An Inconvenient Marriage

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Justin let out a low whistle. “Maybe I should trade places with you.”

  Jake wanted to respond but couldn’t find his voice.

  Everyone stood in honor of the bride. As she walked down the aisle with her proud father who favored his left leg, Jake was aware that people were commenting on how beautiful she looked. He was too busy staring at her to enjoy the fact that he had succeeded in impressing them. He was aware that he was slightly shaking like a nervous schoolboy ready to ask his favorite girl if he could court her.

  “Close your mouth. You’re starting to drool,” Justin quietly said.

  He immediately straightened up and closed his mouth. He tried to take his eyes off of her but he couldn’t. Even Jennifer didn’t come close to matching her beauty.

  As soon as she stood in front of him, the spell was broken for she was glaring at him. He sighed. So much for a romantic wedding.

  “Who gives this woman to be married?” Preacher Davis asked.

  “I do,” her father proudly replied.

  Though she was supposed to hold Jake’s hand, she intentionally ignored it when he extended his hand to her. Not to be dissuaded in front of an audience, he held her by the elbow instead and smiled as if nothing was bothering him. Did it really pain her to marry him? Wasn’t it better than being with Mr. York?

  He turned to the Preacher as the group of people sat back down. She refused to look at him. Instead, she stared straight at the preacher as he proceeded with the ceremony. Jake was ready to pull away from her in response but decided it would be more fun to mess with her a bit, so he took a step closer to her. Since her sister-in-law and sister stood to the other side of her, she couldn’t get away from him.

  He progressed smoothly through his vows but when it was her turn, she hesitated.

  “Uh...” she stammered.

  “Oh go ahead and marry him, sweetie pie,” Mr. York yelled out. “Don’t go holding a flame for me. Move on with your life.”

  Several people chuckled.

  “Ewe,” she muttered under her breath. “I do,” she told the preacher.

  Finally it was time to give her the ring, and she didn’t hide her disappointment when she saw it.

  “Told you,” Justin whispered.

  Jake simply smiled and slipped it on her finger.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife,” the preacher said. “You may kiss the bride.”

  He lifted the veil and was struck that she would wear so little make-up and still look stunning. She really does have simple but excellent taste. She’s going to throw a fit when she sees her new wardrobe. He already knew he would be assigning Mrs. Parker and her team of seamstresses with a new wardrobe. This time he would have to let Sue talk to her about what she wanted. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed. He was glad she wasn’t into all the flashy and flowery material women seemed to crave but all his efforts to please her were in vain.

  As he bent to kiss her on the lips, she gave a slight turn of her head so he kissed the side of her mouth instead. “Well honey, aren’t you full of surprises today,” he teased. Having managed to catch her off guard, he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a long kiss on the mouth. She was too stunned to react in time to stop him. Several men chuckled and the single women sighed as if imagining he was kissing them. When Jake let go of her, he shot her a triumphant look. She looked flustered and then furious.

  They turned to the people as the preacher announced, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jake Mitchell.”

  She was reluctant to walk down the aisle with him so he gently led her by the arm. “We don’t want to disappoint the people. Remember, it’s only for six months.”

  She sighed and started walking with him.

  After they were finished, the rest of the people followed them to the reception where a live orchestra played while the guests either danced or ate their lunches. They stood to the side of the room and shook hands with people who wished to talk with them.

  “I hope your heart isn’t hurting too bad, darling,” Mr. York told her as he held onto her hand.

  “I’ll survive,” she politely said. She tried to pull her hand away but he wouldn’t let go.

  “You must go on with your life. I know you thought I was a young buck but the truth is I’m seventy and probably old enough to be your grandfather. Take comfort in Jake’s arms. He’s a good boy.”

  “I will try.”

  “You must, sweetie pie.”

  Jake hid his annoyance. He didn’t care for the way old man York kept slobbering over her. The man is a pervert. As he was about to politely interrupt York, Jennifer came up to him and put her hand on his arm.

  “I am sorry that I didn’t make my interest known to you sooner,” she cooed. “I never realized you would settle for any old thing.”

  He tensed. Her father is wealthy. Don’t blow it. “Now we both know you’re much too pretty to settle down just yet. You need to let many men enjoy your dancing.”

  Mr. York finally left and Sue breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Were you actually in love with Mr. York?” Jennifer giggled, turning to Sue.

  “What do you think?” Sue blandly asked.

  “I think you did. You have such bad taste.”

  “How fitting that such an observation would come from someone who thought Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was a printing shop.”

  Jake coughed to cover his laughter. He didn’t realize Sue had such wit but it pleased him that she did.

  “I think I’ve just been insulted,” Jennifer pouted, looking at Jake. “Are you going to let her talk to me like that?”

  “Yes, dear husband. Are you going to dictate how I talk to other people?” Sue pointedly wondered, staring at him in interest.

  “I agree with my wife. You were way out of line,” Jake quickly responded.

  Jennifer gasped. “I can’t believe you said that. I will tell Mr. Leroy that he has a rude employee.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care what you do as long as you apologize to my wife.”

  “I’d rather eat snake.”

  “Wouldn’t that be cannibalism?” Sue reflected.

  She ran off, ready to cry on her father’s shoulder.

  Sue sighed. “I probably just lost you a customer.”

  He chuckled. “Are you kidding? That was worth it. Jennifer’s father isn’t that prominent in this society, and even if he was, I wouldn’t let his daughter get away with her comments.”

  “Really?”

  He noted that she seemed touched by his confession. He grinned at her. “Really. When people insult you, they insult me. I take it personally.”

  “As rude as she is, she is harmless. I don’t believe she will complain to her father. She’s all talk.”

  “But you insist that George Leroy isn’t so docile?”

  “No. He’s up to something.”

  He followed her gaze and saw George talking with a few of the guests. From where he stood, George seemed to be engaged in innocent conversation. He wondered what it was that Sue saw but he didn’t.

  “Congratulations, sis,” Trevor said.

  “Have you actually met my family?” she asked.

  Jake shook his head. “Not in person. Which brother is this?”

  “I’m Trevor. I’ll be eighteen in March. I’m almost a man.”

  “Good for you,” Jake replied as he shook his hand.

  “Boy, we didn’t think she was ever going to find someone to marry. You sure did her a tremendous favor.”

  “He’s right,” another brother said, laughing. “I’m Jeremiah and this is my wife, Gloria. She’s the light of my life and almost nine months pregnant. And over there, the boy and girl dancing like crazy on the floor, are Luke and Patty the ten year old twins. We’re all tickled pink to have you join the family. We hope you’ll be coming out to our place for Christmas. We begin celebrating on December 24 and don’t stop until New Year’s.”

  “Oh good, here come Mother and
Father,” Sue said. “Despite your help, I was able to take care of the lace,” she told her mother.

  “Lace is so pretty.” Her mother shook her head. “You were always such a tomboy.” She turned to Jake. “It’s a good thing you chose blue and white for the wedding colors or else she would have taken down everything pink. When she gets started on something, there’s no stopping her.”

  “She means well,” her father interrupted. “Her heart is in the right place. Being the oldest child, we gave her boy chores on the farm. I reckon that had something to do with her dislike of overtly feminine things. Though she is true woman deep in her heart where it counts.”

  “I’m not applying for a job. Do we really need to have this conversation?” Sue didn’t hide her agitation.

  “Uh oh. We’d better scurry. She’s gonna blow,” Jeremiah half-joked.

  They quickly dispersed.

  “Thank goodness I’m not the only one who gets you riled up,” Jake commented.

  “They mean well, I suppose. They would do anything for me. When I was at the courting age, they tried to find someone for me but none of the young men wanted a girl who knew more about taking care of horses and cattle than cooking and sewing.”

  “So you’re a terrible cook?”

  “I’m decent at it. I can get by in the kitchen but it’s not my favorite place. I’d rather be reading a good book.”

  “That’s why you’re a librarian?”

  She nodded.

  “I have a maid who cooks so you don’t have to worry about that, and I do have my own library that you may check out.”

  Her eyebrows rose in interest. “What kind of books do you read?”

  “I have some biography, history, and science books but my enjoyment comes mostly from the classics.”

  “Greek literature?”

  “And Shakespeare. Along with others.”

  “So when I referred to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, you understood what I was telling Jennifer?”

  “That was clever,” he admitted.

  She smiled. “I didn’t think anyone but Trevor would get it. He’s as involved with books as I am.”

  “It looks like the guests are done congratulating us. Would you like to sit at the center of the table at the front of the room?”

  “Alright.”

  During the course of their lunch, Jake was pleased that the guests were well entertained and seemed to enjoy themselves. So far, everything was going along perfectly.

  Mr. Barnett walked over to him and shook his hand. “You pulled off the first half of the agreement,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of waiting it out for six months. Remember, I’ll be by at some point during the six months unannounced. I’ll only intrude on your life for one week. Then at six months, I’ll give you the rest of the money. Here is a copy of the amount due to you today. I know you consider marriage to be a pain, but she isn’t that bad and she certainly is beautiful. Perhaps, you’ll find her to be good company.”

  “I’m not holding my breath but thanks for the warm wishes.”

  Mr. Barnett said his congratulations to Sue and left.

  Jake turned to her and handed her the cheque. “It’s official. Here’s the amount of money you’ll find in your bank account on Monday.” He handed her the piece of paper.

  “I’ve never seen so much money at one time,” she whispered. “Is it normal to feel some fear at the responsibility when considering how to manage it?”

  “If you’re not used to it, it can be distressing.”

  “Whoo hoo!” Trevor yelled as he took a look at the paper. “You’re loaded, sis.”

  “Can you quiet it down a notch?” she snapped as she shoved it into her shoe.

  Fortunately with the orchestra playing and people talking, very few people noticed his statement.

  “There goes my big sister, barking out orders as soon as she can,” he said. “We love you, sis, but you are a real pill sometimes. So we got poor Mr. Mitchell here a ‘how-to-manual’ on you. Here it is. William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.”

  She gasped as he handed Jake the book.

  “It gives you a process that’s guaranteed to work,” Jeremiah called from further down the table.

  By this time, everyone stopped what they were doing and the orchestra stopped playing to see why her family was laughing so hard.

  “Do you think William knew she would come along?” Trevor asked Jeremiah.

  Her cheeks grew red and her eyes narrowed as she watched Trevor give Jake some more advice.

  “I took the time to mark the pages I think you’ll find extremely helpful. Like this stuff right here. That’s typical Sue behavior. She seems like she’s rough but she’s really not,” Trevor said.

  Jake knew she was embarrassed but he had trouble not laughing with the rest of her family.

  “Oh sis, we only joke with you because we love you.” He lightly punched her in the arm. “There’s no need to act all shy. We know you can’t help but voice your opinion.”

  “We also got you something for headaches when she’s keeping you up all night with her insistent nagging on how to do it right,” Jeremiah called out as he threw a bottle of pain medicine Jake’s way.

  Jake caught it before it landed in the wedding cake.

  She stood up. “I’ve taken all I can from you two.”

  Jake couldn’t tell if she was upset or not. She actually seemed to enjoy their ribbing.

  “You need to behave. We are here to make a good impression,” she whispered. “People are watching.”

  It was true, and Jake was beginning to feel self-conscious.

  “You can tease me over Christmas,” she continued in a soft tone.

  “Nobody move! I just lost my mouse!” ten year old Luke screamed. “Wait. There it is.”

  He hopped up on the table and raced after it. The women shrieked as the mouse scurried across the food.

  “Luke! How could you bring that thing here?” Sue snapped. She lunged for it. Just as she caught it, Luke ran into her and knocked her into the cake.

  “Now my sister is sweet!” Jeremiah cheered. “Better grab her while she’s good to go.”

  Trevor and Jeremiah pulled her out of the cake while Jake backed away so his suit wouldn’t get ruined.

  She threw some of the cake at them which landed on some of her other family members.

  Luke grabbed the mouse from her hand and jumped off the table. “I told him not to get out of his cage.” He quickly put him back in the small wire cage he brought with him to the wedding.

  Jake cringed at the realization that the mouse had been there the whole time. His perfect wedding was quickly turning into a perfect disaster.

  “Luke, I told you not to bring that thing,” her father admonished. “You’re going to do extra chores tonight for disobeying me.”

  “Because of you and Trevor, my dress is ruined,” Gloria cried. “Take this, you dolts!” She poured champagne on their heads.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Trevor grinned mischievously at Jeremiah.

  They picked her up and counted to when they would throw her at the cake.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Sue interfered as she stood between them and the cake. “This has to stop! We are at a wedding, not a food fight. Put her down right now.”

  “I knew the sweetness from the cake couldn’t tame her,” Trevor grumbled as they obeyed her.

  “We’ll just have to hope the book does the trick,” Jeremiah agreed.

  “Sorry everyone,” Trevor apologized to the people in the room. “We don’t mean any harm. And thank you for watching our production of ‘A Wedding Folly.’”

  To Jake’s surprise, people applauded and commented that it was an entertaining show. Justin came up to him and patted him on the back. “What a great idea! Weddings are usually boring but this was a treat. Everyone’s going to be talking about this one for a long time.”

  Suddenly, Jake felt much better, but it occurred to him
that he wasn’t included in her family’s good-natured fight and it bothered him.

  Chapter Six

  After Sue cleaned up from the wedding mishap, she arrived at her new residence and marveled that Jake had such immaculate but beautiful taste. No wonder he got away from me and my family as soon as that mouse ran across the table. He doesn’t like to get dirty. He had wanted to stick around and go home with her so he could give her a personal tour of the place, but he was called to business at the last minute to discuss plans to buy the building that would house the future bank. So Henry took her and her things from the apartment to the house. She only had two worn suitcases that summed up her entire life. Her apartment had been furnished. It felt strange to know she was making such a drastic change in her economic status. She climbed out of the buggy, acutely aware that her old clothes were sorely out of place there.

  Henry carried her suitcases to the front door for her.

  “Am I supposed to pay you?” She searched for any money she might find in her purse.

  “No, Mrs. Mitchell. Your husband has taken care of that already. He pays me well in advance for all of my services.”

  “Oh.” He really is a generous man then.

  He rang the front doorbell for her. “I know you are free to enter on your own, but Ralph and Lydia Border wanted to be at the door to welcome you. Ralph and Lydia are expecting their first child. Jake gave them two bedrooms which are downstairs and a decent salary for their services. Ralph is the butler and Lydia is the maid. They’re as friendly as can be and are eager to meet you.”

  “How many bedrooms are here anyway?”

  “Six.”

  “What does a bachelor need with so many bedrooms? Does he entertain?”

  “He never entertains. He hates dinner parties and any other social gatherings. He makes himself go to the dance on Fridays so he can do business there and avoid the need for going to the other social functions in town. He likes to stick mainly to himself, but I think he gets lonely sometimes. He has a big house and a big heart but there’s no one special to share it with.”