Chapter 26

The three of us walked into the kitchen together. Agnes and I refilled our cups and sat at the table. We sat next to each other very closely.

Jimmy grinned. “Don’t you get enough of being close?”

Agnes grinned back. “Nope. My Viking is pleasant to sit close to and I’m planning on continuing to do that for the rest of our lives. He is a good man.”

Jimmy smirked. “As long as all he does is sit.”

Agnes smiled. “That will change in two weeks. Then, we’ll debauch each other. I’m looking forward to that time.”

Jimmy seemed do decide that he’d been trumped each time so he kept quiet. Missus Stover had come to no such decision. “There’s no hanky-panky going on with you two?” Her eyes twinkled.

“Not yet,” Agnes responded. “It’s not long so we can wait.”

Her mother said, “If it were longer then, you wouldn’t be waiting?”

“I didn’t quite say that, Mom. I was just speaking to the current factual situation. I won’t deal in supposition.”

Her mother grinned. “Help with breakfast.”

Agnes stood and helped pull food from the fridge and then moved to assist her mother in cooking. I set the table. Jimmy just watched. I had noticed that he rarely helped inside the house.

By the time the food was finished, Mister Stover and Aaron had walked in. We sat down, blessed the meal, and ate.

Once we had finished, we cleaned up and went to dress for church. Agnes and I went to our separate bedrooms to change clothes. Both bathroom doors were open and we watched each other strip and then dress. If I hadn’t been excited before, I was now. We met in the bathroom for Agnes to brush her hair and for me to tie my tie correctly. I didn’t wear one often but Agnes had asked. She saw me struggle and helped. She moved close until we were touching along our bodies.

I smiled. “Did you help your brothers tie their ties?”

“Yes, but never standing this close. I like helping you dress.” She grinned. “I like helping you undress even more.”

I smiled at her as she finished my tie. We went out through her door. Aaron caught us. “Changing together?”

“No, Agnes used her room and I used mine. We met in the bathroom for her to brush her hair and me tie my tie. I quickly found that Agnes is better at tying men’s ties than I will ever be. From there, we just left together.”

Agnes stuck her tongue out at him. We went on to the living room. Jimmy would drive his truck with Aaron while we would ride with the parents. I shrugged. It would be good. I didn’t have to drive and so would get to sit close to Agnes. We rode to the church.

I enjoyed the services with Agnes. We held hands during prayers and I used the prayer time in the main service to pray for my beautiful redhead who would soon be my wife. It was comfortable to have her next to me.

At the end of the service, we left to return to the farm. Agnes and I walked from the truck to the house with our arms around each other’s waists. It was slow but we weren’t in a hurry. Her brothers drove up. They got out and Jimmy went inside. Aaron walked alongside his sister. He said, “You do seem to like each other.”

Agnes said, “That’s true. We love each other, too. I enjoy being with my Viking and am looking forward to our wedding.” I just smiled and nodded.

He had a bit of a wistful look on his face. “Sis, I hope that I find someone for me like you and Eric are for each other.”

“I’ve said it before, Aaron. You may have to go to college to expand your universe of candidates sufficiently. It took that for me. Eric and I found each other quickly though. He’s a really good guy. We’re looking forward to our lives together.”

We smiled at each other. We all went inside to eat lunch before returning for a week and a half of school before the break and our marriage. We ate a fine lunch with Agnes’ parents and brothers. After lunch, we packed. I would bring Agnes Wednesday week and then be in town for the rehearsal the following Friday with the wedding to follow the day after. We left to hugs and kisses and headed back to our dorms.

We pulled in and unloaded or cases. We carried them to our rooms and then met in the women’s dorm’s common room at our favorite couch. It wasn’t long before our friends joined us. All had enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday.

Melody looked particularly happy and at ease. Perhaps, the guy at her side holding her hand had a lot to do with that. Joe was on the same floor with Carl ad me. He had a reputation as a good guy and a good student. I thought that maybe her world was looking up. Agnes looked at me and nodded. She whispered, “It’s good for her.”

When it was time for supper, we all trooped over for supper. Once at a table, Agnes and I held hands as we prayed. The rest arrived and we all ate.

We went back and spent the evening in the common room. After watching the late news, we each went to our room. I slept dreaming of my fair lady. The week passed in a normal manner and we left Friday for my parents’ house. Once there, we stored our cases in our rooms and went to the living room to sit and talk with my parents.

They had reservations at the local hotel in town and had arranged for a catered meal there for the rehearsal dinner. I would have a separate room there and would come here before going with them to Agnes’ town. Dad would drive us to the airport for our honeymoon.

He would pick us up also. My parents’ house was on the way to the college from the airport. We would pick up my wheels then.

We finished our exams and felt good about them. We stored clothing and other items in our new apartment. We left for Agnes’ parents. I dropped her off there and went home. I spent the night in my old room. We left Thursday just after lunch. We checked in and I called Agnes. We would have supper at her parents’ house tonight. She told me that we should come on over as soon as we could be ready. I told my parents and we left five minutes later with me driving Dad’s car.

We drove up and I was first out of the car and walked rapidly to the front door to be met by Agnes. We embraced and kissed while our parents kidded us as they talked to each other.