A Good Woman

by Liz Cronkhite

  For Aly, December made up for a very painful November if for no other reason than she and Erika had grown closer.

  31

  The arrangement with regard to gifts was the Milton-Allende’s would give Aly a present on her birthday and at Christmas, but she was not expected to get gifts for anyone. However, she learned that Janet and Casey would treat the girls to some activity as a Christmas gift and she liked this idea. The girls chose a day of ice skating with one friend each during the week after Christmas.

  Aly was not going to let Christmas go by without getting something for Erika, and even for Julio. For Erika, she put together a basket with a particular wine she enjoyed, a gift card for McDonalds, and various other treats she thought or knew she would like. She arranged for Whitney to put it under the tree on Christmas Eve. For Julio, she got an item for his winter scene that Lu picked out and would give to him for Aly on Christmas Eve. Both were signed “from Santa”.

  Saturday morning Aly received her gift from the Milton-Allende’s: A flat screen television. “So you can get rid of that huge box in your room,” Lu explained.

  She thanked and hugged them all, even Erika.

  “I have a handyman you can call to hang it,” Erika said. “Charge it to me.”

  She laughed. “I think I can hang a television, Erika.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I used to help my dad do little projects all the time. I even have my own drill and tools. The girls will help me.”

  “You are a woman full of surprises.”

  Soon after this, the senior Miltons arrived. Lucinda Milton was seventy, a little shorter and heavier than her daughter, wore her steel grey hair in a high, soft perm, and had given Erika her general build and the beautiful expression and gold hazel color of her eyes. She was elegantly dressed in flowing brown trousers and a gold and black blouse.

  Frank Milton, a little older, was tall, heavy, had a tight cap of thinning white kinky hair, brown eyes and, as Aly had seen from his picture, gave Erika the angles and planes of her face. He wore beige trousers, a light blue dress shirt without a tie, and a dark blue suit jacket.

  After being introduced to them the word that came to Aly’s mind for them was “gracious”.

  But she didn’t have long to spend with them as she was due at the airport to pick up her father and brother. Mark had met their dad in Reno and they were flying down together.

  She looked forward to getting to know the Miltons, and therefore Erika, better in the coming days. So she left with mixed feelings. She longed to spend the holiday with Erika and the girls, but she also looked forward to seeing her father and brother.

  The last time she saw Mark was right after her divorce. He was four years older than her and he seemed to her to look more like her father than ever, though heavier. His coloring was like hers, and he wore his straw blond hair shaved short on the sides and slicked back on top. She thought she detected greying in the shaved hairs and had to mention it.

  “You’re much smaller than I remember,” was his rejoinder as he hugged her.

  They checked into their hotel and after lunch Mark announced he wanted to gamble. They decided to go to one of the local hotels where the odds were better. For a few hours they sat among the clamoring clang of slot machines, mindlessly pressing buttons as they caught up with each other. Aly quit after losing twenty dollars. Bill also lost, but Mark broke even. Aly treated them to dinner before they went back to the hotel for a night of quiet conversation.

  On Christmas Eve, she drove her father and brother around to visit with some of her father’s closer cousins. Most everyone saw Bill at least once a year, but seeing Mark was a rare treat for them.

  In the evening they had dinner with Gemma’s parents, Bill’s brother Richard and his wife Gracie, at their small two bedroom condo off Flamingo and Durango in the southwest central part of the city. Richard was a little older and much heavier than Bill. The Chinese showed less in his softer features, but their coloring was the same, and they were both proud to still have a head of hair at their age.

  Gracie, who was her father’s age, was slight and angular in body and face. She wore her once-black hair straight to her shoulder and colored in variegated shades of brown. The style made her look much younger.

  For a moment, Aly considered Aunt Gracie as a confidante with whom to discuss her dilemma with Erika. But she knew from past experience that Gracie, like Bill, was likely to suffer over her problem more than she was likely to give clear headed insight. Her own children knew to avoid telling her too much about what was going on in their lives.

  This view was reinforced during dinner as Gracie questioned Mark about his private life. Mark felt his job wasn’t conducive to family life, though he did want to marry one day. Gracie reminded him forty was around the corner and that time was running out. It wasn’t so much that she brought this up as that she kept returning to it that made Aly certain she did not want to confide in her.

  After dinner she dropped Mark at the home of Gemma’s brother, James, his best friend, which was only a mile north of his parents’ condo. She and Bill went in to say hello to the Dominguez-Wong family: James, his wife, Margita, her mother, and their two kids. Mark would take an Uber back to the hotel later.

  “I am Wonged-out,” Bill exclaimed as they left James’ home and went back to their hotel. There, they sat at the window in their suite and watched the cars zip by on Summerlin Parkway as they drank greatly overpriced crème de cacao from the mini bar.

  Bill's date back in October had not worked out and he had not gone on a date since. He asked about Kylie, and Aly explained how it was just a short fling, nice, but over quickly. “So then what is it?” he asked. “You don’t seem fully here.”

  She thought she’d done a good job acting normal. But a part of her was up in Far Hills, with Erika and the girls. If he could see it, it would do no good to lie. “I do have something on my mind. But nothing for you to worry about.”

  “Well, I will anyway, sweetheart. Comes with the job of father.”

  “I was hoping to spare you. You took my divorce so hard.”

  “So it’s a matter of the heart? Is it Toy’s situation?”

  “No, it has nothing to do with her. I mean, I’m sad for her. I hurt for her. But I don’t hurt for me for her, if you know what I mean.”

  Since he was bent on worrying anyway, Aly considered telling him the whole thing. But the dynamic had changed now that he was going to meet Erika. She didn’t want him watching her around her. Or, for that matter, looking for any sign of returned interest from Erika. His father’s eyes might see things that were not there and she didn’t want any seeds of false hope planted in her own mind.

  “I’m thirty five, Dad. I’m going to have some imperfect things in my life, as everyone does. I can handle them.”

  He studied her. “Fair enough. And I’m a father and I’m going to worry about my kids.”

  She laughed. “All right, it’s a deal.”

  Of course, Linda wanted Mark with her for his entire visit, but she had to settle for Christmas day. After Aly , Mark, and Bill exchanged gifts and had breakfast, Aly dropped Mark at their mother’s and went back to spend the day with her dad. She and her mother had exchanged gift cards through email. She had Mark bring Dave her gift to him.

  Around nine, as she and her father were sitting at the small table by the window in their hotel room deciding how to spend the day, she got a text from Erika. “If you run into Santa today thank her for the lovely basket for me."

  Her heart glowed. She texted back, “Will do. I’m sure she’s very happy you like it.”

  “That’s the most beautiful smile I’ve seen on you in a long time,” Bill said, sipping his coffee as he watched her text.

  Aly blushed, but asked innocently, “Is it?” She was going to have to be careful tonight around Erika and her father.

  It was a beautiful, crisp day that would reach a high in the low sixties by midafternoon. The sky was cl
ear and bright blue and they decided to go to Hoover Dam, more for the sake of the drive than the destination. As they drove through the city on I-95 Bill, who grew up in Las Vegas, marveled at all that had changed and all that had not changed. He was full of memories, most of which Aly heard before, but she enjoyed just being with him and listening to him. The only person she wanted to be with more was Erika. But maybe this was the better deal, because with her dad there was no painful side to his company.

  They had lunch in Boulder City, a quaint town built over eighty years before for the builders of the dam. It was winter, so the trees were bare, but the rest of the year the leafy little town was a sharp contrast to the grey brown hills that surrounded it. It was a holiday and only fast food restaurants were open. Bill wanted McDonald’s and Aly discovered that a quarter pounder with fries and a soda were ruined for her. It really was not the same without wine.

  After lunch she drove over the huge, curving cement dam and they parked at an overlook to enjoy the deep blue water. The dam created Lake Mead out of the Colorado River. Bill was amazed by the height of the white line that indicated how far down the waters of Lake Mead had fallen in his lifetime. It attested to how much the southwest had grown as the waters were distributed throughout it to slake the thirst of its cities.

  “There’s a lesson here,” Bill said.

  “About careful planning? Husbanding resources?”

  “I was thinking about how nothing stays the same. Okay, there are a lot of lessons here.”

  When they got back to the hotel they had a quiet afternoon and an early roast beef dinner. Afterward, Aly put her suitcase in the car and they went to Linda’s to pick up Mark to head up to the Miltons’. Neither cared to, but they were obliged to go in to say hello.

  Bill and Dave got along well and greeted each other heartily. Bill and Linda exchanged a dry kiss on the cheek and a quiet hello. Both Aly and Bill commented positively on the weight that Dave had lost since his heart attack and his overall improved color and vigor.

  They all sat and Dave and Bill did most of the talking, catching up, while Aly, Linda, and Mark listened. After a quarter of an hour, but what seemed like eternity to Aly, they finally made their escape.

  32

  “I cannot believe there are homes up here,” Bill said as Aly headed west on Summerlin Parkway to the 215. “This was the far off desert when I was a kid. Hell, when you two were kids.”

  “Oh, just wait,” she said. Far Hills was just the next exit south.

  “Oh, wow,” Bill said as she turned west. “This is unbelievable. These really are the foothills.”

  For Aly, the hills were eerie at night. When it was a moonless or cloudy night, like that night, she sensed rather than saw them looming above. When there was a moon, they reflected just enough light to hang as a menace against the darker night.

  “This is really nice, Aly,” Mark said as she pulled up to the Milton home. Julio’s black Chevy Silverado and the senior Miltons’ rented silver Nissan Altima were parked on the street in front of the house.

  She slid her car down the driveway and pressed the remote to open the garage. They unfolded from the car, and when she opened the door into the house they were greeted by the sounds of happy conversation and the residual aroma of baked ham from dinner.

  Erika appeared almost immediately. She was wearing black slacks and a camel leopard print turtle neck. “I thought I heard you,” she said with a big smile as her eyes met Aly’s before she turned to greet her guests.

  Aly, who had missed Erika for two days, thought she was never more beautiful and had to restrain her own glowing smile.

  She introduced her father and brother. Coats and jackets were removed and Erika led them into the dining room where everyone was gathered around a cleared table. Further introductions were made. The only person Aly had not yet met was Rosa Allende, the girls’ abuela. She was a slight woman in her sixties with caramel skin and salt and pepper hair in a soft perm. Aly noted Lu's strong resemblance to her.

  Coffee and brandy were offered. “Can I have both?” Bill asked.

  “Certainly,” Erika said. “Together in a mug?”

  Bill thought about it. “Yes, I think so.”

  Mark asked for brandy and Aly opted for hot chocolate. While Erika and the girls got the refreshments, she took her men on a tour of the house. She pointed down the hall to Erika’s and the girls’ bedrooms, then took them through the living room to her room. The Christmas tree was new to her, tucked into a corner of the living room between the entertainment center and the couch. Its clean, pine scent smelled wonderful and it looked lovely, decorated in red and gold.

  After her room she took Bill and Mark to see the view. They were appropriately impressed.

  “When it’s warm Erika is out here quite a bit.”

  “I bet,” Mark said. He turned to make sure no one was behind them and said in a low voice, “Erika’s some good looking woman.”

  “Yes, she is,” Aly said, looking her brother square in the face, waiting for the inevitable question. But he caught her look and didn’t say anything.

  They joined the others and, as room was made for them around the table, the men and women mostly gravitated to their own sex. Mark found out that Frank was on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War and they soon got to talking airplanes. Erika, who sat between the groups with her girls, engaged Bill in conversation. The girls were speaking with their father. Poor Luce was trying to draw out Rosa, whom, Aly knew, could understand English perfectly, but was insecure about how well she could speak it. She sat next to Luce, the person she most wanted to know. They spoke mostly about the girls, both trying to draw Rosa into the conversation.

  As the evening went on and more coffee and brandy and hot chocolate flowed, people milled about and at one point the girls were drawn to the tattoo at the back of Mark’s neck. Aly had to go over so they could compare. This brought Aly close to Julio, whom she thanked for the television. He told her what Santa had brought him and that he hoped Santa would know how much he appreciated it. She said she was sure she did know. They then embarked on a conversation about the girls. It was the first time in the five months she had been watching over his girls that she had more than passing words with him.

  Eventually, Aly realized Erika was not around and saw her alone in the kitchen making another cup of coffee for someone. Her mug was empty an, under the pretext of putting it in the dishwasher, she headed there.

  “Did you have a nice time with your dad and brother?” Erika asked.

  “Yes, it’s been great to see them.” She described some of what they did.

  “You and your brother look a lot alike. Male and female versions of each other.”

  “Really?”

  Erika nodded. “The girls and I missed you. But I’m happy you had a good time.”

  Aly swallowed hard. “I was thinking of all of you a lot, too.”

  “What are you doing for New Years? Do you have any plans?”

  “I have possibilities. What I’d really like to do is watch the fireworks from here.”

  Erika beamed. “I think that’s the best plan.”

  It turned out Erika was not making , but chamomile tea for herself. She leaned across the kitchen counter, mug in hand, and watched the group in the dining room. Aly leaned against the counter and watched too.

  “They seem to be getting along pretty well,” Erika said.

  “I was just thinking that.”

  “Good people.”

  “Yes. We’re lucky.”

  “We are.” Erika straightened up and walked behind Aly, rubbing her upper back as she passed. “Merry Christmas, Aly.”

  Aly remembered to breathe. “Merry Christmas, Erika.”

  She watched Erika walk back to her guests and then caught her father’s eye. He gave her a wistful smile.

  It was not quite nine when the guests stirred to leave. All but Luce were returning home the next morning. Aly was preparing to take her father and b
rother back to their hotel when Julio offered to take them. “It’s on my way.”

  “It’s out of your way,” Aly corrected.

  “It’s out of my way on my way,” he said. “Just a little.”

  Aly thanked him and went out into the cold night to say goodbye to her father and brother. The temperature was already in the forties. There in the foothills it was likely to freeze overnight.

  “You are with great people, sweetheart,” Bill said as he hugged Aly goodbye.

  “I am,” she said into the shoulder of his jacket.

  He held her away from him and looked into her eyes. “If you need me, to talk about anything, you just call.” He kissed her on the forehead.

  “I will,” Aly said, and looked away so she would not cry. He knew, dammit. How obvious was it? She tried so hard to not let it show.

  She hugged her brother and they made the usual noises about keeping in touch, but she knew it would be as usual. She would reach out more than he, and not very often. It was their way.

  When she went back into the house Erika was in the dining room straightening up. “Leave it,” she said. “The girls and I will get it in the morning.”

  “You sure?”

  “Of course. It will give them something productive to do so their Winter Break is not all hedonistic revelry.”

  Erika laughed. “When you put it that way…If it’s for the good of my daughters…” She headed down the hall to her bedroom. “I’m going to go slip into something more comfortable.”

  Aly found the girls sitting together in one of the plush loungers in front of the fire looking at a video of puppies on a new tablet one of them had gotten from one of their parents. She flopped into the other one, tired after what seemed packed days. She had gotten used to her quieter life. How had she withstood the whirlwind of the Giannis? Wonged-out was right.

  She was staring into the fire thinking of nothing in particular when Erika appeared beside her lounger. She had changed into black and grey lounge wear and wore over it the long beige shawl sweater she favored when it was cold.