No Ordinary Romance (28 page)

"We haven't talked about where we'll live
either. On my part, I'm flexible, my house is a bachelor pad,
simply a place for me to lay my head. This house has precious
memories for you, you have a workout room, and your own sound proof
music room I don't want you to move if you're going to feel out of
your element."

"Come with me Thomas." She took Thomas by
the hand pulling him behind her as they went to the lower level of
the house. They went past both the workout and music rooms into
another section of the house where Thomas has never been. "This
house has more than enough room for one person, but this half of
the lower level I never needed." She flipped on the light showing
Thomas the space."

"Wow! This space is larger than both of the
other rooms together."

"I know you just asked me to marry you, but
I've given some thought to where we would live after the ceremony.
This space was reserved for Momma Lettie's husband, and after his
death, she cleaned out the room and never utilized it again. If we
decide to live here or move to another house after we start a
family I want you to have your own space that's all about you."

"Oh Constantina you never cease to amaze.
One of the things I love about you is your empathy for others. Baby
the only things I refuse to live without is you and my 42 inch
flatscreen TV."

"It's nice to know that you hold me in such
high regard. It's getting late do you want me to get you anything
before I go to bed."

Thomas unzipped her skirt and had her
panties around her ankles before she could blink. "Yes, you can
help me christen my new man cave."

Thomas braced her against the wall as she
wrapped her legs around his waist, it took even less time for him
to pull out his thick length, embedding it deep inside her.
"Whatever you say Thomas I just want you to be happy. I think we
should christen every room in the house for equal measure."

***

Connie and Joanie spent too
much time viewing photos of floral arrangements. Connie took the
task of selecting the flowers off Thomas's hands, and she was
paying the price. She shut the binder and just told the florist
what she wanted. She chose a Stargazer Lily bridal bouquet accented
with white roses. For the bridesmaids, she chose red and white
roses. Since the table clothes at the reception were black, she
chose w
hite roses, Asiatic Lilies,
carnations and hydrangeas offset by lush greens and arranged in a
designer black ceramic vase
the
centerpieces for the reception.

"Joanie did I miss anything?"

Joanie sat the in awe; this
trip to the florist went pretty much the same way as the wedding
cake appointment. Connie knew exactly what she wanted and
did not
waver. "What about the church
decor?"

"I turned that and the reception hall
decorations over to the wedding planner. So I think we're done
here." She checked her watch they had more than two hours before
meeting with Jenna and Samantha at the wedding boutique. Joanie
would you like to go to lunch; we have a little time on our
hands.

"Lunch sound like a grand idea, since we're
on Center Street, why don't we just go to Petrow's."

"Now, that's the best idea I've heard
today."

Petrow's was always busy, but they lucked out
and got a parking space close to the door. Connie ordered the
Nebraska Classic Burger, onion rings, and a homemade chocolate
shake. Joanie decided on the hot beef sandwich, ice tea, and bread
pudding.

"You know after eating this meal, the only
thing I'll want to do is take a nap."

"You can feel free to nap in the car. Come on
now Joanie, how often do you eat like this? I just refuse to go to
a restaurant and order a salad. I can have a salad at home anytime
I want."

Thomas was working long
hours this whole week, so she used that opportunity to skim the
internet for wedding dresses. She at least has a color scheme for
the wedding, but she was clueless about selecting a style. One
thing she
did not
want is a white wedding
dress; white
did not
go well with hair.
"Does your friend's daughter specialize in just wedding
attire?"

"No Jolene does a little bit of everything."
There were a few minutes of silence as the waiter brought their
food. She didn't want to be an interfering old woman like her
mother-in-law. She wanted to be there for Connie. "Connie I know
you think this dress appointment will be a disaster, but I promise
you that I'm just coming along to aid the process. Tommy would have
my head if I hindered your wedding plans in any way."

Connie laughed; she thought it was so cute
the way Joanie called him Tommy. "So you already got your marching
orders from Thomas." She said a little prayer over her food and
sunk her teeth into the juicy hamburger.

Joanie had to laugh as well; Tommy told her
on several occasions how much Connie enjoyed food. "He is
determined that nothing will ruin your day. I never told you this,
but when I met you years ago I thought you would be perfect for my
son."

Connie closed her eyes in appreciation as she
sipped her chocolate shake. "Please don't tell me that you were
conspiring against me too. That short period when Thomas and I
weren't talking, I found out that Samantha and Jenna gave him a
list of events that I would be attending."

"If the opportunity arose I
would have. I think that little break-up was a good experience for
him. I told Tommy to tell you that he was CEO of the Chisum Group
from the outset. The Chisum Group is so important to my family. It
provides stability for
my children, and me,
but it also allows us to support programs for our people. The
Chisum Group helps us finance programs for Santee and other Native
American initiatives throughout the United States. Many of the
Plains Indian tribes have dissipated over the years. We want to
ensure that our rich heritage isn't lost, and the master
artisans
and women pass down the tools of the
trade.

"Thomas told me what he did for the Chisum
Group, but he didn't tell that it was like a foundation."

My son thinks he's an
expert on women. Everything has always come easy for my Tommy,
school and especially girls. After you two had your little
disagreement, for the first time in his life, his good looks
couldn't get him out of a situation. I'm so glad you two worked out
your misunderstanding
. W
atching you two
dance around each other was heartbreaking."

"Tell me something is it possible to love
someone so much and still want to shove a pie in his face. Thomas
is very considerate and loving, at other times he becomes demanding
and bossy."

"Oh Connie that's all men, both of my
husbands' were kind men and at other times they turned into control
freaks, I'm afraid that Tommy is no different. He'll take control
of a situation and make you believe that it's for your own
good."

"Oh trust me, I've seen that side of Thomas,
that's what led to our breakup, he took the decision out of my
hands and did what he thought was best for me."

Tommy's controlling nature
is probably one of his worst habits. Tommy's natural father could
be so loving and thoughtful, but once he got a little liquor in
him, he became mean as a snake. After my mother's death, my father
and I moved from the reservation about 20 miles away. My father was
a master
artisan
;
he made the wood
come to life.
He took on Thomas Terrell as an
apprentice, and the working relationship between the two of them
was beautiful.

I like
d everything about Thomas from his disarming green
eyes
,
his dark good looks
, and
he was terribly shy. Liking turned to love and
eventually to pregnancy. My father made us marry for the benefit of
the baby and I was happier than I'd ever been. When Tommy was born,
my husband had tears in his eyes. He confided in me that he was
scared of becoming a father because he never had a relationship
with his own father."

Connie swallowed sensing that the tone of the
conversation was about to change. "Let me guess, his father was
Caucasian and for whatever reason he wanted no part of his Native
American son."

Joanie took a sip of tea
before proceeding. "Well my husband's father was the son of a big
landowner in Texas. He was a farmer,
and
he
ran a cattle ranch. I don't know how he met Thomas's mother, but
she used to sneak out meet with him. When my husband was born his
father bailed because there was no way his family would sanction a
marriage between him and what his family called reservation
trash."

"Your husband didn't have a very happy
childhood, did he?"

"My husband was born at a
time when marrying outside your race was frowned upon, and life for
a single mother was truly hell. His father's family never accepted
him, and his mother's
people
shunned him
and his mother. A young child with no place in either world must go
through a lot of pain."

"How old was he by the time he worked for
your father?"

"By that time he was nineteen years old, my
father warned me that Thomas had a lot of healing to do before he
would make a decent mate. What did I know? I thought my love for
him could cure all of his problems. Tommy was around two when I
began to notice my husband's destructive behavior. He had a little
too much to drink one evening, and I caught him trying to gouge out
his eyes. He told me that it was his white eyes that kept him from
being accepted by his mother's people."

Connie lost her appetite, her heart felt
heavy for the lost boy he must have been. "Is that when the
beatings started?"

"The beatings didn't start until my father
died. My father was the only positive male influence in his life
and when he died a piece of Thomas died too. My father was truly a
gifted man, but my husband's woodworking skills were unbelievable.
People would come from miles around to purchase his work, at first
this motivated him to press through the loss of my father.

He started drinking more and working less, we
couldn't afford the taxes on the land, and eventually we lost my
father's property. I withstood the drinking, whoring, and gambling
because a good wife stood by her husband in good times and bad.
Then the beatings started, he was always sorry the next day, and I
would forgive him. I would pack Tommy up, and we'd stay with
Thomas's mother a few days, but I always came back. Then he came
after my son, a little helpless child, well that's the night I left
forever."

"Did you ever see Thomas's father again?"

"No. An acquaintance told me that he died
five years after I left him; he had cirrhosis of the liver. The
only thing in his possession was an old picture of Tommy and me. It
was such a sad ending for a man who had such a beautiful
heart."

"So how did you meet James Galvin?"

Joanie smiled, her eyes became all misty as
she recalled precious memories. "I was fresh out of nursing school
when I met surgeon Dr. James Galvin. He was on my floor checking on
a few patients, and he was a total ass. He had a wonderful beside
manner, but he barked orders at the nurses. One night I was tired
and Tommy was sick that day, he started barking orders, and I told
him to stick his chart up his ass."

"Bet that went over well."

"Actually our relationship improved after
that, when an opportunity arose at another hospital I applied for
the job. It meant more money, and it was the day shift. I got the
job, and it was on my last night that James cornered me in the
supply room. He told me that I could quit the hospital all I want,
but he wasn't going to let me quit on him. We got married the
following year; Tommy was ten years old."

"I always thought Thomas was younger when you
remarried. He made it sound as though you remarried right
away."

"The hospital I worked at had family picnics
and other family motivated programs, so Thomas and James met years
before I actually married James. They were always close; James
called Tommy his son long before he thought about asking me to
become his wife. Of course, there's always the downside in any new
relationship.

James came from a privileged family, his
father owned several businesses, and his mother was a socialite.
His mother hated me on sight; I thought it was because of my
heritage. There was no way I would subject Tommy to this woman.
When James's parents met Tommy, they fell all over themselves to
make him happy. My father-in-law informed me that his wife hated
James's first wife too, and she was a pretty blonde, blue eye
Anglo."

"Did James have any children from his first
marriage?"

"Both his wife and son died in the delivery
room. I never met a man who was so accepting of my son. We had a
two for one deal; James adopted Tommy and married me in the same
civil ceremony. A year later I gave birth to Charlene, three years
after that Kimberly came into the world. Kimberly was a difficult
birth and James nearly had a fit thinking he would lose me. I
wanted more children, but James put his foot down.

At first, I didn't get along with my
mother-in-law; she was a meddling old battleaxe. James always put
the children and me first, despite her meddling. When I came home
from the hospital with Kimberly, my mother-in-law was my constant
companion. From that day forward, we had peaceful coexistence."

"Thomas really loved your husband; he said
that James was the father of his heart."

"James and Thomas were like two peas in a
pod; James never missed a game or a birthday. Even after, the girls
came, Thomas was always considered the first child. It takes one
hell of a man to claim another man's child as his own and raise
him. James got sick after Tommy was vindicated and Elise finally
was convicted of fraud. He was diagnosed with stage three
pancreatic cancer; he faded so fast, we lost him six months
later."