Chapter 29
As Catherine lay in bed a little later trying to get her mind quiet enough for sleep, she couldn't help but think about Vincent. No man in her life, other than her father, had even been as kind to her as Vincent had. But thoughts of Vincent did not evoke the same feelings as a father would. She eagerly looked forward to every planned meeting. Her thoughts were often about him even when they weren't together. She would find herself thinking about and planning their next meeting. Whenever she heard that knock on her balcony door, her heart would jump with excitement. Since meeting Vincent every thought she had about the future had him in it. Now with her choice to keep the baby and Vincent's offer to be the father in their family unit, she only knew how 'right' the idea felt.
Could she be falling in love with Vincent? Every time she thought of him, a warm flush would come over her and she certainly enjoyed every embrace they had shared so far. Of course it hadn't gone beyond the hugging stage yet, but thoughts of it doing so were quite exciting. She wondered how his unique mouth would feel on hers.
Wow! She was thinking about kissing Vincent! Maybe she was falling for him!
More thoughts along that line might have been forthcoming if she hadn't been so tired that she could no longer keep her eyes open.
The next morning Catherine decided that a shopping trip was the best way to keep her mind off of Vincent. As she shopped, she found out how wrong she had been. As she ordered the readers for the children, she thought of Vincent teaching them to read. Maybe one day the child she was carrying would be in that class too.
When she moved on to the yarn shop to help supply Mary and her knitters, Catherine could not help but wonder how every color she chose would look on Vincent, or how the softness would feel against his skin. She didn't even blink when her purchase total came to just over one thousand dollars.
Then she moved on to the meat market. She knew that Vincent would be upset with the expense of her plan, but meat every day was just something she took for granted and she didn't want his family to go without. The butcher at the market could not believe the order she placed, but was very glad to fill it and abide by her directions for delivery. On the first of the month he was to butcher and package up an entire cow, and then on the 15th of the month he was to do the same with a pig. The order was all to be delivered to Mr. Lee's tea shop and he was never to reveal who had placed the order. Once he had everything written down as she asked, Catherine added that she wanted this done every month until he was instructed to stop. She gave him her credit card and told him to keep a running bill.
Even as she was ordering the meat she could not keep thoughts of Vincent from her mind. How he and the community would enjoy it and the fact that he would most likely figure out where it came from without any effort. Catherine knew that he would be shocked and upset at the amount of meat that would arrive in the first delivery. She knew that he would end up scolding her for what she had done and could only imagine what would happen when the deliveries kept coming.
However, she needed to put those thoughts from her mind and concentrate on how she was going to handle lunch with Jenny. By the time she'd finished her shopping it was time to meet her friend.
Unlike Catherine, Jenny never seemed to be late for anything or at least that Catherine was aware of in all the time they had known each other. So it was no surprise to her that Jenny was already seated at a table when Catherine arrived at the restaurant.
"Sorry I'm late Jenny," she said in a rush as she hurried up to the table.
"I'm used to it!" her friend laughed as she rose, hugged her, and then sat back down. "Since I only get an hour for lunch I already ordered. Because you shouldn't have caffeine or alcohol I thought about ordering you milk, but then thought it would be too cliché. Anyway, I ordered you sparkling water and a house salad," Jenny added in triumph.
To be continued….