“Thank you,” she said. “I’m Bertha. Patty told me about all the nice things you did for her.”
“I truly enjoyed my hospital stay because of Patty,” I told her. “So we thought we’d take her on a little shopping and lunch outing today.”
I knew Patty was ashamed for me see where she lived. I knew that feeling well. So I decided to put her at ease and drive the four blocks over and show her my old house on the corner of Oak Street.
“See that house right there, Patty? That’s where I was born and lived until I was twenty-one years old.”
Patty raised her eyebrows. She didn’t say anything, but I felt her relax after that.
We had a fun day, us girls. I got Patty a few t-shirts and some new jeans, socks, nail polish, a couple of good books and a necklace. She was so gracious and appreciative. Then we went to lunch at Max’s Weiner Wagon and had some of his famous conies, the best hotdogs on earth. I asked Patty if she thought she could go to a movie with Kelly and me if we went to a 4:00 p.m. matinee. I told her we’d be out by six and I’d have her home by 6:30. It was fine with her grandma, so I called home and asked them to hold supper for Kelly and me. All in all, we had a terrific day.
When we dropped Patty off at home, she asked if she was still going to get to come out to our house for dinner some time.
“Absolutely!” I said.
At supper that night Wes asked, “So how was Patty Cake? I thought you were asking her out for supper, Mom?”
“Oh, Wes, I think that’s the cutest name you gave her. Patty Cake. I think I’ll call her that, too. Yes, I am going to have her out, but I was thinking dinner,” I said.
“Mom, I sure hope you’re not match-making. Moms shouldn’t do that, ya know,” he said.
I wondered if Wes had a crush on Patty. I truly hoped not, as our Wes was a fast-mover: meet them, date them and leave them… sort of the old Shay way, the PG-13 version.
Patty was my sweet little friend; I felt protective of her.
“Wes, if I have her out for dinner, it’s not for you, it’s for me; for all of you, so you can all get to know her better. When you get to know her, you’ll like her as much as I do.”
“She’s shy,” Kelly said, “but I think she was just a little uneasy because it was the first time she was with us. She sure is a sweet little girl. I bet she’ll get over being shy when she gets more comfortable around us.”
Shay had something else on his mind. “Hey, babe, did you get the outfit we talked about for tomorrow night?”
“I did, Shay,” I said. “I think I got something you’re really going to like.”
“Yeah, Dad,” Kelly said. “You’re going to love Mom’s outfit. I can’t wait to borrow it!”
I’d bought a simple dress with a white background, tight at the neck. It scooped outward so my shoulders and arms were bare. I was thinking, how cool to have open shoulders, so Shay could put those warm, sexy lips on my skin. It had a little red cord belt and little multi-colored flowers on the fabric, with red being the most dominant color. It made the whole dress pop. The skirt was short with a little flare. I was always into a little flare because Shay liked twirling me on the dance floor, followed, of course, by a Shay Man dip.
Sunday night rolled around and when I stepped out of the bathroom all ready to go, Shay just stood there looking at me.
“Princess, you’ve outdone yourself. That’s what I call a sexy dress. I may have to take it off you right now.”
“Shay, we’re running late as it is, so—hold that thought.”
Kevin and Karen met us there. Shay and I were dancing close and he was saying something about me “saving most of my energy for bed when we got home,” while I was saying, “I think we’ll have chicken fried steak next Sunday for dinner while Patty’s there.”
More dancing.
“Oh Shay, I forgot to tell you I’m asking Patty Cake out next Sunday for dinner.”
Shay stopped dancing for a second and sort of held me outward and looked into my face.
“Callie, we have a problem here. We’re on two different wavelengths, babe.” He started dancing me again, saying, “I’m romancing the love of my life and she’s telling me about the menu for next week. How do I get you back into this conversation? I swear, woman, you’re giving that little girl more time than you’re giving me.”
“Shay Westover, are you jealous? I swear you are, look at that expression on your face. You’re jealous of a fifteen-year-old girl,” I said jokingly. “But, darling, I’m sorry. You’ve got my full attention. I’m all yours, Shay Man. You know no one could take your place.”
We danced some more.
“I guess I just thought about how much fun I saw Patty and Kelly having yesterday, so I thought I should invite her out as soon as possible.”
“There, there, see what I mean?” Shay said. “Just in this little conversation, you’ve talked about Patty Cake more than you’ve talked to me! I swear, Callie, you and your strays. Come here, woman.” He pulled me closer. “This is my time and I want all of it, so conversation closed. Shut on everything that isn’t you and me, babe, got it?” he said in a still-sweet voice.
He was right, so I closed my mind to the outside world and let it become a Callie and Shay world.
“I love your dress, princess,” Shay said. “I can just put my mouth down on your shoulder and nibble away.” He put his lips on my shoulder right there on the dance floor.
“Shay, you’re getting me all aroused out here. I think we’re going to have to go home pretty soon.”
My body was starting to pulsate. A woman can feel that little sensual heartbeat between her legs, the little ache; your body just starts doing the talking. At this point, the body knows exactly what it wants, what it needs. Mine wanted and needed Shay. He could tell. He escorted me off the floor, put some money on the table and said to Kevin and Karen with a little wink, “My wife doesn’t have a headache, so we’re going home. See you guys sometime next week.”
While we were gone, Wes and Kelly had turned back the bedding and sprinkled rose petals around the bed. The petals were from a beautiful rose arrangement Shay had given me the night before. I had asked where he had gotten them so late in the evening on a Saturday night.
“I got them a bit earlier. That’s what I like about the hot house, and speaking of hot houses… Callie, I’m going to bury myself in your hot house. Where the nectar is the sweetest…”
He ravished my body for the next several hours, occasionally putting a rose petal near my nose so I could breath in that sweet, deep scent. I’d feel rejuvenated after smelling it and my sensuality would spring back into action. We just kept going, until finally we ran out of toes and fingers to count my climaxes on.
“Wow, babe, I wonder if that sexy little number you wore tonight had anything to do with this?”
My Shay loved me in that dress so much he commissioned a renowned artist to paint a portrait of me wearing it. He called it, “Shay’s Princess,” and hung it in our room above the bed.
***
That following week I called Patty on Saturday morning and invited her out for Sunday dinner. I told her we’d come pick her up. Shay had a few things to do around the corrals to finish up, so he told Kelly and me to run in and get her.
“I’ll be showered and ready for dinner by the time you get back,” he said.
Shay and some of the hands had been working on a big project. Kelly had been begging Shay to put all-white fencing around the horse pastures and the orchard groves. It was a big project, but Shay was glad he’d finally started it. It was looking beautiful—it really added a touch of class to the farmstead.
Kelly and I took Mom with us to pick up Patty Cake. I thought it would be fun for her to visit that side of the tracks again, her old stomping grounds. She had many memories there at 322 Oak Street.
Patty was ready and came right out, grinning with that cute face of hers. She got in the back with Kelly and we introduced her to Mom. We told her to cal
l Mom Grandma like everyone else did.
Mom was melancholy as I drove her past the old house on Oak Street. It was amazing how much our lives had changed since we’d moved from there. I thought I’d drive past the house on Redwood where Maggie had grown up. When I did, I near fell over. I remembered the house from when I was little; I had played with the little kids that came there to see their grandparents. It had to have been Shay and his sisters.
When I turned down the gravel road to the circle drive, Patty’s eyes widened. She looked out her window in silent awe. I knew how she felt. I’d been there, done that. The Big House was pretty amazing.
Kelly gave her the grand tour and I went looking for Shay, who I found just finishing his shower. “Come here,” he said. “Come here, Callie.”
“No, Shay! I’m not stupid, you’re going to pull me into that shower and I’m dressed and there’s food waiting to be served.”
We had a full house that day, Sterling, Maggie, Mom, Hulda, Kelly, Wes, Patty, Shay and me. It was wonderful having a houseful of loved ones. There is nothing more sad in this world than a life without love, and it works the other way around; nothing better than a loving family. I felt blessed. These were my people. I finally felt like I belonged.
Hulda and Mom outdid themselves. Chicken fried steak and all the trimmings, plus brownie cake with ice cream for dessert.
After dinner, Kelly took Patty horseback riding. She told me Patty really took to the horses. Then the three kids were in the den playing the stereo, laughing a lot. I wondered what could be so funny. They were having such a good time it made me laugh with them just to hear them.
“Mom, Mom, where are you?” Kelly asked.
“I’m in the living room, reading, what do you need, sweetheart?”
“Mom, Patty doesn’t have school tomorrow and she doesn’t have to be at the hospital until one, so I was wondering, if it’s okay with her grandmother and you, maybe she could spend the night?”
This was just fine with me. I was happy to see them bonding. I told Patty I could take her home to change into her uniform tomorrow and we’d drop her off at the hospital. Her grandmother said it was fine, so we had an overnight guest. Kelly had plenty of extra pajamas, so all went well. I know the kids just had a ball.
Shay and I were lying side by side on the sofa in the den when the three walked through to the kitchen.
“Don’t mind the love birds,” Wes remarked jokingly. “They can’t keep their hands off each nds off other.” He rolled his eyes. “Like two lovesick teenagers. We’re hoping they’ll grow out of it one day.”
As they left, Shay whispered in my ear, “I think we got us a playboy there, babe. He seems to have sex on his mind quite often. Whenever he sees us together he seems to think we’re having foreplay.”
“Well, you started sleeping with girls at fifteen. Do you think he’ll be any different?”
Soon it was off to bed for Shay and me—we were headed for a Shay and Callie night. We had no idea what time the kids finally turned in. We were lost in each other, my Shay Man and I.
To bed early, to sleep late, I always say.
***
After that night, Patty Cake forged a bond with our family. She became a fixture at our home. Kelly decided to make a horsewoman out of her. We were surprised at how good Patty was with the horses. She wanted to learn to show and go to horse shows. We took her to a few shows where Kelly was showing one of Samson and Sunset’s foals. It all thrilled Patty Cake. She went to church with us on Easter Sunday and came home with us to the Big House for our big Easter dinner.
Kelly and Patty had an Easter egg hunt for all the farmhands’ kids. We had children running all over the Big House lawn. Now that was fun to watch. She was a sweet girl and everyone liked her, even Maggie and Sterling. She loved Shay; I think he made her feel safe. Shay just radiated that warm, safe feeling. I was hoping she’d get into the nursing program, because, unknown to my family, I had every intention of having Shay pay her tuition through nursing school.
When the white fencing project was finished, it was amazing at how it made the whole farmstead stand out.
Memorial day would be here in a few days, and Shay was going to have the usual giant open house party.
It had become my routine to visit the graves with flowers the day before the big barbeque. I went to the graves myself as often as I could, but this was the day I took Mom to Hudson to visit Daddy’s gravesite. It was hard for both of us. Kelly and Patty accompanied Mom and me to the cemeteries. Patty had become one of the family, and she brought out the best in Wes. He seemed to be acting his age more.
From the Hudson Cemetery we went to the Westover Cemetery, where I put beautiful flowers on Cookie’s and Marie’s graves.
Marie would have been thirteen on the 16th of June. I remember how she was our little Father’s Day surprise. Patty had a lot of questions and Kelly tried to answer them as well as she could. She told Patty she really didn’t remember Marie; she had been too young. And of course, being the chatterbox she was, she had to add that Marie wasn’t her real sister, because of a hospital mix up.
It was just enough to send that arrow piercing through my heart again, so I quickly changed the subject. I told the girls we could go to the cafe in Westover and have a burger and malt. With that everyone had miles of smiles, and the conversation was changed.
Shay’s big Memorial Day barbeque went off without a hitch. The hands roasted a pig and Shay invited all his friends, the farmhands and their families, plus all the neighbors. Mid-afternoon, he took his boat to the lake so anyone who wanted to water ski could do so. Wes was a great water skier. I’m sure he got that from Shay. Shay was a great water skier, especially on one ski. I reminded them that Patty didn’t know how to swim and if she rode in the boat, she had to wear a life jacket.
It was a full day for us. I know Patty had a blast; those parties were something. She had never seen anything like it. Shay had hired a small local country music band to play, and dancing went on ’til around two in the morning. It was a complete success. Shay and I were exhausted; we showered, fell into bed and into one another’s arms, with some gentle sex.
“Good night, princess,” I heard Shay say as I dropped off immediately.
***
We had a full summer planned, but Shay had already told Wes that he was going to be working on the farm long hours, daily. He told him if he got his work done then he could go out evenings, just as long as we knew where he was. Hell, I’ll bet Shay’s parents never knew where he was. They probably had no idea what a playboy their son had been. But Shay, knowing what a playboy he had been, set rules for his time off the farmstead.
Since Kelly had gotten Patty so excited about horses, the girls spent a lot of time with them. Shay had made Samson and Sunset a beautiful white fenced corral. I loved watching them run through the grass with their foals, it warmed my heart and made me smile every time I saw it. The years had been good to Samson and Sunset; they were just a little slower. Hell, who wasn’t? Well, Shay never slowed down, especially in the bedroom.
A few days after the big Memorial Day party, I picked Patty Cake up to come to our house for dinner. Sterling and Maggie had gone to California for a few weeks, so they weren’t there. Hulda outdid herself once again, making a standing rib roast, baked potatoes, several vegetables, salad, and desserts. We weren’t very far into the meal when I saw Patty put her napkin to her face like she was crying.
“Patty,” I asked, “is everything okay? Are you all right, darling?”
Well, obviously she wasn’t. She shook her head no.
“What is it, sweetie? Can I help?” I asked.
“No, no one can help me,” Patty said woefully. “I’ve done a bad thing. When you find out, you’re going to hate me. All of you are going to hate me.”
“Patty Cake, everyone at this table has done things they’re not proud of,” I said. “I can’t imagine you doing something so bad that you think we’d all hate you. Hate is a ver
y strong word!”
Shay, Mom and the kids were all silent. No one really knew what to say. Shay was probably thinking, ‘Nothing is so bad as to ruin dinner. Whatever it is, worry about it after dinner.’
“Patty, we’re all here,” I tried again. “If you’d like to talk about it. If you’d rather wait, you can talk to me privately after dinner.”
“I might as well tell you now,” she said. “I lost my Gray Angel job at the hospital, they let me go.”
I thought to myself: They let this poor child go because they know she can’t afford the tuition. They gave her position to someone else who they knew could pay.
“Did they give your job in the program to someone else, Patty?” I asked.
Samson and Sunset Page 36
