Passing through Perfect (Wyattsville #3)(9)

Even though Delia snuggled into his arms and pressed her body close to his, the evening always ended the same way. The moment he pulled up in front of her house, she jumped out and bolted toward the front door.

“What’s the hurry?” Benjamin would ask, but she turned it off with a shrug.

“I don’t want to wake Daddy,” she said, but the truth was George Finch was generally sitting in the living room waiting for his daughter to come home.





In late December Benjamin took nine dollars out of his savings can and drove into Bakerstown. He went to the jewelry store and for nearly two hours stood looking at the diamond rings in the display case. He’d hoped he had enough money to buy one for Delia, a small diamond maybe, but a diamond nonetheless. As it turned out even the tiniest diamond, a stone so small you had to squint to see it, cost more than he had in his pocket.

The jeweler, Simon Berg, had been young and in love once also.

“How about a locket?” he suggested and led Benjamin to a side counter. He pulled two small boxes from the case and laid them atop the counter.

Benjamin opened the first box. The locket was an oval with scrolls of filigree circling the edge.

“Six-fifty,” the jeweler said. “It’s silver plate. Nice, but not as good as sterling.”

Benjamin closed the lid to that box and lifted the second one. Inside was a heart-shaped locket that drew his eye right away. In the center of the heart there was second heart, puffed up a bit, just as his was. A heart within a heart. He smiled and without giving voice to his question looked at the jeweler.

Simon grinned. “I figured you’d pick that one. Nine-twenty-five, but it’s sterling. Any woman would be mighty pleased to get a sterling necklace.” His emphasis on the word “sterling” made the locket seem even more special.

Benjamin pulled out the nine one dollar bills, then fumbled through his pockets looking for another quarter. He came up with a dime, two pennies, and a nickel.

“Close enough,” the jeweler said. He wrapped the box in bright red paper and tied a green ribbon around it.

When Benjamin left the store he was smiling as he’d never smiled before. He had five days to wait, and already the gift was burning a hole in his hand.

On Christmas Eve he met Delia on Main Street, and they walked hand in hand to the wooded area that was now their special place. They sat on the grassy knoll, and Benjamin whispered words of love that spiraled up from the center of his heart. After she unwrapped the gift he clasped the locket around her neck and kissed her with a depth of emotion that was without question.

“The time has come,” he said. “I’m crazy in love with you, Delia. Please say you’ll marry me.”

Delia no longer needed time to think; she already knew what her answer would be.

“Yes,” she whispered; then, putting her lips to his, she let go of all the passion she’d been holding back.

It wasn’t planned, but it happened. On that warm December night they made love for the first time. Afterward as he held her so close their heartbeats mingled and sounded as one, Benjamin knew he would never love anyone as he loved Delia.





In early January Delia invited Benjamin to come for Sunday dinner with her family.

“But I’m warning you,” she said, “Daddy’s gonna be looking you up one side and down the other.”

“That’s okay,” Benjamin replied. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Although he gave off an air of nonchalance, his stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought of having a man-to-man talk with Pastor Finch. “You think maybe I ought to wear my uniform?”

Delia smiled. “Couldn’t hurt.”





On Sunday afternoon Benjamin arrived at the Finch house a full half-hour early. With long lumbering steps he paced back and forth on the front porch looking down at his feet and wondering whether it was better to go ahead and ring the doorbell or wait until the proper time. Lost in thought, he failed to notice George Finch peering from the window.

When the front door swung open and Delia’s daddy said, “What in the blazes are you doing?” Benjamin looked up with a wide-eyed expression. The ‘delighted-to-meet-you’ speech he’d planned was instantly forgotten.

“I come to call on Delia,” he replied.

“Then you should’ve knocked,” Finch said. He swung the door back and motioned Benjamin in. “Have a seat.” He pointed to an armchair across from where he sat.

For several minutes they remained there without speaking, Delia’s daddy reading his newspaper and Benjamin folding and refolding the hat in his hands. When Benjamin could stand it no longer he said, “I been looking forward to meeting you.”

George lifted his eyes from the newspaper and gave Benjamin a hard glare.

“Looking forward to it, were you?” he said, grumbling. “Well, then, you’re way ahead of me. I hadn’t heard a word about you until yesterday.”

Such a statement left Benjamin without words, so he decided to remain silent until Delia came down.

When Finch finished the article he’d been reading he folded the newspaper and set it aside.

“So, I understand you and my daughter have been sneaking around seeing each other.”

“Not sneaking around,” Benjamin replied. “Delia suggested we meet—”