by Nicole Smith
"Sure, no problem. Things tend to be slow for me around three in the afternoon."
"Great! I'll see you at three then." Beth waved good-bye and headed for her car. Now as long as nobody else stopped her...
"Beth! I need to talk to you."
It was Frank Grainger, walking toward her on the sidewalk. She waited for him by her car. "What do you need Frank?" she asked when he got to her.
"I need to tell you something. Anna said if I don't tell you, she will. The thing is..."
"Mr. Christopher is coming to the dinner?"
"Yes, but how did you know?"
"He told me himself yesterday. It's no biggie, Frank, so don't worry about it."
"Okay good. How's he doing?"
"Mr. Christopher? He's just fine. Haven't seen him all morning since he's been in a meeting. Now I need to go have lunch and run an errand. See you later, Frank."
She saw Frank watching her drive off, and wasn't sure her performance had been her best, but she didn't care. William was waiting!
* * * *
William wondered what was keeping Beth. He'd gotten to the house a few minutes early, expecting to see her already there.
He walked outside, right as her car pulled up. "What kept you?" he asked.
"People. People wanting to talk to me. Doesn't matter, none of it matters now that I'm here with you," she said. They came together, bodies pressed to each other, kissing passionately.
"Hurry," he said. "Inside."
"Yes," she panted. "Yes, yes, yes."
They made it to the living room, which fortunately had a nice plush rug. William thought they'd set a new record for undressing, as he gathered their clothes up afterward. "I hope I didn't rip anything when I tore it off you," he said.
Beth took her clothes from him, inspecting each piece. "I think we're safe. Now I'm starved. Is there any food in this house?"
"The spaghetti you brought last night, and the cake. That's it."
"Come on, let's get dressed and go heat it up."
"We're good at heating things up."
She laughed with him. He loved her laugh. So fresh and real, nothing fake or forced about it. The sound of her laughing, or the look on her face after making love, the way her clear green eyes watched him, or the feel of her red soft lips against his...he didn't know which he loved more. Then he realized what he was thinking. Was he falling in love with her? Was he in love with her already?
And just that fast, he knew that he was. This wasn't a fling, some affair that he knew would end. He never wanted this to end. But...did she feel the same way?
They were eating spaghetti when it happened. He blurted out, "I think I love you, Beth."
She dropped her fork on the plate with a clatter. "What did you say?"
"I think...no, I know...I love you. I didn't mean to say it, it just came out."
"You didn't mean it?" She shook her head.
"No! I did mean it, I do mean it. I just didn't realize my own feelings...and I don't know how you..."
She jumped up from her chair at the square white table in the kitchen and ran to him and kissed him. "You silly man. Of course, I love you. I think I've loved you from the start. But I didn't know if you saw this as just an affair or what."
"Not an affair," he said. "I don't want this to end. I've never felt like this about anybody."
"Me either."
"But you haven't lived as long as I have. Who knows but that you might meet someone...?"
"Hush. I know, William. I absolutely know that you are the man I was meant to be with. So no second-guessing. I love you. The end."
He kissed her slowly and they moved away from the table. "I can think of a better dessert than coconut cake," he whispered into her ear.
"Only if a bed comes with it," she said.
He laughed and tugged at her hand. "I knew we shouldn't have bothered to dress."
* * * *
Beth walked into Julia's Place floating on a cloud. William loved her! And she loved him, and everything was perfect.
"Beth, there you are."
She jolted to a stop at the sound of her mother's voice. "Mom?"
Her mother walked in from the coffee room. "I thought you'd be here soon. Julia told me you had an errand to run but should be back after lunch. So I had lunch with your father and then he went to the hardware store. I came back here and you weren't here, but Julia was kind enough to make me some hot tea."
"Great! Did you want to see my office?"
"Well, yes. That and I want to measure you. Are you doing something different with your makeup? Your face is glowing."
"Wait a minute. You came here to the office to measure me?"
"It will only take a minute. You know I'll need your proper size if I'm going to be making or buying clothes for you."
"Mom, you know you don't have to..."
"Yes, but this is what I do. Acting is your passion, as I'm trying to understand. Fashion, designing, that is mine. Let me do this, please."
Beth smiled at her mother. "Okay, you talked me into it. Let's go upstairs and get it done."
With her mother talking about Joshua's latest discovery about the sim card in his father's cell phone, Beth thought rapidly. Were there any love bites on her skin? Because if she knew her mother...
"Okay, darling. Strip down to your undies so I can get a proper measurement."
"Mom...fine." She sighed and went to her office door to close and lock it. "But don't go crazy with creating new designs just for me."
"Why not? I could call it my Maribeth line, since you refuse to use your given name." Sophia's face lit up at the idea.
Beth had to laugh. She had a distinct feeling that Maribeth clothing would be on the market next year. "It just always seemed like a mouthful to say. I like the short version."
"Yes, I know. Let me get my measuring tape...here we go."
The next few minutes Beth stood like a mannequin while all her measurements were taken and recorded on her mother's computer tablet.
"All done! Thanks for letting me do that. Now what's this I hear about you and Mr. Christopher?"
Beth dropped her handful of clothes on the floor as she looked at her mother. "Nothing, there's nothing to hear. What did you hear?"
Sophia came over and picked up the clothing, setting it on the desk. "Darling, you may be able to get away with that face on stage or even with some people, but not with me. As long as you've been alive, you tend to drop things when you are truly startled or hiding something. I've heard rumors everywhere! There's that Maelynne woman, and I think she continues to say stuff about you two, even though you both tried to shut her down. Then there's the family, with everyone at some point giving me the idea that something is going on. I'm not going to give you any grief over it, if it's true. My only hope for you is that you're happy. That's all."
"Oh Mom," Beth said with tears forming in her eyes. "I am so happy. We're in love." And then she proceeded to cry on her mother's shoulder while being held and patted on the back.
"What are these tears about then?"
"Partly because I'm happy...and partly because I'm scared I'll lose what I've got right now."
"Beth Carter, you look at me." Sophia pushed her daughter away so she could look into her eyes. "Don't ever be afraid of losing love. It can prevent you from having true happiness. Love for all you're worth. Jump in with all of who you are. Risk everything. It's how I've lived my life and I've never regretted it. Not for a moment. Believe in your love."
Beth wiped her eyes, and slowly nodded. "You're right."
"Why are you trying to give the impression that nothing is going on with you two?"
"Because we wanted it to be just us. We don't want interference from people like Maelynne and other town gossips. We didn't want pushing or prying from family," she said ruefully. "Guess I blew that one with you."
Sophia handed her clothing a piece at a time and Beth began putting it back on.
"He's older than you, ri
ght? That's one thing I've heard."
"Yes, about ten years."
"I can understand why you don't want people talking about you, with new love and all. And I'm afraid your father would want to question your Mr. Christopher quite thoroughly after what happened with that Benton attacking you. Plus, he won't like the age difference."
"Mom, you aren't going to tell him, are you?"
Sophia sighed, pushing back her glorious mane of hair. "All right. I won't tell him. But I expect you to tell him at some point. I'm willing to let you have your secret for now, but don't let it go on too long, darling. Now, I'm off to meet up with Maggie. She says there's a lovely woman with a unique yarn store on Main Street."
"I love you," Beth said as she hugged her mother.
"I love you, too, baby girl."
Beth laughed and unlocked the door, swinging it open. "I guess I'll always be that to you."
"Always...oh, hello! Is this Mr. Christopher?"
Beth glanced up quickly to see William stopped at the top of the stairs. He walked over, with one raised eyebrow.
"Hello, I'm William Christopher."
Shaking his hand, Sophia said, "I'm Sophia Carter, Beth's mother."
His eyes opened wider. "Oh! It's very nice to meet you. You have a lovely daughter who is a quite talented actress and--"
Beth held up a hand. "William, stop. She knows."
"She knows?" he asked warily.
"But she's going to keep our secret for now."
"Ah, I see. Well...thank you, Mrs. Carter."
"Call me Sophia, please."
"Please, call me William."
"Oh, I think that will wait until we've been officially introduced at the family gathering this weekend. I need to go now. Nice to meet you, Mr. Christopher. You be good to my daughter," she said as she speared him with a look.
"Always, Sophia. Always."
She smiled at him then, and went down the stairs.
Beth motioned for him to come into her office, and shut the door behind him. "I'm sorry. She just...knew! It was eerie. But she'll keep quiet for now."
"Are we doing the right thing...keeping it a secret for now?"
Beth moved forward to stand in front of him and put her arms around his neck. "Just for a while, let's have this for ourselves. How about after the play, we tell everyone?"
He smiled a big smile at her, eyes twinkling. "That I can live with, easily. And this way we get the fun of sneaking around." He gave her a light kiss that Beth knew was about to deepen when a knock on the door happened.
They pulled away from each other abruptly, and then she started to giggle. Opening the door, they found Julia standing there with a notebook computer in her hands.
"Beth? What's so funny?
William said, "Oh I was just telling her about the time I almost fell off the stage ad libbing."
"Okay..." Julia said. "I came up because I thought we could go ahead and have our meeting about the costumes. Maybe you should stay too, William."
He nodded and they pulled up chairs around Beth's desk. As Julia started explaining her idea, Beth kept her eyes on the information she presented on the computer. She knew if she looked at William she wouldn't be able to keep from smiling at him. Be an actress! She told herself. This might be the hardest part she ever played.
* * * *
Beth stood at the large window, looking out at the moonlight dancing among the trees. Further out, she could see the shining tops of waves. It was a full moon, and the light of it made the night seem like a fairyland.
She was wearing a sleeveless long golden nightgown, fitted with lace and satin at the top, and then flowing full to her feet. The night beckoned, and if it had been warmer, she'd have run out there to be in the moonlight.
The stairs creaked as William came down to join her. "I woke up and missed you. Everything okay?"
She turned to him and smiled. "Everything is wonderful. I was just looking at the moonlight."
He came to stand behind her, his bare chest warm as she leaned back against him. He'd only pulled on pajama bottoms, but he felt cozily heated from being in bed.
"I was thinking about us," she said. "Wondering things. Like, where do you want to live after you finish the Playhouse? Would you want to go back to the city?"
"Wherever you are, that's where I want to be."
"That makes two of us feeling that way," she said with a laugh. "I guess I assumed you'd want to work in the city again."
"Not all the time. I need time away from there. Sully Point might be a nice place to have a second home to retreat to. We could give part of our time to the Playhouse here."
"That sounds nice. Now, a bigger question...do you want kids?"
He got tense for a moment, but then relaxed again. "You know, I never thought I'd have kids, but that was because I never anticipated finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. Can we agree to table that one for a while?"
"Yes. I know I want to work, and not be sidetracked by raising kids right now. Maybe later, though."
His arms hugged her.
"Okay, here's the biggie...when you cast me in the role of Corie, did you pick me because you were attracted to me? Or do you think I'm good enough for the part?"
He turned her in his arms so that she could see his face. He looked very serious and intent. The moonlight silvered his gray-blue eyes, making him look almost otherworldly. "Listen to me well, Beth. I would never compromise my professional integrity by an attraction I might feel. You really are that good, more than good enough. I knew the minute I heard you reciting the monologue from Gypsy, on the stage that first time at the Playhouse. Don't ever doubt that you have what it takes to make it in this business."
She searched his face and what she found there made her lips curve into a smile. "Are you sleepy still? Or do you think you could stay awake for a bit?"
He grinned at her. "What do you think?"
"I think I have big plans for you in that big bed upstairs."
"Ah. Do you know, I think I could accommodate you."
The walked hand in hand up the wide stairs. He let go of her hand and walked over to open the curtains.
"I want to see your body bathed in moonlight, my love."
"William," she said, her heart full of love for him.
He met her eyes and walked steadily to her across the room. When he got to her, their lips met with a rich sweetness. Beth felt like she was falling into him, into their love, their bliss.
It was a night of tender exploration, and satisfaction unlike anything she'd ever known. Falling asleep, her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat, she knew she'd given herself completely to this man. It was the best night of her life.
Chapter 7
Maggie met her mother for a late lunch at the Lobster Shack the next day. She was running late, and began apologizing as she was sitting down at the table. "So sorry! I got caught up in my project and..."
Sophia laughed. "That's fine. I already ordered a salad for both of us."
Maggie felt stricken. "We're having more than salad, right? Because I don't think the baby can subsist on only a salad."
Sophia laughed again. "You're right, I'm sure."
"I want a big roast beef sandwich, with lots of horseradish sauce on it," Maggie announced.
Her mother's brow furrowed. "At a seafood place?"
"Well, you know I'm careful about the seafood right now. And I'm craving beef. They make fab sandwiches here of all kinds, but I think their roast beef is the best. Probably because of the horseradish sauce. They really should sell that stuff."
Sophia shrugged. "Feeling okay?"
"Mom...when will everyone stop asking me that?"
"Once you have the baby, of course."
"So what have you been up to in Sully Point?"
Sophia looked around their table carefully. "There's nobody near us to hear, right?"
Maggie looked too, and shook her head. "What is it?"
"Well, I went to take Be
th's measurements. And by the way, I should get yours too. I'll get some maternity clothes whipped up for you. Don't worry, they won't look like maternity clothes!"
"Okay, thanks. You went to Beth's and...What?"
"I found out the truth! But you can't tell anyone what I'm going to tell you, Maggie. You really can't."
Maggie rolled her eyes. "Am I not the best secret-keeper in the family?"
"Honestly? Not really, but I know you love your sister so you'll keep it quiet."
"What? What is it?"
"She's involved with that lovely Mr. Christopher, that's what," Sophia said, triumphantly.
Maggie sat back in her chair, feeling stunned. "But...she told me! Just yesterday, she said there was nothing between them...that sneak!"
"You can't blame her. They want to keep it a secret for a while so they don't have to deal with town gossip and people prying, you know."
"But you're telling me, aren't you?"
Sophia shifted in her chair. "I had to tell someone, after all. But we can't let your father know. I'm not sure he'd approve. That's why we can't tell anyone else."
"Oh brother, I so want to tell!"
"Maggie, no. I'm telling you because you're such a good daughter."
Maggie leaned across the table and whispered as some other people came into the restaurant. "You just had to tell someone, anyone. I know how much you gossip in that fashion world of yours. But don't worry, I'll keep the secret."
"Good! Let's order your sandwich, and then you can tell me about your latest project."
Maggie nodded, even as she knew she'd have to tell her husband, Eric. After all, she thought virtuously, married people shouldn't keep secrets from each other.
* * * *
Late in the afternoon, Eric was in the local discount store looking for a cheap storage unit to use in the garage. He ran into Sam, who was buying what looked like ten or so cell phones. "I'm trying to figure out what you need with all those phones, Sam."
Sam shrugged. "It's Joshua's latest thing. But why are you buying that storage unit here? You could get a better one at Frank's hardware store."
"I know, but then I'd have to talk to Frank, and he has this way of always getting information out of me."