A feeling of panic took hold of Courtney. Where was she? Had she changed her mind? For a few moments Courtney held her head in her hands. This couldn't be happening to her. That magical life had seemed so close. Full of disappointment the young woman threw her body back on the blanket she slept on. She would have to go to work that day after all. She would probably have to go to work the next day as well. Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about having to see the rude and smelly Macfarlane. But before despair took hold of her, the door to the room opened.
It was Melanie! Courtney hopped off the floor and rushed towards her friend with wide open arms. She hugged her tightly. Melanie seemed a little confused by this burst of emotion. Courtney was usually so good at containing her emotions. Instead of questioning her about what was wrong, Melanie smiled and hugged her friend.
After a brief embrace, Melanie stepped back and stared deeply into Courtney's eyes. “If you don't want to go see Mrs. Robinson, I completely understand.”
Courtney's face lit up. “Not go see her. Why? It's all I've been able to think about since you mentioned it. Please take me to go se her. Please.”
Melanie smiled. “Of course I will. Yes, indeed. Now hurry and get dressed.”
Courtney washed and dressed faster than she ever had. She was also excited about meeting this woman who had changed the lives of so many young woman who had been in difficult circumstances. Maybe this Mrs. Robinson could do the same for me, she thought.
When the two young women arrived at the corner where the agency was located, Courtney had to stop for a moment to regain her composure. She could feel her legs wobbling beneath her. She couldn't believe that she was actually doing this. She should have been at work an hour ago, cleaning and sweeping and dealing with rude customers. But here she was on the verge of a new life. She didn't know whether she could handle all the anxiety. She gripped Melanie's arm tightly. She hated the fact that she had been so emotional for the last few days. That wasn't like her at all. But she couldn’t deal this life anymore. She had to get out. She absolutely had to.
After she took a few deep breaths, her legs stopped shaking and she was finally ready to meet Mrs. Robinson.
“Come on,” Melanie said with a big smile on her face. “She's very kind woman and she loves to help young women like us.”
“I'm so glad you're here,” Courtney said. “I don't think I could have met her on my own.”
“But you're going to have to go in there on your own,” Melanie said.
“A look of fear appeared in Courtney's eyes. What? Why are you leaving?”
“I'm sorry,” Courtney said. “If I don't head to work right now there's no chance that I'll make it on time.”
Melanie hugged her friend and prepared to walk away. Courtney didn't want to let her go. She wanted Melanie to be with her when she met with Mrs. Robinson. She sighed. And she realized that she would end up feeling very guilty, if she were the cause of her friend arriving late to work.
The two young women hugged tightly and said goodbye.
For a few moments, Courtney watched her friend walk away. Then she walked slowly towards the door of the agency. She put her hand on the doorknob and took several deep breaths before entering. There was no turning back now. She was really doing this.
“How can I help you young lady?”
Courtney couldn't see where the voice had come from. A plump woman in her forties with a friendly face turned and looked at her.
Courtney didn't know what to say. She could feel her legs beginning to wobble again. For a second she thought that she was going to fall over.
The older woman slowly walked towards her and took her hands.
“Follow me, child. You go ahead and sit down and tell me how I can help you. That's what I'm here to do.”
Courtney told the kind, older women about the struggles that she had been having at her job. She spoke of her desire to become a mail order bride and move out west and start her life over again.
“Have you told your parents about this?”
Courtney turned red with shame. “I don't have any parents,” she said, fighting back the urge to cry.
The expression on the older woman's face softened even more. She seemed to have genuine compassion for Courtney.
“Well, what kind of man would like to marry?”
Courtney hadn't given this much thought. She had no idea what kind of man she wanted. Getting out of this town and starting over was what mattered most to her.
“How about a rancher? Do you think you'd like life on a farm?” Mrs. Robinson asked, smiling at her maternally.
Courtney quickly shook her head no. Farm life wouldn't work for her. “Denver,” she said. “I want to go to Denver.”
Mrs. Robinson looked at her with a serious expression. “I don't know if that would be the right place for you. Have you ever been to a big city before?”
Courtney lowered her head in shame. She didn't want to lie. But she didn't want to mess up this opportunity, and she definitely didn't want to end up on a farm in the middle of nowhere.
Mrs. Robinson sighed and shook her head. “Well, don't say I didn't warn you. I have a couple of men around your age from Denver who are looking for wives.”
For the next few minutes, Mrs. Robinson went through her files. “Yes, here they are. Would you prefer a railway man or a doctor?”
Courtney's eyes lit up. “A doctor?” She said in disbelief.
“Yes, I think, he's quite successful. Do you think that you would make a good wife for a man like that?”
Courtney shook his head yes. Her whole body tingled with excitement. She was on the brink of the greatest adventure of her life.
When Courtney finally left the Mail Order Bride agency, her entire body tingled with excitement. On the route home she crossed herself several times and looked up to the sky and thanked the heavens. The Lord had truly blessed her. Mrs. Robinson had told her that she could leave as early as the next morning. She got lightheaded and nearly fainted when she heard that. This was all happening so fast. For a moment she had considered asking Mrs. Robinson if she could stay in town for another week before taking the long train ride halfway across the country to the magical city of Denver. But in the end she had been too afraid to make such a request. She didn’t want that kind older woman to think that she had any doubts or reservations about becoming the bride of man whom she had never met. Because she really didn’t have any doubts or reservations. She felt incredibly lucky to have a chance to start her life over again.
Now that she was on the precipice of such a momentous event, it seemed so strange to her that just twenty-four hours ago she had felt completely trapped and hopeless. She thought that she would be doomed to live in this small town impoverished life forever. But in just a matter of hours she would be boarding a train that would take her away from this hellish life for ever and ever.
She couldn’t wait to share the good news with Melanie. After all it was Melanie who had really made all of this possible.
For the first time in a long time, Courtney walked into the cold, dark room that she shared with four other girls with a big smile on her face. She couldn’t help it. Never in her life had she ever felt so filled with joy. The first person she saw when she entered the room was Melanie.
They made eye contact. Courtney smiled and opened her arms wide. Then she rushed towards her friend in order to embrace her. But she noticed right away that something was not right with Melanie. She hadn’t responded to Courtney’s smile with a smile of her own. And she hadn’t made any move to embrace her.
Courtney put her hands on both of Melanie’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Melanie lowered her eyes and looked away.
Courtney put her hand under her friend’s chin and lifted up her face. “What happened to your eye? Did someone try to hurt you?”
Melanie pushed her friend’s hand from her face and rushed towards the spo
t on the floor that served as her bed. She threw her head onto her pillow and within seconds she began sobbing.
Courtney rushed to her friend’s side. Once again she took her chin in her hand and raised her head. Tears streamed down Melanie’ cheeks. She had the most hopeless, the most broken expression in her eyes. And there was a dark bruise under her left eye.
“Did Mr. Jensen put his hands on you?”
When she heard that name, Melanie began shaking and crying.
“Did he?”
Melanie shook her head violently. “No, no. It wasn’t him. It was that evil woman Mr. Jensen. She’s got the devil inside of her. I’m sure of that.”
Courtney had never heard her friend talk like that before. She knew that something must have been terribly wrong.
“What did she do to you?”
Melanie sniffled several times and wiped her eyes. Her body was wracked with emotion. She began shaking uncontrollably. Courtney wrapped her arms around her distraught friend and hugged her tightly.
“Please, Melanie, try to calm down. If you don’t stop shaking I will have to call Doctor Myers.”
Melanie’s face was completely covered by her disheveled hair. Courtney brushed the tangle of hair from her face and squeezed her. “Please calm down. I’m sure if we ask the Lord for protection and guidance that everything will be all right.”
“No, I don’t want to ask anybody for guidance. The Lord and everyone else hath forsaken me. I have nobody. Nobody cares about me. And nobody loves me.”
Courtney desperately wanted to comfort her friend. She wanted to tell her that she loved her. She wanted to tell her that she would always be there for her but it wasn’t true. She was leaving town the next day and heading half way across the country.
“Melanie, I know that things will work out for you. And I’ll be sure to pray for your happiness. I promise that I will. You’ve done so much for me. Without your help, I would have never meet Mrs. Robinson.”
Melanie lifted her head. “Did she find you husband? Did she?” There was an anxiety and a tension in her voice that surprised Courtney. And she felt quite guilty about sharing the good news, the life changing news that Mrs. Robinson had found her a husband. But since Melanie seemed to be genuinely interested there was little sense in playing coy. She just hoped that her good fortune wouldn’t make her dear friend feel even more hopeless and forlorn.
“Yes, Mrs. Robinson found me a man out in that magical city of Denver that you were telling me about. She didn’t give me much information about him. Just that’s he’s a doctor.”
“A doctor?” Melanie’s eyes lit up. Oh, “bless the Lord I am so happy for you. That is absolutely wonderful news.”
Melanie opened her arms wide and hugged Courtney. For many minutes they held each other silently. Courtney was sad that this was the last night that she would ever get to spend with her friend. And she especially felt bad about leaving Melanie behind to suffer in this small town for the rest of her life but she didn’t see any other solution to this very difficult situation. Eventually the two young women fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter 3
“Last stop, folks. Everybody off the train. Everybody off. Welcome to the city of Denver.”
Courtney felt a hand on her shoulder and she slowly opened her eyes. She was tired and groggy and had no idea where she was. Her whole body felt stiff. She had been on the same train for almost twenty hours. She looked out the window trying to figure out whether or not she was dreaming. Could she really be there? Had she finally arrived on the city that she couldn’t stop think about for the past 72 hours. Had the Lord finally delivered her to her destination?
“Ma’am, I suggest you get your bags and get off the this train. You’ve only got a few minutes before we pull out and head back east.”
Courtney looked around in a panic. Almost all of the other passengers had gotten off the train. She stood up and grabbed the one small suitcase that she had brought with her on the journey. She had never had many material possessions so the one piece of luggage was more than sufficient. She hurried out of the train.
Immediately she was overwhelmed. There were so many people! Men and women and children and horses seemed to be everywhere. Never in all of her life had she been around such a throng of people. It was all so much for her to take in. She covered her eyes to block away the sun and then she saw something more beautiful than anything she had ever laid eyes on in her life. It was the white capped Rocky Mountains in the distance. Their immaculate beauty mesmerized her. Truly, only god could have created something so magnificent, she said to herself. For a few precious moments she marveled at the mountains. And in those moments, she was truly convinced that the Lord did in fact have a plan for her. She believed that it was her fate to come halfway across the country to meet the man who would be her husband.
She couldn’t wait for him to show up. Her body tingled with nervous anxious energy. But after about ten minutes, she noticed that she was the only person who had gotten off the train who hadn’t been picked up. She had seen men and women and children embracing and either getting on horses or into carriages. She began to worry that maybe, just maybe the man who was her husband to be would not show up. Doubts and insecurities shook her to her core. What if he had changed his mind? What if he had found another woman?
Just before she was about to drop to her knees in despair, she heard the sound of horse hooves coming towards her. She looked up. A man on a horse towered over her. He got off the horse and removed his gloves and cowboy hat. Then he began walking towards her.
Could this be the man? Could this really be him? He was tall and lean and handsome. She smiled at him. But he didn’t smile back. Instead, he stared at her coldly.
“I reckon you’re, Mrs. Courtney Reynolds. Is that right?”
She nodded her head submissively.
“Well, you can talk can’t you?”
Courtney didn’t appreciate the tone of his voice or the way that he was staring at her. There was no reason for him to take an attitude with her. That’s not what she had come out here for. And she wouldn’t tolerate it. But at that particular moment she was far too nervous to stand up for herself or to say anything that might potentially upset the man who was soon to become her husband.
She couldn’t bring herself to speak. No words would come out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Once again she nodded her head. As she looked at him from head to toe, her eyes rested momentarily on his face. From the lines around his eyes and mouth she could tell that this man had to be at least ten years older than her, maybe more. He was clearly handsome. There was no denying that. But she had wanted and expected a man who was her age. Why had Mrs. Robinson deceived her?
She sighed and lowered her eyes. She began to wonder whether she had made the right decision.
“Listen, I ain’t got all day to stand here and wait for you to say something. If you don’t plan on speaking any time soon then I’m not quite sure you even bothered getting off the train.”
Courtney felt her face turning red. She closed her eyes and gently touched the cross that hung around her neck. She said a brief prayer asking the Lord to look over her and give her guidance. When she opened her eyes and stared at the man in front of her, she noted that the expression in his grey green eyes had suddenly become much gentler. She took a deep breath. Maybe he is a good Christian man after all, she thought.
“I apologize for being nervous,” she said. “But I can’t help it. So much has happened to me over the last few days. I think it finally caught up with me when I got off the train, that’s all.”
“Well, you aren’t having second thoughts, now are you?”
Courtney lowered her eyes and shook her head from side to side.
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. My name is Stevens. Christopher Stevens. It’s very nice to meet you Ms. Reynolds. Honestly, I’m a little bit nervous myself. And that’s certainly strange for me.”
Courtne
y smiled and stared into his enchanting eyes. There were certainly no men like him back east. She couldn’t wait to know more about him. “Why do you say it’s strange?” She asked.
“I hope you’re not the kinda gal who likes to spend her time asking a lot of questions.”
Courtney quickly shook her head from side to side. The last thing that she wanted to do was annoy him. But she really had no idea how to talk to a man, especially one whom she was destined to marry.
“I say it’s strange because I’m a medical doctor and we don’t have a lot of time to be nervous. We wouldn’t be much good to our patients if we were nervous, now would we.”
Courtney smiled and nodded.
“Now, that we’ve introduced ourselves it’s about time that we got going. I’m not one to keep my patients waiting.”
--THE END--
My Mother’s Lover
Luke's mother, Diane, was a payment and loan collector. She would be in a trouble one day because of an unwilling to pay loaner, but she would be saved by a man named Carlo. Unable to thank Carlo enough, she offered to help him find a new job and a place to temporarily stay. She let Carlo stay at her house, with Luke. Eventually, they had a relationship. Because the man has good looks, it will be difficult for Luke to control his urge to flirt and like Carlo.
Betrayal comes in many forms and reasons; Diane would witness an unusual one. Carlo would seduce Luke and the latter would give in, essentially ruining his Mom’s trust and relationship with her
But what is Carlo's reason for doing such? The answer will shock you.
****
It was a busy morning in a Shopping Center in Manila, everyone was rushing to get off to their work and Diane was there too. She was an employee of a rich loan shark named Mr. Dy and her job was to collect payments from vendors’ loans. There was this particular vendor who owed them money who complained about Diane's collection schedule, saying it was always too early. Diane yelled at him, explaining she already gave the vendor enough time to pay and could no longer extend because Mr. Dy would be upset. The vendor fought her and yelled back and behaved like he was about to hit Diane.
Interracial Romance: Gay Romance: Bound By His Own Desires (MMM Endowed Black Men Bondage Threesome Romance) (A Billionaire's Freedom Book 3) Page 137