The weather remained frigid through January though the snow was light and dry. The men decided to go to Denver for a week since there was nothing to do around the ranch and the second day they were gone a blizzard came through the area snowing everyone in. Mirisa found it nice to spend time alone with her husband because he was a lot more expressive and playful. They spent the days down at the stream trying to teach Matt how to ice skate and took the children out several times in the sled. February was worse than January and the men became snowbound in Denver.
Mirisa was in the kitchen baking bread when they came through the door. She leaned up against the counter and thought how nice they looked. They brushed the snow off their jackets and hats before coming in. Garnett walked through the kitchen to get a cup of coffee kissing her before he looked around for something to eat. James poured a drink and stood next to the fire to warm up and Dominic immediately went to the bar. Meeks heard them and came out of the library with his cup and put it on the counter.
“Decided you needed more than a few days at the tables?”
“Damn that was the worst storm I think I have ever seen. Denver came to a halt and the only thing that stayed open was the hotels and saloons.” Garnett sat down in front of the fire and removed his boots and socks which were wet. “A month of the same women tends to get old.” He realized what he said as he said it and he looked at Mirisa. She turned away and pulled the bread out of the stove and put it on the counter before putting another one in. “I’m sorry Mirisa, I shouldn’t have said that in front of you.”
Mirisa walked into the library and picked up the children’s books putting them back on the shelves. James came in and pulled her into his arms. “Did we give you enough time to make a new baby?”
“I miscarried.” She said it so softly that it took him by surprise. He sat and looked at her not knowing what to say.
“Are you...” He closed his eyes. “Mirisa.”
She looked up at him then touched his face the way she did when she was comforting the children.
“I’m sorry about the baby.”
“It’s alright. It scared Alexander to have to deal with it but he has been so wonderful. We’ve decided to wait until we come back from New York.”
James drank the shot and asked what they were having for dinner. Mirisa told him she had no idea since cooking for only one man took very little thought. They came back out as James went into the pantry then started fixing dinner. She sat at the counter and talked to him while he cooked. They all realized that he just couldn’t go that long without having Mirisa nearby. His love for her was in the simple things they shared.
The winter slowly slid into the spring and the mountains came alive with the wildflowers and small animals. Dominic and Garnett camped out with Matthew in the southern part of the ranch as often as the weather would allow working on his hunting and tracking skills. Some nights Matthew would stay with her and some nights Jonathan would go with them. The two Dogs they ordered arrived and were such natural hunters that they only needed to learn to respond to commands. It made hunting for small wildlife and fowl with the boys so much more fun.
. They were sitting at the breakfast table when Dominic told her he was riding to Mississippi in August and wanted to take Matthew with him. They all looked at her for a reaction as she stopped what she was doing. “How long are you going to be gone?”
“I won’t be coming back here but will meet you in New York in October.”
“Matthew, do you want to ride with your father?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.” He got up out of his chair and ran around and threw his arms around her. She kissed him and told him that she loved him. She was biting her lower lip and you could see her fight with her emotions. “Would you like to take Jonathan too?”
Dominic started to laugh. “I don’t think Garnett and Jon are ready to share the open trail together.” She smiled. Meeks watched her but decided she could handle it.
It was the second time her son was leaving but his enthusiasm made it easier for her to let go. He wrapped his arms around her neck and told her he would talk to her every night. She closed her eyes and he touched her face. The drums were so clear. She kissed Garnett goodbye and then Dominic. She reached in her pocket and took out the key to the Richmond apartment. He took it and wondered why he ever let her go.
“I wrote to my father but I haven’t heard back. I imagine he’s really mad that it took me a year to tell him.” She looked into his eyes. “I didn’t give him any details so you can deal with it however you want to.”
“I’m sure your father will understand completely but I think for the first time I will become your mother’s favorite.” He kissed her lightly. It was a good thing they would be separated for a while because she really was hard to be around.
Meeks finally decided to leave in mid-September. It took them an entire day to get Mirisa to decide on what really needed to go and what needed to stay. She insisted that Dog go which neither of them understood except the animal had been moping since Matthew left despite the fact that Jonathan did his best to console him.
They unloaded everything from the wagon into a private sleeping car which was very opulent but then she expected nothing less from Meeks. James took care of the driver and wagon as they all boarded. The children were spellbound by everything and they had to hold on to Jonathan to stop him from falling out of the window as the train started. She knew if he could ride in the engine he would. The child had absolutely no fear and no constraints to his insatiable curiosity.
After she got the children into bed for the night she changed into something comfortable and came back to the sitting car and sat down with her husband. James was reading a newspaper he had picked up at the station. It was the one thing they didn’t have in either Texas or Colorado except when they would go into town. There was a lot about living in the east that he missed but didn’t think about it much until he returned. Meeks put his arm around her and talked to her quietly. James looked up at one point and watched them. It was obvious that they frequently forgot they were not alone or maybe they just didn’t care anymore if they were alone.
At the moment, he was confused by Mirisa because she was more modest then she appeared and probably did more out of love then she realized. Meeks was the one who really surprised him since his philandering was legendary both with the group and outside of it. But what confused James the most was that none of them thought twice about her relationship with the four of them and yet how many of them would completely change their lives if married to her.
She looked up at James and smiled. He sometimes wondered if she could read his mind because her responses were so appropriate to what he was thinking. He poured a shot and went back to his paper. It was going to be a long train ride that would probably make the bond between the three of them even stronger then it was now. Meeks asked him a question and he looked up but hadn’t really heard the question.
“I asked if there was anything interesting in the paper or if you were just trying to appear preoccupied?” Meeks lit his cigar.
“I think I am preoccupied but not with the paper.” He got up and got a new cigar out of his jacket and sat back down. “I was just thinking about our relationship.”
“Which relationship?”
“All of it I guess but mostly the relationship since Mirisa came into it.” He lit the cigar and put the paper on the table. “So much has changed in the last eight years and she’s had such a striking impact on all four of us individually but also in the relationship of the group.”
Meeks watched him. “Obviously, since the last conversation I sat through ended up with her deciding to leave Dominic and marry me I’m just trying to figure out where this conversation is going.”
“Fine, let me ask you whether or not you mind that she had sex with me?”
“Are you planning on stealing her from me?”
“No. Anyone who knows her knows that she’s in love with you and you can�
��t steal a woman who is in love. I’m just more aware of her feelings now then when she was with Dominic and I just want to make sure everything is fine with us.”
“If there is a problem, I’ll address it with you rather then with Mirisa. I would think after all the time we have spent together that you would know my feelings.”
“So would I but I never thought you would fall in love.”
“Neither did I.”
James went back to his paper and Meeks just sat blowing smoke rings wondering with all the things he had done in his life and all of the things they had done to wrongly influence her how he was so fortunate to have her love.
She told them that she was going to bed. Meeks found her curled up with Maggie so he just slid in next to Mirisa and held them both.
Mirisa knew that they talked for a long time after she went to bed but there were a lot of things about their friendship that just needed to be discussed without her presence stifling the conversation. Meeks was probably the most honest with her but he was also very selective in what he said where James would ask or say anything that he felt was important to his dealing with her.
After breakfast, Mirisa sat and read a book while the children played on the floor and Meeks and James played chess. Meeks looked over at her and realized that she was day dreaming and not reading. The curves of her face were so soft and pretty. He loved just watching her when she was unaware that he was. He wondered how long he had been in love with her and thought probably from the first moment he saw her. No matter where they were or what they were doing it was rare that he took his eyes off of her for more than a moment.
“Meeks you really don’t have to watch her as much as you do.” James moved his rook. “Do you know that you have always done that?”
“I was just thinking that. I think I could draw every inch of her from memory. I know how many lashes are on her eyelids, where every dimple is on her body, the exact placements of her birthmark, the length of her toes and how deep her naval is.” He sat back and sipped on his whisky. “I could close my eyes and tell you every curve of her body, the hollow of her neck, the shape of her breast and every muscle in her legs.”
“Do you want some alone time tonight?”
“Probably. Just talking about her makes me smile.”
“Alexander.”
“Yes Mirisa.”
“Where are we?”
“We’ll probably be in St. Louis sometime late this morning and we’ll be able to get out and stretch as they load the new passengers. Is there anything you need while we’re there?
“No, I don’t think so but it will be nice to stretch.”
“We should make it into Indiana by morning. After that it will take us two days to get into Pennsylvania. We’ll be in New York on Friday.”
“I don’t like trains but it is easier with the children.”
“Now’s a great time to announce that.” She got up and sat on his lap and looked at the chess board.
“Who’s winning?”
“No one yet.”
“Can we play cards tonight?”
“Of course, but I want to be alone with you first.” She leaned back and kissed him.
“Alexander, how come your touch is so beautiful?”
“Because you are in love with me.”
“You think so.”
“I know so.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can see it in your eyes when you look at me.”
She chewed on his ear and then kissed him in the hollow of his shoulder. He smelled so good that she could fall asleep in that position and frequently did. He held her and moved a piece on the board. She knew they concentrated a lot when they played chess but she didn’t know why. Until someone moved a piece nothing on the board changed. It would drive her crazy because she didn’t like games that you had to take so long to think about. He put his arm around her pulling her close as she fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of the wheels.
The ride was extremely long and they took advantage of the stops to get out. A few of the stops were a couple hours which allowed them to eat in a tavern or take the children for a walk. Mirisa was more excited when New York came into view than anyone else.
“I think I like wearing jeans better. This is driving me crazy. I think I’m going to take some of these things off because I don’t think I can sit in them.” She turned around and came back out and you could tell she probably had very little under her dress. James came out behind her and grabbed her around the waist.
“You know if you go around New York without undergarments you will cause quite a scandal."
“I thought New York was more modern.”
Meeks knew it would be nice to worry about her and he knew that he would have to keep a very close eye on her. He had mixed feelings about being home but he loved being married.
The train pulled into the station and she was astonished how big the train yard was and how many people were on the platform. Meeks picked up Maggie and James took Jonathan’s hand as they climbed down. He turned around and put his hand out for Mirisa then Jasmine. A porter came up with a cart and unloaded all of their things putting them on a wagon. Meeks handed Maggie to her mother and went toward the engine and unloaded the horses and Dog. He handed the leash to James and walked the horses out to the wagon and tied them up to the side before he lifted Dog up into the wagon and tied him to the front. It was amazing how long this animal had followed them around the country but his age was getting obvious.
Meeks put Jasmine, Mirisa and the children in a carriage and then mounted his horse. It took them half an hour to reach the house that was located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The wagon went into the alley but Meeks dismounted out front then helped them out of the carriage and paid the driver. James took his horse and put them in the stable behind the apartments and came in the back door.
THE BROWNSTONE was enormous. Across the front, the extremely large living area was on one side of the entry and a large library on the other side. The kitchen and formal dining room ran across the back of the house with two doors one off the dining room onto a porch and the other the service entrance into the kitchen. Once you went upstairs it was divided off into three sections. Over the library was the guest rooms with a back alleyway entrance, over the back kitchen were the nursery and master bedroom with a separate staircase to the music room a level above.
Mirisa fell in love with it at first sight. She threw her arms around Meeks and told him that he was the most amazingly wonderful man in the world. He just laughed and told her she was easy to impress.
“No I am not. After all it took you seven years to impress me enough to marry you.”
“Don’t fool yourself. It only took having sex with me once to get you to marry me.”
“Well, that was definitely impressive.” She suggestively leaned up against him.
“Just impressive?”
“Well darling, I had a choice and it must have been outrageously impressive since I married you.”
“Yes, you did have a choice and probably still do.”
“I love you beyond even my own imagination. Thank you.”
Mirisa looked at him and told him she was wearing black stockings. Meeks grinned and asked her if she wanted to see the master bedroom. “I thought you would never ask. James can you watch the children.” James just shook his head and asked where Meeks put the whisky.
“Under the bar.” Meeks walked over, took out a bottle and glass and put it on the table next to him. James didn’t see them again until it was time to feed the children. Mirisa came downstairs and found them all at the table in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to have to feed the children. This is an awfully big kitchen.” She looked around and opened cabinets and looked at the different things. She was so used to cooking with cast iron on iron stoves where this kitchen was very different.
“Actually this is the front kitchen; there is an entire kitchen an
d staff through those doors. We’re in New York so basically I won’t be doing much cooking.”
“Do you want me to fire the cook?”
“No, I think I can take a break and spend more time enjoying what the city has to offer. It seems like an awfully long time since I have been in New York solely for fun.” James wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “I want the first dance with you and I want to take you shopping tomorrow.”
“Are we going to be very, very bad when we go shopping?”
Meeks walked in and kissed the children. “If you take me we are going to be obscenely bad.” She laughed because the best time she had shopping was with the two of them in Richmond. She thought it was going to be an absolutely fantastic winter. She told them both that she loved them.
James laughed. “That’s because we spoil you and there is no place like New York City.”
“I have my own money.”
“Is it as much fun as spending ours?”
“No, I love spending your money.”
“I get hot watching you spend my money.” He winked at her.
Mirisa laughed. “What are we having for dinner?”
“We’re going out like adults.” Meeks handed Mirisa a glass of wine. “James, what time are the reservations?”
“Nine at Park Central.”
“Then I guess we are dressing tonight.”
“I don’t have anything I can wear.”
“That’s only because you haven’t looked in your wardrobe yet.”
The back door opened startling Mirisa. Matthew came bounding through it throwing his arms around his mother. Both Jonathan and Dog were all over him before she even realized he was wrapped around her. James reached over and pulled the sash and a woman appeared then went back into the kitchen to get dinner for Matthew.
“I always loved doing that.” He grinned and Meeks just shook his head.
Garnett and Dominic came in and put their gear down by the door. “Is that food I smell? I am so damn hungry.” He reached over and took something off of Jonathan’s plate and Maggie climbed down so he could lift her up. She kissed Garnett then looked in his pocket and found a piece of candy. “First time I’ve gotten the kiss before she found the surprise.”
The Visitor - Colorado 1869 - 1871 Page 19
