Rusty Lovers

by Lilah Nichols

  A young woman bearing a striking resemblance to Eliza rushed up, laughing and sweeping her mother into her arms. Frank knew he would have recognized Jenny anywhere, and grinned as the two embraced.

  Eliza’s daughter had the same dark curls and even the same sunglasses. She looked comfortable in khaki shorts and a pale pink polo that perfectly matched her flip flops. She turned to greet Frank but kept her arm linked through Eliza’s in a proprietary manner.

  “So I finally get to meet the new man!” she exclaimed, eyeing Frank up and down before reaching out her hand. Frank kept a smile on his face, waiting to see if he passed the test, returning the handshake absently. Jenny nodded in his general direction as another twenty something appeared. “Come meet Frank, Tyler. Oh, and mom, you’re right! He does smell good!”

  Jenny put him instantly at ease with her banter and her charm that was so reminiscent of Eliza. He shook hands with Tyler, Jenny’s clean-cut boyfriend and scanned the yard, trying to figure out who was who. He soon realized he hadn’t a clue. It seemed most of the older generation were either in the house or ensconced on the back porch, and all the cousins and in-laws were chaperoning kids in the yard.

  Frank thought he heard a faint hum in the air and guessed there was a ceiling fan over the back veranda. No wonder the adults were hiding up there. One cluster of parents supervised while the small children braved the sunshine, running around shrieking, tossing water balloons and arguing over a blue plastic kiddie pool. The porch was cooler than the back yard, and would stay that way until sunset.

  A steady stream of guests passed through the white gate. Hydrangeas blossomed around the perimeter of garden, and the air was heavy with the scent of their blooms. Frank marveled a little at them, since the flowers were bright pink and white, instead of the customary blue and white he usually encountered.

  “Stay here with Jenny, Frank, while I go find Aunt Lucinda and mom. I have a feeling they’ll be together up in the kitchen, and I’d rather bring them out here than let them corner us inside.” He watched her go, admiring the sway of her hips as she climbed the porch stairs. He fervently hoped that her caution about the hostess was a joke, or maybe something she had conjured up in her mind.

  He glanced around, and studied Jenny as she watched the new arrivals lugging a pair of coolers to the cooking area and returning to their chosen tables to claim seats.

  “I never would have taken this family,” he muttered. “For a “Dibs, this one is mine” kind of crowd.” He wasn’t sure if he should be setting up something, or staking a claim on a table himself. Eliza’s daughter had the same unruly hair slung back in a scrunchy and the same coffee colored eyes. She waved towards the gate, and Frank studied a couple as they stopped at the first folding table.

  The girl looked young, barely out of high school, and her beau could have been one of his students. The boy was lanky and tall, his board shorts looked as if they might fall off at any moment, and his mismatched Hawaiian shirt was open to reveal skin that was already deeply tanned. He needed a haircut, badly, and tossed his head trying to clear his vision by flipping his blond bangs off to the side.

  Realization struck Frank. He had seen Eliza do that exact same maneuver. “Is that Josh?” he asked, astounded that Josh could be so different from his mom and sister.

  The young man in question abandoned his picnic basket on the table and ran over towards the kiddie pool, snatching the hose from a giggling child. The whole jumble of kids had been awaiting this moment. They shrieked and scattered in circles, flinging balls and water balloons at Josh as he twisted the nozzle. With great flair Josh took aim at the oldest of the preschoolers. He squirted each in turn, until they joined forces to rush back, wrestling the hose away from him.

  “Yep, that’s him.” Jenny laughed. “Hero to small children everywhere.” The noise level was drawing concerned looks from the parents, and the screen door banged as Eliza hurried back out onto the porch. She glanced briefly at Frank, happy to see him still chatting with Jenny and headed down the steps to rescue Josh from the army of toddlers. With great reluctance they surrendered him, nodding as Eliza made his excuses.

  “Come on kids, you know he’s got to go say hi to Grandma and Aunt Lucinda first! I promise he’ll be back to play later, so fill some more water balloons!”

  Josh followed his mom inside to make his obligatory hellos to the hostess and soon reappeared to collect his girlfriend, Lauren, and stride over to the crowd around Frank. Jenny was holding court and chatting with everyone who stopped nearby to meet Frank, who hadn’t done much talking yet. Jenny was all smiles and hugs, motioning to Frank and introducing him as her mother’s guest. She was so like her mother, welcoming her curious aunts and cousins and then sending them on their way.

  “Yes, this is Frank, mom’s friend. He teaches Chemistry.” Frank couldn’t keep up with the names.

  Frank had a suspicion he knew where Jenny got her determination and confidence. She was able to work through most of the awkward moments of cousins, nephews and nieces wanting to shake his hand and take his measure. Each relative had a brief introduction and a chance to say a few words before Jenny whisked them away from the table. One elegantly-dressed lady about his age eyed him with interest, shaking hands longer than necessary, inquiring about where he worked and his academic aspirations.

  “Now, now, Aunt Marjorie,” Jenny broke into the conversation. “Frank and mom are relatively new acquaintances. Let’s not scare him away!”

  Josh and his girlfriend even managed to get their table set up while she did it.

  Soon they had staked a claim on a table and dressed it up with a pretty white table cloth and a small vase of purple flowers situated in the center. Frank arranged a tray of veggies and dip and had several bottles of wine set up with glasses beside them. He thought he had done well, bringing a White Zinfandel, a Reisling and a little-known rosé from the south of France.

  They were in the shade of a tall magnolia tree, and Frank felt good as he settled Eliza in one of the chairs and remained standing beside her, warmly shaking hands with her mother, Jane Carlton, who wasn’t as imposing as he had feared.

  Aunt Lucinda, however, was overly direct and a bit intimidating despite her small size. She looked charming in her cherry blossom dress and low heels. Her silver white hair was cut short and perfectly coiffed. She smiled warmly at Frank as she shook his hand and accepted his thanks for the invitation to join her family gathering, and then pulled him down firmly before releasing his hand. Her voice was low, and laced with venom as she whispered. “Our Eliza is a special girl. She deserves only the best. We expect you to take the best care of her. The best!”

  It was a little frightening, for such a small elderly woman to be so forceful. “Yes, ma’am,” he answered quickly. “You don’t have to tell me, I know she is a treasure.”

  He was a little relieved when she stepped back. He grabbed the tray of burgers off the table and gestured to Tyler, Jenny’s beau, to follow him to the grill. “Tyler and I will get these burgers on while you all get caught up.” He bowed slightly as he eased himself away from the table, breathing a sigh of relief as he reached the outdoor kitchen. Grilling burgers he could handle, and Tyler was a pleasant surprise, offering up a mature take on the family dynamics.

  “It’s all about the kids,” Tyler informed him. “The birthday parties and the holidays, until the kids grow up and it’s like they have a dozen parents all telling them what to do.”

  Tyler was almost smirking. Until today he had been the newest pledge at what he called the “family fraternity.” His grin was infectious as he symbolically passed the torch to Frank. “All the adults will frown at you and ask about your background, all the kids will shriek and run away when you come near, and Jenny’s grandmother will probably ask you to sit beside her at dinner and grill you with a thousand questions.”

  Frank wasn’t really surprised, he had known this whole introduction would be uncomfortable. “Oh my God, really? Is that what she
did to you? Eliza said it’s bring your own burgers, grab your own table.” Tyler had a sheepish grin on his face. He winked at Jenny, “We really shouldn’t tease the new guy, but it’s so tempting.”

  Eliza’s mother didn’t end up sitting next to him. She moved from table to table in her role as hostess and spoke with everyone. As the afternoon waned, Jane Carlton pulled up a chair beside her daughter’s surprise guest at the family cookout and studied the body language between the two, before finally nodding at Frank. “Lizzie has seemed a little… understated since Jim died. But now,” she added, “Now I am happy to see her blooming again.” Her words made Frank grin.

  “Good work,” she whispered, before moving on.

  After that it wasn’t really hard for Frank to fit in. He had no idea who anyone was, or how they were related. He was generous offering glasses of wine and found many ladies had taste similar to Eliza’s. Everything he brought was refreshing and accompanied the standard cook out fare.

  He found a safe place behind the grill, replenishing potato salads and bowls of mixed fruit, and discerned that the majority of Eliza’s family members were a bit intense about their work. He shook hands and listened to their tales of work as lawyers, account managers and medical researchers. His career as a professor of chemistry seemed to impress them. “I bet you’ll be good for Eliza, and help her get started on a serious career,” her brother Christian mentioned. He stood about the same height as Frank, with his graying hair and businessman’s air. As if almost daring anyone to question his authority.

  Frank wondered again how Eliza could have come from this family. Christian had little respect for Eliza’s company, High End Design. “It’s time for her to stop playing with her postcards and do something meaningful,” he commented.

  Rendered momentarily speechless, Frank cast around for something to occupy is hands and his mind before he said something rash. But he couldn’t help himself. He squared his shoulders and raised himself up to his full height. “She has raised two wonderful children who genuinely love her and her business means everything to the young women who hire her to make their weddings perfect.”

  “She barely makes ends meet! And her house. It needs to be gutted and redone, or better yet sold.”

  Over the counter and across the grass, Eliza was trying to catch his eye, waving her wine glass at him. If he had to guess, her sixth sense was kicking in that trouble was brewing in the outdoor kitchen. Frank grabbed the wine bottle he’d brought for Eliza and gave Christian a terse nod. “More likely she is sentimental about the house, since she and Jim had been talking about downsizing to that little town once the kids were gone.”

  “They were?” Christian asked blankly.

  “Yes,” Frank went on. “They were going to get a rancher or a Cape Cod there and fix it up together. Walk into town on Sundays to pick up donuts and the morning paper. Only Jim was gone before the time came.” He sensed Jim had been old fashioned, and deep down he admired Jim’s plans for retirement, enjoying a quiet life with Eliza.

  Fearing he had said too much, Frank ducked away and used the last of the rosé to fill glasses around the table. Eliza pulled him into an empty chair next to her and sent Josh back to the buffet to fill up some plates. Happy for her nearness, Frank scooted his chair close enough that their thighs touched and wrapped his arm around the back of her chair. He was still angry about her family’s attitude about success. Not just Christian’s comments but from the offers from others to help him jump into the big leagues, whether it was high-priced colleges or giant pharmaceutical companies. Having Eliza tucked under his arm reminded him that his work made a difference and helped him relax.

  “What were you and Chris talking about?” Eliza asked. “Was he offering to get you a job at a big Pharma company or introduce you to the head of the science department at some big wig university?”

  The noise level around their table dimmed, as Eliza and her kids awaited his answer. “Yes, him and also a few others. But, really, we barely talked about me.” Frank pulled her close and kissed her temple. “He wanted to talk about you, but…”

  “But what?”

  “I don’t think he understands you at all!”

  Laughter and cheers of agreement broke out around the table, plus a few glasses raised in his direction from the rest of the Hamilton table. “Oh, most of them don’t!” Eliza added, and Frank thought he distinctly heard Jenny say, “Oh yes, he’s a keeper, Mom.”

  As dusk started to deepen into night, the adults ferried leftovers and dirty pans into the kitchen. Someone had found a box of sparklers for the little ones, and had crowded them around the kiddie pool to dance within safe distance of the water. The sparklers themselves were larger than the usual variety, and gave off a cloud of smoke and a low crackling rumble much to everyone’s delight. Frank stood silently beside Eliza, softly cupping her elbow as they peered over shoulders at the spectacle.

  Frank felt a faint vibration in his shorts pocket. He had felt it earlier and ignored it, but now that the evening was winding down her wondered if maybe Benny was trying to wish him a Happy Fourth. He excused himself and jogged through the gate and out into the darkness and quiet of the side yard.

  He pulled out his phone and swiped a finger across it.

  Benny sounded frantic. “I have been trying to get a hold of you all evening, Dad. Where are you? Mom says she’s been expecting you all afternoon, and now she’s worried you were in a car wreck somewhere.”

  Frank had no idea what was going on. “Wait a minute, Benny. Just wait. First of all, I never had any plans to spend today with your mother. If there was something with the house, I haven’t heard of it. I don’t go over there at all if I can avoid it, only to cut grass before a showing.”

  “I have been at a barbecue with Eliza all afternoon. So slow down, and tell me what’s going on. You know I wouldn’t plan anything with your mom these days.”

  “Well I don’t know what’s going on. I’m at the house now, and mom’s not here anymore.” The silence stretched. “It’s like she’s been living here. The sink is full of dishes. There are papers all over the dining room table, and there were messages on the answering machine scheduling showings for tomorrow.”

  Of course there were. A heavy sigh escaped Frank and he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the ache that started behind his eyes. “Give me ten minutes to say goodnight here,” he breathed. “And I’ll head over there to help get the house straightened up.”

  He hated to quit the party early, but he knew Eliza would understand. He heard Benny say goodnight as he lowered his phone, and then jerked it back up to his ear. “Do you think she’s deliberately trying to sabotage this? Really?”

  “I don’t know, dad.” Benny was quiet. His voice thoughtful. “There are a whole lot of bills in the dining room from a Dr. Cohen. I think he’s part of the counseling group mom sees sometimes.”

  Frank headed back to find Eliza and pack up the cooler for her. “I probably shouldn’t look at any of that, kiddo. Maybe you could contact him and see if we can do some kind of group session, maybe next week when we meet to talk about the house? He should probably be around on that, since it looks like he’s the one encouraging her to fight for it.”

  “Yeah, I can handle that. And thanks dad, I know it isn’t easy for you to give up your time with Eliza.”

  “She’ll understand, and don’t sweat it, there’s always tomorrow.”

  Benny chuckled as he hung up the phone. “It’s been a while since I heard you so optimistic. See you soon.”

  It was almost midnight when he locked up his old house and headed back to his apartment. He could see the light was on in the kitchen as he parked, and he knew it couldn’t be Benny. He pulled himself up the stairs and leaned tiredly against the door while he let himself in. The kitchen light was the only one on, and he spied Eliza’s purse on the love seat. Oh! That was unexpected.

  All sense of exhaustion left him as he tip toed down the hall. She was curle
d up in his bed. He washed up as quietly as possible and spooned up behind her, doing his best not to wake her.

  “Hmmm took you long enough,” she sounded sleepy, and sighed into the sheets. “What did you think of my family?”

  “As far as families go, they’re pretty typical,” Frank responded, trying to keep it light. He pulled her back against his chest and kissed her hair. “And your mom calls you Lizzie!”

  She chuckled and wrapped his arm more tightly around her shoulder. “I know, like I am five.” She relaxed in his embrace, drifting off. “And I never even got my present… and you never got yours either. I’ll have to make sure you get it in the morning.”

  “My present? What was I supposed to get?”

  Eliza chuckled and snuggled into the pillow. “Pussy face.”

  Chapter 20

  Frank spent the next day following the party organizing his documents, everything from pay stubs and bank accounts to contractor’s receipts for home improvement. He bought binders and a three-hole punch, setting income statements, tax returns, and amortization schedules in order.

  He spoke at length with Kaitlyn, one of the human resource managers at the college and got the paperwork rolling to withdraw a large sum from his 401(k). It would be a setback for his retirement plans, but it might clear his conscience to have Abby settled.

  It still burned him a little, that the woman who had walked out on him so bitterly and taken every valuable belonging they had was about to get more. But he was so ready to have this divorce agreement finalized. He wanted there to be no excuses for why every financial question couldn’t be answered. Since his online class was rolling, he didn’t have to leave the house much, just be available for office hours and monitor the discussions. So he worked out in the early morning, prepared a little bit for his classes in the fall, and spent the rest of his time re-examining his past life.