Save the Best for Last

by Bettye Griffin

  Not that the Grays were an exceptionally large group. In addition to the senior Grays, there was just Dexter’s twin sister Lexi, Lexi’s husband, Ellis Ward, and their toddler son and baby daughter. The family drove over from their home in Newburgh. Genevieve knew she wouldn’t forget anyone’s name. And to all of them she was ‘Jenny,’ the nickname Dexter had given her. She’d been reluctant at first for anyone else other than him to call her that, but now she found she liked it.

  She’d been pleased when the Ward’s four-year-old son, Trey, talked incessantly to her since they met, telling her about himself and asking plenty of curious questions about her. Genevieve never had the opportunity to spend much time around children, and meeting little Trey pulled at her maternal heartstrings.

  Those urges increased tenfold when she saw Trey’s two-month-old sister, Charlice, looking like a little munchkin in her pink Winnie the Pooh all-in-one. Genevieve felt a stab of disappointment to see Lexi bundling up the children after dinner, preparing to bring them over to the nearby home of Ellis’s parents’ for dessert.

  The day had brought little time for her to be alone with Dexter, as she assisted Edna in the kitchen since morning, and then the Wards arrived. But she had enjoyed every minute of the day nevertheless, and now that dinner and the cleanup was over, she wanted to slip away with Dexter and open her heart to him. That double porch swing out front might be the perfect setting.

  “You youngsters feel free to go see a movie or something,” Sears Gray said as he settled in front of the television in one of twin recliners opposite it. Like the sofa, both powder blue chairs had beige doilies pinned where occupants’ heads would rest. Genevieve had never known either set of her grandparents—all four of them died young, victims of the hard life and poor health care that affected most of the residents of her island nation—but this charming little house embodied everything she imagined would be in a grandparents’ abode. Not only the doilies on the backs of the chairs, but the genuine red-and-black potbellied stove in the kitchen, the wood-burning fireplace in the living room, and the crocheted pillows and throws everywhere. Shortly after they arrived yesterday Dexter brought her to the third floor to show her the attic bedroom where he’d stayed since his teenage years, even though he could only stand up straight in the very center of it because of its sloping ceilings.

  She caught Dexter’s questioning eye and shook her head. “I think we’d both much prefer staying here with you and Mrs. Gray,” she said. “We can go to the movies anytime.” She couldn’t imagine leaving the warmth and happiness she felt in this wonderful little house to go to the impersonal setting of a movie theater and be around a lot of strangers. It would be like outright abandonment of Mr. and Mrs. Gray, especially in light of Lexi and Ellis’ departure to visit with Ellis’s family, which of course had been a necessary outing. Genevieve learned from Edna Gray that the Wards had invited them all to join their family for dinner, but that she and Sears weren’t willing to give up their sixty-year tradition of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at home.

  “Besides, we haven’t had our dessert yet,” Dexter added. “There’s just enough space in my belly for some Dutch apple pie, Grandma. And I know you’ve made eggnog.”

  “Perhaps Jenny would enjoy it better with my special ingredient,” Sears said, a twinkle in his eye.

  His wife covered her giggles with her palm. “Oh, Sears. Don’t go starting with that. What will Jenny think?”

  Genevieve looked at Mr. Gray, then Mrs. Gray, who still sat at the dining room table. She felt fairly certain that this elderly couple weren’t talking about adding a hallucinogenic to her drink. Surely the ‘special ingredient’ Mr. Gray referred to was a few drops of bourbon. She found it charming that in the twenty-first century people could still be so coy about alcohol consumption. Then again, the Grays had been born during Prohibition. She understood how one would grow up and refer to an activity that had been illegal during their childhoods in hushed tones.

  Mrs. Gray got up from her chair. “Apple pie coming right up. Who wants it a la mode?”

  “I do!” Dexter called out, beating his grandfather’s identical response by a millisecond.

  Barry yawned as he neared his exit on the Taconic Parkway. Never had a seventy-five-mile drive seemed to take so long.

  He had no difficulty taking early leave from dinner with the Smiths. Poughkeepsie represented a detour in the three-hour drive to the Berkshires, but only a short one.

  He’d looked up the Gray family on the on-line telephone directory, then gotten driving directions to their home. As he got closer, he realized he’d acted rather rashly. How foolish he would feel, knocking on the door of elderly people and asking for someone they may well have never heard of. He glanced at the dashboard clock. As it was, he’d barely make it there before nine o’clock, which was rather late to be ringing someone’s doorbell.

  But Dexter Gray had to be stopped. He, not Dexter, was the best man for Genevieve, and he’d tell both of them that.

  Everyone was delighted when the Wards returned a little after seven-thirty, while Genevieve and the Grays were enjoying a second serving of pie. “What brings you back so soon?” Sears inquired.

  “We were gone over two hours, Grandpa,” Lexi pointed out.

  “You’re not going home now, are you?” Genevieve asked.

  “Actually, we were hoping to go to a movie. That new one with Will Smith. We kind of hoped...”

  “That we’d baby-sit?” Genevieve asked. “I’d love to!” She had already bent to unzip Trey’s jacket, listening as the loquacious child told her all about the gifts Santa had left for him at his grandparents’.

  “I hoped you’d say that, Jenny.” Lexi smiled at Genevieve. “Grandma and Grandpa love being around the kids, but they’re really too old to try to keep up with Trey. And sometimes Charlice can be fussy.”

  “This way they’ll get to spend time with them without having to actually take care of them,” Ellis added. He looked to his brother-in-law. “Whaddaya say, Dexter?”

  “If it’s okay with Jenny, it’s okay with me.”

  She made a waving gesture. “Go on, have fun. We’ll be waiting to hear if the movie’s good or not. We might want to go see it tomorrow ourselves.”

  Lexi issued a few pointers as she backed toward the door. “Trey is about to go to sleep, although I think he’s caught his second wind now that he’s back here. I don’t think Charlice will last more than an hour. You can put them down in my old bedroom upstairs, the room you’re staying in. And thanks.” She blew a kiss to Trey. “Mommy and Daddy will be back for you later tonight. You be good for Uncle Dexter and Miss Jenny.”

  “See you later, dude,” Ellis echoed.

  As Genevieve held the gurgling Charlice, beautiful despite male pattern baldness that was more suggestive of an elderly toothless male rather than an infant female, it occurred to her that the Wards seemed thrilled to have an evening out. It was probably difficult for Lexi and Ellis, trying to maintain the romantic side of their marriage. Newburgh was a fair distance from Poughkeepsie, and these days parents had to be extremely careful about who they left their children with. Genevieve wondered if the Wards had been married long before starting a family. When she got married, she wanted to take a few years to just have fun with her husband before having kids.

  Wait a minute. She was already married.

  Both amused and embarrassed by her mistake, she cast a quick glance at Dexter. Her emotions changed to something else when she found him gazing at her, an odd smile on his face.

  She wondered if his thoughts were identical to hers, imagining that this was their baby.

  Chapter 26

  “I think we ought to turn in, Edna,” Mr. Gray suggested at eight-thirty. “It’s been a big day.”

  “Well, I don’t know that it’s right for me to just leave Jenny with these babies.”

  “Oh, no, I’m fine,” she assured. “You go on ahead to bed.”

  “Grandma, I’m right here
with Jenny. Have I become invisible all of a sudden?” Dexter said with feigned indignation.

  “No, but you look like you’re falling asleep yourself, Dexter.”

  “Nah, I’m fine. Go on to bed. I’ll help Jenny with the kids.”

  Twenty minutes later, Genevieve carried a newly changed and sleeping Charlice up the split staircase, with Dexter just behind her, carrying Trey. By the time she got to the landing in the middle before the steps changed direction, she was out of breath. “Dexter, how do your grandparents manage these steep stairs?”

  “Lexi and I do worry about them, but they’ve lived in this house for over fifty years. Sometimes I think they can maneuver the stairs blindfolded. But we’ll have a downstairs bedroom added on for them if it gets to be too much.”

  “I think that’s sweet.” The second floor of the Gray house had two bedrooms and a bath. Genevieve went into the room she was sleeping in and gently laid the sleeping Charlice onto the mattress of the maple wood crib on her back and covered her from the chest down with the blanket inside. She frowned at a distant rat-a-tat sound. “Did you hear that?”

  “It sounds like someone’s at the door,” Dexter said as he covered his sleeping nephew with a throw that had been neatly folded on the arm of the loveseat. I’ll go see who it is. Probably one of the neighbors with some pie. I hope to hell it’s not that nasty mincemeat.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll get Trey settled.”

  Genevieve unfolded the crocheted throw that laid neatly across the foot of the bed and placed it atop Trey, whose even breathing continued without missing a beat. A day of playing with new toys had worn him out. She doubted he would wake up even when his parents came to take him home to his own bed.

  She fingered the crib, wondering if it had belonged to Dexter or Lexi, as she lingered for a few minutes, wanting to see if either child stirred before going back downstairs. She’d make it a point to come up at regular intervals to check on them.

  When she felt confident that both children slept soundly, she quietly left the room, turning on the switch to a night light shaped like a duck so they wouldn’t be left in complete darkness.

  She became aware of a commotion as she descended the stairs. When she reached the center landing, to her amazement, she saw an overcoat-clad Barry standing just inside the front door opposite Dexter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, which she knew was the senior Grays coming out of their bedroom.

  She stood on the landing, with the Grays hovering a few steps behind her. “Barry! What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I came to get you.”

  “You came to get me? What the heck are you talking about, Barry? I’m not going with you. And how did you know where I was in the first place?” Even in her distress, she couldn’t help noticing Dexter’s guarded stance.

  “What the Sam Hill is going on here?” Sears demanded. Like his wife, he wore a bathrobe over his nightclothes.

  Barry bowed slightly. “Sir...ma’am...I’m terribly sorry to show up at your door at this late hour. But my future happiness is at stake. I’m sure you’ll understand, sir, that a man has to fight for the woman he loves.”

  His words astounded Genevieve. “Barry, please! You’re embarrassing me.” She could only imagine how the Dexter’s grandparents interpreted Barry’s remark. She stole a glance at them, and her heart sank to see the wounded looks on both their faces, as if to say, And we trusted you. She didn’t dare look at Dexter.

  “It’s the truth, Gen. I was having dinner with Brenda and Stan, and Brenda mentioned a phone call she received from Dexter’s grandmother, and that she’d been all excited because he was bringing a special girl home with him...right away I knew it had to be you. I just don’t believe you threw me over for him. There has to be something else to it. Some kind of blackmail.”

  “Sears, do something,” Mrs. Gray hissed loudly. “I don’t know who this man is, but he can’t come in here and accuse Dexter like that.”

  “Hold off, Edna. Dexter can handle this.” Mr. Gray nodded vigorously toward his grandson, and suddenly Dexter came to life.

  “You know, Henderson, I’m getting pretty sick of this whole thing,” he said angrily. “First Jenny denies you existed. Then she said it was complicated. Then she says she has to divorce me because you’re dropping hints that if she doesn’t, you’ll see to it that the government finds out about the deal she and I made. And you accuse me of blackmail.”

  Both Mr. and Mrs. Gray gasped at Dexter’s mention of the phrase, ‘divorce me.’ This time Genevieve was too numb to turn to look at them.

  “I never told her I would do that,” Barry said.

  Genevieve stood stock still on the landing as Dexter looked at her for confirmation, but she was still having difficulty accepting Barry’s intrusion into what had been a perfect day and could say nothing, not even after Dexter’s gaze hardened.

  Then he addressed Barry. “Maybe you didn’t come out and say it, but you sure as hell hinted. Who are you to try to manipulate her with threats into doing what you want? You don’t stand a chance, you and your expensive lawyers. Do you think you’re the only one who has good legal counsel? I’ve got some of the best legal minds in the country at my disposal, right at NYU.”

  Barry jerked, clearly taken aback, and Dexter continued his rant. “Now you show up here at my grandparents’ door, uninvited and well past a decent hour, telling my wife you don’t believe she’s here out of her own free will and that I must be forcing her in some fashion. I’m just glad I was here to open the door; you would have startled my grandparents if they’d been here alone and you showed up looking for Jenny. And I would have been ready to kick your ass for sure. Nobody terrorizes my grandparents.”

  “Don’t you worry about me, Dexter. I can still guard my wife and my property,” Sears declared, his voice creaking with age.

  “Wait a minute,” Barry protested. “I was brought up to respect my elders. No way would I have started off the same way if your grandparents had answered the door.”

  “I’ve heard enough. Throw him out, Dexter,” Sears instructed. “I’ll help you.” He held up a cane Genevieve hadn’t seen him use previously and brandished it like a weapon, ignoring the frantic pleas of Edna to put it down.

  “Hold on, Grandpa.” Dexter turned to Genevieve, his entire face a mask of hostility. Too late she realized her mistake in keeping silent a moment ago. Now Dexter looked as if he was just as fed up with her as he was with Barry.

  “It looks like it’s come to a showdown, Jenny,” he said, “and the outcome will depend on you. If you came here for any reason other than because you wanted to, or if you feel that your loyalty lies with him, I suggest you take this opportunity to leave.”

  She gasped, the first sound she’d made in several minutes. Dexter looked so unforgiving, as if he’d already made up his mind that their fledgling relationship was over. Before she could say anything, he jerked the front door open and slipped outside. Sears led Edna back up the stairs amid her protests that she wanted to see what would happen next, and suddenly she was alone with Barry.

  She raced down the remaining stairs. Barry’s triumphant smile soon dissolved into uncertainty at the furious look on her face. “Do you realize what you’ve done, Barry?” she demanded, finally finding her voice. “You’ve ruined everything. This was the happiest day I’ve had in a long time. It’s been absolutely perfect. And then you show up, and two of the kindest people I’ve ever known, who opened their home and hearts to me, now think I’m some kind of two-timing hussy.” Not to mention what Dexter must think. “Whatever possessed you to show up here like this?”

  “Gen, come on,” he said patiently. “This isn’t for you. I’m sure these are perfectly nice people, but you don’t belong in Poughkeepsie.” He pronounced the name of the city with ridicule. Then he laughed. “I don’t mean to make fun of them—”

  A sure sign that he was about to say something scornful, Genevieve thought angrily.

  “—
but it’s straight out of a Christmas carol. The one where they say they’re going to a birthday party at Farmer Gray’s. It’s too corny for words.”

  At least he had the decorum to lower his voice. Still, it took a lot of nerve to stand inside someone’s home and imply they were all a bunch of hicks. The offense she took at his behavior showed in her cold tone. “Barry, I really do appreciate your friendship and your support, but I’m not going with you. No one coerced or blackmailed me into coming. I came here with Dexter instead of going to the Berkshires with you because this was my preference, and I’m staying right here.”

  He snorted. “All this loyalty because you had a nice day?”

  “No. Because I’m in love with the man I married,” she said simply. “And I was just about to tell him that before you showed up and ruined everything.”

  Her statement clearly caught him off guard. “You don’t mean that.”

  Genevieve spoke as kindly as she could. “I’ll always remember what you were willing to do for me, Barry, but the truth is that I’ll never be able to love you the way you want me to. If you really care about me, you’ll just leave and let me be. So, please...just go.”

  He looked at her long enough to realize she meant it, then turned and left, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

  She stood unmoving, waiting until she heard the sound of his engine start and drive away. Then she ran to open the front door, eager to find Dexter.

  She saw nothing but darkness. Dexter was gone.

  Chapter 27

  She rushed to the front edge of the porch and leaned out, looking from side to side. All she saw were the sides of the neighboring houses. No sign of Dexter.

  She went inside the house, absently hugging herself from the cold. Where had he gone?

  Once more the senior Grays ventured down the steps. No doubt they’d heard the voices stop and heard the front door opening and closing. Mrs. Gray placed her hand, fingers spread wide, on her chest. “Jenny! Thank goodness you’re still here!”