Coulson's Wife (The Coulson Series) (6 page)

“D
oes my husband
celebrate any holidays?” Mary Ellen asked William that night at dinner. Instead
of eating in the large, formal dining room, Mary Ellen had instructed Mrs.
Parker to have the staff start serving the evening meals in the parlor. The two
were alone at a small oak table in the cozy room.

“Holidays? I’m not sure
what you mean.” William took a sip of his wine and watched as Mary Ellen
delicately cut her pork chop into tiny little pieces.

“Last week July fourth
was like any other day around this house. Randall never suggested doing
something special for Independence Day, and I wondered if he was as indifferent
with Christmas.”

“I think this one
slipped by, with the wedding and all, and planning for the Chicago trip. Did
you say anything to him?”

“No, I’d feel foolish
bringing it up.” Mary Ellen shook her head and then popped a bite of pork into
her mouth.

“Foolish, why? Mary
Ellen, when Randall comes home you need to start speaking up, and letting him
know what’s important to you. He’s an old friend, but if you let him walk all
over you, he will.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“July fourth was also my
birthday. And asking if we were doing anything different that day might seem as
if I am hinting for something special for my birthday.”

“Your birthday? I had
no idea. Are you sure Randall knew?”

“I assumed he must.”

“I had no idea, Mary
Ellen. As much as my dear friend can be insensitive, I’m certain he wouldn’t
ignore your birthday. But I feel horrible, we must do something special!”

“No!” Mary Ellen set
her fork on the linen tablecloth and looked over her plate at William. “That’s
the very reason I didn’t ask Randall. I really was not hinting to do something
special for my birthday. Goodness, I would not expect that. After all, my
parents never took much stock in celebrating birthdays
—
mine or my brothers’. But on the fourth, we always
had a family picnic and watched fireworks. It felt strange just staying home on
a day that was always so special. But it wasn’t special because it was my
birthday.”

“I’m sorry, Mary Ellen,
truly. I wish I had known.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” She
shrugged and took another bite.

“Your birthday
—
that means you’re eighteen now.”

“Yes.”

“Happy belated
birthday. Maybe your parents never celebrated it, but I promise, that will
change on your nineteenth one!”

She smiled and
continued to eat her dinner.

William wondered if
Randall had overlooked the birthday or if he ever knew it was in July. When he
chastised his friend for marrying a girl so young, never once did Randall
mention the bride to be would be turning eighteen a month after the wedding.

“So, are we still on
for the movies this week? I was thinking a Saturday matinee.”

“
Tarzan of the Apes
?
Oh, I’d love that.”

“Afterwards I’ll take
you to an early supper. Make sure and tell Mrs. Parker you won’t be here for Saturday
night.”

“You don’t have to do
that.”

“Sure I do, a belated
birthday dinner.”

Mary Ellen looked up
into William’s clear blue eyes. By his determined expression, it was obvious he
would be taking her out for a dinner and show on Saturday.

“Okay, I’ll go,” she
finally acquiesced. “But do you think it will be okay with Randall, is it even
proper?”

“I’ll run it by him. But
I don’t see a problem.”

“Just let him know it’s
your idea.”

William laughed at her
insistence. “I promise.” He gave her a wink then took another bite of his
dinner. “So tell me, why are we eating in here tonight?”

“Don’t you like it?”
Mary Ellen stopped eating for a moment and glanced around the room.

“Actually, it’s rather
comfortable in here. I always wondered why Randall insisted on eating in the
formal dining room every night.”

“Have you always eaten
your dinners here?”

William laughed and
then said, “My, you must think I’m a grand freeloader!”

“No, not at all.” Mary
Ellen blushed.

 “I suppose it started
out of convenience—always something to discuss after a day at the office. Then
it became habit. A few times, I tried to break the habit but Randall insisted
it was foolish for me to hire a cook when his was preparing dinner anyway. I
guess I’m lazy.”

“Well, I’m happy to
have the company.”

“Thank you. I’m not
sure you’ll be able to convince Randall to start taking the evening meal in the
parlor when he returns.”

“Oh, I really don’t
expect to.”
Not sure I would want to
, Mary Ellen thought. She preferred
the more formal and distant environment of the dining room when with her
husband.

 “When he returns, I
should probably think about hiring a cook—to allow you newlyweds some privacy.
Then perhaps he’ll warm up to a quiet supper with his bride in the parlor.”

“Please, don’t feel you
have to do that.”

• • • •

 “Did you know it was
her birthday on July fourth?” William asked Randall later that evening, after calling
him up on the telephone. He’d returned home an hour earlier and decided to call
his business partner before going to bed. Knowing Randall, William was fairly
confident the other man would still be awake.

“Her birthday? Now that
you mention it, I do recall her birthday was in July.”

“She’s your wife,
Randall. Things like birthdays are important to women.”

“I suppose you’re
right. Fine, I’ll pick up something at the jewelers and have it sent to her. I
still need to get her a wedding band, but I’ve been so busy.”

“Have you even called
her since you’ve been gone?”

“Why? You’re keeping a
good eye on her and tell me everything I need to know.”

“But don’t you want to
talk to her? Hear her voice?”

“Good lord, man, this
is a marriage, not some grand love affair. I told you I’ll buy her something
nice.”

“Randall, I just don’t
understand you sometimes.”

“So tell me William,
what do you have planned for my lovely bride to make up for my birthday
oversight?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you William.
You’ve always been compelled to repair hurt feelings. You have something
special planned, admit it.”

“Well,” William
grumbled, “I’m taking her out to dinner after the matinee on Saturday.”

Randall gave a hearty
laugh. “I knew it!”

“Oh, shut up.”

“It’s one of the things
I appreciate about you. Dependable, kindhearted William. That’s why we make a
great team. I can be the cold hearted bastard I’ve always been, and you can
soothe the hurt feelings.”

“I hate it when you
talk about yourself that way.”

“You know it’s true.
You’re a better person than me, William. You always have been. I’ve accepted
that fact. I rely on it. I can come here and do what needs to be done, and have
every confidence you’re taking care of things there
—
at the office and with my wife. Of course, it would
be a hell of a lot easier if you would simply get married and then our wives
could help look after each other and you could come with me to Chicago.”

“And who would keep an
eye on the business here?”

“You have a point. I
suppose I won’t badger you to find a wife. Not yet.”

“I still think you
should call her.”

“Why, has she said
anything to you? Does she want me to call her?”

“Not exactly. Actually,
she seems to accept the fact you won’t call. It’s as if she expects it.”

“See, there you have
it. No reason to call.”

“Randall, I want this
marriage to work for you. Mary Ellen is a lovely young woman.”

“I thought you said she
was just a girl.”

“I suppose she’s not as
young as I initially imagined. But don’t you want a marriage where your wife is
…is more than just a woman to bear your children?”

“Let’s be blunt, William.
For me, a wife serves just one purpose—to give me sons. To carry on my name.
What’s the point of living if there isn’t a part of me to carry on my legacy
when I’m gone?”

“If that’s all a wife
is to you, you should have just adopted boys.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I
want sons that are a part of me, not some orphaned brats.”

“So she is nothing to
you but a brood mare?”

“Don’t be crude William,
it isn’t like you. However, I suppose you’re right, in that a wife has other
purposes besides giving her husband sons. Society expects a successful man to
have a beautiful woman on his arm, and Mary Ellen is quite lovely. Having her
as a wife also means I no longer must endure the tedious company of young
socialites foisted on me by their parents.”

 “Our business consumes
you Randall. When escorting lovely young ladies becomes a chore, perhaps it’s
time to step back and reevaluate your life.”

“But I’m a married man
now, and I don’t imagine you’re suggesting I continue escorting young ladies
when I’ve a wife at home?” Randall laughed.

“Of course not. But
marriage should not be an excuse to ignore the woman you’ve married.”

“Enough, you’re getting
as tedious as those simple minded little socialites.”

“Then let me ask you
one question, and I’ll let it drop
—
for
now.”

“Ask.”

“What happens if the
baby is a girl?” There was no immediate response.

Finally, Randall
answered the question. “Then I shall get my wife with child again, which is
what I intend to do if she has a boy. Therefore, nothing would really change.”

“But how would you feel
about a daughter?”

“A daughter? Honestly,
I’ve never given it much thought. I’m not really sure what purpose a daughter
serves, aside from forming alliances through marriage.”

“Good lord man, this
isn’t the middle ages where you sell your daughter off for some political
alliance or a herd of goats.”

“Interesting. The price
for my wife was one house.”

“Are you going to stay
on that phone all night?” William heard a male voice ask. Apparently Randall
was not alone in his hotel suite. Everything went silent for a moment, as if
Randall had covered the mouthpiece with his hand.

“Who is that?” William
asked.

“Just someone I met. I
need to go now, I’m holding up the poker game.”

“You’re playing poker
this late?”

“Enough William, you
sound more like a wife than Mary Ellen. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

M
ary Ellen was just
buttoning up the front of her dress when a knock came at the bedroom door.
Glancing from the mirror to the door, and back to the mirror, her nimble
fingers fastened the last button, bringing together the garment’s wide lace
collar.

“Come in!” she called
out.

Lily opened the door,
then picked up the tray she’d just set on the table in the hallway outside Mary
Ellen’s room. She brought the lunch tray into the bedroom while watching Mary
Ellen, who stood before the floor length mirror, pivoting from side to side
while inspecting her appearance. Mary Ellen’s hands slid down the sides of her
body, smoothing the fabric over her slim hips.

“That dress looks
lovely on you. It’s a shame it won’t fit for long.” Lily cringed at her own
words then set the tray on the small table in the center of the bedroom.
“Sorry, ma’am. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Mary Ellen understood Lily
was referring to the pregnancy. While Mary Ellen had been taught it was not
proper to discuss such matters, it was obvious her husband shared his erroneous
belief with someone on the household staff. She doubted he told Lily, yet
suspected it was Mrs. Parker who passed on the misinformation. She chose not to
comment.

“Oh, what do we have
there?” Mary Ellen asked brightly, turning from the mirror and walking toward
the table.

“Mrs. Parker didn’t
think it would be a good idea for you to skip lunch, so she instructed me to
bring up a tray of food.”

“It’s very thoughtful
of Mrs. Parker, but I had a big breakfast, and I was planning on skipping lunch
so I could better enjoy my dinner out.”

“Oh but ma’am, it’s not
a good idea to skip a meal…I mean…” Lily blushed.

“Yes, I understand what
you’re saying. But I do wish Mrs. Parker wouldn’t fret about me so. Come, sit
down and help me eat this!”

Lily started to decline
but Mary Ellen pulled out a chair for the maid and motioned for her to sit
down. Giving a shrug, Lily sat down as Mary Ellen took the second chair.

“Have you had lunch
yet?”  Mary Ellen asked.

“No ma’am.” Lily eyed
the chicken sandwich. Mary Ellen smiled, then picked up one-half of the
sandwich and handed it to Lily. Reluctantly, the maid accepted the offering.

“I’m going to see
Tarzan
of the Apes
today.” Mary Ellen announced before picking up the second half
of the sandwich and taking a bite.

“I heard it was a good
one.”

“You haven’t seen it?”

“No, but I do love
going to the movies.”

Mary Ellen took another
bite of the sandwich. Lily thought it odd to be sharing a lunch with her
mistress while discussing movies, but she withheld comment.

“I guess I was a little
hungry,” Mary Ellen said. 

Lily smiled and
continued to eat her half of the sandwich.

“It doesn’t feel as hot
as it has been all week,” Mary Ellen noted. “I hope it isn’t too warm in the
theatre.”

“It’s been in the 80s
all week. But it does feel a bit cooler today. Would you like me to fix your hair
up, ma’am? That way if it warms up, it won’t feel so hot.”

“Oh, could you? I’m not
very good with my hair, and it’s just easier for me to wear it down. But I
suppose the proper thing is to wear it up, now that I’m married.”

“You’d look real keen
with one of those bob cuts the ladies have been wearing. You’ve the face for
it.”

“Thank you, Lily.” Mary
Ellen blushed. “I would be tempted, but I will confess, my husband has already
instructed me not to cut my hair. I suppose that is a husband’s prerogative.”

“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t
want to encourage you to do anything Mr. Coulson would disapprove of.”

• • • •

When William arrived an
hour later to pick up Mary Ellen, he was surprised to find her long hair swept
atop her head in a sophisticated hairstyle. No longer did she remind him of a
naïve schoolgirl. The feminine chignon accentuated her blue eyes, making them
seem somehow larger, and more compelling. For a brief moment, he imagined
himself plucking the pins from her hair, one by one, as each freed curl fell
gracefully to her shoulders
—
her
bare shoulders.

“Are you all right, William?”
Mary Ellen asked, as he stood speechless, staring blankly in her direction.
Blinking his eyes, he shook his head briefly and smiled sheepishly.

“I apologize, I… I was
just surprised to see your hair like that.”

Suddenly embarrassed,
Mary Ellen quickly touched the side of her head. “Oh, it looks awful?”

“No! Oh no,” William replied.
“I’m sorry. No, it looks quite lovely in fact. It suits you.” William began to
laugh when he noted her look of confusion. Taking her elbow in his hand, he guided
her toward the front door so they could be on their way.

“Let me explain,” he
began, as he opened the front door. “When I picked you up at the train station,
I noticed your lovely hair. I thought it a shame so many women hide theirs once
they wed, and since you were getting married, I assumed you would too.” He shut
the front door behind them and they walked toward his motorcar.

“But that style does
suit you. Brings out your eyes. Your husband will love it.”

“Will he?” she asked
softly, while getting into the passenger side of the car. She held her handbag
and hat atop her lap, and waited for William to get into his side of the car.
When he started down the drive, she continued the discussion.

“It is much cooler this
way. But perhaps I should cut it short. Seems to be quite the rage these days.”
She watched for his reaction, wondering if he felt the same way as her
husband.  He smiled and glanced over to her, then wrinkled his nose for a
moment before turning his attention back to the road.

“Personally, after
seeing you with your hair up, I imagine you would look quite adorable in a
Castle bob. But I’m afraid your husband would have a different idea.”

“Oh yes, he’s already
made it very clear I’m not to cut my hair.”

“Ahh, so you were just
baiting me. Shame on you.” He chuckled.

“Baiting you?”

“I can’t imagine you’re
really considering cutting your hair as you just mentioned, since your husband
has already forbade it.”

“Tell me William, do
you believe it’s the husband’s right to have a final say in all that his wife
does? Are women nothing but children?”

 “I will say, Mary
Ellen, I certainly didn’t expect that question from you.”

“Why? Is that the
perception you have of me? A timid and obedient creature?” Mary Ellen glanced
out the side window and watched the scenery roll by.

Before he could respond
she added, “Of course, that would be a reasonable assumption, considering I
obeyed my father and married a man I barely knew.”

“What’s wrong, Mary
Ellen?” he asked softly.

“Oh, I’m sorry William.”
Mary Ellen blushed. “I’m really looking forward to the movie and dinner out. I
don’t mean to put a cloud on the day. I guess the reminder that I need husband
approval to do something as inane as change my hairstyle put me into a
quarrelsome mood. I apologize.”

“Times are changing
Mary Ellen. I keep reminding Randall of that.”

“When you marry
someday, will you tell your wife how she must wear her hair?”

“Well,” he replied, considering
the question for a moment while steering his car down the road. “I would hope
that if I really hated a hairstyle, she would not insist on wearing it that way
—
but no, I would not forbid her
on such a matter. In the same way, if my wife hated me with a beard, I wouldn’t
wear one.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’d
like you in a beard,” Mary Ellen said.  William smiled and thought,
then I
won’t grow one
.

“Have you heard from
your family?” William changed the subject.

“I’ve received a couple
letters from Aunt Rachael, but nothing from my father.”

“What about your
mother?”

“No. My mother hasn’t
been doing well since my brother was killed overseas. According to my aunt’s
letters, her condition isn’t improving.”

“Your father hasn’t
written you?”

“No, he isn’t much of a
letter writer.”

“Why don’t you call
him?”

“We don’t have a
telephone. My father feels they’re a waste of money.”

“If you want, I could
arrange a call to the factory. He can come to the main office and use that
phone.”

“Thank you William, but
no. My father would be very annoyed if I did that to him while he was at work.
No, for now letters with Aunt Rachel will be enough.”

“What about your older
brothers? I understand you have a few in the military overseas.”

“I’ve sent letters, but
never get anything back. I have to assume they’re okay, or I would have heard
something from Aunt Rachael.”

“I’ve never considered
how lonely it must be for you. You’ve been here for a little over a month and
haven’t had an opportunity to meet anyone. I’m afraid when Randall is in the
midst of business negotiations, socializing isn’t a priority for him, unless of
course it benefits the business deal.”

“Well I did meet Mrs.
Hanover. We had an interesting visit.”

“I almost forgot about
Mrs. Hanover.”

“You know about her?”

“I understand ambitious
mothers often use her services when preparing their daughters for coming out. But
from what I understand, Mrs. Hanover told Randall you were absolutely lovely,
and she couldn’t understand why he thought you needed her services.”

Mary Ellen blushed then
flashed him a shy smile.

“Well, she was very sweet
to me. Upon our first meeting we had a nice long talk; I suppose it was her way
to better understand how she could
fix
me.”

“Fix you?” Randall
laughed at the notion. He couldn’t imagine there was anything about Mary Ellen
that needed fixing.

“Now that I recall, Lily
said Mrs. Hanover was to polish me up, or something like that.”

“Lily, one of the
maids, right?”

“Yes. Lily isn’t so
bad. She just has a habit of speaking before thinking. I’ll confess I did find
the notion of polishing me somewhat insulting.”

“I can imagine. So tell
me, how did you and Mrs. Hanover spend your time?”

“Actually, I suppose
she was helpful. She did explain some of the social customs here that are
different from home. So I suspect in a way she did polish me. She also filled
me in on the who’s who around the neighborhood and town. I must say that woman
knows everyone!”

“Yes, she does.”
Randall chuckled.

“We only met about
three times for tea. Although I suppose Randall assumed she would be walking me
around a room with a book atop my head.”

“With your perfect posture,
I doubt that would be necessary.”

“Well, it does make for
an amusing parlor game,” Mary Ellen said brightly. She wished she could speak
so casually with her own husband.