From the contented look the dog had on his face, she suspected he had found and partaken of a little wacky weed before coming over.
“Connell, you lied to me!” she laughed.
“It was a necessary evil, under the circumstances my love. Anyway, at least I didn’t lie about the bus, that part was true.”
Hopping down, Ted smiled and said, “Well, let’s gitta‘ goin‘, you two. And the missus sends her heartfelt congratulations and blessings. And Aisha, honey, don’t you go worrying your pretty little head about that feisty old wife a’ mine, she’s actually in Atlanta for a visit. One a’ tha’ kids came got her, and right now as we speak, she’s at an Usher concert with them and the grandkids. Magine that! Seems funny to me, her hip hurting all the time, but she can go see some bony boy sing! Ain’t that a bit suspicious, huh?“ he fussed as he opened the door and motioned for them to climb inside.
They climbed inside, laughing amidst all the cheers and catcalls from friends and family, who had all followed them outside. When Jonus called to them, they both turned and looked as he snapped several pictures of them.
Ted handed them a heavy blanket from the front seat and said, “Bundle up, you two.“ Closing the door, he climbed back up in the drivers seat and whistled.
Unable to help herself, Aisha giggled again as the carriage began moving slowly.
Covering her lap with the blanket, Connell reached into his pocked and pulled out a silk scarf. “Here, I have to cover you eyes.“
“What???“
“It won’t be for long, hon, I just don’t want you to see where we’re going, it may give away the surprise.”
“Oh, alright, but what kind of deviltry are you up to now, I wonder?“
After tying the scarf around her head and pulling it over her eyes, he pulled her back into his arms and gave her a peck on the cheek, then began nibbling on her earlobe.
In a low voice, she muttered, “Stop that, honey. If you don’t, I’ll end up embarrassing myself in front of Mr. Ted. He happens to think I’m a decent young lady…”
Chuckling quietly, he sat back and enjoyed the ride.
They rode for about ten minutes, listening to Mr. Teddy talking about married life.
The ten minutes seemed like hours to her though, since she was blindfolded. Unable to contain her curiosity a second longer, she reached up to pull the scarf off.
Giving her hand a soft, yet firm slap, Connell said, “Stop that! You women are so impatient! We’re almost there, cross my heart.”
Where in the world is he taking me? she thought, knowing there wasn’t a motel or a bed and breakfast within forty minutes of the farm. Ohhhh, I know! I bet he’s taking me to the spot where he first proposed to me. That’s so sweet. Even though there’s a nip in the air, I won’t mind camping out again overnight. Oh, he’ll find ways to keep me warm… she thought, and felt herself blush.
Finally, the carriage came to a stop.
She heard the door open and felt Ted’s aged, yet still strong hands grab her own. Slowly and carefully, he guided her out of the carriage.
Waling up behind her, Connell kissed the back of her neck and said, “Honey, this is one last wedding gift, from me, to you.” Reaching down, he lifted the scarf from her face.
She was stunned as she found herself staring at a beautiful, triple wide modular home, with a wrap-around porch. There was an extremely large, freshly built serenity garden right in the middle of the front yard, complete with lighted fountains, antique iron benches and chairs, and there were large goldfish swimming in the brightly lit water. Still stunned, she looked around and noticed for the first time that the pond she loved so much was now a part of the back yard. It was less than fifty yards away.
“Well, what do you think?“
Nearly speechless, she turned and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Connell, it’s beautiful! But who…why…”
“I started planning this before you ever left. This was the “top secret” project I was always working on whenever I locked myself in the office. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s a pre-fab home, that’s how we were able to get all this finished in a matter of weeks. That new…uhhh..driveway thingy, as you put it, is indeed just that, a driveway to here.”
Blinking back tears, she looked at the house, then back to him. “You did all of this, just for me???”
“That’s right.“ Kissing her on the forehead, he explained. “You see, I’ve always known how you feel about living in the same house that Jenny and I lived in, and that’s understandable. I’ll always love Jenny, and cherish her memory of course, but that was then, and this is now. This right here, this is our house, yours and mine. You deserve it. You deserve, well, WE deserve our very own place, for our very own special memories. It’s the best way to begin our new life together, I think.”
“Oh Connell, I just don’t know what to say..” she said hoarsely as her tears of happiness finally spilled over. “What’s to become of the old house?” she sniffled.
“I’ve already told Jonus he can move his things in there and stay for as long as he likes. Even if he quits here and finds another job, that’s still fine by me. In return for everything he did for you while I was on my drunken binge, I told him I would only charge him a dollar a month for rent, for the next ten years. After that it’ll go up to a buck-fifty a month.”
In spite of herself, she laughed. “Heyyyyy, what’s this, you’re actually developing a sense of humor? You’re a good man Connell, I never had any just how good until after…Jenny left us.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not ready for sainthood just yet, I still have my moments. Anyway, I’m positive he’ll take good care of the place. Come on now, let me show you around inside.
Hand and hand, they walked into their new home for the first time together. The family room contained a large fireplace that had been made from river rocks. Walking up to it, she ran her hand over the smooth rocks, imagining the years the family would spend in the room. Turning, she saw a large cushioned bay window that had an assortment of burgundy and hunter green throw pillows. But what captured her attention the most was the fact the window gave offered a perfect view of the pond. The rest of the room contained a large couch with two matching loveseats, and a fifty-two inch plasma television and glass coffee table.
“I had Ben and Helen go get some things while I was gone. Most of the house is furnished, but there’s still a few things missing. I just wanted enough for us to be able to move in right away when we got back. I figured you would want to do the decorating yourself. If you don‘t like anything you see, the manager himself at the furniture store said he would be happy to exchange any of it, since it‘s still unused.” he said as he followed her into the kitchen.
Brass pots and pans hung over an island stove that contained a breakfast bar and stools on one side. There was a state of the art baker’s oven, and all the appliance were stainless steel. The breakfast area had a large, round wooden table that would comfortably seat eight adults.
“Here, let me show you the rest of the house. There are five bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, and we have two half bathrooms, one is in the laundry room, so I can shower in there when I come in from the fields.”
Taking her on a guided tour, he began opening doors as he explained. “This, this room can be our office here.“ Pointing to a blank monitor that sat on a nearly bare desk, he said, “As you can see, I had cameras installed outside this place as well.“
Moving once again, he opened another door. “This is our little Abby’s room,“ he said proudly. For the moment, he had had it decorated with a PowerPuff girls theme, which was her favorite cartoon.
A moment later, she found herself looking at Shawn’s room, which was done up Sponge Bob Square Pants style.
“And now, for the grand finale.” he said as he led her to the master bedroom. Opening the double doors, he led her inside.
She gasped in awe, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. The entire room was bathed in golden
light. There were what looked to her like hundreds of candles burning all around the room. They were everywhere. On the two giant chest of drawers, the nightstands beside the king size bed, on the counters in the large, open bathroom, and all around the large, sunken tub. The bedroom itself also contained a large fireplace, which was already burning.
“If you’re wondering, Mr. Ted came and lit all of them ten minutes before I led you outside.”
Walking to the large, four-poster bed in the middle of the room, she touched one of the twisted posts. She loved the champagne colored bed covers, complete with several gold pillows. She was also surprised to see all of her favorite books sitting snugly in a huge bookcase.
“While I was in New York waiting for you to arrive, I had a moving company overnight these.” he explained.
Taking his large hands in hers, she said, “Connell I love it, I love every bit of it. I cant believe you did all this just for me.”
Pulling her close, he kissed her tenderly. “I did it for us. For our family. Besides, little did you know, at the time, I was 100% prepared to kidnap you and bring you back, if that stubborn streak of yours had kicked in again.”
Looking up at him, her eyes burned with desire, “Let’s get ready for bed.” she whispered in a husky voice.
Taking the overnight bag off his shoulder, he said. “You go get ready, I have to lock up. Take your time.”
Picking up a remote from the nightstand, he clicked it, and soft music begin playing.
Hurrying out of the room, he closed the doors behind him and went into the kitchen. He removed a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling water from the refrigerator, humming softly to himself.
***********************************************
Aisha took one more look in the mirror, satisfied. She had swept her hair up in a twist, and the sheer, low cut white gown fit her form perfectly.
Turning, she left the bathroom and approached the bed. Connell was laying there with a sly look on his handsome face, and she couldn’t help but giggle. It looked as if he had already taken a shower, because he was dressed only in a black pair of pj bottoms, and his hair was wet.
Holding out his hand, he beckoned for her to join him.
Crawling onto the bed, she slid her body up his slowly and seductively. Spotting the treats he had set up for them on the nightstand, she reached over and picked up a strawberry. Holding it to his mouth, he bit into the fruit. The juices dripped down her arm, and he ran his tongue over it slowly. In turn, she leaned forward and licked the juice that was dribbling down his chin. Smiling slyly at the reaction she got, she slid the rest of the fruit in her mouth, enjoying the taste.
“Come here. We have alllll night long, but for right now, I want to hold you.” he said.
Curling up in his arms, she thought of Jenny and the promise she had made to her. It was a promise that she planned on keeping for the rest of her life.
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Chapter 13
New beginnings (several weeks later)
Mary stood outside the Prophet’s office, and knocked quietly and respectfully.
“You may enter.” he replied.
Walking inside, she placed the plate full of food she had been carrying on his desk. “Father, you should eat. I worry so much about your health. If you were to fall ill, we would all be lost.” she said in her usual phony, sweet voice, playing up the humble act she had mastered to the hilt. She had had years to perfect it. She knew the miserable old geezer loved to think that their group would fall apart without his leadership.
Jeddah looked up from his bible and gave her a rare smile. On the rare occasions she did see him smile, she easily could see the resemblance to her husband Ezekiel. “Mary, my child, over the years you’ve become the perfect example of what I want all our young women to follow. You know your place very well, and you make me proud to have you as my daughter-in-law.”
She bit her tongue hard. So hard, in fact, she could taste blood. She then thought of the real reason for her serving the old bastard. She kept her eyes cast downward, just as she had been taught at an early age, and replied in a low, respectful tone. “Thank you father, your words mean so much to me.”
“You’re welcome, child.”
Picking up the teapot that contained his favorite brand of tea, she poured it in his cup and said coyly, “Father, I know it’s not my place to say, but I’ve been very concerned ever since that last girl tried to leave this place, leave all the love and protection we have to offer, to try to venture out into the cruel, wicked world.”
Looking at her with the faintest trace of annoyance, he saw her visibly tense.
But to her relief, he simply nodded, which was his silent way of granting her permission to speak. He must be in a great mood, he didn’t give that same, worn out speech about a woman never knowing what’s best…… she thought.
“Well?”
“Uhhh…the girl, Liz Beth, the one that tried to run away? She told her father and mother some stories that she….” she trailed off, pretending to be hesitant about telling him the rest of the story.
“Don’t just stand there, I granted you permission to speak, so open your mouth and SPEAK, woman! I have little time for this!!” he snapped at her angrily.
Looking down at the floor as if the chastisement had actually affected her, she almost smiled as she said, “Liz Beth said…she said she and Zamora had been reading forbidden books, and that Zamora had the books hidden away. But as part of her atonement, she told her mother where the wicked books were hidden.” What she didn’t mention was that the girl confessed only to ease the savage beating her father had given her after he had caught her trying to run away.
“Ezekiel has said nothing to me of this foolishness!” he barked, banging a clenched fist down on the table in rage.
In spite of herself, she flinched and jumped a little.
His dark eyes suddenly narrowed at her, his ingrained distrust of all women making him suspicious.
She looked down at the floor again, her secret hatred for him burning as intense as ever, same as she felt for her own father. He didn’t say anything because my husband, YOUR son, is spineless, just like YOU. Just like ALL men… she thought bitterly.
Peeking inside the doorway for a brief second, another woman quickly and quietly hurried away after seeing the dark look on the Prophet’s face.
“Father, you know your son, my husband, is very protective of Zamora. Why, he has even refused Samuel’s request to marry her, even after he told me she should get married, just like all the other girls her age.” she said in an innocent voice.
His face-hardened, and he stood so quickly he knocked the chair he had been sitting in backwards, sending it crashing to the floor. Without another look or word to her, he stormed from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Men are just toooo easy.” she chuckled as she righted the chair and then gathered up the untouched dishes. She wanted to get to the meeting hall early, she was certain the sermon tonight would be a fiery one. Humming to herself happily, she reflected on the fact that for the first time ever, she was actually looking forward to a sermon.
************************************************
One Week Later
“Zamora, can you hear me?” a soft voice whispered from above her.
Sitting up, she tried to see who was calling to her. Suddenly sitting back down, she thought, It’s probably just my imagination. I’ve been locked in here for seven days. Maybe I’ve finally lost my mind. Laying back down, she curled back into a fetal position on the dirt floor.
“Zamora! Can you hear me? Are you all right? Please say something!” the voice hissed a little more loudly. Suddenly, she recognized the voice. Jumping to her feet again, her heart raced with fear. She wasn’t afraid for herself, but she knew one of the elders would be here soon, to read hours of scripture to her, and she didn’t wish for her friend to be c
aught doing this. It was considered a grave offense, and she would be severely punished for it.
“Zamora!!!” the voice hissed even louder.
“Liz Beth, you shouldn’t be here!” she hissed back urgently, looking up. “You know what will happen to you if you get caught! Please go away, for your own good!“
“Wait a second…”
She heard metal scraping against metal, then the heavy trapdoor above slowly opened. Light flooded into the tiny room, making her eyes hurt, and she partially shielded them with one hand. After a few seconds, she was able to look up and see her friend peering fearfully down at her.
Glancing furtively over her shoulder, Liz said, “Come on, we have to hurry, while everyone’s in the meeting hall!”
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