FamilySecrets - Part Two

I'm in Colorado, and I know it's spring, but Colorado weather doesn't always adhere to what it says on the calendar.  April is Colorado's second snowiest month, don't believe me, look it up. When we lived there, I always told people we were much more likely to have a white Easter than a white Christmas.  Anyway, I have my fingers crossed.

Here the second part of Family Secrets.  The first part is here.  

She woke to the smell of something delicious.  Wandering into the kitchen, she was alarmed to see a short woman standing over the stove stirring a pot of something. Angela was about to call for help; the woman introduced herself. 

“I’m Mirabelle.  Mr. Jameson sent me over.” 

“Nice to meet you, Mirabelle.  I didn’t expect anyone, especially anyone to cook for me. I’ll have to thank Micah.  What are you making.”

“Conch chowder, it’s an island specialty.  There is fresh baked bread and butter, too.  Mr. Jameson thought you might be hungry after the long day of traveling.  It’s almost ready if you want to eat now.  If not, I’ll just leave it for you when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Mirabelle.  I think I’d like to take a shower now and eat later.  Will I see you again?”

“Probably, I work for Mr. Jameson at his place and other places as he requires.”

“I see.  Well, thank you again and nice meeting you.”

Angela went off to take a shower.  She loved hot showers, the hotter, the better.  After depleting the hot water supply, she stepped out into a steam-filled bathroom and realized she’d left her robe in the bedroom. 

“OOO,” she yelled when she saw Micah standing in the bedroom.  His eyes were taking full advantage of the view of her standing there naked. She quickly retreated to the bathroom to grab a towel to cover her nudity.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m so sorry.  I didn’t expect you to pop out.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“I was making sure the French door’s worked correctly.  They’ve only recently been replaced.”

“Didn’t you hear the shower?”

He turned crimson, and she knew she had him.  “So you thought maybe you’d catch a glimpse of the American girl,” she teased.

Angela watched him bristle at her comment and couldn’t help but poke the bear.  “Well, did you like what you saw?”

He didn’t reply but Angela didn’t let it rest.  “I asked a question, it’s rude not to answer. Did you like what you saw?”

“Everything seemed to be in all the right places,” he replied.  She saw him smirk before he turned and left the room.

When she dressed and came out, she saw him sitting in a lounge on the deck and yelled to him from the kitchen.  “Micah, I’m going to sample some of that delicious smelling chowder Mirabelle left, would you like to join me?”

“That depends.  Are you decent and are you going to be making any more cheeky comments.” He came into the kitchen.

“I’m always decent, Aunt Rose made sure I was raised that way and as for cheeky, whatever do you mean?”

“That, my dear is a cheeky comment.  You damn well know what it means.”

“Language, Mr. Jamison, language, don’t offend my sensibilities. I have delicate ears.”

“Delicate, huh.  I think not.”

“Are you suggesting I may not be telling the truth? What must you think of me?”

“I think the American girl needs to be taught some manners.”

“Really, and just what did you have in mind, charm school?”

“Not at all, I had more of a good hard spanking in mind. Maybe if your arse cheeks were smarting, you wouldn’t be so cheeky.”  It was Angela’s turn to turn crimson.

“Yes, that’s the color I had in mind,” he told her.

She began opening cupboards looking for soup bowls.  The next thing she knew he was behind her opening the cabinet and handing her the bowls.  His hot breath on her neck didn’t do anything to tamp down the heat remaining from their last conversation.”

“Micah, thanks for Mirabelle, that was sweet.  She said she worked for you at your place and at your request.”

“That she does,?”

“That’s it; you’re not saying anything more?”

“What more do you want to know.”

“A little bit about you and this place.”

“My ancestors settled on this island back in the late 1700’s.  They were British loyalists who escaped from South Carolina during the American Revolution.  We’ve been here ever since. I was educated in London but returned home for a family emergency and never went back.  I love the island life, and I’m able to work from anywhere.”

“I didn’t even know about this place until recently. I know you’re not old enough to have known my Uncle Rory, but did you know my Aunt Rose?”

“No, I didn’t know your uncle, but my father did. He actually sold this property to him. Once, my family owned a good deal of this island.  Your Aunt Rose only visited very few times and always short visits.  I talked with her by phone quite often though about this cottage.  She always wanted to be kept abreast of any repairs needed, etc.”

“Interesting.  Would you take me on a tour?”

“If you behave?”

“And if I don’t?”

“I think you know the answer to that.  I’ve given you fair warning, and we operate under different laws than in the US, so beware.”

She chuckled and knew she was going to test the waters, after all, she was her aunt’s protegee, so to speak.

Their conversations continued in the same vein throughout the rest of the afternoon.  Angela loved listening to Micah. The sound of his voice lulled her into a faraway place.

“Are you listening to me, Angela?”

“Of course, I am.”

“What did I just say?”

“You were explaining about what’s available on the island.”  The truth was she’d only processed about a third of what he said – the rest was lost to her.

“Very well then.  I’ll leave you and will see you tomorrow.”

He left and Angela had no idea what he meant about seeing her tomorrow.  Angela spent the rest of the night unpacking and exploring the cottage’s contents.  She came across a bundle of letters, tied with a pink ribbon, all addressed to “My Darling Rose”.  Thinking  she shouldn’t read the letters didn’t stop her; she couldn’t help herself.  These had to be love letters from Rory and although she felt as if she was a voyeur, she untied the ribbon.  The first letter was dated before Rose and Rory were married.  Uncle Rory’s prose was flowery and he obviously had taken snippets of different poet’s and incorporated them into his letter.  She smiled at his attempt at romanticisim and winning over Aunt Rose.

The letters chronicled their relationship as it progressed from their first date through their engagement, marriage and finally the last letter which was dated the week before he died.  Although she shouldn’t have been surprised knowing her aunt, she learned there were times that Uncle Rory reined in his exhuberant mate and that, based on reading between the lines of his letters, Aunt Rose loved her every bit of his dominance and that at times deliberatly provoked her husband to get the attention she desired. Many of the letters included threats of severe chastisements over his knee while the others were regrets that he had to be so harsh as to use his belt to get his point across.  One letter described how much his heart hurt as he watched her gather switches from the willow tree in the back of the cottage.  “I know I have to endure bruising your flesh, but my heart will bear the marks as well, my darling Rose.  You leave me no choice.  Your well-being means too much to me.”

When Angela finished reading the last letter, she was sobbing.  A great love cut short by an unfortunate accident.  A love that sustained her aunt the rest of her life.  She hoped to be that lucky.  Angela climbed into bed, listening to the sound of the wind whistling through the palmettos and the waves crashing onto the shore.  She was asleep in no time.

The following morning she was daydreaming over a cup of coffee when Micah rode up on his bicycle. He looked as fresh and beautiful as his surroundings.  Dressed in white shorts with a light blue shirt that brought out the color of his eyes, he could have been a poster boy for Ralph Lauren. She sighed.

“Are you ready?” he called to her.

“Ready for what,” she responded.

“Did you year anything I said?”

“I’m sure I heard some of it.  I’ll offer my full day of travel as an excuse. What did I miss?”

“You missed that we’re going on an island tour this  morning.  Mirabelle has packed up a picnic lunch and we’ll stop at Tahiti Beach to swim and have lunch before we head back here. Are you up to it?”

“I’m game.  There’s fresh coffee if you’re interested.  I’ll go get my things.”  He slapped her ass as she walked by.  She turned to him with a questioning look on her face, “that’s for not listening to me,” he told her.

“That would hardly be a deterrent.”

“Good to know.”

See you later for more Aimless Ramblings.