It's Bliss (32 page)

“
Oh, Lora, it isn’t safe to live on your own. You need to come home.”

“
One of these days, I’ll bring you over here and show you how safe it is. I promise, I won’t ever let a boy come over here again unless I know him really well. I’ve got to go now, Ma, I’m really tired. Thanks again for being so astute at getting my message.”

Ella Lemmon was pleased that she had done so well for her daughter.

“
You’re welcome, Lora. Now be sure to call me tomorrow, won’t you?”

“
I will, Ma, for sure. Goodnight.” Lora hung up the phone, went over to the couch, and plopped down, exhausted, but still feeling angry at Roy Fawkes. She smiled, savoring the punishment she had inflicted on him. It wasn’t long, however, before her thoughts turned to Officer Bates. He had caught on so quickly, and handled the whole situation so well! She sighed, wishing the college boys were as nice and on the ball as he was.

A knock at the door startled her. “Who is it?” she asked anxiously.

“
Officer Bates.”

Quickly opening the door, she smiled, relieved and happy to see him.

“
Officer Bates, what are you doing back here? Please come in.”

“
Thanks, I came to report and ask you some questions,” he stated abruptly.

“
Oh? Then please have a seat.”

“
No. I prefer to stand. You be seated, please.”

He hovered over her. “Where did you meet that creep you sent into the bushes?”

“
I met him in one of my classes at school. He called tonight and asked to come over.”

“
How well do you know him?” he interrogated.

“
Not well.”

“
Then why did you let him come over?”

“
Well, that’s why he came over. He said he wanted to get to know me.”

“
Inviting him into your apartment wasn’t very smart, Miss Lemmon.”

“
I know, but he wanted to take me out for an ice cream cone, and I said no, that I wanted to go to bed.”

“
So, why did he come over?” the officer asked, his eyes fastening on her unmercifully.

Lora tried to blink back tears. “He kept insisting, promising that he would stay just a few minutes.”

Arly Bates saw the tears and realized what he was doing. He began pacing.

The objectivity that a policeman should have was long gone. He was working now on an emotional level. He cared too much about this naive, imprudent, oblivious girl! He stopped and glared at her.

“
Do you know that all the guys at the station are ribbing the life out of me?”

Lora blinked in confusion at the abrupt change of subject. “What for?”

“
They could see it before I did.”

Her eyes wide with concern, filled with tears again.”W-What did they see?”

“
When I told everyone down at the station about the first time you were stung by the ants and I led you home, they could see it then.”

“
Oh no, I
am
in trouble,” she cried, covering her face.

“
Yes, you are, Miss Lemmon.” He spoke more gently now. “You’re going to have to put up with
me
.”

She looked up at him, tears dripping from her chin,”What d-do you mean?”

“
What I mean is,” he said, handing her a tissue from the kitchen counter and smiling at the tears and at her whole reaction, “that I’ve come to care for you—against my better judgment.”

The tears stopped instantly. She wiped the residue with the tissue, then blew her nose. “Wh-what did you say, Officer Bates?”

“
My first name is Arly, Lora. If you heard that I’ve come to care for you, you heard right.” He smiled.

She stared at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. “I can’t believe it,” she said, standing up in order to examine his grinning face and wonderful, blue eyes.

Arly took her hands in his. “Believe it, Miss Lora Lemmon, believe it.” He exhaled a heavy breath. “I finally do.”

“
But what did you mean about the guys at the station?” she asked fearfully.

“
They saw that I was interested in you the very first night I reported your foolish actions.”

A look of astonishment replaced the fear.”You . . .you were interested in me even before my makeover?”

Arly Bates laughed.

Lora was puzzled. “Why are you laughing?”

“
Because you’re so delightfully funny—and so painfully honest. Please, Lora Lemmon, don’t ever change.”

Smiling with tentative joy, she replied, “But getting to know me under such circumstances—how could you like me? I just don’t understand.”

“
Because, under those crazy circumstances, I discovered wonderful qualities in you, unlike any girl I’ve ever known or dated. The guys at the station were right. Without realizing it, I think I was taken with you the moment I watched you jump up and down in front of that old Volks and tell me you had sat right on top of an anthill.”

“
Really?” she said, scarcely believing her ears. She gazed at him, then smiled shyly. “You know what?”

“
What?”

“
I have a confession to make to you, Officer, I mean, Arly. I . . .I’ve had a crush on you since the moment I first saw you.”

“
You have?” Arly’s heart accelerated with excitement. “I can’t believe it. I thought I’d have to work like crazy to get you to like me. Does that mean that now I can come and see you in a normal fashion?”

“
Yes,” she sighed, smiling.

“
You mean I can take you out on a date?”

“
Oh, yes, Officer Bates—I mean Arly.”

“
I’m off early tomorrow night. If you aren’t busy, could I take you out to dinner?”

Eyes wide, she nodded. “Yes, I’m off work early too.”

“
How about I pick you up at six o’clock?”

Beaming, she nodded.

“
And what are you doing Sunday afternoon?” he asked.

“
Nothing in particular.”

“
How about a Sunday afternoon picnic?”

She clapped her hands. “Oh, yes! I love picnics. I’ll make the food.”

“
Great!” Arly said with relief. “And I’ll bring a watermelon.”

He walked to the door, turned, and smiled at her, noticing that happiness had changed her face from a pixie-like prettiness—to beautiful. “Goodnight, Lora,” he said softly.

She sighed. “Goodnight, Arly Bates. I like your name.”

For Billie Bliss, the weekend seemed so long, it was almost unbearable.

She was sustained only by the miracle that had brought such abundant happiness into her life.

Matilda surprised Billie by handing her the poem that had come with the first rose, the one she had thrown into the waste basket, as well as the second one that she had carelessly left lying about.

“
Oh, Aunt Tilly, thank you!” Billie said, hugging her. “You were so much wiser than I. You sensed right away that they were important.”

Matilda smiled, feeling great satisfaction. Now that everyone in the family knew who had left them on the doorstep, they saw them in a totally different light.

Both Matilda and Margaret asked Billie if they might be allowed to read all of the poems again. Matilda, for her part, had squealed with delight as she did so.

Margaret, in the privacy of her bedroom, shed a few tears as she read and reread them, feeling more gratitude than she could contain. That there was a man of Sheldon Ackerman’s caliber in the world today was something she found unbelievable. And that he would come into Billie’s life and appreciate her, in spite of her off-putting actions and attitudes concerning romance. And then prove that he, too, though a seasoned man in the world of business, did indeed have the same high values and understanding of romance! It was more than she had dared pray for. She smiled through her tears, wishing that all women could have a Sheldon Ackerman or a Will Bliss in their lives, especially her sister Matilda.

The atmosphere in the Bliss home had changed considerably since Sheldon had declared his love for Billie. Quiescence permeated the household, emanating from all within it. Particularly from Will Bliss, who knew that he was safe in giving his cherished and only daughter to Dr. Sheldon Dodds Ackerman, a man of integrity and kindness, a man who would love his daughter the way she deserved.

Bill Bliss went around with a smile on his face, his eyes twinkling more than usual, reminding everyone, “See, I told all of you everything would work out well for our girl.”

Even Henry smiled more and groused less, as he thought of the good luck that had befallen his silly, idealist niece—through no doing of her own, he felt sure.

Billie studied the poems more than either her mother or her aunt, especially the ones Sheldon had composed himself. She was in awe that this special man had come into her life. Not only had he made the effort to
learn
what romance was, but he had turned out to be the most romantic man she had ever known.

At times it seemed unreal, especially the all-too-brief evening with Dodds Friday night. He had kissed her three times. Three wonderful kisses! She would remember them always. Of all the romantic movies she had seen; of all the romantic novels she had read; she had never encountered anything to equal the romance of her own courtship. In her mind, because of her acute awareness of the lack of romance in the world today, she considered herself as knowledgeable as a single person could be. She was sure that knowledge would grow in depth and understanding as she and her husband worked to make their marriage successful.

Here it was only Monday—would tomorrow night ever come? she wondered with a sigh.

-

After his class, Monday, Sheldon retired to his office to make an important phone call. He called Bliss Hardware and Feed and visited with Will Bliss then made an appointment with him. He didn’t know how they did it today, but he wanted to show respect for Bliss’ father and ask for her hand. He wanted it to be at Will’s office where Bliss’ curious family wouldn’t discover what he was doing.

The appointment made, he locked up his office and left to attend to other important things, his heart bursting with happiness. His class had noticed his state, especially Lora, who smiled knowingly, feeling privileged that she was the only one in class who knew why.

If it weren’t for what he had to do, Sheldon was sure he wouldn’t make it until tomorrow night to see Bliss.

-

Monday evening, Lora sat on the porch of her apartment enjoying the aroma of late August, going over in her mind the crazy circumstances which had brought Arly and her together. How strange that it had always turned out to be Arly who was around to rescue her instead of another policeman. And how lucky she was.

Saturday night, Arly had taken her to one of the nicest restaurants in town. She wore an emerald green dress that Billie had given her, and had fixed her hair as Billie had shown her. Arly had said she was beautiful! No boy had ever told her that before.

It was wonderful just talking and getting acquainted with him, as he had put it, in a normal fashion. During dinner, she peppered him with questions, finding out that he came from a family of six, including his parents, and that he was the oldest of the siblings. He said that his parents and three sisters lived in Springfield and that he wanted to take her to meet them as soon as they both could get time off work. This last statement left her stunned.

When Arly’s questions had touched on the subject of
her
family he had expressed a desire to meet her mother. She felt a stab of fear. She hadn’t yet told her mother about Arly. Still cringing at the thought of taking him over to see her, which meant taking him inside the house, she remembered how Arly had reacted when she voiced her reluctance.

“
But, Arly, I’m afraid you won’t want to date me any more if you really see the kind of person my mother has become and the way she keeps her house.

She didn’t used to be like this. It came on gradually after my father left us.”

He smiled. “I know what kind of a person
you
are, Lora. I’ve seen your little apartment when you haven’t been expecting me and it was neat as a pin.

So don’t worry a minute about that. It’s important that we go see her sometime.”

Nevertheless, she knew she would continue to worry until the visit was over. She decided to think about something more pleasant—the picnic yesterday. Arly had raved about her cooking. She had made fried chicken, potato salad and baked beans, all prepared from ingredients which happened to be in Billie’s cupboard and freezer. Lora knew she was a good cook. She certainly had had a lot of practice. Her father left when she was ten years old, making it necessary for her mother to go to work. From the time Lora turned twelve, she was expected to fix most of the meals. When Arly told her she was a good cook, she felt grateful for all those years of practice.

She and Arly had so much to learn about each other, they didn’t play at the park; they just sat on the lawn and asked each other questions. She smiled as she thought about it.