AN: It's been a while. I know. And this one is shorter than my usual chapters, but I wanted to give you something. You can think of it as a half chapter, since the next part will be kind of in the same theme.
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If you like this please tell me, it really helps when I know people are counting on me to write. But no pressure;)
Enjoy and DFTBA
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Chapter Seven
Annie walked into the inn without knocking on the door. Only when she turned to close the door behind her she realized she should have knocked, since she wasn't living there anymore.
"Annie, we've been waiting for you."
She jumped and spun toward to the voice. The scene in front of her was of three people sitting in sofas in the living room of the inn, two women and a man. One of the women was Shirley, but the other two were unfamiliar.
"Mrs. Winger, nice to meet you," the woman said. Shirley waved her over and Annie approached cautiously. "Congratulations on your new marriage."
"Many thanks," Annie nodded, smoothing her hand over her skirt. "May I ask... who is milady?"
Shirley let out a gasp that was comprised of surprise and horror. "Where are my manners! Of course you don't know our distinguished guests." She patted the chair on her left and Annie set down.
"Annie, this is the Mayor, Mr. Pelton," Annie nodded to the slim man in a gray suit and a top hat, who was sitting in front of her beside the woman. So this is the famous mayor...
"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Winger, it's lovely to finally meet our teacher!" He smiled and waved a flashy cane, his voice rising and falling in a melody that didn't fit the words he was saying.
"And this is Mrs. Frankie Dart, the Mayor's sister." The woman who greeted her earlier wore a taffeta dress, gray as well, more modest than most but well-made and adorned with stripes and ruffles. Her brilliant brown hair was worn in a stern bun. She raised a demure hand from her seat. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot of good things about you."
"Really?" Annie blurted warily, gasped and covered her mouth in a flash. "I'm sorry, I am being cautious because some people have spread unkind things about me here in town."
"Yes, I've heard about that, and I am sorry. If I'd arrived earlier I might have done something about it..." Mrs. Dart replied while her eyes darted to the mayor, reprimanding him silently. Annie watched them baffled.
"Mrs. Dart came to visit her brother barely a day ago," Shirley provided an explanation.
"The way I read the situation, I think I'll stay." The woman in gray added. The criticizing quality to her voice caused Annie to fidget in her seat, but she suddenly realized that the lady was directing the criticism at her brother. A brief look at him confirmed the hypothesis, when his smile vanished and he hung his head in guilt.
"Yes, I let the situation deteriorate, I admit it. It's my fault. I should have taken care of our teacher, but there are so much finances and stuff to town running that sometimes it's amazing that I can even find my own head!" He waved his hands around the head in question and sighed dramatically. "It's okay," his sister murmured and patted his back. "No one blames you. Isn't it so, Mrs. Winger?"
Annie stared at the man puzzled. So far she hasn't even met the guy, and she certainly didn't accuse him of her troubles. But that was far off from consoling him... "I guess so," she shrugged. "It's not his fault that people gossip."
Shirley shook her head. "It is not the mayor's role to help individuals," she added her opinion. "That's why we went to the sheriff for help."
"Anyway," Mrs. Dart removed her hand off his back, "as I was saying, I've heard good things about you. Mrs. Bennett was just telling us about your professional abilities as a teacher."
"Oh, I'm not..." Annie started to protest the obligatory humility, and was stopped by Mrs. Dart. "No need to get modest. When I passed through Thornton I asked about you and heard testimony about your good nature and your volunteer work in church. And I took the opportunity to interview the children that I saw yesterday what they think about studying with you."
"Really, Frankie?" The mayor stared at her adoringly.
"Sure," she nodded. "When I heard she got married it occurred to me instantly that she might want to leave the position, of course. That's the reason we are here today," she turned to Annie.
"I didn't exactly give it much thought..."
"I have inquired about you, and I must say that I am pleased with my brother's choice." The man sat upright just a bit more and his skinny chest filled with pride.
"And we would like to request that you will not leave the children of Greendale, but keep functioning as our teacher." Mrs. Dart smiled.
"I..." Annie began hesitantly. "Mrs. Dart..."
"You can call me Frankie. We are all friends here."
"Frankie, it's very kind of you." And since the woman's smile seemed genuine, she smiled back. "Actually I have not given thought to whether or not I shall continue to teach, but I figured I might want to have some time off. I just went through some difficult times."
Frankie looked at her brother, who looked helpless and sought Shirley's eyes in turn. The innkeeper nodded. "Some women of the town had declared an excommunication," she shook her head. "It was nasty. And the other day some men even assaulted her..."
"Is it true?" Frankie turned to her.
"It is true, sadly." Annie muttered. She tried hard not to think about that since then. Things have changed, she told herself. There is no reason to dwell on the past. "Then we got married, Jeffrey and I."
Frankie started to say something but Annie didn't hear it, Jeffrey's name reminding her of the last time she saw him.
She recalled that morning, how his face was crushed into his pillow and his arm was still around her. She had forgotten what it's like to sleep with another person in her bed, and it was easy to admit that her body was happy about the change. His body was warm in the morning chill, and he was wrapped around her even when asleep. At first she just snuggled up to him, breathing in the smell that was unique to him. He lay on his stomach but half of his body covered her, including his arm around her waist. She eventually had to move away from him, when it became clear beyond doubt that he was awake and it would be embarrassing if she kept clinging to him like a lovesick girl. He said nothing while she prepared and got dressed, but continued to lie in bed, his arm covering his eyes. When she left the room he muttered, 'Good morning' in a voice hoarse with sleep, and she found it so endearing that her awkwardness finally faded.
"...So we agree?"
"Sorry, what did you say?" Annie shook herself back to the present.
"I said that if you are in good spirits and feeling better, you can go back to work as soon as the following days. The children need education. They need you, and if there is forgiveness in your heart, Greendale needs you too. Agreed?"
"I..." in truth, it didn't require much thought. She loved her job and only wanted to return to the way things used to be. "I'll say yes, but only if that is what the women want. They had removed their children from my class, if you have not heard."
Shirley stepped in. "I did go yesterday to the women's gathering, and I can tell you that even though most women are suspicious of your motives for marrying Jeff, most of them think it's safe to entrust their children back in your hands. If you would be to decide to go back to teaching."
"So you agree, yes?" Ms. Dart said again. Her voice wasn't exactly commanding, but it had the finality that suggested Mrs. Dart was used to people doing what she tells them to do. Annie nodded.
"Yeah, but not tomorrow. In a couple of days. I'm thinking, Thursday maybe? Yeah, Thursday seems right."
Frankie seemed pleased. "You seem to be a woman in possession of a good head on her shoulders, Mrs. Winger. It seems to me that you and I will get along very well." She held out her hand to shake Annie's, who shook back with growing confidence.
"Magnificent!" the mayor proclaimed. "I'm so glad we figured it out." He sprang to his feet and rubbed his hands together. "We're back to normal, everyone," he announced, stomping his stick on the living room carpet.
When Shirley and Annie accompanied the guests to the door, Frankie told the innkeeper, "Mrs. Bennett, there's something I want to discuss with you..." and they both went first, leaving Annie to accompany the mayor. He paused at the door, fidgeting. Annie didn't urge him.
"Mrs. Winger, I've heard rumors..."
"Mr. Pelton, you may not want to open with that, I have bad experience with rumors," Annie deadpanned.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry, I wasn't thinking... Where's my head!" He went out of his way to apologize. "I meant the wedding rumors; I've heard our sheriff finally fell in love..."
"Oh," Annie muttered faintly. That. She stretched her lips into a smile.
"Yes? It is true?" He looked at her with desperate eyes, searching for something she could not give him. What do you want me to tell you, dear Mr. Pelton?
"Yes, I am happy to inform you that it is true. It finally happened." She smiled, happy she didn't have to say an explicit lie.
"Oh..." His shoulders slumped as if all his wind was blown off. "I never thought..." he began weakly but cleared his throat, "I mean, good! Good to hear! He was incorrigible, our eternal bachelor." He pasted a smile on his face. "There was no woman who could seize his heart..." he returned to unintelligible mumblings.
Annie cleared her throat. "Yes, and I'm happy to be his wife," She felt the need to state. The mayor was in a world of his own, it seemed, and she tried to reach him without much success.
"Very well, very well." He awoke suddenly, his voice rising an octave. "No life without a wife, they say! I am not married myself, of course, but I heard that's what they say..." He nodded vigorously like a mad man. Suddenly he laced his fingers together in front of his mouth and looked into her eyes. "Mrs. Winger, I beg you. Be good to him. He has a tender heart, he needs a woman that knows how to take care of him..."
She had not seen any sign of it thus far, but she wasn't going to argue with the mayor. "Of course," she nodded, as if trying to pacify a child, "I'll be good to him. That's all I want, truly."
He nodded and seemed to believe her.
When they stepped outside Shirley patted Annie's folded hands. The mayor helped his sister get on a waiting carriage (she apparently didn't want to dirty her beautiful dress with the dust of the road), and soon they were on their way.
"You made the right decision," Shirley told her. "It was your dream, or did you forget? To work and get paid for? You never intended to get married and stop working, it was never the goal, that's what you told me time and again. And that certainly wasn't my idea when I suggested you marry. The children love you, I know this from those two fine boys of mine. They learned more this year than they've ever learned. Besides," she broke off abruptly and Annie detached her eyes from the dust-raising carriage. "Since I was at the women's gathering yesterday, I must tell you that you must be at the next gathering. You're married now; they will be expecting to see you there."
Annie smiled feebly. She didn't want to join the women who tore her down, but it was the first step towards making amends. "I'll be there."
:::
"Hello? Jeffery, are you here?"
The sheriff's office seemed empty for a moment, but before long there was shuffling of legs. "Who is it? Miss Edison, is that you?" The deputy entered from the office, grinning from ear to ear. "What an honor to host the newly sheriff's wife!" he said, laying a hand on his heart.
"Mrs. Winger," she said almost inaudibly.
"What? Jeff isn't here, Mrs. Winger." Troy switched between the two names without noticing one bit. "But come, sit with me. He should be in soon."
"Oh... okay." She hadn't seen any harm in waiting a bit with Mr. Barnes, so she sat down in the chair he offered in the office.
"So Mrs Winger... can I call you ma'am? In short?"
"You can call me Annie," she suggested.
"Troy," he intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on his hands. "So I understand that you and Jeff got married the way you did because, and I quote, 'you fell in love'. Abed wasn't very specific. And since you two kept from me this whole affair of yours, I demand to know the details. Spill the beans."
Annie exhaled at length, feeling like a rabbit that was caught the moment it left the burrow. "What... what do you wish to know?"
"When did this affair start?" He shot.
"Ah..." hell, why didn't she talk it over with Jeff? It's ridiculous, she was caught unprepared the second day in a row. Annie decided to go for the safe and vague. "You can say from the very beginning, but the truth is it took us time to get to know each other better, so perhaps... two weeks after that." It was when he came to rescue Woody, so that sounded like a reasonable timing.
"And when did you realize that you love him?"
"Mr. Barnes! This is between me and my husband." She placed her hand on her heart in fake outrage, hoping he will buy it.
Troy merely shrugged. "Well, I'll just ask Jeff."
"No! I mean... there wasn't a specific moment, I just... One day I looked at him and realized that this was it." Nothing that can be disproved.
"And how did Jeff propose to you?"
Oh, that one was easy. "He told me, 'Let's do it, let's get married.' Romantic, isn't it?" She was joking, of course, but he put his hands on his hips and tutted. "Actually it's very romantic, but you have no idea, do you? You didn't know him before you came. He was never going to get married. No woman was able to change his mind." He leaned forward, waiting for her reaction.
"I...'ve heard something like that." She murmured.
"And I'll never forgive him that I wasn't there with you two, but you have nothing to worry about, I fancy you. I wish you only happiness, Annie."
"Thank you." She bit her lip, thinking how to avert the subject. "So... how do you know him?" Fortunately his face lit up all over.
"Oh, oh! That's a great story!"
:::
Jeff came into the office wiping his hands from the dust of the street, and sighed from the bottom of his heart. He spent the last hour arguing with Vaughn who tied himself to a tree and wouldn't come down until his current beloved, some unfortunate lass, will accept him back. Of course, to begin with, Jeff tried to convince her to agree. But even his famed powers of persuasion have failed to convince the girl to take back the guy who refused to get a job and instead wrote poems. Jeff had no problem with poem writing, but it was a waste of time if you had no talent for it.
Eventually he managed to convince him to come down and try to write for her the world's greatest love sonnet, and hoped that it would keep him out of trouble for at least a week.
"...And then Jeff halted his horse a second before it ran over Dirty Bob and told him, 'so you better go and never come back, because nobody messes with Greendale!' " he heard Troy's voice and... was he mimicking Jeff's speech?
"I don't believe it!" clapping and Annie's voice. "He really said that? Tell me you didn't make it up. It's too good to be true..."
"I swear, and they went and never showed their butts here again!"
Her surprised laughter rang out and Jeff saw red. He had never heard her laugh like that. Why did she laugh like that with Troy? He stepped toward the room and paused.
"Oh my! Forgive me, ma'am, I forgot who I was talking to. My deeply sincere apologies."
He heard her chuckling. "Apology accepted. And thanks for telling me, Jeffrey didn't get to tell me how he became the sheriff yet."
Troy snorted incredulously. "Clearly, you were so busy with Loooove," again with the excessive syllable stretching. "He's probably spending all day long staring at you and thanking his good fortune that you agreed to marry him."
"Troy, stop, we just got married a day ago... Jeffrey doesn't do that..." She called him Troy. Her voice was full of glee. He thought he heard her pushing at him playfully.
"He doesn't do it when you look!" Troy clearly thought it was the punch line because he was doubled over with laughter.
Jeff frowned and shook his head. What just happened? Was he jealous of Troy? Troy was only a boy. His right hand man, too. And he was very friendly, but harmlessly so.
Besides, Annie wasn't Jeff's beloved.
Just his wife.
"And good afternoon to you," he announced, finally entering the room.
Annie sat on the chair, her face flushed and her eyes twinkling merrily. Her hands took hold of her face. "Jeffrey!" Her pitch was a bit too high. "We were just speaking about you!"
Troy nodded. "Speaking of the devil..."
"Troy, I'll be grateful if you don't call me the devil in front of my wife." He said it in good part, and her eyes leaped to his.
"She'll find out sooner or later..." Troy continued to think he was funny. The boy was wiping mirthful tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Ha ha. Hilarious." Jeff wondered if he should kiss her, perhaps on the cheek. That's what married couples do when they see each other, right?
"Troy, come on." Annie pleaded, her voice still filled with laughter. "He actually told me good things about you, Jeffrey..." He decided to lay his hand on her shoulder and immediately regretted it. This is so awkward... he pulled his hand away. "What..." He cleared his throat. "What did Troy say?"
"He told me how you became the sheriff. Wow, what a story! I didn't know you were so brave." She gave him a look and his confidence returned like the high tide when he thought, heroic tales certainly do it for her. Should keep in mind for future use.
"Yeah, well, you know me. Humility is my middle name." he flashed a smile at her which made her giggle behind her palm, and he knew they were back on track, the one where she smiles at him, laughs with him, interested in him.
She sat up in her chair and stood. "I came here to tell you that I decided to go back to teaching."
"Oh." He thought about it for a moment. "I didn't know you wanted to quit."
"Because I didn't know myself," she admitted quietly.
Troy elegantly slipped out of the room while Annie told Jeff about her curious meeting that morning, with the over-emotional mayor and his highly-practical sister. She chose not to tell him about the way the thin man gushed in front of her. It seemed too personal.
"Good." He said, "This is good, I think. If that's what you want, I have no problem with it."
"Are you sure?" She inquired, her eyes examining his face.
"Of course, why should there be a problem?"
"Well..." Women in Thornton never worked if they had husbands who could provide for them. Work was for men, or for women of little means. Annie was odd one out because she wanted to work and didn't think it a disgrace, and so she was delighted to see that women in Greendale took up a large percentage of the professionals in town. "If I work I will have less time to cook and sew," she said at last.
"You don't have to cook and sew for me, Annie, if that's the problem. I managed quite fine before you and I'll be fine in the future. I can repair my own socks," he rolled his eyes.
"But I want to do it!" She blushed and lowered her eyes when she realized her voice was quite loud. "I promised you I'd be a good wife, didn't I? I always keep my promises, Jeffrey."
He sighed and came up to her, taking her hand in his. "I'm sure of that, Annie. But you shouldn't worry. I don't have high expectations, you know I didn't marry you so that you'll repair my clothes." Her slender fingers tightened in his, and her eyes were still downcast. Why was she embarrassed? He couldn't figure her out.
"Annie, whatever you want to do is what's best for you, and that's what's best for me. Whatever you choose will be fine." Since she wouldn't look at him he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face to his. She bit her lip and studied his face, finally nodding.
"Okay. I believe you." Her voice was lower than she'd intended. They were so close and his heat radiated all over her body. She felt her blood pumping through her veins as she looked straight into his intense gaze. She saw his face like that last night too, only now the afternoon light was illuminating him fully and she wondered how he could be so soft and so tough at the same time, how it could be possible.
She stood on her tiptoes, getting closer to his face just one inch more, but was hesitant to move any closer. He didn't respond so well the last time she had kissed him.
Fortunately she didn't have to continue to flounder, because he closed the distance between them himself. His mouth descended to hers and she gasped with relief when she finally got to taste him again. This time he tasted of salt and sand and sun, and she couldn't refrain from reaching for his shoulders, clutching him. He growled beneath her mouth, but never stopped kissing her as he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up, and she didn't realize he was moving her until she felt the table beneath her.
"Jeffrey," she gasped, but he did not lay her down, as she expected him to do, but rather kept on kissing her sitting on the table, his hands massaging her back and shoulders and neck. His lips left her mouth and she breathed deeply, only to feel his kisses on her cheeks and down her throat. Her fingers curled into his shirt, and she shifted her neck to give him easy access to her skin. She wanted to feel his hands all over her, but they fixed themselves on her waist and stayed there. Jeffrey, maybe this isn't the place to... she thought she had said. She was surprised when instead of words she sighed again, when his lips nibbled at her earlobe.
A loud clearing of the throat from the second room pulled them out of the trance. Jeffrey froze, his hands slipped from her waist and lips left her skin. He stepped away, his eyes large and alarmed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. She was still breathing fast herself, and she wondered if her eyes were like soup saucers as well. She brought a hand to her thundering heart.
She ran a shaky hand over her hair and was relieved to find not a hair was out of place. The sheriff was still a picture of terror and now he was also slowly backing away.
"Yeah, okay. Teacher. Great," he said, and it took her a moment to realize what he was saying.
She jumped off the table (really, what was that about?) and nodded. "Yes, thank you. Good. And I, uh, I'd love it if you'd distribute to the children and mothers that school will be back on Thursday." She was still struggling to restore her breath to normal speed.
"Yes, I'll do that. I'll definitely do that." He was so uncomfortable that it actually became amusing. She took a step toward him, just to see what he will do. He stopped at the door and called, his eyes still holding hers, "Troy, we're going for a walk!"
"No problem, Chief!"
"Bye Annie." He turned and disappeared before she could answer him.
"Bye," she murmured.
Jeff left the office in long strides, but Troy wasn't falling behind, especially since it meant an opportunity to tease his boss.
"Don't say a word -"
"Oooh, did you want to stay a little longer? You know, you could've told me, I would've gone and left you two alone."
"There was no need for that. We are going to inform the children that their teacher is back."
"Nice!" Troy was nearly skipping. "You know what I've noticed, Chief?"
"What?"
"That the Mrs. calls you by a very particular nickname..."
"What?" Jeff frowned and shifted his gaze to his deputy, whose smile was so broad that Jeff was imagining sticking a spoon in it. She didn't call him by any nickname, he was sure of it.
"Jeefff-rreyy..."
Jeff groaned.
"Why, I think it's sweet."
"It's not a nickname..." he grumbled. "I told her to call me that. She won't call me that forever."
"I'm sure." Troy patted his shoulder. "I'm sure. Jeffrey." He chuckled to himself.
Jeff rolled his eyes.
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