Everyone looked horrified by
Papa Hudson’s latest obstacle. Everyone except for Gavin. He remained calm,
cool, and collected – the way his father taught him to be in the face of
adversity. In light of all that Ruby shared about her family, particularly
about her father, he would have been highly surprised if the pathway down the
aisle had been smooth.
“No worries, Red, okay?” Gavin
said soothingly, running an equally soothing hand down the left side of her
face.
Ruby closed her eyes at his
touch and immediately calmed down. “Okay,” she whispered, revealing unspoken
trust when she reopened her unique pools.
Gavin smiled and nodded. Then
he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down his contacts list to select the
number Mrs. Munsen had given him. He wisely entered all new numbers into his phone
so that he’d have them with him at all times.
“Hello, Mrs. Thompson? My name
is Dr. Gavin Sweetwater,” he said when she answered on the second ring. He paid
no mind to the frown on Papa Hudson’s face. Nothing would deter him from
marrying the woman he loved.
“Dr. Sweetwater? Aren’t you
that cute new dentist in town I heard so much about?” Mrs. Thompson asked in
her usual animated voice.
“Yes, I’m the new dentist in
town. I don’t know how cute I am though, but I’m glad you think so.” Gavin
smiled. He could sense Mrs. Thompson’s sweet spirit already. “Do you think I’m
cute, Ruby?” he turned to ask his beloved.
“Yes, very much so.” Ruby
nodded with a smile, looking a lot calmer.
“My fiancée agrees with you.”
Gavin chuckled, behaving as if he didn’t have a care in the world, as if his
world with Ruby wasn’t at stake. Yes, he’d been trained to act this way, but he
also did so because he knew that his woman needed to see a peaceful and
confident display of strength in order to stay calm and strong herself.
“So the rumors are true? You are going to marry
Ruby Dee Hudson?” Mrs. Thompson said excitedly.
“Yes, I am,” he replied.
“I love it!” Mrs. Thompson
giggled. “Ruby’s a sweet girl.”
“Yes, she is and I love her
very much.” Gavin sent Ruby a warm smile of encouragement. “Only thing is, I
need to find a place for us to live in town so that she can continue to work in
her family’s business until a replacement is found. Your place was recommended
to me. Now I don’t know how many offers you’ve had already, but I will double
the highest one if you agree to sell me the place right here, right now.”
Though this new purchase would likely mean one less jet in the small fleet he
had on order, Gavin deemed it worth the expense. He deemed Ruby worth the
expense.
“Oh my,” Mrs. Thompson
replied, now very serious.
“So what do you say?” Gavin
prompted, trying to help her work through her shock faster. So much was riding
on her decision.
“I say, yes!” Mrs. Thompson
gushed out in an excited breath.
Gavin smiled wide. “Would you
mind repeating that to my future father-in-law? It seems he needs some
reassurance of my intentions concerning his daughter.”
“Sure!” Mrs. Thompson agreed.
“But don’t you want to know what the highest bid was first?”
“Yes, of course.” Gavin was
surprised that he’d forgotten about that part. He was usually a much sharper
businessman than that. Blame it on his desperate need to seal this deal for
Ruby…for her freedom from oppression…for their future together.
When Mrs. Thompson told him
the figure, Gavin nodded and casually shrugged. “No problem,” he replied,
willing to pay any price to free his beloved. “I’ll have those funds available
to you no later than Wednesday. Just make sure your paperwork is in order by
then, okay?”
“I will.” Mrs. Thompson
sounded relieved. “Excuse me while I pinch myself to make sure I’m not
dreaming.”
“Don’t pinch yourself too
hard.” Gavin chuckled. “Now before I turn this call over to Mr. Hudson, I’d
like to know if it’s okay for Ruby and I to stop by and take a look at the
property this afternoon,” he added, trying to cover all bases.
“Come any time. I’m always
home,” Mrs. Thompson replied.
“Will do,” Gavin said. Then he
passed the phone to Papa Hudson across the table.
While they talked, everyone
waited to see what would happen next. Papa Hudson kept uttering the same
phrase, “I see. I see.”
Each identical phrase was
analyzed carefully by the listeners. Was that a good ‘I see’ or a bad
one?
When Papa Hudson had heard
enough, he handed the cell phone back to Gavin. “She said you can have all the
farm equipment, too.”
“And?” Gavin prompted, amazed
at the stubbornness of the older man. Why was Ruby’s father so reluctant for
her to leave the nest?
Papa Hudson cleared his
throat. “Oh yeah, you have my blessing to get married,” he said
grudgingly.
(c) 2011 by Mi'Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier
(c) 2011 by Mi'Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier
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