It's Bliss (29 page)

Sheldon flushed. “It was perfectly innocent. I asked her to deliver some roses and a card several nights in a row to a young woman, and I, uh, didn’t want the young lady to know they were from me—just yet, that is.”

“
And what is this young lady’s name?”

“
Miss Billie Bliss.”

A slow smile spread across the officer’s face and his gaze turned to Lora.

“
The Billie Bliss that Dr. Ackerman was hugging?”

Sheldon jerked his head back, shocked. “How did you know about that?”

Officer Bate’s smile gradually turned into a belly laugh. Sheldon stared at him, shocked and puzzled. When the officer was able to suppress his amusement, he said, “I’m sorry, Dr. Ackerman, I just couldn’t help it. You wouldn’t believe how I found that out.”

Before Sheldon could pursue the subject any further, Lora volunteered some of the pertinent information. “Dr. Ackerman, it was Officer Bates who rescued me when I was being devoured by the ants . . . both times.”

Understanding began to dawn on Sheldon, and he began chuckling himself. “I have a feeling, Officer Bates, that you and I could share some Miss Lemmon stories and have more than one good laugh.”

“
I don’t think I like that,” Lora spluttered.

“
Like it or not, Miss Lemmon,” Office Bates retorted, “it’s a fact. Well, I’ll be leaving you two to your business. It has been nice to meet you, Dr. Ackerman.”

Sheldon smiled. “It’s nice to meet a commiserative fellow, Officer Bates.”

Arly turned to Lora and grinned. “And I’m certainly glad I didn’t have to arrest you on burglary charges, Miss Lemmon. Good night.”

Lora giggled. “Me too. Good night, Officer Bates.”

Sheldon sat down and let out an explosive breath of air. “You really had me worried, Miss Lemmon.”

“
I was worried, too. But everything’s all right now, Dr. Ackerman. My mission tonight was successful,” she stated proudly, giving him the gist of what happened.

“
I’m sure that was a little frightening. Thank you, but you’re part is over now. I’m planning to make the delivery, myself, tomorrow night.”

-

Henry entered the library where Billie and her parents were discussing her plans. “I thought I could scare the rascal out of his hiding place tonight by telling him, if he didn’t show himself, I’d throw this in the garbage can,” he said, grinning, as he handed her the box.

Billie shook her head in consternation. “If he was out there, Uncle Henry, he probably took you seriously.”

“
I was serious—almost. Open it and let’s see.”

Billie, now feeling more curious about her secret admirer, opened the box.

Seeing the dozen red roses, she gasped in delight. She inhaled their fragrance, then opened the card and started reading silently.

“
Billie, do read it out loud,” requested her mother.

“
Uncle Henry doesn’t want to hear this ‘romantic folderol’, as he calls it,” she teased.

“
Well . . . humph, I’ll listen, go on.”

Billie began to read:

Billie found herself profoundly moved. Everyone in the room was silent, wondering. Even Henry was at a loss for words. For some reason Billie thought it sounded like . . . Could it possibly be?

“
Excuse me, everyone, I’m going to find a vase for these.” She walked to the door then turned to her family. “Oh, by the way, tomorrow night, if the doorbell rings, I want to answer it.”

The trip to rescue Miss Lemmon from the grip of Officer Bates had taken up valuable time—time Sheldon needed to prepare for tomorrow night.

For a moment Sheldon stood by the window, gazing down at the lights of Claytonville, this time without feeling such desperate loneliness. Now he focused on the scene with a burning desire to successfully win Billie Bliss for his wife. Ah, how good that sounded! His bachelorhood, he hoped, was about to end.

He sat down at the kitchen table, pen and pad in front of him, with a pile of poetry books. For some time he thought, he meditated, he prayed.

Thoughts and inspiration came—encouraged by the intensity of his desire.

He pondered on how his shyness had narrowed the world in which he had lived for so many years, and he marveled at how Bliss had broadened that world. Discovering the depths of his soul was a poignant experience.

Loving and living, which he had denied himself for so long, were wonderful, but painful. He knew he was taking a chance, but life itself was a chance, a glorious chance to live, love, and endure life’s trials with courage.

He had been selfish by closing himself off from life, but now realized it was the coward’s way. Tears dropped onto the paper. Then and there he made a vow to himself and to God that, no matter the outcome of his present course, he would never again run away from life. He would give of himself and his heart to those with whom he associated.

He marveled at what he had learned about himself. Always aware he had inherited his father’s painful shyness, his practicality, and his love of hard work, he had been unaware of the legacy from his mother—the sensitive and poetic side of his nature—until now.

-

That night, Lora slept in the new apartment for the first time. She woke up to the new surroundings feeling at little disoriented. Suddenly, the realization that she could now have more control over both her life and her living conditions flooded her with happiness.

Lora thought of her mother still in the dark self-imposed lifestyle she had created for herself. The familiar pall of anxiety and guilt began to settle over her.

Immediately, she suppressed it, remembering something she had read in a selfimprovement book: “We make the choice how we live.” Her mother chose to live as she did. Lora decided, however, that she would still look after her—but it had to be in a different way than she had before. She would figure it out later.

Smiling, Lora allowed herself to remain in bed a little longer, thinking about last night and the statement Officer Bates had made about his worry over her. To a certain extent, it had been his duty as a policeman, but she hoped it was more than duty this time.

She jumped out of bed, pulled the sheets and blanket up, and folded the bed under, making it into a couch once more. Looking around, she noticed with great satisfaction that the little apartment was still neat. She hoped that neatness really was part of her nature. If not, she would make it so. Billie Bliss was her idol and Lora was determined to become more like her.

After selecting something from her new wardrobe, she noticed with excitement that the clothes did not feel quite as tight as they had. She brushed her hair, observing that after washing and styling it herself yesterday, it still looked fairly nice, and that the ant bites were almost gone. While she made herself some breakfast, she decided to ask Billie about what makeup to buy.

Today was the day she planned to break the news to her mother that she was moving out. As far as her mother knew, she had stayed the night with Billie Bliss. Even though she had been preparing her all week for this event, her mother hadn’t accepted it well at all—whining, crying, and trying to work on her sympathy. He didn’t know it, but Officer Bates had given her the impetus and courage to make the break.

-

Sheldon waited for the class to assemble. He nodded at Miss Lemmon, giving her a knowing smile. She looked positively radiant this morning. What a different demeanor she has now, he mused. The sour expression she’d had just a few short weeks ago was gone. Yes, Bliss certainly had a positive influence on others besides himself.

He managed to get through the lecture, even though both happiness and nervousness alternately kept pressing in upon his consciousness. In spite of this difficulty, a strange phenomenon occurred. Many of the class members, including Miss Lemmon, came up and told him how much they enjoyed his lecture, smiling and thanking him. Since his lecture was not as organized as usual, it left him wondering. What was different about it that the class members would take the time to compliment him?

-

Officer Bates was experiencing a different kind of phenomenon. Friday afternoon, he had been called to handle a problem in the vicinity of Ella Lemmon’s home. As it often did, the domestic dispute was solved by his appearance—not because he did anything, but because the couple ganged up together against him. Climbing back into his car, he shook his head as he reflected on how contradictory human nature was at times.

Since the area was near the Lemmon home, he wondered at his own contradictory nature. Since the last episode with Miss Lemmon, his thoughts kept returning to and focusing on her—as they had after the other episodes with her. Why? he asked himself. She had proven to be nothing but trouble, and he didn’t have any guarantee that it would be any different in the future.

He shook his head in frustration. The girl was so childlike, so vulnerable. She needed looking after. But he was sure of one thing, it wouldn’t be him!

As he was thinking about her, he found that he had automatically turned onto Lora Lemmon’s street. After a couple of blocks, he was about to turn around when he noticed her blue Volkswagen parked in the Lemmon driveway with a door open and the trunk lid up. Presently, he saw Lora carrying a load of things to the car. He pulled into her driveway, parked behind her car, and got out.

“
Good afternoon, Miss Lemmon,” he said, as her head came out of the trunk.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise and then she blushed. A pleased smile crossed her pink face. “Officer Bates! What are you doing here?”

“
I had a call in this vicinity and I saw your car, so I dropped by to say hello.”

“
You did?” she questioned wide-eyed. “Thank you. Hello.”

“
What are you doing?”

“
I’m moving out, but I’m afraid my mother isn’t taking it too well.”

“
I have about ten minutes before I need to get back to the station. Need some help?”

“
Why thank you,” she said. The sparkle in her large green eyes was duly noted by the young officer. “I have two more loads. If you take one, I can leave a little sooner.”

They walked together to the front porch. He waited outside, but could hear Ella Lemmon wailing, carrying on, spewing out accusations. Lora, looking distressed, appeared at the door and handed him a box which he promptly carried and placed in the trunk, then walked back to the porch.

Lora handed him the second load. Taking it from her, he carried it to the car and shoved and pushed things aside, fitting it into the crowded trunk.

“
Is that all?”

“
Yes,” she replied breathlessly.

“
It sounds like your mother is pulling some histrionics.”

Raising her brows, Lora asked, “Is that what they are?”

“
You didn’t know?”

She shook her head, still contemplating the thought.

“
Like mother like daughter.”

Lora, incensed, replied, “Officer Bates, I do not say things for effect.”

Arly Bates laughed. “Then what were all the dramatics about when you insisted I handcuff you and take you down to the station?”

She thought about this a moment as she looked into his warm blue eyes.

“
Well, maybe I was a little over-emotional.” With a small smile on her lips, she added, “You must be a brain, using words like histrionics.”

Arly flushed with pleasure. Though she said it in a lighthearted manner, he could see that she was sincerely impressed, and he knew from experience she was too honest to play games. Painfully honest, in fact. “Just because I’m a policeman doesn’t mean I haven’t had a college education,” he stated.

“
You have?” her eyes revealed unadulterated admiration, pleasing him further.

He grinned. “You must be a brain, too, since you know the meaning of histrionics.”

“
I do, only because I’m an English major. But I’m truly grateful to you, Officer Bates, for pointing out that what my mother was doing was simply indulging herself in histrionics. Now, I won’t feel so guilty over her tears.”

“
Good,” he said, smiling. “Well, Miss Lemmon, I must be going. It’s been nice talking with you in a normal manner about fairly normal things—no ant bites, no sneaking over lawns, and so on.”