MILKSOP Chapter 38



Make Up Your Mind NOW
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After Archie put the ring on Marcy's finger they just looked at each other.

Finally she spoke and said, “Do you know what we have just done?”

He said, “I'm not sure, but it was something I wanted to do.

Marci said, “Tell me now if you now have any regrets about doing this, because it will be easier to take the ring off today than to wait a few weeks while we are preparing for the wedding and have told everybody we know; and then change our minds?”

She continued, “For me when I accepted this ring everything was settled and I have committed to being your wife, but if there is the least bit of doubt about whether you want to go through with it, then now is the time to call it off.”

Archie looked at her somewhat quizzically and said, “I have been thinking about this ever since our weekend at the lake, and I didn't make up my mind on the spur of the moment.”  

He went on to say, “I have had what you might call a false start in life with Alice and I don't want a rerun of that, but I am certain that I want you to be my wife for the rest of my life.  

I hope that reassures you for without any trepidation, my mind is set.”

She said, “Well that settles that, but I had to make sure for you must admit your method of proposing was a little different to say the least.”

He answered by saying, “Well I didn't want to have a ring I had no use for if you turned me down, and this was one way not to have that happen.  

Then again if you had turned me down I would have been embarrassed to go back to the jeweler and say, ‘She didn't want me,’ and try to return the ring.”

She asked him, “Who would you need to tell about the engagement beyond our friends and people we work with?”

He said, “Only my Aunt Celia for she would want to know.  She was highly upset about Alice and me breaking up for she liked Alice very much.  I suppose she still feels the same way about her.”

Marcy said, “We are going to move to Huston in about two months and we will be very busy for some time.  I think it would be best to get married right away and when we move - - we move together and not have to deal with two separate places to live.”

He said, “That sounds good to me.”

After checking the calendar it was decided they would be married in two weeks.  They decided on a small wedding ceremony, and then a reception for everyone.

Celia came down a few days before the wedding and got acquainted with Marcy and they hit it off right away.  Celia was the only one in attendance for the ceremony with Marcy wearing a simple white gown and Archie wearing a dark blue suit.

Courtesy Free Clip Art

They preferred this moment to be very personal and private instead of putting on a big display before a large crowd.

After the ceremony they met with all their friends for the reception and greeted each one personally, and then it was off on the honeymoon.

Their courtship, I guess that was what you could call it, was somewhat subdued, and there wasn't very much of an outward expression of their feelings for one another. 

However during their two week honeymoon all restraints were off and they gave themselves to each other completely both body and soul.

Archie thought how much different this was than when he and Alice were married.  

What he now experienced made it clear that there was something missing in his first trip to the altar.    

 

To be Continued

 

 

MILKSOP Chapter 37

Moving Day was Ahead
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Marcy and Archie thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and were out late on Sunday night. They both looked tired when they arrived at work.

After giving it quite a bit of thought Archie came to the conclusion that they had better slow down what was happening, what ever that was.

So far he had not figured out how to approach the subject without it seeming to be rejecting her, which wasn't what he wanted to do.

He had never enjoyed anyone's company any more than hers, but he was sure they were going too fast.

As it turned out the problem was solved by him having to put in long hours getting ready to make the move to Huston.

There were a thousand things to do.  The next hours were spent discussing all of the particulars with one or more of the partners.

Thankfully the real estate was secured; but staff needed to be interviewed, whether to rent or buy equipment, base salary's to be decided on.  Finally all of the business licenses had to be purchased.

By now Archie was spending a lot of time between New York and Huston.

Part of the time he had one or more of the partners with him, especially when big money was involved.

He and Marcy took advantage of what time they could have together except a good amount of the time was spent discussing the business at hand.

Finally Marcy came out and said, “If I'm going to work when we go out, then I wish to be paid overtime.”  Archie got the message and replied, “From now on the work stays at the firm, and we are free to enjoy one another.”

Things were moving slow, but Archie had progressed to kissing her good night, but it stopped right there.

Archie felt he was too involved in the business at hand to think clearly about a relationship although he began to suspect Marcy was getting a little anxious about how slow things were moving.

The more he thought about it the more he began to worry.

She had a right to know if their relationship was to be more than just business with an occasional dinner or if he wanted to make it a permanent thing with a wedding and a ring.

The setup in Huston was ready for the staff to move to the new offices and they were to move in the coming week.  There were only ten people moving to Huston, but that was enough to put everything in place over the next two months.

Archie decided to find out how serious Marcy was about a future with him as a wife instead of an employee, so he told her they would be taking the afternoon off to take care of some business external to the firm's business.

She never questioned him, for he was always running here and there.

He took her out to lunch and presented her with some flowers which seemed strange to her but she went along with it by saying. “Are these for me or am I holding them for someone else?”

He said, “No, they are most assuredly for you.”  

After lunch they took a stroll down the street and stopped in front of a jewelry store and looked at the wedding sets in the window.  Archie said do you see anything you like?

She eyed him suspiciously and said, “Over there, off to the side is a friendship ring that looks nice.”

This frustrated Archie a bit for he was ready to ask her to marry him and she upset the moment. 

Somewhat curtly he said, “C'mon let's go inside and look around.”

  

It was a large store and they had jewelry for every occasion. Archie maneuvered her back around to the wedding sets and asked her again do you see anything you like?

Once again she started to look over at some other kinds of rings.

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The strain of asking her to marry him and the difficultly of getting to it was wearing on Archie and he somewhat exasperated blurted out, “Marcy will you marry me?”

She said, “Yes, why didn't you just come out and ask me instead of going through all of this rigmarole?”

He said, “I don't know why.  I never asked someone to marry me before.”

Marcy said, “You were married once before weren't you?”

Yes he said, “But she just told me we were getting married, and we did.”

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Marcy said, “Let's go over here, because I have seen the set I want, and if it fits we can take it with us.”

It wasn't cheap but Archie paid for the set, and put the engagement ring on her finger, and the wedding band in his pocket.

To be Continued

MILKSOP Chapter 36

Dinner and a Show
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The next day was Monday and there was a lot that needed to get done but in a moment of grandeur, Archie told Marcy to take a couple of days off,

He was on one hand was already regretting giving her time off, for she was his right hand man - - err woman.

Marcy showed up and said, “If you need me I'm here and I can put off my beatification.”

Archie was tempted but said, “No, go ahead, and tomorrow I want to see a beautiful woman come through those doors, and we will go out to dinner - - and...” 

 

Then he remembered that he didn't dance very well so he said, “Dinner and a show.”

It was one tough day without Marcy. It wasn't just that she wasn't there; but that she wasn't there to direct what the other secretaries were to do.

The next day was a little better for the secretaries took it upon themselves to do what was needed.

Around six PM, Archie went to the men's wash room, showered and got dressed for the evening out.  He had hoped Marcy had bought some nice clothes for the evening.

He had given her a company credit card and told her he would write it off as a business expense, so buy whatever she needed or wanted.  

 

He had received a couple of calls during the day to confirm that Marcy had the right to charge on the card.

Those phone calls made him wonder just what she was buying and how much she was spending.

All those thoughts left him when she came in and he saw her. 

He thought, “She is one handsome woman and what am I doing with a woman as pretty as she?”

Then it flashed through his mind back when he hired her and the image of her in her old garb with a few streaks of gray running through her hair.

If she looked as she does now Alice would never have allowed him to hire her.  And it dawned on him, “That was what it was all about.”

She had gone to great lengths to be hired for she really wanted the job in the pool from which she was selected.  

 

He had never thought of her as someone who he could become interested in, but things had changed these last few days.

At the lake he had not tried to think about romancing her, but there was something about her that made him comfortable and at ease, just being near her.

He came to himself and said, “Is this the woman I hired from the pool?”

She said, “No this is the woman who has come alive and is going to be who she really is.”

Archie said, “You are gorgeous, and I'm afraid to take you out for someone might steal you away from me.”

She said, “Let's go for I have been too busy to eat today, and I am famished.”

The dinner and the show, actually the whole evening went well and Archie didn't want it to end, for tomorrow the ball would be over and their relationship would return to normal - - or maybe not.

The next day Marcy dressed down, but she couldn't or didn't want to hide the beauty she was.

A couple of the partners came by to see Archie and commented that they were impressed by the new secretary he had hired.

Archie never let on that it was Marcy.

One of them said, “Is every secretary you hire named Marcy,” for he had seen her name plaque on her desk.

Archie said, “No it just happened that way.”

The partner also asked if she was married.  Archie lied and said, “I'm afraid so and she has four kids.”

The guy mumbled something under his breath which sounded like, "What a waste."

For the most part everything was business as usual but there was a lot of chatter in the secretary pool about Marcy's new look, and the way Archie was looking at her.

It is the nature of a group of ladies who work together not to mss anything and they are pretty good at filling in the blanks.

One by one they questioned Marcy about her intentions concerning Archie.

It did absolutely no good to deny what they were asking about for they had already made up their mind, even though she tried to refute any interest in Archie.

What made it more difficult was that she and Archie were going out on Saturday and Sunday just for business, you know.

To be Continued

 

MILKSOP Chapter 35

Looking 10 years younger
courtesy free clip art

After a time of silence Archie said, “We had better get on the road and you can tell me all of your secrets on the way home.”

She agreed it was time to leave but said, “Perhaps some of my secrets but certainly not all.”

They had a quick bite to eat, packed and were on the road in an hour. They talked about the good time they had and things in particular that they enjoyed.

He then said, “I think it is time to explain yourself, milady.”

She began by saying, “Normally I wouldn't go into detail about my past but since I have gotten to know you these last couple of years. so I will tell you and trust you will keep it to yourself.  

To start with I was thirteen when my parents both died and I went to live with some relatives who were rather poor.  One of the first things they told me was I would have to support myself for they didn't have the money for my keep.

I got an after school job at a market helping to keep their books straight. They were not very good with all that was involved in booking keeping.

Since I was good with figures I soon caught on to how to handle their books, and at the same time I took some books out of the library on book keeping.

In school I was able to hone my typing and ten key skills and after two years when I was fifteen I left school and got a full time job as a junior accountant.

I dressed like an older woman, put my hair in a bun put some eye shadow under my eyes and got horn rimmed glasses which were plain glass for I didn't need glasses.

There were some other things I did that helped me look much older and to say the least I wasn't very pretty.”

Archie said, “And so you passed for being twenty?”  

She said, “Yes, I passed for older than that, it was then I invented a husband for myself.”

She continued, “In the process I became a pretty good liar but it was only because I had to.

I would never have been hired if they knew how young I was, and besides I had to earn some money, as my Kin-folks I was staying with couldn't keep me any longer so I had to leave.

When anyone asked me about my husband or would like to meet him he was always out of town, him being a salesman who had to travel.

Finally they quit asking me about him for they always got the same answer.

Since I didn't socialize I had plenty of time to take evening classes, and here I am what you see today.”

Archie said, “Then you are over ten years younger than you pretended to be all this while?”

She said, “Yes that's about it.”  He asked, “How long have you been doing this?”  She answered, “About eleven years.”

Then she said, “Just so you don't have to remove your shoes to count, I'm twenty six my last birthday.”

He said, “I never paid much attention to you except to give you orders and to take care of business, but you know I thought you were getting younger every day. It never dawned on me that you were this young!”

She said, “Are you going to fire me then?”

He said, “Goodness No, you are the best secretary I've ever had and I'm going to keep you.”

She laughed said, “Thanks, I would hate to have to break in a new boss.

    
Tomorrow the horn rimmed glasses have to go, and that is the last of my old lady look.

Over the next weekend it will be a new hair do and make up that goes with my skin tone rather than the harsh colors I have been wearing.

Archie said, “You won't have to wait for the weekend you can take off tomorrow and the next day if necessary. 

If I'm any judge you will need to start fighting the guys in the office off for I can already see you fixed up and you are going to be something.”

As she blushed she said “Maybe I don't want to fight them off!”

This took Archie by surprise and he didn't know how to respond to that!

To be Continued

MILKSOP Chapter 34

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Archie had a restful night's sleep, the first one he had in a long time.  He got dressed and went to Marcy's room and knocked on the door to see if she was up and about.

When she came to the door he said, “Let's have breakfast, this fresh air has made me hungry. After a big breakfast, and some strong coffee they retired to the veranda and sat looking at the boats on the lake.

After relaxing for awhile he said, “What I wanted to talk to you about was...” and he laid out the whole plan the firm had proposed to him.

She didn’t say anything for some time and then she said, “It sounds like a large undertaking, do you think it will succeed?”

He said, “Yes I believe so for the firm has promised me their full support and will advise me at every turn until we are up and running.”

She said, “From what I know about Huston it is a large city but nothing like Manhattan.”

He said, “Yes, I know, but I have had enough of this town, and it would be a relief to get out of here.”

She said, “It seems that you have pretty well made up your mind and I don't understand why you wanted to talk it over with me.  I suppose it will be back to the secretary pool for me.”

He answered, “Now we come to the reason I brought you up here. I want to know if you will go with me for I have come to depend on you, and I don't want to try to find a replacement for you.  Actually I don't think I could find someone to fill your shoes.”

She said, “This is something I have never considered doing. I agree with you I have had enough of New York also, and I'm ready for a change.”

He said, “Fine, what do you think about our staff do you think they will go with us?”

She said, “Humm, I think most will go except for Charlie, he was born here and has family here, so I doubt if he would transfer.”

Archie said, “That is about it, let's relax and enjoy the rest of today and tomorrow then when we get back I will tell Lester I will take them up on their offer.

There will be many details to work out which will take about three months so let's keep this just between you and me until things are set.”  She agreed it would best not to tell anyone until everything was final.

As Marcy sat there she thought Wow! I am glad it was about a new job and not something else I thought he might have in mind.  He has been separated from his ex-wife for several months, and hasn't been going out on any dates... who knows how a man's mind works at times.

Archie enjoyed the best time he had for months just relaxing and talking to Marcy. 

 

This was the first time he had ever just sat down and talked with her about things other than work.

Something that Archie couldn't understand was how Marcy was looking younger as time went on. When he first met her she looked to be in her late thirties but now she could pass for the mid-twenties. Just before they left for home he couldn't resist any longer for it was really beginning to bug him, so he asked her how old she was.

She laughed at him and said all my information is in my application for work!  He said, “I never paid any attention to that part for I assumed you were around.... were older than you look now.”  

 

She laughed again and said, “How old do you think I am, now that you know me better?”

He hesitated and talked around the subject until she insisted he give a straight answer. He said, “Well you look at least ten or more years younger than when I first saw you.

That was one of the factors I considered before hiring you for I wanted a mature woman for a secretary.”

“You mean you wouldn't have hired me if I had been a younger woman?” He said,

 

“That's about it, because my ex-wife wouldn't have been comfortable with it.”

She laughed even harder at that for she was having a good time at his expense.  She then sobered and said, “I had better tell you the whole truth about the matter.”   

 

To be Continued

 

 

BACK IN THOSE DAYS

This is an extra post that is shared at Hazel’s  Tell Me a Story. 

My continued fictional  story will follow.  Sign up to follow by e-mail so as not to miss any of the chapters coming up.

Pig
Courtesy photobucket.com

BACK IN THOSE DAYS 

 ”In Colonial times, hogs were slaughtered in December. During slavery times in order to maximize profits, slave owners commonly fed their slaves in the cheapest manner possible.  At hog butchering time, the preferred cuts of meat were reserved for the master's use with the remains, such as fatback, snouts, ears, neck bones, feet, and intestines given to the slaves for their consumption.” (Information taken from the Internet)

My mother was a good southern style cook. I ate many meals cooked by her, and enjoyed most of them.

Once in awhile she would reach too deep into her recipes, and would cook something that both my psyche and appetite would reject.

My step dad was fond of Chitlins, and ever so often he would get a hankering for some of them. He usually would go to the store and buy some, bring them in and say, ”Cook up a batch of these.”  

I could always tell when Chitlins were cooking for all the windows were open and a fan was blowing. They smelled like an old out-house gone bad.

If you have kids or in-laws that still live at your home, and you want to get rid of them, just start cooking Chitlins once or twice a week and they will leave.  Twice a week is enough for the smell doesn't dissipate very fast and they won't be able to handle it.

”Let us consider what Chitlins are - they are hog intestines or guts.  Some people turn up their noses at the mention of Chitlins. However, the volume sold for New Year's dinners, with Christmas and Thanksgiving not far behind, attests to Chitlins popularity in the United States.  Chitterlings is the more formal name, but most people call them Chitlins. They are usually part of a larger meal that includes collard greens, fried chicken, and other traditional Southern foods. Chitlins are not for the faint of palate or smell, which is why traditionally they were cooked outdoors at backyard hog killings in winter. They are a food that you either love or hate.” (From the Internet)

My mother wouldn't eat Chitlins, but would cook them for my step dad who would devour them like they were good.  My brother would always stay with friends until the feasting was over and then come home.  

I will forego listing some of the other delicacies she cooked that I didn't eat simply because they were too revolting. 

I enjoyed hog killing time, because it was a time when the family all got together, and worked from early in the morning, until seven or eight in the evening.

Then came the eating, since there was no time to stop and eat during the day, so we over ate and rolled all night because of it.

The next day was busy also. The meat had to be trimmed, and put down in salt. The Lard had to be rendered out, and the sausage must be ground, seasoned and put in sock like bags.

While I miss hog killing days it’s a whole lot easier just to go to the store, buy your bacon, and just remember about our life “Back in those days”

This is an extra post that is shared at Hazel’s  Tell Me a Story. 

Come back later as my continued stories will be posted soon!

 

MILKSOP Chapter 33

Alice Leaving and Looking Back
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After the confrontation with Alice, Archie said, “Since you have plans for the night I'm going out to eat and when I return I expect you to be gone on your date for the night.”

Archie continued, “I don't want to see you again unless it is necessary until you are moved out.

 

You can either stay with one of your girl friends or actually move in with one of your lovers for you must have more than one. This will give you the freedom you want and need.”

Alice didn't protest, she just said, “If that’s the way you want it then okay.”

Little by little she moved her stuff out.  Come to find out none of her friends were interested in letting her move in with them and her boy friends just laughed at her.

Alice managed to get a small apartment but now she had to be at work everyday since she was on her own.

Archie filed for a divorce and resolved to give Alice a large cash settlement.

When they showed up at the law office to sign the papers Alice said, “No hard feelings,”  to which Archie said, “I'm afraid there are many hard feelings about the way things turned out but I wish you well,” and left it at that.

Everything showed so much promise when they first started out but it all had turned out badly. 

About six months later his boss, Lester, told Archie the board wanted to talk to him. He was curious as to what they had on their mind because as far as he knew, he had not done anything wrong.

The partners all sat around the oblong table as board members do, and the chairman said, “Come in and have a seat.”  Archie greeted each of them and was seated.

The chairman spoke first and said, “We have been impressed by the way you have conducted yourself and have done your work. We have thrown many things your way, and you have done the work without complaining so we have an offer for you to consider.

What we are going to offer will require you to relocate to Huston Texas.

For many months we have been considering opening an office there but have been waiting until we found the right man for the job. The entire board has agreed that you are the man, so it is yours if you want it.  Lester will go over what we have in mind for that office because it won't be a duplication of our firm here in New York.”

Later Lester told him, “It will be more of a general law practice, with a full service firm including criminal defense, estate planning and so on.  We want to handle almost everything clients may need.

The only thing you will refer to our New York office will be Mergers and Acquisitions that will be handled here where we are better equipped to handle it.”

Lester said, “That's about it. We expect it will take a year for you to get it up and running as we would expect.”

Archie asked if he could take his immediate staff and Lester said, “Certainly, that is if they are willing to move to Huston.”

Archie said, “I need some time to go over this in my mind for it will be a large undertaking to say the least.”  Archie requested, “I don't want anyone to hear about this for it will upset the routine around here.”

Archie told Marcy he had a big decision to make and he would like for her to help him make it.

He wanted to drive a couple of hours out of New York near the Catskills to a small Inn where he and Alice had spent a few days sometime before.

She said she would like to get out of the city but insisted that she pay for her room. Archie said, “That wouldn't be necessary but if it would make you feel better about going, then you could do it.”

Archie made the reservations and they left early arriving for dinner around seven o'clock. After dinner they spent an hour just relaxing overlooking the lake saying very little.  

To be Continued