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I smiled. "I sprung up when I was thirteen and was always the gawky teenage boy whose head was above the crowd."
"Well, you certainly grew into your height," Ella's mother said, her eyes wide. Ella gave me an exasperated look and I laughed, taking it as a compliment.
I put the bags down and removed my coat and boots, watching while Mrs. Carlson and Ella went into the living room from the entry. The house was beautifully kept up, the furniture all 18th and 19th-Century antiques, the paneling warm. A huge fir tree dressed in gold and burgundy with white lights stood in the entry and gave the space a fresh pine scent.
Ella came back and waved me in. "Come," she said. "My father is in his office right now taking a call. The coast is clear. I'll take you to your room."
"Okay," I said and adjusted my sweater. "Do you think I'll pass muster?"
She grabbed my hand and laughed. "If anyone can, you can."
She led me upstairs to the second floor and to a bedroom at the rear of the building. It was pretty small but still, very nice by any standard. I laid my suitcase on the bed and grabbed Ella, taking the opportunity to get in a kiss before we had to go back down to face the parents.
Ella slipped her arms around my shoulders and tilted her head to one side. "My mother thinks you're a hunk. I have to agree."
"Oh, yeah?" I said, smiling. "I just hope your father thinks I'm more than a hunk of you know what."
"Don't be silly. You're amazing."
"No, you're amazing," I said and kissed her again. "I wish my father could have met you. I think my mother would have definitely liked you. She was her own woman, even for her day so she would have seen herself in you."
Ella sighed. "I wish I could have met them, too. I feel so lucky that I have both my parents. Yours had such bad luck."
"I know. I hope I can escape the Macintyre bad genes for cancer."
We embraced, and I felt bad that she'd never know my parents, but at least in a couple of days, she'd get to meet my brothers. All of them.
I knew they'd love her, too.
* * *
We went to the living room and I walked around the room, taking in its splendor. The architects and decorators took great care to retain the old character of the house, upgrading where it made sense, but keeping everything stately, as was fitting for a Governor's Residence. Other than official paintings and decor, there was a small part of one wall set aside for the Governor's personal family photos, and I got to see pictures of Ella as a child, and then when she was older, taken in various locations. As an only child, she would have had all the attention of two very well-educated parents. No wonder she was headstrong.
"I was such a geeky kid," she said when she came to my side, taking my arm. "My mom taught high school English and encouraged me in my dreams to become a writer or editor at a publishing house."
"You're lucky. A lot of parents discourage their kids from the arts, out of fear they won't be able to earn a living."
"I'm not doing so well yet," she said with a laugh. "Unpaid internship and all."
"That's the way to get inside," I replied, taking her hand in mine. "That way, the people not paying you will learn your character and skills and will be willing to risk hiring you for pay. A credential such as a degree or certificate often isn't enough to know if someone will
fit into your organization and be a good employee."
"That's why I did it," Ella replied. "I could have got a job at some random company writing copy for ads, but I want to be a book editor. I want to be in publishing."
"Then you picked the right course of action," I said and bent down to kiss her. We pressed lips together, and I pulled her against me, enjoying the moment. Of course, it was at that precise moment that Governor Carlson picked to come into the living room.
He cleared his throat, and we quickly pulled apart. I caught Ella's eye and she had this look of oh, oh, now it starts...
Or maybe that was me.
You'd think, given that I had survived boot camp and four years of service that I'd be able to face on father of my fiancée, but you'd be wrong. At that moment in my life, pleasing Governor Carlson was the most important thing next to making Ella happy.
"So, I finally get to meet the mysterious Joshua Macintyre Jr," Governor Carlson said. He stood there, his hands on his hips and gave me the once over like he was assessing me. I knew I passed muster in a general masculine sense of one man assessing another. I was tall and well-built, handsome in a boyish way (or so I had been told) and was well-dressed. I had military service under my belt and a degree as well from a top university. I was worth millions and one day, maybe billions.
Yet, his assessment of me mattered a whole lot more because I knew my name ad family had all this baggage with him that would predispose him against me.
I extended my hand. "Governor Carlson, I'm so honored to finally meet you."
