Chapter 11 #2
"I liked her, this Ingrid. She's also very much in love with you."
He burst out laughing, causing several joggers to glance over at them. They were strolling in the beautiful park that happened to be a project of Collier's Trust and had been completely renovated just last year. "Ingrid is old enough to be my mother."
"As if that makes a difference," his wife scoffed.
They were walking hand in hand along the cobbled path surrounded on both sides by lush vegetation. "When you went to the men's room, she grilled me like a fish, warning me that if I hurt you, I would have to answer to her."
He shot her an amused glance as they made their way to the duck pond.
In this section of the large park, the foot traffic was less, so they were guaranteed almost complete privacy.
Sitting on the padded bench, he prevented her from sitting next to him by pulling her into his lap, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist.
"I've known her for years now. I used to hang out at the diner, creating mayhem with a group of friends." He took a bite from her mint chocolate. "She saw I was crying out for attention and sat me down one afternoon to give me a lecture."
"Did you need one?"
"Badly." He laughed softly. "I was sixteen and cocky.
I would start arguments with my friends and one day, it turned into a fight.
I broke a table and had to pay for it." He shook his head in remembrance.
"She would not accept money, because she told me that would be too easy.
I'll never forget what she said to me that day.
'You're rich and therefore entitled. Forking out the cash to pay for the damage is way too easy.
You're going to go back around the kitchen and work off the damage by doing dishes or mopping the floor. '"
Catherine stared at him wide-eyed. "What did you say?"
"I told her to go screw herself."
"Oh. That was very..."
"Rude and uncalled for," he finished wryly.
"What did she do next?"
"She caught me by the ear and dragged me around the kitchen and warned me that if I resisted, she was going to sit on me until I did what needed to be done." His eyes twinkled as he looked at her. "You've seen her size."
"She looks like a linebacker."
He grinned. "Precisely. After I got over being hopping mad and wondering if I should call my parents, which wouldn't have done a hell of a lot of good, I washed dishes.
She came around and talked to me when I was through and gave me a slice of peach pie topped with homemade peach ice cream. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven."
"We became friends at that moment. And I found myself going to her place twice a week. She's always looking out for me. I think she knew I was hurting. She never said a word to me, never asked me about my life story. She simply accepted me."
Catherine's eyes were luminous with emotion. She had finished her ice cream cone and used the napkin to wipe her fingers before cupping his face. "In that case, I think I love her for being there for you."
"She liked you."
"Yeah right."
"She did. You're the first woman she ever offered her peach cobbler to."
She stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Just how many women have you taken there?"
He grinned, completely charmed by her. "I plead the fifth."
"I think that's a very good idea." She stretched languidly, lifting her head to sniff the clean spring air. "This is a very nice area."
"The company took it over a year ago when it started to get overrun by drug dealers and homeless people."
"I used to come here when I was a child."
"Really?"
She nodded, smiling slightly. "It was out of our way, but Mom used to bring a picnic basket some Sundays after service." Her smile faded. "That was before..."
"You don't have to say it, darling. I can see it is making you unhappy."
She shook her head, heart racing at the endearment. "It's fine. I have very fond memories of her." She appreciated the fact that he had gone with her to visit and put flowers on her mother's grave. It meant a lot to her.
"Being with you makes it bearable."
He hugged her tight. "That's what I'm here for."
*****
He took her to places she had never been to before.
When she confessed that the only places she had ever visited were Paris and London, he set out to rectify that.
And on their two-week honeymoon, they went on a tour of several countries.
He started in Italy, Tellaro, Liguria, a quiet steep village with delightful pastel houses.
To her surprise, she discovered that her husband spoke Italian like a native and was also fluent in four other languages.
"You've been holding out on me," she accused.
"I can only speak basic French, and my pronunciation is not the best." They were strolling along Orta San Giulio, Piedmont, on the serene Lake Orta.
He was determined to show her something different.
He knew that she liked art and was fascinated by different cultures.
"I have a penchant for languages." He did not add the fact that he had mostly learned these different languages to make an impression on the ladies.
"Uhm hmm." She cast him a skeptical look and he had the uncomfortable feeling that his explanation was not readily accepted.
During the days, they would explore the delightful villages and at nights he would make love to her at some quaint little inn where the food was scrumptious and the service pleasant.
And the best thing about these little villages was the fact that they were not hounded by the press.
The two weeks flew by so quickly, she could not believe the honeymoon was over.
He had told her of his plans regarding the project he had begun just before they left.
His family's business was more geared towards the rich and influential, but he was determined to start credit unions geared towards the little people.
Small business owners who wanted a say in what happens to their money, more like a partnership than anything else.
"I was talking to Ingrid a few years ago and she told me this fascinating story about 'throwing partner'.
" He smiled at the blank expression on her lovely face.
"That was how I looked when she said the words.
She's from the Caribbean, Jamaica to be precise.
She came to this country when she was in her twenties.
Her parents are Jamaicans who migrated to find themselves a better life. "
"A partner is when a group of people come together to save money for a specific reason.
It could be to start a business, put a down payment on a piece of property, even something as simple as a graduation gift for a child.
They have a banker, someone trustworthy, and that person collects the money at the end of the week from everyone.
Each week one person gets what they call a 'draw', and they continue to 'throw' the money until each person receives their bulk sum. "
"That sounds fascinating and convoluted."
"It does in a way sound like a simple solution and, as Ingrid told me, it's very effective. It helped to start up her diner. She has three."
Catherine's eyes widened. "Oh. That's impressive."
"I thought so. She doesn't trust banks or bankers.
" He smiled wryly. "Says they are bloodsucking parasites out to get rich off the little people.
My family has been in the business for more than two hundred years and, despite their not so stellar personal reputation, as bankers, they're above board. "
"You want to start your own thing." She nodded in understanding.
Taking her hand, he linked their fingers. "Before I met you, I was content to drift through life. I had money and nothing to look forward to." Lifting their joined hands, he brushed his lips on her knuckles, eyes darkening. "I have a purpose in life and intend to make a contribution."
*****
They were getting to know each other. The press had stopped hounding them apart from when they happened to go out to a function together. She was still called the 'unlikely bride', but it did not matter to her in the least.
In the privacy of their home, they were lost in each other.
The passion that overtook them whenever they came together was still going strong.
They spent time together. Even though he was busy with his new project, her husband would set aside whatever he was doing just to be with her and talk about their day.
He bounced ideas off her and valued her opinion. They would retire to the library with a glass of wine after she had finished the projects for her students and would simply sit and talk. More often than not, the conversation would take a turn with him making love to her.
He figured at the rate they were going, it would not be long before he planted his seed inside her.
They had not discussed the idea of children in detail, just little mentions of when it happened.
Right now, he just wanted to spend time with her.
The more he knew her, the more he realized that his wife was a jewel.
She was caring and compassionate and was quick to lend a helping hand.
He had started going with her to services.
It was not as frequently as she did, but he showed up.
Whenever he did, it was always a flurry of excitement where the ladies were concerned. She did not mind their admiration and longing looks, but he objected to the various male members who showed any sort of interest in her, however mild.
"That guy was touching you way too much," he would comment with a glower, the minute they were on their way home. "And don't think I didn't notice that one with the moustache who found every damned excuse to touch your arm on the pretext of asking your advice."
She would always try and tease him out of his jealousy and what she discovered to her surprise, his insecurities.
By six weeks' time she was pregnant.