Loving Eleanor(BWWM)

Chapter Twelve

Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Date: November 15th, 1949
Name: Stephen Dale Curtis
Age: thirty-nine

"-heck are you?" A short colored man asked Dale with a baseball bat in his hand.

Dale almost chuckled at the baseball bat in the man's hand, but he assumed that this was Eleanor's father, so he didn't.

"I'm Stephen Curtis, Eleanor's Professor," Dale said and the man closed the door in his face.

Dale stood at the door confused by what just happened, but then the door opened and he was greeted by the man, and this time he had no baseball bat.

"Come in," The man said and Dale walked into the house. "What are you doing here so late at night?" He asked while walking to the living room.

Dale ran his fingers through his hair and followed the man to the couch. "I need to speak with Eleanor, sir." He took a seat and the man narrowed his eyes at him.

Just as he was about to speak, a short colored woman walked in the room. "Eleanor isn't okay, Leroy. I'm making her stay home from school for the next few days," She said and sighed.

"What's wrong with Eleanor? What happened to her? Did she get hurt?" Dale asked before he could stop himself. He just had to know.

Mildred jumped at the sound of a new voice and turned to see the white man she saw leaving her house one month ago. "You must be Professor Curtis. I'm Mildred and this is my husband, Leroy," She said kindly, but still, a little frazzled by his presence.

Dale nodded in acknowledgment to both of them, but he wanted to know that Eleanor wasn't hurt. "Nice to meet you both, how is Eleanor?" He asked, pressing for an answer.

Mildred smiled at his concern. Though she was put off by the aged look of the man. "She's a little upset. Earlier someone said something that hurt her," She explained.

Dale was pissed off at the idea of someone hurting Eleanor's feelings. His fist clenched at Mildred's words. "Can I see her?" He asked.

Mildred and Leroy locked eyes and Leroy nodded. "Yes, she's this way," Mildred said and Dale followed her to Eleanor's bedroom.

"We'll be waiting out here," Mildred said once they made it to Eleanor's door.

Dale nodded and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Eleanor yelled hoarsely, which made Dale's heart stutter. He missed her more than he imagined.

Opening the door, Dale walked in and he spotted Eleanor in the bed. She looked so heartbroken.

"Norah," He breathed out and her eyes widened at the sight before her. She was beyond surprised to see Dale.

Eleanor turned away from Dale and hid her face from him. She didn't want him to see her like that, and she was still insecure from Michael's comment about her.

"Don't hide your face from me, I didn't come all the way from Mississippi to see the back of your head," Dale said in a teasing tone.

Eleanor couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face as she turned back to him. Though Dale was irritating at times, she missed him so much.

"There's that beautiful face," He whispered with a joyful gleam in his eyes, showing her just how much he missed her. "What's wrong?" He asked seriously, making her shrug.

"T-the weather, it's got me a little stuffed up," Eleanor lied and looked away from Dale's mesmerizing blue eyes.

Dale shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "You're lying, tell me what's wrong," He muttered and waited for Eleanor to tell him the truth.