by Faye Sonja
Lydia frowned.
Ellen, who was riding up front, turned the radio dial and Benny Goodman filled the car’s cabin and a smile lifted everyone's faces, including little Pauline, who moved her head to the drums and bass right before the brass section came in.
Doris said, “I love this song.”
“You swing?” Thomas asked, Lydia.
Lydia laughed. “You mean dance? Not at all.”
Ellen laughed. “I do.”
Lydia’s eyes went wide. “You do?”
Ellen nodded. “I can teach you if you want.”
Lydia shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“It’s fun,” Thomas said. “You and Mr. Skilton should come down to my parent’s joint. The music and food is great.”
Lydia laughed as she pictured Ray swing dancing. “Why don’t you work at your parent’s place, Thomas?”
“With five siblings and me being the youngest there’s enough of us already working there. Plus, it’s not really my thing. I just go there for kicks.”
“So, you like driving?”
Thomas was quiet for a moment and then his eyes met Lydia’s in the rearview mirror. “Well, I actually want to join the Navy, like Mr. Skilton.”
Ellen swung her head towards him. “You never told me that, Thomas. I thought we were friends.”
Thomas took on a grim expression. “Well, Mr. Skilton needs me here and with the way Edgar died.”
Ellen sighed. “I’ve made peace with Edgar’s death. I loved my fiancé, but I would never tell someone who wanted to defend our country not to.”
Lydia asked, “What’s stopping you from going, Thomas?”
“Well, nothing now since they opened it up to us folk a few months back.”
Lydia nodded. The first people of African descent were just allowed to join the war in May, and Lydia was shocked that they’d had to wait at all. After the aid they’d given in both the Civil War and World War I, Lydia was surprised that they’d just now let them join the efforts in this one. Lydia smiled. “You should go, Thomas.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
Ellen smiled. “Yeah.” She turned to Lydia. “And I’m sure Lydia could convince Ray to write you a nice letter of recommendation.”
“Oh,” Thomas said. “I couldn’t ask for that.”
Lydia said, “Ray values you, Thomas. I’m sure if you ask he’ll give you one on your own.”
Thomas sighed. “I don’t know.”
Lydia reached up and patted his shoulder. “I’ll ask for the letter, Thomas, but you’ve got to go fight in the war.”
Thomas smiled at her in the mirror. “Alright then, I will. Thanks.”
Ellen threw Lydia a wink before turning back around.
Lydia smiled as she leaned back into the chair and continued to enjoy the big band music and the company of two people she was starting to count as her friends.
Shopping took longer than Lydia thought it would. Trying on pants, tops, and blouses, had been easy, and once people heard her last name, the real show began. Live models were brought out and Ellen helped Lydia pick out every outfit she thought would look great with Lydia’s skin tone and body form.
Then the shoes came. A man insisted on slipping each shoe onto Lydia’s foot and the hat woman had done the same. Then lingerie and nightwear had come out, which had embarrassed Lydia, but Ellen insisted that Lydia get some new underwear, after stating that none of Lydia’s old clothes would do. They’d stayed on 5th Avenue throughout the day, visiting one department store after the next until finally it was time to head home.
Thomas packed her bags and boxes in the back and everyone piled into the car.
Lydia leaned her head back into the seat and wondered if she were the only woman in the world who found the task of shopping exhausting. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until they were back at the house. She looked over and found that Pauline was asleep as well. Doris had taken Pauline to get everything a little girl would need and Lydia had glanced at a few of the items, approvingly.
She got out of the car and rounded to fetch the girl from the other side. She was getting big, but Lydia managed to carry the girl up the stairs and through the front door.
“Enjoy your trip?”
Lydia turned to find Ray standing at the head of the foyer, just as he’d done the previous day, and once again, Lydia thought that he looked like a king in a palace. The decor of the home was magnificence. White dominated tall pillars reached toward the sky. The molding was thick and it was engraved throughout the beams and columns.
The floor was tiled with marble, the doorknobs were glass, and chandeliers hung in almost every room, including her bedroom. The entire house was much different than that of any home she’d lived in while in California. There, modern homes had checkered print tablecloths; red, blue, and green walls were popular; thick carpets in the same color lined the sitting room floors; and brightly decorated linoleum laid in the kitchen.
Doris came over and offered to take Pauline to bed, leaving Lydia and Ray alone.
A few maids and the footmen who carried their bags to the second floor were the only people around before they too disappeared.
Ray walked over to Lydia. “How was your day?”
Lydia blinked, realizing that she hadn’t answered his question. “Tiring.”
Ray smiled pleasantly. “As was mine.”
Lydia looked into his eyes and for the first time noticed that faint lines had began to pull around them. Their presence was probably from all the stress that had taken place over the years. To lose his brother, have his father taken, and to top it off, be injured… Lydia couldn’t imagine what she would have done in his position. She didn’t know if she could be as strong as he appeared to be. And even now, Ray was running a company in one of America’s most important industries. Other men couldn’t have stood in Ray’s shoes, much less her. “Did you work today?”
Ray nodded. “I went it right after you left.” He looked down before catching her eyes again. “I had hoped we could share dinner, but I can see that you’re tired, so—”
Lydia touched his arm. “I’d love to have dinner with you.” She dropped her hand and wondered where her wording had come from. She thought perhaps that she was trying to be nice since he seemed so stressed, but when she looked back up into his glittering eyes, she knew it was more. She was falling for him… again. The thought was unnerving, but Lydia knew it was true. Ray had the ability to be a tyrant at times, but then she’d get a glimpse of his softer side, like when he’d taken her hand at the lighthouse. It was those private moments that Lydia thought Ray let down his public or power persona and just be himself. It was that Ray that she liked… loved the most.
She let out a trembling breath. These feelings; she remembered feeling this way when she had first met Louis. He’d been charming and kind… at first, but then he changed. Ray could change too, and when he did, Lydia knew that the pain of it would be much worst than when Louis did, because while Ray had always been a pain, he’d never made her feel unprotected. Ray made her feel safe, but so far, only in the physical sense… but would he protect her emotionally as well? Lydia didn’t think so and her heart told her to never trust a man again, much less a Skilton.
* * *
9
Chapter NIINE
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“You can’t force me to marry you.”
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Ray walked into his kitchen and paused.
“Good morning.” Lydia gave him a shaky smile. She was standing at the kitchen island with a coffee mug in her hand. “I made an entire pot.”
They had just been introduced last night. Louis was in town for a few months, teaching flight classes to the Hawaiian air field. Ray had been surprised to see him when he’d knocked on his door. Since they were both in the navy, and Ray was a captain, they weren’t allowed to work in the
same unit, but Louis had found a way. He wasn’t stationed at Pearl Harbor, but another base in Hawaii.
Ray had almost been pleased to see his brother, until a woman had appeared by his side. Louis had introduced her as his wife, Lydia Skilton, and Ray had refrained from arguing with his brother in front of the woman. Louis, who spent every dollar that came to his pocket, who lacked any moral conscious, and didn’t do anything for anyone, had had no business marrying. And any woman who couldn’t see past his boyish charms, Ray didn’t feel sorry for.
He’d looked down at the woman. Lydia didn’t look like any of the women Louis had ever dated. She was average in… everything. Height, build, and looks.
Louis had said, “We thought we’d save money and stay with you if you don’t mind, big brother?” Then, he’d smiled.
And Ray had seen through the act. Save money? What money? Louis couldn’t save anything he didn’t have.
Since the couple had arrived late, Ray had let them in, shown them to a room, and then gone to bed. He’d woken up that next morning to the smell of Hawaiian coffee beans and had followed it.
Lydia’s voice brought him back to the present. “I hope you don’t mind that I used your kitchen.”
Ray walked further into the room. “I don’t mind.”
The woman smiled and Ray was drawn to her eyes. The windows were open and the call of tropical birds filled the room. The sun broke through the trees and highlighted Lydia’s brown hair and eyes. She looked away.
And Ray realized that he’d been staring. He moved toward the coffee pot and Lydia moved away. They accidently brushed one another as they passed and he was saturated with the smell of jasmine. Air left his lungs, causing him to stumble.
“Sorry.” She quickly took a step back.
Ray turned to her.
Lydia stumbled back a few more paces, an expression of shock on her face.
Ray realized his expression was not a friendly one. He closed his eyes and turned away, wondering what was happening to him.
Deciding it was the lack of coffee that was making him delirious, he poured a cup and drank it black. He took a few breaths before turning back to the woman who was now sitting at his breakfast table. He watched as she removed a camera from around her neck and placed it on the table. She then opened the magazine in front of her.
Ray stared at his sister-in-law and wondered again why Louis had married her, then decided that the answer didn’t matter. What did is that he got along with her and the first step to that would be to get to know her. He joined her at the table and took the seat across from her. “Is taking photos a hobby of yours?”
Lydia looked over at him. “It is now. I used to be a journalist before Louis and I married.”
Ray’s brows rose as he took another sip of his coffee. He’d never known Louis to date a woman with a career. “Journalism? Where did you get your degree?”
“Columbia.”
Ray leaned into the table, placing his elbows on top of the wood. “You went to Columbia?”
“Mhm.” Lydia turned the page in the magazine she was reading. “What about you? What is it that you do? What’s your rank?”
“My rank? I’m a captain.”
Lydia’s eyes came up. “That sounds exciting. A captain of what? Tell me more.”
Ray narrowed his eyes and wondered if Lydia were truly interested, but when he saw he completely held her attention, he said, “I help with supplies.”
Lydia frowned. “Supplies?”
Ray nodded. “Yes. Everyone needs supplies.” Though, it really wasn’t what he did. What Ray did was talk war strategy on behalf of the navy. But, information like that was on a need to know basis, and a matter of national security. Not even his father knew what he actually did, much less Louis. There was no need to tell Lydia the truth.
Lydia smiled.
And Ray gave her a quick one himself.
Lydia’s eyes fluttered for a moment before she cleared her throat and went back to her magazine, obviously losing interest in his career.
Too bad, Ray wanted to hear more about hers. “So, what did you write about? Fashion?”
Lydia looked up and narrowed her eyes. “No, actually, I was in London writing about the war efforts.”
Ray would have spit his coffee across the table had he not caught himself. Lydia was a real life journalist and she’d left it to marry Louis? He shook his head. Now he really worried about her sanity. “You gave all that up for my brother?”
“Yes. We fell in love.”
Ray rolled his eyes and hoped, for Lydia’s sake, it was true love, but couldn’t remember Louis ever mentioning her when they’d called one another to catch up. Ray had been talking to his brother even more recently in the last years since Louis had joined the Navy. After their father cut Louis off five years ago, Louis was doing everything he could to please the old man, joining the Navy had been one of them.
And as if some light had gone off in Ray’s mind, he looked at Lydia and understood more than ever why Louis had married her. Louis was using her as his ticket back into the millions. She was just another victim in Louis’ long line of mistakes. And, as usual, Ray would have to fix it. Ray closed his eyes and let out a disgusted breath and then he said, “How much would it take for you to leave?”
“What?” Lydia asked.
“How much money would it take you to leave my brother right now?”
Lydia held his eyes. “Are you being serious?”
“I am.”
Lydia stood and began to gather her things, not saying a word. From her bent over angle, her straight hair hung around her face like a dark halo, exposing her long neck, and profiling her broad nose.
Ray narrowed his eyes. He would have preferred her to say something rather than ignore him. “Where are you going?”
“Somewhere where I will be less offended.” She glared at him. “I don’t want or need your money. What Louis and I share is real and I will not stand around while you treat me like some common woman. I thank you for your hospitality, but if it is alright with you, I think we should avoid one another.” Then she headed for the glass door and left the house.
Ray stood and took a step to go after her, to apologize. But stopped. Avoiding one another sounded like a good idea for more than one reason. It was best that things stayed hostile between them. It would be safer for everyone involved.
* * *
10
Chapter TEN
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“You can’t force me to marry you.”
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Ray popped up in bed and slowed down the beating of his heart. He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep would not take him. Lydia invaded his mind. He’d had the dream before, the dream about the first morning after they’d met, and he wondered what kind of relationship they would have had if Ray had gone after her that morning. Not a healthy one, no doubt. But with that one decision, he’d placed Lydia and himself on opposite sides of almost everything.
The private dinner a few nights ago had gone well, though he could sense her stiffness during the entire meal. Her answers had been short and he could feel her distance as if there were a ten-foot pole stationed between them.
They’d discussed her trip, his work, the Heart Arrangements soiree, and Thomas. Thomas wanted to join the navy.
Ray smiled. He hadn’t spoken to Thomas yet, the letter of recommendation was complete, and Ray had no doubts that the young man would do well in the service. He was hardworking, dependable, and Ray would miss his chatter on the rides to and from work.
Deciding that sleep was beyond him, Ray slipped into his night robe and slippers, and headed for the kitchen, sure that drinking something hot would help him sleep. He could wake a maid and have it brought to him, but didn’t want to bother with it.
On the way to the kitchen, he noticed a light on in his study and stuck his hea
d in.
Lydia was sitting in a chair by the fireplace with a book in her hand. The light from the fire blazed brightly and cast a shadow across the room. Her feet were tucked under her and a blanket lay on her lap. Her hair lay over her shoulder. She looked up and their eyes locked.
Lydia tucked the book underneath her blanket.
“Can’t sleep?” Ray asked, coming further into the room.
Lydia nodded.
Ray took the seat next to her, placed his cane on the floor, and then looked at her bulky lap. “What’s under the blanket?”
Lydia shook her head.
Ray held his hand out.
Lydia sighed and then handed Ray the book, which was only a book in the sense that it had pages, but few words. It was a photo album, and old one that Ray hadn’t cracked open in a long time. He opened the first page and saw his mother and father.
“Did they love one another?” Lydia asked.
Ray nodded. “They did.”
“But your father was still unfaithful.”
Ray turned to her. “For many people, love is only a synonym for one word in the English language.”
“And what word is that?”
“Love.”
Lydia adjusted in her chair, positioning her body towards his. “What you do mean?”
Ray shrugged. “Love is just a strong emotion that doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean someone will be faithful or kind. It just means that they have a strong desire to be with or near another person.”
Lydia frowned. “Do you believe that?”
Ray looked into her eyes. “I don’t know. At times.”
She sighed and looked towards the fire. “If love doesn’t come with faithfulness and kindness, then I don’t want it.”
Ray thought about stopping himself from asking his next question, but then decided to ask anyway. “What if you got the rest but not the former? Would that be enough for you?”
Lydia turned back to him. “It’s what I got, isn’t it?”
