The witching hour was approaching and the bottles were upside down in the chilling buckets. Sometime during the night, Carl and I decided that my life with Beth had been planned. He finally convinced Cindy that he had to go to work in the morning.
He gently nudged Cindy to the door. I stayed out of it. I hoped Beth would call off tomorrow, I mean today. He got Cindy to the door and twenty minutes later, got her in the car. Five minutes of waving goodbye and they were on their way. Beth closed the door and jumped into my arms.
“I am so happy, happy, happy. My man wants me forever just like I want him. In my life, in my arms, and in my bed. I love you Collin – what is your middle name? You have never told me,” Beth had that inquisitive expression.
“Well, I didn’t know your middle name until tonight and I love it. Mine is Victor. It doesn’t flow well, but it’s mine. Do you still love me?” I was teasing.
“I wouldn’t care whatever it was. I love the man and the name. He is my protector and my lover,” Beth cooed.
“Honey, I didn’t want to bring it up when they were, but I got a message from Ralph. He wants us to meet tomorrow morning, actually this morning at ten. He sounded very positive. I don’t want this business getting out. I know I can trust you. I’m not saying anything against Carl and Cindy, I hope you understand.”
“Collin, I trust you explicitly. I know how important this is to you. You said it might get ugly. Never forget that your future wife stands on your right side forever. Our hearts are one. That’s our strength.
We talked a little longer, then went to bed.
At ten o’clock I was standing in front of Gwen’s desk, and she was giving me a perturbed look.
“Good morning, Gwen. I have a ten o’clock appointment with Mr. Donovan. How have you been?
“Don’t give me that ‘how are you’, Collin Knite. I know damn good and well you would blown by me, appointment or not. And yes, he is expecting you, and yes you have an appointment. Do I have to show you the way in, too?” Gwen and I didn’t get along in school either.
“Collin, good morning. It’s good to see you. Please sit down. Get comfortable this may take some time. If we go too long, I’ll have Gwen order lunch.”
“Thanks for taking this on, Ralph. I hope I have given you enough evidence to make a run at the judge. If things get stupid, there are copies in two other places, not in town. I hope to have more evidence in the not-too-distant future.”
“I don’t need to tell you about staying within the realms of the law. You were unjustly accused before, but that doesn’t mean they won’t use that against you,” his tone was serious.
“I am doing nothing that the Sheriff could conceive as unlawful. I had time to do some reading.”
Ralph and I got down to brass tacks. We went over every photo and graph that I had given him. He was pleased. After our meeting, Ralph said he would be taking this to court. It is on the docket for two weeks from now. We just have to be careful and patient. I swore to stay clear of trouble.
Beth was on pins and needles when I got home. She made a sandwich and brought a beverage for us. We sat at the table and I told her what Donovan had said. She gave me a big smile when I told her he was going to present the evidence to the court. She asked what we should do now. I told her to lay low and keep our noses clean, especially mine.
“Beth, I know you are a woman of your own. And you want to help with our home in every way you can. Let me just offer this to you. If you want to quit working, it is perfectly alright with me. I want you to know since my grandpa started building this house and acreage, he was very good with finances. So was my dad, and luckily that was passed on to me.
I am not saying you have to quit, I just want you to know the option is there. And I want you to be careful when you’re out in public without me. People may be mean to you to get you to react. I know you wouldn’t, I just needed to say it,” I reached for her hands.
“Collin, does that mean, I can’t kick them in the balls?”
“Yes, Honey, you can’t kick them in the balls,” we both had a good chuckle.
Beta came in and asked for his attention from both of us, then laid down. We were holding hands and just smiling at each other. Beta sneezed and scared both of us. I thought Beth was going to hang onto the ceiling fixture.
The three of us went out back. The day was beautiful, just a couple of puffy clouds passing by. Beta found something interesting and decided to follow it. Beth checked on the flowers she had planted some needed water. It was as though there was nothing wrong in the world.
“Collin, what do we do if he brings a girlfriend home and she is, ya know, in the family way?”
“Are you trying to tell me something, Beth?” my voice was shaking.
“No, silly. I just don’t know what we would do.”
“We’d make his room bigger. Come on beautiful, let’s walk a little before dinner.”
We took a short walk in the woods, I saw some dirt that was turned over with a shovel. I looked at Beth. “It won’t be long now, Baby,” I smiled.
Dusk was settling in by the time we returned to the house. Beth wanted to take her shower and freshen her makeup, so I told her I’d put dinner in the oven to warm up. I got a beer from the fridge and stared out the front window. I was wondering how this would all turn out. Beth knew I would go through hell and high water for our property.
Beth called from the bedroom. She said she was done in the shower and I could hop in. She was sitting at her vanity combing out her wet hair. I had to go over and kiss her. She turned to me, held my face, and kissed me gently. I headed for the shower.
The hot shower felt good, and combined with a hot shave, I was feeling very relaxed. Then I walked out of the shower. I was towel drying my hair and started to say something to Beth. That ended quickly.
I was looking at five feet five inches, soft brown hair, slightly gothic makeup covered in a sheer black robe, black thigh-high nylons, and heels. I hope she turned the heat down on the oven because she sure has turned up the heat in here.