Passing through Perfect (Wyattsville #3)(8)

“I know that,” Benjamin answered. “And I’m gonna ask proper, when the time’s right. But ’til then I thought you ought to know how I’m feeling about you.”

Delia smiled and gave a funny little shrug. It was neither an agreement nor disagreement. “I suppose you can feel however you want to feel. But I ain’t about to marry somebody I don’t know a thing about.”

“We got time,” he said. “We got plenty a’ time to get to know one another.” He gave her a knowing wink, then began telling her about the farm in Grinder’s Corner.

“Grinder’s Corner?” she said. “Where’s that?”

“About twelve miles east of here. It’s a little town…” Benjamin stopped there because there wasn’t much to tell. Grinder’s Corner was not really a town; it was nothing more than a wide spot in the road surrounded by a bunch of farms owned by Sylvester Crane. It was a poor comparison to Twin Pines, a town with three restaurants, a movie house, and a Brotherhood Hall that could hold hundreds of partiers.

“Twelve miles ain’t all that far,” Delia said, “but I still ain’t gonna marry you ’til I get to liking you.”

Benjamin leaned across and kissed her full on the mouth. It was just as he thought it would be; her lips warm and welcoming, the blush of a ripe peach soft on her skin. They fell back against the grass, and one kiss turned into several. He pressed his cheek to hers and breathed deeply, catching the scent of grass and earth and the fullness of life. When he pressed his lips to hers again, she moved into him like it was something meant to be.

Benjamin lifted his face just high enough to smile down on hers; then he whispered, “You might not know it yet, but you’re already liking me.”

Delia didn’t answer yes or no. She simply tilted her head back and offered her lips again.

It was the only answer Benjamin needed.





Benjamin





Falling in love is something that sneaks up on you. It don’t come knocking at the door; it storms in, sits down, and takes hold of your heart. This whole past year I been busy taking care a’ the farm and Daddy and didn’t stop to think about how much I missed the sound of laughter. With just me and Daddy here, we don’t hardly ever laugh. We talk about what work we got to do n’ things like that, but we don’t laugh the way we did when Mama was alive.

Having a woman in your life changes things. It makes hard things softer, ’specially the inside of your heart. Without a woman you get to thinking life is nothing but long days a’ work and a few dollars saved up in a tin can.

Delia’s changed all that for me. I can’t hardly wait from one time ’til the next to go back n’ see her. I gotta admit she caught my eye with that red dress, but the thing that makes me keep coming back is the sweetness of her heart.

We only been seeing each other for a short while so this might sound a bit foolish, but the truth is I can already see us having a flock of babies and sitting on the porch growing old together. When you find a woman what makes you feel like that, you gotta hang on to her and that’s just what I’m doing with Delia.

Last night Daddy n’ me was sitting on the porch and I got to wondering if he’d felt the same when he met Mama. When I asked that question his eyes lit up like Halloween Jack-o-lanterns, and once he got started talking about Mama I knew the answer was yes.

Falling in love with a girl like Mama or Delia ain’t got no explanation, but when it happens all a man can do is let his heart take him where it will.





Delia’s Daddy





If it were up to Benjamin he would have gladly driven back and forth every evening to see Delia, but she suggested they make it every other day.

“No sense getting Daddy all riled up over something that might be nothing,” she said.

Given the way she responded to his kisses, Benjamin knew the love they felt was something special. He could already see himself as her husband. When he thought of Delia he could feel the warmth of lying close to her on long winter nights, picture Sunday mornings of going to church together, and envision her petticoat hanging beside his shirt on the wash line.

A year ago he might have been hesitant about taking on the responsibility of a wife and family, but not now. The farm was starting to show a profit, and with the fixed-up tractor anything was possible. Given a string of good growing seasons, it was conceivable that he could save enough to flat out buy the land.





Right from the start Benjamin knew Delia was the woman he’d marry, but she insisted it took time for people to fall in love.

“I’ve got to be sure,” she said, “and that ain’t something what happens overnight.”

He could have easily argued that point based on his own feelings, but he gave her the time she wanted. For nearly two months Benjamin drove the twelve miles to Twin Pines every other day and met Delia in town. They’d see a picture show, go for sodas, or simply walk down the street and across the square. He brought her small presents—a chocolate bar, a bouquet of wildflowers, a pebble formed in the shape of a heart—and he whispered words of love in her ear.

From the moment they met until the moment they parted, some part of their bodies touched one another. Her head nestled against his shoulder, his arm circled her waist, hands held, broad fingers clasping a thin delicate wrist, a thigh pressed so close you could feel the rush of blood pumping through the vein.