Rich’s mother was resting on a brightly flowered chaise in front of the almost floor-to-ceiling windows, her wheelchair to one side, her grab bar on the other. She looked up as they entered and met Laura’s eyes openly and smiled in warm genuine welcome. Laura saw that her beauty had faded little under the stress of pain and she was as attractive a woman as she had ever seen.
Laura was immediately captivated and knew instantly she could love this woman wholeheartedly, as she did Rich, as Rich loved his mother. She instinctively stepped closer and held out her hands. “I’m Laura Boutelle, Rich’s fiancée.”
Jewel clasped both of her hands firmly. “Jim, bring her a chair, please. Laura, welcome. I’m so glad to meet you, so glad you came. Sit down and tell me about you and Richard. How you got together, what he’s doing. How is he?”
Jim brought a brocade-upholstered chair and put it beside the chaise. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” He turned away. “And I’ll ask Vi to fix some tea and something.”
“Thank you.” Jewel smiled up at him and turned to Laura again. “There is so much I want to know . . .”
“I’ll try.” She settled herself. “There is a lot to tell.”
This was exactly what she had hoped for. And she would be able to tell Rich how well it had all gone. And what a lovely mother he has . . .
46.
Archie Weston was cold and scared. His hands were clammy and he couldn’t stop the trembling. The police officer had put him in this small room without any windows and told him brusquely to sit down and be quiet while they called his parents.
He couldn’t straighten out his thoughts. All the alternatives as to what would happen to him now were too awful to even contemplate. Would his father desert him, abandon him as he had Rich and Ken? Abandoned them because he had lied?
He had known it was wrong, but the two Black Aces had told him what he had to do to join. They took the money he had found in his father’s desk, gave him a bucket of red paint, and told him to paint the monument in the park. He had done as they told him, by then too scared to protest. Two police officers had come and brought him here. Somebody apparently saw what he was doing and called the police.
He had answered their questions as best he could but he didn’t know the older boys’ names. He had a distinct impression that the officers intended to find out. I hope they do and really fix them. But what will happen to me?
After what seemed like hours, the officer opened the door and beckoned to him. Archie followed slowly into another room where his father was talking to another officer behind a big desk. He looked his way but Archie couldn’t look up at him. The expression on his father’s face was too horrifying. It froze his muscles and he couldn’t move. He was sure he’d be sick all over everything.
The seated officer was saying, “Have him in juvenile court in the morning at ten o’clock, Mr. Weston. The judge will talk to you.”
Jim nodded, glanced at Archie, and motioned for him to follow. He didn’t speak on the way home beyond a terse, “What in hell did you think you were doing?”
Archie couldn’t answer and started crying, trying not to but unable to stop.
Jim pushed Archie ahead of him into the house. Archie stumbled over the doorsill but Jim didn’t help him. They found Jewel in the sunroom in her wheelchair, waiting for them, her worry plain on her face. Jim told her tersely what had happened, all that the police had told him.
“Stupid little idiot. What a damn fool stunt. Archie, what did you think you were doing?”
Archie sobbed louder, unable to answer.
“Archie, shut up!”
Archie swallowed hard and bit his trembling lip. He couldn’t look at either of his parents.
“I don’t know what got into you. Why did you want to join this club, whatever it was? I know you know better, and I know what I’m going to do about it, regardless of what the judge does tomorrow.”
Archie glanced at him and walked toward his mother, needing some kind of comfort. He was shaking and trying not to cry.
She reached for him, put an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him closer, but his father said coldly, “Archie, go to the library and wait for me.” He unbuckled his belt.
Archie fled.
~ ~ ~
Jim stood with his back to Jewel.
“Rich told me once what I was doing to Arch,” he said slowly. “I didn’t believe him. What he said just made me mad.”
“Most boys get into some kind of scrape, don’t they?”
“Not like this. It’s against everything I stand for, what I’ve tried to teach him.” He pulled the belt out of its loops and flexed it. “I failed with Rich and blamed it on Phil. I blamed Ken’s weakness on Carmond.” He turned away. “But I can only blame Archie on myself.”
“Jim . . .”
“It has to be done, Jewel. And I have to do it.”
She watched him go. After a while she heard Jim walk through the dining room toward the kitchen. She wheeled herself to the library and found Archie sitting at the desk, his head on his arms and crying uncontrollably. Why is he so hysterical? I know Jim’s never hit him before but he wouldn’t have hit him very hard, even if he was terribly angry. Is there more to this than he’s told us? Did something else happen?
She stopped beside him without speaking to him and put her hand tentatively on his back. She didn’t know what to say.
After a moment, Archie asked faintly, “Mom?”
“I’m here.”
“Will Daddy send me away now, too?
What an odd thing to ask. “I don’t think so. Why would he? Where would he send you?”
Archie didn’t move, although he tried to control his sobs. “Daddy got mad at Rich and Ken and then they both went away and I don’t want to go, too.”
A cold tightness settled in her chest. “I don’t understand, Arch. What has this to with Rich and Ken?”
Archie kept his face covered with his trembling hands. He said between choking sobs, “I told Daddy a lie about Rich. I said he took the money, but he didn’t. I did. And Daddy hollered at him and hit him, and Rich went away and had that accident and never came back. And I put the letter Wendy sent Ken into Daddy’s papers because I was mad at him ‘cause he made me turn down the TV. And Daddy hollered at Ken and now he’s gone and he says he won’t ever come back, either.” He began crying again. “And now he’s mad at me.”
The cold numbness was spreading through her, settling into her injured back. Everything that no one told me, what they didn’t want me to know. To spare me.
“I think if you told your father what you just told me. It will be all right.” Would it really? Can it ever be better? Can they ever come back, either of them? What was it Jim said to them? “At least it would help.”
“He won’t hit me again?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I don’t want to go away.”
She patted his shoulder. All of this explained so much. How can Jim ever make things right with Rich if he called him a thief and a liar? And I don’t know what he said to Ken. “I hope you learned something, Arch.”
He didn’t answer.
“I’ll be on the sun porch if you need me. If you want to talk about it.” She went looking for Jim and found him in the front hall staring out a sidelight. She stopped beside him. He glanced toward her but didn’t speak.
Best to just ask and get this straight. She released a long breath to control her voice, to try to keep it reasonable. “Archie seems to think that you are going to send him away.”
Jim faced her. “Now why would he think that?”
“He said you fought with Rich and Ken before they left.”
He stared at her without speaking.
She could see his shock, his face paling. “He said
he put Wendy’s note in your papers because he was mad at Ken.”
He didn’t comment.
“And he said he lied to you about Rich and some money.”
“No. Oh my God. No.”
She heard the distress in her husband’s voice, saw his disbelief. “Tell me, Jim. Rich said I should ask you why he left that night.”
Jim sat down heavily on the stairs and rested his face in his hands. “God help me. I called Rich a liar because Arch said . . .”
“And a thief?”
“I knew he didn’t do it. I knew it then. Rich told me what I was doing with Archie and it made me mad.”
“And you drove him away, out into the freezing rain.”
Jim nodded, keeping his face covered.
She maneuvered her chair around.
“Jewel, wait . . .”
She glanced at him. “Leave me alone for a while, Jim, please. I need to think about all this.”
He didn’t move.
She went slowly toward the sun porch, too stunned and hurt to really think. She heard the front door slam and knew Jim had gone out and that and it would be a while before he came back. He needs some time to get himself under control. Well, so do I.
Through her tears she reached for her exercise bar to pull herself up and maneuver onto the chaise, but she had forgotten to lock her wheels. Her fingers slipped off the bar as the chair rolled backward and she fell heavily onto the floor. Her back was twisted, her useless legs under her, and she couldn’t move.
She took a deep breath, knew she was helpless, and screamed once. But who is there to help me? Jim’s gone and Vi’s away for the evening. She started crying, but more for Richard and Ken than for herself.
The pain grew intense. She cried out again and Archie came. He tried, but he wasn’t strong enough to help her up.
“The phone,” she whispered. “On the table. Call 911.”
~ ~ ~
Jim came in soon after the medics had gotten her comfortably back onto her chaise and had determined that no real damage had been done.
“Jewel, what happened? I saw the ambulance out front . . .”
Through her pain and relief she could see his fear for her, knew that he was blaming himself for her fall, for leaving her and thought, This time it is up to him.
“I forgot to lock the wheels. I’ll be all right. Archie called . . .”
“Thanks,” Jim said to the young woman who was helping Jewel with her pillows and finding a blanket. “I’ll get her to her doctor tomorrow. Or to the emergency room if we need to. There’s no need for you to stay.”
When they were gone, she lay still and kept her eyes closed. The pain in her back was easing, but not the pain in her heart. Or the cold heaviness in her chest.
Jim was still standing beside her, staring down at her, tightly holding her hand. “Jewel, I’m sorry. Really sorry.”
She looked up at him, his pale worry-contorted face. “For everything?”
“For everything. All I’ve done is hurt you and all I wanted to do was spare you.”
She knew that wasn’t nearly enough, and that he knew it, too. He had hurt the others far more than he had hurt her, but she didn’t say it. She couldn’t say it.
“It’s probably too late,” he said heavily.
She put her hand over his, thawing just a little. “It’s never too late, Jim.”
“But what can I do? What can I say now? They won’t even talk to me.”
She didn’t know. Again, that would be up to him.
He dropped into the chair beside her still holding her hand. “Can you forgive me? Jewel, I love you . . .”
She couldn’t stop the tears. “I know that, Jim, and I love you, but I love my sons, too. All three of them.”
He kept his eyes on hers, kissed her fingers, and said nothing.
She closed her eyes. What else was there to do?
He gathered her into his arms and held her close against him. She wondered for a moment if he was crying. It would be so unlike him.
“I love them, too,” he whispered against her hair. “And I’ve lost two of them because of my damn pride, having to do it all my way. Rich told me that, and I guess Ken did, too.”
“Admitting it is the first step back,” she said softly. But who would take the next one?
He held her closer and she leaned against him. He was all she had left.
47.
Early in the afternoon of November 10th, Frank Powers came home unexpectedly. Alarmed, Wendy asked what was wrong.
“Nothing wrong. I have to go to Albany. Remember? I told you it might happen.” He looked around the room as if perplexed. “I catch a flight at six.”
He had told her and she had hoped it wouldn’t happen, that since he was the alternate he wouldn’t have to go. She caught her breath and put one hand on her swollen belly. “For how long?”
“Three days. Ron came down sick last night.” He turned and faced her. “Look, Wendy, I don’t have any choice in this. This is important training on a new system. Things I have to know. I’m lucky to get this chance. I don’t know when it will come up again.”
“I didn’t think you could change plane reservations,” she said helplessly.
He shrugged. “All it takes is money. The company paid for the course and somebody has to take it. I lucked out.”
She opened her mouth to protest but made no sound. She couldn’t. She didn’t doubt what he said.
He looked more closely at her. “The baby isn’t due until next month. There shouldn’t be any problem, should there?”
She put her other hand on her stomach. “I guess not.”
“If you don’t want to stay here alone, you can go stay with your mother, can’t you?”
Wendy bit back a groan. She didn’t want to do that. It would be admitting that she couldn’t cope. “I’ll stay here, just call her if I need anything.”
“Good.” He turned away. “I have to get packed.”
“Could I go with you?” she asked hesitantly.
He shook his head. “Last-minute tickets are terribly expensive, even if there is a seat available. And I’m sharing a room with one of the guys.”
She felt he was thinking, In your condition? She watched as he put items in his overnight bag, toiletries, clean underwear, socks, a shirt, his e-book reader. He closed the bag and stood looking around the bedroom. “Did I forget anything?”
Me. You’ve forgotten me. “I don’t think so. How are you getting to the airport?”
“Cal’s picking me up.” He glanced at his watch. “Along about now.” He put his hand hesitantly on her arm. “He has to take this training, too. You will be all right, won’t you?” There was an unusual note of concern in his voice that cheered a little.
“I’ll be fine.” She had met Frank’s co-worker a couple of times but did not know him. At least I don’t have to drive him.
“Then, I’ll call you when we get to the hotel. There’s Cal now.” He kissed her quickly, perfunctorily, and hugged her a moment. “Everything will be okay, Wendy. Believe me. This is a great opportunity for me.”
But what about me? She stood by the window and watched them leave. What can I do this evening? And tomorrow? For three days?
She occupied herself with light housework and dusted her cat collection. She ate a supper of soup and a sandwich, found birthday cards for two friends, and chose a book to read. Frank called, told her he had had a good flight, and said he was going to the orientation session of the workshop. He would call her before he left for the morning session.
Nothing on television caught her interest and she went to bed early.
In the morning, her stomach was queasy. She ignored it since she was frequently on the edge of na
usea. She drank a cup of sweetened tea and nibbled on a piece of toast. The cards she had written were on the counter. I’ll take them to the post office, then pick up something for lunch and get a few groceries. That will take up some time.
As she was getting into her coat, she was gripped by a sudden sharp pain, a cramp across the small of her back. It frightened her, but the spasm passed. Is this the false labor they warned me about? It’s too early for the real thing.
She waited a few minutes but the pain didn’t return. She drove to the Post Office and mailed her cards, but decided not to do any shopping. She didn’t feel up to it. Back at home, she was uneasy, something seemed to be wrong although she could not name it and there had been no more pain. She decided to take a short walk. It might help and the doctor says I should. Every day and I don’t. Then I’ll fix some lunch. She wasn’t hungry and the thought of food was nauseating.
The sun was shining but it was a colder than she liked with a brisk chill wind. She shoved her mittened hands into the pockets of her jacket and shuffled along the sidewalk keeping her head down. She noticed a few icy spots on the sidewalk left over from a recent sleety snow squall, but she could easily avoid them. She was a block from home when the pain struck again, slashing hard across her lower back, making her stagger a few steps. Her foot landed on an icy patch. She slipped, unable to catch herself, and fell heavily onto the bordering grass. The cramp intensified, then passed as quickly as it had come, leaving her weak and gasping for breath. She managed to get up, levering herself with her arms, and turned toward home limping from a bang on her knee. The pain came again as she reached home. She collapsed onto a chair and reached for the phone.
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