It's Bliss (21 page)

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled up at him. “Yes. The inches have been just disappearing. How do I look?” she asked, turning herself around slowly.

His breath caught. She was truly a beautiful girl, and in his mind, it was a sure thing that Paul Atwood would be smitten the minute he laid eyes on her.

“
You look very nice,” he replied stiffly. “I’m proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish.”

“
I didn’t do it. Oh, I helped, of course, but it was you, Dodds, and your support and understanding.”

He shook his head slightly, trying to dismiss what she had said, but it was the expression in her eyes that unsettled him the most. “Here,” he said, a little too abruptly, handing her the set of DVDs. I bought
Pride and Prejudice
for you.”

Her eyes lit up. “You
bought
it for me? Oh, thank you, thank you! I didn’t get to see it when it was first shown on television. And now I can see it over and over.”

Her childlike joy was infectious, making him feel like a schoolboy again.

He carried the dessert to the kitchen.

Dinner with the family was enjoyable. Everyone was relaxed, feeling like old friends. The meal consisted of vegetables out of Bill’s garden: snap beans, sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob, and fresh, homemade bread. Every one agreed that the dessert, the club’s specialty of milk cake covered with fresh, red-ripe strawberries, was the perfect choice for a vegetable meal.

The family declined the invitation to watch the movie with them, so Sheldon and Billie were seated alone on the couch in the television room.

Billie slipped off her sandals and curled up as the movie began.

It turned out to be a long, but unforgettable evening for Sheldon. The story, the acting, and the scenery were superb and he, like Billie, got thoroughly caught up with the emotion and ‘romance’ of the movie. They glanced at each other often in their enjoyment.

It was almost midnight when they walked to the door and out onto the porch together. “I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed an evening so much, Bliss,” Sheldon said, smiling down at her, noticing that the moonlight had turned her beauty into something ethereal.

“
I can’t, either,” she responded quietly.

“
Let’s sit here on the porch swing a minute, Bliss. I need to ask a favor of you.”

“
All right.” The August air was fragrant, still, and humid. Frogs belched out their songs from a neighboring pond, blending harmoniously with the crickets. The pair on the swing was silent for a while, enjoying the sounds of summer.

“
Dean Atwood,” Sheldon began, “called me into his office this afternoon and asked me if I could get someone to show his nephew around the university.

I’m wondering if you would have time to do that for me?”

“
Why would he ask you, Dodds? Can’t he do it himself?” she asked, puzzled.

Hiding his own motive, he replied, “The young man wants to take a couple of classes from me next term, so I guess the dean thought it a good idea that I introduce him to another student.”

“
Oh. That makes sense, I guess. I would be glad to do that for you, Dodds.”

“
Thank you, Bliss.” It was so pleasant here in the swing with her, he hesitated getting up and leaving. Finally, he stood up to go. They thanked each other and said goodnight.

Billie sat back down on the swing and watched Sheldon walk to his car and drive away. She couldn’t make herself go inside. The outdoors provided a soothing counter to the unsettling emotions that she had been feeling lately when she was with Dodds.

The screen door squeaked open and she turned, startled. “Grandpa! What are you doing up this late?”

“
I couldn’t sleep. We didn’t get to finish our conversation, so I thought maybe we could finish it now. Are you too tired, Snooks?” he asked, sitting beside her.

“
Not at all tired, Grandpa. I’m so glad you’re here right now. I don’t know what’s the matter with me, but I kind of feel confused and . . .”

“
Confused because you wish Sheldon were five years younger?”

“
Yes.”

“
He’s a very kind and handsome young man. It’s understandable that you might get a crush on him. That happens now and then with student and teacher, doctor and patient, and so on.”

Billie looked over at him in surprise. “A crush? I don’t have a crush on him, Grandpa, I just wish that there were younger men out there like him.”

“
Oh.”

The hinges of the old, porch swing rasped as the two moved back and forth, each deep in thought.

Billie broke the silence, speaking softly into the balmy air. “Ten years older is too much older, Grandpa.”

“
You think so?”

“
Yes. I want lots of children.”

“
Oh. You think you couldn’t have lots with someone ten years older?”

“
I don’t know, it depends.”

“
I take it Sheldon is a confirmed bachelor.”

Billie sighed. “It seems so, Grandpa. It’s such a waste. I’ve been trying to think of someone I could introduce him to—someone he might want to marry. He’s had such a lonely life, and it’s just going to get lonelier. I mentioned it to him, and he ran out of my apartment so fast that, like Uncle Henry said, he almost left his tall, skinny shadow behind.” She couldn’t help smiling.

Bill Bliss smiled, too, but his smile was mainly caused by visualizing Billie, as she broached the subject to Sheldon. “I suspect, Snooks, that Mr. Sheldon Dodds Ackerman just hasn’t placed himself in situations where he could meet someone. But—I can guarantee—if he ever found anyone he were really interested in, he would be very vulnerable. His bachelorhood would fly right out the window.

Wednesday morning at 8:00, the phone rang at the Atwood residence.

Neal Atwood picked it up.

“
Hello?”

“
Good morning, Neal, this is Sheldon. I think I’ve found the kind of girl you were describing to me yesterday. She’s a young woman from my 280 class.”

“
Good!”

“
If you’ll tell Paul to be outside the door of my classroom this morning at 11:00, I’ll introduce him to her. She has graciously agreed to show him around the campus.”

“
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Sheldon.”

“
Neal, you know it probably won’t work out, don’t you?”

“
I know, I know. But at least I will have tried.”

-

Sheldon motioned for Billie to come over to his desk as she walked into class the next morning.

“
Miss Bliss,” he whispered, “Dean Atwood’s nephew, the one who needs to be shown around the campus, will be outside the door right after class.

I’ll take you both into my office and introduce you. The two of you can then arrange a convenient time for the tour.”

“
All right, Dr. Ackerman,” she said, her voice and manner both subdued.

“
Is everything all right, Miss Bliss? You don’t seem yourself this morning.”

“
I’m fine, Dr. Ackerman,” she said, giving him a brief smile. Then, turning abruptly, she walked quickly to her seat.

Something is wrong, he thought to himself. The sparkle he had seen in her eyes lately was missing. It was there last night when he left her. What could it be?

Because of his concern, he had a difficult time getting into his lecture.

Finally, he managed to put it aside.

After class, Billie waited in her seat until everyone left the room. Then she and Sheldon found the young man waiting for them just outside the classroom.

Sheldon noticed Paul’s expression when he saw Billie and knew he was instantly captivated. Ushering them into his office, he invited both to have a seat, then introduced them. After visiting a few minutes, the two decided to tour part of the campus for an hour right then. Paul shook Sheldon’s hand and thanked him, then he and Billie left together.

Sheldon sat at his desk thinking. He had also watched Billie’s reaction to Paul, but her face conveyed nothing. Though still quiet and subdued, she had been very gracious. Feeling restless and vaguely disturbed about the two going off together, Sheldon frowned. Was he feeling guilty for conniving like this? It was for her own good, wasn’t it?

-

Sheldon paced the floor in his condo. He had been trying to reach Billie by phone off and on all evening, and here it was ten o’clock! Where could she be? He stopped by the phone and re-dialed.

This time he heard Billie’s dulcet tones. “Hello?”

“
Hello, Bliss, where have you been?”

“
You’ve been trying to reach me?” she asked, surprised.

“
Yes. I feel responsible for asking you to show Paul Atwood around and I was concerned.”

“
There’s no need for concern. Paul and I went touring the campus again after my afternoon class, and then he wanted to take me out to dinner to thank me.”

“
Oh. How did it go?”

“
It went very well. He likes the campus and all the facilities. He’s particularly interested in taking classes from you. He thinks it will help him in his accounting firm and will help him make better investments.”

“
Good. What do you think of him?” he asked, trying to sound offhanded.

“
He’s very nice. I can’t imagine why he’s still unmarried.”

“
Are you through showing him around?”

“
Yes, but . . .” her voice trailed off.

“
What is it, Bliss?”

“
He’s going to be here until Sunday, and he wants me to go out with him every afternoon and every evening until he leaves.”

The man works fast, Sheldon thought, disgruntled. He chastised himself—this was just what he hoped would happen Wasn’t it? Why did this news rankle him? “Did you accept?”

“
I told him I would think about it.”

“
Do you want to go out with him?”

“
I don’t know. I should want to, I guess. He’s handsome, as well as nice.

Do you want me to go out with him, Dodds? I will, if you think it would be a favor to Dean Atwood and, therefore, a favor to you.”

“
Don’t go out with him as a favor to either one of us, Bliss. Only go out with him if you want to. Do you?” he asked again.

“
I suppose I owe it to myself to get to know him because he seems to have good values,” she stated, sounding tired.

“
If you accept his invitations, will you do me a favor?”

“
You want me to show someone else around the campus?” she teased.

He smiled. “No. Just call me and let me know where you’re going and when, and then call me when you get home?”

She laughed. ‘Just’? You sound like an overly protective father.”

He flushed. What right did he have to ask all that? “Well, I do feel somewhat responsible.”

“
Don’t. If I decide to go out with him, I will
not
call you.”

“
But, Bliss, we’ve been working together on your problem. I . . . I need to know how things are going.”

The silence stretched out between them, each wondering about the other.

“
All right, Dodds,” she agreed reluctantly, “I’ll call you, but only because you’ve done so much for me. I moved away from home to get away from this kind of over- protectiveness. But Dodds . . .” Another long silence followed.

“
What?”

“
I really do not appreciate your acting like a father.”

He heard a tone in her voice he hadn’t heard before. He was silent for a moment, thinking, then he spoke softly, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to act like a father. I promise you, I do not—I reiterate—I do not
feel
fatherly toward you.”

-

Lora was confused. She had waited around in the hall after class, only to see Dr. Ackerman usher Billie and a good-looking guy into his office. Then a short time later, she saw Billie and the guy leave together. She followed them for a while, then realized that Billie was just showing him around the campus.

Later that evening, Lora drove over to Billie’s apartment around 9:30 to see if anything was going on. Finding the place dark, she parked up the street, out of sight, and waited. A half hour later, a black Corvette turned into Billie’s driveway. In the driver’s seat was that cute guy with Billie beside him. Had they been out on a date? If so, she thought, all her suspicions and conjectures about Billie and Dr. Ackerman were false. Though feeling a little deflated driving home, she decided that a good PI would check it out further.

-

The next three pleasureless, miserable days dragged on interminably for Sheldon. The calls came from Billie, as he had requested, but they were less than satisfying. He had found out in consecutive order that: Thursday afternoon, Paul Atwood took Billie on an extravagant picnic outside of town; Thursday evening, they went out to dinner and afterward, attended a symphony; Friday, after the meeting, they went dancing.

During the meeting Friday, Sheldon had tried to ‘read’ Billie since her calls revealed nothing but the briefest of facts. When he questioned her about how she felt about Paul Atwood, or about how he was treating her, or about what his values were, she cut him off with a hurried, “I’ve got to go.” She was still quiet and withdrawn, as well as a little distant during the meeting, even though the other three girls and the committee were openly impressed with her success at losing inches.