Be My Guest (20 page)

"More importantly, how do you feel about
me?" Before she could answer, Will continued, "You must know by now
that I want you to stay, Aurora. That first weekend you were at the
ranch I told you that I don't intend to let you out of my life. I
want you to marry me so we can be together for the rest of our
lives.

Aurora sat with her hands folded in her lap.
How could he ask her to marry him when he just told her he loved
Nancy? All she could think about was the sound of his voice as he
spoke Nancy's name. He loves her so much, she thought. Even after
three years his love for her is strong. Could he ever love her that
much? Could she risk it?

Aurora didn't think she could bear to live
with him in the shadow on another woman, knowing herself to be only
a substitute for the woman he loved. With her heart breaking, she
said, "Oh, Will, I...I had all these plans, and now, I just don't
know what to do." Aurora put her hand to her forehead. "I promised
myself after...after Russell that I would take some time to rebuild
my life slowly and carefully. I had everything all mapped out. I
wanted to travel, and..."

Will interrupted, "Aurora, I love you and
need you with me. I need to know that you'll be there beside me
every night when I go to sleep and there every morning when I wake
up. I want us to share the rest of our lives together."

Aurora pleaded with her eyes as well as her
voice, "Will, please give me a little more time." If only I could
be sure he can love me as much as he loves Nancy, Aurora
thought.

Disappointment and despair were in Will's
voice as he dropped his arms before he turned away. "All right,
Aurora. If that's what you want. It seems to me that if you love
me, you'll want to spend the rest of your life here with me as much
as I want you to."

"There's more to it than that, Will. There's
so much more to consider."

Will winced as if he couldn't bear to hear
the words she spoke to him. "No, Aurora, there's not. Either you
love me and want to stay here with me as my wife, or you don't. Yes
or no shouldn't be too hard."

"Please, Will, try to understand." Aurora
reached out her hand toward him.

"I am trying, but I'm finding it very hard.
It seems to me you neither love nor trust me." He opened his car
door and reached for his crutches.

She opened her door before he could exit
from his side of the car. "There's no need to come walk me to the
door, Will. I can see myself in." With her heart breaking, she slid
out of the car and stood beside it. "Please try to understand,
Will," she pleaded again.

His face grim as he waited for her to close
the car door. "I'll call you later in the week." With no further
comment, he drove away.

Her heart broke into pieces too small to
salvage. What have I done?

Chapter Nine

Aurora
sat at her desk, an order
blank in her hand. Peggy failed to attend the past two Dallas
markets to select merchandise. One of the missed markets had been
the Christmas market, the most important one for any store of this
type. To recover this oversight, it became necessary to order
merchandise from the various catalogs and material in the office.
In addition to the cards, gifts, gift wrap, and accessories ordered
from the card company, Peggy stocked collectibles and decorative
items from several gift companies.

Over the phone, Aurora briefly discussed the
orders with Peggy. At this stage in Peggy's recovery, it seemed
pointless to worry her with unpleasant details or oversights. The
card company representative had been a real help to Aurora. Aurora
visited other card shops, explained the situation to the owners,
and took notes on the suggestions she received.

For the most part, though, Aurora recognized
the responsibility rested on her. She could only compare her
current order to that of last year and approximate a slight
increase. For Peggy's sake, she hoped these "best guesses" were at
least close.

As she finished an order, she noticed Mattie
bend over a shelf. Mattie picked up an item, took it to the store
window to examine it closely, and then returned the item to the
shelf. Aurora watched in fascination as Mattie did this with item
after item from the display of new merchandise. Her curiosity
aroused, Aurora went to Mattie.

"What are you doing, Mattie?"

So startled that she almost dropped the
little angel figurine she held, Mattie recovered with a guilty
start. "I, um, I'm memorizing the prices of the new collectible
items we just got in."

"Memorizing?" A sudden flash of
understanding hit Aurora. "Mattie, do you have trouble seeing?"

Mattie twitched nervously. "Well...yes.
That's why I try to memorize the price of everything. Then when a
customer buys it, I don't have to try to read the price tag." She
lowered her head. "That print is so small, and I'm always trying to
hurry so I won't keep the customer waiting."

"Have you seen the eye doctor recently?"

"Yes. He says I...I have cataracts. He wants
me to have surgery." Mattie started to cry. "I know I make
mistakes, but sometimes I forget the prices. Peggy knows how much I
need this job, so I think she pretends not to notice."

"Why don't you have the surgery? These days
it isn't complicated or dangerous. It doesn't even require much
time convalescing. If it's the money, I'm sure the doctor would let
you work out some sort of payment plan."

"I have my health insurance and medicare.
It's that, well, at first I couldn't leave with Peggy feeling so
bad, you see. Then you came and, well, I was afraid you'd fire me
if I was off work long enough to have the surgery."

"Oh, Mattie." Aurora’s mouth gaped in shock.
Was every woman in Post a martyr? With a resigned sigh, she
explained, "In the first place, I just work for Peggy and probably
don't even have the authority to fire you. In the second place, you
positively must take care of your eyesight." With soft, firm hands
she turned Mattie toward the back of the store and gave her a
gentle push. "Now, you go to the phone at the back and call the
doctor right now to arrange for your surgery as soon as
possible."

Mattie appeared poised for flight as she
stood ready to rush to the phone in the office. "But what will you
do about the store?"

"If Susan can't fill in full-time while
you're out, I'll find someone on a temporary basis."

Aurora shook her head as she watched Mattie
head for the phone. Who dreamed the reason for all those mistakes
was poor eyesight instead of merely stupidity? She grimaced. Poor
eyesight didn't totally explain resistance to any change, but it
helped. With a shudder, she thought of Mattie driving the two miles
to and from work and her small home each day.

Susan could not work full-time, but her
friend Emily Weston jumped at the chance to fill in for Mattie.
With school now dismissed for the summer, Emily found an abundance
of teenagers to babysit her two children. Emily caught on to store
procedures quickly and appeared a real natural in retail sales.
Aurora found herself wishing she could keep Emily permanently.

Emily wanted to be a stay-at-home mother for
another year until her youngest child entered first grade. Working
these two weeks garnered extra money for the family vacation. She
agreed to fill in on an emergency basis for Aurora or Peggy in the
future. Well, maybe in a year...Aurora startled herself when she
realized she planned for the future as if, in a year, she would be
here at Raphael's Cards and Gifts in Post. She gave herself a
mental shake. What could she be thinking?

At the nursing home, Aurora explained the
employee situation to Peggy.

"It's always nice to have a back up," Peggy
told Aurora.

"By the way, I love the ads you've placed in
the newspaper. Did you think them up?"

Pleasure flooded through her. At last,
something positive from this woman. The reception the
advertisements received from the customers surprised even Aurora.
"Yes, I spent quite a bit of time on them, so I'm glad you like
them. I think they've paid for themselves."

Happy to find Peggy in a positive mood, she
broached another project. "Have you thought of stocking a few more
choices in china and pottery? I think it would encourage brides
from this area to register selections with you rather than only at
the stores in Lubbock."

Peggy nodded, a frown creasing her brow. "I
did think about it, but the good china companies I spoke to wanted
so much money to establish an account--thousands on deposit. I just
couldn't afford it."

"I've been doing some checking, and I'd like
to leave you some figures on several companies you might not have
considered." Aurora took a sheaf of papers from her handbag and
placed them on Peggy's tray.

The two chatted a few minutes about the
store and events around town. Aurora didn't want to overtire Peggy
and stood to leave.

Peggy suddenly sobered. "I never thought I
would enjoy myself away from the store. For years I thought about
nothing but the store night and day. I really thought it couldn't
go on without me there every day."

Aurora didn't know how to respond. Actually,
business continued to improve in Peggy's absence. With so many
little changes, it now seemed almost like a different store.
Customers often commented on the improvements. They liked the
brightened and cleaned store with its fresh and welcoming
atmosphere. But Aurora couldn't tell any of this to Peggy, so she
tried to be noncommittal. "Well, you know people ask about you
every day. You have a lot of friends and loyal customers."

Peggy tapped at her chin, deep in thought.
"That's lovely, isn't it? I thought I would miss it more." She
raised her head, a look of dismay in her eyes. "Aurora, I'm very
grateful to you for handling things for me. I'm just so surprised I
enjoy not having to worry about the store. A huge weight has been
lifted from my shoulders."

* * *

The next evening Lily, Catrina, and Kelly
showed up at the store just five minutes before closing. Kelly and
Catrina bounded up to Aurora. Both chattered at once, but Kelly
seemed to be the spokeswoman for the trio.

"We've come to steal you away for a dinner
and a movie. Can you come?" The eagerness in her eyes warmed
Aurora's heart. She tried to pretend her growing fondness for Kelly
solely was friendship, with no maternal feelings involved.
Sometimes Aurora almost convinced herself.

Behind Kelly, Lily placed an arm on the
shoulder of each girl. "I called Rose to let her know we intend to
spirit you away and also invite her," Lily explained. "She is much
too smart to be caught with these two, but she says for you to come
with us. Is this okay by you?"

Aurora nodded her agreement with a smile.
"It sounds wonderful. I haven't seen a movie in weeks. Let me close
up and then you can tell me where we're eating and which movie you
chose."

With only one theater in town, the choice of
movie was simple. The girls picked the local Dairy Queen for
supper, and the women acquiesced.

"What are Raul and Will doing tonight?"
Aurora tried to keep her voice casual, as if the answer were of no
importance.

"Ha. Those two with Bob and Greg Hankins
have gone to the Cattlemen's Association meeting. It is because
many ranchers have lost cattle to rustlers lately.”

Concerned, Aurora turned to Lily. "Will
didn't mention this to me. Has he lost cattle?"

Lily shook her head. "No, but many around us
have. Never a great number of cattle, so it is a small operation.
There is much concern, though. For days there will be nothing but
talk of cows and rustlers. Juan and Hector were allowed to go with
them."

Catrina pouted and added, "Yeah. They were
really being stuck up about it, too." The women exchanged knowing
glances. Catrina sounded as if she resented her brothers' special
treatment by their father. This must be the reason for tonight's
outing.

Aurora assured the young girl, "They'll be
sorry tomorrow when they find out what a great time we had without
them."

Lily shot Aurora a grateful smile. "Sí, this
is verdad. They will be so jealous their brown eyes will turn as
green as Aurora's when they learn of the evening we have had."

Kelly clung to Aurora like glue. As they
waited for their food Kelly waited until Aurora gave her a
reassuring smile. This gave her the courage to speak her mind. "If
you marry my dad then we can do this a lot."

Lily’s eyes widened in alarm at Kelly's
statement and she started to speak, but merely shrugged.

Oh, dear, thought Aurora. What can I say to
make Kelly understand? "Kelly, you remember that I'm on my way to
Colorado, don't you?"

"Yes, I know you said that, but you can
change your mind. I know you like Daddy and he likes you. Don't you
like me?"

Aurora hugged the girl. "Of course. I like
you very much, Kelly, and any woman would be very proud to have you
for a daughter." She kept an arm on Kelly's shoulder and sighed.
"It's just not that easy.”

Disappointment showed in Kelly's eyes. "It
could be. You could marry my dad and then you'd be my stepmother.
We could all be together and do a lot of things. It'd be
great!"

Aurora hope for help from Lily but received
only another shrug. "Kelly, only your father can decide who he
wants to marry. It's not something I can explain easily, but you'll
just have to trust his judgment and be patient."

Finally, Lily spoke up. "You girls go to the
restroom now, so we can leave for the movie. Leave the grown up
things to the grown ups."

With the girls out of earshot, Lily turned
back to Aurora. "Now you know I would never interfere, but Kelly is
right. You and Will make a perfect couple. You think about it."