For the Love of a Woman

by VC Angell

  “I liked the article about the redevelopment committee too. If you can get that going, that will mean more people were coming to Alma and more business for me.”

  “It would help a lot of people, but it also might mean taxes would go up to support the infrastructure needed for new businesses.”

  When the discussion about the redevelopment of Alma ended, Carol said, “I must be frank with you. What did I do that made you avoid me these last few months? I thought maybe you’d even invite me out after you brought your place.”

  Jim stared at Carol for a moment in shock before saying, “I thought it was the opposite way. After I bought the Johnson’s place, I tried to ask you out, and you were always busy. I took the hint you didn’t want anything further to do with me.”

  Carol looked surprised, “I… I guess I got busy right then. I wasn’t telling you that I wasn’t interested. I was genuinely busy. After you didn’t ask again, I thought it might have done something to disturb you.”

  Jim saw his chance, “The only thing that disturbed me was that you didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

  “Heavens no, I… I wanted to get to know you better. I thought there might be a chance…”

  Jim reached over and put his hand on top of hers, “It seems we both misread each other. How about a new start?”

  Carol smiled as she said, “I’m free tonight, and tomorrow night and the next night.”

  “How about right after this?”

  “On one condition.”

  “Condition?”

  “Yes, I want to sit down with you and just talk. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about me again,” Carol said.

  “Where would you like to go to talk?”

  “I don’t want to seem forward, but I’d like it just to be the two of us. What would you suggest?”

  “I guess the appropriate line would go like this – my place or yours?”

  “Did you buy some outdoor furniture for the patio you have?”

  “Yes, I did. I think I got a nice set. A couple of lounges thingies and a couch and a couple of regular chairs…with the cushions they are comfortable.”

  “If it’s okay with you, why don’t we stop by my place so I can change out of this dress, my work clothes, into something more comfortable? I know it sounds silly.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me,” Jim said.

  They left the fish fry with Jim, following Carol and her car. She stopped at one of the many tiny houses that dotted Alma. Small because they could be heated in the winter. Carol invited Jim in while she changed. When she rejoined Jim in the living room, she wore a pair of Bermuda shorts, a colorful blouse, and flip-flops. They went back out and took Jim’s car.

  When they arrived at Jim’s place, he asked Carol what she wanted to drink. They both decided soft drinks were the best.

  “Can I ask you about Bill Swedmark?” Carol asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I heard you paid for the funeral for his family. Is that correct?” Carol asked.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Is that the policy at the Journal?”

  “No, I just thought he had lost his entire family and didn’t need to worry about funeral costs. It just felt like the right thing to do,” Jim said.

  “You know that makes you an exceptional boss.”

  “There isn’t a whole lot I need or want to spend money on. There wasn’t anything the money was doing besides earning a few pennies in interest each month. When I cashed out things to pay for this house, there was money left over,” Jim explained.

  “You know a lot of people in the community think you’re extra special for what you did for Bill. That goes for me too.” Carol put down her drink and reached over, and put her hand on top of his.

  Jim wanted to take her hand, but he was unsure of what to do. He thought he might be a bit too forward if he did.

  Carol sat back in her chair, taking her hand off at his. She had a funny smile on her face and said, “I was showing a property to one of the deputy sheriffs. I told him I had sold you this place. He said that you had taken Laura Peterson in after one of her clients beat her up. I couldn’t believe you would do that for her.”

  “What because she’s the town whore? She is a friend of mine, and we even dated when we were in high school. I don’t care what she does for a living. She is my friend,” Jim’s voice hardened.

  What Carol said next surprised Jim, “I’m proud to know you. You stood by a friend and helped her in her hour of need. I am sure you knew the town would talk, but you took care of her anyway.”

  Jim blushed and said, “I couldn’t refuse her, but I can’t tell you about her background that made her choose whoring. I didn’t promise I wouldn’t talk about her past, but as an old friend, I feel I shouldn’t.”

  Carol smiled at him. “That comment makes me respect you. You treasure a friend that most of the town thinks is not worthy of anything.” Carol sat for a moment in thought before adding, “I don’t know if you understand the effect you have on me. All the things you’ve done since you came home to Alma make me wonder if you would consider me a friend or hopefully a bit more.” Carol searched his face as if looking for an answer.

  “You may think I’m crazy, but I was taken with you even before you showed me one property—your beautiful blue eyes. I wanted to ask you out every time we met. I thought I must’ve done something to make you ashamed of being seen with me, or you just didn’t find me attractive,” Jim said.

  Carol stood up and came around the table and leaned down and kissed Jim on the lips. He stood up and held her as he returned the kiss. He could feel his body's reaction to her closeness and was afraid that she could tell too. Her response was to hold him all the tighter.

  It was 3:30 in the morning when they stopped talking long enough to notice the coming dawn. Jim said, “These summer nights are sure short. It doesn’t seem to get dark until it’s almost midnight, and then you can see the dawn approaching at three in the morning.”

  “I hadn’t realized how late it was. I don’t have any work for tomorrow, but I guess you should take me home so I can get some sleep,” Carol said.

  “You are welcome to stay. There’s an extra bedroom, but I don’t know how comfortable that mattress might be.”

  Carol looked him directly in the eye and said, “I’d love to spend the night with you, but it’s too soon. My feelings are too strong right now. Please give me the chance to get my feet under me again and take me home.”

  “Your wish is my command,” Jim felt like an idiot as soon as the words left his mouth. Why would he say such a dumb thing?

  Chapter 10

  Luckily for both Jim and Carol, the following morning was Sunday morning, and both could sleep in. It was the afternoon before Jim went out to his garden to weed. There were tomatoes on, but they were remaining stubbornly green. The bell peppers he planted had produced peppers, but they were still tiny. It looked like the peas that Laura had planted had set a few more pods after she had last picked them. That evening Jim called Carol, and they talked for a couple of hours.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe it’s already the ninth of August. Where did our summer go?” Helen asked.

  “I’ve got too many tomatoes, but the winter squash plants seem to be behind, and I might not get any winter squash before the first frost,” Jim said.

  “I’m going to enjoy what we have left the summer. The winters are still too long.”

  “According to the TV weatherman, the winters are getting warmer with less extreme temperatures,” Jim said.

  “I think it’s the global warming thing. You’re right about extreme cold, but we seem to have more snow. When it falls seems different too. The big storms come either at the start or end of the winter season. We don’t seem to have all the little snowfalls we used to.”

  “Winter will be here all too soon. What’s on the agenda for today?” Jim asked.

  “Your editorial is due toda
y. This afternoon you are to attend the Alma redevelopment group. Those are the only two things on your calendar for today,” Helen said.

  “The two sort of go together. The editorial is about the prosperity the timber industry brought here at the turn of the 20th century. I need to take Joe with me to the County’s historical society. He can look through old photos from that era that we might use in the editorial. They were going to put together figures from the documents as to how much money came into Alma back then,” Jim said.

  “People have commented to me about how your editorials are history lessons.”

  “That’s because I don’t know enough to write on other topics. My editorials are teaching me too. Some like this one will fit together with the redevelopment committee’s work. If we get some new industry of some type, Alma will grow again. However, it will be hard because we don’t have enough population in Alma to support much industry. No workforce. It seems to me were going to have to start small and work our way up to bigger and better things,” Jim said

  * * *

  Jim and Joe visited the County historical society mid-morning. Joe was fascinated by the photos and was surprised by the number of them and their quality.

  Jim was talking to the director of the museum, Jen Masterson. She was saying, “They seemed to be tightlipped about the money flowing into town. We have our best figures about what they were when the Lost Creek Mill burned. The company provided the newspaper with the amount of lumber lost in terms of board feet that was finished, the number of logs lost that had not been processed, and the value of the mill.”

  “I think I might be able to work with that. I think we can find data someplace on the Internet for the price of lumber in board feet for the turn of the last century. I don’t know how to convert logs lost into the number of board feet lost, and I can’t figure out how to do that off the top of my head. The value of the mill should help. I appreciate your help with this. It was only after I started this editorial that I realized I lacked critical information,” Jim said.

  “I doubt if I could have come up with much more information for you. We know the Hennepin Mill was approximately the same size as the one burned. Still, we have no information on their production. We do know that the number of men they employed was about the same size as the Lost Creek Mill,” Jen said.

  “I can just point out the information from the Hennepin Mill came from using figures from the other mill. The whole point of the editorial is to show how much money flowed into Alma.”

  “Every few years, I hear about new businesses supposedly coming to Alma, but they never do. The town is steadily shrinking.”

  “That’s what the redevelopment committee is trying to do. Bring a new business or more businesses to Alma. The trouble is we don’t have enough workers available to support any good-sized plant. Well, thank you for all your help. We will make sure the photographs we use are credited to the historical society. Again, thanks for all your help, Jen.”

  * * *

  Back at the Journal, Jim worked on the editorial. The Internet provided the data he needed to convert the plant’s output back in the early 20th century into today’s dollars. When he was finished with the editorial, Jim was pleased.

  Pam called just after Jim turned in the editorial. She asked, “Are you free tonight?”

  “Yes, Carol has to show a property this evening,” Jim said, thinking of how he was going to end his relationship with Pam.

  That evening when Pam arrived, Jim asked her to sit down and listen to him. He told her about his growing feelings for Carol.

  Pam interrupted him, “I thought from what you have told me that she was growing more and more important to you. Our relationship was and continues to be one of friends with benefits. You’ve come to mean much more to me because you taught me that I could trust the man. You never hesitated to tell me about Carol. Yes, I fantasized about marrying you, but I knew that was no real love between us. We were friends, and we helped each other – no, it was more. We both needed someone to get out of a bad spot in our lives. I think you found your way out of that bad spot. I don’t see anyone on the horizon for me, but I think I’m over the worst that came from my marriage, thanks to you.”

  Jim reached over and took her hand, “Pam, I was afraid I might hurt you because of Carol.”

  “I’m going to be a little sad, but it’s not like the way my marriage ended. You’ve been honest with me. You have always treated me with great respect. From what I learned when my first marriage went down flames and what you’ve taught me, I can find a good man. Yes, I’m going to miss our sex, but I’ve always got boyfriends with batteries.”

  * * *

  “What did you think of the editorial this week about the old lumber mill?” Ted Erickson asked.

  “I’m getting suspicious that Waterman knows more than he is letting on. He must’ve found out somehow about the plant,” Ralph Hansen said.

  “How could he have found out?”

  “Your daughter might’ve told him.”

  “I’ve never told her anything about the plant.”

  “Why don’t you ask her to find out what Waterman knows,” Ralph said.

  “From what Pam said, I think the two of them are breaking up,” Ted said.

  “Screw that! Who else do we know that’s close to him? We can’t afford to lose the little information your daughter passed on about what he was doing.”

  * * *

  Jim and Laura were standing out in their shared garden when Carol drove up. She walked over to the garden.

  Jim went over to her, hugged her, kissed her, and then turned to Laura, “Why don’t we all go in the house had some coffee.”

  The universal invitation to chat over coffee was agreed to by both women. Jim put on a pot of coffee and joined the women in the living room. He said, “It’ll take about 10 minutes before the coffee is ready. What anyone like anything to eat?”

  Both women said no, thank you, that they had just eaten recently. When the coffee was made, they joined Jim at the kitchen table.

  Carol asked, “Jim’s been telling me how his garden is doing. How has your’s done?”

  “My biggest success for my peas. I even froze some for the winter. The tomatoes were the next best thing, and it looks like the potato crop will be good too,” Laura said.

  “You might not want to get her talking about her garden. She’ll keep you here until tomorrow morning talking about it. Won’t you, Laura?” Jim asked.

  “I’ve got an awfully big mouth when it comes to my success with the garden this year. When I was a kid, we always had a big garden. This garden reminded me of being a kid again,” Laura said.

  “I’ve got room for a small garden at my place, but I’ve never thought about doing a garden. I guess I’m lazy too because when I get off work, I can barely get something to eat and keep the house clean,” Carol said.

  They continued to chat until they finished the pot of coffee. Laura excused herself and left. Carol said, “I’m surprised that Laura is so down to earth. She seems like anybody else.”

  Jim smiled, “Laura is another friend. You might disapprove of her occupation. I don’t, but she’s doing the best you can with what resources she has. Would you like to know her story?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s not my story to tell. How about I invite you and Laura for supper one night, and she can tell you her story?”

  “Would she do that?”

  “I’m sure she would if I asked her to. I want to talk about something else. I think I told you that Pam Erickson and I have been seeing each other. The other night we ended our relationship,” Jim said.

  Carol frowned, “Why would you do that? Or did she end it?”

  “It was mutual. I want to stay friends with her, but because of you, I couldn’t continue our relationship.”

  Carol didn’t answer right away and then asked, “What about me?”

  “I’m falling in love with you, Jim said and hoped for the best.<
br />
  Carol didn’t answer. She looked down at the table then back at Jim.

  Jim couldn’t wait any longer, “I’m sorry if I made a mistake. I thought…”

  Carol interrupted, “I was hoping you would start there.” Carol paused again before saying, “I’ve been interested in you since you stopped at the real estate office the first time. I thought that you and Pam or you and even Laura were together, and I didn’t stand a chance.”

  Jim felt his body relax. He stood up and invited Carol to stand. He kissed her, and she returned the kiss with her whole body pressed up against him. She whispered in his ear, “I know I have fallen in love with you too.”

  “I’m glad because I was so afraid you didn’t like me.”

  “Shish, just kiss me,” Carol said.

  They stood kissing each other until Jim asked, “I hate to be practical, but wouldn’t it be more comfortable to go into the living room and sit down on the couch?”

  Carol put her arm through his as they walked to the living room. “You know you’re an extraordinary man.”

  “I need to explain Laura and Pam to you.”

  “You don’t have to,” Carol said.

  “I want to be honest with you. Laura is an old friend. We even dated in high school. I know what she’s doing now, but she’s my friend. I’m not going to desert her. I’m sharing the garden because it’s much too big for me. I didn’t know Pam before I came back to Alma. Ted Erickson invited me to Thanksgiving dinner. That’s where I met her. We are friends. I know she’s divorced. We have enjoyed each other’s company,” Jim explained.

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me. But I’m pleased you did.”

  “I not sure how to say this, but Pam and I were friends with benefits,” Jim tried to look at Carol, but she had snuggled up next to him on the couch, and it was different.

  “That doesn’t matter. You’re so incredibly honest. If that’s what you want from our relationship, I think we can have it in the future.” Carol said.

  “I wasn’t suggesting it…”

  Carol interrupted him, “I know. You need to know how I feel about you. I’m falling hard. I’ve never wanted to be completely honest with any man before you.”