A Cold Wife, Sweet Husband

Chapter Eighteen

That Friday as they packed for the trip, Leo notified her that they would have to share a bedroom at Mr. Davidson's house. ―Don't worry. I won't take advantage of the situation, he assured her.

―Should you decide you want to consummate our marriage, I'll be more than happy to oblige you. I'll just wait for your signal. She was too excited and nervous to speak. She decided to pack her new nightgown for this occasion.

When they arrived at the Davidson residence, she noticed that the couple prided themselves on their mansion and collection of flowers in the yard. On the inside of the house, she was shocked when she saw all the cats running around the place.

A couple of birds remained free to fly around. She was afraid one would fly down on her but, to her relief, none did. During their dinner, a small poodle sat on the table in the place next to Mrs. Veronica Davidson. She insisted the dog receive the best part of the steak and cut it up into bite-sized pieces and set them on her best china.

The dog even drank from a crystal bowl. The cats were given their scratching posts next to their litter boxes. Each cat had its miniature mansion, and the ten birds had fancy birdhouses. Veronica was an eccentric fifty-two-year-old woman.

―We don't have human children, she told them at one point during the meal. ―Our pets are our kids. Then she went into a detailed description of each animal's personality and likes and dislikes. ―I even have an entire room where I display all of their paintings.

They are very artistic, she told Jessica. Jessica forced herself to smile. She decided that even if she had to adopt children, she would find a way to have them. She didn't want to end up like Veronica.

The woman gave her the creeps. She suddenly realized that the next day was going to be a long one since she had to spend it with her. Mr. Davidson remained quiet during the entire meal. The only time he did contribute to the conservation was to grunt when his wife asked him,

―Isn't that right, Howy?―Howdy, Jessica soon learned, was short for Howard. After dinner, Veronica gave Jessica the tour of her pets' houses while Howard showed Leo his collection of animal heads.

Jessica tried to pay attention to Veronica but after the fifth house, all the houses began to look alike. By the time it was eleven, her eyelids were drooping. All that she wanted to do was sleep.

―Well, we can continue to talk about this tomorrow, Veronica told her as she patted her hand. ―I will have to show you all the scrapbooks for each of my kids. There was more to this woman's pet collection?

Jessica simply nodded and followed the maid, Theodora, to her room for the night. Leo was still listening to Howard, so she changed into her newlywed nightgown and went to bed. She wondered if Leo found the evening remotely interesting. She had been bored to tears. She couldn't imagine how many scrapbooks that Veronica could own, and she dreaded finding out.

She waited for Leo to show up but she fell asleep shortly after her head hit the pillow. Surprisingly, she heard Leo enter the room and softly shut the door. As soon as she realized he was there, she was wide awake. She heard him quietly move around the room and get ready for bed. She wasn't sure what she should do, so she finally opted to wait for him to make the first move.

He slid into bed next to her. She was keenly aware of his body, though he wasn't touching her. Her heart raced with a mixture of feelings. She was as nervous as she could be. She also experienced an exciting thrill of anticipation that increased the heat in her face and pounding of her heart.

She had her back turned to him so she couldn't see what he was doing or how he was lying on the bed. She was too timid to roll onto her back to find out.

As the minute's pass, it felt like an hour past, she realized that he was keeping his word. He wasn't going to take advantage of the situation. He would wait for her permission to approach her. She wasn't sure why, but she was disappointed.

If he loved her as much as he claimed, then wouldn't he at least attempt to gain her permission? As it was, he seemed as interested in her as she was in his investment reports. The minutes turned into an hour. And one hour turned into two, and then three. She lay in bed, unable to sleep.