He sighed in hesitation. “Don’t tell Annie. She’ll skin me alive.” He spoke slowly. “I and two others are workin’ for the anatomy professor, retrieving cadavers for class. They don’t get nearly enough bodies the legal way, so we get paid very well for our … retrieval work.”
“What’s a cadaver?”
“A—dead body.” He cringed slightly.
A cloud of horror darkened Dolly's face. “Jaysus, Liam. Maybe ye should be a prostitute.”
Even though she was completely serious, Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “Do ye want to know more about it, or do ye want me to stop explainin’?”
“I don’t want to hear another word. I’ll trust ye to know what ye’re doin’.” It sounded as if Dolly was not completely convinced, but she curled up into the crook of his arm, kissed his breast and fell fast asleep.
~~~
It took Liam a few minutes to join her in slumber. He stared up at the white, smooth ceiling as his mind raced. He was not happy he had to tell her about his job. But if they were going to be married, he couldn’t keep anything from her. Another touchy subject was what happened to Leary the stalker. He would have to tell her tomorrow. She would be relieved to hear he wasn’t dead, just like when she found out that Shaughnessy wasn’t dead. Both nefarious characters still would need watching, though. That’s where Patrick and his gang came in handy. While they charged a fee, it was nominal for Liam, as a friend.
He heard the clock in the foyer strike four. He could hear Dolly’s slow rhythmic breathing and feel her warm breath on his chest. She felt good in his arms. God, I love ye, Dee. His feelings for her overwhelmed him at times. He’d do anything for her. And when he thought about Leary, or Shaughnessy, the operative word became—anything. It scared him.
~~~
“It’s 1896 this morning,” Dolly said to Liam. He was still trying to sleep. She smiled in amusement as he cracked open one blood-shot eye, emitted a short snort, and rolled over to the edge of the bed. “It’s not my fault you had too many whiskies,” she said. “At least Annie and I did not have to carry ye to the cab.”
The night before, the three of them had gone to a New Year’s gathering hosted by Patrick and his fellows at a pub in his neighborhood.
Dolly was speaking quietly so as not to irritate him any further. She wanted to jump on him and tickle his midriff, where he was very sensitive. They hadn’t made love when they got home from the party. It was two in the morning, and Liam had fallen asleep right away.
“Are ye tired from the dancin’ or the drinkin’?” she asked.
There was an awkward pause.
“Is this an examination I must pass?” A grumpy, muffled voice emerged from the pillow.
“No. I’m just wide awake, is all. I was hopin’ for some company.” She was using her sweetest voice to try and entice him to make love. She placed her hand on his hip from behind and slid up close. “Come here to me, Liam. Don’t ye want me?”
He rolled over and scooped her into his arms. “I want ye forever,” he murmured, and then fell asleep.
That turned out to be enough for Dolly as she soon fell asleep wrapped in his arms.
Chapter 24
Winter, not quite forgotten, was replaced by a resplendent, early spring in Finland. It was April, still a bit cold, and now a wedding was being planned.
Eva chatted with Victor at supper one evening. “Mamma told me she gave her blessing to Yuri and Liisa to get married. Mamma sees it as a way for the household to be protected. But she also saw the two practically dying, not being able to touch each other all winter.” She smiled.
“I remember how that was. There were many times I had to deal with aching testicles. Do you know how that feels?” Victor asked with a wry smile. He took a bite of fresh mutton soup.
“Well, I guess I wouldn’t.” She returned a wry smile of her own. “I am sorry for you, poor boy. Shall I kiss them the next time it happens?”
“That would be nice, but even better, do something before they get to that condition.”
That made her laugh. “Mamma has grown to like Yuri. She says he’s very respectful. And most of all, she says that Liisa has grown up. She’s not so bossy or whiny anymore.”
“Unlike you.” Victor gave her a fake look of indignation.
“You shut up.” She pointed her spoon at him, half smiling.
“See what I mean?”
“Anyway,” she said, dismissing him with a wave of a hand, “Mamma thought it would be too cruel to make them wait any longer. He is dedicated to Liisa and working the farm. He’s good to Aili, like a big brother.”
Eva had learned that Pastor Alve was due on May first, a Saturday, to officiate the wedding. The Mattsons had graciously offered their yard and house, where Eva and Victor had wed. But Liisa dearly wanted to be married under the mountain ash in their yard. Yuri and his parents had decided a Russian Orthodox wedding was too complicated to arrange, because Liisa would have had to convert. Yuri was not about to wait any longer. As he told Victor, he had paid his dues many times over throughout the winter.
~~~
Victor was enjoying a laugh or two with Yuri one evening after chores. They were drinking cool homemade beer and sitting in the barn after mucking stalls. “You have been much more restrained than I was,” Victor said between sips on his dark bottle of beer. “A much better man you have been.” He looked at Yuri. “I pushed Eva and pushed her until she gave in, but only after I proposed. She ended up being fine.” He paused, recollecting that first time inside her at juhannus, a memory that gave him butterflies in his belly. He smiled. “You are going to be more than amazed and pleasured beyond belief, that first time, when she opens up to you. And—do you promise never to say anything to Eva or Liisa, if I say this—”
“I truly promise,” Yuri said. He shifted to the edge of the bench, rapt and curious.
Victor lowered his voice, and bent toward Yuri even more. “Once Eva knew how—it—felt, she turned insatiable, and still can’t keep her hands off me. If Liisa is a Villi Ruusu like Eva, you will be a happy man.” Victor smiled, raising his eyebrows mischievously.
“A Wild Rose? You mean pretty and perfect on the outside, but it belies her wildness?”
“Something like that,” Victor said. “And bossiness and determination, and stubbornness. All those.”
Yuri looked as though he had made up his mind about something. “To hell with waiting one more month. She's wanted me since her father passed away. She’s eighteen.” He hesitated, fidgeting in his seat. “What should I do?”
“You want to know whether or not you should continue to heed your virtuous mind or your hedonistic desires. Perhaps it’s not a question of either or. It’s your decision, and Liisa’s. You said it yourself. It’s only four more weeks. If Liisa gets pregnant, you won’t know it for at least two, maybe three, months.”
“I do want children. So, it won’t matter. You wanted children, too.”
Yuri, seemingly entranced, handed Victor his mostly-empty bottle of beer and got up.
“Where are you going?” Victor asked.
“I want to find Liisa,” Yuri answered. “I’m not waiting anymore.”
~~~
A month after Liisa and Yuri’s wedding Eva was in the Mattson springhouse fetching a small can of milk to start making a batch of squeaky cheese. She spotted her sister coming up the yard. “Liisa, what are you doing here? Aren’t you waiting for the rest of the ewes to lamb at Mamma’s?
“Yes, but Yuri and Aili are watching, and I said I wanted to come see you.”
“What is it? Is everything all right?” Eva was close to her sister, but Liisa had rarely sought Eva out to talk with her alone.
“Of course, it is. I just wanted to talk to someone who knows what it’s like to be in … a marriage bed.” Liisa blushed wildly. She could barely keep eye contact with Eva.
The sisters sat on the bench up against the springhouse in the shade of a clump of birch trees.
&nb
sp; “Are things well?” Eva asked, taking Liisa’s hands in hers.
“They couldn’t be better.” Liisa smiled, still a bit shy.
“Do you now know, the grand pleasures of it all? Is that what you want to tell someone?” Eva asked supportively.
“Yes,” Liisa whispered. “I love it … I want him all the time now, Eva. Every morning; hiding somewhere; every night. Is there … something wrong with it?”
“Heavens, no. It’s what we married ladies are supposed to do. It’s perfectly all right to like it and to want it,” Eva reassured her. “God wouldn’t have made it pleasurable for just the men. God needs us to make babies too,” she explained. “Does Yuri think it’s too much?”
“No!” Liisa tittered, eyes going big and bright. She blushed again. “He’s crazy about it, too.”
“Well, it sounds to me like you two are in love and married.”
“Do you think I’ll have a baby soon?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Eva said sweetly, putting her hand on Liisa’s crimson cheek.
“I didn’t tell anyone, but Yuri and I started a month before the wedding.”
“It will be our little secret then. Well, Yuri’s too,” Eva whispered, patting Liisa’s hand.
Unexpectedly, Liisa started to cry. “Even though I am so happy, everything’s changed, hasn’t it? Pappa’s gone. You're married and have a baby. I’m married and will probably have a baby. Eino’s gone. Nothing's like it was.” As Liisa blinked, tears popped out onto her linen apron.
Eva felt sad at what Liisa said. The sting from suddenly hearing Eino’s name was sharp.
“Come here, Liisa.” Eva held her sister and quickly shoved Eino out of her mind. “I think you are a bit overwhelmed.”
Eva wondered if it was more than being overwhelmed. I wonder if she’s pregnant right now, Eva thought. As she held her sister close and kissed her head, Liisa let it all out onto Eva’s shoulder.
~~~
With Liisa and Yuri married and a baby due in January, and Hannes taking on more responsibilities at the Mattson farm, Victor unilaterally decided to talk once again, of the possibility of going to America.
“In a few years, of course,” Victor added at a family dinner one Sunday. “Ellen is too young to be on a boat.”
Victor had thought that telling the family early would give everyone time to adjust to their eventual departure. Once they left, they would most likely never return. That thought was never fully broached in their minds.
“No one liked your idea about emigrating,” Eva pointed out as they walked home that evening.
“Of course, they are not going to like it. We would be leaving them”
“That’s the point,” Eva said. “I do not want to leave them.”
“Well, I have been thinking about it a lot lately.” The truth was that he was thinking about Olga almost constantly, crossing over into his and Eva’s lovemaking. Going to America seemed the final escape.
~~~
That October, Victor made a trip to Rauma for the first time in over a year. He went there to deliver a load of grains to the docks. On his way from the docks, he stopped to see Vilho. Although he enjoyed visiting Vilho, his main objective was to see Olga. He knew it was wrong. But it was impossible to resist any longer.
“How are things on the farm, Victor?” Vilho asked. He and Victor were standing in the blacksmith front store. Vilho poured him a shot of vodka from the bottle he kept in a cupboard for his customers.
“Everything is fine. Eva and I are happy. Our daughter Ellen is nineteen months, walking, and getting into everything.” Victor tossed the shot back and Vilho, always his affable self, poured Victor and himself one more.
“It sounds like you two should be ready for another baby then. Olga and I have started to try for another one,” he said jovially. “I am very busy here. Go back to say ‘hello’ to Olga and see my son Arne. He's seventeen months. I remember you and Olga were friends in school. She’ll give you something to eat.”
She’ll give me something, but it won’t be food, Victor thought, feeling dark about it. “Why can’t you come?”
“I am late with this order. A customer’s coming for it very soon.”
“How long will you be?”
“At least an hour.”
“Thanks for the vodka, I’m not staying long. I need to get back to Eva.”
Victor, in a suddenly altered mind frame, left through the back door of the shop. He startled Olga as he opened the door to the cozy house, and then slammed it shut and rushed towards her. Olga was in the middle of kneading bread. The little boy was sleeping on a rug with a blanket over him.
“Victor, what are you doing here?” Olga asked anxiously. Her eyes darted around as if she were looking for a way to escape. After a moment, she sighed sharply, and then turned as if to wait for him, her hands covered in flour.
“I have waited long enough to have you again,” Victor hissed passionately. “I hate it, that you are married to him.”
“I hate it that you are married to Eva,” she said angrily.
Taking himself out, he roughly lifted her onto the sideboard. He pulled her skirt up and plunged into her, not caring if she should object. She wrapped her long, lean legs around his thrusting hips, grunting with each hit. He kissed her with ferocity, making his lips tingle. His rhythm was violent as the sideboard thudded against the wall, his assault ending in a powerful orgasm. She dug her fingers into his coat sleeves in her own intense climax. Suddenly the intensity left. Victor felt triumphant.
“You never could say ‘I love you.’ Can you say it now?” Olga murmured as she kissed him.
“No. I can’t. It’s wrong.”
“But I know you feel it. Don’t come back if you can’t say it,” she demanded half-heartedly.
He kissed her tenderly as an answer, and then tucked himself away in his trousers.
“I won’t say it, and I won’t come back,” he blurted.
He left.
~~~
A week or two later, Victor made a delivery to Niemi’s.
“Niemi, I brought your order of rye flour,” Victor cordially greeted Arvid Niemi as he drove up in the buckboard. “How have you been?”
“I am fine, but my older son’s children have been passing the mumps to each other.”
Before Victor realized what Niemi was saying, a three-year-old boy climbed into the buckboard. Victor picked him up in a friendly hello.
“He has them, Victor. Look at his neck.”
“I have to put you down now,” Victor said to the boy. “I must go to see my little girl.”
A few days later, Ellen became sick and then Victor, too. It moved quickly through Ellen, but Victor became bed-ridden while the disease settled in his testicles.
“You are feverish,” Eva said as she nursed him and brought him mehu and beef soup.
“It is very painful; otherwise I would be up and about. I feel guilty I am not helping.” I am feeling guilty but it’s not that I am not helping. I am not feeling guilty about having sex with Olga. It’s that I betrayed Eva when I did it. I don’t think I could bear it if she ever found out. I must never see Olga again.
Chapter 25
Liam began to prepare to head back to Edinburgh. He wanted to leave before his parents returned from Dublin. He knew his mother still had it in her mind to match him with Mary Tisdale. Annie was the one who delivered the dinner invitation to the Tisdale’s, via a cabbie. Liam nipped it in the bud. With the dinner invitation delivered, Liam would not be there to attend. He left an “apology note” to his parents so as not to horribly offend them:
Wanted to get back early. I have more to do this term and wanted to talk to Professors about it. Sorry about the dinner.
Two nights before he left, Dolly was in tears. “But, I thought ye’d be here another three days, Liam. I can’t do it. I can’t.”
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I just don’t want my mother to believe she’ll have her way with this Mary
Tisdale obsession of hers.”
“What am I to do?”
“Plan, dream about our weddin’ this June, work hard, and keep writin’ to me. You can study our America book.”
“What are ye talkin’ about? What America book?”
Liam got out of bed and went to the storage chest at the foot of his bed. He pulled out a rectangular-shaped package. “I almost forgot to give it to you,” he said. “It was on the bottom of my carpetbag the whole time. It’s a New Year’s present then.”
Dolly sat up, naked and mussed from love. She took off the tissue paper and inside was a book all about America. She smiled at him, her cheeks still tear stained.
“It has a bit of history, but mostly it’s about the land, what kinds of creatures live wild, and the different climates. It even has a section on prairies. Turn to the page.”
He helped her find the table of contents, and she turned to the page.
“Look at this, Dolly. It’s a drawing of a prairie dog.”
“Is it a wee creature?” she asked, completely rapt.
“It’s about the size of a cat. They live in wee towns underground. They run through tunnels.”
She flipped through the pages, engrossed. She appeared to be forgetting her panic about him leaving. He breathed easier.
“Look at the lovely drawin’s,” she said. “Paintin’s really. Thank you, Liam. I’ll study this book so I know all about it.” She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. “I’ll still miss ye.”
“June will be here before we know it.”
~~~
The day before he left for Edinburgh, Liam went out for a couple of hours and came back with something he called “another Christmas and New Year’s present all rolled into one.”
Dolly was dusting the library when he came home. “But ye already gave me a little Statue of Liberty charm and the America book,” she said. “What else could ye have?”
Eva and the Irishman Page 25