Chapter 21 #4
The man let out a hearty laugh. “Well, missy, you sure know a lot about soil conservation. Is your daddy or husband a farmer? I would never have guessed you would know so much about such a boring topic.” Then he stuck out his hand and introduced himself, “Herman Waters. I have a farm here in Des Arc.” Gesturing toward the older lady next to him, he added, “This is my wife, Millie.” Nudging his wife he said, “Millie, say hi to our new friend, who seems to know a lot about farming.”
Millie smiled and said, “Hello. You are Ben Carrington’s new wife? Just graduated from some school in California, right? Why, that makes perfect sense. Bennett told me he had a firecracker of a new daughter-in-law.”
Smiling, Ella responded by saying, “I am Ella, and yes Ben and I got married on Christmas Eve.”
“It is very nice to meet you, Ella. So tell me, how do you know so much about soil conservation?”
It was as if everyone in earshot had stopped talking and was looking at Ella expectantly.
Giving them all a shy smile, Ella said, “I majored in Environment and Sustainability at Cal Poly Tech. I have done several soil conservation projects as my concentration of study centered around learning what it takes for wineries to become and maintain a gold-level rating. In Napa, where I am from, there has been a big push to use cutting-edge technology to improve the quality and quantity of the grapes grown with the ultimate goal of being kinder to the environment while still maintaining high levels of yields.” Realizing that everyone was looking at her like she had just grown a second head, Ella lowered her voice and said quietly, “I am sorry. I always get excited when I get to talk about this. I am just the biggest nerd when it comes to the soil and ways to make it more profitable and yet preserve it for the future.”
Herman stared at Ella for a minute more, then let out another bark of laughter.
“Little missy, you are the prettiest nerd I have ever met. Now tell me some more about this environment and sustainability degree of yours.” For the rest of the night, Herman and Ella talked about soil conservation, farming, and his upcoming study.
For the first time at one of these events, time flew. Ella did not even miss Ben. When he finally found his way to his seat as the event was ending, Herman stood and shook his hand, “Young man, I am Herman Waters.”
Ben returned the man’s firm handshake and said, “Yes, sir, I know exactly who you are. Thank you for your generous donation to my father’s campaign. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.”
“You are more than welcome. Bennett Carrington is going to be a fantastic governor just as he was a great senator. I am glad all that business from before is behind him.”
Ben did not need Herman to say what he was talking about.
Instead of addressing any of that, he said, “I see you have met my lovely wife. I hope she has not talked your ear off about soil conservation. It is her favorite topic. When she gets going, I have to be honest, I have no idea what she is talking about, but she sure does like talking about it.”
“Ain’t that the truth. You picked yourself a good one here,” replied Herman. “That degree at twenty, plus a free ride to Michigan for grad school. You may have outkicked your coverage with this one,” Herman said, gesturing to Ella.
Laughing, Ben reached over and drew Ella into his body, “Don’t I know it, sir. She keeps me on my toes. She is the smartest person I have ever met. Definitely my better half.” Ben added a soft kiss in Ella’s hair.
“Son, take good care of this little lady. She is a keeper.”
“I intend to,” replied Ben.
Taking both of Ella’s hands in his, Herman said, “Little missy, it has been a pleasure meeting you. Any time you want to talk about soil or come out and play in my fields, you just let me know. You folks have a safe trip home.”
“You as well, sir,” replied Ben.
At that moment, Millie came up and said, “Herman, stop bothering those young people.”
“He’s not bothering us, Miss Millie. It is nice to see you again,” Ben said.
“You too, young man. I enjoyed talking with your parents tonight. Please tell them good night. There is still a crowd waiting to meet them and take pictures.” Turning to Ella, Mille added, “It was very nice to meet you, Ella. I wish you the best at Michigan in the fall. I hope we see each other again before you leave.” With that, Herman and Millie headed for the exit.
Ben turned to Ella with a strange expression on his face. “What did they mean about Michigan in the fall?”
Ella shrugged and said, “You know I am set to go there. We have talked about this. I can’t just walk away from my career because we got married and are having a baby.”
Looking at Ella like she had just said she wanted to jump off the nearest bridge, Ben said, “Yes, you can because as you just said, we are married and are having a baby. How in the world can you do that if you are in Michigan? Think about it, Ella. There is no way that will work.”
Ella started to ask Ben why it couldn’t when he cut her off. “Look, this is not the time or the place to have this discussion. I have to start the takedown. I came over to get you because Joe is about to head back to the city. He is going to give you a ride.”
“Can’t I wait and ride back with you?” Ella was not looking forward to another two hours in a car with another guy she barely knew—even if she could probably sleep the whole way.
“No, I am going to stay at Mom and Dad’s. We have an early event in Searcy tomorrow.”
“Well, can’t I just stay there with you?” Ella hated how whiney she sounded. It was ridiculous. She was basically begging her husband of two months to spend some time with her on their first Valentine’s Day.
“I wish you could. Trust me. I really do. But we are going to be flying to Malvern and back tomorrow. I have no idea what time I will get home. I think it would be best if you just go home. Don’t you have that lunch with Dan’s wife tomorrow?”
Ella had completely forgotten about the lunch.
Dan’s wife, Lauren, had invited her to lunch to meet some women involved in the Junior League.
Ella had hated the idea but had no clue how to get out of it.
So she rode back to Little Rock with Joe and wondered for the umpteenth time how her life had turned so quickly and so completely into something she didn’t even recognize.