“So . . . Mrs. Coleman needs my help. That is clear. Tell me what you want me to do. I will need at least a week with my bankers. Is my presence in America essential?” the old man asked anxiously.
“Only if you wish to be there.”
They talked for hours, these two old friends. When the room became too foul with cigar smoke they adjourned to another. They talked of the old days, his daughters, and his grandchildren. Moss Coleman’s dream would be backed by Hasegawa money. How ironic, Thad thought, that this beautiful human being whom Moss Coleman had detested was going to make his last dream a reality.
“I don’t know how to thank you for your generosity. The return on your investment will be substantial. I guarantee it.”
Hasegawa waved his hand to negate Thad’s words. “Sometimes, Thaddeus, a man’s dreams are all he has. When they are not fulfilled it is most sad. I, for one, never had much use for people who had the power to shatter a man’s dreams. We are to build, to create, to finish. If one cannot do it, then it is up to another to carry on. I do this for Moss Coleman, for his son, whom he loved with all his heart, and for my grandson, whom I love with all my heart. Cannot we say that finally the East has met the West and let it go at that?”
“Very well said,” Thad replied with a catch in his throat. “I think it’s time for me to return to the hotel. Mrs. Coleman might wake and she is most anxious to see her family.”
“Regardless of the time, you are to bring her immediately. She must not wait one minute longer than she must meet her family. Are they not wonderful words?” Shadaharu Hasegawa asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Your promise, Thaddeus.”
“Yes. Until later, old friend.”
“Until later.” Hands were shaken and bows were made.
It was done.
When Billie woke, she lay for long moments thinking about where she was and why she was here in this strange land so far from Sunbridge and Moss’s dream. When her eyes became accustomed to the darkness around her, she reached toward the bedside lamp and turned it on. The digital watch, Japanese-made, read 5:05. The sun would be up soon. She lay still a few moments longer, rested now and in control. She’d shower, dress, apply her makeup, and then call Thad. They could have coffee in the hotel dining room and then make an appearance at her daughter-in-law’s home. At a respectable hour. The Japanese were very particular about the social amenities, or so she had read.
On her way to the bathroom thoughts of Moss skittered through her mind. Later she would have to sort them all out. Betrayal wasn’t something to take lightly. She would get her perspective and deal with it all sometime soon. Nothing was going to mar this visit if she could help it.
The stinging shower woke Billie completely. She wrapped herself in one of the hotel’s plum-colored bath sheets and applied makeup sparingly but deftly.
She called Thad and they agreed to meet in twenty minutes. He sounded wide awake—he’d probably been up for hours, Billie reflected, waiting for her to wake and call him.
Billie shook out the mauve silk dress and hung it in the bathroom to smoothe away the wrinkles. She could dry her hair in five minutes, then dress and be ready to leave.
“Do I look all right, Thad? Am I too dressy or do you think I should wear a suit? I brought one. I don’t want to look overdone but more done, if you know what I mean,” Billie babbled.
“Believe me, you look fine. Beautiful, in fact. The dress is perfect. Now stop worrying. If you keep frowning like that you’re going to get wrinkles, and then what will you do?” Thad said lightly.
Billie stopped in midstride. “But Thad, I already have a few wrinkles.”
“Do you? I hadn’t noticed. To me you look the way you did when I first met you. I’m the one who’s aged. You want wrinkles, you can have all of mine. I’ll gladly share.”
“I really hadn’t noticed,” Billie said seriously as she peered closely at Thad’s face. She laughed nervously and Thad joined in. “I’ll tell you what. You keep yours and I’ll keep mine and then we can both forget about them. I need coffee, Thad. I’m too nervous to eat, though.”
Ninety minutes later the huge iron gate opened to admit Billie and Thad. They were ushered into the house and immediately taken to a formal sitting room where Otami, her parents, and two of her sisters waited. There were greetings and introductions all around. Billie stood rooted to the floor, unable to move in Otami’s direction. A vision of Jessica Coleman holding out her arms to welcome her so long ago flashed before her. A radiant smile and outstretched arms were all Otami needed. She forgot the Japanese way for a moment and ran to Billie. Tears burned Billie’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around Otami. Was it Otami trembling or was it Billie herself? Was that Otami’s heart pounding or her own? Did it matter?
“Please forgive me, Mother Coleman. I have prayed for this moment for so long and now that it is here I am so overcome I have forgotten my manners. Welcome to my home. Riley is on his way from school and will join us within the hour. We wish, my family and I, that you and Uncle Thad will join us for breakfast.”
“There is nothing to forgive. It is I who must ask forgiveness for my husband and myself. I didn’t know. I would never . . . I didn’t know, Otami.”
“I know that, Mother Coleman. You’re here now and that’s all that matters. After breakfast you and I and Riley will talk of your son and my son.” Impulsively, Otami threw her arms around Billie a second time and this time wept openly with happiness. Billie drew her close and kept her arm around Otami’s waist as they made their way to a formal dining room whose table was set Western style.
“In your honor, Mrs. Coleman, we will breakfast in the American manner. My cook is preparing eggs Benedict, pancakes with Vermont maple syrup. Real maple syrup, Thad.” Mr. Hasegawa chuckled.
“You are indeed a man after my own heart. Are you serving that awful green tea or are we having coffee?”
“For you, nothing but the best. I believe it is called Crock of Nuts or some other ridiculous name.”
Otami laughed. “Father, it is Chock Full o’ Nuts. Riley taught me to drink coffee, and when I returned home I had my father import the coffee for us. We drink it all the time. My father is teasing you, Uncle Thad, as you well know.” Her words were directed to Thad but her gaze never left Billie.
“All these females I surround myself with are outnumbering me. Now, before my wife goes up in a puff of smoke, we will talk of the American film stars and what is going on in tissue town.”
“Tinsel town, Father. It is Mother’s only vice. She is perfect in every other way.” Otami smiled. “She has an obsession with the film stars,” she explained to Billie. “Uncle Thad keeps us abreast of what is going on in Hollywood. He sends magazines and pictures and movie reviews. My mother does not speak English but she can understand when Uncle Thad talks of the stars.”
Billie laughed. “Thad, you never told me. What else haven’t you told me?” Instantly she was sorry for the words, even though her tone was light and teasing.
Billie and Otami had eyes only for each other. It was as though neither could get her fill of the other. Thad droned on about Tom Selleck and Kenny Rogers, and both Otami and Billie grinned conspiratorially when Thad started to describe the endowments of Jacqueline Bisset and Dolly Parton. Caught up in the moment, Thad was unaware of the silence at the table and flushed sheepishly when his host clapped his hands loudly. Otami giggled and Billie lowered her eyes so Thad wouldn’t see the laughter in them.
Breakfast progressed slowly. They started with juice and fruit, then followed with toast and small muffins. Coffee was liberally poured by a small girl dressed in a sky-blue kimono. The eggs Benedict were perfect and Billie ate heartily, while Thad did justice to the buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup. Without looking at her watch, Billie knew the hour was almost up. Her grandson should be arriving shortly. She took a deep breath and looked at Otami.
“It is understandable for you to be anxious about meeting Riley. He is anxious, too. He tries so
hard to be all things to all of us. He is very much like his father, as you will see. He did inherit one thing from my family and that is his love of the entertainment business. He adores American music. He will be here soon, Mother Coleman. We are finally a family. It is all I ever wanted for my son and now it has come to pass. My father, who is wise in so many ways, thought this would happen someday. You were so right, my honorable father.”
“Do you hear that, Thad? She called me her honorable father. I can’t remember the last time she did that. We are joking, Mrs. Coleman, to put you at your ease. I see we are not succeeding. We understand. Otami, take Mrs. Coleman into the library and I will send Riley to you when he arrives.”
Billie’s eyes shone with relief. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to meet her grandson in front of the entire family, but she needed to get herself and her emotions under control.
Otami linked her arm through Billie’s and led her to her father’s library. “This room has many chairs for our Western visitors. My father thought you would be more comfortable here. We have so much to talk about. So many years to compare. I want to share what Riley and I had with you. In his heart he would want me to do this.”
“Why have you never remarried, Otami?”
“There is only room in my heart to love one man. Riley is dead, but his son is alive. He is never far from me. I am content. But to answer your question, I could never find anyone I could love the way I loved Riley,” Otami said softly. “Tell me, Mother Coleman, will you be able to marry another?”
“Yes, Otami.”
“Would I be forward in asking if Uncle Thad is the person you would consider sharing your heart with?”
“You wouldn’t be forward at all. Yes, Thad is the person I would share my heart with. I think I’ve been sharing it for years.”
“We will share all these things later, if you are agreeable. There is so much I want to know. There is so much I want to share with you. I think all my life—and I mean that part of my life with Riley and afterward—I thought your family would not welcome me. I never got beyond the welcome part, but I wanted you to love me. I wanted all of Riley’s family to love me. In his own way I think Riley was trying to tell me this wouldn’t be possible and that’s why he made me agree not to get in touch with you. He didn’t want me to be hurt.”
Oh, damn you, Moss. Damn you. Billie reached out her hand to Otami. She would neither defend nor chastise her husband’s memory. It was history. This was now. This beautiful woman would have to decide for herself what was real and what was true.
Otami’s grip on Billie’s hand tightened when the knock sounded on the library door. “My son is here to meet his grandmother at last.”
Billie took a deep breath and stood next to Otami. Through her blurred vision she watched Riley’s likeness walk toward her. Incredible dark eyes drank in the sight of her as his arms shot out and Billie found herself in her grandson’s embrace. She rested her cheek on the top of his dark head and squeezed the tears back from her eyes. When young Riley released her he was embarrassed, as any ten-year old would be by the sudden display of his emotions. Clear, intelligent eyes, not the same summer blue as his father’s but a dark, deep ebony, shone up at her.
“Hello, Grandmam.” He smiled but kept his arm around her to steady her. “Welcome to our home. My mother and I have waited a long time for this day.”
“And then you nearly crush the breath from her!” Otami said sternly. “Apologize.”
“But Mother, that’s what you said Father used to do to you. You said his father did it to his mother. I wanted to welcome Grandmam Texas-style. I didn’t mean to offend you,” Riley said anxiously, his eyes on his frowning mother.
“You didn’t. I loved every minute of it, and yes, Otami, Riley was right. It is an exuberant Texas custom. I want you to be yourself; otherwise we’ll never get to know each other.”
“We have the advantage, Grandmam. Mama has told me all about you and the Coleman ranch, and Texas and American airplanes. I intend to be an aeronautical engineer.”
“My granddaughter, Sawyer, is doing the same thing. You would make some team.” Billie laughed. “I brought pictures. Actually, I brought several family albums for you and your mother to see. We can have prints made from any of the pictures you might care to have. There’s one in particular of your father on his first pony. Perhaps that isn’t quite true; he was falling off the pony when I snapped the picture.”
Otami laughed delightedly. “Riley used to tell me that the horse hadn’t been born that could throw him.”
“Not quite true. Riley tended to exaggerate when it came to horses. He was more at home around planes. In all fairness to Riley, he more or less slid off the pony. But he was thrown more times than I can remember, and he always got right back on. His grandfather insisted. Your father always tried to do what was expected of him.”
“Until he met me,” Otami said sadly.
“No, no, no, you must never say that. You must not even think such a thing,” Billie said, moving closer to Otami and putting her arms around her. “Riley loved you and it was inevitable that he marry you. It’s just that he was unwilling to take even the slightest chance that his family might . . . might not see things his way. I regret his decision, but I understand it. As my father-in-law, my husband, and my son used to say, it’s history now. What we have now are our memories. Some of them aren’t too pleasant and others will be with us for the rest of our lives. However, one cannot live on memories. I have my philosophy where memories are concerned.”
“What are they, Grandmam?” Riley asked curiously.
“Memories have a place in all our lives. They dull and they fade with time, and that’s as it should be. Only cowards live on memories day after day because they’re afraid to reach out for life.” At Riley’s solemn nod, Billie glanced at Otami’s stricken face. “No, no, Otami, I didn’t mean you.”
“But it’s true. My family has been telling me that for years. My son manages to tell me that at least once a day when he is home. I never thought of it in terms of cowardice before. You must not be sorry for your words, because they are true. Do you see my son shake his head? At last he has an ally. You are of one thought. Even my father chastises me from time to time.” A beautiful smile lightened her serious features. “I promise to work on it.”
“We’ll hold you to it, Mama. Between the two of us, Grandmam, perhaps we can convince my mother that there is a world outside the gates of this house.”
“Then there is no hope for me.” Otami sighed.
“Ah, but there is. Now we can go to America and see where my father lived. You promised me that if Father’s side of the family ever recognized us, you would take me to Texas. A promise, Mama, that must now be honored.”
“We haven’t been invited, Riley. Where are your manners?”
“But of course you’re invited. Anytime. I would love to have your entire family come to Sunbridge. Riley, you will have so much in common with my granddaughter. She’ll share the Coleman dream with you. A dream that you’ll understand and perhaps want to work on. Later, we can discuss what’s going on back in Texas. I brought something for you, Riley. It’s in a package by the front door. Will you fetch it?”
Riley loped off to do his grandmother’s bidding. Otami raised questioning eyes to Billie.
“I . . . I brought Riley’s baseball and mitt for young Riley. The family albums are in the package, also. At the last minute I stuck in Riley’s baseball cap. Was it a mistake, do you think?”
“Never. My son doesn’t have much from his father. The few belongings that were returned to me by the navy were . . . what I mean is, he will appreciate these things because they are from his father’s boyhood and his home.”
Riley returned carrying the package, his gaze anxious as Billie unwrapped the string and held out the contents of the box. “I think you should have these things. There are others at Sunbridge that you might... that you . . .”
Riley looked down into the
box and dropped to his knees. His touch was gentle as he lifted out the worn mitt and the ball. The little league cap went onto his shiny black head immediately. The baseball was brought lovingly to his cheek. “Was this the way my father smelled?” he asked, handing the hat to Billie, who sniffed obligingly. She nodded, a lump settling in her throat.
“It’s right and fitting that you have what belonged to your father. I don’t think this is the time to discuss it, but you and your mother also are entitled to Riley’s inheritance. I’ll have to have my lawyers work on that. I didn’t know about you and your mother until a few days ago.”
“Do you think Uncle Thad would like to field a few balls, Grandmam?”
“I think so. Why don’t you go ask him? Your mother and I have a lot of talking to do.”
Riley bent over to kiss his mother and Billie. His dark eyes lingered on Billie’s face for a long time. “My father looked like you.”
“Yes, he did a little. But he had a lot of Coleman in him, too. He was a wonderful man, Riley. He was a father for you to be proud of.”
“Thank you for the gifts. I’ll treasure them always.”
Otami turned to Billie. “That was most kind of you. I often regretted I had nothing to give the boy but a few old clothes that were returned to me. You have made my son very happy and that makes me happy. I promise you I will give serious thought to the discussion on memories.”
“You aren’t offended?”
“No. You spoke the truth. It took courage for you to do that. Now, can we look at the photographs you brought along? I would like to see the comparison to my son.” Billie nodded as she lifted the albums from the bottom of the carton she had brought from Texas.
The pictures were shared with Otami and then with Riley and Thad, and yet again with Otami’s parents. When Billie looked at her watch it was late afternoon.
Wonderful, meaningful days passed with Billie and her new family. Riley insisted on a tour of the university and Otami made sure that a walk down the Ginza at dawn was as memorable as Billie knew it would be. Kabuki drama was Mr. Hasegawa’s contribution. It was an experience Billie knew she would never forget.
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