“Okay, sounds good.”
With that, Ella and Ben left Jeff’s office holding hands.As they approached their cars, Ben asked, “Want to run over to Samantha’s for lunch?I took the whole afternoon off to be with you.”
Ella winced.“Oh, I forgot to tell you.I can’t stay.Blesson is in town.He flew in this morning.I have to go back and go over the final prep with him.You are welcome to come back to Des Arc with me, but I will be working late tonight and most of tomorrow.”
At Ella’s words, Ben’s face fell.They were coming off such a high as a couple just moments before.Once again, she was running away from him.Rationally, he knew that was not true, but it felt like it.
“No.I guess, I will go back to the office as well if you aren’t staying.”
“Can you come tomorrow night?”asked Ella.Rubbing her belly, she added, “We’ve missed you.”
Smiling, Ben said, “I miss you both too.But, no.Remember, the Annual Crawfish Golf Tournament is tomorrow.Dad and I are playing in it.There is a dinner and dance afterward.I really wish you would join me.”
Ella, who was always tired now, thought the sound of spending her Saturday night at the Searcy Country Club watching Ben talk to people whom she did not know sounded awful.She considered saying that she needed to stay in Des Arc for the study, but that would be a lie.Blesson was flying out tomorrow afternoon.There was no reason she could not join him.She had never lied to him, and she wasn’t about to start now.Shaking her head, Ella could not keep the irritation out of her voice when she said, “I will come to Searcy when Blesson leaves.I don’t have a lot that still fits.How dressy is this thing?”
Smiling a smile that told Ella how happy he was that she was going to be joining him, Ben replied, “Not at all.You could wear jeans, and it would be fine.”
“Like I have jeans that fit,” quipped Ella.“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.”In the few months Ella had been married to Ben, she had learned that what he thought was “not dressy” often was.Deciding to run by Dillard’s on the way out of town to pick up a tent, aka dress, Ella gave Ben a kiss and promised to call him later that night.Her last thought as she drove away was she had to do more shopping.With all she had on her plate, she could not believe she was going shopping.Every day, she came closer and closer to becoming the woman her mother feared she would.
With nothing else to do, Ben considered heading back to the office but at the last minute changed his mind.He had a free afternoon.He decided he would run by the condo, pack his bag, and head to Searcy.He could squeeze in a quick round of golf, something he had not been able to do in weeks.Then he would drive over to Des Arc and surprise Ella with a late dinner.Just the thought that he would get to sleep next to her later that night put a spring in his step that had not been there in weeks.
Chapter 32
Des Arc, Arkansas
By the time Ella pulled her Lexus into her driveway that night, she was bone tired.It was almost 10:00 pm, and she had not been up that late in months.Seeing Ben’s car revived her.Ella found him dozing in bed with a baseball game playing in the background, and she stood in the doorway and watched him sleep.After a moment, she made her way over to the bathroom.He must have heard her because he sat up.
“Hey, you’re home?I was worried something had happened to you.”Sitting up, Ben ran a hand through his tousled hair.
“Just a late dinner at the Waters’s.If I had known you were here, I would have asked you to join us, or better yet, left earlier,” called Ella from the bathroom.After a moment, she emerged with her face scrubbed clean and wearing a pair of her new, very large maternity pajamas.
“I only got here about an hour ago.I played golf in Searcy, then had dinner with my folks and the girls.All of them send their love and are excited to see you tomorrow.”
Walking around and climbing into bed, Ella snuggled under the covers next to Ben.“I am glad you had a nice afternoon.I felt really guilty leaving you when I had to leave so abruptly today, especially after you took time off to be with me.”
Ben gave Ella a kiss on the forehead.“I understood.Goodness knows I have left you high and dry a lot over the last few months.Sometimes work calls.I hope it all went well.”
Smiling her brightest smile, even though she was exhausted, Ella said, “It went great.The project is almost done.We will finish next week.Waters and Blesson were very impressed.”
Pulling Ella close and spooning her, Ben replied, “I am not a bit surprised.You are amazing.They were very lucky to have you helping them.Not going to lie though, I am ready for this to be done and have you back home with me.”
Closing her eyes, Ella said, “Well, I am pretty sure I was the lucky one here.This study is going to look great on my resume for years to come.”Yawning loudly, she added, “I hate to ask this, but I am so tired.Would you be mad if we turn off the game and go to sleep?”
Kissing her softly on the lips, Ben said, “Sure, baby.Love you,” as he clicked off the television.
Ella echoed the words back in a whisper as she quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Ella woke just long enough to kiss Ben goodbye because he had an early tee time.Needing to be in the office by 8:00, she pushed herself out of bed and into the shower.The day sped by.She and Blesson finalized all the plans for the ending of the project.They finished around 2:00, and he left for the airport shortly thereafter.
Exhausted, Ella finished up some paperwork, then went back to her house for a nap.She slept until almost 4:00.Knowing she needed to get up, shower, and dress for the Crawfish, Ella once again pulled herself up and out of her bed.Within an hour and half, she was on the road to Searcy.
On the ride over, she thought about all the fundraisers and country club dinners she had attended since January.She had not grown up doing these like Ben had.She found them tiresome and boring.If she knew anyone at the events other than family, they might have been better.But the only friends she had made were at her job.Lynn and the guys who were on the crew were a lot of things, but country clubbers they were not.Ella acknowledged that Poppy always made an effort to talk to her and keep her entertained, but Bennett was forever calling her away to meet one person or another.More often than not, Ella sat alone, trying not to look like a lost puppy—or worse like the beached whale she was fast becoming.
Just as Ella had feared, the Crawfish Golf Dinner was not much different than all the other club events she had attended over the past few months.Sitting alone at the huge table, she found herself spending way too much time comparing herself to others and worrying about how she looked.She was becoming insecure about her looks and her lack of social skills in Ben’s world.To her, these events were just something to be endured with a fake smile and as little said as possible.
Afterall, Ella had come to realize she was just seen as Ben’s lovely wife by the older people—and as the witch who trapped Searcy’s most eligible bachelor by the younger ones.It had not escaped Ella’s notice that several gorgeous young girls around Ben’s age, along with some who were slightly older, looked upon her with contempt.They saw her as the girl who stole their chance with him.She knew Ben had no interest in any of them.If he had, he would never have been with her.
She knew he loved her, case closed, but that did not keep her from feeling fat and frumpy in front of them, especially because she was currently experiencing a massive amount of swelling.Her feet and hands were so huge she could not wear her rings, and the only shoes she could get on her feet were flip-flops.So here she was at a country club dinner, in a black sundress she had bought the day before with shower shoes on her feet.If she did not feel so tired and blah, she would have been embarrassed.As it was, she was doing all she could do to be there.
