Debbi Rawlins - To Love An Older Man

Of course they were from old money, according to Tommy. Their family went back to the gold rush days when the Matthews name became a prominent San Francisco fixture. In the legal arena, their firm was number one, if she could believe Tommy. He seemed awfully impressed with that kind of social stuff these days, so she figured he ought to know.

What impressed Beth was the way Mrs. Matthews treated Ida. The woman was a polar opposite—on the frumpy side, her curly graying hair in need of a trim, her roughened hands looked like those of a farmer’s wife.

“Are you ready for another bowl?” Ida asked, and to Beth’s humiliation, she realized she’d practically inhaled her food.

“No, thank you. This was plenty.”

Ida grunted as she got up and took Beth’s empty bowl. “That was hardly enough to keep a bird alive.”

“But I had two pieces of that great bread. Did you make it?”

Ida nodded, her face one big smile. “No store-bought baked goods in this house.”

“She’s determined to make me fat.” Mrs. Matthews sipped her black coffee with a look of phony disdain.

“Don’t mind her. She thinks three strawberries with a teaspoon of fat-free whipped cream is dessert.”

Beth smiled. “Sorry, but nothing beats real whipped cream, or freshly churned butter. I haven’t had either since I left the farm.”

Both women stared at her. Ida spoke first as she set another bowl of soup in front of Beth. “You actually lived on a farm?”

Beth nodded, and silently cursed her big mouth. These people would think she was some kind of hick. She brought her napkin to her lips—a linen napkin, no common paper stuff here. That she’d momentarily been ashamed of her roots shamed her even more. First her parents, and then her brother provided her with a good home in Rock Falls. Better than good, it had been idyllic.

She lifted her chin. “Back in Rock Falls, Idaho. My family has owned it for five generations. We were all born right there in the master bedroom.”

“My heavens.” Mrs. Matthews set down her coffee cup, the china making a pleasant tinkling sound. “How long have you been here in the city?”

“A little over a year.”

Mrs. Matthews’s brows drew together in a sympathetic frown, and Beth’s defenses soared. “How you must have hated to leave.”

“I’ll say.” Ida placed another bowl of the steaming soup in front of Beth. “Why did you?”

She didn’t know what to say. Not because of Tommy, but because she’d expected disdain, because she’d been prepared to defend her rural childhood.

She shrugged. “My brother works the farm now. He lives there with his wife and three kids.”

“You two aren’t grilling our guest, I hope.”

David’s voice had all three of them turning toward him.

He stood at the door, rolling back the sleeves of his blue oxford shirt, which he’d left unbuttoned at the top. He’d traded his suit pants for jeans and his black dress shoes for battered brown loafers, no socks. The casual look shaved ten years off him, and a totally inappropriate flutter in Beth’s chest startled her.

She hiccupped.

Oh, God. Not now.

Mrs. Matthews turned to her. “Are you okay?”

Beth nodded, and hiccupped again.

Ida jumped up and went to the sink. “Hold your breath for ten seconds while you drink down this water,” she said while she filled a glass. “It works every time.”

“Nonsense. That’s an old wives’ tale.” Mrs. Matthews waved a dismissive hand, but she said nothing more as Ida handed Beth the glass.

She hiccupped again, and then carefully avoided looking at David while she started to down the water. Slowly she counted to ten, and wondered if this evening could possibly get any more humiliating. Nerves hadn’t caused a hiccupping fit for almost five years. Why now?

She set down the glass and everyone waited in mortifying silence to see if Ida’s cure worked.

No more hiccups. She was afraid to so much as smile.

Ida planted her hands on her hips with a triumphant grin. “What did I tell you?”

Mrs. Matthews sighed. “I suppose we’ll hear about this for the next two weeks.”

“Indeed you would if I were going to be here.”

David went to the refrigerator and opened it. “Where are you going to be?”

“On vacation. I’m going to Denver to see my grandbabies,” Ida said, eyeing Mrs. Matthews who remained silent and apparently displeased, judging from her pinched expression.

“Good for you.” David took out an apple. “I’m glad to see you take some time off.”

“Nice someone’s happy for me,” Ida mumbled and got up and cleared the pie off the table. “Beth, can I get you anything else?”

Beth cleared her throat and prayed the hiccups were truly over. “No, thank you.” She briefly glanced at David who was giving his mother some kind of silent warning. “You’ve both been very kind, but please don’t let me keep you up.”

David pulled a chair out and sat down. The two women looked at him in clear astonishment. “Mother, you and Ida go on to bed. I’ll take care of Beth.”

The women exchanged startled glances, their differences temporarily forgotten.

Beth experienced a jolt of surprise herself. She hadn’t expected him to have anything else to do with her. He seemed more than happy to leave her to his mother’s care earlier. Not that she blamed him. She was a stranger, an intruder into his private life.

“Thank you for helping out,” he said. “Now, I’m sure there’s something on television you’re missing.”

Ida tightened the belt of her robe. “I would like to put my feet up. Anything special you’d like for breakfast?”

Busy staring at David, Beth belatedly realized Ida was talking to her. “Uh, no, thanks. I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning.”

Mrs. Matthews had stood and picked up her cup and saucer. But she stopped and frowned at Beth. “But I—”

“Good night, Mother.”

She sighed and gave her son the eye. “I’d like to speak with you before you go to bed.”

“I’ll be in after I get Beth settled in her room.”

The simple statement sounded so intimate goose bumps surfaced on Beth’s arms. What the heck was wrong with her? Haywire hormones? Did that happen so soon into the pregnancy? She was woefully ignorant about such matters. At least if she were back in Rock Falls…

She put the brakes on. Going home was not an option. No sense in getting melancholy about it. She had to move forward, think about where she would stay, how she would support herself, get medical insurance…

The two older women had said good-night and were leaving the kitchen before Beth realized how lost in thought she’d been. Quickly she called out a good-night, and then silence descended. She’d already finished her soup and a third slice of bread. If she didn’t think she’d burst at the seams, she would’ve had another just for an excuse not to talk.

But there was a downside to the silence. More worries germinated and grew inside her exhausted brain. The small amount of money she had left in the bank would take her through one day. Hopefully she’d get a temp job tomorrow, but what if she couldn’t?

“I should have warned you about those two,” David finally said, his voice serious, but when she looked at him one side of his mouth was lifted. “I hope they weren’t too nosy.”

“Oh, no, they were incredibly kind.” She swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. “They made me feel so welcome. I—I—”

Oh, God, not now.

The tears came in buckets.

Great. This was terrific. David set aside the apple and then wiped his hands on a napkin, trying not to notice how fragile she looked in that oversized coat she’d oddly refused to take off. Had he said something inflammatory? What was he supposed to do now? He could call his mother…