by Doug Welch
Chapter 8
Courtship and a History
“So, you’re buying a car,” I said, as I drove along the route to Russell Springs.
“Yep, I’m getting tired of not having wheels.”
“You shouldn’t have sold your car.”
“Had to, I needed money to pay the tuition to Cincy U.”
“I would have helped, you know.”
“Brother dear, I don’t sponge off my family. You know that. I pay my own way.”
“Sometimes you’re too independent for your own good.”
“Even more so now, Paris. Unless you didn’t get the memo, we’re independently wealthy. I called Silas, and he’ll make the funds available – Oh, and Silas said that you could pay off your Camaro.”
“I’ll think about it. Why all of a sudden, do you want to buy a car? What were you planning to do in Covington?”
“Paris, after the first week of class, I figured I’d have plenty of offers to drive me to school.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. So why the sudden change of heart?”
“Caesar doesn’t have a car.”
“Oh, I see.”
She grinned. “So I'm the one who gets to run out of gas.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
We drove in silence for a while.
“Sis, did you learn anything else from the computer last night?”
“Not much, our supposed siblings have vanished from the face of the earth. There’s a lot of missing person reports, some of the addresses match the list that Dad provided, and I think we should go talk to the fathers of the victims, but I am not in a hurry to do so right now.”
“Why?”
“I think my personal life comes first.”
“As in, Caesar?”
“As in Caesar. What about you? You’re going to see Elizabeth today, is it any different?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I want it to be something, but I’m scared.”
“My brother, frightened?”
“I'm scared that she won’t want anything to do with me, and I’m scared that if she does, I’ll be totally lost. I won’t be able to see enough of her. I‘ll lose myself in her.”
“Don’t be silly. Any woman who doesn’t fall for you has to be gay.”
“This is a special woman, Alex. I don’t want anything to disrupt our relationship. I want to take it slow, as though I’m trying to become friends with something wild and shy.”
“You've got it bad. Now, you know how I feel about Caesar.”
“I guess. – I just feel that this is my one chance to get it right. I feel that if I screw up, I’ll never be whole again.”
“Screw up? I hope that’s not love talk. You certainly won’t impress her that way.” She laughed.
I grinned. “I don’t plan to impress her. I just want to be myself. I want her to see me as I am.”
“Good strategy.”
“You think so?”
“Just wait and see. I know women.”
In a few minutes, we arrived at Russell Springs. I drove Alex to a cluster of car dealerships.
“Do you know what kind of car you want?”
“I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Well, what model? Ford? GM? Chrysler? Foreign?”
“I haven’t decided. I told you, I’ll know it when I see it. Just drop me off at the car rental agency.”
“Car rental?”
“Yes, I plan to rent a car for today and drive around to each dealer until I find one I want.”
“Rent a car to buy a car? That's screwy. You’re exasperating.”
“Relax. Silas promised to call the dealership and vouch for the cost – in cash. I’ll have them all eating out of the palm of my hand. They‘ll be falling all over themselves, trying to give me a good deal.”
I found a rental place some distance out of town. Russell Springs was about the size of Jamestown. The difference was that interstate highway 75 cut through the town, and the county hospital that Elizabeth worked at was located there. After making some inquires at the local gas stations, I dropped Alex off at the U-Haul. She planned to rent a pickup truck.
“Alex, this is slightly nuts. If you could just wait, I could help you.”
“Paris, I want to do this myself. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay, call me on your cell phone if you have trouble.”
I had some time to kill before my lunch date with Beth, so I drove around the town looking for some likely places to have lunch. On the way, I happened to pass by a florist shop and felt a sudden urge, so I stopped and entered the shop.
The clerk waited on a customer, so browsed around and looked at the displays. A wide variety of bouquets were displayed in the shop and I didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted. All of them looked colorful or, in some cases, gaudy.
At a loss, I didn’t want something that professed undying love, at least not now, but I wanted something that said I want you to notice me. After a while, the clerk finished his business with the customer, and confronted me.
“Can I help you sir?”
“Ah – I don’t know, I’m looking for some flowers for a pretty lady, but I don’t know what would be appropriate.”
“Is she a wife, lover, relative or other?” he asked.
“Um, I believe she belongs to the ‘other’ category.”
“Oh, ‘other’. Hmm – Let me get my wife, she’s an expert on the ‘other’.”
He exited to the back room and eventually, a smiling, slightly plump woman emerged and approached the sales counter.
“Can I help you?”
“I want to buy some flowers for a female acquaintance. I’m taking her to lunch, and I just felt that it would be a nice thing to do.”
“Is this female someone you would like to impress?”
“I don’t know if I want to overwhelm her, I want to indicate that I value her friendship, and I want it to continue. I just want her to know that I‘m interested.”
“I think I understand,” she said, with a sympathetic smile. “I think I can make you a bouquet that sends the right message.”
“Can you? I’d be grateful.”
We discussed the cost, I didn’t have any idea of how much would be too much, cost was not a factor in this decision, so I decided to surrender myself to her wisdom and told her to decide, regardless of the cost.
After a while, she returned with a bunch of colorful and fragrant blossoms. The flowers predominating were yellow roses. They looked pretty, so I paid the bill, thanked her, and exited the shop.
I drove around some more, trying to find the right place to have lunch, but nothing seemed to fit my plans. It was getting later in the morning, and noon was approaching, so I decided to drive to the hospital. I didn’t dare to be late.
I parked in the visitor’s parking and entered the hospital.
I was lost. I didn’t have any idea of how to find Elizabeth, so I looked around the foyer.
A spied a window that contained a person, and decided to ask directions. As I stood in front of the counter, I saw a middle-aged woman who sat typing on a computer keyboard. She finished her entry, and turned to me.
“Can I help y’all?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes, I’m looking for Doctor Elizabeth Rowan. Can you tell me where to find her?”
“Doctor Beth?” Her smile became neutral. “What do you want with Doctor Beth?”
I cleared my throat, I felt nervous. “My name is Paris Fox. I have uh – an –appointment with her.”
“Oh, you’re that man.” She eyed the flowers clutched in my sweaty hands. Her smile changed from neutral to brilliant.
“You just march yourself back to the emergency room, and tell them at the nurse’s station, they all will be waiting for you. – Nice flowers.”
I was bewildered. “Who will be waiting for me?”
“Well, I ’spect most of the emergency room. We like Doctor Beth ‘round here.”
My nervousn
ess turned to dread. Was I going to have to run a gauntlet?
I made my way, with a few wrong turns, to the rear of the hospital, finally finding the emergency room nurse’s station after asking one of the white suited orderlies for directions. There seemed to be a large number of hospital staff clustered around the desk, and I wondered if there was some sort of crisis that would prevent Elizabeth from having lunch.
I announced myself at the desk. “Hi, I’m Paris Fox, and I’m here to see Doctor Elizabeth Rowan.”
A pretty nurse who was seated at the desk, looked at me and the bunch of flowers held in my hand, and called out “Someone get Doc Beth, Paris is here.”
I waited at the station while most of the hospital staff clustered around stared at me. Finally, the pretty nurse said, “So you’re Doc Beth’s Paris?”
The thought of belonging to Elizabeth made my heart leap in my chest. I could not breathe for a moment. “I can only wish it were true.” I tried to calm myself.
“Any more country boys like you where you come from?”
I truthfully didn’t know how to respond, so I said, “I know a guy in Cincinnati, who works with me.”
“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you shoot him in the leg and drop him off at emergency, we’ll take good care of him!” She laughed.
Soon, Elizabeth emerged from one of the alcoves where patients were treated. She wore blue scrubs, booties, and a hair net, a stethoscope was draped around her neck. She peeled off some rubber gloves and dropped them into a hazardous waste bin, and then she walked towards me.
I had never seen anything more lovely.
“Hello Paris,” she said in her velvet voice. “Just give me a few minutes to finish up, and we can go to lunch.”
She smiled.
I was lost.
Then I remembered the flowers. “Here,” I stammered. “These are for you.” I handed her the bouquet.
Her eyes widened. She didn’t speak for a moment. Then she took the flowers. “Paris, you shouldn’t have – Oh. Listen to me, I sound like a cliché. Thank you Paris, they're very beautiful.” She inhaled their fragrance. “They smell good too.”
“Doctor Beth, give them to me. I’ll put them in some water,” one of the nurses said.
She handed the flowers to the speaker. "What are you people standing around for? Don’t you have some work to do?”
They all grinned, and separated to various parts of the emergency room, except for the nurse at the nurse’s station. She continued to stare at me. She turned to Elizabeth and murmured something to her.
Beth smiled. “We’ll talk about it when I get back. – Paris, go back to the waiting room. I‘ll be out in a few minutes.”
I went back to the front of the hospital, found an uncomfortable chair, and started biting my nails and crossing and uncrossing my legs. I rose from the seat and began pacing around the room until the woman at the counter said, “she’ll be out in a little while, Mister Fox. Please, sit back down, and relax.”
Moments after that weighty pronouncement, Elizabeth emerged from the hallway.
I gasped. She was stunning. She wore a blinding white sundress that ended just above her knees. It was patterned with bright blue and violet blossoms. The combination highlighted the dusky rose coloring of her face and contrasted with her amazing blue-black hair. On her feet were dainty white sandals, and I could see she wasn’t wearing stockings. She didn’t need to, because the skin of her legs was like satin. I felt a brief pang of erotic desire, which I quickly suppressed.
She walked up to me and smiled. “Are you ready to go?”
“You're beautiful.”
She blushed. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
I was relieved. I had wavy hair like Alex‘s, and it had grown out to almost tickle my shoulders. I’d spent a lot of time this morning, getting my hair brushed out just right, and choosing the right clothes. Alex had complained that I was starting to act like a teenaged female, monopolizing the bathroom. I was wearing a deep green open-throat polo shirt, white-duck trousers, and brown loafers.
“Do you want to drive or shall I?” I said, hoping that I would be able to impress her with my Camaro.
“I think I should,” she replied. “In case the hospital calls for an emergency.”
I hid my disappointment. “Okay.” I thought for a moment. Finally, I said, “I confess. I don’t know where to eat. I was thinking of ‘The Mode’, but I’ve never been there.”
“Paris, that’s horribly expensive. – I’ll tell you what. – I suggest we go to my bed and breakfast. It’s not too far away, and they have good food. We can dine on their patio. It’s a good day for it.”
“Okay, but only if you promise to let me take you to some horribly expensive restaurant at a future time, and treat you to some decadent extravagance.”
She smiled. “Sneaky way to get another date?”
I smiled back. “Yes, I guess it is.”
“I’ll forgive you,” she said and laughed. “Okay, decadent extravagance it is – at another time.”
We arrived at her car. She keyed the door locks, and we slipped into the Jag’s comfortable leather seats. She started the car. The engine growled to a start, and settled down to purr like a resting tiger. Elizabeth shifted the car into gear and glided it from the hospital’s parking lot to the highway. She drove smoothly, surely; navigating through the town like a racecar professional.
After a few miles, we stopped and parked in front of a white, two-story frame house set back some distance from the street. The property was a picture-postcard rendition of a typical Kentucky bluegrass farm with massive maple trees shading the house, and two large pastures containing horses. From this distance, they looked like, and most likely were, thoroughbreds.
“Pretty,” I said.
“I like it,” she replied. “I stay here whenever I'm the on-call resident. The hospital has rooms reserved here just for that purpose.”
We entered the house through a large, ornate door that had a stained glass center. 'Kentucky B&B' was etched into the glass.
Proceeding to the end of the hallway, a welcome counter had been built adjacent to a sweeping stairway, which led up to the second floor. Behind the counter stood an attractive gray-haired woman.
“Doctor Beth, welcome back. Will you need your usual room?”
“I'm not staying, Melinda. We just came to have lunch. What's on the menu?”
She glanced at me and said, “Today’s the brunch buffet. All you can eat.”
“What about it Paris, is that okay with you?”
“It's fine,” I said. “In fact, it's better than fine.”
“Good. Melinda, we'll eat on the patio.”
We followed Melinda through the hallway to the dining room.
A large sideboard supported a wide array of steaming platters of food, and another sideboard contained various prepared salads, salad makings and pickles.
I checked out the various offerings and spied a platter of fried green tomatoes. Alongside the platter was a savory looking sauce. I loaded up my plate with the tomatoes, and poured the sauce over them, added a few other items that looked interesting, and waited for Elizabeth to decide. She also piled on a layer of the tomatoes with sauce, and we went to the shaded, trellis-covered patio.
The patio had a pleasing view of the horse pasture and the distant woods bordering the property. It looked peaceful and idyllic. “This is nice,” I said. “It's a beautiful day.”
We found an empty table and sat down. I looked around and saw a table with a beverage layout on it.
“What would you like to drink?” I said.
“Iced tea for me,” she said.
“Lemon?”
“Please.”
I went over to the table and prepared two glasses with ice and lemon wedges. I lifted a frosty pitcher of tea from the ice, and poured two tall glasses of amber tea. I brought them back to the table and sat down.
We sat for a moment, gazed
at the view, and then commenced to attack the plate of tomatoes. They were uncommonly good, crispy hot breading on the outside, with slightly crunchy fruit on the inside. The sauce added just the right amount of spice to the flavor. They were some of the best I had ever eaten, and on the subject of fried green tomatoes, I considered myself an expert.
“These are really good,” I said.
“So,” she said, “you like fried green tomatoes?”
“All my life. I loved them as a kid.”
“They have good food here.”
“Yes. Maybe I should reconsider my suggestion of a decadent dinner.”
“I don't think so,” she replied. “I'm holding you to your offer.”
“Anytime Beth. For you, anything.”
She glanced away nervously, toward the view of the pasture. Idiot. You're making her uncomfortable. Change the subject.
She turned back to me and looked directly in my eyes. “So, you grew up in Kentucky?”
Relieved and calmed by her response, I vowed to apply the brakes to my uncontrollable emotions.
“Yes Alex and I were raised on our parents’ farm. My dad had a career as a college professor, and later as a retired, independent researcher. Mother,” – I winced at the use of the word, and tears filled my eyes. My voice grew husky, “– was there for us, whenever we needed her. I couldn't have wished for a better childhood.”
Elizabeth’s eyes reflected compassion. “I envy you. We didn't have a mother for the majority of our lives. Father tried to make up for it with some caring nurses and nannies, but there's no real substitute for a mother's affections.”
Her expression became more neutral. “Father could be intimidating. I never quite understood what he did for the State Department, but he definitely wasn't a diplomat. He and I clashed occasionally. I was always a strong willed child. I knew what I wanted and how to achieve it. Father seemed afraid that I’d make the wrong choices, but in the end it seemed to turn out all right. Now, it’s more like I'm his parent. Since his illness, he’s developed some strange delusions. I'm worried about him.”
I picked up my fork. “You're right. I don't know how I would have coped with life's ups and downs without my parents’ support.”
We grew quiet and turned our attention to the meal in front of us. I immersed myself in my thoughts and memories of my mother.
I had to admit, the food was good. We made the tomatoes vanish, and I toyed with the other items on my plate.
After a while, I said, “you mentioned before, that the story of your adoption is interesting.”
“There's a certain dash of mystery surrounding it,” she replied.
I waited for her to continue.
“Father was married to an Iranian, a beautiful, intelligent woman, who’d become disillusioned with the religious turmoil that existed in the country after the expulsion of the Shah. She somehow managed to escape the persecution of the women who lived there.”
She sipped her tea.
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“Over thirty years. Father was in Iran, working for the British Embassy as an adviser. It happened during one of the periodic episodes of religious turmoil that grew from the Islamic Revolution.” Elizabeth leaned back in her seat.
“According to our father we were dumped into his arms like a package of laundry. There’s a story behind that but I won’t go into it. Our mother took pity on us and convinced Father to adopt us. The question was how to smuggle us out of Iran. Father had some close ties to the British Ambassador and he agreed to help. Through some diplomatic subterfuge that Father won’t talk about, we were passed off as the children of two British-Iranian couples who were leaving Iran.
“Here’s where the story gets strange, at least according to Father. At the airport, the religious officials were reluctant to let us leave, but some veiled stranger dressed in a black chador intervened and of a sudden, all the objections vanished.
“Father and Mother took us to Scotland and legally adopted us. There were a lot of complications associated with our adoption and status, but Father seemed to be able to make all the problems vanish. I don’t know how much of this is true. Father becomes very evasive when pressed for details. Most of it I’ve pieced together from documents in our possession and things I’ve overheard. I suspect there’s a lot our father’s not telling us.”
I agreed with her. From her brief description, it sounded like her father worked for British Intelligence. “How did you come to be in the United States?”
She sipped her tea and sat the glass on the table. “Mother died six years after the episode of our flight from Iran, from the complications of the wounds she received during the revolution, coupled with cervical cancer. After she died Father immigrated to America with us and worked for the U.S. State Department.
“I don't remember much from that period, but I do remember that she was a loving, and caring woman. Father never married again, saying that there was only one person in his life who could be our mother, and she was gone, so he would have to fulfill both roles. It was difficult, but he managed to create a decent home life for us. We’re both devoted to him. Caesar stays with him to take care of him. He’s very frail. I try to be with him as often as my position at the hospital allows.”
“Good, then you'll be in Jamestown a lot.”
She didn’t reply directly, just smiled and changed the subject. “Caesar has formed an attachment to your sister.”
“Really? I think Alex is very eager to explore the depths of that relationship. I believe that Caesar is in for one wild experience. My sister is very determined. In fact, at this moment, unless I am mistaken, she is making the lives of some automobile dealers miserable. She's trying to buy a car.”
“Why?”
I chuckled. “To drive Caesar around.”
“You're joking.”
“I'm not. She said that Caesar doesn't have a car.”
“He drives our father's automobile.”
“Well, she may change that habit.”
“You and your sister have a very close relationship, don't you?”
“True. We've been close from birth. I love her. I'll do anything to help and protect her. Now that our parents are gone, there's only us. However, I'm glad that she now has Caesar to focus upon. Neither of us has found a significant life partner that matches our relationship – at least until now.” I looked squarely in her eyes when I said the last.
She blushed, and looked away. “Important things should evolve gradually, then people can avoid rushing into bad decisions.”
“Am I important?”
“I think, maybe,” she replied cautiously, “only time will tell.”
My heart went into overdrive. “Could we spend some time together exploring how important we might be to each other?”
She grinned. “I think that might be possible.”
“Tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “No, Paris, I have obligations to the hospital.”
“The next day?”
“I'll call and let you know.”
“Beth, as selfish as it may seem, I only see one obligation, and that is to you and me. – and the future of us.”
She nibbled her lower lip. “You're rushing Paris. Give me some time to sort it out.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I was so happy I could cry.
The remainder of the lunch consisted of smiles and talks about our likes and dislikes. By the end of our date, we were both in a good mood, and we drove back to the hospital in high spirits. I got out of her car, and we both looked at each other wondering what would happen next.
“I suppose it's too early to kiss you?” I said.
“I don't think so," she replied. She launched a lock on my lips that damn near caused my heart to stop beating.
The kiss lasted for what seemed to be the remainder of my life, and just as I was about to be drowned in it, she broke free. She seemed breathless. “That's another thing that we need to take slow. Too
much of that will cause all kinds of problems.”
I was speechless, watching her walk back to the hospital. Frozen to the spot, I felt almost overwhelmed by my feelings.
“Yes!” I shouted.
She looked back and grinned, but she kept walking to the hospital.
I stood in the parking lot, watching her go until she disappeared into the building. I remembered Alex, and used my cell phone to call her. She answered on the second ring.
“Hi Paris.”
“How did you know it was me?”
“Caller ID.”
“Oh – yeah”
“Where are you?”
“On my way back to Jamestown”
“Did you get what you wanted?”
“I think so, you'll have to see.”
“Tell me.”
“Nope. You'll see when you get back.”
“I can't wait,” I said, and disconnected.
I drove back to Jamestown, curious as to what Alex could have decided on for transportation. As I turned off the highway to the front lawn, my curiosity was satisfied to the same measure as my astonishment. There, sitting in front of the house was a gleaming, new pickup truck. It was a huge king-cab, and looked powerful. As I stopped my car and got out, Alex emerged from the house.
“How do you like it?” She grinned.
“You're crazy.” I laughed. “That thing must simply guzzle gas.”
“Hey. Energy efficient. It's a hybrid. Gets great gas mileage.”
“Really? Let’s pop the hood.”
I opened the hood of the truck and looked inside. The space was crammed with engine and electronics. However, all the necessary items were out front and easy to access. I nodded appreciatively.
“Looks nice,” I said.
“You must be in a good mood. I thought you’d lecture me about my choice, like those idiots at the car lot.”
“Gave you some resistance did they?”
“Yeah, one of the guys volunteered to drive it for me – he was obviously trying to hit on me – so I told him to go get his sister, and I'd have her drive it. In fact, they just made me drive a harder bargain. You can get a lot with cash. So– why are you in such a good mood? Oh – I get it. – She kissed you.” Then she laughed.
“How did you know?”
“Duh. You should see that dopey smile on your face. You should also wipe off the lipstick.” She laughed again. “I told you. Now we're both in trouble. Let's go for a ride in my new truck.”
We jumped into the truck and headed toward the lake.
I was impressed. The vehicle drove smoothly. It didn't feel like I thought it would. The strange part was that when we stopped at a traffic light or stop sign, the engine stopped and the truck was quiet.
“Weird, huh?” Alex said. “I keep wanting to start the engine, but you just press the gas petal, and off she goes.”
We drove for a while and I gazed at the countryside. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“Gonna meet Caesar in town and take him for a ride in my new truck.”
“Aren't you going to pick him up at home?”
“No, he's in town now, he said that he has some business to take care of, and then we're going out to dinner. Expect me late tonight. It turns out that he drives his father’s car. The old man is too sick to drive, so he takes him everywhere he has to go, and sees to his needs. Caesar’s decided that he’ll stay and take care of his father until the end. Apparently, his father has a terminal heart condition, can't find a donor, and is not expected to live much longer. But Caesar says that he is a tough old bird, and may surprise the doctors. I think that Caesar loves his father very much. I think I love him more for that reason.”
“Love? When did love come into the picture?”
Alex turned her head from the road to look at me. “Come on, Paris. I'm in love, no question about it. I think Caesar feels the same way. It's wild, exciting, and wonderful. I don't have any idea how it could have happened in just three days, but I feel it. No matter what happens, whether it’s going to last or not, whenever I'm with him, I feel content and warm. I think it’s the real thing.” She redirected her attention to the road. “If it isn't,” she shrugged, “I'll live with it, but I know I'll always cherish the feelings.”
“What can I say?” I settled back in the comfortable seat, breathing the new-car smells. “I think it's catching and I have the same disease. This isn't possible, but it’s happening. Just one more crazy aspect of being human, I guess. It doesn't seem like we can take it slow, though. I wonder why?”
She sighed. “Maybe it’s just our age, and our time, but I feel it’s something more. I can't define it, so I've just decided to go along with it and see where it leads.”
I cast my eyes on the interior, fiddled with the dashboard, and stroked the leather seat. “Well, in the final analysis, even if it ends in disaster, Alex, we've still got each other.”
She nodded. “Yes, there’s that, but I'm hoping for more.”
“Me too.”
I mimicked holding a glass and proposing a toast. “Here's to happy outcomes.”
We finally turned around and drove back to the farm.
Alex dropped me off at the house, and sped back toward Jamestown. I needed to work on the plans and specifications for my money-saving idea, and to complete the tasks that Harvey had assigned for me, so we spent the remainder of the day, each in our own separate worlds, heading to our own unique destinations.