“That sounds like something I’ll have to take a look into. We can’t have teachers in our school setting that kind of example for our children now can we. You know I never have liked that girl. She may be the good Reverend’s intended but there was always just something about her.” She placed the papers she was grading down beside her. She could finish them later.
She was getting a piece of my man. Now maybe I can get her out of the picture and have the good Reverend all to myself. He should have been all mine a long time ago.
“What are you gonna do about it?” asked Francine.
“Well, first of all, the good Reverend needs to hear about this. But Francie, dear, I’m in the middle of all this school work. Would you mind just calling him and letting him know what you saw? There’s no need to mention that you talked to me.”
Merle stood up and paced around the room as she talked. “You understand. I’m sure he doesn’t want everyone knowing that that floozy of a bride of his is out the night before the wedding doing heaven knows what with that Wakefield boy. He always was a trouble maker, you know.”
“No sister, the wedding was postponed, again, don’t you remember?”
“Yes, that’s right. Something about her being snowed in somewhere with a friend. Hmmm, now that makes me wonder who she was snowed in with? Surely Reverend Wolfe should hear about this.”
“Oh sure, sure sister, I’ll call right away. He’s such a nice man, too.” Francine replaced the telephone receiver. She picked it up and dialed the Reverend Ralph Wolfe’s number. She let it ring and ring but got no answer.
“I’ll just call later, after some nice hot tea,” she said to Jeremiah, as the cat meowed in answer and wound its way in and out between her legs as she tried to walk. She walked into the kitchen, shooed Jeremy, Jerome, Jimmy and JayJay off the counter, picked up the tea kettle, and went to the sink for water.
“Now you girls get out of the sink, do you hear me? Ginny, skedaddle and take Gertrude with you. Where’s Georgette? Hmm? Has she gone somewhere to have those babies. Oh dear, we’ll have to find her. She may need our help you know.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Saturday morning came early. The cold air stung her face as Claire trudged across to the Main Street Café. This morning, however, she did not feel the cold. Her thoughts were on Jack. Her shoulders carried the weight of the world and yet in another way, a weight had been lifted from her soul.
The café was full of its usual Saturday morning crowd. Claire pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room quieted and she could feel the stares of the patrons as she looked around for Ralph. Not seeing him, she took a seat at a corner table.
“Can I get you something to drink to start with,” asked the waitress.
“No thank you. I’ll just wait here for Ralph. She much preferred to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible. Ralph was insistent on setting another wedding date as soon as possible.
Claire looked around the café and watched as a few customers came and went. Fifteen minutes went by before Claire’s cell phone finally rang.
“Hello,” she answered.
There was silence on the other end and then it disconnected. Claire looked at the call log to see who the caller had been.
Unidentified. I’m gonna have to change my number if these calls don’t stop.
The door at the front of the café opened and Ralph hurried in. He glanced around and finally spotting Claire, rushed to her table.
“Sorry, Claire, I can’t stay this morning. I’ve got lots of stuff to do to get ready for tomorrow’s sermon. You understand.”
He patted her hand gently.
“Ralph, I need to-”
“Glad you made it home safely,” he continued. “I was really worried about you. I kept calling and calling but couldn’t get through most of the time. Listen, I’ll call you later and we can get together next week to reset the date.”
“Ralph, I need to …” Claire started but Ralph had already turned and was halfway out the door. She realized Ralph was a busy man, but surely he could spare a few minutes for her. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually sat down with her and had a conversation. A real conversation. A conversation about anything other than him telling her what to do or what to think.
Claire sat in silence for a moment before she noticed the other customers staring at her. She looked down at her hands folded on top of each other lying on the edge of the table. Reaching over, she grabbed her purse, removed her car keys and headed out the front door.
* * *
Monday morning came all too soon and Claire could hardly keep her mind on her third grade students. Finally, it was recess and she could have a few minutes to herself while the children played.
Her thoughts made her smile and she felt a warm sensation between her legs. Her nipples hardened beneath her suit jacket and she thrust them ever so slightly forward as if presenting them to Jack for his pleasure.
“Ms. Jones.” Principal Merle Hathaway called to Claire as she quickly walked across the school yard. “Ms. Jones, I need to speak with you privately.”
Claire’s face flushed as she doused the thoughts of Jack and turned to face the Hawk. Claire smiled at the name one of the teachers had given to the principal long ago. It fit and had stuck with the rest of them as well but never to her face.
“Yes, Principal Hathaway. What can I do for you today?”
“I need you in my office immediately after recess. I’ve instructed Mrs. Baker to watch your students. When you go in, just take them to her classroom.”
“Oh sure. Is there a problem?”
“We’ll discuss it in my office.”
“Okay. The students have ten more minutes and I’ll be there right after that.” Now what have I done to upset the Wicked Witch of the West. Claire watched her as she scurried back into the school building. Wonder where you left your broom.
* * *
Mrs. Janet Baker walked outside her classroom door with Claire.
“Any idea what you’ve done now?” Janet asked.
“Not the foggiest,” replied Claire. “Maybe my shoes are the wrong color or something. With her, it could be anything.”
“Well, I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Janet, you’re a true friend.”
“Well, I know you’d be there for me if the ol’ battle ax called me in instead of you.”
“I’d be there in a heartbeat. Wish me luck.” Claire headed down the hallway to the principal’s office. Walking into the outer office, she glanced around to see if anyone else would be receiving the upcoming wrath of ol’ Hawk Face. Usually she would be joined by one or two.
Seeing no one else, it seemed today, she would be the only unlucky recipient of whatever evil Hawk Face had pulled out of her bag of tricks to bestow on the teachers.
Claire knocked on the Principal’s door.
“Do come in, Ms. Jones,” growled Principal Hathaway from deep inside her lair.
Claire took a calming breath before opening the door and walked inside.
“Have a seat Ms. Jones and I’ll get right to the point, no use making Ms. Baker do your job any longer than necessary.”
“Thank you, Principal Hathaway. I appreciate that as I‘m sure Ms. Baker does, too.”
“It’s come to my attention Ms. Jones that your moral conduct is under question. You were seen outside a certain gentleman’s house last night.”
And I wonder who it was that saw me, since your sister lives right across the street. Claire’s sharp poker face never changed.
“Ms. Jones we can’t have our teachers displaying such low morals. I’m sure you can understand that all the teachers here must uphold the integrity of their position.”
Oh God, she’s gonna fire me! Claire continued her poker facade. She would not let this woman see her fear.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Principal Hathaway I assure you my morals are of the highest
quality. Kissing a gentleman in public is not unheard of in this day and time.”
“Well, I must say, Ms. Jones,” she replied, fanning her flushed face, “I do believe the man you were kissing was not your intended.” She glanced over the top of her reading glasses at Claire.
“Wouldn’t that be no one’s business except Ralph’s and mine?”
“Nonetheless, I do believe you were to wed the good Reverend Wolfe this past Saturday. I realize the wedding had to be postponed.” I’m sure this situation with that Wakefield boy has something to do with it and I intend to find out. She tapped her pencil against the desktop. “Something about this last heavy snow fall we had wasn’t it?”
Prying are we? “Yes, I was stranded and couldn’t get back into town due to the high volume of snow we had. Ralph was aware of my situation and postponed the wedding as we didn’t know exactly when I would be able to return. Ralph and I didn’t want to inconvenience any guests by having them show up when there was a possibility I wouldn’t able to get back.”
“Well, nevertheless Ms. Jones, I will give you a warning. And mind you, I only give one warning. If your character comes into question again, I’ll have no alternative but to take action. Are we clear?”
“Yes, we’re perfectly clear.” Claire’s rage flared inside her as she walked out of the principal’s office. Her hands shook with fury. Her heart pounded inside her chest. Her stride was determined as she hurried back toward Mrs. Baker’s classroom.
I’ve earned my teaching degree you old bitty. I’ll not see you ruin my name nor my reputation as a teacher just because you two old bitties are crazier than bessbugs.
Claire stood outside Mrs. Baker’s class and motioned for her. Mrs. Baker quickly gave the children a writing assignment and hurried outside the door.
“That ol’ bitty had the nerve to question my morals. That busy body of a sister of hers happened to see me kiss somebody other than Ralph last night and word spread like wildfire between the two.”
“You kissed someone other than Ralph. Oh my goodness, who in the world was it?”
“That’s not the point, Janet.”
“I know but you never told me about kissing someone else. Sweetie, you know how I feel about Ralph and if there’s somebody else …”
“There was nothing to it.” At least I’m trying not to let there be anything to it. I just happened to kiss someone kind of like a thank you for helping me out. Anyway, Francine apparently happened to be snooping out her window and saw me. I’m sure Principal Hathaway knew about it before the kiss even ended. You know those two. If there’s something they can gossip about then they’re burning up the phone lines.”
“What’d ol’ Hawk face say?”
“Says I’ve been warned about my morals and if it happens again she’ll take action.”
“Action, what kind of action?”
“She didn’t say but I’m assuming she’ll fire me.” Claire crossed her arms in front of her chest. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out what I ever did to that ol’ bitty to make her hate me so much.”
“She does seem to stay on your heels all the time. I still think she’s got a crush on Ralph. I’ve seen the way she looks at him sometimes and I swear it is pure lust.”
“You may be right.” Claire laughed. “Anyway, thanks for taking my kids. I’ll take them off your hands now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Good morning, Mr. Wakefield,” Margaret Smith looked up from her desk at Wakefield, Timmons & Jepson Law Firm.
“Morning, Margaret,” Jack replied not at all interested in the niceties of the day.
“Everything alright this morning, Mr. Wakefield?” Margaret asked accessing his foul mood.
“Fine,” Jack huffed. “Hold my calls, Margaret.” Jack stomped by her desk and into his office, slamming the door behind him. He needed sleep. His thoughts, since he had arrived home last Friday night, had been nothing but Claire.
He had called Priscilla first thing, met her for dinner Saturday and called off the wedding. Surprisingly, she took the news rather well. Jack was prepared for hysteria with her flying off the handle, slinging every derogatory name at him known to man, probably a slap in the face before storming out.
But she had sat quietly and calmly listening to him. When he finished, she simply said thank you, got up and walked out of the restaurant.
Jack had spent the rest of the weekend and all the following week brooding over Claire. He had even tried several times a day calling her on her cell phone but hung up each time he heard her voice.
He had seen her outside the Café and had endured an instant hard on. He’d had to go home and take a cold shower.
Those sexy thoughts hadn’t stayed out of his head either. Claire invaded every waking moment. He could see her beautiful breasts and feel her warm skin. He could not get the taste of her out of his mouth. He could still smell the sweetness of her hair.
It tortured him when visions of Ralph lying on top of her crept into his thoughts.
He’d thrown the glass he’d been drinking out of across the room. Margaret rushed in thinking something had happened and he’d yelled at her and told her to get out. Then he’d apologized and cleaned up the broken pieces. He couldn’t get Claire’s sweet memory out of his head.
Margaret glanced periodically into the inner window of Jack’s office. He sat with his head in his hands hunched over his desk. She could tell he was not working, although he wasn’t asleep either. His position hadn’t changed in the last hour. It seemed to her he was just sitting there.
Then he moved to the outer window and stared outside for what must’ve been over an hour.
Margaret got up from her desk and quietly slipped into Jack’s office.
“Wanna talk about her?”
Jack turned quickly facing Margaret.
She saw the quizzical look on his face.
“Has to be a woman to make a man act like you’re doing. I can assume it’s not Priscilla because you’ve never really shown any emotional attachment to her.”
“How do you know all this stuff?” Jack walked around in front of his desk and half sat on the edge.
“I’m a woman, that’s how. So what’s the problem?”
“I met somebody.”
“Okay, and …”
“And I think I’m in love with her. No, I don’t think, I know I’m in love with her.”
“Then go after her. What’s the problem?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t it always?”
“I broke it off with Prissy. I can’t marry her.”
“Great! She wasn’t the woman for you,” said Margaret as she sat down in the chair in front of Jack’s desk, “I think everyone knew that but you.”
“But, but, this other woman, she’s getting married today and-”
“Married. Does she love the man she’s marrying? No, wait a minute, let me rephrase that question. Have you slept with her?”
“Yeah, I did but we agreed there’d be no strings attached.”
“Doesn’t matter what your mouth said, she slept with you when she’s supposed to marry somebody else. She’s not in love with that somebody else. She may think she is but she’s not. The question then becomes, you’re in love with her, is she in love with you?”
Jack stood there for a minute.
Margaret watched Jack’s facial expressions changed with each thought as it churned through his mind.
“Margaret, you’re an angel!” he said as he pulled her from her chair and danced her around. “Call on my cell if you need me,” he said as he grabbed his suit jacket, and stormed out of his office heading for the door.
“Yes sir, but will you be back in time for your 1:30?”
“Change it.”
“Yes, sir,” she said but he was already gone.
* * *
Claire fussed with the wedding veil she was wearing and waited for the Wedding March to begin.
She felt sick at her s
tomach. Her nerves were already frayed and she hadn’t gotten much sleep since she’d returned. She’d managed to get through the week and now stood waiting on the edge of her life.
Everything was about to change. She would become Ralph’s wife in less than an hour and Jack would be lost to her forever.
She scolded herself once again for thinking of Jack. Her emotions got the better of her and a tear began to slide down her cheek. Just the thought of Jack made her nipples harden and her nubbin throb with desire. She knew what Jack’s touch could do to her and she wanted that. She wanted his hands on her.
No strings attached, Claire, remember. What happens in the cabin stays in the cabin.
The Wedding March began.
Ralph is a preacher. He’s respected and admired in this community.
Jack’s delicious.
Claire took a deep breath.
Ralph is a preacher. Remember that.
Jack is a hunk.
She took a step into the sanctuary doorway.
Oh God, what do I do? Pull yourself together, Claire, you’ve waited a long time for this. Get a grip on yourself.
I know what I’d like to get a grip on. And his name is Jack!
She took a step inside and stood momentarily.
For goodness sakes stop that. You’re marrying Ralph. You’ve wanted to marry Ralph all your life. It’ll be okay.
No it won’t and you know it. You should have called off the wedding the minute you got back.
It’s going to be okay. Ralph has always been there for you. Ralph takes care of you. He always has. Even when the kids made fun of you, Ralph was there to protect you. You need his protection and you know it.
What you need is Jack.
Claire started her long walk down the aisle. Janet was there sitting on her side of the church. It looked as though the whole town had turned out to see this wedding finally happen.
The Wrong Wedding Page 11