by Langdon, L.
“There’s probably not enough light in the pilot house,” said Gerri hastily. “There will be plenty of time for that later.” Rich seemed to be mollified by that and went out on deck to take more pictures of the town. Gerri breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way she wanted her scruffy look recorded on film.
Then Gerri realized that Rich was delaying the inevitable conversation, just as she was. She didn’t want this hanging over her head. They could at least lay their cards on the table now, when there was no one else around. But it could take a while… She throttled the engine down to just above idling. As long as she stayed clear of boat and seaplane traffic, they could take as long as they wanted getting back to the boat harbor.
Rich immediately came in, looking worried. “Is something wrong? It seems like we just slowed down.”
“No, nothing’s wrong. I want to talk while we have some privacy.” Rich leaned against the door facing her. He looked resigned.
“I know that Ma got you to come up here to talk some sense into me. She’s been trying to work on me ever since I left there.”
“Gerri, it was my choice to come up here. I wanted to see you.”
“I’m glad to see you, too. But that doesn’t refute what I said.”
He looked uncomfortable. “She’s worried about you, Gerri.”
Gerri rolled her eyes. “Believe me; she’s made that abundantly clear.”
“She’s concerned that you…” He hesitated, worried that he might offend Gerri and poison the conversation. “That you have a crush on Sven. And afraid that you might do something that you’ll later regret.”
Gerri laughed—brief and rather bitter. “‘Crush.’ What an interesting word. Very useful when you want to trivialize the emotion.” She paused as she adjusted the boat’s heading slightly. “Well, I give you credit for not beating around the bush too much.” She gave a slight nod as a salute.
He paused and she could see him searching for words. He was desperate for information, and she decided to help him out. “I’m happy here. I have a real teaching job, which I enjoy. I have a mentor whom I value tremendously. I have friends that I like being with and to whom I can turn when I need them. Sven is one of them.” Gerri decided upon honesty—it would come out anyway. “He is very important to me. He’s saved my life—literally—and I’ve saved his.” She took a breath and then puffed it out between pursed lips. “I don’t know how to describe everything he means to me without talking for hours.”
“You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
Gerri scowled at him. “That’s none of your business. I’m grown.”
Rich groaned. That was as good as an answer. He cast around for a way to avoid an outright fight. “Tell me about him.”
Gerri smiled beatifically and started talking. She tried to keep it short, but by the time she stopped, it was obvious to Rich: she had it bad. She had also had a much more eventful year than he had ever dreamed. He switched to a different tack. “You’d be cutting yourself off from everyone you know in South Carolina if you comeback flaunting a white lover.”
Gerri glared at him. “You don’t understand. He won’t be a lover. If I decide to stay here, I’ll marry him.”
“Just like that? What makes you think he’s willing?”
“Willing? Sven wants to marry me.” At least he did a few months ago… Gerri worried again about their increasing distance from each other. But she refused to let that show on her face.
Rich made a face. He wouldn’t let himself speak, but his skepticism was obvious. Gerri watched him and agonized. This was her big brother who loved her and wanted the best for her, as did their mother. She couldn’t stand it if she caused a rift with them.
She reached out and laid her hand on his forearm. “Rich, I want you to know that I’m not taking this casually. I’ve been agonizing about it for months now. I don’t want to disappoint Ma. Or you. Or myself. I don’t want to cut myself off from my friends in South Carolina. I want to please everybody. But guess what. That’s impossible. No matter what I do, I’ll make someone unhappy. Somebody will be disappointed in me.”
Rich regarded her soberly, and then his expression softened. “Oh, Gerri, you always did want to please everyone.” He hesitated again. He didn’t really want to know the answer to this question, but… “What about pleasing Gerri? What would you want if you didn’t have to please anyone but Gerri? What would you do then?”
Gerri considered that. Oddly enough, having Rich as her devil’s advocate had helped her with her dilemma. Her eyes welled up. She spoke softly so that he could barely hear her over the engine noise. “I’d settle here. I’d marry Sven and raise a family with him. But…”
Rich hesitated. He knew that Olivia would want him to press harder on Gerri, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Gerri was right—she was grown. Rich had done his duty to their mother. He had a duty to Gerri as well. “And you’re sure that he wants to marry you?”
Gerri remembered Sven’s ‘how do I see you’ soliloquy. “I’m sure.” Then she remembered their increasingly uncomfortable interactions and smiled hesitantly. “Unless I’ve turned him off with all my dithering. But what about Ma?”
Rich shrugged, a slight smile playing around his lips. “She’ll be angry with you—for about two days. Then she’ll get over it and love you both.” Gerri smiled, imagining that. “She never had anything to say against him, you know. Only that she was afraid. There was something about a picture…”
Gerri giggled. “Sven painted a picture of me as a gift and showed it to them. It was…”
“It wasn’t a nude or anything, I hope.”
“No!” Gerri looked scandalized. “Heavens, no. He wouldn’t do that. It was just… Never mind. I’ll show it to you when we get to Sven’s house. Remind me.”
With a small smile on her face, she lapsed into silence. Rich almost didn’t want to know what this picture looked like. He decided to change the subject. “You talked about being cut off from your friends in South Carolina…”
“Yes?”
“I think that they’ll get over this, too. If they don’t?” He shrugged dismissively. “People drift apart. Remember, you’re the one with the exciting life right now. They might envy you.” Of course, he reminded himself, this was all conditional on her having read Sven’s intentions correctly. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman was wrong about this sort of thing…
“I understand what you’re saying. I could live with my friends’ disapproval. I like them, but I barely write them once a month—I just don’t have time. I really, really hate to disappoint Ma, though.”
“She’ll be OK. Her heart’s in the right place.” He stopped and scratched his head. He really didn’t want to get into this now, but maybe Gerri needed the distraction. “I’m in her dog house, too, you know.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“I’m going to reenlist.” Gerri stared at him in shock, but before she could erupt in protest, he quelled her with a raised hand. “They’re not going to send me back to Vietnam. I’ll be going to school—electronics and maybe that new stuff with computers. I’ll have to promise them a certain number of years’ service in return, but I’ll have some pretty valuable training.”
“That’s wonderful, Rich. How…”
“How did it happen? I took an aptitude test some time ago. When I got back from the ‘Nam, they asked me to take another.” He smiled bashfully. “It’s just that Barton math knack, I guess.”
Gerri digested this. He was right—all four kids seemed to have a knack for math. Even Marilyn, who seemed to care more about being difficult, was good at it when she wanted to be.
Then she considered the wider implications—for the family and her parents. “But they were hoping that you’d come home…maybe take over the farm…”
His smile disappeared. “Yes, and in an ideal world, I’d like to. But…” He made a face. “It’s not just the racial problems. You have those, more or less, everywhere. I�
��ll bet you’ve had some here.” He stopped and looked at her inquiringly.
She nodded hesitantly. A topic for another time… “Yes, some. But I’ve always been able to deal with them. And, most importantly, I’ve always had help and support from others when I needed it.”
“Including Sven, I hope.”
“Most definitely. Especially including Sven,” she assured him.
“Good.” He made a mental note to ask her for details—but later. “On the farm, you know that tobacco is the crop that brings in the best money. But as I try to look down the road—years ahead—I don’t see a rosy future for it. More and more people are talking about the health hazards of smoking. The government’s even getting into it. Tobacco will be around for many years, but the golden age of the golden leaf is over.”
“If you’re right, what’ll become of Ma and Dad?”
“Even if I’m right, this isn’t going to happen quickly. They’ll be retired by the time it gets too bad. And besides,” he grinned, “they’ll have us, with our supposedly wonderful jobs, to help them out in their old age.”
Chapter 44
With the Glacier Gal throttled back up to cruising speed, it took only a few minutes to get back to the boat harbor. In this short period of time, Gerri was only too happy to talk about Sven, and Rich was only too happy to listen.
“No, he’s not mathematically inclined, but he respects that I am. He…” She paused to decide how to express her thoughts. “He has vision. I think that contributes to his being a highliner—that’s a fisherman who regularly does better than others. And I’m sure that’s why he’s such a good painter. Somehow, he sees patterns and can express them.
“He senses patterns in sound as well. It’s as though whenever he hears a word, he thinks of others that sound similar. He likes to make puns—at least when he’s happy, according to Wally. Wally’s another friend of his,” Gerri hastened to add.
Gerri had to stop talking at this point. They had arrived at the boat harbor and maneuvering in the relatively tight quarters required all of her attention. Sven was waiting with Wally at the Glacier Gal’s slip. Does he look impatient? Gerri hoped he wasn’t angry that she had taken so long.
“Let me shut up and concentrate. With everyone watching, this would be a bad time to fumble the docking.”
She needn’t have worried. Rich threw Sven a line as she turned the boat and backed carefully into the slip. She shut down the engine quickly and, bracing her hand on the gunwale, hopped briskly onto the float. She wanted to say something to Sven to apologize for taking so long to get fuel. But, she realized, she wanted even more to tell him about the decision she’d made.
She put her hands on his arms and looked into his eyes. “Sven, I…” Then she lost her nerve. Her vocal cords froze up as he solemnly returned her gaze. This was tantamount to proposing—to a man who may not be interested any more. With several other people watching. It was such a Women’s Lib sort of thing to do. She wished that she were Mindy. Mindy would know what to do.
Sven waited for her to continue. Yes, he had been impatient waiting for her return. But he wasn’t surprised. Rich had come up to proselytize for Olivia’s point of view. Sven had come back to the float prepared for anything, but now he had to try to read their expressions to figure out where he stood. Before her hesitation, Gerri had seemed happy—that was a good sign. Rich was harder to read. Was that a faint smile playing over his lips?
Sven knew it was a gamble, but he decided that now was the time to roll the dice. He put an index finger against Gerri’s lips. “Don’t say anything.”
Obediently, Gerri stopped talking, but she was deathly afraid. Did he not want to hear? She just stared at Sven, unwilling to catch Rich’s eye. After what seemed like forever, but was really just a couple of seconds, Sven smiled. His other hand went into his pocket and he brought out a small box.
Before she knew it, he was on one knee in front of her. “Remember, I said that I wanted to do this the traditional way. Gerri, will you accept this as a token of my love? More importantly, will you marry me? Anytime, anyplace.”
“Yes, Sven. I absolutely will. I love you, too.” She belatedly became aware of their audience and tugged on his sleeves. “Now stand up and kiss me.”
He did so with enthusiasm and, for a moment, the other people ceased to exist. She heard some muted cheers, but she ignored them. She wanted to cling to this moment. Then she heard a click and quickly turned her head.
Rich had the camera to his eye. “Rich, don’t you dare take a picture.”
“Why not?” He laughed. “This will be part of the family history.”
She remembered her baggy clothes. Her hand flew to her hair. “I have to be the worst looking woman who ever got proposed to. At least, let me fix my hair.”
“You look wonderful,” Sven interjected. “If necessary, I’ll buy the picture from him.”
She could see that they were all against her. She protested weakly, “I’ll get you for this, Rich. I’ll push you in the water.”
Wally started laughing. “She will, too. You be sure and hand me your camera first.”
Rich grinned and looked at them. Sven still had his arms around Gerri’s waist. “I’ll tell you what,” Rich said, “I might be willing to consider making the picture a wedding present.” Gerri just leaned her head on Sven’s chest. It wouldn’t do to have them see her smiling.
Wally approached with his hand outstretched. “Congratulations, Sven. You’ve been carrying that ring around long enough. I’ve been wondering when you were going to get up your nerve.”
Gerri’s head snapped up at that. “When did you buy this ring, anyway?”
Sven looked evasive, but Wally chimed in. “He bought it right after that hunting trip. You remember the one…”
She glared. “That’s what you used that big bonus for?” Sven’s sheepish look was all the answer she needed. Her hands, still wrapped around him, thumped him in the back. “Oooh! I ought to be so angry with you. Don’t you ever do anything like that again. You could have been killed on that trip. Then, where would I be?”
Now, he looked mischievous. “You don’t have to worry about my doing that again. This is the last time that I’m going to get engaged. Now, will you try it on so that we can see if it fits?”
This was her perfect day, Gerri reflected. How he had done it, she wasn’t sure, but the ring fit perfectly. As she was admiring it, Sven introduced Wally and Rich, and then Wally excused himself to return to his boat.
Sven turned to Gerri. “Why don’t we go back to the house and whip up a dinner? Proposing gives me a real appetite.”
Gerri stretched up and kissed him again. “Accepting a proposal gives me an appetite, too. But before I start cooking, I want to tell Mindy.”
The phone call took some time and was punctuated by considerable squealing. By the time Gerri had hung up, Rich had unpacked and changed out of his uniform. Sven was telling Rich about his impressions of the South.
Gerri interrupted them, her eyes bright with excitement. “Mindy and John want to come over and help us celebrate. Do you mind, Sven? She’s already cooking, and she offered to bring the food.”
“Of course, I don’t mind. Even if I did mind, the food would sway me. She’s almost as good a cook as you are.”
“Maybe better,” Gerri said loyally. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Sven nodded and turned back to resume his conversation with Rich. “Anyway, it was very interesting, but it was a severe culture shock. I think that’s what they call it. And the weather! I couldn’t believe how hot it was in November. I guess it never freezes.”
“It does now and then,” Gerri insisted. “Remember what my father told you about the orange groves freezing?”
“Right.” Sven acknowledged her correction. “Practically never freezes.”
Rich perked up. “That must be what Dad was talking about. He said to be sure to tell you that they had a freeze a couple of months ago.
Cost the farmers lots of money.”
At the sound of a car engine, Gerri bounced up from her seat and started for the door. Then, she paused and turned back to Rich.
“Rich, don’t jump to any conclusions about Mindy and John. Their relationship started out as a friendship—the romantic stuff started much later. They’re not a stereotype.”
Rich had no idea what she was getting at, but he had no time to question her. She threw the door open and held her arms out to Mindy.
“I’m so happy for you!” The slender Mindy practically lifted Gerri off the floor. Quickly, though, she stepped back. “Show me, show me!”
The three males watched the display, smiling. Then John stepped around them and extended his hand to Sven. “Congratulations, man. You’ve got a good one there.” He turned toward Rich, but before he could speak, Gerri broke in and introduced John and Mindy to Rich.
Sven watched, bemused, as Rich and John performed some elaborate hand-shaking ritual. Am I supposed to know this? No, he decided. He didn’t have to be black to love Gerri; he just had to respect her blackness. He made a mental note to ask her about the hand-shaking ritual later.
During dinner, Rich learned several things: Mindy really, really didn’t like the Vietnam War. That was fine with him. He didn’t have any happy stories to share about Vietnam, anyway. He also learned that Mindy was not shy about sharing her opinions—and that John was not shy about disagreeing with her. But both of them seemed to enjoy the repartee. He now understood why Gerri had given him the heads-up.
As they were returning to the living room, Rich returned to an earlier subject. “Gerri, you said that you’d show me that picture of you. The one that Sven painted which upset Ma.”
It seemed as though the room froze. Sven looked surprised. Mindy and John looked confused. But Gerri looked mortified. Rich realized that he had committed some horrible faux pas, but he didn’t know what it was or how to fix it. Sven seemed to be the key, since Gerri was looking at him guiltily.
