Married Life
By
18lzytwner
Chapter 1
Jean was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her hand as if she hadn't seen the ring that graced her finger before. She'd been wearing it for almost a year and yet somehow it didn't seem real. Matthew and Lucien were already off to work – some poor person needed justice just the day after she and Lucien had returned from their honeymoon.
The honeymoon – four months of just being a couple. No work, no distractions, and no drama. Just the two of them enjoying a trip around Europe learning a few new things about each other and somehow behaving like teenagers at times. There had been some apprehension on her part – not because she didn't love Lucien – far from it. She never thought that the hole left by Christopher's death during World War II would be filled. Well never completely filled - her first husband would always hold a special place in her heart. They had a good life and two sons, that was something that would never go away. Lucien filled a need that she hadn't even realized existed.
After Christopher's death she didn't really date because on some level, it felt like betraying her first husband. Maybe that was silly – it wasn't like there was an affair. Christopher would never come home – not in the true sense. His body was somewhere in the South West Pacific theatre. She'd had the headstone at their joint plot carved with his date of death and she often visited it, when she wanted to talk to him. It was the only way she could feel connected to him. After his death, she had to sell the farm and most of their belongings to pay off debts and because she could not work a farm by herself. Her boys had no interest and despite his father's death, her older son, Christopher (named for his father), joined the military. Jack… well he was all over the place, something that Jean blamed herself for.
So that first time that she and Lucien had shared a bed, Jean was nervous. Silly, maybe, but she was out of practice and had suddenly become self-conscious. Lucien had seemed to sense her concerns and did not push. What resulted was one of the most sensual, sensory overloading nights either one had ever had. After that, they could barely keep their hands to themselves and even this morning, Matthew almost whacked Lucien with his cane to get his butt moving after breakfast.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and Jean quickly shook the thoughts away before heading to answer it. Lucien did not have any patients scheduled today and the house was all hers since Danny had joined Matthew and Rose was off to work at the paper. Charlie had returned to Ballarat, a full-fledged detective, but there wasn't room at the Blake's house so he'd ended up at the boarding house for the time being.
"Mrs. Blake?" The man at the door asked. He was with a young woman.
"Mr. Clay?" She smiled at him.
"That's me and this is my assistant, Miss Powell. You wanted some help with redecorating and furniture, right?" He asked.
"Indeed, come in," Jean smiled and let them into the house. She led them to the studio. Lucien had taken a long while to unlock it, his mother's death was too painful. Now, it stood to be repurposed, the cause of his mother's death solved and the revelations that came with it.
"So, you want to convert this room into a master bedroom? Does the house not have one?" Mr. Clay asked. He was tall and lanky; his black broad rimmed glasses made his bright blue eyes stand out. Jean figured that he was her age though as he had grey hair starting to mix in with his brown hair.
"It does have one, but we have let our good friend Matthew take it. The room allows him to move around better with his cane. The other bedrooms are small once the beds went in," Jean explained. She left out the part that Lucien wanted no part of that room – somehow unable to see himself in the same room his parents once slept in and his father died in.
"Oh, that would do it. So, we're needing something to act as closet space. I'm not thinking you want this wood paneling removed for that though?" Mr. Clay wondered.
"Wardrobes perhaps? While we might be using it as a bedroom, I imagine that it won't always stay that way," Jean admitted. She did not want to think about her and Lucien not being able to be at home together but whoever would be selling the house years from now would probably want to turn it back into the amazing room it was now.
"Hmmm… so two wardrobes – same number of dressers?" He asked.
"To start with," Jean nodded.
"Queen or King sized bed? A complete set, yes?" Mr. Clay wanted to know.
"Queen please and yes we'll need frame and mattress," Jean said.
"Ok – what is the intention for the couch?" The interior designer looked at the leather, marveling that it seemed in good shape, given its age.
"Honestly, I have no idea. It was barely used prior to the room being shut up so I'll have to check with Lucien," she admitted.
"Not to worry. Did you want to make the decision about furniture selection together? I imagine the Doctor is pretty busy and I know some husbands just let their wives handle these kinds of things," Mr. Clay said.
"We're a team and he would like to be included in the selection. If you could get a few ideas together though that would be appreciated. We've not picked out furniture before," Jean said.
"Totally understandable. A couple of days and I'll have options together. Now, were you thinking about the curtains and carpeting?" He wondered.
"Yes please," Jean smiled.
"We just need to take some measurements and then we should be good to go," Mr. Clay smiled back.
"Excellent," Jean said as she heard the phone ring. She quickly excused herself and ran down the hall to the phone. Taking a note from one of Lucien's patients, she returned to the studio.
"I did forget to ask about the doorway. We can make sure that you can lock that the normal way. I'm guessing sliding doors for a bedroom…" he trailed off.
"Good plan. I'll be sure to mention that when Lucien gets home tonight," she tried not to blush, though she noticed that Miss Powell was blushing.
"Great. I'll give you a call in a few days," Mr. Clay smiled and Jean showed them to the door. Once they were gone, Jean went upstairs to her old bedroom. Danny had taken it over for the time being, but the poor boy was living out of his suitcase. She fetched a few items from the closet and the dresser and then headed back down to Lucien's room. Well, their room for now. Once they vacated, Charlie would take the room so he could get out of the boarding house. Somehow, despite not having children of their own, their house was full.
"Maybe we need to think about adding another bathroom," Jean said to herself. The phone rang again and she huffed before heading to get it.
"Jean?" It was her beloved.
"Yes Lucien?" She asked.
"I'm afraid I won't be home for lunch. We've got to make a run out to one of the farms outside of town," he told her.
"Appreciate the heads up. You will be home for dinner, right?" She wanted to know.
"Definitely for dessert," Lucien teased.
"Doctor Blake…" Jean chuckled.
"I'll see you later," he promised.
"See you later," she promised.
To Be Continued