Chapter Eight
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"Good Morning Mrs. McCawley."
"Good Morning Mr. McCawley"
Rafe and Ella had just awoken in their own bed for the first time as a married couple. Rafe's parents had left two days after the wedding and both were glad to have their own room back. Because of the war they were unable to travel for their honeymoon, but hey they were in the honeymoon capital of the world. ***********************************************************************
"Give me the number for an Ella Carraway."
"555-1212, sir."
"And the address?"
"In Manhattan sir, Pansy drive, number 41."
"Thanks"
Steve Holloway was not going to give up. He loved Ella and, he had lost her once, he wasn't going to lose her again. He was her first love, her only love.
He picked up the phone and decided not to call, just drive over there. He walked out of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and hailed a cab. ************************************************************************
"Can I help you?" Mary said as she opened the door to a very well dressed stranger on the front porch.
"Yes you can, I'm Steve Holloway, I'm looking for Ella Carraway. Is she in?"
Mary thought, Ella had never mentioned anyone named Steve before.
"Um Ella hasn't mentioned you before, Steve, have you known her long?"
"Oh yes we attended Yorkshire Academy in England together, out parents were friends in Philadelphia. Is she here?"
"No, she moved to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. I have the address right here." She said as she copied Ella's new address in Hawaii. ************************************************************************
A week later Ella was washing the dishes at the sink, while Danny and Grace sat at the table coloring, well Danny was coloring, and Grace was trying to eat the crayons.
"Ding Donggggggggggg" the doorbell sounded throughout the house.
"Who could that be? It's to early to be your mommy?" She said to the kids as she pulled the apron off and tossed it on the chair in the kitchen. She moved quickly to the foyer to answer the door. The inside door was open; she approached the screen door cautiously.
"Can I help you?"
"Oh Elle, that hurts, you don't recognize me?" The man at the door was wearing a tacky tourist shirt, kaki pants and sunglasses, smiling a cocky smile.
"Steve?" She questioned.
"Yeah it's me."
"WHAT are you doing here?"
"Aren't you going to let me in?" He said as he forced his way passed her.
"Why are you here?" Ella said as her eyes filled up.
"Well Elle, I wasn't happy. I missed you. I want you."
As he said that Danny came into the room.
"Aunt Ella Gracie's crying. She wants you."
"Aunt?" Steve demanded.
Ella shrugged Steve's question off and headed for the kitchen, Steve in tow. She picked Grace up and bounced her as she went to the freezer for an orange juice popsicle she and the kids had made the day before, Grace was teething and it was the only thing that could console her. She handed the popsicle to her and placed her back into the highchair.
"Danny, do me a favor hon? Go upstairs to my bedroom and call Rafe and tell him to come home right now."
"Sure" Danny said and took off running.
Ella walked out the back door and sat on the porch, taking Grace with her. Not surprisingly, Steve followed. She sat the baby down and stood up.
"Steve I'm married. Whatever fantasy you wanted to carry out by coming here isn't going to happen. I am at no one's beck and call, you have no idea how upset I was when I found out I was hurting Mary Catherine. You never told me you had married her! I am not going to be anyone's mistress!"
Danny had gone back to coloring in the kitchen and yelled, "He says he is on his way Aunt Ella"
"I thought you would wait for me? Ella I love you! I thought you loved me!"
"I did love you Steve! I was sixteen you were my school girl crush! I thought you actually cared about me! But no! You were married to my best friend who just so happened to fall out of contact with me. For god's sake Steve she was having your baby!"
Rafe hearing yelling from the back porch hurried through the house. He walked onto the porch to see his wife and a stranger in a very heated argument.
"Is everything okay here Ella? Danny told me you needed me when he called?"
"No Rafe everything isn't okay. This is Steven Holloway, I knew him when I was younger. He just came here to 'reclaim' me his lost love." She said as she rolled her eyes.
Rafe decided to be polite. "I'm Rafe McCawley. You know my wife?"
"Yes, she and I met as children, our parents being members of high society we were forced to bond. Then, she started at Yorkshire."
"Yorkshire?" Rafe interrupted.
"Yorkshire Academy? In England. And to put it lightly she had a crush on me. After I graduated I moved to London to start my business. Ella escorted me to many a gala and ball. Then I had to go to India on business. I didn't see Ella till I got back to Philadelphia two years later. Ella was quite grown up then." Steve drawled leisurely.
"Yeah well what Steve is neglecting to tell you Rafe is that while he was in India he married my best friend Mary Catherine McQueen. I, under the impression that he was still single dated him for months, waiting for a proposal. Then one day I ran into Mary Catherine, which was just the thing Steve didn't want to happen. She told me all about how she and Steve met, married, and were expecting a baby. Needless to say I told her about this lying, cheating, sack of scum!"
"Hi guys I'm here for the kids!" Evelyn yelled from the kitchen, she stopped to see what Danny had been drawing, then proceeded to the porch.
"Oh sorry for interrupting!" Evelyn said realizing that Ella and Rafe had company.
"No Ev, don't worry about it, Mr. Holloway was just leaving, weren't you Steve."
"No I wasn't Ella. "
"I'm just going to go, see you all later." Evelyn said as she picked up Grace and walked out.
"Ella wouldn't your parents love to see you now. They're probably rolling in their graves as we speak. You know as well as I do you and I would more then likely be married with 3.5 kids right now if it wasn't for their tragic demise."
"What are you talking about Steve! My parents wouldn't be rolling in their graves!"
"Sure they would Ella. They wanted to see you marry well. Your father and my father had a deal. You would marry me and we would be the couple of high society. But no, You had to go marry Mr. I'm a Pilot in the Army I Make No Money.
That was it Ella freaked out.
"Get out of my house. You have no right to insult my husband like that. You don't even know him Steve. He is a better husband then you can ever be. Get out now or the police will throw you out."
"Fine Ella I'll leave. But when you see what you can't have, remember you could have had me!"
That was it. Rafe hit him as hard as he could right in the face. Steve stumbled, blood streaming from his nose. He walked off the porch onto the beach and out onto the sidewalk.
"Stay away from my house and my wife you son of a bitch!" Rafe yelled after him.
Ella fell into Rafe's arms sobbing. "Shh Elle, it's okay, it's okay. He's gone honey. "
"Oh Rafe I was so scared. And the children, I was afraid they would get scared if I yelled."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here baby, It's gonna be okay."
"Rafe I don't believe a word he said about my father betrothing me to him. He probably thought if he married me I would come with a big dowry, which is to be expected in upper class families, his family was having financial problems, they were going to lose their estate."
"It's okay sweetie. It doesn't matter, you are mine and no one else's." Rafe said as he rocked her slowly. ************************************************************************
Ella awoke in bed, although the last thing she remembered was crying into Rafe's chest. Rafe must have carried her to bed last night. She got up and went downstairs not bothering to get dressed. Rafe was on the porch with the newspaper. Ella went outside and straddled Rafe's legs, He was stretched out on a chaise.
"Hey baby, I'm sorry about yesterday." Ella told him.
"Why you didn't do anything."
"I was so emotional, I don't know why. I hate Steve."
"Good Morning Mrs. McCawley."
"Good Morning Mr. McCawley"
Rafe and Ella had just awoken in their own bed for the first time as a married couple. Rafe's parents had left two days after the wedding and both were glad to have their own room back. Because of the war they were unable to travel for their honeymoon, but hey they were in the honeymoon capital of the world. ***********************************************************************
"Give me the number for an Ella Carraway."
"555-1212, sir."
"And the address?"
"In Manhattan sir, Pansy drive, number 41."
"Thanks"
Steve Holloway was not going to give up. He loved Ella and, he had lost her once, he wasn't going to lose her again. He was her first love, her only love.
He picked up the phone and decided not to call, just drive over there. He walked out of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and hailed a cab. ************************************************************************
"Can I help you?" Mary said as she opened the door to a very well dressed stranger on the front porch.
"Yes you can, I'm Steve Holloway, I'm looking for Ella Carraway. Is she in?"
Mary thought, Ella had never mentioned anyone named Steve before.
"Um Ella hasn't mentioned you before, Steve, have you known her long?"
"Oh yes we attended Yorkshire Academy in England together, out parents were friends in Philadelphia. Is she here?"
"No, she moved to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. I have the address right here." She said as she copied Ella's new address in Hawaii. ************************************************************************
A week later Ella was washing the dishes at the sink, while Danny and Grace sat at the table coloring, well Danny was coloring, and Grace was trying to eat the crayons.
"Ding Donggggggggggg" the doorbell sounded throughout the house.
"Who could that be? It's to early to be your mommy?" She said to the kids as she pulled the apron off and tossed it on the chair in the kitchen. She moved quickly to the foyer to answer the door. The inside door was open; she approached the screen door cautiously.
"Can I help you?"
"Oh Elle, that hurts, you don't recognize me?" The man at the door was wearing a tacky tourist shirt, kaki pants and sunglasses, smiling a cocky smile.
"Steve?" She questioned.
"Yeah it's me."
"WHAT are you doing here?"
"Aren't you going to let me in?" He said as he forced his way passed her.
"Why are you here?" Ella said as her eyes filled up.
"Well Elle, I wasn't happy. I missed you. I want you."
As he said that Danny came into the room.
"Aunt Ella Gracie's crying. She wants you."
"Aunt?" Steve demanded.
Ella shrugged Steve's question off and headed for the kitchen, Steve in tow. She picked Grace up and bounced her as she went to the freezer for an orange juice popsicle she and the kids had made the day before, Grace was teething and it was the only thing that could console her. She handed the popsicle to her and placed her back into the highchair.
"Danny, do me a favor hon? Go upstairs to my bedroom and call Rafe and tell him to come home right now."
"Sure" Danny said and took off running.
Ella walked out the back door and sat on the porch, taking Grace with her. Not surprisingly, Steve followed. She sat the baby down and stood up.
"Steve I'm married. Whatever fantasy you wanted to carry out by coming here isn't going to happen. I am at no one's beck and call, you have no idea how upset I was when I found out I was hurting Mary Catherine. You never told me you had married her! I am not going to be anyone's mistress!"
Danny had gone back to coloring in the kitchen and yelled, "He says he is on his way Aunt Ella"
"I thought you would wait for me? Ella I love you! I thought you loved me!"
"I did love you Steve! I was sixteen you were my school girl crush! I thought you actually cared about me! But no! You were married to my best friend who just so happened to fall out of contact with me. For god's sake Steve she was having your baby!"
Rafe hearing yelling from the back porch hurried through the house. He walked onto the porch to see his wife and a stranger in a very heated argument.
"Is everything okay here Ella? Danny told me you needed me when he called?"
"No Rafe everything isn't okay. This is Steven Holloway, I knew him when I was younger. He just came here to 'reclaim' me his lost love." She said as she rolled her eyes.
Rafe decided to be polite. "I'm Rafe McCawley. You know my wife?"
"Yes, she and I met as children, our parents being members of high society we were forced to bond. Then, she started at Yorkshire."
"Yorkshire?" Rafe interrupted.
"Yorkshire Academy? In England. And to put it lightly she had a crush on me. After I graduated I moved to London to start my business. Ella escorted me to many a gala and ball. Then I had to go to India on business. I didn't see Ella till I got back to Philadelphia two years later. Ella was quite grown up then." Steve drawled leisurely.
"Yeah well what Steve is neglecting to tell you Rafe is that while he was in India he married my best friend Mary Catherine McQueen. I, under the impression that he was still single dated him for months, waiting for a proposal. Then one day I ran into Mary Catherine, which was just the thing Steve didn't want to happen. She told me all about how she and Steve met, married, and were expecting a baby. Needless to say I told her about this lying, cheating, sack of scum!"
"Hi guys I'm here for the kids!" Evelyn yelled from the kitchen, she stopped to see what Danny had been drawing, then proceeded to the porch.
"Oh sorry for interrupting!" Evelyn said realizing that Ella and Rafe had company.
"No Ev, don't worry about it, Mr. Holloway was just leaving, weren't you Steve."
"No I wasn't Ella. "
"I'm just going to go, see you all later." Evelyn said as she picked up Grace and walked out.
"Ella wouldn't your parents love to see you now. They're probably rolling in their graves as we speak. You know as well as I do you and I would more then likely be married with 3.5 kids right now if it wasn't for their tragic demise."
"What are you talking about Steve! My parents wouldn't be rolling in their graves!"
"Sure they would Ella. They wanted to see you marry well. Your father and my father had a deal. You would marry me and we would be the couple of high society. But no, You had to go marry Mr. I'm a Pilot in the Army I Make No Money.
That was it Ella freaked out.
"Get out of my house. You have no right to insult my husband like that. You don't even know him Steve. He is a better husband then you can ever be. Get out now or the police will throw you out."
"Fine Ella I'll leave. But when you see what you can't have, remember you could have had me!"
That was it. Rafe hit him as hard as he could right in the face. Steve stumbled, blood streaming from his nose. He walked off the porch onto the beach and out onto the sidewalk.
"Stay away from my house and my wife you son of a bitch!" Rafe yelled after him.
Ella fell into Rafe's arms sobbing. "Shh Elle, it's okay, it's okay. He's gone honey. "
"Oh Rafe I was so scared. And the children, I was afraid they would get scared if I yelled."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here baby, It's gonna be okay."
"Rafe I don't believe a word he said about my father betrothing me to him. He probably thought if he married me I would come with a big dowry, which is to be expected in upper class families, his family was having financial problems, they were going to lose their estate."
"It's okay sweetie. It doesn't matter, you are mine and no one else's." Rafe said as he rocked her slowly. ************************************************************************
Ella awoke in bed, although the last thing she remembered was crying into Rafe's chest. Rafe must have carried her to bed last night. She got up and went downstairs not bothering to get dressed. Rafe was on the porch with the newspaper. Ella went outside and straddled Rafe's legs, He was stretched out on a chaise.
"Hey baby, I'm sorry about yesterday." Ella told him.
"Why you didn't do anything."
"I was so emotional, I don't know why. I hate Steve."