Page 29 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04 (Modern Mail Order Brides #19)
“Man, I am so in love with you, and this chance to be the woman I never thought I'd meet is blowing my damned mind,” she said. “I have even made friends with your former mail-order bride, who will more than likely be my business partner.”
“You're in love with me?” Thom asked, unclear if he'd heard her correctly.
“Yes, I am in love with my husband,” she said, blushing as the tears stung her eyes.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined meeting someone so different, but just perfect, who is good and kind and loving.
You're generous with your affections and non-demanding about what you expect my role to be in your life. I know you were shocked as shit that I could cook, and the idea of coming home to meals and me barefoot was blowing your mind, but baby, I am carefree and loving every minute of it.”
“I'm glad you’re adjusting so well too, Mary,” he said.
“A year,” she said. “I want us to have a year to learn about each other, then I'm going to give you sons and daughters. Is a year okay?”
“A year is fine,” he said, not knowing exactly what to add to the conversation. “Sons and daughters?”
“We need four. Three is weird and the other two always end up ganging up on the one,” she told him. “Four is the right number if God is blessing.”
“He's blessing,” Thom said, smiling.
“Listen, Thom,” she told him. “You showed me who you are. I went to Kansas and met your family, sat at the table, and shared a meal with the people in your life. I sat at the same table and prepared the next meal. Your Aunt showed me how to make your favorite dessert from scratch, and I have recreated it in this home.”
“Okay,” he said, cocking his head.
“I saw how you grew up and what you're accustomed to eating,” she replied. “You built this home with a butler’s pantry and that kitchen for the woman in your life to create meals for your family.”
“I did,” he said softly.
“You laid out exactly what you need and expect from your woman, and baby, I am going to deliver,” she told him.
“You want to walk in that door to open, loving arms, a decent meal, good conversation, and well-behaved, intelligent kids.
I'm going to give you all of that and more because we both deserve the happily ever after.”
“Jesus,” he whispered. “I think I just fell in love.”
“Just? Just! Man, don't make me come over there and start making out with you, and take out my ruler and rap your knuckles for being a naughty boy,” she said laughing.
“I think I may need to be taught a lesson,” he said, grinning at her. “But hold on, you can't keep feeding me these meals and expect me to perform like a 21-year-old. A man has his limits.”
“So, you're saying we need to make out before dinner?”
“Hell no, but maybe,” he said, laughing. “This chicken is good as hell. We'll see.”
He paused for a minute and looked at his wife again. He wasn’t sure how a man with one ear lobe pulled such a beautiful woman, but he felt lucky. Doubt crept into him and he knew, if he didn’t address it head on, it would resurface later in an ugly form.
“Mary, please forgive me for finding it hard to believe a beautiful woman like you, walked away from what I assume was a corner office, plus a high six figured salary to marry a guy with one ear lobe who manages a train station,” he said. “You certain this is what you want, and you want me?”
“You may have one ear lobe, my love, but you hear me even when I’m not speaking,” Mae whispered.
Thom’s face grew crimson at her words. She sat at the table next to him, taking his hand in hers. The brown eyes stared into his, as she leaned forward, gently kissing his mouth.
“Thom, I am not tired,” she said. “I walked away from the weight on my shoulder of having to be these things to represent ideals no one was holding up but me, yet I was expected to adhere to the standards. I am strong, but man, I was tired. Now, I get to live and exist without having to explain why I am here. We know why and I get to simply exist as a black woman in her home with her one eared husband.”
They sat at the table well after the meal was over, content to share the space. It was then that Mae asked a question she’d long for an answer. He brought it up and now was as good of time as any.
“Thom, may I ask, since you’re financially secure, why you never got a prosthetic ear or corrective surgery for the lobe?”
He sighed, “I was 14, and had just really started growing into my head. Aunt Sue took me to a plastic surgeon, but the cost was high.”
“She offered to get you an ear?” Mae said, watching his face.
“Yes, and she’d made arrangements to pay it off so I could feel whole,” he said, looking her deep in the eyes. “Funny thing was, the ear never made me think I was less than, but to me, it gave me a superpower.”
“A super power? Like what?”
“In school, any kid who picked on me because of the ear, I knew I didn’t want to be around.
A kid who tried to defend or protect me, was a person who cared about people,” he said.
“In college, dating, and relationships in general, it went pretty much the same way. Any woman who believed I was an easy mark with self-esteem issues, I learn to spot. A person who made conversation about it wasn’t someone I wanted to be around, either.
My ear came with a story. It made me into a better man, so I figured, why mess with it?
A woman who loves me wouldn’t care about me missing a lobe. Do you care about me missing the lobe?”
“No, I don’t,” Mae said smiling.
“Then, we’re good.”
Thom found a resolution he sought as they discussed heading to Chicago in the upcoming weeks to turn in her vehicle and rent a moving truck to clear her apartment. It would also be the same weekend to meet Mae's family. He wasn't ready. However, neither was Mae's family ready for Thom Brown.