thequitecontrary | A Bath and More

Mary was supposed to meet Steve for afternoon drinks at a bar in his part of town, which Mary was happy to describe as 'working class' and not seedy in any way. It had taken a bit of convincing to be allowed out without a chaperone. Consequently, Martha knew about Mary's late night outings with Steve. The old woman was no fool. They had a sit down conversation about it, in which Martha acknowledged that Mary was a young lady, old enough to be considered an adult who would make her own choices. Her only advice was that Mary be discreet and not do anything that might get her into trouble. Martha realized that it was a new world after the war and that women were expressing their freedoms, her own granddaughter among them. If Mary wanted to be out with a man, so be it. Have her dalliances. But be careful. Apparently, Martha did not see this relationship in the long term.

Mary saw it a bit differently. She and Steve had spent a lot of time together and she could tell that she was starting to fall for him. They had fun together and he made her feel comfortable. He was kind and courteous and always a gentleman. He made her laugh and he made her think. And of course, he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. The only thing that may have made him unsuitable was his social class.

Steve arrived a bit late to their meeting and Mary was dismayed to find him covered in engine grease. He apologized profusely and said that he'd had to do some unexpected work on the airplanes. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his work clothes since he knew that he was going to have to take a bath. Mary was invited back to his flat while he cleaned himself up.

She was excited to get to see where he lived. The building was nondescript, and they climbed two flights of stairs inside before he let her into one of the apartments. Mary looked around as they entered. It was humble, but clean and tidy. At least he wasn't crammed into one of those tenements.

"It's lovely," she said, honestly meaning it, even if she couldn't picture herself living in a place like this.

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"Actually, no," Mary replied. "It has helped me. I know how to approach my father about it now. You are a decorated US soldier who has a successful career." And that was exactly how she was going to frame her unconventional choice, by listing every practical and positive thing that she could about Steve so that her father would have no points left to argue. Mary would convince him to see her side eventually.

"Edith and I have never gotten along," she continued. "We've always been rather nasty to each other." And after she wrote to the paper about the Pamuk affair, Mary didn't see that changing any time soon.

Steve nodded at her explanation, smiling in slight amusement to the spin she put on her words. They weren't a lie, obviously, and it made perfect sense for her to focus on the more positive aspects about him, when there was already so much about him her parents would frown upon. Her father more so than her mother, Steve would wager. "Suppose that's right, yes."

Getting them some juice to drink, he sat down on the table, arching an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry to hear," he said, though he evidently didn't know the whole story. "Maybe it'll change in the future. Family's important."

"It's absolutely right," Mary said. "My father taught me to be a rational human being. I'm sure he never imagined that it would be used against him though."

She nodded, conceding that family was indeed important. That was why her father's approval meant a lot to her. "What about your family?" she asked tentatively. Steve hadn't talked much about them, but that didn't mean Mary wasn't curious to know.

"Well, you can be pretty sharp like that. I'm sure he knows you well enough that he won't be terribly surprised." Steve said it fondly, though. Mary was bright and resourceful, and while she was still conservative in some things, she knew how to make the best of her situation and use any and all tools and resources at her disposal. And if she happened to be doing that just to get Steve to be accepted by her family, then he sure as Hell wasn't about to complain.

He shook his head at her question, getting together a cheese sandwich for himself. "No one. Some distant cousins back in Illinois at best, but none I'm that close to. Can't even remember most of their names off the top of my head."

"No... mother and father?" Mary felt like she was treading on shaky ground, but it was information she wanted to know at some point. If now wasn't the time, she could understand that, but it mattered to her and she cared. "What happened to them?"

Steve shook his head around a mouthful of bread, not looking particularly bothered by the topic. If she wanted to know, though, then he would share. "My father's dead. Died before the war. I'm not sure where my mother is, or what she's been up to, but she's no longer in Illinois. Not that I know of. I moved away from home very young, when I joined the military."

Mary furrowed her brow as she looked at him. "Your mother... left?" She had trouble understanding that. Why would a mother leave her child? She couldn't imagine ever leaving a child of hers and not knowing what happened to them.

"After my father died," he clarified, in case she thought she had left while Steve was still a child. That hadn't quite been the case. "Their house... I think she could have never brought herself to stay there without my father, is all. We managed to stay in touch for a while, but with the war... I don't even know where to send any letters to, anymore."

Mary reached across the table and took his hand in hers. At least it wasn't when he was a child. She wouldn't have been able to bear that. "I'm sorry. Do you miss her?"

Why hadn't she tried to find him? Mary couldn't imagine never speaking to her mother again.

Steve took her hand, smiling warmly as he weaved his fingers through hers. "Sometimes," he admitted with a shrug. He hadn't seen her in a while, but she was his mother, and Steve had many fond memories of her. "Miss my father, too. But that's life."

He hesitated for a moment, thumb brushing across her palm, then finally decided to add. "Guess you're my family now. In a way."

Mary's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Am I?"

That wasn't a proposal of marriage and she wasn't sure if he even intended it to be, but by saying she was his family, that was the manner in which she took it.

"Of course," Steve answered easily. "You're my sweetheart, Mary, and I want to marry you."

To him that was as good as family— even if didn't work out in the end, or she didn't want to marry him for whatever reason. His friends were close enough that he'd consider them brothers too, but they were too far away right now. Though hopefully he'd get to see more of them when he went back to England.

She smiled. It wasn't an official proposal, but it was a promise. Mary liked that.

"I want to marry you as well, and maybe then you can be part of my family."

If they accepted him. Mary hoped that it wouldn't be as much of a fight as she was dreading it would. Hopefully her father would listen to rational arguments.

He didn't even have a ring with him, and besides, he wanted it to be a more special occasion. Not that making love for the first time wasn't special, but Steve wanted to do a bit more. He wasn't sure what just yet, but he did know that he wanted to propose, so that was a start.

"I'd like that very much."

And maybe he was being too much of an optimist, but much like Mary, he was hoping it wouldn't go so terribly. Knowing that one of Mary's sisters had married a chauffeur at least let him know that it wasn't a completely impossible feat. Whatever obstacles on their way, they would find some way to work through them together.

A Bath and More

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