A Fine Mess (11 page)

“I’ll be right there.”

And she was.
Dressed in an attractive navy dress with a demure white collar and cuffs.
And huge red buttons all the way up the front. All he could think was that she looked adorable, especially with her hair pulled back in a single French braid. He offered his arm and they headed out to the car.

“Do me a favor,” he said as he unlocked her door.

“What?”

“Be ready with a quick elbow in case I fall asleep.” Laughing, she took her seat, waiting until he got in before responding.

“Trust me, you won’t fall asleep. We have a pretty upbeat song service, and Pastor Caldwell could never be accused of being boring.”

“One of those hellfire and brimstone kind of guys, is he?”

“Not very often.
Mostly he’s just really enthusiastic. He knows what he wants to say and he says it in a way that gets, and keeps, your attention. At least that’s how it is for me.”

Ian hoped that was the way it was for
him,
too, as he wheeled into a parking spot at the non-denominational church Annie had attended her whole life.

He helped her out of the car and then
walked,
his arm around her shoulders, to the carved double doors. Somehow he’d assumed it would be bigger than it was. A place he could get lost in the crowd. He couldn‘t get lost here if he tried.

Not when he appeared to be the focus of attention. Person after person greeted Annie, letting her know they’d missed her last week.
And looked at him curiously.

“Do they know we’re married?” he whispered, once they were seated in a corner of the classroom.

“I’m sure that Pastor Caldwell does. Mom tells him everything. But I don’t know if anyone else does.”

Anyone who hadn’t been aware of it at the beginning of the day found out when the service itself ended around twelve-fifteen. Because the pastor had Ian and Annie stand in order to make the announcement.

~~~~

“You still look a little shell shocked,” Annie observed as they reentered the apartment.

“You would, too, if you were me,” he said, collapsing in one of the recliners and closing his eyes.

She noted that he’d unbuttoned the jacket of the suit he’d worn for their ‘wedding’ and yanked the knot out of his tie. All in all, he looked like he’d been through a harrowing experience.

“What, exactly,
is
the men’s group?”

“A lot of guys would have asked that question before they said they‘d be glad to join it,” Annie pointed out, unable to suppress a grin as she kicked off her high heeled shoes.
Which didn’t matter since his eyes were still closed.

Well, one of them was still closed. The other was squinted open, watching as she sank down on the sofa.

“Annie, my darling submissive wife.
I repeat, what is the men’s group?”

“Not being a man, myself, I’m not sure why you’d think I’d know.”

“But you do.”

“Of course I do. Dad‘s been a member of it for years.”

“
And?
”

“He likes it fine.”

“Because?”

“Because he’s a man, I suppose.”

“
Annie
,” he growled, sounding very much like a bear.

“Okay. I’ll tell you. It’s a group of men- No, don’t interrupt me. I’m trying to tell you. They meet once a month. They always have breakfast, and then they do something.”

“Define ‘something.’”

“Last month they painted the house of an older couple at church. Sometimes they go canoeing, or to the races. Usually, though, they do something to help someone else.”

“And supervise the boys lock-in night,” he said sarcastically.

“I didn’t see anyone twisting your arm, Ian.”

“Because you weren’t looking close enough,” he sighed. She laughed at that.

“You can always back out.”

“Yeah, right.
That’d look good, wouldn’t it?”

“All I asked is that you come to church with
me,
not get involved in anything.”

“And every one of those people know that you wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t get involved, don’t they?”

“I’m sure they would expect that. But it doesn’t mean you have to be that man.”

“As I recall, it was part of our agreement.”

“Chaperoning the boys lock-in was part of our agreement? It’s funny but I don‘t recall that subject ever coming up.”

“Ha-ha. You fit into my life, I fit into yours.”

“I can guarantee you that, in my life, I’ve never gone on a boys sleepover.
Ever.”

“You’re giving me a headache.”

“Look, Ian. I appreciate that you’re tying to be super-husband here, but I never expected you to get involved in things that make you uncomfortable.
Certainly not something like this.”

“Maybe not, but these people assume I’m like you.
A Christian.
And Christian’s have to do things like that.”

“Oh sure!”
Annie shook her head in disbelief. “Where did you ever get that idea? Why do you think they pounced on you like that? Because a lot of Christian guys avoid getting involved like the plague. And because they knew you’d want to make a good impression on them.”

“So you’re saying they took advantage of me?”

“Well, maybe.
Uh- Kind of.
If they did, it was with the best intentions. They’re probably hoping you’ll decide you love working with the boys so much you‘ll jump at the chance to teach a class.”

“Not in this lifetime.”

CHAPTER 6

“Lord, forgive me,” Annie prayed, on her knees next to her full size, four poster
bed
.

Ian’s words, ‘in this lifetime,’ had echoed in her head all day long. Certainly he wasn’t saved. But did he believe, like so many, that he would ‘come back as another person when this life was over? Did he believe in an eternal destination?

As his wife, temporary as that position might be, she needed to make it her business to find out. As a Christian, she was obligated to be Christ’s light in his life. Thus far, she hadn’t done a very good job of it.

Sure they’d talked about submissiveness, and he’d gone to church with her. But she'd only said grace silently for the entire eight days they’d been married, for fear of offending him. She’d only read her Bible in the privacy of her room. And she’d turned the radio off anytime he was around rather than listening to Christian radio or music.

It was time to stop. And time to start fulfilling her duties as a wife.
As much as their agreement allowed anyway.

“Just please, Lord, don’t let me fall in love with him!”

And that, she realized, was a distinct possibility. He was nice, he cared about others. His sense of humor was wonderful. He’d proven time and again that he was thoughtful, especially the day they’d taken her mother to the doctors and she‘d been so tired. So she couldn’t risk her heart with him. Not knowing full well that he intended to end the marriage just as soon as the terms of the will allowed.

“All things are possible to him who believes.”

Annie jumped, looking around to see who had spoken the words, because they sounded like they‘d come from behind her. But no one was there.

“Lord?” she whispered.

“All things are possible to him who believes.” This time she knew the thoughts she heard were silent, but there nevertheless.

“Are
You
trying to tell me something?”

Sure the
old testament
had examples of arranged marriages. And she supposed hers could be considered something like that. They both agreed to it.
Entered in to it with their eyes wide open.

The only real difference was that arranged marriages were intended for a life time, not just five years.

She got to her feet and walked to the window, looking out into the brightly lit street below. Even at ten o’clock the traffic was heavier than it should be.

“So what do you want me to do, Father?”

She wasn’t even sure she wanted to spend a lifetime with Ian. Eight days wasn’t enough time to base that kind of decision on.

Maybe he was an alcoholic. Or even a drug user. Maybe he was a closet wife abuser and she had yet to see that side of him.

And if she believed that, surely there was someone waiting for the opportunity to sell her ocean front footage in Montana.

As she waited, a passage in the bible came to mind, but only its location. She couldn’t remember what it was about, so she walked back to retrieve her bible from the bedside table. Flipping through the pages she found Proverbs chapter thirty-one, verses ten through twelve.

‘A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him
good
, not harm, all the days of her life.’

Her knees gave out and she sank onto the edge of her mattress and tried to breathe.

“All the days of my life?” was her first
thought.
Her second was, “What can I possibly give him that’s of value? He has everything he could ever want.”

And then she realized he was missing some very important things.
Jesus, being number one on the list.
Love and security coming next.

“I just asked that
You
help me not fall in love with him, Lord. I didn’t say I did love him. Are
You
telling me I should?”

But the Lord, it seemed, had impressed upon her all He intended to for one night.

~~~~

“You’ve done what?” Ian’s father said, far too quietly.

That was usually an indication that the elder McCann was furious. Most people got louder the madder they were.
But not his father.

“I got married last week, Dad.” He watched as his father’s face turn an alarming shade of red.

“
You did not!
” Even his head, bald because he thought it made him look more distinguished, was starting to turn color. Ian held up his left hand to show him his wedding ring. “Then why am I only hearing about it
now?
”
Now being nine days later.

“Because we wanted a week to ourselves.”

“Who is she?”

“Annie Blake.”

It was clear that, while the name rang a bell, Ian McCann senior couldn’t quite place her.

“I’ll save you the trouble of asking. She’s Paul Blake’s daughter.”