Woo was at the window again, straining to see through the lightly falling snow. It was a hell of a storm, one that shut down just about every business in the city. It was rare for the courthouse to shut down entirely, but it had happened today. By tomorrow, with the road crews working around the clock, the city would start to get back to normal. Woo heard the clank of tire chains at the same moment he saw Ross’s car pull into the driveway. The sense of relief he felt was so total he almost collapsed. He was at the door, holding it open, when Ross climbed the steps, his gloved hand on the iron railing for support.
“I was hoping you had enough sense to come here,” Ross croaked. “I need a stiff slug of something and half a bottle of aspirin. Would you mind getting it for me, Woo?”
“No, of course not. Jesus, you look sick. Do you want me to call a doctor?”
“This is just a cold. I’ll shower and change and camp out by the fire. On second thought, bring the bottle and a gallon of orange juice. Tell the cook to make me some chicken soup. Do you mind, Woo?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Woo said, relief surging through him. Ross hadn’t just gotten sick, he must have been sick yesterday too. Ergo, nothing happened in Jory’s house. He hated himself for the relief he was feeling.
While Ross showered, the housekeeper made the sofa into a bed with down comforter and two down pillows. A pot of tea, a bottle of brandy, and a huge glass of orange juice were on the coffee table. Woo set the bottle of aspirin next to the orange juice. The television set was on, the sound low. The fire burned brightly and the room was warm, but not stifling hot.
Ross settled himself between the covers, his teeth chattering. “Thanks, Woo.”
“The housekeeper did it. I just carried in the aspirin bottle. How many do you want? Your chicken soup is being prepared as we speak.”
“Four,” Ross rasped.
“You should have a doctor look at you, Ross. Remember the last time you got sick like this?”
“As if I could forget it. If I’m not better by tomorrow, I’ll call the doctor. Don’t forget I have to be in court for the divorce.”
“You could postpone it. What’s another week?”
“It has to come off, Jory has herself all prepared. She more or less threatened me if I screwed it up. She’s something else, Woo. She kicked me out and made me sit on the steps for fifteen minutes. She didn’t know, at least I don’t think she knew, that I was sitting on the steps. She thought I left. She really kicked me out. She would have let me walk all the way back to town. Do you believe that?”
“I sure do. That young woman rarely does or says anything she doesn’t mean. What the hell did you do to make her kick you out?”
“I didn’t do anything. I asked her if she wanted to try out the marriage again. That’s it. This is what I got for my efforts.”
“Try out! Are those the words you used?” Woo said quietly. “If I was Jory, I’d have kicked your ass out too.”
“Jesus Christ! What the hell was wrong with saying that? The judge is going to ask both of us if we discussed trying the marriage again. I had to ask. She said no, so that’s the end of it.” He sneezed three times in rapid succession and then blew his nose. He leaned back, exhausted. “She wants nothing to do with me.”
Woo felt a second surge of relief course through him at his friend’s words. “Why’d you go there, Ross?”
“To tell her about the new court date. I thought it would be better to tell her in person than over the phone. Besides, I wanted to see her. What’s so terrible about that?”
“Nothing, I guess,” Woo mumbled.
“The phone and power went out early in the afternoon. The damn house was freezing.”
“And you left her there with no heat, power, or water, with four dogs?” Outrage filled Woo’s voice.
“In case you haven’t been listening to me, Woo, I didn’t have a whole lot of choices. She kicked me out. That girl is a survivor. You don’t have to worry about her or those dogs. She can melt the snow for water, even I know that. She’s got plenty of firewood and enough food for weeks,” Ross wheezed.
Woo’s disposition turned positive at Ross’s words. He turned so Ross wouldn’t see the smile building on his face. “I’ll make a mustard plaster for you. My mother always used to do that when we got chest colds. I’ll have the cook help me. By tonight you’ll either be better or dead,” Woo said cheerfully.
“Jory said she didn’t care if I died, said she’d make a beautiful young widow and she’d spend all my insurance money. She goddamn meant it too. I think that was before she kicked me out. She’s heartless. Look at me, I could die. Did she care? Hell no!”
“Take the aspirin, Ross, and I’ll make the plaster.”
The smile on Woo’s face stayed with him for the twenty minutes it took him to make the plaster. Ross bolted upright when Woo slapped it on his chest, then wrapped a towel around him before he shoved him down between the covers.
“You have to work quick,” Woo replied.
“Jesus, Woo, what is this? It bums like hell. I can’t breathe,” Ross gasped, his forehead beaded with perspiration.
“A little of this, a little of that, a lot of mustard and a lot of garlic. It’s working already—your eyes are tearing and your nose is dripping. Old Polish remedies always work.” Most of the time, he said under his breath. “Listen, I have an idea. How about I read to you? The latest issue of TIF.” Woo grinned. “Maybe it will put you to sleep.”
“Get the hell out of here, Woo, and let me die in peace.”
“By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you I won’t be spending the holidays in Lancaster. But I am going up Christmas Eve, and coming back after Midnight Mass. You want to come?”
“Of course I’m coming. The presents are all wrapped and everything. I thought you weren’t going to ask me this year.”
“I wasn’t,” Woo said honestly. “I changed my mind. There’s nothing in the rule book of friendship that says we can’t have sharp words now and then. I expect us to be friends for the rest of our lives. I kind of lost sight of that for a little while. I’m glad you had the good sense to make it right, Ross.”
“Me too,” Ross said hoarsely.
“By the way, your mother called, your father called, and so did Lena. Everyone was worried about you. I said I didn’t know where you were. Your mother wants you to call her no matter what time of day it is. Your father sounded terribly worried, said you had a dinner engagement. Lena merely said to tell you she called. Do you want me to call them for you?”
“Yeah, call my father and explain what happened. If my mother or Lena call again, tell them I’m sleeping, and don’t let my mother intimidate you.”
“Done,” Woo said, heading for the library. “Sleep, Ross, it’s the best thing for you right now. I’ll put the phone in the hallway if you don’t want to use it.”
“Rip it out of the wall for all I care,” Ross mumbled. His eyes closed wearily.
The first call Woo made was to Clyde Barrister, Ross’s doctor. He explained the situation and said, “I can make it to the drugstore if you call the prescription in.” The doctor said he would, with the understanding Ross would be in the following day for a thorough going-over, as he put it. Woo said he’d personally see that Ross got there by mid-afternoon. The second call was to Jasper Landers. The sigh of relief in the older man’s voice tugged at Woo’s heart. “He’ll be fine, Mr. Landers. I’m going out to get some medication for him. I’ll call you later in the day to let you know how he is. Of course I’ll stay the night. Please, Mr. Landers, don’t worry about Ross.” The third call was to Jory. The phones were still out of order. Jory would be just fine, he was sure of it.
Woo checked on Ross before he dressed to head out for the drugstore. What should have been a ten-minute walk each way took an hour. When Woo let himself back in the house, his eyebrows shot up as the cook motioned for him to be quiet. “Mr. Ross’s mother is in the living room.” That much he could have figured out hi
mself. No one in the world had a voice like Justine Landers. She was doing all the talking. Woo wondered if Ross was pretending to be asleep. He walked through the dining room and brazenly listened behind the door. He grimaced when he heard Justine say, “I told that Polish person to have you call me. Why didn’t you, Ross?”
“Mother, I’m sick. I’m running a fever. Whatever it is can’t be so important it can’t wait a day or two.”
“This cannot wait, Ross. I set up the visit for tomorrow. You don’t look sick to me, but you smell terrible. Don’t playact with me.”
“Mother, you wouldn’t know if I was sick if I dropped dead at your feet. Go home, I’m not in the mood for this. I’ll be lucky if I make the divorce tomorrow, and after that if I’m feeling better, I’m going to the doctor. Reschedule whatever it is.”
“You’re not listening to me. I can’t reschedule. I’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to set up this meeting. It cannot be postponed.”
“Yes it can, Mother.” He rolled over to bury his face in the pillow. Justine jerked him around.
“I had . . . people arrange this meeting so you could meet your grandparents and your aunts, uncles, and cousins. It’s supposed to be a surprise. Your presence is required. This is not a request, Ross, it’s an order,” Justine said firmly.
“Grandma and Grandpa are dead,” he replied, staring up at her wearily. “I have a trust fund to prove it. What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about my side of the family,” Justine said coldly.
“What side? You said you had no family. You told me you were an orphan. Are you telling me now you lied?” Ross struggled to sit up on the sofa. “Why in the name of God would you do such a thing?” he demanded, a sick look on his face.
Behind the dining room door Woo took a deep breath.
“You make it sound like I killed someone. I need you to go with me to meet them. I said you would come with me. The people who arranged the meeting are expecting us. Please, Ross,” Justine said desperately.
“No, Mother, I won’t. I don’t have the nerve to face a set of grandparents I never knew I had. What do you want from them? What is it you think they can do for you? Were you ashamed of them? Ah, that’s it, isn’t it? Now, suddenly, you want to resurrect this family and . . . do what? No, no thank you, Mother.”
“I will not allow you to shame me, Ross.”
“Shame!” Ross tried to bellow. His voice sounded like a frog in its death throes. He tried to clear his throat but was unsuccessful. Perspiration beaded on his face. He wiped at it with the sleeve of his flannel robe. “Put your best face on it, Mother, and pull up your socks. That’s what you used to tell me. Wait, wait, you used to say, ‘Only sniveling cowards cry.’ I believed you when you said that because you were my mother. I wish now I’d never listened to you. You never once gave me good advice. Maybe if I’d cried a little more I’d be a better person today.” Exhausted, Ross fell back against the pillows.
Woo pushed the door open. Justine backed up a step. “Is anything wrong?” Woo rumbled, his voice nearly carrying through the house.
“My mother was just leaving, Woo. Escort her to the door.”
“It will be my pleasure,” Woo rumbled again. One huge hand reached out to grasp Justine’s arm. If he’d wanted to, he could have lifted her off her feet. Instead, the pressure on her arm forced her forward.
Justine tried to jerk free of Woo’s tight grasp. “Either you meet me at noon or you no longer work for me,” she said to her son. “Do you hear me, Ross, you’re fired! Fired!”
Ross swung his legs over the side of the sofa. “Woo, break out the champagne! I’m a free man!”
For a man of his size and bulk, Woo moved with the grace of a cat. Justine was in the hall, then the foyer, and then out the door in a blink of an eye. The moment the door closed, he shot the dead bolt home. “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” he muttered, using his mother’s favorite phrase. Jesus, how was he supposed to handle this? Very, very carefully, he answered himself.
“You weren’t serious about that champagne, were you, Ross?” Woo asked quietly when he returned to the living room.
Ross shook his head. “Did you hear it all?” he rasped.
“Yes, I was behind the dining room door.” He held out the prescription bottles. “I thought we could get a head start on your visit tomorrow. You can take them with tea.”
“You went out in this weather to get . . . thanks, Woo,” Ross said. He gulped at the tea and swallowed the pills at the same time. Then he asked, “Are there any openings in the D.A.’s office?” a sickly grin on his face.
“I can check it out first thing tomorrow morning,” Woo said lightly. “I don’t think she meant it.”
“She meant it. Look, I tried. Would you have reacted any differently? I have grandparents I never met, aunts, uncles, and cousins. You know how I feel about family. How could she not tell me? Now she wants me to . . . Shit!” he said succinctly.
Woo motioned for Ross to lie back. He’d only seen such misery, such fright, once before in his life. He’d been ten then and had gone along with his friends to check their hunting traps. His friends had crowed with delight at the sight of the small brown rabbit they snared. All he’d seen was the fear and misery in the animal’s eyes. Because he was a head taller, and twenty-five pounds heavier, he’d squared off with his friends and let the rabbit go. Then he smashed the trap. He lost a lot of friends the year he was ten. His father said he was proud of him. His mother hugged him. To this day he wondered what the rabbit felt. Relief probably. He wondered what Ross was thinking. He gave voice to the thought.
“Betrayed is too kind a word,” Ross croaked. “That . . . that came out of nowhere. In a million years that was the last thing I expected.”
“Listen, Ross, my mother always says God never gives you more than you can handle. Right now, this probably seems like the heaviest hand life’s dealt you, but think about this—if your mother hadn’t finally opened up, you’d never know about that side of your family. You know now. When the time is right, you can search them out and make things right. What’s bothering me is your father. Why didn’t he say something? Or do you suppose he didn’t know?”
Ross shook his head. “I’m sure he knew. My mother is not someone you go up against. My father took the easy way out of most things. At least that’s how I perceived it. He doesn’t like to deal with problems. He had enough money to pay people to take care of things. He simply went on with his life and my mother went on with hers. That doesn’t make it right, but I was forced to accept it.”
Woo shook his head. “You say you accepted it, but you didn’t. Not really. Hell, you turned out okay, and that’s saying a whole hell of a lot for a kid who basically raised himself. So you screwed up with Jory and you made a bad call where Lena is concerned. Life goes on. Now don’t take it wrong when I tell you I think Jory and Lena were important in your life. They both helped you get to this place in time. Now you have a chance to start a new life. You yourself said your father is coming around, that the two of you are on better terms and you truly like him. Your mother has given you a family you didn’t know you had. The fact she fired you is probably the best thing that ever happened to you. Tomorrow you’ll be a free man, like you said. I’m assuming you’ll have a talk with Lena before too long and do whatever it is you have to do. The way I look at it, old buddy, is you got yourself life’s tiger by the tail. You can let that tiger go to sleep or you can wake him up. Your call, Ross.”
“Hmmm,” Ross said groggily.
“I’ve just given you better advice than a psychiatrist would, and you fall asleep on me,” Woo grumbled.
“I heard every word,” Ross murmured.
Woo grinned. Famous last words. He poured the rest of the tea into his cup, added a squirt of brandy. He propped his feet on the coffee table and hunkered down.
During the night, Woo woke Ross three times, twice for the medication and once to change the mustard plaster.
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br /> At four o’clock Woo went into the kitchen for a drink of water. He blinked in surprise when he saw light snow falling outside the window. Would they close the courthouse again or would the municipal building open up for business?
Because he had nothing else to do, Woo reached for the phone to dial his own number at the carriage house. The phone was still out. Would Jory attempt to drive into town? Knowing her, she’d probably walk.
Woo made a pot of coffee and some toast, eating and drinking at the kitchen table. At five-fifteen he cleaned up his mess and headed for the shower. He was downstairs fully dressed for the day at six o’clock. He called the main number for the courthouse and was told court would be in session. At seven o’clock he called three different car services to see if they’d make the trip to Chestnut Hill to pick up Jory, and was told by all three companies there were no cars available.
Ross woke at seven-thirty. “Court’s in session, I called,” Woo said briskly. “It’s snowing. I called three car services to ask if they’d pick Jory up, but they’re all booked. The phones are still out. I guess it’s a crap shoot. How do you feel?”
“Better,” Ross lied. Christ, he felt like an elephant had his foot on his chest. “A hot shower and some breakfast will do wonders for me. Are you walking?”
“At least I’ll get there. I picked up a pair of boots, and don’t think that was easy. Very few people stock size fourteen. I’ll be fine. I’d head for the doctor if I were you, Ross. You probably need a double shot of penicillin or something. Is it okay if I come back here for another night?”
“Hell yes. This place is yours, you know that. You don’t have to ask.”
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