Chapter Nine
First thing in the morning, Mark had his secretary adjust his
schedule so that he could run out to the parsonage. He knocked on
the door and shifted from one foot to the other as he waited for
Ben to answer.
As soon as Ben opened the door, Mark stepped
into the house. “You’re in trouble,” he told his friend as he
headed straight for the kitchen.
Just as Mark thought, Ben had just gotten up.
He’d been in the middle of eating a bowl of oatmeal when Mark had
knocked on his door. Mark picked up the pot of coffee and poured
himself a cup.
“Why am I in trouble?” Ben asked. “Is Tony
going to come over here and punch me out for marrying him to
Velma?”
“No. Tony and Velma are happy. My father saw
them together in town. All is well.”
“I don’t know. Tony and Velma weren’t at
church on Sunday.”
“That was Sunday. They were in town on
Monday.”
“Which is only one day’s difference.”
Mark waved aside his friend’s argument and
took a drink of the coffee. He had to hand it to Ben. No one could
make a pot of coffee like Ben could. But he wasn’t here for that.
He had more pressing concerns to deal with.
“Tony didn’t seem pleased with me when I saw
him in town on Wednesday,” Ben said.
“That was two whole days ago. I’m sure he and
Velma have consummated the marriage by now. Everything is fine.
Anyway, I’m not here to talk about them.” Mark set the cup on the
kitchen table then turned to face his friend. “You need to do
something about Annabelle, and you need to do it fast because if
you don’t, she’s going to end up with someone else.”
“I made a promise to Tony—and to God—that I
wouldn’t go along with another one of your schemes.”
“This isn’t a scheme. I’m not asking you to
do anything like I did last Saturday. This is something you can do
all by yourself. You need to pay her a visit and talk to her. Show
her what a wonderful man you are.”
Ben shook his head. “No, I can’t. I’m no good
around Annabelle. I freeze up. I don’t know what to say. I stumble
through my words, and she doesn’t understand half of what I
say.”
“Then write her a letter.”
Ben looked at him as if he was insane, shook
his head, and sat back at the table. “That won’t work. In order to
write to someone, you need to have something to say.”
“I’ll tell you what to say. You tell her that
you love her. Tell her you’ve loved her ever since we were
children. Then write her a poem. Women love poems. They think
they’re romantic.”
“I’m no good at poems. Don’t you remember how
the entire class laughed at me when I read the one I wrote in the
fourth grade?”
With a groan, Mark sat across from him. “That
was the fourth grade. The fourth grade was a long time ago.”
“A couple of people still laugh at me about
that poem, Mark. They mock me for saying the sun was like a big
orange fruit in the sky.”
Mark resisted the urge to tell Ben the
analogy was kind of ridiculous given the fact that he was ten when
he made it. If he’d been five, or even six, Mark could have
understood the comparison. But at ten, Ben could have come up with
something better. Regardless of all this, though, Ben was a good
person. He only wanted what was best for others. It wasn’t Mark’s
fault if others had a hard time understanding that.
“Fine. Don’t do a poem,” Mark said. “Just
tell her how you feel.”
Ben rolled his eyes then took a bite of his
oatmeal.
“Annabelle loves romantic letters,” Mark
said. “She and her friends used to giggle and coo over the stupid
things their beaus wrote to them.”
“If they were giggling, how do you know they
weren’t laughing at those boys?”
“Because of the way they giggled.” He stared
at his friend, wondering if Ben even knew what he was talking
about. “Don’t you know what kind of giggle they make when they like
something?”
“I only have a younger brother, which means I
didn’t have any sisters. And my mother wasn’t the type to
giggle.”
That was fair enough. “Alright. I’ll show you
what I mean.” Mark cleared his throat. Then thinking of his sister,
he made the same high-pitch giggle she’d made when Kenneth had made
that obnoxious comment about how nice the scenery was while he was
ogling her like some pervert. “That’s how a woman giggles when she
likes something a man says to her.”
Ben studied him for a long moment. “No, they
don’t sound like that. That sound is obnoxious.”
“I agree. It is obnoxious, but I’ve heard it
from Annabelle and her friends for as long as I can remember. I’m
telling you, Ben. They laugh like that. It’s embarrassing to be in
the same room with them when they do.”
“Has Natalie ever laughed like that when you
said something she liked?”
“Natalie never does anything that’s
obnoxious.”
Ben smirked. “Sure, she doesn’t. The thing
is, you probably don’t notice when she giggles like that because
she’s your wife. Who knows? You might notice it, and it makes you
feel good about yourself because you know she loves you.”
Well, that was possible, but Mark was sure
Natalie never giggled in the same obnoxious manner that Annabelle
had last night. And it hadn’t been just once. She had used that
same giggle for each one of Kenneth’s jokes. It was disgusting. She
was practically throwing herself at him. If Mark wasn’t careful,
Annabelle would end up with Kenneth instead of Ben.
“Look, Ben,” Mark began, directing his full
attention to him, “you would be good to my sister. Of all the
people I know, there’s no one who would make her a better husband.
All I want is for her to be happy.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that she might
be happier with someone else?”
“No. She can’t be. Ever since we were
children, I knew the two of you would end up together. Finally,
after all this time, you’ve come around to admitting you want to be
with her. Now we need to get her to admit she wants to be with
you.”
“I’m not going along with whatever scheme
you’re coming up with. I’m serious, Mark. I’m done with it. You end
up getting me into trouble. I can’t handle it anymore.” He sat back
and put his hand over his heart. “I’m too young to have a heart
attack, but that’s exactly what I’m going to have if I keep letting
you get me involved in these things.”
Mark couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So, it’s just like that? After all these years of friendship,
you’re going to let me down by allowing some creep to come in and
ruin my little sister’s life?”
“Who is this man who’s going to ruin her
life?”
“He’s Kenneth Gordon, and he’s terrible.”
“What did he say or do that was bad?”
“Nothing. Yet.”
Ben sighed in exasperation. “Why are you
convinced he’ll ruin her life?”
“It’s a feeling I have. There’s something
wrong with him. I just know it. Something’s strange about the way
he was acting around her.”
“I’m not basing any decisions on something as
vague as that. I’m going to do what I should have done at your
wedding. I’m staying out of it.” He finished his oatmeal and
carried his bowl to the sink.
Mark stood up. “So that’s it? You’re going to
just stand by and let someone else marry Annabelle?”
“Annabelle’s never given me a reason to think
she wants to be with me. If she wants to be with Kenneth Gordon and
if he wants to be with her, then they should be together. Marriage
is a serious commitment, Mark. You don’t rush into it because
you’re being selfish, and you certainly don’t deceive the bride
into thinking she’s marrying someone else.” He rubbed his stomach
and grabbed a couple of peppermints from the nearby jar.
“I’m not asking you to lie to her. I’m asking
you to be honest and tell her how you feel.”
Ben shook his head. “She’ll laugh at me, and
it won’t be the good kind of laugh.”
Mark didn’t know what to do. Ben had never
said no to him before. Oh, sure, he’d said no initially, but once
Mark reasoned with him, he understood Mark’s ideas were good ones.
But he wasn’t doing that this time, and Mark didn’t know what to do
about it. Kenneth wasn’t a good person. Mark just knew it.
“Fine,” Mark said. “Let my sweet baby sister
end up with a wolf.”
“I’m sure he’s not that bad.”
Mark ignored him and left the parsonage. His
instincts were always right. Ever since he was seven, he’d been
aware of them. He didn’t know why, but that’s the way things were
for him. He could pick out things others couldn’t. And right now,
his instincts were screaming at him to make sure Annabelle didn’t
end up with Kenneth.
If he’d had any idea Mr. Gordon’s nephew
would give him such a creepy feeling, he never would have allowed
him over on the same evening Annabelle was supposed to meet
Natalie. But Mr. Gordon had been a pleasant man. There had been
nothing wrong with him. How was Mark to expect his nephew would be
the opposite?
Well, that just went to show that he couldn’t
assume all family members were the same. Sure, he knew he and Tony
were different. But those differences weren’t bad. They were just
personality traits. Mark enjoyed being around people and living in
the center of Omaha. Tony preferred to be by himself and liked
being on a farm. Those were simple but distinct differences. Those
were harmless.
Mark reached his carriage and told the
coachman to take him to work. After he settled against his seat, he
sighed. Kenneth was not harmless. Not for his sister, anyway. He
might make a good nephew. He might even make a good business
partner. But he would not make a good husband. He just knew it. The
problem was proving it. How was he going to convince Annabelle to
stay away from him?
***
That Sunday after church, Mark paced back and
forth in Natalie’s bedroom.
“I don’t understand why you don’t like
Kenneth,” Natalie said once Mark told her that he didn’t like him.
“On Thursday and in church today, he seemed like a nice
person.”
“That’s the problem,” Mark replied as he
passed by her. “No one is going to believe me. You like him.
Annabelle likes him. My parents like him.” He grimaced. “I wish she