Chapter 15 #2
As soon as she was finished, she rejoined the chaos in the dining room.
Adelaide and Connor were pretending to be pilots like Uncle Bill and were whizzing around the room at top speed.
Mary was there with her husband, Floyd. Mrs. O’Donnell was busy with a thousand things in the kitchen, and Mr. O’Donnell was engaged in deep discussion about the war with Floyd.
Soon, Mrs. O’Donnell came bustling out with a large meatloaf, followed by a salmon loaf.
There was a large bowl of mashed potatoes, another large bowl of green beans, a basket of fresh-baked rolls, and a small bowl of hollandaise.
“Mm. Salmon loaf. My favorite,” said Bill.
“Mum makes it even better than the East Williston Hotel.”
Ann made a mental note to ask Mrs. O’Donnell for her recipe.
She’d rarely made salmon loaf in the past. Roger didn’t like fish much.
But cooking for Bill was something she looked forward to.
She prided herself on her skills in the kitchen and was eager to please.
Besides, cooking calmed her. It was a distraction from the swirling thoughts that always threatened to drag her down.
Dinner passed in boisterous fashion. Mrs. O’Donnell had a thousand and one questions about her new teaching position, most of which she couldn’t answer because she hadn’t started yet.
She asked Mrs. O’Donnell about recipes for Bill’s favorite meals, which Mrs. O’Donnell readily agreed to share.
Bill entered into a spirited discussion of the upcoming county fair with Mary and Floyd.
They had their hopes pinned on one of their jersey cows to take a prize.
By the time dinner was over, she was stuffed. She couldn’t remember when she’d last enjoyed a meal so much. The O’Donnells seemed to have adopted her fully as a daughter.
“Thank you so much for everything today, Mrs. O’Donnell.” Ann wiped away the last crumbs from her mouth with a cloth napkin.
“For heaven’s sake, call me Shannon. You’re family now. When are you going to come back and visit with that handsome grandson of mine?” Shannon wagged her fingers at Junior.
“Can I come back tomorrow to copy recipes?”
“That would be lovely, dear.”
“We should get Junior home,” said Bill. “It’s been a long day.”
They said their goodbyes and put Junior back in his carriage for the walk to Bill’s. No, the walk home, she corrected herself. It was her home now too, even if it hardly felt like that now. They left the baby carriage in an alcove in the entryway of his building and headed upstairs.
Closing the door behind them, she felt as if she was closing the door on the entirety of the life she had lived to date.
She was no longer Ann Randall, nor was she Ann Prince.
Now, she was officially Ann O’Donnell, completely and irrevocably.
Well not quite completely. There was one last bridge to be crossed, and it was their wedding night, even if he had said they could wait.
“Your family is wonderful,” she said to dispel the awkwardness as she put Junior down in his new crib with a rattle.
“It means a lot to me that they’ve welcomed me as family, especially since I’ve lost all of my own.
” Shannon was completely unlike her mother, but she was such a warm and caring soul, Ann felt immediately at home with her.
“You’ve given her a daughter-in-law and a grandson in the same day. She’s over the moon.”
Ann took off her shoes and set them by the dresser. “Would you mind if I changed out of my dress?” There was nowhere for her to go, so she would have to do it out in the open right here. This was as good a time as any to get over her anxieties.
Bill turned bright red but said, “Of course. Make yourself comfortable.” He looked away and busied himself with hanging up his jacket, vest, and tie.
She undressed, knowing there was nothing to prevent him turning around and watching.
She almost hoped he would peak as she slid out of her dress and took off her corset, stockings, bloomers, and chemise.
She stood completely naked as she quickly pulled out her summer nightgown and a dressing gown to put over it.
Soon, she was decent again, and she turned around.
His back was turned. He was in his shirtsleeves with them rolled up to the elbow. She could see hints of his shape as she looked. Despite his thin physique, he was well muscled. She couldn’t help wondering what he might feel like naked beneath her hands. “You can turn around now. I’m done.”
He turned around, his ears still red but his eyes full of fire. Clearly, he wanted her but was holding back. “What do you like to do in the evenings?” he asked in an obvious attempt to distract from the thick tension in the room.
“Usually, I knit or crochet. Sometimes I read a book.” She didn’t have knitting needles or a crochet hook, she realized, suddenly bereft. What would she do with her hands?
“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the dry goods store, and you can buy yourself whatever your heart desires. I can’t offer you any knitting tonight, but I do have some books.” He gestured toward a waist-high bookshelf with several dozen books on it.
She walked over and examined its contents, selecting “The Count of Monte Cristo” from amongst his selection of adventure novels. She would have to buy herself some Austen and Bronte to augment his collection.
“I love that book. I read it when I was a boy, and I’ve read it again and again over the years. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to read it aloud?”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. She looked around for a place to sit and realized her options were the bed or the tiny round table in the kitchen.
They really needed to move to a proper house quickly.
Deciding on the bed, she propped a pillow against the headboard, made herself comfortable, and began to read, “‘On the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signaled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.’”
“Forgive me if this is too much to ask,” Bill interrupted, “but might I lay down with my head in your lap?”
Smiling, she said, “Feel free.” She waited while he lay down and rested his head against her before continuing.
As she read, he sighed, a smile on his lips, his eyes half closed.
He looked so boyish and sweet, she couldn’t help stroking his hair as she read.
His smile widened further. They stayed like that for at least half an hour before Junior started crying.
Bill was up in a flash, picking up Junior and making silly faces for his entertainment, but Junior would not be consoled. “He probably needs his diaper changed, and it’s getting toward time for him to eat again.” She reached for Junior.
Taking her sweet baby away from her sweet husband, she quickly changed his diaper, then grabbed a cloth and threw it over her front so that she could feed Junior as discreetly as possible.
Bill took over reading aloud as Junior ate, and soon Junior drifted off to sleep. She laid him down in his crib and took off her dressing gown. “We should get some sleep while we can,” she whispered to Bill. “He’ll be up again in four hours.”
Bill nodded and got up to take off his clothes, stripping down to his union suit. She averted her gaze but still caught a glimpse of his lean muscles and sculpted curves as he disrobed. When he was done, he turned out the light, leaving only the glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains.
As he climbed into bed, she whispered, “I should take the side next to the cradle so that I can feed him.” Nodding, he joined her beneath the light covers.
Heavens. It was a very small bed. There was no way for them to avoid touching. “Can I hold you?” he whispered in her ear.
“Yes.” There was hardly any choice in such tight quarters. She could only hope it didn’t lead to more. Except a part of her wanted more, even though she knew she wasn’t ready. What a glorious relief it would be to lose herself in his embrace, to let go and indulge the desire she couldn’t deny.
His arm slipped around her from behind, stroking her side and coming to rest just below her breast. Lord, how she ached for him to reach just a little bit farther.
But instead, he kissed her neck and shoulder, sending thrills straight to the coiling heat at her center, as his whole body molded to hers.
She could feel the toned muscle of him against her back and the undeniable evidence of his arousal against her buttocks, but he simply snuggled against her and his breathing settled into a deep and regular pattern that convinced her he was asleep.