The M Word by Beverly Farr Read Free Book Online Page A

“Yes.”
    When they arrived at her house, Brenda parked
in the attached garage. “We can get a wall hook for your bicycle,”
she offered.
    “It will be fine, leaning against the wall,”
he said.
    She unlocked the door to the house. “I’ve
emptied out one of the bedrooms for you,” she said clearly. “To
give us both some privacy. At least, at first.” She blushed,
knowing how awkward she sounded. But their relationship was
awkward, and she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.
Eventually they were going to sleep together, but not yet.
    “Very wise,” he said with a smile.
    “Your bathroom is right across the hall. I
have my own bathroom in the master bedroom.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Do you want help bringing your things
in?”
    “No, thank you.”
    How polite he was. Brenda retreated to the
kitchen, and busied herself with paying bills.
    For the next few minutes, she heard him
walking past, carrying his belongings. He carried one thing that
looked like an iron bowling ball with a metal handle.
    “What is that?” she asked.
    “A kettle bell.”
    “Oh. For exercise. I’ve heard of that. It’s
very trendy.”
    “They’ve been popular in Russia since the
1700’s.”
    “I guess eventually everything old is new
again,” she said, looking back at the bills. She chewed on the end
of her pen. She hoped Marius wouldn’t end up being one of those
exercise fanatics who insisted that she follow his routine.
    He took several more trips from the car into
the house. As he walked, he hummed something she didn't
recognize.
    “That's a cheerful, bouncy tune. What is it
from?” she asked, setting her pen down.
    “ La Traviata .” He stood in the
doorway. He sang one line of it, then explained, “Alfredo is giving
a toast encouraging Violetta to drink to love.”
    “You sang some of that the other day. Is La Traviata your favorite opera?”
    He hesitated. “One of my favorites.”
    Brenda wished she knew more about opera so
they'd have something to talk about. “Is that what you’re studying
for your degree?”
    “Yes.”
    “Masters or Doctorate?”
    “Masters right now. Perhaps later I will get
a doctorate.”
    Dr. Jaworski. He’d probably be good at it.
“Do you plan to teach?”
    “Someday. Perhaps.” He smiled. “There is a
Yiddish proverb I like: Mann traoch, Gott Lauch. Man plans
and god laughs.”
    Brenda smiled.
    “So I work toward my goals, but I don’t
expect them all to be achieved.”
    “That’s a healthy attitude,” Brenda said.
That’s probably why he was such a calm person. He wasn’t as driven
as she was. She realized that he never gave the impression that he
was in a hurry. She hoped that some of his happier attitude would
eventually rub off on her. She handed him two keys. “Here’s one for
the front door and one for the back door. If you want it, there’s
an extra remote for the garage door on top of the
refrigerator.”
    “Thank you.” For a second as he took the
keys, his fingers brushed hers.
    Brenda was startled by the warmth of his skin
on hers.
    “Next month, we can probably get you a used
car,” she continued briskly. “Do you have a driver’s license?”
    “Yes, but I do not need a car. My bicycle is
sufficient.”
    “But now that you live here, it’s a much
longer commute.” She said, “I don’t know how safe it is for you to
be riding that distance at night, especially when it’s
raining.”
    Marius smiled, but there was an underlying
hint of steel to his words. “Thank you for your concern, but I do
not need you to buy me a car. If I want a car, I will buy my own
car.”
    Ooops. Belatedly, Brenda realized that she
must have stepped on his masculine ego. Marius may not have as much
money as she did, but he didn’t want to feel like a kept man. “Yes,
of course,” she said quickly. He returned to his task of moving his
belongings into her house.
    This marriage relationship was going to take
some time to get used to.
    A few minutes later,