My Mail Order Wife (The Value of a Man Book 1) (10 page)

It was a quiet Thursday night as they lay in bed.  Thurston was happy simply to watch her sleep. She was a beautiful spirit that had come into his life with a little boy that gave meaning and purpose to his life.  In Douglas’ eyes, he was an all-knowing superhero puppy-saving sidekick. He was a father.  Douglas had made him important in his life.  TaeTay had made him important in hers.  He didn’t need to wait for someone to die for him to be a contributing member of society.  He had skills that he could use to help his fellow man. Maybe it was time.

Over breakfast, he was pensive and she gave him space. They had not made love last night because he honestly didn’t feel like it. He held his wife close and nibbled on her neck, but that was all he needed. She was concerned that she had done something wrong, “Thurston, don’t you want me?”

He had squeezed her tight, pulling her body close to his, “I want you every time I look at you, but sometimes, intimacy is about more than sex.  I simply want to hold you.”

This too was something new for her. “Thurston, I feel so…” She was trying to find the right words as tears started to roll down her cheeks. “… Safe.  I feel safe with you.”

He kissed her shoulder, “I will fight the bogeyman in the closet and under the beds for you.  I will protect you, nurture and take care of you TaeTay.”

“You were right.  I like having a Daddy,” she said as she sniffled, snuggled closer and drifted off to sleep.

His mind was whirling.

“Is everything okay, Thurston?” She asked as he headed out the door to start his Friday morning. He was thinking that maybe this weekend he would take them to his parent’s house or out to dinner. The idea crossed his mind to even get Douglas a puppy, but that would come later. “I am just thinking about my family,” he told her as he kissed her cheek and headed to the office.
My family
.

His day seemed to drag as he fielded calls about the election and the number of hours he would have to spend fundraising and campaigning. He opened his briefcase to retrieve a folder and inside found a framed family photo of the three of them.  He placed it on his desk.
Beautiful
.

The meeting he was in with Roger about the election and campaign strategy was nearly wasted on him. It was a moderately sized district, but by the time Roger finished with him, he was going to be on the campaign trail at least 20 days out of the month. By the time RNC rolled around, his family was going to be nothing more than pawn pieces for photo ops.

“Roger, please stop,” he told his friend.

“What’s wrong Thurston?  Where are you going?”

“I am going home to my family.  I am taking the afternoon off,” he told him as he picked up his briefcase and shoved in a few folders. He thought about it, and took the folder out.
I will not be my father
. “I have had this job for nearly four years and I have never called in sick or taken half a day off.  I am going to take some time off and head home.”

Roger was still talking after he left, but he didn’t care.
My family
.  He picked up a box of chocolates for his wife and a learning tablet for Douglas and made his way to the waiting car, got in, and leaned back into the seat, nearly napping as he waited for the driver to pull up to his front door. 

Home
.

The planters on the front porch were now adorned with brightly colored flowers and a door wreath. It looked as if she had painted the front door with a nice crimson red as well. A welcome sign hung underneath the doorbell.  All the little touches of home.

The bell jangled on the door when he walked in, “Thurston, you’re home early. Is everything okay?” TaeTay wanted to know.

“I withdrew my name,” he told her.  Thurston realized Douglas must be down for his nap as he looked around for his son.

TaeTay took the briefcase from his hand and guided him to the couch.  She wore loose slacks today with an oversized tee since she had been digging in dirt with the planters. “Did you withdraw from the election process because of me?”

In her mind, she thought she embarrassed him and that she could not make the grade as a congressman’s wife. She was not surprised by his answer.

“Yes, I withdrew because of you
and
Douglas,” he told her.

TaeTay tried to hide her hurt.  You can dress up the hood rat, but you can’t change the fact that it is a rat. Even if she was wearing fancy clothes and eating off nice dishes. “I’m sorry,” she told him; her head hung low.

“You have it wrong, TaeTay.  I withdrew because you deserve a better life than that. I don’t need any of that stuff to make me relevant.  You and Douglas have given me something I haven’t had before: meaning.”

Over the next fifteen minutes, he explained that he never wanted the congressional seat; it was something his father wanted for him. “I have spent my life doing everything my father wanted me to do with the exception of marrying you.  You are the best decision I have made regarding my life in a very long time.” He paused as he held on to her hands. “My father worked all the time.  He did take time out to take us individually to dinner on our birthdays.  That was as much one-on-one we got with him when we were growing up. I will not do that to our children. I think my mother got even less of his time.”

Thurston explained the long hours on the road.  He spoke about the constant fund raising.  The negative ads and the mess on Capitol Hill. He grimaced at the thought of people picking apart their lives. “I don’t want that for us,” he said flatly.

“I have made a lot of decisions that were for someone else’s benefit.  I am making this decision for us. I am withdrawing because I love you enough to not subject you to being married to a man you will barely see.  I care enough to not run so that Douglas can have a father who is home every night by 6:30 to pass out hugs and share stories about his day. TaeTay, I love you enough to want to be a better man,” he said with eyes full of emotion. “I don’t want to be that guy you met in LA.  You saved me that night and you have saved me again. I want to be the man that is worthy of the love you are giving me.” His voice was full of emotion and cracked as he said the last part.

TaeTay took him into her arms, “I respect your choice to withdraw. I also have a lot more love to give you.” She waggled her eyebrows at him, which brought a smile to his face.

“I think I can make a real difference in my community,” he told her.

“I know you can.  You are a good man, Thurston Cromwell, and a man I love and respect. I will be by your side supporting you in whatever you decide to do,” she told him.

“I can’t ask any more than that, TaeTay.”

Thurston felt like the man he was- a new man.  The woman whom so many had overlooked and judged based on her name and appearance was, more than likely, a better person than so numerous others combined. His grandfather had taught him to never stop believing that one man could make a difference.  His grandpa would have loved his wife.  She made a difference in every life she touched, especially his.

“So are you planning something special this afternoon?” She asked out of curiosity.

He sat on the couch holding his mail order wife and reassessing his own value.  He understood that sometimes a man could not understand his true value, until he understood it through the eyes of a woman. In her eyes, he was significant.

“Yes, I was thinking of maybe taking to you two for a late lunch, then maybe tour the Brooklyn Museum and possibly head up to my parents for the weekend.  I would like to show you where I grew up,” he told her as he rubbed her shoulder with his thumb.

“I would really like that Thurston,” she said as she snuggled closer, enjoying the intimacy with her husband as she waited for their son to wake up.

-Fin-

Also by Olivia Gaines.

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Tony Peay sat on that barstool wondering what in the world he was doing in a hotel bar on a Friday night.  Jennifer walked in the bar, answered his question and ended his lonely days and nights as a single father.

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