A Love for All Seasons

by Bettye Griffin

  “Alicia’s always been an independent young lady,” Martha replied. “I’ve never known her to be all that close to anyone.”

  Jack nodded knowingly. He had come to the same conclusion in his brief period of knowing her.

  “Anyway, Jack, I’m very glad to see you here today. Alicia is going to need a shoulder to lean on while she copes with Caroline’s loss. I hope you’re up to it.”

  He grinned confidently. He liked the way the housekeeper looked out for her like an older sibling. Alicia and Martha seemed much more like sisters than Alicia and Daphne.

  Alicia, Daphne and Martha went upstairs every so often to sit with Caroline, who also had an LPN stationed in her room. With keen observation, he noticed that whenever Alicia went up Daphne followed. That seemed strange to him, since the sisters didn’t seem to have much contact with each other under normal circumstances. He decided that Daphne wanted to give Caroline the feeling that her two girls were united. He certainly couldn’t fault her for that. It would give her mother some peace.

  Martha was in and out of the kitchen, checking on the turkey. When she wasn’t in the kitchen or sitting with Caroline she was in the guest house with her family. Initially Jack missed Marvin’s presence, but then Todd invited him to watch the football game with him. The Timberlake living room did not include a television set, so Jack followed Todd downstairs to the comfortably furnished basement.

  He looked around in awe. The basement contained every fun activity he could think of. One corner featured both pool and ping-pong tables. A few feet away was an eight-sided game table with leather chairs on casters. The U-shaped bar sat eight and was attached to a full kitchen. An extra refrigerator stood in a far corner. A sectional reclining sofa was positioned opposite a wide plasma TV. Shelves mounted on the wall held DVDs and a big binder with spines marked “Karaoke CDs.” The basement also featured a jukebox and a pinball machine. It was truly a leisure lover’s dream. The entire house had a comfortable lived-in look while being both stylish and spotless. How did Martha manage to keep the multiple rooms of the house so clean?

  “Wow,” he said. “Now, this is a basement.”

  “It’s great, isn’t it? My father-in-law believed in playing just as hard as he worked. Many a Friday night we played bid whist or Pokeno at that table—” Todd pointed to the game table “—until well past midnight. And I understand that Daphne and Alicia had all their teenage parties down here. Fletcher and Caroline did a lot of entertaining here as well.”

  Jack wondered what would happen to the property after Caroline’s death. If it was sold it would likely bring in millions. The grounds didn’t cover a particularly large area, maybe two acres, but it was right on the Sound, plus it had a guest house over the three-car garage where the Lewis family currently lived.

  Alicia came downstairs at four. “We’ll be eating in about half an hour,” she said. “Jack, why don’t you come up with me to see Mom?”

  “Sure.” He went upstairs with her, first to the main floor and then to the second. The basement stairs emerged near the kitchen, and upon emerging through the door his nostrils filled with the contrasting but pleasant scents of roasting turkey and baking ham. He followed Alicia through the kitchen and up the back stairs. Martha stood in front of the stove, stirring gravy.

  “Smells good, Martha,” he said, flashing her a thumbs up.

  “Thanks, Jack!”

  The first thing Jack noticed about Caroline Timberlake was that she’d gotten even frailer than she looked when he first met her. Her beauty was unmistakable, but he knew she couldn’t last much longer. He wondered if Alicia suspected.

  He liked the way Caroline smiled at the sight of the two of them. “You two make a handsome couple,” she said warmly. “Did you have a nice birthday?”

  “Very nice, Mrs. Timberlake,” Jack said.

  “After lunch yesterday we took a walk and then went to the movies, and then we had dinner together in Stamford,” Alicia explained.

  “Sounds wonderful. Did you have dinner yet today?”

  “Martha says it’s almost ready.”

  “Make sure your sister behaves herself. I don’t want her saying anything that will make it awkward for Martha and Marvin. This time she doesn’t have Florence and Henry around to keep her in line.” Todd’s parents were spending Christmas with their married daughter and her family in Westchester.

  “It’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry.”

  The nurse appeared from the hall, where she’d discreetly stepped to allow them some privacy. “Miss Timberlake, Mr. Devlin, I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave,” she said gently. “Mrs. Timberlake is under strict orders not to talk much.”

  “I want you to come see me after dinner, Alicia,” Caroline said. “You and I must talk about something.”

  Alicia walked to her mother’s bedside and bent to kiss her cheek. “I’ll be back, Mom. I promise.”

  “Make it about eight,” the nurse suggested. “I’d like get her to eat a little, and then she should really nap for a while.”

  Alicia nodded. “Eight it is.”

  As they walked toward the back stairs, Jack said softly, “I take it there’s no love lost between Daphne and Martha?”

  Alicia gestured for him to stop walking. “My sister is an unbelievable snob,” she said in a stage whisper. “You should have heard her Thanksgiving, saying how she didn’t think it fitting for the Lewises to join us at the table.” She turned sharply at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps on the stairs on the other end of the hall. “Shh!”

  Daphne’s slim form appeared at the top of the front stairs, moving with the speed of someone trying to rescue a child from a burning building. She slowed down when she spotted Alicia and Jack in the hallway. “Have you been in to see Mom yet?” she asked.

  “Yes. We’re just going back down.”

  “Did she say anything?”

  Jack’s brows knitted in confusion. Had Caroline been nonverbal earlier in the day?

  “Say anything like what?” Alicia asked.

  Daphne’s entire demeanor changed, like someone had just run a veil over her face. Now she looked relaxed instead of anxious. “I mean, is she able to talk much?”

  “Daphne, she’s not going to get better,” Alicia said gently. “The nurse still only lets her talk for a few minutes at a time.”

  “I guess I keep hoping for a miracle,” she said sadly.

  Jack felt his heartstrings being pulled at like the rope in a tug-of-war. He had to try to comfort both sisters.

  Holding Alicia’s hand, he took a few steps toward Daphne and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go downstairs,” he said quietly. “We’ll be sitting down to dinner in about fifteen minutes.”

  After dinner, they all returned to the basement, including the Lewis family. Melody Lewis brought various pies downstairs and placed them on the cloth-covered folding tables that lined a wall near the bar.

  “I’m glad to see you sitting down for a change, Martha,” Jack said. “It amazes me that you do everything around here all by yourself.”

  “Oh, I don’t do it by myself,” she said with a laugh. “I have a helper who comes in every Tuesday. She gives most of the rooms a good cleaning. Since most of them aren’t used often, that’s usually all it takes to keep them up.”

  “I was wondering how you did it.”

  “Don’t let her modesty fool you,” Marvin said proudly. “My wife is really Superwoman in disguise.”

  After dessert Melody Lewis and her brother Tyrone went to the movies, while the adults and little Fletcher ordered a movie on Pay-Per-View. Jack sat next to Alicia on the large sofa, his arm draped around her shoulder. He turned when he felt her shifting position. With her lips perhaps an inch from his ear, she whispered, “I’m going to try to slip upstairs at eight without Daphne noticing. I haven’t been able to spend two minutes alone with Mom for weeks now, and Mom didn’t say anything about bringing Daphne with me.”

  He nodded.
He, too, had gotten the distinct impression that Caroline wanted to speak to Alicia alone. His voice was too deep to reply without someone overhearing him, so he accompanied his nod with a squeeze of her shoulder to convey he understood.

  Caroline, awakening after a nap, gestured to the nurse to come to her bedside. “Toni, I know you don’t want me to do a lot of talking, but there’s something I must tell my daughter,” she pleaded.

  “Mrs. Timberlake, I’m under strict orders from both Dr. Jordan and Dr. Gertz not to allow you to overexert yourself, and you certainly mustn’t get over-excited.”

  “I know you don’t want anything happening to me on your watch,” Caroline said, “but Alicia will back you that it was my decision in case there’s any finger-pointing.” The LPN hedged, and Caroline added, “This is my wish, and I’m the patient.”

  Nurse Antoinette Livingston finally nodded. “All right, Mrs. Timberlake. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

  At a minute before eight Jack felt a squeeze on his hand. He smiled at her, and she stood up and crossed in front of him to slip out the side of the sectional.

  Immediately Daphne said, “Should we pause the movie, Alicia?”

  “No, go ahead. I’ve seen it before, anyway.” She headed for the stairs.

  “Where’re you going?”

  “I just decided I’m in the mood for some popcorn.”

  Jack knew she’d had the excuse ready. The powder room off the kitchen and bar area shot holes in the most obvious reason for excusing oneself.

  “There’s popcorn in the cabinet down here,” Daphne called, but Alicia had already begun ascending the stairs.

  Jack had inadvertently leaned forward during Daphne’s questions, hoping Alicia would get away alone. Now, watching Daphne shrug and return her attention to the movie, he leaned back again, relieved.

  “Here I am, Mom,” Alicia said cheerfully. “Did you feel up to talking?”

  “Yes.” Caroline looked over at her nurse, who promptly rose and left the room. “She worries about me,” she said with a weak smile.

  “Mom, I got the impression you wanted to tell me something important.”

  “Yes, dear. Sit down.”

  Jack found himself keeping a closer eye on Daphne than he did on the movie. He tensed as Daphne checked her watch repeatedly. Finally she whispered something to Todd, who, engrossed in the film and holding his now-sleeping son on his lap, simply nodded. Then she got up and ran to the stairs, no doubt to go looking for Alicia in their mother’s room.

  Damn, he thought. Why was Daphne so determined to keep her sister and mother apart unless she was present? It looked like relations between the sisters were about to become even less amiable, for he sensed that Alicia would not hesitate to inform Daphne that the current conversation was just between the two of them.

  Then again, maybe that’s what it would take to cure Daphne of her possessiveness. How could he forget how she’d raced up those stairs like a cannonball this afternoon the moment she suspected Alicia was visiting Caroline. He wondered what her problem could be.

  Chapter 24

  Do You Want To Know a Secret?

  Alicia sat at Caroline’s bedside, holding her hand. She wished her mother hadn’t spent so much time telling her not to hold Toni Livingston responsible for allowing her to talk more than she should if anything should happen, that she’d been the one to insist on talking at length, no matter what the consequences. At last she’d begun speaking about the matter at hand. Alicia couldn’t deny that all through dinner, dessert, and the movie she’d been curious about what her mother wanted to tell her.

  “Alicia, you’re my oldest child,” Caroline said. “You came along at a time when I feared Fletcher and I were destined to be childless, in spite of how well our lives were going otherwise. You can’t possibly know how much you mean to me.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  “I’m afraid your father and I weren’t honest with you. We meant to, but we never got around to telling you that—”

  “There you are!”

  Alicia frowned at the sight of Daphne.

  “What’s going on?” Daphne inquired.

  “What does it look like?” Alicia snapped impatiently. “I’m saying good night to Mom.”

  “Daphne, I asked Alicia to come up tonight so I could talk to her.”

  Alicia studied her mother, caught the meaningful look she gave to Daphne. Clearly something strange was going on. Did Daphne already know what their mother prepared to tell her now? “What’s happening here?” she demanded. “I know something’s going on.” She stood and faced her sister. “Daphne, for the last couple of weeks you’ve made very sure I never had a moment alone with Mom. This morning when I got here you parked your butt right here in Mom’s room. You were here when I came in to wish her Merry Christmas, and you waited until I’d showered, changed, and stopped in one more time before going back downstairs before you came down yourself. This afternoon, when you thought I might be up with Mom, you damn near broke your neck getting up here. I want to know why.”

  Daphne’s hands went to rest on her hips as she glared at her sister. “Alicia, you need to shut up. What the hell do you think you’re doing, raising all this ruckus when you know Mom’s not supposed to have any excitement?” She turned toward the hallway. “Toni!”

  The nurse promptly entered the room. “What is it?”

  “My sister is making a fuss, even though she knows how much it will upset my mother. Will you please ask her to leave?”

  Toni looked at Caroline for instructions.

  “No, Toni,” Caroline said. “Daphne means well, but unfortunately, she’s creating all the fuss, not Alicia. I need to speak with Alicia in private. Would you please escort Daphne out?”

  “Mrs. Scott, you heard what your mother said,” Toni said softly.

  Daphne stared at Caroline incredulously. “Mom, no!”

  Caroline used precious strength to lean forward. “Daphne, I may be on my deathbed, but I know what you’re trying to do. I’m ordering you to leave this room right now.”

  “But, Mom—”

  Alicia had enough of Daphne’s tantrum and approached her. “You heard what she said, Daphne. Please excuse us.”

  Daphne’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You think you’re so damn special. Wait ’til you—”

  The rest of her words were lost as Caroline suddenly slumped forward.

  “Oh, my God!” Alicia whispered as Toni immediately went into action, lifting Caroline’s torso and pushing her back against the pillows. “Call the paramedics,” she ordered over her shoulder.

  “Mom!” Daphne wailed.

  Alicia dashed for the phone on the other side of the bed, practically knocking over her sobbing sister in the process. Quickly she punched out 9-1-1. “I need an ambulance right away. My mother just collapsed. She’s a heart patient. Please hurry!” She gave the address.

  Toni, calm but quick, searched for Caroline’s pulse. She then began massaging her heart muscles.

  “Toni, what can I do?” Alicia pleaded.

  “There’s nothing you can do right now. You might want to tell Martha and the others what’s happened. And someone should stand watch at the door for the paramedics so they can let them in right away. Every second counts.”

  Daphne still stood motionless at the foot of Caroline’s bed, tears running down her cheeks. Alicia knew she wouldn’t be of much use. “I’m on it,” she said.

  She ran down the two flights. Someone, having heard her frantic footsteps, paused the movie, and all eyes were upon her. “It’s Mom,” she said breathlessly. “She’s just collapsed. I called the paramedics, and Toni is working on her.”

  Everyone jumped to their feet. Jack was at her side in an instant.

  “Where’s Daphne?” Todd wanted to know.

  “Still up in Mom’s room. I think she’s in shock.”

  “Here, let me have him,” Martha offered, meaning little Fletch. Todd handed the roused
but still sleepy boy over to her and promptly bounded up the stairs.

  “I think I should put him in bed before anyone gets here,” she said.

  “Come on, I’ll go with you,” Marvin said, taking her arm and guiding her toward the stairs.

  “Someone needs to be by the front door when the paramedics arrive,” Alicia said to Jack.

  “Let’s go.”

  While they waited in the foyer Jack said, “Alicia, what happened?”

  “It was all Daphne’s fault. She busted in and started carrying on that I was making Mom talk when she’s not supposed to and asked the nurse to escort me out. Mom summoned up all her strength to tell Toni—that’s the nurse on duty—that Daphne was the one making all the fuss, and that she wanted her to escort Daphne out so she could talk to me.” A sob caught in her throat. “I’m afraid it might have been the last of her strength. She slumped forward and lost consciousness. Toni is trying to revive her.”

  “Did she get a chance to talk to you at all?”

  “She’d just started when Daphne showed up. Jack, whatever Mom wanted to tell me, Daphne already knows. I’m sure of it. And she doesn’t want me to know about it. That’s why she’s been hovering over me whenever I go in to see Mom.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe her. She’s responsible for what’s happened.”

  “Hopefully your mother will still get a chance to tell you.”

  “I’m not so sure. It doesn’t look good, Jack.”

  He took a step toward her, and she willingly went into his embrace. He held her, neither of them speaking, until they heard the siren of an approaching rescue truck.

  Todd raced down the stairs. “Are they here?”

  “They’re coming in now,” Jack told him.

  The technicians came in the house, and Todd directed them to Caroline’s room.

  “I hope they can revive her,” he said as they all looked up at the rapidly moving EMS team. “I’ve got to say, it didn’t look too good. Alicia, you might want to go up.”