by Lauren Wood
Seeing my Chevelle, made me realize that I needed to take more time to do some driving. It was nice to drive myself for once, even though it had felt a little strange to leave Ernest behind. He was just my driver, he was so much more.
I got to the front door and took a deep breath, before I pushed it open. I kept telling myself that I was going to be on my best behavior with Anna. I certainly had said some things before that I regretted and even though I was under stress because of the visit from my dad, I was going to try not to show her. I never had been good at holding it all in. Not for long anyways.
The place smelled great and it reminded me that I forgot to call the cook and tell her to make anything. It was one of the only things I had to do, and I completely forgot.
When I got into the kitchen though, I saw that somebody had given her some instructions and I was thankful that my new wife was as resourceful as she was. This could have been a disaster. What would my father have thought if I would have ordered a pizza or something?
His reaction in my mind, actually made me smile and chuckle in real life. It was something that I would have loved to have seen. He was so adamant on being so proper, that I doubt he’d even had a pizza before. Sometimes it was even hard to imagine that my dad was under forty. I know that obviously he had been a young adult at one-point, but I just couldn't imagine it. He was just so serious.
Danelle, the cook, greeted me and asked me how my day was. She was always so pleasant, unlike the morning chef that came from Fifth St. He made a beautiful omelet, but his people skills were lacking.
“It was good. What are you making?”
She listed off a couple of things and I don't know where she got the instructions from, but it certainly wasn't for me. Half of what she described, I didn't even know what it was.
“Well it looks like you have everything under control.”
“Not me Sir, but your wife. She has been getting everything prepared. You are going to love what she has done with the dining room.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, and instead of trying to get an explanation out of her, I just went into the dining room. There was decorations and the table was laid out like a professional had done it. I had used party planners before and they had not done this well. I guess Danelle was right. My wife did have talent.
Everything I learned about Anna, seemed to go against everything that I thought I knew. I knew her as a stripper, but she was more of an artist, business woman, student, so many things, but so then why couldn't I get past how I had first met her? I knew her reasons and I didn't blame her one bit, but it bothered me for some reason. I kept telling myself that there was no reason to worry about it, because she wasn’t my real wife and we weren't really together, but it still didn't help me to shake it.
“Scott. I am glad to see you are home. I was wondering if you were going to make it on time. Danelle was telling me that she has never seen you home before ten at night. She actually laughed at me.”
My heart skipped a beat when I turned around and saw her walking towards me. I don't know why I hadn't thought about what she was going to wear, but I could imagine that the dress she had on was not in her regular closet.
The gold gown was long and shimmered every time she moved. It hugged her curves, but not an obscenely tight way. She was beautiful. That was all there was to say, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.
“You look...”
I didn't really know how to finish the statement. There were no words. Beautiful didn't seem to be a strong enough word and gorgeous didn't seem right. There was also a twinkle in her eye, that I hadn’t noticed before. Not only did she look good in that dress, but it was quite obvious, that she felt good as well.
“I was hoping you would like it. I had to get Ernest to take me to go shopping earlier. I had nothing to wear. I figured that this would be pretty fancy.”
“My father does like people to make a fuss about him. I am sure he is going to love you in this. I don't think there is any other way to feel.”
She looked down a little coyly, like she didn't know what she was doing to me, but I had a feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. She was driving me crazy and somehow, doing it with an innocent smile on her face. It didn't make sense.
Then it hit me. Anna had not changed at all. She had been the same person the whole time, no matter what frame of mind I was looking at her, it was always the same. How had I not seen her before?
“You look lovely . My dad is going to love you.”
I said it to make her feel better, but she didn't seem to take it that way.
“I am just nervous.”
That was the answer when I asked her what was wrong. Sometimes I was shocked at how close this felt to a real marriage. There was certainly a lot of quiet spaces that should have been filled with truth.
“There is nothing to be nervous about Anna, my dad is going to love you.”
I said the words to reassure her, but she didn’t seem to be all that assured.
“What did you say his name was?”
“His name is James, but everyone calls him Jimmy. Except me. If I called him that, he would have a fit.”
Anna looked surprised for a moment, but said nothing more. I really wish I knew what was going on in her mind. Guessing was exhausting and I had a feeling that I was way off.
Anna
Jimmy. Jimmy. Why did that name sound familiar? I don’t know why, but a sinking feeling came over me and all of the nerves that I had successfully beat down, were back in full force. While Scott was surprisingly calm about all of this, I knew that this was a big deal. We were staying married because of his father, so how could he be so calm?
“Are you sure there isn't anything I need to know before he gets here?”
“I can't think of anything Anna. How I can't really think right now, with what you're wearing?”
My face crumpled a little bit, because I wasn't looking for that sort of reaction. I wanted him to like what I was wearing, not I think that it was too much.
“Do you want me to change?”
“Never.”
“But I thought you said…”
“Don't listen to what I'm saying Anna. You are just really damn sexy in that dress and I need to get myself together.”
It was the first time he talked to me that way, but I imagine that he talked about women in the same fashion. He was one of those confidence guys that most likely got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was written across his face after all.
“Okay.”
Worst answer ever, but what was I supposed to say?
I went back to the kitchen to see if Danelle needed anything. Really, I was just trying to get my space from my husband. It was day two of wedded bliss and I was already finding ways to hide from him. That didn't seem to be the best way to start this.
The doorbell rang again, and my insides were shaking. I knew that it was Scott's dad and I heard a voice in the back of my mind, telling me ‘show time’. But I wasn't expecting Scott to come up behind me and put his arm around my waist as he pulled me towards the door.
“Let's try to act like the happy couple we are, okay?”
His touch was quick, and I wasn't expecting it, so it kind of threw me off. I don't know why it did, it shouldn't. I tried to get away from the fingertips that were playing at the side of my stomach, but it was not going to be moved.
Scott held me a little tighter and opened the door. He smiled at a man that I recognized. I knew him from my job, and I saw the look of recognition in his eyes as well. Neither one of us was happy with, who the other one was.
“Dad, I want you to meet my wife Anna.”
I was too stunned to do anything and when he introduced himself as Jimmy, I just went along with that. He was acting like he didn't know who I was, and I thought that was the best thing to do. His hand felt unnecessarily cold in mine and I had to wonder if that was for a reason or not.
“Nice to meet you, Sir.”
“Don't call me Sir, Anna. Just called me Jimmy.”
I had heard that before from him. He was the kind of man that I didn't like to work with, because he never took no for an answer. The last time I had seen him had not ended well, because I was not willing to do the extracurricular activity that he was interested in. I don't regret it, but my pay had certainly taken a dock since then. It had been almost a month and a half since I had seen Jimmy and I couldn't believe that he was Scott's father. Now that they were side by side though, I could see the resemblance.
“Right, Jimmy. It is nice to meet you. Please come in.”
I bit my tongue as he passed by me and I could tell by the expression on his face and what he was saying that he didn't want his son to know how I knew him. Most likely it would just cause more stress to the relationship or he was just saving himself. I'm not really sure which way it was going to go, but I couldn't see a man like Jimmy too worried about his reputation.
Scott went to the kitchen to get everyone something to drink. He had been so calm before while I was nervous but now, he was calm, and I seemed to have extra energy to burn off.
As soon as he was gone, I saw the look on Jimmy’s face change. He was not happy, and I wasn't either, so I couldn't really blame him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I am your new daughter in law. Are you sure you don't want me calling you dad, Jimmy?”
He scowled at me and I could tell that he didn't find it all that funny. It was a shame really because I did.
“You should not be my daughter in law. This is not right. You can't be with my son.”
“I did not know that Scott was your son, but it changes nothing. We are married now and whatever happened in the past, can stay in the past. I have no desire for Scott to know that you were one of my customers at work. That can stay hidden forever, as far as I'm concerned.”
Or at least until our sham marriage ended. Then it could come out if it wanted to. I was going to have nothing to do with it.
“Agreed, Scott does not need to know.”
“Doesn’t need to know what?”
“Well, that your wife is delightful. I didn’t think I would like your new bride, but I see that our taste run the same. Smart and witty. You’re going to have your hands full son.”
I tried to force a smile, but I wasn’t feeling like it at the moment. Scott wasn’t lying when he said that his father was a snake. I knew him personally and he was just that.
Scott
There was some strange chemistry in the room when I came back from the kitchen with drinks. If I didn't know any better, I would think that my wife and my dad knew each other. I know that my dad kept looking at her from the corner of his eye. There was a look of interest, but it did not seem to be reciprocated. If it was reciprocated, Anna was a lot better at hiding it.
I asked several questions that both seemed to know the answer to and would try to answer, but when I asked directly if they knew each other, they both disagreed. It felt like a lie and I wanted to know where they knew each other from. I'm sure that I would figure it out.
I wasn't as bothered by the fact that my dad lied to me, as I was that Anna was lying to me. I couldn't prove it, but I knew that they knew each other somehow. There really was no telling how they knew each other though.
Once dinner was served, the tension seemed to lift a little bit and we were able to talk about the business. It was the main subject when I was around my dad. He always wanted to talk about the business. It was something that I was used to, considering that I worked, breathe and lived with the job. But my wife did not feel the same way. And I wanted to talk about anything else, but work.
“So, tell me some embarrassing stories about Scott, Jimmy. I am sure that you have some to share.”
I looked over at that and I could tell that he was uncomfortable. It wasn’t a question that would make most people uncomfortable, but it would him. He wasn't around a lot when I was a kid, so we don't have any memories together, and he certainly doesn't have any stories to tell. There are no good ones, bad ones, embarrassing ones. There is just nothing.
“Well, I worked a lot when Scotty it was younger. I am sure if you talk to his mother, she would have far more interesting things to say. A lot of times when I came in, he was already asleep and when I went to work in the morning, he was asleep.”
“You must have really loved him, to work so hard to provide for him. It looks like you have done well, it looks like your son has turned out quite well.”
I knew that Anna didn't feel that way at all. We had talked a little bit and she had made herself clear about how she felt about my father. Had something change that I didn't know about?
“Yes, it does take a lot of sacrifice Anna. A lot of people don't seem to realize that. They think that our family had a lot of money, that we all had a trust fund, but it wasn't that way at all. I come from one of eight kids and we had nothing. Everything that I have today has been built from the ground up and I want to make sure that whoever gets it next will do the same.
Anna agreed but her face was expressionless. I had no idea what she was thinking about or what she was going to say next. I hadn't given any pointers of what to say or what not to say. For some reason, I’d just trusted that she would know how to handle the situation. She had an unspoken grace about her that I was quick to see. I really needed it to come into effect now.
“I can understand that. It would be a hard decision.”
For whatever reason, my father was really warming up to Anna and of course I should have been thrilled. This is what we were doing this for after all. My father would like Anna and accept the marriage and I will get the company. That was the plan, but every time he smiled at her, it felt like a jab in my heart. It made no sense. It really didn't.
“What are your own aspirations, Anna?”
This time it was Anna that jerked like she had been physically attacked. I know that she was expecting the question, because she had asked me about it. She wanted to know if he knew what she did for a living, and I told her that he did. I was curious more than anything, to see how she would handle it.
“Once I get out of school, I plan to consult and make a business out of that. I don’t want to work for anyone else.”
He smiled. “Entrepreneurship is always fun. That is how I got where I am now. I don't know if I could walk into a company that was already made. I would want to make my own rules.”
“Exactly. I'm glad that somebody gets it. Everybody else thinks that I just don't want to work, but that's not the case at all. I just don't want to have one boss. I would rather be my own boss and work with people. I want to help, but just for a little while and then move on to the next thing. I get bored easily.”
“I bet.”
“I looked over at my dad wondering why he said that. I didn't understand the tension that was between the two of them. It didn't make sense and anything that didn't make sense, there was a reason for it.
“Scotty you didn't tell me that Anna had so many ambitions.”
Truth was that I didn't know she was ambitious because we have not had this conversation before. We barely knew each other.
“She has always wanted to do great things with her life and I always knew she would.”
Anna looked at me and smiled gratefully for a moment. It was a kind of smile that shook me up inside. Much like the way I felt when I had seen her when I first came in. She just kept on surprising me.
“Yes, I believe she will. It is good to know that you have married well. I have always said that finding the right person, is one of the most important things a man will do in his life. They can keep him in grounded.”
He was talking to me, but he was looking at her. Why was I so freaked out right now? Why did he look at her like that? Did I actually feel jealous over my own father?
“That she does dad. She is a surprise as well. I know that no day is going to be dull when Anna is around.”
Dad left and it was a relief when he was gone. Everything about his reaction was off and I just couldn't understand, why he was acting the way he was. It just didn't make sense to me.
He stayed for a little bit longer, but even though he was finding entertainment in my wife, that didn’t mean that worked stopped for him. It never stopped, especially not for him.
I was left with questions, when I should have been relieved that it had went well. That was the point after all, but all I could really think about was how he had looked at Anna. I didn’t like the way he’d looked at her at all. I’d never really been jealous before, but I was, badly.
I wanted to ask her about it, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. I didn’t want to offend Anna after all, but I knew that I would if I asked her right now. It wouldn’t come out right.
Anna
“So, did that go alright?”
Scott looked at me a little strange and I had no idea what was going on in his mind. My worry was guilt about what happened between me and his father in the past. And he somehow knew that I knew him, but I didn't want that to be the case. I didn't walk Scott to know for some reason, even though there wasn’t a reason for me not to.
“Yeah, I think so. My dad was acting really weird, so I don't know what to think about that. But I guess it seemed to go okay.”
“You don't seem too sure.”
“He was just acting strange and I wonder why. Maybe he has already decided about the company and he's going to give it to Jeff.”
“I don't think that's it Scott. He would be silly to give it to him instead of you. I am pretty sure that he knows that.”
“You think so?”
I agreed, more because he needed me to, than anything else. I could see there was something between the two of them and the last thing I needed to do was come clean about how I knew Jimmy. It wasn’t time for that sort of truth.
“Yes, I do. I think it went pretty well. He seems nice.”
