AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it has been months since I’ve submitted anything from my "universe". . In trying to cope with the demands of real life I’ve developed something worse than writer’s block…more a total mental blockade. I have countless short stories either partially written, in outline or floating around in my head. The entire Trilogy is in a similar form. I have a detailed outline with a lot disconnected sections that have been written, but nothing I can submit for reading. So, rather than fret over the piecemeal document called Beatrix, I decided to clean up some of the short stories, hoping that might be the catalyst I need to get back into Beatrix. Here’s the first "shortie", a prequel to an earlier submission, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". Once again, I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I have creating it.

 

A Blessing in Disguise

by Pat

 

Peter Belden got up from behind his desk and walked across the well-appointed office to the large expanse of windows just in time to see a familiar Toyota Celica CX turn off Highland Avenue and head down Main Street hill towards the bank. He glanced at the clock, marveling at the young driver’s promptness. "Who’d ever have thought," He mumbled to himself as he watched the car turn into the municipal parking lot across the street. He turned away from the windows and walked back over to his desk.

It was only a few minutes later that he welcomed a handsome young man into his office. After shaking hands and taking his guest’s overcoat, Peter offered him a chair and sat back down across the large desk from him. When the young man had requested the meeting he had given no indication as to why it was necessary other than it was to discuss "personal matters". Peter suspected the reason for the request and was surprised at it. At the onset of the twenty-first century he had thought all his children considered themselves modern and independent enough to never want or need a meeting such as this. Wondering what the files might be that the young visitor was pulling out of his brief case, he offered him coffee or a cold drink.

"No. No thanks, Mr. Belden."

It was then that Peter noticed the quiver in the voice and the slight trembling of hands. Mmmm… My suspicions must be correct. This might be interesting.

"Mr. Belden, I brought some financial statements for you to examine. I…" The young man ran his hands through his long thick hair and swallowed noticeably before spreading several sheets of paper across the desk.

Recalling a similar experience of his own over thirty years prior, Peter decided to drag this out and enjoy it as long as possible. "Are you looking for a loan?"

"No… I…" The quiver in the voice was even more apparent.

"What is it then, son?" Peter could barely hold back the smile. He was certain now of what this young man wanted from him.

"I…I want to show you, that while I don’t have much to offer in the way of financial security, I’m not …well I think I have a good foundation… And a promising future."

"I’ve always thought that. You have an excellent education and a great deal of ambition."

The young man smiled sheepishly. He desperately wished his hands would stop shaking and he could loosen his tie. "Right now, the greatest asset I have IS my education. But I wanted to show you that I have some more tangible assets as well."

Peter Belden folded his arms in front of his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"You know Mr. Maypenny left me his cabin when he died?" The young man referred to the rustic cabin he had shared with the elderly gentleman when he first moved to Sleepyside. Peter nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I have clear title to it and just over two acres of land," Dan Mangan looked up, recalling Mr. Maypenny’s assurance that he was being entrusted to do the right thing with the cabin and land. "I still have some outstanding loans from law school," Dan pointed to figures on one of the sheets. "But I paid them down quite a bit when I was in D.C. and I’ve been making double payments each month since coming to New York. If I had to, I could sell the cabin; it’s probably worth enough to pay the loans off and then some," He looked up for some reassurance. All he got was another unrevealing nod. "But right now I don’t feel I need to. And I don’t want to. If I have no use for it, I would like to donate it to the county so it can be added to the preserve that Mr. Wheeler donated." Dan was referring to Matthew Wheeler who owned a large estate and had maintained a private game preserve for many years before recently donating most of the land to Westchester County for a conservation area. Dan’s small tract was surrounded by the former game preserve.

"Mmmm…that’s very noble," Peter leaned back in his chair again, desperately trying to maintain a serious demeanor and to keep from laughing at Dan’s discomfort.

"I still owe money on my car," Dan swallowed hard. "But it will be paid off by summer. And, I now own part interest in Manor Estate Stables," Dan paused and looked up.

"I wasn’t aware of that," Peter continued to maintain a somber expression.

"As you know Uncle Bill gained full ownership of the boarding, breeding and training business," Dan continued. "Mr. Wheeler is renting the facilities to him for $1.00 a year. When he and Mary got married last month, they gave me 20% interest. I still can’t quite believe they did that, but…I’m lucky to have someone like my uncle."

"Yes you are," Peter nodded agreement. "But, Dan, why are you telling me this? Why all the paper work?" He had to ask.

Dan grinned sheepishly again. "This is to show that I have some real property."

"And?"

Dan looked down at the papers. He shuffled them, tapped them on the desk a few times, then stacked them neatly in the folder. He inhaled and exhaled sharply before finally saying the words. "I want to marry Trixie."

"And you’re asking me? But that doesn’t explain all these papers here," Peter rocked a bit in his chair while keeping his arms folded across his chest.

"I, I, I love her," Dan fumbled over the words. He’d certainly told Trixie that many times, and he’d told his uncle about his feelings, but it seemed totally different sharing these feelings with someone else… especially her father.

"I hope so if you want to marry her," Darn, he’s suffering. I can’t keep playing games. "Have you asked Trixie?"

Dan wiped his hands on his pants legs before speaking. "I….we….we’ve talked about it. We feel the same about each other. But….I…she…we both have a lot of respect for you and Mrs. B."

Peter Belden nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I want you to feel..." Dan still couldn’t look directly at him. "Trixie’s special."

She certainly is. "And?"

"Trixie would shoot me if she knew I were here," Dan finally looked up and grinned. "She considers herself totally independent and responsible for her own decisions. I know better than to ask for your permission. I guess I, I want to assure you that she wouldn’t be marrying some punk," Dan shook his head. Maybe those weren’t the right words. "I, I want you to know that I have more than just my, my affection to give her…I’m no millionaire, but I think I can…"

Peter Belden stood up and walked around his desk. He placed a hand on the shoulder of the young man who he felt confident would soon be his son-in-law. "I’m quite impressed. You have a lot more going for you than I did when I was your age."

Dan looked up in surprise. He started to stand but was gently pushed back into the chair. "At your age I had two children, a third on the way, no education beyond a BA and no real property. I also had school debts, but I can assure you I was making the absolute minimum payment each month…and sometimes late. Helen and I didn’t even own a car! We lived in a small…darnit, it was so small… apartment in the Bronx and I took the subway to work each day. I don’t know how she managed to spend her days alone in that place with two babies, but…" He sighed and looked down at the young man.

"But we were happy…because we were in love." He began pacing. " Then my father got ill. Helen was pregnant with Trixie when we moved to Sleepyside and moved in with my parents. And as strapped as we had been for money before, I actually took a cut in pay when I came out to Sleepyside National Bank. I certainly didn’t rate this fine office," He chuckled as he leaned against the sill of the large windows. "In fact my office didn’t even have a window."

Dan grinned. "I do have a small window in my office."

"Dan, when you came to Sleepyside I did think you were a punk. And I was a little wary of Mart and Trixie spending so much time with you. But you quickly proved me wrong. VERY wrong. You have proven every day since you were 15 that you are an incredibly responsible, hard-working and intelligent young man."

Dan nodded in embarrassment more than acknowledgement. "I…"

"No, son. Let me finish. You humble me in your accomplishments. And you humble me in coming here to ask my approval."

"No…not approval." Trixie would kill me. "I just want..."

"Well then, my blessing.

"I don’t think Trixie would be happy to think I asked your blessing. She’s..."

"I know," Peter interrupted. "Trixie makes her own decisions. I’ll call it a blessing in disguise," Both men laughed. "When I married Helen I had nothing to offer her except my love and commitment. Darn, that’s all Mart had to give Diana several years ago. It’s obvious to anyone who has seen you and Trixie together that you two are in love. I think I know good strong character when I see it and I see it here, now. Frankly, if Trixie has chosen you, I couldn’t be happier," Peter walked across the office with his hand out. Dan stood and grabbed it. "I’d be honored to call you son."

Dan shook his head in disbelief. Was Peter Belden, respected community leader and Chief Financial Officer for the First National Bank of Westchester (formerly Sleepyside National Bank), actually calling him son? And saying it was an honor to do so?

"I’ll do everything in my power..." The two men continued to shake hands.

"I know you will."

"I love her."

"You’ve said."

"I…" Dan didn’t know what else to say. He had come there intending to assure this man that he was a suitable husband for his daughter. Instead he was the one being assured.

Both men leaned against the desk staring at each other.

"So when do the two of you plan to make it official?" Peter finally broke the silence.

"I…soon…soon." Not soon enough.

"And I guess I’ll have to spring for a big wedding?"

"Trixie’s said…. Well we’ve talked about it you know…in the abstract sorta’.

Peter laughed out loud. "Oh, gee…. How much will this set me back?"

"We both want small," Dan grinned.

"Whew…" They chuckled and stood in silence again.

"I plan to ask her next week," Dan finally blurted out.

"Oh?"

"Yeah…" Dan looked down at his hands. Had he revealed too much? "Do you know what size ring she wears?"

"You don’t have one?"

"Oh, I do, but it needs sizing…"

"Gee… That’s not something a father usually knows. I can call her mother."

"She won’t tell Trixie?" Dan began to panic. Despite their joking about it, Trixie would be furious if she knew that Dan had made this visit.

"I can just ask and not say why…"

"Mrs. B not know why you’re asking?" Dan knew where Trixie had gotten her investigative instincts. "Well, she was always pretty good at keeping secrets."

"She was?" Peter laughed.

"Not from you. Oh never from you, Mr. Belden," They both laughed. "But she was a good confidant when we were kids."

"Let me call," Peter walked back around his desk and hit the speed dial button for home. The two men waited for the call to connect.

"Helen?" Peter motioned for Dan to sit back down. "Oh, that’s wonderful. Will we celebrate tonight?" Peter’s face turned red as his wife shared her plans for celebrating her most recent A. He was grateful that she’d received almost straight A’s since returning to school for her BFA. "I was wondering if you know what size ring Trixie wears," Dan could hear her squeal through the phone lines. He waited silently while Mrs. Belden revealed her delight in the probable reason for her husband’s request.

"Well, yes, he is. He happens to be here in my office," Peter smiled at Dan. "He just proved what a fine man he is by coming to talk to his future father-in-law before making it official, but he needs to size a ring."

"Good, I’ll tell him. Now, he’s afraid of what Trixie will do to him if she finds out he talked to us before giving her the ring and I don’t want to be responsible in any way for our daughter committing a crime," Peter smiled at Dan again. "Okay. I’ll see you tonight."

Peter hung up the phone. "Helen promises not to reveal anything to Trixie if you promise not to keep us waiting too long for the announcement. Oh. It’s size 5."

Dan chuckled. "The decision is Trixie’s. My mind is made up," He stood and reached for the older man’s hand. "Thank you, Mr. Belden," Peter raised one eyebrow as they shook hands once again. "Thank you for being understanding…supportive. I love Trixie and want to make her happy. I know she’ll never be happy unless we have your blessing."

"Blessing in disguise, " Peter corrected as Dan put his coat back on. "And you have it, Dan. You do," He watched his future son-in-law turn and leave the office. He walked across to the windows and waited for Dan to leave the building and cross the street to where he had parked the car. You’re one heck of a good man, Dan. And it will take one heck of a good man to keep Trixie happy. He watched as the Toyota headed back up the hill and into his daughter’s future.

The End

TBH Main