| |
AFTER BREAKFAST THE following morning, Tessa took Bob’s truck into town for her interview. The secretary looked surprised to see her, which was odd, because they’d spoken the day before. “Hi, I have an interview with Mr. Downey at ten.”
“I thought you canceled,” the secretary said. “Mr. Downey told me you wouldn’t be coming in.” She looked confused.
Tessa frowned. “I never canceled. I’m here as agreed.” Why would they think she’d cancelled?
“All right.” The secretary stood up and went to Mr. Downey’s door. “Mrs. Cauldron is here to see you.” With the words, she licked her fingers and stuck them up in the air.
Tessa wanted to scream. Why was everyone in this strange little town afraid of triplets? And now seemingly afraid of their wives?
“Send her in,” Mr. Downey said.
When Tessa walked into his office, he frowned. “Bob called me last night and told me you were no longer interested in the job.” He licked his fingers, even as he gave her a perplexed look.
Tessa shook her head. “Bob doesn’t want me working, but I didn’t get a master’s degree for nothing. I’ll work on Bob. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Sit down then.” Mr. Downey asked her all of the questions she was used to being asked in interviews, and at the end of their meeting, he smiled widely. “I want you to work for us. We’re a small school district, and we don’t have a large budget, but I hope you’ll consider us anyway.” He named a figure that had Tessa nodding.
“I really don’t need to work, as Bob keeps telling me, so I’m sure it’ll be just fine. I’d love to work here.” She was excited at the prospect of working with a whole new group of children, though she was missing the ones in Illinois a great deal.
“Wonderful!” Mr. Downey took her out into the main office. “Please give Mrs. Cauldron the paperwork to start in the fall.”
The secretary smiled at Tessa, looking a bit confused, but she did as she was told. “I’m Brandy by the way.”
“I’m Tessa. Please use my first name so no decisions have to be made yet on which last name I’m going to use.” Of course, she wasn’t even sure she was going to be speaking to Bob, let alone using his last name. The man had crossed a line, and she was going to let him have it.
When she got home, she changed out of her interview clothes, and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, before venturing out of the house. She had no idea where to find Bob, so she didn’t bother to look for him. Instead she went to the big house and introduced herself to Griselda.
“Oh, I remember you, Tessa. I was at your wedding after all. Sit down, and I’ll make some tea, and we’ll have a nice chat.” Griselda seemed very at home in the kitchen, and Tessa was happy to have an ally for an hour or two. She needed one after hearing her husband had betrayed her.
“How long have you worked here?” Tessa asked. Bob had told her, but she had a feeling the man never told the truth about anything.
“About two and a half years. When Mrs. Cauldron was so sick with her cancer, I came in to help out. She taught me all about the house, and she let me know exactly what I’d be getting myself into working here.” Griselda shook her head. “Those grandsons of hers are something else. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for anyone like this family.”
“Why do you say that?” Tessa asked.
“Well, it seems there’s something odd about the boys. I think there must be something in the water here on the ranch that isn’t other places in the area, and that actually makes sense, because there’s a well that’s only used by the ranch.”
“What’s odd?” Tessa wanted to call Bob a male chauvinist pig, and ask if his brothers and cousins were the same, but she wasn’t sure how the older woman would react. Griselda obviously felt a great deal of loyalty to the family.
“Well, they all do whatever they want to do, and they do wonderful jobs. They seem to have the Midas touch. I’d say they pooped gold bricks, but I don’t know you well enough to be crude in front of you yet.”
Tessa waved a hand. “Feel free to speak however you want to speak, Griselda.”
“I will then, but remember when I say something terribly shocking that you asked for it first.” Griselda frowned for a moment. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the boys and their pooping gold bricks. All six of those boys knew from the time they were little what they wanted to do with their lives. They went about the training and education for the jobs they wanted, but there’s just something about the way they do things that’s well...special. Take Bob for instance...”
“You don’t lick your fingers when you mention the boys?” Tessa asked, noticing she was the only person she’d met in the area who didn’t.
“Well, I did when I first came to work here, but Mrs. Cauldron told me to stop that nonsense, because it made the boys uncomfortable, so I had to train myself to stop doing it. It was hard, I’m not afraid to say.”
“I can see why it would be,” Tessa said, smiling.
“Bob...well, he’s brought in multiple stallions to breed with the mares here on the ranch, and not a single one of them shot blanks. And every single foal has been born healthy. And every single foal has grown to be a champion. How’s that for odd?”
Tessa frowned. “It sounds to me like he’s just really good at what he does.”
“And he is. But no one’s that good.” Griselda returned with two cups of tea. “And then his brother Jim. The boy can barely read, but he can train a horse to do just about anything. The boy walks up to a horse, whispers in its ear, and the horse practically follows him around like a lost puppy dog. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“Really? I hadn’t heard that!” Tessa found she was fascinated by what the other woman was telling her. “What about Ted? He’s the third brother, right?”
“He is. And he’s the same. He lives here in the house with his grandfather, and he’s brilliant. He has a degree in accounting, and he uses that degree to manage this ranch. If someone loses a penny, I swear the boy can find it. He’s a bloodhound when it comes to numbers and money. You can hand him a set of books that could never balance, and an hour later, he’s done and it all looks great.”
“That’s crazy. I met him at the wedding, but I barely got to talk to any of them.”
“Have you met any of the cousins yet?” Griselda asked.
“All of them, but we were so busy, I didn’t really get to know them. I hope to soon.” If she didn’t break the contract and run straight back to Illinois after the game Bob had played that day. She was thoroughly angry with the man and wanted nothing more than to throw rocks at his head.
“Bob giving you trouble already?” Griselda asked. She obviously knew the boys well if she knew Bob was already making her crazy.
“How did you know?”
“He’s the most...well...antiquated in his beliefs is the only way to put it. He thinks that all women live to please their men. Now, I’m not saying that’s wrong if a woman wants to live that way, but he doesn’t seem to care what a woman wants. He just thinks she should live that way. Period. Rotten man that he is.”
Tessa wondered if she should open up about what had happened. It was a small town and people were sure to talk about what he’d done, so she decided to say what was on her mind. “I had a job interview at the elementary school in town this morning.”
“Oh, really? How did it go?”
“It went well after I explained to the principal that I hadn’t really wanted Bob to call and tell him that I didn’t want the job.” Tessa was still seething over Bob’s phone call, and he would know it too.
Griselda shook her head. “The boy needs to be horsewhipped for that one. Not too terribly surprised, though. He really thought his grandmother wanted to wake up early every morning and fix him a big breakfast before school. I know, because she told me about it. She was a night owl, but she learned to get up early and make his breakfast, because it made him happy.”
“Well, I no longer care if I make Bob happy. If I hadn’t cleaned the entire house yesterday, we’d be living in filth.”
“That’s the spirit!”
Tessa laughed. “You make it easy for me to talk about this stuff, but I should probably get home. I have to make dinner.”
Griselda shook her head. “Do not cook for that boy! He needs to learn that you are not his puppet, ready to do whatever he wants as soon as he pulls the strings. You hear me? Don’t cook for him!”
Tessa smiled. “Maybe I won’t.” She stood up and smiled at the older woman. “Thanks for the tea and the talk. It was just what I needed.”
“Come back anytime. It was good to have a woman sit at the table and chat with me. I’ll tell you all the stories about Bob I know!”
“You’re the best!” Tessa left, walking across the ranch toward the little house. She was glad it was a long walk, because it gave her a chance to cool down. Just discussing what he’d done with Griselda had her furious once again.
As she walked past the stable, Bob came out and smiled at her. She refused to even meet his eye and just kept on walking. The man deserved nothing from her. Not one single thing, and he wasn’t getting anything either. When she got home, she was going to move her clothes into the spare room, and make herself a nice meal for one.
* * *
BOB WATCHED TESSA WALK past, and he could see she was angry. She must have gone to the interview and been told that he’d called the principal. He knew he should probably be ashamed of himself, but soon she’d realize that she wanted to stay home and take care of him. And the children. He wanted so many children.
When he got home, he went into the bathroom to shower, noticing her robe was no longer hanging on the back of the bathroom door. He went into their bedroom to dress, opening her drawers to see they were empty. Fine. If she wanted to play that game, she could just do without his lovemaking. See how long she could stand it.
When he went to the kitchen, he asked, “What’s for supper?”
“I’ve already eaten,” she said.
“Where’s mine?”
“I would imagine it’s in the fridge and the pantry. All you have to do is figure out what you want and cook it.” Tessa looked back down at her book, refusing to feel guilty about the way she was talking to him. He had done something despicable that he’d known she wouldn’t like, and he’d done it simply because he felt like it. There was no way in the world she was going to back down and let him treat her that way. It was time for him to learn that he shouldn’t mess with his wife.
Bob sighed. “How long are you going to be mad at me?”
“Oh, I’m not mad anymore. I’m just not going to give in to the kind of wife you think you want, because I’m not willing to become your puppet.”
“I don’t want a puppet. I just want you.” Bob thought the words sounded good, and he smiled. That should get her to make him supper.
“No, you don’t. You want a woman who wants to stay home and cook and clean for you. I’m not that woman.”
“I do want you to cook. You said you would cook this summer while you weren’t working.” Bob didn’t understand why she was being so unreasonable. How long did it take to train a wife to do things the way you wanted her to do them?
“I did cook. Today, I simply didn’t cook for you. You called and tried to keep me from getting the job I wanted. Well, guess what? I got the job anyway. I start in September, and I can’t wait!”
Bob closed his eyes and counted to ten. Why was his new wife so stubborn? She wouldn’t even cook for him. “Why would you go against my wishes that way? You know it’s not what I want.” Why didn’t she care more about what he wanted from their marriage?
“What if I told you that I make enough for you to stop working? Would you do it?” Hopefully, he could be reasoned with.
“Of course not. I’m a man. Men support their families.” Why couldn’t she see it was different for a man?
“So, what this all boils down to, is that I shouldn’t have a job because I don’t have a penis? Really?”
He sighed. “It’s not that simple, and you know it.”
“No, I don’t know it. I’ve worked my butt off to get to where I am in my career, and you want me to give it all up, because I don’t have a penis. Well, you can take your penis and shove it up your nose as far as I’m concerned.” With those words, she took her iPad, and she went into the spare room, slamming the door behind her. The man was never going to see things her way, and she no longer cared. She was finished with him for the night, and possibly for the rest of her life.
Bob cringed as the door slammed, but then he did the only thing he could. He left the house and slammed the door as well, walking toward the big house. Not only did he want to eat whatever Griselda had cooked, he needed to talk to Pops. Sure, he had the ability to cook for himself, but why would a man with a perfectly capable wife be expected to cook? It made no sense to him.
When he got to the big house, Pops, Griselda, and Ted were all there eating, and he sat down, waiting while Griselda fetched a place setting for him. “You made a lot extra tonight, Griselda,” Bob said. “Did you know I was coming?”
“Let’s just say I had a very strong feeling. Your new wife came and had tea with me today, and I didn’t think you would be getting food at home.”
Bob filled his plate, deciding to wait to discuss anything more with Pops alone. Ted didn’t need to hear what had happened between him and Tessa. Ted was going to have to deal with his own wife when he found one. And Bob prayed Ted found a wife who was less obstinate than his own.
After supper, Bob looked at Pops. “Can I talk to you? Privately?”
Pops nodded, and led the way to his office. Bob ignored his brother’s snickers as he followed. As soon as the door was shut, Pops sat behind his desk, and folded his hands over his growing middle. “What happened between you and your pretty little wife today?”
Bob paced as he talked, explaining the entire situation. “Then she refused to cook for me, saying she’d already eaten! Do you believe that?”
Pops shook his head. “Your grandmother would have walloped me across the side of the head with an iron skillet. Sounds like your wife is a whole lot nicer than mine ever was.”
Bob gaped at his grandfather. “She would not! Grams was sweet and kind!”
“To you she was. She came to me as any new bride goes to her husband. We married in the sixties, and she wasn’t much of a hippy, but she sure believed women had rights. And she wasn’t going to sit back and wait for anyone to give her those rights. Instead, she let us all know what the rights she wanted were, and she took them.”
Bob sank into the chair across from Pops’s desk. “So, how did you teach her to obey you?”
Pops stared at Bob for a moment, seemingly struck silent. And then the laughter started. Pops laughed so hard that Bob was afraid for him. He couldn’t seem to stop. At one point, he was able to dry his tears of mirth, and take some deep breaths, obviously trying to continue the conversation. But then he looked at Bob again, and he was once again laughing.
After sitting and listening to his grandfather’s laughter for more than twenty minutes, Bob got up and left. Obviously, his grandfather was not going to be of any help to him on the subject.
Ted was watching television, and Bob ignored his brother and left, walking to the stable instead of going straight home. He took the opportunity to check on Moonbeam, stroking her mane.
“I wish women were more like mares,” Bob told her. “One good bite on the rump, and a mare is ready to do her duty and behave. I don’t know about biting Tessa on the butt to get her to behave, but it might be worth the effort.” Bob shook his head. “Why can’t women be more like horses? I’m sure you think my question is an odd one, but if you’d talked to Tessa, you’d understand.”
Moonbeam gave him a look that made him feel like a heel. “I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned when your stallion bit you like that, should I? I didn’t mean to be indiscrete.”
Bob patted her nose and headed toward home to his empty bed. Surely Tessa would see how wrong she was soon, and then she would make him a nice supper to make up for how she was acting, and maybe she’d even buy a new nightgown. Maybe he should buy her one to have at the ready when she came to her senses.
Bob smiled slowly. That was the answer. He’d be ready for her to capitulate any day now.