by Patricia Fry
As Keith approached the gate, Jess appeared. “Good morning,” Keith greeted, shaking his hand. “You can ride with us.” He then asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“We’ll have breakfast at Dad’s and Peggy’s restaurant.” He gestured. “It’s down the road about twenty miles.”
When Keith noticed that Michael had lowered his car window, he asked, “Did you hear that? Is that okay with you guys?”
Michael nodded. “We planned to take Jess to breakfast; why not include the whole fam-damily,” he joked. He waved. “We’ll follow you.”
“Huh, Dad?” Adam said, “What does that mean?”
“Just a play on words,” Savannah explained.
Once they were on the road, Michael said under his breath, “This is so weird.”
Savannah put her hand on his arm and smiled. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”
Eighteen minutes later, Savannah looked at her cell phone. “It’s a text from Holly. She says we’re just a few blocks away. They want us to follow them into the parking lot and we can park behind the place. It’s called Sparky’s Café.”
“There it is on the left,” Gladys said. “Looks like a local hangout.”
“What do you mean, Grammy?” Adam asked.
“Well, it’s not a place tourists would seek out. It’s kind of funky—you know, not fancy. And they probably have better food in there than you’ll find at the tourist traps.”
“Good,” Adam said. “I’m hungry. I hope they have pancakes.”
Gladys patted his leg. “I’m pretty sure they do.”
“I eat?” Lily chirped. “Pancake. Gammy, me pancake?”
Gladys kissed the baby’s cheek. “Yes, you can have pancakes too.”
As soon as Michael had parked the car, Jess approached. “Bring the cat in.”
Michael frowned. “What?”
“It’s pet-friendly. People bring dogs into the back area.” He shrugged. “Why not cats?” He peered into the car. “As long as the cat gets along with dogs.”
“Okay,” Michael said. “I’d sure rather not leave him in the cold car.”
Jess pointed. “We’ll go into that back room there. Dad has it reserved for us. He’s cooking now, but he’ll meet us in there and eat with us.” He started to usher the group in, then turned and said, “He’s cooking up some of his famous chili for chili omelets.” Then, addressing the women, he added, “But if you’d rather have something else, that’s okay, too.” He motioned with his head. “Come on in.”
Once everyone was seated around a large rectangular table and a waitress had taken their beverage orders, a tall man with grey hair and a moustache approached. He stood just inside the doorway for a moment, then he stepped into the room and walked up behind Michael. He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder and looked across the table at Keith. His voice thick with emotion, he said, “I would have known you boys anywhere.”
Michael stood and turned toward the man, reaching a hand out to him. Brandt Hanson took his hand, then pulled Michael into a guy hug. He stepped back and looked at Michael’s face. “And you are…?”
“Michael.” He moved to allow his brother to join them. “This is Keith.”
“Oh,” Brandt said, frowning. “Keith is it? I could have sworn she’d named you…”
Before he could finish, Keith said, “William?” Brandt tilted his head and Keith said, “My adoptive parents said that was my name, but they gave me a new first name and kept William as my middle name.”
“Good,” Brandt said. “I’m glad they did that.” He held his hand out to Keith. “Nice to finally meet you Keith William,” he said, pulling Keith in for a hug.
“Thank you.” After an awkward silence, Keith asked, “About William…”
“Oh, that was my grandfather’s name…my mother’s father. He was William Michael.” Brandt coughed. “…your great grandfather.” He stared at Keith and Michael for several moments, then shook his head. “The resemblance is uncanny, just uncanny.”
By then, Michael had started to feel uncomfortable. This resemblance, he wondered, does he mean between me and Keith, or maybe between us and our great grandfather or is he referring to Scott? Not wanting to address that question quite yet, he ran his hand through his hair and invited, “Come meet our families.”
After introductions and a lot of polite conversation, Brandt felt something against his legs. He looked down. “A cat! How did he get in here?” Just then a waitress appeared with her order pad. “Lynn, who let the cat in?” Brandt asked.
The waitress glanced at the cat, then gazed around the table at the Iveys and the Pettits. “Um…”
“He’s with us,” Savannah said. “Jess told us…”
“Oh,” Brandt said, smiling. “Not a problem. I didn’t know. It didn’t occur to me that people would travel such a long distance with their cats, for cryin’ out loud.” He leaned down and ran his hand over Rags’s fur. “Lynn, make sure he gets some chicken and a bowl of milk, would you?”
“No milk,” Savannah said. She smiled. “The unseasoned chicken, though, would be wonderful. Thank you.”
Keith and Michael had purposely sat across from each other at one end of the breakfast table and had left the chair at the head of the table open for Brandt. They knew that if they were to learn anything more about the family bombshell Jess had dropped on them the day before, they would need to have a conversation with Brandt. And he was forthcoming. They learned that, indeed, Carol Tilford had dated both Scott and Brandt Hanson at about the same time. Brandt said, “Yeah, she was engaged to my brother, but I knew and she knew that she was pregnant with my child, or as it turned out, children.”
Michael couldn’t help but say, “We saw pictures of Scott Hanson, your brother, and it seems as though we resemble him more that we do you.”
Brandt shrugged. “We can do a DNA test if it’s important to you boys, but your mother was sure, I’m sure, and Scott’s dead.”
Keith glanced up and noticed that none of the others were paying attention to their conversation, so he asked quietly, “Why didn’t you marry our mother? Why did she marry Randall Ivey?”
“Well, fellas, I was kind of the black sheep of the Hanson family back then.” He glanced at Jess, who was playing tic-tac-toe with Adam. I had a son that I wasn’t being a father to. I had all the money I wanted and I’d rather spend it having a good time. Know what I mean? I wasn’t ready to settle down.” He shook his head slowly. “Oh, your mom and I…we had ourselves a good fling. At the same time, she and Scott were doing the society thing.” He frowned. “I hated that world—tuxedos, fancy dinners, fake smiles.” He winked. “Now your mother…she loved it even more than she loved what I could give her.”
“Which was?” Michael asked.
Brandt folded his hands on the table in front of him and looked down at them. “Probably a lot of grief.” He sat up straight. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I loved that woman. But I knew I was no good for her and I certainly wasn’t ready to take care of any children. So we agreed that the best thing for everyone…” he looked into Michael’s eyes, then Keith’s, “was for her to marry Scott and raise a family with him.” He chuckled. “Scott was ready for marriage. I was most definitely not.”
“How did he die?” Keith asked quietly.
“He was presumed drowned.”
“Presumed?” Michael questioned.
Brandt stared down at his hands. “His body was never found. We were ice-fishing and the ice had started to melt. That spring, we had torrential rains and they figured he was washed down river and buried in deep mud or washed out to sea.”
“Never found?” Keith repeated.
Brandt shook his head. He glanced at both Michael and Keith. “He and your mother were to be married the following week. They’d been engaged for only a short time when it happened.”
“So where did Randall Ivey come from?” Michael asked.
Brandt stared at him for a moment, then said, “I’m
not sure. I wasn’t handling things well. By then, I was in the cups—you know, drinking more than I should.” He thought for a moment. “She was a beautiful woman. I’m sure she had her pick of men. Why she chose that one, I’ll never know. I suppose she simply wanted a father for you boys. Little did she know she was marrying a dictator, and I believe she was in too much emotional pain to stand up to him. I always figured it was your mother’s grief that led her to an early grave. I mean she was only about Jess’s age when she died.”
“I know,” Michael said. “I remember it well.”
Brandt pushed his almost-empty plate away, took a sip of coffee, then glanced up at those within hearing distance. “So what do you have planned for the rest of your day?”
Jess spoke up. “I’m taking them to visit GranGran.”
Brandt smiled. “Oh, of course. You’ll like your grandmother. She’ll have stories to tell, I’m sure. She’s quite a woman, that one.” He leaned closer to the brothers. “I’m just glad I crawled out of the bottle before she died.”
“So she’d know you’re okay?” Keith asked.
“Yes, that, and so that I’d have an opportunity to know her. Our relationship was strained, to say the least, for most of my life. She was gracious enough to forgive—maybe not forget, but forgive as best she could. And do you know what?” He didn’t wait for a response. “She’s one of my favorite people in this whole warped world.” He paused, then said quietly, “I hope she can say something as flattering and sincere about me, although I sure don’t deserve it.”
After watching the interaction between other members of the Pettit and Ivey families for several minutes, Brandt leaned closer to Michael and asked, “Boy, were you okay growing up? That stepfather, did he treat you right?”
Michael thought about how to respond, then he nodded. “Yeah, actually. Life was pretty okay. I don’t have any scars.” He looked across the table at Keith. “…well, except for those left by the absence of my brother, I guess.”
Brandt stared at him for a moment. “And now?” he asked.
Michael’s face lit up. He glanced at Savannah, Adam, and Lily. “Now, I’m living a charmed life with the most wonderful family a man could ask for.”
“And you,” Brandt asked, addressing Keith, “were you in a good home?”
“Excellent,” he said, smiling. “It couldn’t have been better, except,” he looked at Michael, “well, they say you don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never had it, but I beg to differ. I’ve known for most of my life that something was missing.”
Michael nodded. “I know the feeling. It’s subtle, but it’s there and it’s real.”
Brandt stared at the brothers for a moment, took a heavy breath, and wiped a tear from his eye.
****
A few hours later, the two families and Jess Hanson climbed back into the cars, told Brandt Hanson good-bye, and headed for Rhode Island.
Savannah was first to break the silence in the Iveys’ car. “So, hon, what do you think? How are you feeling?”
“About what?” he asked innocently.
She shook her head. “About meeting your father, silly, and learning all that stuff about your family. I didn’t hear much of your conversation, but I could tell there were some intense moments. It looked like you were getting a lot of information. Just wondering how you are after all of that.”
“Just another interesting day in the life of an interesting guy,” he teased.
She grinned at him, then asked, “Do you believe he’s your father?”
“That I don’t know. It’s too close to call.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “What do you think?”
“Well,” she said, as if she were about to follow up with a long-winded analysis of the morning’s meeting, “I’m speechless.”
Michael burst out laughing. “That’s new. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you in that state.”
“What state, Dad? Connecticut? Rhode Island?”
“No, son, I’m talking about the state of speechlessness. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Savannah there.”
“I don’t get it, Dad,” Adam said.
“Never mind,” Savannah said. “Your dad’s just being silly.” She spoke more quietly. “You know, once you meet your grandmother, you might have a better sense of the family dynamic.”
He nodded. “I hope so, ’cause my head is sure swimming right now.”
“Oh, a text,” Savannah said, picking up her phone. “It’s Holly. She says we’re almost there. Jess said your grandmother lives in the basement of a friend’s home.” She lowered her brow. “Gosh, that seems kind of odd—a ninety-two-year-old living in a basement.”
Within minutes, Michael pulled into a driveway behind Keith’s car and everyone piled out.
“Is she expecting us?” Michael asked Jess.
“Oh yes,” he said. “She can’t wait to meet you all.”
“We won’t overwhelm her?” Holly asked cautiously.
Jess grinned and shook his head. “Come on. You’ll see.”
When the two families walked toward the door to the downstairs apartment, Holly remarked, “Nice house.”
“Sure is,” Savannah said. “It’s big!”
They watched as Jess rapped a couple of times on the door, then used a key to enter. “GranGran!” he called.
They heard a cheery voice coming from another room. “Oh goodie, you’re here.” Before everyone had stepped in and closed the door, a slim woman wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt with a sailboat appliqué appeared, smiling brightly. “How nice to see you all! My, what a group,” she said eyeing everyone. “Come in, come in out of the cold and take off your coats. Jess, will you toss their coats on the bed in the guest room? We don’t want them cluttering up my sitting room.”
As everyone handed their jackets and coats to Jess, the spry older woman scrutinized each of them. “Well, I know who you two are,” she said to Michael and Keith, but I don’t know which is which. Who is Michael and who is William?”
“Um, I’m Keith William,” he said. He nodded. “That’s Michael.”
She reached up and patted their faces and shook her head. “Such good-looking boys, and tall, just like your great grandfather, may he rest in peace.” After scrutinizing the men for a moment, she turned to the others. “So who goes with whom?” she asked. More playfully, she said, “Let me guess.” She narrowed her eyes and looked the women and the children over. “Okay,” she put a hand on Savannah’s arm. “I’d say you’re Michael’s wife, and you,” she said, pointing at Holly, “belong to William.” She corrected herself, “Keith William.”
Both women nodded and smiled. “Right,” Holly said. “I’m Holly and this is Savannah.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Hanson stooped to the children’s level. “What beautiful children. Oh my goodness, this family makes beautiful children. She looked at the women and said, “I’m not even going to try guessing who’s who among the small people.” She looked carefully at Bethany, then Lily. “Are they twins?”
Savannah shook her head. She put her hand on Adam’s shoulder. “This is Adam. He’s Michael’s son.”
“Oh yes, he married that skinny little girl from across the tracks. She was part of the Ogden family.” She turned for confirmation from Michael.
He nodded. “Yes, her name’s Marci.” He motioned toward Savannah, then smiled at the toddler he held in his arms. “This is our daughter, Lily.”
“Well, hi there, Lily. How old are you, dear?”
Lily displayed two fingers and said quietly, “Two.”
“Smart!” the elderly woman said. She patted Lily’s leg. “Good girl; keep learning.”
She leaned toward Cassie. “And you are?”
“Cassie. I’m almost seven and this is my sister, Bethany. She’s three.”
“And your daddy is…?”
Cassie pointed at Keith.
The woman patted the cheeks of both girls, then put her hand on Bethany’s shoulder and look
ed again at Lily. “These two sure resemble each other.”
“That’s ’cause they’re cousins,” Cassie explained. “We’re all cousins.”
Mrs. Hanson smiled, then looked at Gladys. She cocked her head. “You’re somebody’s mother, aren’t you?”
Gladys chuckled. “Yes, Savannah’s. I’m Gladys Jordan. Thank you for having us.”
“Absolutely. Welcome.” She started to walk across the room, then turned and said, “By the way, I’m Agatha Hanson.” She put her hand on Holly’s arm. “You gals can call me Aggie…or GranGran, whichever you prefer.” She grinned slyly. “I’ll turn ninety-three this year.”
Most everyone commented on the woman’s youthful appearance and Aggie made sure she heard every one of them. She took Adam’s and Cassie’s hands and walked with them into the sitting room, then turned again and frowned. She looked down at the children. “Where’s the cat? Jess said you were bringing a cat. I put all of mine in another room so they wouldn’t scare each other.”
“Oh, we wanted to make sure it was okay before we brought him in,” Savannah said. “He’s in the car.”
“Bring him in. You don’t want him to freeze out there for heaven’s sake. I want to see this…” she looked into Adam’s face, then Cassie’s, “…movie star cat.”
“I’ll get him,” Michael said handing Lily to Savannah and heading quickly out through the door. When he returned with Rags on his leash, Aggie said, “Oh my, what a handsome boy. Look at that plush fur. What’s his name?”
“Ragsdale,” Savannah said. “We call him Rags.”
Agatha petted him for a few minutes. “I like Ragsdale.” Suddenly she gasped and asked, “What happened here?”
When Michael noticed that the woman was running her hand gently over the area of Rags’s incision, he explained, “He was injured and I had to operate on him.” Michael looked at Keith. “In fact, we both operated on him.”
Aggie looked from one to the other of the men, then said, “That’s right, you’re both veterinarians. Good for you. I guess loving animals runs in the family.” She reached for the leash. “May I?” she asked, walking with Rags to another room. She returned with a small hammock and a few toys. “I showed him where the food and water is and the litter box,” she explained. She looked at Savannah and Michael. “Does he have a hammock?”