Sharing Corrie

Chapter Sixteen

Corrie's slippers pattered on the cobblestone street as she escaped the church. Her heart ricocheted in her rib cage, and her breathing grew so ragged that she was forced to slow to a walk. What was I thinking? Perhaps she had not been thinking at all. Dr. Benjamin had done no wrong; he had treated her with civility, mercy, and nothing more. No, she was in the wrong; she had allowed feelings to develop for the doctor without even realizing it.

Her heart slowed when she reached her house and escaped to her room. What was I thinking? Not only had she allowed feelings to develop for the doctor, she had also run from the church and thus publicly displayed her guilt. Everyone would have noticed her quick departure and Dr. Benjamin left standing alone in her wake. What must he think of her now, leaving him abandoned on the dance floor in the middle of a party? Corrie felt a wave of shame for her indecorous behavior. One moment she had been swearing her fealty to Edwin, and the next she'd been dancing with the doctor and letting her mind dwell on his every admirable trait.

What was it about the humble doctor that encouraged her to abandon all common sense? Corrie sat on the edge of the bed, back ramrod straight. She was not prone to strong emotion, yet she had just fled from the church in front of the whole town. Perhaps it's his kindness, she mused. However, had Edwin not been kind to her as well? Perhaps his kindness took a different form, but he had given her a typewriter for her birthday. That had been no small gift.

Corrie's fingers itched for her pen to transcribe her wandering thoughts to paper and attempt to make sense of them, but she refused to humor the ill begotten sentiments any longer. Corrie gathered every burgeoning feeling for the young doctor and pressed them deeper inside of her, to the very bottom of her rib cage where she decided they would never have the opportunity to resurface. If that meant setting aside her writing for a few days or weeks or however long it took these feelings to subside, so be it.

"Cornelia?" the shrill voice of her mother sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

Corrie squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. After her conversation with her father and his insinuations about her motivations for courting Edwin, she wasn't ready to face her parents and their further accusations about her behavior this evening. They would want her to cleave to Edwin come hell or high water for the sake of money and political clout, and they would see her flushed flight from Dr. Benjamin tonight as a warning sign for her courtship with Edwin.

"Cornelia?"
With a sigh, she rose from the bed and walked to the top of the staircase. "Yes?"

"Your father and I need to have a word with you."
Corrie descended the stairs to find her parents standing in the sitting room with pinched expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" Corrie asked in a strangled voice.

"What was the meaning of your behavior this evening?" her father stormed, face burning red. "Storming out of the party. I never!"

"I'm sorry, Father. I was..." Corrie searched for an excuse. "I was worried about Christina. The doctor expressed concern on her worsening condition."

Anita's face lifted and Corrie sighed in relief. Perhaps they would accept her rationalization and let it go at that.

"Oh, Cornelia, I'm so glad to hear this. I was concerned that there was something going on between you and that doctor friend of yours."
Corrie's face burned as bright as her hair as she struggled for a response. "I'm glad that you're relieved to hear Christina is growing more ill."

"That's...that's not what I meant," her mother stuttered, "I was just concerned that your friendship would prove detrimental to your courtship with Mr. McAlister."