It's Bliss (20 page)

After the short visit with Billie, Sheldon felt so good that when he went to bed, he immediately fell asleep.

-

Saturday afternoon and evening turned out to be just what Sheldon needed. Before dinner, he and Billie watched
The Glass Bottom Boat
, with Doris Day, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dinner at the club turned out well. The family all enjoyed it. Even Henry was on his best behavior, making only one off-beat comment,”Sheldon doesn’t seem to be the uppity country club type,” making everyone laugh, especially Sheldon.

Soon after dinner they went home. Sheldon suggested that the whole family join them in watching the second movie,
Bringing Up Baby
, with Cary Grant and Catherine Hepburn. He found himself laughing with the family until his sides actually hurt. And what’s more, the leading man’s total confusion, caused mostly by the heroine, felt very familiar. In fact he could relate very well!

Sheldon went home feeling relaxed and happier than he had in a long time. Bliss was right, he thought, he needed to laugh more. Also, Bliss, without knowing it, gave him another idea how he could buy more time. She told him that her favorite book,
Pride and Prejudice
, had been made into a television movie quite some time ago, but she hadn’t yet seen it. She suggested they rent it sometime. Sheldon nodded, remembering seeing it for sale in the video store. He decided to buy it for her next week instead of renting it.

-

Monday morning, Dr. Ackerman was in unusually good spirits as he waited for his class to settle themselves. His mood was the result of several things: the class, on the whole, was less tardy; they took less time to settle; and he seemed to be reaching students he never thought he could—namely Miss Josie Sorenson. She had admitted to him just the other day that she’d only taken the class to fill credit hours, but now she was fascinated with business and was considering making it her major. He realized it had all started turning around when Miss Billie Bliss pointed out to him, after some confusing dialogue, that he came across as pompous and demeaning. Yes, he owed a lot to her.

-

Sheldon parked, turned off the motor, and looked around the parking lot of the video store. So far as he could see, there was no one around he knew. He certainly wasn’t going to venture into this place again unaware! Striding quickly over to the edge of the window, he peered in and studied all the occupants. Not seeing anyone familiar, he entered. Feeling less of a novice, he began browsing.

Finding the aisle that displayed romances, he began looking for
Pride and Prejudice
. After some time, he realized that they were in alphabetical order.

Lora Lemmon was determined not to get caught again. Parking her car on the side of the building far away from Dr. Ackerman’s Buick, she sidled around the building to the door. Opening it slightly, she looked around until she saw where he was, then stepped in quickly. Walking over to an aisle close to his, she hunkered down slightly. Sure enough, he was looking at the romances again, which validated her suspicions. She was sure now. Renting these romances did have something to do with Billie Bliss.

Sheldon searched the shelf for a new unused copy of
Pride and Prejudice
, but was unable to find one. Concerned that it was sold out, he walked over to the counter and inquired.

Lora peeked her head up just above the shelf to watch him.

The clerk confirmed that they had the movie for sale, and explained to Sheldon where he could find it. He walked rapidly toward the area, wanting to get this errand over with as quickly as possible.

Lora saw Dr. Ackerman heading in her general direction. She crouched down on the floor, hoping fervently he wasn’t coming her way.

Just as Sheldon turned down an aisle, he stumbled over a large obstacle in his path and dived headlong onto the floor.

“
Ouch!” the obstacle yelped.

Dazed and shocked, Sheldon sat up and looked at what he had stumbled over. Stupefied, he found himself staring directly into the eyes of Miss Lora Lemmon! Mortified, Lora could only stare back, her face turning red as a poppy.

Her professor’s mouth moved, trying to say something, but nothing came.

Finally he managed to blurt out, “Miss Lemmon!”

“
H-hello Dr. Ackerman.”

The whites of his eyes had grown pronounced. He glared at her, wondering if he were going mad! “What . . .what are you doing on the floor!”

“
Well I, uh . . .” Lora, not used to lying, was having a difficult time. “I’m looking for a movie for my mother,” she said, which was partially true.

Sheldon’s dark brows knit together menacingly as he scrutinized the only videos she could be looking at down that low. Lora followed his gaze and saw a shelf full of DVDs on breast feeding and caring for infants!

Turning even redder, she looked at him and muttered, “I guess I have the wrong aisle.”

“
Miss Lemmon,” he began slowly, ominously, “why . . .are we . . . always bumping into each other?”

“
My, my,” came an austere and disapproving voice above them.

They both looked up to see a well-dressed, silver-haired lady glaring down at them. “Why are you two sprawled out on the floor like this? One could stumble over you! And you . . .” she said, glaring and shaking a finger at Sheldon, “you, at your age, should know better.” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly and stalked off, shaking her head.

Flushing furiously, Sheldon shot to his feet. “I’m sorry ma’am,” he called to her retreating back. When he turned to further interrogate Miss Lemmon, she was up and walking rapidly toward the door. His brows hovered over his suspicious, narrowed eyes, “Something is fishy here,” he muttered under his breath as he watched her leave. “Surely this can’t just be coincidence.” He was so rattled, he forgot for a moment the purpose of his errand, but after taking a couple of big breaths, he managed to get hold of himself. Moving further down the aisle, he found what he was looking for. Surprised to see that the movie was not just one DVD but three, he took the set to the counter to pay for it.

-

Lora’s old Volkswagen threatened to leave a layer of rubber on the asphalt as she sped out of the parking lot. “Darn! I’ve done it again,” she berated herself. “What am I going to do? I guess I’m just not PI material.” After driving a while, she calmed down and reasoned with herself rather vociferously, “Well, I have as much right to be in that video store as Dr. Ackerman!

What can he do? How can he even ask questions about it?” Then, remembering that her suspicions had almost been proven today, she decided to stick to her detective work. Just a little more proof and . . . she wasn’t quite sure what was after the ‘and,’ but . . . surely there was something.

Tuesday afternoon, Billie, filled with excitement, was helping her mother and Aunt Tilly prepare dinner. Sheldon had called Monday night and asked if he could bring
Pride and Prejudice
over the following night. Since her family had been wanting him to dine with them again, she invited him to an early dinner. He accepted only if she would allow him to bring the dessert, a specialty dessert from the club.

Her mother was humming softly while Aunt Tilly was chattering about this and that. Billy had noticed how content and happy her family was of late.

Probably because she was. Having Dodds’ concern and support had helped her even more than she would let herself admit—until lately. She dreaded the end of the project.

Uncle Henry walked in and growled, “It’s about time you invited Sheldon to dinner again, Billie.”

“
Yes, it is,” her mother agreed. “He’s really gone out of his way to help you.”

“
He’s such a pleasant man to be around, isn’t he, Billie?” Aunt Tilly asked, probing.

“
I’m glad you all like him,” she said, smiling. “When will Papa be home?”

“
At 4:00, I believe. You wanted to eat right at 5:00 so you could watch that long movie.”

“
Good. I think I’ll go visit with grandpa now that everything is done.”

She found him in the library, sitting on the couch reading the evening paper. Billie plunked herself down beside him, leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

Bill Bliss put his paper down and smiled. “And what was that big sigh for, Snooks?”

“
Oh . . . nothing.”

“
Come on, ever since you were a little girl, when you wanted to talk, you did just what you’re doing now.”

“
What do you think of Dodds?”

“
I think he’s a fine young man.”

“
But he isn’t so young, Grandpa.”

“
By my standards, he is,” he replied, chuckling.

“
You know what, Grandpa? I find myself wishing he were at least five years younger and not my professor.”

“
I know.”

“
You do?” She sat up and looked at him in surprise. “How do you know?

Oh, never mind,” she said, smiling affectionately. “Like you’ve told me before, you listen and watch instead of talking all the time.”

“
Exactly.”

“
What do you think about that?”

“
Hey, there’s my girl,” her father interrupted, poking his head in and smiling.

“
Hey, there’s my papa,” Billie announced, running over and hugging him.

“
Thanks for coming home early tonight.”

-

“
Have a seat, Sheldon,” Neal Atwood said. “Before I get to the reason I called you in, tell me how Project Success is going?”

“
Even better than I expected, Neal. The young women are responding in a way that has made me realize even more that this is a worthwhile project. It appears it may have a long-reaching effect on their lives.”

“
Excellent, excellent! Now, Sheldon, I would like to ask you a favor. I have a nephew who is a CPA and owns his own accounting firm in Springfield. He wants to put more responsibility for his business in the hands of his associates for a term, so he can commute back and forth and take a few business courses from you here at Fairfield. After the term, he’ll return full-time to his business.

But I’m concerned. He’s thirty-five and not married. He tells me that the reason he isn’t married is because there aren’t any more old-fashioned girls around. Now, that brings me to you. I’m wondering if you know of a girl like this you could introduce him to who could show him around the campus. If you do, I would be most appreciative.”

Sheldon could scarcely believe his ears. Maybe what he was needing had just fallen into his lap. But, of course, he had to meet the young man before he could even consider it.

Neal seemed to read his mind. “Paul, my nephew, should be walking in any moment so you can meet him.”

“
What makes you think I would know a girl like this, Neal?” Sheldon asked, curious.

“
Well, Sheldon, you seem to be a straight arrow. And since you’re teaching a class full of young women, I just thought you might have come across a young woman like that.”

“
I would like to meet him first, then give it some thought and get back to you.” No sooner had he said this than a tall, dark-haired young man opened the door to the Dean’s office.

“
Paul, I’m glad you’re here. I would like you to meet the professor I was telling you about, Dr. Sheldon Ackerman.”

The young man’s handsome face broke into a big smile and his hand shot out. “It’s great to meet you, Dr. Ackerman. My uncle has been singing your praises and he’s given me both your books to read.”

Sheldon shook Paul’s hand firmly. “Thank you, Paul, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, smiling, while intently sizing him up.

“
Both of you have a seat,” Neal said.

Sheldon was impressed with Paul’s clean-cut appearance so proceeded to question him about his business, his goals, and his ambitions. Twenty minutes later, they parted company and Sheldon headed for the country club to pick up the dessert for dinner.

All the way home and while getting ready, his mind went over the conversation with Paul Atwood, dissecting it, analyzing it. Overall, Sheldon was pleased with what he had learned. However, something bothered him. He couldn’t pin down whether it was something about the young man or whether it was something else.

By the time Sheldon drove into the Bliss driveway, he had reached a tentative decision. He picked up the dessert and movie and got out. After he rang the doorbell, a glowing Billie answered the door. She was dressed in an offwhite and lemon-yellow pinstripe cotton shirt, tucked into plain white pants, complimented by a lemon-colored belt. What Sheldon noticed was that the jacket, which usually hid her figure, was missing, revealing alluring curves and a trimming waistline. Her long, slightly curled, auburn hair hung loose in shiny folds over her shoulders. As he stepped in, a flower-like perfume wafted up to his nose. He stared at her, unable to speak for a moment.

“
Dodds, you look handsome in that maroon shirt.”

He flushed. Her frankness still caught him off-guard at times. “Thank you. I guess you noticed me giving you . . . uh . . . as they say, the ‘once over’?” He grinned sheepishly.