Love Me Tonight

by Gwynne Forster

  “Neither do I. He’s leaving in around a month. I’ll get the correct date from his secretary. Is this why you called me?”

  “No. It’s killing me not getting into my car and driving to you right now.”

  “But if you come here, you definitely won’t get your work done,” she teased. “We can see each other tomorrow evening maybe. I’m having lunch with Pamela.”

  There! Henry would be proud of her. “Don’t make it easy for him,” he’d said, “but don’t give him too much rope, either.”

  “Does that mean you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow evening? We can go to that Italian restaurant that we never got to last week.”

  “Okay. Will you wear a tie?”

  “Absolutely, and a handkerchief, too.”

  After they told each other good night, she finished the quiche and beer, discarded the refuse, extinguished the kitchen light and went to her bedroom, but she couldn’t sleep.

  The phone aroused her from a tired stupor at a quarter of six the next morning.

  She sprang up. “Hello.”

  “Heather. It’s your father. He…he won’t wake up.”

  She jumped out of bed. “Annie! Is this Annie? What is it? What’s the matter with him?”

  “I think…I think he’s left us. Just a minute. The ambulance is here.”

  She heard her heart pounding, as pain crisscrossed her stomach like scissors gutting her into pieces.

  “Hello, ma’am,” a male voice said. “I’m the EMS driver. The lady here insists I talk to you. I…I don’t think there’s much hope. I’m sorry.”

  Stricken, Heather mumbled, “Thanks. Let me speak with Annie.”

  “I knew he was gone as soon as I touched him, Heather,” Annie said, tears in her voice. “Funny thing is I couldn’t sleep last night. He ate a good dinner, and we laughed and talked for the longest time. Every time I said it was time for him to go to bed, he’d think of something else to reminisce about. He got up to go to bed, stumbled slightly and laughed.

  “You know what he said? ‘Getting old is terrible. Maybe the alternative isn’t so bad. If I was twenty years younger and knew what I know now, I’d make you marry me. You’ve been the true love of my life.’ It hasn’t hit me yet, but Lord, I know it will.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can get there, Annie. I have a few calls to make.”

  She hung up and telephoned Judson.

  “Hi, sweetheart. You’re up early again today. Is this getting to be a habit?”

  “Oh, Judson. My…my father died. I—”

  “What? When?”

  She told him.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I have to go to Hagerstown.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  “But you have something important to do today.”

  “I know, but my senior associate will have to take care of it. Can you make a pot of coffee?”

  “Yeah. Don’t forget to feed Rick.”

  “I’ll call his sitter. Rick will be one pampered dog when I get back home.”

  She packed, remembered that she probably wouldn’t be back home for at least a week, and repacked. She made coffee, fried some bacon, mixed some pancake batter and set the little table in the kitchen.

  The doorbell rang, and she ran to the door. “Hi,” she said and collapsed into his embrace.

  He stepped inside, dropped a small overnight bag on the floor, kicked the door shut and wrapped his arms around her. For a while, they didn’t speak. Then he walked with her to the kitchen. “Let me pour you some coffee,” were his first words.

  He said grace and they ate in silence.

  “You have a lot of things to do today, things with which I’ve had some experience. I’ll stay with you till you have everything in order.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you, Judson.”

  “Please don’t thank me, Heather. You’re the most important person in my life and the closest to me. You’re everything to me. What else would I do?”

  “Oh dear, I had a date with Pamela for lunch.”

  “You told me last night. I called her a few minutes before I got here. She’ll phone you later. How’s Annie taking this?”

  “She was calm when she called me, but I don’t know how long that will last. She said that as he headed for bed last night, he told her that she was the true love of his life. I knew that, and I’m glad he told her. Funny thing was that I couldn’t get to sleep last night.”

  “I think we all have second sights, but they’re uncultivated. Remember how happy you were when you left him last week?”

  “I do, and right now, I have a wonderful feeling about that. I don’t know how long it will last.”

  He cleaned the kitchen, stored their bags in the trunk of his car and phoned Telford with the news of Heather’s father. “She and I are on our way to Hagerstown now.”

  “We’ll be there for her. What is her father’s address?” Judson gave it to him. “All right. I’ll see you there around one-thirty today.”

  Judson relayed the conversation to Heather. “You see? They care about you. And about me. Seven months ago, I only had Scott. Now, I have you, Aunt Cissy and the Harringtons. I have a family. And that reminds me. I’d better call Aunt Cissy.”

  Annie met them at the door. They embraced each other and, as he’d expected, when Heather hugged Annie, she finally cried. An aching emptiness settled inside of him as he watched her struggle with the pain.

  “The first thing we have to do is make the funeral arrangements,” he said, doing his best to break the mood. “Then, we have to notify his friends and acquaintances. I’ll call the minister at Shiloh to schedule the funeral and give the Frederick News-Post a notice and report the event to the local radio station. I’ll make some fliers on my laptop and print them out in the library.”

  Annie stared at him in frank appreciation. “Danged if you’re not the most organized person I know, and especially now that Franklin’s gone.”

  His cell rang, and he took the call quickly. He turned to Heather. “That was Aunt Cissy. How many notices do you think we have to mail?”

  Within two hours, they had everything organized.

  “Child, this ham won’t last long,” Cissy said a little later after arriving at the Tatum home. She had baked it along with biscuits, corn bread and string beans. “You always need a lot of food at times like this.”

  Telford and Alexis arrived, bringing three roasted chickens.

  “The five of us ought to get these notices done in no time,” Alexis said, sitting down to the dining room table and handing out stationery like someone dealing cards. “I’ll have to leave, because I’m still nursing, but Drake and Pamela will be here later. Russ and Velma will be here tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, and we can mail them in the post office when we’re on the way home,” Telford said.

  And so it went. Pamela and Drake arrived with beer, soft drinks and a bottle each of bourbon and aged Scotch whiskey. Relief spread over Judson when Pamela embraced Heather, and the heaviness he’d observed in Heather lifted like fog in the morning sun. He knew then that, of the Harrington women, Pamela would be the one to which Heather would become attached. He looked to Telford as an older brother, but he regarded all of the three with true brotherly affection.

  It amazed him that when Russ and Velma arrived the following morning, Henry accompanied them. “It was easy for me to arrange for the reception after the interment,” Velma explained. “You know I plan parties, receptions and such things professionally. Just leave it to me.”

  Heather found Judson in the kitchen talking with Henry, who was explaining to Judson the personalities and outlook of the Harrington men. “They’re behaving like they always do,” Henry said. “Whenever one starts something, the other two pitch in and help. I’m thankful that me boys all got themselves women with the same spirit. They’re a loving bunch.”

  “It’s very strange,” Heather said. “This is
a sad and terrible loss for me, but I have this feeling that out of it, I’ve gained something precious.”

  “Nothing strange about it,” Henry said. “Your friends are showing you that we’re yer family.”

  She leaned down and kissed his weathered cheek. “You’re a rare person, Henry. I’m blessed to know you.”

  “You’re all right yourself.”

  Judson watched the interplay between Henry and Heather. The old man clearly admired and preferred women who possessed intelligence and elegance. One day, he meant to have a conversation with Henry about that.

  “Why do you like Heather for me?” he asked when Heather went to answer the phone.

  “Oh, that’s an easy one,” Henry said, seemingly with relish. “Apart from how you feel about each other, she’s arrow straight, won’t let you down and won’t let you walk over her, and she’ll stick with you in whatever you do. She’s that type, and they ain’t easy to find.”

  “That’s a terrific recommendation for a woman.”

  “She’s what you deserve.”

  Friday afternoon saw the end of the ceremonies and the reception. The Harrington family, including Henry, returned to Eagle Park, and Telford asked his brothers if they could meet for a few minutes to discuss Judson and his paternity. They assembled in the den at Telford’s house, and after getting their preferred drinks, Telford leaned back in his favorite chair and opened the topic.

  “Judson told me that he’s taken steps to try and get his birth certificate. But there’s no doubt in my mind that he is Uncle Fentriss’s son. So, I don’t need that certificate.”

  “What are you getting at?” Russ asked him.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Drake said. “Add everything else we know and then let him stand beside me, and there’s your answer. But if he wants DNA tests, I’ll accommodate him.”

  “So will I,” Russ said.

  Drake got up and got another drink of bourbon and water. “We split Uncle Fentriss’s money between the three of us, and we’ve already used a lot of it for philanthropic and other purposes. We still have all that property Uncle Fentriss gave us, and we could give him the Beverly apartment building. It’s the single most valuable piece of property that Uncle Fentriss left us, but it isn’t a quarter of the value of the estate. Am I right, Russ?”

  “Yeah,” Russ replied. “Income from that building alone would make him a wealthy man, though I sense he’s already well-fixed.”

  “As executor of the will, can you take care of the deed, Russ?” Telford said.

  “Absolutely. It may take some weeks to finalize it, though, because town, county and state officials have to sign it, in that order. I suggest we tell him about it when I have the document in my hand.”

  “All right,” Telford said. “Believe me, I feel good about this. When it’s a done deed, we’ll tell Henry. He’ll appreciate it. Let’s drink to it.”

  At that moment, Heather made an important decision. “I know you love this place, Annie, and your memories of my father are tied to it. But you’re too young to live another forty years in the past. I don’t think you’d be happy in a Baltimore apartment. So, I’ve decided to sell this house, buy—”

  At the stricken expression on Annie’s face, she held up her hands, palms out. “I’m going to buy one in Frederick, move the contents of this house and you to a new one, and I’m going to close my Baltimore apartment and live with you in Frederick. What about it?”

  Annie sat down, covered her face with her hands and let the tears come. Heather sat beside her and folded the woman into her arms. “You’ve been my rock since I was ten years old, my mother whenever I needed one and always my friend. What did you think I’d do now that you need me?”

  “I…I didn’t know what would happen. This is my home. God bless you, Heather.” She wiped her eyes with the hem of her blouse. “What about Judson? Surely you’re not planning to let him go. Your own husband couldn’t have been better to you than he’s been this past week. Cissy told him that he’s crazy if he doesn’t marry you, and I’m telling you the same thing.”

  A frown marred Heather’s smooth face. “Why’d she tell him that?”

  “She said she wanted to see him settled and happy before she passes on. He told her not to worry. Your daddy thought a lot of Judson, too.”

  “I know. So do I. We have to go to Frederick tomorrow to see the lawyer about the will, and while we’re there, we can check out a couple of houses.”

  “May I speak with you for a minute?” Judson’s voice came from the doorway.

  She looked up and saw Judson standing there. “Of course. Excuse me, Annie.”

  She walked over to him.

  “I need to get back to Baltimore, but I’ll leave my car for you and get a limousine,” Judson explained. “Also, I’ve filed a request for my birth certificate along with sworn affidavits from Aunt Cissy and her sister-in-law and a copy of my adoption papers. I’m hoping and praying for the best.”

  She gazed up at him, seeing the anxiety in his eyes. Whatever concerned her was at that moment of no importance. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “I’ll be hoping and praying, too, because I know this means everything to you.”

  A half smile curled his lips. “Well, not everything. You’re more precious to me than that or any other document could possibly be.” He ignored her inquiring expression. “I also have to prepare for a difficult trial. I’m not basically a trial lawyer, but we can’t come to an agreement, so it has to go to trial. While here, I’ve been working on it with my partners by phone and the Internet, but they want me to argue it in court. Let me know when you’ll be home and what you’re planning to do with Annie.”

  “I’ll call you at home tonight.”

  He bent to her lips and, for the first time in a week, she had a need to feel him driving his body inside of hers. He stared down at her. “Soon, sweetheart,” he said, reading her mood.

  Heather watched Judson get into the limousine, and as it pulled away, she vowed to give their relationship until the end of the year. “If we don’t have a contract by then, I’m out of it.” She knew it was her fault that they went along willy-nilly because she hadn’t encouraged him to believe that she wanted anything more. But now that she understood fully what he meant to her and how rich life with him could be, she was going for it. She went into the living room where Annie sat in solemn silence.

  “Come on, Annie,” she said, shaking the keys to Judson’s car, “we’re going house hunting.”

  She drove through Frederick and its environs, saw three houses that they both liked, and made a note to contact a real estate agent.

  Half an hour after she parked Judson’s car in front of her building she answered the bell and opened the door to Judson. “Hi,” she said. “I didn’t—”

  He swallowed her words in his mouth, picked her up and walked inside with her in his arms. “Sweetheart, so much is going on for the next few days,” he said when he released her. “I need you badly, and I know you need me. You’re my first priority, but that case I’m working on will be the first in five years that I’ve argued in court, and I admit I’m scared. I’m a corporate lawyer, not a trial lawyer.”

  She pushed him into a big chair and sat in his lap. Her agenda did not include talk about cases and trials. “You know I’m with you,” she said. He eased her up higher in his lap. She locked her hands at the back of his neck and parted her lips over his. His groan excited her, heat snaked up her limbs and arousal gripped her. He goes after what he wants, and I can, too. Letting him know what she wanted, she sucked his tongue into her mouth and pulled on it as if she were drawing liquid through a straw from a near-empty bottle.

  His arousal was the signal she needed. The ache in her vagina intensified to urgent need, her nipples ached, and she grabbed his right hand and rubbed one furiously. He jerked her sweater overhead, flung off her bra, bent his head to suck her nipple into his mouth and feasted on it, ripping screams from her as he popped the s
nap on her jeans. He slid his hand down to her clitoris and rubbed it in a double onslaught. She cried out from the pleasure of it and from the harrowing need to have him inside of her.

  “Put me someplace and get in me,” she said. “I need you. I can’t stand this.”

  He stripped off her clothes and carried her naked to her bed. Seconds later, disrobed, he pulled her to the edge of the bed, locked her legs around his shoulders, and nipped, licked and sucked until she whined for relief. As if hell-bent on staking a claim for all time, he kissed his way up her body at his own good time, stared down into her face and went into her slowly, tantalizing her. She gave as she never had.

  When she was on the brink of orgasm, he smiled down at her. “Be still for a minute, baby.”

  She tried to hold her body still while he drove into her with rapid and powerful strokes. The heat at the bottom of her feet seemed to spread through out her body, and then the pumping and squeezing, the quivering of her legs and thighs, but still it wouldn’t come. He put a hand beneath her hips, held her where he wanted her, and with a powerful explosion, relief tore through her body.

  “Oh, my Lord, I’m dying. You’re killing me. Oh, Lord, I’m… Oh, Judson. I want you to love me.” She bucked beneath him and then lay still. Breathless.

  “I do love you,” he moaned. “You’re my life.” He poured the essence of himself into her and collapsed in her arms.

  “I haven’t got enough strength to drink a glass of water,” he happily complained. “I’d better stay away from you till I finish this case.”

  “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be able to give you with your case, though I’ll try.”

  He moved from her, fell over on his back and tucked her to his side. “What’s going to happen with Annie?”

  “Shows you where my head is. I forgot to tell you that I’m going to sell the house in Hagerstown, buy one in Frederick and settle there. Annie’s what’s left of my family, so my home is her home.”

  She felt him stiffen.