I
wonder which gift card he will give me after this, Mrs.
Munsen thought, ready to be rewarded again for her due diligence in protecting
her employer’s best interests.
“Mrs. Munsen, I appreciate
your consideration, I truly do, but you really don’t have to warn me about
Ruby. Unlike Nancy, she’s not a gold-digger.
In fact, she’s a diamond in the rough, a true treasure among women. I find Ruby
simply delightful and I plan to marry her very soon,” Gavin said in a calm even
tone. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about our engagement yet on account of
how quickly the news reached her parents.”
Mrs. Munsen felt all the blood
drain from her face. “You…you’re going to marry Ruby? Ruby Dee Hudson?” she choked
out, shocked for more reasons than one.
“Yes.” Gavin’s tone was still
even and controlled.
“But why?” Mrs. Munsen couldn’t
hide her disappointment. She expected better for him, better of him,
and better from him.
Plus, Mrs. Munsen was one of
the few people in town old enough to remember or even care about the sordid
history between another pair of Sweetwater and Benjamin males who vied for the
same girl. That girl had been a redhead, too, though no relation to Ruby.
Would history repeat itself?
Would it end up just as badly?
“I’m marrying Ruby because I
love her. In fact, it was love at first sight for me,” Gavin confessed. “If
that’s going to be a problem for you, perhaps you and I need to sever our
employment agreement today. I will not work with anyone that doesn’t respect my
future wife.”
Mrs. Munsen shook her head
vigorously. “No, no, it’s no problem for me whatsoever. You just took me by
surprise, that’s all. Please accept my apology and my...uhm…congratulations,”
she replied, quickly making the necessary mental adjustment.
But how
am I going to break the news to Fannie Mae? she mused, thinking of
her pretty and very unmarried niece. Fannie Mae had been looking forward to
meeting the handsome new doctor in town. She was scheduled to do just that during
her appointment tomorrow.
She’s
going to be so disappointed, Mrs. Munsen thought, not
looking forward to sharing this news at all. She also decided not to utter a
word about the Sweetwater and Benjamin family connection. She’d said enough as
it was. No need to put her foot farther into her mouth.
“All is forgiven and your congratulations is
accepted, Mrs. Munsen.” Gavin looked pleased that she was not among the elderly
that were too set in their ways to change.
Mrs. Munsen was no fool…at
least not anymore. Over the years she learned when and how to quickly adapt to
any situation. Especially when it benefited her financially.
Plus she still had ten more
years on a second mortgage to pay off. With her husband sickly and on a fixed
income, they barely had enough to live off now, which was why she hadn’t
retired yet. Blame it on their foolish decisions to cosign for cars and houses that
their financially inapt children had stuck them with seven years ago.
I’m
not about to lose my job over my personal opinions, Mrs.
Munsen thought, convinced that she would not be able to find another one that
paid this well at age sixty-two.
“Now if you will escort my
fiancée to the back, I’d be most appreciative,” Gavin said, breaking through
her thoughts.
Mrs. Munsen nodded. “Yes, sir.
Right away, sir.” Then she scurried from the room as fast as her heavy-set legs
would carry her.
(c) 2014 by Mi'Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier
(c) 2014 by Mi'Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier
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