“I’m not ready to meet your parents or their servants. Call and tell them I have the bubonic plague, and I’ll be ready to meet them in about six years.” Since they probably wouldn’t be married in a year, it seemed like the perfect plan. Until he laughed that was.
“You’re going. You made me call them last night and tell them I’d married, so now you get to meet them today. That’s how life works. The next time you don’t want to meet your husband’s parents, don’t make him call them.” He kept his hand on her arm. “Do you need a purse?”
“Of course, I need a purse. It’s in my room. You’ll have to let go.”
“I’ll go to your room with you.”
“You won’t melt if you step foot in my room?” she asked, making a sweet face.
“I’ll do my best. You are my wife after all. I think I should be able to step foot in your room with nothing untoward happening.”
“Untoward? You really do live in another century, don’t you?” She walked to her room, well aware that he was just a step behind her the entire way. She picked up her purse from the dresser and put it over her arm. “I hope your mother isn’t against Mickey Mouse purses.”
He looked at the cartoon characters on the side of her purse and grinned. “You really do eat and sleep Disney, don’t you?”
“It’s one of the perks of the job.” She wanted to find a more “adult” purse, but what was wrong with letting her Disney flag fly?
In the car, she asked him about the journal he was working on. “So, the doctor you’re reading about…did he go on the trail during the same year as Mary? Would they have known one another?”
He laughed. “They were on the same wagon train, so yes, they knew each other. They’re both part of that set of journals that tells me something about each wagon in the group. The doctor she mentions a few times is the same doctor whose journal I’m reading.”
“Well, that’s fun! I guess I can read them all?”
“Of course. I don’t mind if you read anything in my library. Just take care of it all.” He had never really given anyone carte blanche with his collection of books before. It was strange how quickly he trusted her.
“I promise, I won’t even dog-ear the pages.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m glad to know that. I might have a fit if you did that.”
“Are you prone to fits, Dr. Christiansen?”
“Not usually. But if someone defaces one of my books, then I’ll have to have one.” Aaron grinned at her as he got on I-35 and headed south.
“Fine. I’ll be careful. I promise. Tell me what to expect when we get to your parents’ house.”
He shrugged. “Mom will hug me and tell me I don’t get home often enough. We’ll sit in the living room making small talk for a while, and then the maid will call us for supper. We’ll eat and talk. Dad will offer us after dinner drinks. Do you drink alcohol?” he asked.
“I don’t. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. I don’t either. My parents drink when they have someone over. That’s the only time that I know of. It’s not a big deal either way. Dad keeps pop in his bar refrigerator as well.”
“Pop? We’re not in Arkansas anymore, are we?” Marissa grinned at him.
“Fine. What do you call it?”
“Most people call them soft drinks in Arkansas. Though some call everything a Coke, and then they have to say which kind of Coke they want. Soda just feels more appropriate than pop, don’t you think?”
He shook his head. “Around here, it’s pop, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Well, that doesn’t give much opportunity to be an individual, does it? I think people should be able to call it what they want. I like the word soda. Or just call it by the brand name. Coke, Pepsi, or whatever else.”
“That works, I guess. I’m still calling it pop.”
“You can if you absolutely need to.” Marissa was surprised by how easy it now was to talk to him. Maybe her showing an interest in his field of study made things easier between them.
When he pulled up in front of a large brown house, she sucked in a breath. What kind of people lived like this? She certainly didn’t. Even the garage was huge. She wasn’t sure she wanted to meet these people.
“Stop looking like a deer in the headlights,” Aaron said. “They’re just people, and they’ve been wanting me to get married, so they’ll be thrilled to meet you.” He had no idea why she was freaking out over meeting his parents.
She nodded, more nervous than she’d been before walking down the aisle to meet him. At least she knew he wanted her there. She wasn’t so sure about his parents.
He took her arm as they walked up the sidewalk. There were no kids playing in the streets here, and every lawn was perfectly manicured. This was a very wealthy community, and it made her nervous. “They don’t bite. I promise!”
He didn’t bother to knock, simply throwing open the door, and yelling. “Mom, I’m here!”
True to Aaron’s prediction, his mother rushed into the room and hugged him. “You need to come home more often!”
Marissa smiled as his mother’s attention moved to her. “You must be Marissa. It’s so good to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Christiansen.” Marissa had to resist an urge to curtsey to his mother, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t find that nearly as amusing as she would.
“Oh, call me Tammy.”
“All right, Tammy.”
“Now tell me how you two met. Aaron wasn’t very forthcoming on the phone, and he changed the subject to some woman named Mary who was going down the Oregon Trail. That boy of mine can’t focus on anything in the twenty-first century for more than a minute or two.” Tammy shook her head, and Marissa immediately felt as if she had an ally.
Marissa grinned, looking over her shoulder at Aaron as she was led into the living room. “We met at church.”
“Oh, that’s so nice! How long have you known one another?”
Marissa didn’t want to lie, so she did her best to answer honestly if vaguely. “Not long. It was definitely a whirlwind romance. Once Aaron figures out there’s a real live person in the room with him, he can be quite charming.”
His mother laughed. “That does always take him a while, doesn’t it?” She took a seat on the couch and patted the spot beside her. “Now, are you going to be a stay-at-home mom like I was?”
“I’m really not sure yet. I’ll be home, because I have a job working from home, but I don’t know if I’ll keep working once the babies come.” Marissa could see Aaron watching her closely, as if he was ready to jump in if she messed up.
A man walked into the room, and he looked like an older, more distinguished Aaron. Marissa knew then that Aaron would age well, and always be as handsome as he was then. It was a bit disheartening. Women always faded with age, while men grew more handsome.
Aaron got to his feet. “Dad, I want you to meet my wife, Marissa.”
His father offered his hand, and she shook it. “It’s good to meet you, Marissa! I was starting to think Aaron would spend the rest of his life alone.”
“I guess that could still happen,” Marissa said with a smile, “But I sure hope not.”
Aaron’s father’s laugh boomed throughout the room. “Well, if you made it to the altar with him, I have a feeling you can tolerate just about anything. He’ll never cheat on you, because he can’t get his nose out of a book for long enough to meet someone.”
Marissa grinned at Aaron, who looked very uncomfortable. “And to think,” Marissa said, “I was nervous about meeting the two of you. How could that be?”
“No idea. Call me Ted, by the way. It’s too confusing to call us anything else. Aaron answers to Dr. Christiansen too.”
“All right, Ted.” Marissa turned back to her new mother-in-law. “So, when do we break out the naked baby pictures?”
“Right now,” Tammy said with a grin. “Definitely right now.” She hurried over to a shelf and return
ed with a big scrapbook album. “So, I scrapbooked all the naked pictures onto one page. I thought it would be easier to humiliate him that way.”
“Good move!”
It wasn’t long before Marissa was completely in love with her new in-laws, though she wondered how they had fathered someone who was as hyper focused on one topic as Aaron.
Supper was wonderful. Her mother-in-law made it clear that she hadn’t cooked supper, because she didn’t like to cook, but she always baked anything they had for dessert. She loved to bake but hated to cook.
“We’ll make a good team,” Marissa said. “I love to cook, but I’m not fond of baking.”
Tammy laughed. “Together, we can make anything!”
When it was time to leave, Marissa hugged both of her in-laws tightly. “I’m so glad I got to spend this evening with you!”
“Come back anytime!” Tammy told her. “We need to do this at least monthly, and we certainly don’t mind driving up to Coon Rapids.”
“Why don’t we plan on y’all coming over four weeks from today, then? Tammy, you’re on dessert, and I’ll make the meal.”
“What will you make? I need to match my fabulous baking to whatever you’re cooking.”
“I was thinking I’d making some good ole southern fried chicken.”
Ted smiled. “That’s perfect. I’ll have Tammy make her key lime pie!”
With that, Marissa and Aaron were on their way. “I love your parents!”
Aaron shook his head. “Oh, really? I couldn’t tell…”
“You were thinking about the Oregon Trail anyway. You probably didn’t even notice what we were talking about.”
Aaron was startled to realize she was completely wrong. He’d listened to the entire conversation all evening, and even enjoyed himself. “Maybe.” He couldn’t admit to her that he paid attention to her. Then she would realize he was attracted, and that wasn’t something he needed at all.
“All right, tell me how many journals you have from this wagon train. I have to read them all.”
The rest of the way home, Aaron talked about the journals, and Marissa listened. She loved when he started talking that way. Already she was feeling a great deal more attraction than she’d expected. Maybe Dr. Lachele hadn’t screwed up after all.
As she was trying to sleep that night, Marissa replayed the entire evening in her mind, and she was surprised when she realized just how much Aaron had participated in the conversation. It was as if he’d forgotten that he didn’t belong in the twenty-first century.
Maybe there was hope for them. She said a quick silent prayer that things continued to go well between them. She’d already concluded that she belonged with his parents, if not with him.
He’d kissed her goodnight again, and she could still feel her lips tingling from his kiss. Aaron Christiansen packed a wallop when it came to kissing. And talking. And his face…she could stare at him all day every day. Who said a man couldn’t be beautiful? She knew better. Aaron was nothing short of gorgeous. She was keeping him.
Six
Taking Aaron his lunch the next day was a welcome break for Marissa. She stopped work at eleven, made lunch, and walked to the university with both lunches in Tupperware containers in a bag. When she walked into the building where she knew Aaron worked, she noticed a gaggle of girls standing outside the office that he’d indicated as his.
The door was closed, so she wormed her way through the crowd and knocked. When there was no response, she tried the door and walked in, ignoring the girls who were crowded around her. “There’s a mob of girls in the hallway,” she said as she cleared off a corner of his desk and put their lunches down. She handed him a fork, and opened her container, smiling as the smell washed out over her.
“I know. They’re always there if I’m in the building, and oftentimes when I’m not. What did you say to them?” He wondered if she’d managed to get rid of them for a while, or if they were all still out there, waiting for his office hours to start.
“Nothing. I just knocked and when you didn’t respond, I walked in to bring you your lunch.”
He set aside the journal he’d been reading and opened his container. “This smells fabulous!”
“I thought about bringing a cold lunch since it’s summer, but it doesn’t even feel like summer. Maybe late spring.” She wasn’t sure what she was going to do when the cold weather started. She’d have to learn to manage.
“This is as hot as it gets,” he said. “I hope you like snow and cold.”
“It gets cold in Arkansas, but we don’t get a lot of snow. I guess I’ll see how I like it as time goes by.”
He took a bite of his chicken and dumplings and sighed. “How did you know I love chicken and dumplings?” he asked.
“I saw all your naked baby pictures and every photo your mother ever took of you last night. There were several with you covered in chicken and dumplings.” I figured that meant you still liked it.
He shook his head. “I’m enjoying this too much to worry about what you saw.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you like my cooking. I bought food for a week, but sometime we should talk about your favorite foods, so I can make them for you.”
“Maybe I don’t want a wife on the shelf after all.”
She shook her head. “I guess I’m better than that silly elf everyone always posts pictures of at Christmas.” The man was aggravating, but at least he was starting to better understand what a wife in his life would mean.
“Much better!” He looked at her for a moment. “You’re on social media?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m on Facebook. I tried Instagram, but I’m really not that into posting pictures of random crap.”
“I’m on Facebook as well. I’ll friend you there, and we’ll change our Facebook statuses. Most of my students follow me on Facebook, and it might help with the lines of girls in the hallway.”
“Do you ever open your door?” he asked.
“Only during my office hours.” His phone chimed. “And they start now.” He walked out from behind his desk and opened the door to his office, waiting as they all stared at Marissa for a moment, and then one of them asked what they were all wondering.
“Who’s that woman?” The girl was in one of his classes, but he had no idea which one.
Aaron’s smile wasn’t forced for once. He was genuinely happy to be able to tell his devoted followers about his marriage. “That’s my wife. We got married on Saturday. Marissa, meet some of my students.”
Marissa stood, keeping her smile on her face. No wonder he had sent for a wife when he didn’t actually want a wife. “It’s so nice to meet all of you.”
One girl burst into tears and ran down the hallway, but most of the others just looked disappointed. The girl who had asked who she was nodded. “I figured as much. If you ever get sick of him, let me know.” With that she walked away, and the others followed.
Marissa held back her laughter. “Don’t you want to ask questions about the Oregon Trail?” she called after them. When no one even turned around, she looked at Aaron. “I think I’ve solved that problem for you.”
He grinned. “Shall we finish our lunch?” He wasn’t completely convinced the problem was solved, but things seemed to be moving in the right direction.
“I’d like that.”
After they ate, he showed her the map of the Oregon Trail he had on the wall in his classroom. Then he flipped the page and showed her the Santa Fe Trail, the Old Spanish Trail, the California Trail, the Bozeman Trail and the Mormon Trail. “The most popular now is the Oregon Trail, but I don’t know that it would be without that silly game made about it.”
“You have died of dysentery.” She tilted her head to one side and stuck her tongue out while closing her eyes.
He laughed, leaning down and brushing his lips across hers. “Get out of here!”
She grinned. “Fine. But that means I’m not making enchiladas for supper.”
“Oh yes, you are!
What kind do you make?”
“I like sour cream beef enchiladas. They’re my favorite.”
“Works for me. I’ll be home around four, but we can eat whenever you want.” He was actually looking forward to having meals made for him. He hated having to decide where he wanted Grubhub to deliver from.
Marissa nodded. “I work until five, so after that sometime.”
When Marissa got to the door, she noticed a couple of girls standing in the doorway gaping at them, so she called over her shoulder, “Aaron, I need to get back to work. Would you bring the Tupperware on your desk home tonight?”
“Sure.” Aaron couldn’t stop smiling. He knew she’d said what she did to scare the girls away. She was a good wife, always trying to help him reach his goals.
Marissa hurried home and got back to work on planning Disney vacations, wondering if she’d ever be able to convince Aaron that they should go together. Probably not, but she would at least try.
He was quiet when he arrived home, immediately sitting at his desk and picking up a journal to read. He read silently while she finished her work, and then talked to her a little about his day, something he’d never even had a desire to do before. He didn’t care to see anyone at the end of his day. When he got home, he worked some more. Now, well, it seemed nice to have a wife waiting for him.
When it was time for her to fix supper, he sat at the table and talked to her while she cooked. She was surprised but pleased. It really wasn’t something she’d ever have expected him to do.
While they ate the enchiladas, she said, “I hope to have a little time to read this evening. Mary’s journal is fascinating. It’s not something I ever would have chosen to read, but I love it. Maybe I really will write a book about the trail.”
“If you think you could do it, I’d be happy to be your technical advisor.” Aaron loved the idea of encouraging her to do something a bit more intellectual than planning Disney vacations. It seemed like a very odd job for someone to have. He’d love it if she took advantage of the discounts at the college and went back to school as well. He didn’t really care what she did as long as she didn’t stay in one place in life.
Matched in Minnesota (At the Altar Book 22) Page 5