Everett chuckled.“Maybe you should have stayed in Massachusetts so you could buy your meat from a butcher.”
Maggie wrinkled her nose at him.
Sally said nothing to contribute to the conversation.She was still thinking about the talk she needed to have with Tom.
It was getting close to suppertime when the other couples got up to leave.“Are you sure you won’t stay for supper?”Sally asked.After all the conversations she’d had in her head, she was suddenly nervous to talk to him.
Belle shook her head.“No, not tonight, but thank you.We’ll see you at the church service in the morning.”
Their “church service” was nothing like church back east.They met in the store and did a little Bible study.There was no preaching.They just got together to pray and learn.Sally found that she liked their way of worship a great deal.
After the others left, Sally immediately fixed supper.Eggs with bacon seemed to be the easiest thing with no prior preparation.As she cooked, Tom sat at the table, looking over the traps they’d made.
Sally waited to talk to Tom about what was on her mind until the supper dishes were done.“I realized something today, and I need to talk to you about it.”
Tom looked at her, puzzled.“Yes?”
“You’ve been a model husband, making me feel more loved than I ever imagined I could be.I expected to see you and feel a blinding flash of love immediately, but instead, I’ve come to love you slowly.Every time you build something for me.Every time you agree to one of my ideas, I fall a little more in love with you.You’re a wonderful husband, Tom, and you deserve to hear how I feel.I won’t hold it back ever again.I love you, Tom.More than I ever thought possible.”
He got to his feet and walked around the table to where she was sitting and pulled her to her feet.“I knew I loved you when you invited me to write letters to you instead of stammering in nervousness.You are exactly the woman I was looking for.”
“And you’re not annoyed that I keep making you build things for me?”
A smile broke out across his face.“I don’t build them for you.I build them for the future.Our future that someday, we’ll share with our children.You mean everything to me, Sally.I don’t think I knew something was missing in my life until you came along.”
She threw her arms around him, holding him close.“Let me know if I ever ask too much of you.I’ll try not to, but I’m not so good at not asking when I come up with an idea.”
He leaned down and kissed her.“You could never ask too much.Everything I have to give is yours for the taking.”
