

Suddenly he smiled. “Bliss fits you.”

She smiled and nodded. “You can call me that if you wish.”

“
Bliss it is,” he said.

“
Shall I continue to call you Dr. Ackerman?”

“
Well, Miss Bliss—I mean, Bliss, I am quite a bit older than you and I am your professor. It’s important that we maintain that relationship.”

“
Why?”

“
Because, uh, comradery between teacher and student isn’t wise.”

“
Why?”

“
Miss Bliss, er Bliss, I . . . oh, never mind. It seems whenever we’re at odds, logic escapes me. You may call me Sheldon in private, and I stress, in private only.”

“
Sheldon doesn’t fit you.”

Offended, then annoyed, he stated emphatically, “I consider Sheldon a very fitting name for myself.”

“
I admit that it’s a very nice and dignified name, but it’s humorless.”

“
Humorless, Miss Bliss?”

“
Bliss,” she reminded him.

“
There are times when Miss Bliss fits you better, and now is one of them.”

She smiled. He fumed.

Finally he asked, “And what would you call me, Miss Bliss, that is not humorless?”

“
Dodds.”

“
Dodds?” he questioned, totally surprised. “That’s not only my middle name—it’s my mother’s maiden name.”

“
It is? How much nicer then that I call you Dodds.”

Sheldon doubted that, but said, “Suit yourself, then Miss—I mean—Bliss.” He shook his head. “This is all going to take some getting used to,” he muttered.

“
Now that we have that out of the way,” Billie said brightly, “Where do we start tonight?”

“
The first thing is to remind you that tomorrow night, Friday, we are meeting with the committee at 7:00 in the Franklin lounge.”

“
Yes, I remember.”

“
And, Bliss, you dress nicely, so I can’t tell if you’ve, uh, gained or lost.

As you know,” he said, feeling uncomfortable about bringing it up, “we’re supposed to be working on it.”

“
Of course. I’ve been walking every morning, as Nettie suggested, and I”ve always eaten nutritiously. I learned that from my mother.”

“
Have . . . have you lost weight?”

“
Yes. Two pounds, but I gained one back after I binged on my birthday cake.”

“
Oh,” he said, looking disappointed.

“
But Nettie taught me that it isn’t pounds we should worry about anyway.

We’re supposed to lose inches, and I’ll let you know when it’s best for you to know.”

“
Good,” he said, relieved that that subject was out of the way. Now,” he began, putting his elbows on his knees and tapping his finger tips together in the gesture she was coming to know so well. “I’ve been doing some research.”

“
On what?”

Sheldon felt self-conscious. “On, uh, romance.”

Her eyes twinkling with amusement, she smiled. “How did you do that?”

“
Listen, and I’ll tell you.” He related the story of Molly and Robert Bittle’s courtship, watching his student closely. He was pleased that she reacted as he expected—her eyes were animated one minute and wistful the next. Then he repeated Hal and Sharon Ozog’s and Nettie and Don Newman’s courtships.

Billie clapped her hands and sighed. “How romantic!”

“
I rest my case, Bliss,” he said, making a conscious effort to call her that.

“
There you are—romance is
not
dead.”

Billie’s face fell. “But that was
then
; it’s not that way
now
.”

Sheldon felt frustrated and let down. “Well, don’t you have friends your age who are married?” She nodded. “Have you asked them about their courtships?”

“
Yes.” Her expression turned to one of sadness. “After hearing several of them, I decided I didn’t want to hear the rest. And recently a friend of mine got married, and her story is even worse.” Her sadness turned into anguish so quickly, Sheldon jumped up.

“
Please, don’t get upset, Miss Bliss,” he said, forgetting again, “I just can’t believe there aren’t modern courtships that are romantic. I’m afraid I have to ask—what makes them unromantic?”

Tears threatened. “I would be as embarrassed to tell you that as I would be if I told you about those movies you got a glimpse of the other night. All I can say is, modern courtships are not as enjoyable to listen to as the Bittles’, the Ozogs’, and the Newmans’.”

Finding himself astounded and then doubtful that things could really be this bad, Sheldon hunkered down before her and looked into her eyes.

“
Please, Miss, er, Bliss, don’t let yourself be upset. I’ll interview some students of mine, who are young married men. I’m sure I can show you that romance in this day and age is alive and well.”

“
You can?” she asked, pretending to be hopeful for his sake.

“
Yes.” Relieved that she looked hopeful, he stood up. “Now, before I go, what are we going to tell the group tomorrow night about . . . you know, your . . . uh, problem?”

The telephone conversations between Nettie Newman, Molly Bittle, and Sharon Ozog were buzzing. The subject was “what is going on with Sheldon Ackerman?” After all, it isn’t every day that a thirty-eight-year-old confirmed bachelor feels compelled to interview three older women about their courtships.

-

By the time Sheldon drove into the Franklin Building parking lot, Friday evening, he was feeling very apprehensive. Miss, er,
Bliss
, he silently corrected himself, had told him not to worry, that she would think of something to say to the group. This, in and of itself, made him nervous, Aware of how confusing Bliss’ account of things could be, he drew in a gulp of air and blew it out.

He was late—something he detested. A long distance business call had detained him. He pulled his long legs out of the car and moved rapidly toward the Franklin Building. When he walked in, the group was seated around the conference table, waiting for him. He moved quickly to his place and looked around, consternation on his face.

“
I apologize for being late.”

Robert chuckled. “Thank you for the apology, Dr. Ackerman. We’ve never known you to be late before. It’s nice to know that you’re as human as the rest of us.”

This seemed to amuse the rest of the group, but caused Sheldon to flush.

He didn’t know whether or not he appreciated this kind of humor in front of his students. What ribbing he’d taken from the DeePees before had been in private. But hadn’t he asked for it when he invited these three to participate in the project? He managed a brief smile and waited for their amusement to subside.

“
Now that I’ve provided some laughs for all of you,” he said with a touch of asperity, “shall we begin the meeting?”

“
I’m ready to take the minutes, Dr. Ackerman,” Nettie said, smiling, her pen poised over a pad. It had been agreed that, since Nettie knew shorthand from her secretarial days, that would be her contribution.

Sheldon welcomed them to the first of the formal group meetings of Project Success. He suggested that they begin with each of the girls reporting how she felt about the project so far. He called on Vickie Blume, Sandra Potter, and Jane Bentley, in that order, suggesting the informality of remaining in their seats while doing so.

The committee sat back and listened while the girls expressed their gratitude for what was being done for them and how kindly they had been treated by their support counselors.

Sheldon was gratified by their remarks. He had not expected such positive results so soon, and it immediately reinforced his hope for the project—hope that had been waxing and waning of late. It also eased his apprehension somewhat over what Billie Bliss might report.

“
Miss Bliss, may we hear from you now?”

“
I’m afraid that I’m the maverick of the group,” she began. “I’m a hopeless case for Project Success, but Dr. Ackerman is the kindest and most caring man I’ve ever known.”

Her classmates stared at her wide-eyed, wondering if she were really talking about their professor.

Undeterred by their expressions of incredulity, Billie continued. “Dr. Ackerman is determined . . . no, he’s committed to proving that I’m not a hopeless case, and he’s willing to give the time, no matter how long it takes, and is also willing to do whatever it takes to do so.”

There was silence around the table, everyone waiting expectantly, hoping that she would continue..

“
That’s all I have to say,” Billie concluded abruptly.

Nettie was disappointed Billie hadn’t divulged anything she could sink her teeth into. Instead, Billie’s remarks had only managed to make her more curious about what was going on in their private meetings. In fact, everyone was curious, everyone, that is, except Sheldon. He was speechless. This was the second time Bliss had mentioned that he was kind and caring, but tonight she had said he was the kindest and most caring man she had ever known! How could this be true, he wondered?