An Inconvenient Marriage

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “It’s all very clear and precise,” he said. “I see nothing wrong with it.”

  “So I won’t lose anything?”

  “The only thing you’re in danger of losing is your heart.”

  She snorted her opinion.

  He shrugged as he handed it to her. “Mr. Mitchell is a fair and generous man. Not only will your family’s debts be absolved, but he’ll make provisions to teach them the basics of money management so they won’t fall into debt ever again. Then you will receive the remaining money into your personal account to do whatever you see fit to do with it. You will be financially well off for the rest of your life. This is an excellent deal for you.”

  That made her feel better. Her anger over her argument with Jake earlier that day began to die down. She returned to the bank, ignoring an irate George who glared at her, and entered Jake’s office unannounced. He seemed to be surprised to see her.

  “I’m ready to sign it,” she said. “Mr. Gregory said it had to be notarized to be official and you can do that at this bank.”

  “Good. Follow me.”

  She noted that he still sounded sour but was trying to be polite. This only served to irritate her again.

  “Good morning, Justin.” He smiled as they walked to Mr. Monroe’s office. “Do you have a moment?”

  She shook her head at how he could be so pleasant to someone who wasn’t her or George.

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” Justin waved them inside. “I just finished some paperwork and my next appointment won’t be for another ten minutes. What can I do for you?”

  “I need you to notarize this contract between myself and Miss Lewis.”

  “Alright,” he slowly replied as he got the necessary supplies out. He called in two witnesses.

  She signed her part of the document and he signed his part. After the two witnesses signed their names, Justin finished the process.

  “This is an odd way to propose, Jake,” he softly said as the witnesses left his office.

  “As long as it gets the job done,” Jake blandly replied.

  “Here you go.” He handed Jake and Sue a copy of the contract. “What lengths you won’t go to in order to help out a customer.”

  “I would have offered you to her but you’re already married.”

  “I am standing here,” she reminded him.

  “Marriage isn’t all bad, Jake,” Justin assured him. “If you allow it, you can actually have fun.”

  “I’m not interested in having fun with her, nor is she interested in having fun with me. We will have fun while we are married but we won’t have fun together.”

  “I know when I’m not wanted,” she snapped. “I’ll see you at the church on Saturday at noon.”

  “I’ll be sending a seamstress by your place later this week to take your measurements for your wedding gown,” Jake notified her.

  “You’re already trying to dictate my life,” she angrily replied.

  “Give me a break. You can’t show up in the same blue dress you wore to the dance two Fridays in a row, nor can you show up in one of your peasant clothes. I do have an image to maintain in this town, and I refuse to let you tarnish that image.”

  “Peasant clothes?”

  “Yes. You may be pretty but your clothes leave a lot to be desired. I am going to have a beautiful wedding which will impress important people. You have to do your part.”

  “You just wait, Mr. Mitchell. I’ll wear the dress but you won’t dictate anything else I do.”

  “As long as you go dancing on Fridays, I don’t care what you do. You can roll in the mud on your other days or go around nagging the rest of the town.”

  She was ready to throw something at him so she quickly turned to leave.

  “I think you’ve met your match,” she heard Justin chuckle before she left the bank.

  Chapter Five

  Jake spent the rest of the week fuming despite his best efforts to put Sue Lewis far from his mind. He wasn’t married to her yet, and he was already dreading having her around his house. He hadn’t even been aware of her a month ago, and suddenly, she was a big part of his world. Six months. All I have to do is survive the next six months and I’ll be free again.

  Justin did his best to console him. “I don’t think she’s that bad of a woman. My wife speaks highly of her. She may not be rich but she has found a way into the hearts of many prominent women in town. They can’t wait to invite her to their luncheons.”

  He grimaced. “Before I know it, she’ll insist on dinner parties at my house. The next six months of my life are going to be a living nightmare.”

  “I don’t know. She’s got a lot of passion. It could help warm up those cold winter nights. You might enjoy yourself so much you won’t want to end the marriage.”

  “No way, Justin. I’m not going to lay a hand on her except to kiss her at the wedding and hold her hand or arm in public. This is a business arrangement.”

  “Aren’t you the least bit attracted to women?”

  “Of course, I am. But I don’t lose my head over any woman. They use their beauty to trap men into marriage and the next thing the men know, they are helping to host a variety of dinner parties. I hope she remembers what I told her. I have absolutely no intention of stopping my trips to the theater or traveling abroad just because she wants to be strapped down to the house.”

  “Not every woman is like that, Jake. Jennifer would have had you tied to the home but I don’t think Sue will. My wife says that Sue likes to read because she can live the adventures in those books. Maybe you should ask her to join you to the theater or on one of your European excursions.”

  “Like I would ask any woman into my world.”

  He shrugged. “You might have more fun if you did. A wife can be a good companion. If nothing else, be her friend.”

  He grunted his reply and left Justin’s office to go back to work. He didn’t care to hear about the virtues of women from Justin who claimed to be happily married with two little kids that clung to his pants whenever she stopped by with them. How embarrassing it would be to have that happen to him if he was trying to do business. He didn’t know why the other men seemed to think it was cute. Justin took it all in stride. He’s a braver man than I am.

  He talked to the seamstress, Mrs. Parker, who was working on Sue’s wedding dress and ordered a new wardrobe for Sue to be made. He had seen her other skirts, shirts and dresses, and there was no way those clothes had any place in his nice house. “Just have your team of seamstresses make dresses that are befitting my social status.” He didn’t wish to have Sue humiliate him when she walked out of the house. People would be basing their opinion of him based on how she presented herself to the world, and though she had a great reputation, people would expect her to dress better now that she was moving up the social ladder.

  Then he sat down and wrote a letter to her family explaining the situation, inviting them to the wedding and asking if they could use new clothes and furniture. He had Henry hand deliver the letter and requested a response before the end of the next day so that he could make the appropriate arrangements. To his surprise, her entire family wrote a couple of sentences expressing their enthusiasm over the marriage. They said they didn’t have proper wedding clothes, so Jake immediately ordered that to be done. He couldn’t have her family showing up underdressed to the biggest event of his life. They confessed that they did need some new furnishings, so Jake asked the furniture makers in town to confer with them on what they would like to see in their home.

  He had a wedding planner do all the arrangements at the church for the ceremony and reception. He wanted to have a wedding that people would talk about for years to come, so he spent as much as he dared. He had clients to impress and possible clients to win over. He decided to invite George Leroy, in case people thought ill of him for not including everyone. He secretly hoped George would stay home but comforted himself with the knowledge that so many people would be there that he could easily ig
nore the irritating man.

  As a last minute thought, he purchased a diamond necklace and earrings and sent a telegram to Sue telling her that these were for the wedding and that he wouldn’t be taking her to the dance that Friday since he would be getting his tuxedo made for Saturday.

  ***

  It was a busy week, so he was relieved when Saturday morning came. Despite Sue’s telegrams telling him that he was being too controlling, he was actually looking forward to the wedding. He was eager to see how the church was decorated and how good the fish and steak tasted. He knew Mrs. Wilcox did an excellent job at her catering business. On Saturday morning, he arrived at the church early so Henry could escort Sue and her family to the church. It was bad luck for him to see her before the wedding, so he stayed well out of sight in the groom’s room.

  However, an hour before the wedding, a loud knocking on his door interrupted his meeting with his father’s lawyer. He was already dressed and ready for the ceremony so he was ready to open the door when someone from the other side yelled that it was the bride who was knocking. He immediately locked the door.

  “I must speak with you,” Sue demanded from the other side of the door.

  “You can talk to me after the wedding,” he replied.

  “I will talk to you now. Let me in.” She tried to open the door.

  “No way. You know what tradition says.”

  “I also know that tradition says I am to marry for love, but that’s not the case either.” She tried to open the door again. “You are an obstinate man!”

  “Then we are a good match because you are an obstinate woman.” He grinned at his clever retort.

  “Why did you buy my family new furniture?”

  “Because they needed it.” Was this really worth discussing before a big ceremony?

  “You didn’t even ask me if I was alright with it.”

  “I asked them and they said yes. It had nothing to do with you.”

  “They are my family.”

  “And in about an hour, they’ll be mine too.”

  “Sue, we told you to go back to your room,” another woman kindly told her.

  “No, Mother,” Sue argued. “He can’t just come into my life and take over everything and everyone in it.”

  “But we needed those things. Most son-in-laws wouldn’t care about his wife’s family.”

  He grinned. He was pleased that her family was enjoying their new furniture and clothes. When he saw the condition of their old things, he was relieved that they agreed to it since he couldn’t imagine people living in such horrible conditions.

  “What is he going to make me do next?” Sue asked her mother. “Is he going to start teaching me how to act like a lady? Really, Jake. Where does all this manipulation end?”

  “Sue Mary Lewis, you get to your room right this minute,” came a male voice.

  “Jeremiah, this is none of your business!”

  “Sure it is when you’re making a public spectacle of yourself. You are downright impossible to deal with. Pardon my sister, Mr. Mitchell. She was raised better than this.”

  “I don’t need any of you to apologize for me. I am not sorry! I am your daughter and your sister. Some family loyalty would be nice.”

  “We are being loyal, sweetheart,” her mother said. “Don’t you see that this is the best thing you can do for yourself? Do you want to be a spinster for the rest of your life?”

  “Yep,” Jeremiah added. “With the way you act, no other decent man would have you. You better count your blessings and hold onto that one.”

  “I am not that horrible of a person. Why does everyone insist that I am impossible to deal with?”

  “Because you are,” a group of people replied.

  “Some family you are,” she grumbled.

  Jake chuckled at the family drama ensuing on the other side of the door.

  “Mr. Mitchell, we could get her drunk if you’d like,” Jeremiah offered. “It might be the only way to subdue her enough so that she won’t disturb anymore guests. She nearly ran through the church like a cat with its tail on fire as soon as she saw her dress.”

  “That’s because I hate lace, but what would you know what I like or dislike. You didn’t even bother to ask,” Sue bitterly told Jake.

  “It’s just for your wedding,” her mother consoled her.

  “No. It’s for the next six months of my life.”

  “You should act better than that,” her brother inserted. “You don’t want to be so miserable he’s going to drop you. You’re always wanting to hold babies. If you play your cards right, you can hold one of your own someday.”

  Jake cringed. That was not going to happen.

  “That will never happen,” she hissed.

  At least we can agree on that. Jake was comforted by knowing he had no desire to be intimate with her. Her continual nagging made that easy for him.

  “Let me talk to her,” Mr. Barnett softly said as he eased himself through the door without Sue seeing Jake.

  Jake immediately locked the door.

  “Good morning, Miss Lewis,” his father’s lawyer said. “I am sure you are aware of this arrangement. You did sign the contract.”

  She calmed down. “Yes, sir. I did.”

  “And in that contract, was there anything specifying clothing or your family aside from the monetary counseling?”

  “No.”

  “Then isn’t Mr. Mitchell technically within his rights to do what he has done?”

  Her silence was enough of an answer.

  “We only have forty-five minutes left before the wedding and we haven’t decorated your hair yet,” her mother said. “Come along.”

  “Very well,” Sue resigned herself. “But this isn’t over, Jake Mitchell.”

  Jake rolled his eyes.

  Mr. Barnett knocked on the door. “The coast is clear.”

  Jake opened the door and let him in.

  To his surprise, the lawyer was laughing. “She’s a wonderful woman.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because she is sincere and honest. You can be sure of one thing, she’s not marrying you to impress people and she will also let you know exactly what’s on her mind. You won’t have to guess with her. And if she does fall in love with you, she’ll be faithful for life.”

  “Falling in love is the last thing on my mind,” he softly growled.

  ***

  The moment of the wedding finally arrived and Jake stood by the preacher in front of the altar. He knew that this day was the bride’s day and everyone would be interested in her which was why he spent so much time preparing Sue for this day. The wedding colors were light blue and white. He picked light blue since it went with his tie. He had ordered blue ribbons and bows throughout the church, and the bridal bouquet featured white roses with a blue ribbon tying the flowers together. He supposed that women would prefer pink but he couldn’t stomach that color at his wedding, so he didn’t bother to ask her opinion. He didn’t want her opinion on any of the wedding plans for that specific reason. He was associated with this wedding, even though he wasn’t the main attraction. People would want to remember this day and he didn’t want pink to be associated with that memory. He considered the irony that she didn’t complain about the colors. She was bothered by the lace on her dress. The lace wasn’t his idea but the seamstress liked it so he allowed it. He thought it was odd that Sue would be offended by something so uniquely feminine.

  He glanced at Justin who was chuckling beside him.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually getting married,” Justin whispered. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “Try not to act so obvious about it,” he grumbled.

  “Sorry. I got the ring in my pocket. Something tells me Sue won’t want a ring this big.”

  “A big diamond is a status symbol. It’ll impress people.”

  “Perhaps but she’s the one who has to wear it.”

  “Maybe you’d like to trade pl
aces with me since you seem to know her so well.”

  “I love my wife, thank you very much. I wouldn’t leave her for anyone.”

  He sighed and glanced around the room. On Sue’s side sat a great company of people. Her family sat in proper attire up front and looked relieved that she was finally getting married. He liked her family. She had her mother and three brothers sitting up front. But her friends were a mixture of people from the low to the high end of the economic ladder. Mr. Walker hesitated on knowing where to sit but he finally followed his wife to her side of the aisle. He was surprised and delighted that so many wealthy women had indeed led their husbands to her side. He never imagined a woman could be so resourceful, even if she was hard to get along with. Apparently, she was a good friend to someone out there. On his side of the aisle were all wealthy members of the city. He tried to ignore Jennifer who insisted on sobbing loudly into her handkerchief. She was upset that she didn’t get the chance to snag his money. At least he had the consolation that Sue wasn’t in this for her benefit. In fact, she made it clear that this was a great sacrifice on her part.

  “The bride is in love with me, but I told her to stay true to Mr. Mitchell,” he overheard old man York tell the person next to him. “She better not try to run off with me today.”

  He closed his eyes and counted to ten so he wouldn’t burst out laughing. As if York ever had a chance compared to him.

  “Straighten up. Sue’s ready,” Justin whispered.

  He cleared his throat and stood at attention as the music began to play. He tried to hide his pleasure at the sight of her. Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders. The sides of her hair were neatly pulled back by two light blue ribbons to match the ribbon on her bouquet. Her veil did little to hide her natural beauty. He noted that she managed to get rid of the lace on the dress. The upset seamstress standing to the side of the room made him realize how she accomplished that feat. He couldn’t help but grin. He liked the dress better without the lace anyway. The dress was simple yet elegant in appearance. It had long sleeves and a square neckline. The diamond necklace accentuated her slender neck and her dangling diamond earrings enhanced her fine cheekbones. The dress was modestly cut but with her amazing figure, it couldn’t hide her curves. The dress reached down to her ankles and her white shoes with blue flowers etched on them completed the look. She is breathtaking.