by Jodi Woody
“If you don’t mind, I could read in here. It’s a nice quiet place to enjoy a book,” she accepted.
Daffyd crawled into bed and turned on the light that was on the table next to his bed. Samantha settled into the chair on the other side of the room putting her feet up on the ottoman. It was bright enough that she didn’t need a light. Soon they had forgotten all about each other and were engrossed in the adventures of Tolkien’s imagination. After about an hour Samantha was giggling, and Daffyd was sniffling.
“Let me guess…let’s see, book two…they just found Gandalf?” asked Samantha.
“Nope, Théoden just took up his sword again,” he wiped his eyes and blew his nose loudly. “And what’s so funny?”
“Bilbo, he stumbles into the strangest things, and all he wants is his hole back in the shire,’ she said.
“Ok, I think I need to give my emotions a break,” she laughed.
“How about some sherbet?” he asked.
“Taking a breather sounds good, one scoop or two?”She asked.
“I better just do one.”
Samantha returned with two bowls, one with a lonely scoop of sherbet in the middle and the other with a generous helping of chocolate ice cream in it. She handed Daffyd his and sat in the chair closest to his bed.
“Yours looks better than mine,” he noticed.
“Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t tempt you, but when I saw this I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve never been a real sherbet fan,” she apologized.
“Me neither,” he mumbled.
Samantha just laughed and pretended to hide her bowl from him while she took a big bite.
“Now you’re just being mean,” he whined.
Daffyd took his time with his bowl, making sure it was settling in his stomach. So they both ended up finishing at about the same time. Samantha got up and helped herself to the Kleenex box wiping her mouth with one. She reached her hand out for his bowl and Daffyd handed it to her. He tried to cover a big yawn, but Samantha noticed.
“I think I will go take a nap. That seems to be my usual Sunday afternoon tradition. You could just yell like a banshee if you need me,” she said.
“I think that naps are my daily tradition.” He said with another yawn. “I can project my voice pretty well; it’s part of the territory.”
“What territory?” asked Samantha.
“…being sick and having to yell for help.” Daffyd realized he had slipped up and tried to cove. “Why do you think Trisha got the pager?”
Samantha just laughed and carried the bowls to the door. Then she remembered the book and grabbed that as well, tucking it under her arm.
“Sweet dreams…” she said.
“You too…” he answered, shutting off the light.
About an hour later, the hikers returned to a silent house and found both of them fast asleep.
“I guess all is well,” said Trisha as she softly shut Daffyd’s door.
Chapter 7
All the Worlds a Play
Monday morning dawned with bright promise of a warm summer day. Daffyd’s delivery of fireworks would arrive before noon. He spent a pretty penny to get them at the last minute and get them delivered. But he was looking forward to showing off to his new friends. He had explained to Bryce, before dinner the day before, the events that led up to their weekend guests. His nephew was surprised that Daffyd had even stopped to help, let alone ask them to stay. He wasn’t able to fully explain his motives because he didn’t quite understand himself what had possessed him. But he told Bryce that the girls had no idea who he really was and that he wanted to continue letting them think he was just plain Daffyd Sayvage. They had all spent a relaxed evening together outside roasting marshmallows and making some s‘mores. Seanna had asked Bryce a million questions about college. They were getting along great. Samantha had been quiet and he thought it might be embarrassment for sharing those personal things with him at the pool. But he had promised himself to show them all a great weekend.
Samantha woke to the sound of her daughter’s soft tapping on her door. Wow, she had slept like a baby. She called for Seanna to come in and scooted over to make room in the bed. Her daughter slipped in beside her plumping the pillow against the headboard so she could partially sit.
“Are you gonna’ sleep all day,” she asked.
“I thought I was on vacation,” Samantha stated.
“Did you ever think our vacation would have been at such a fancy place as this? A pool, great food, great accommodations and now a hot guy. I’d say it’s about perfect, minus the whole cancer issue and the cost of the car repair,” said Seanna.
“So you think Bryce is hot, huh?” she asked her daughter.
“Sure, don’t you? It’s ok to think someone is nice looking, Mom. That doesn’t mean I am in love with the guy. We just met. He is super nice and he doesn’t even try to flirt or act like he’s all that. He’s a Christian too. He talked to me a little about his parents. They were missionaries in South America. Bryce said his dad and his uncle were both raised in a Christian home. He doesn’t know exactly why Daffyd left it all behind, but he said he was standing on that scripture about raising up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older he won’t depart from it. But doesn’t it seem like he’s already departed?”
“You can always come back. I think if the seeds are planted when you are young, at some point those seeds bear fruit. You know that I left God for a while after I got pregnant with you. It wasn’t until your Dad convinced me to start going to church again that I came back to Him. It’s never too late to turn back,” answered Samantha.
“I still don’t know how he got all his money. Bryce changed the subject when I asked and he didn’t look very comfortable. Do you think he got it through something shady?” asked Seanna.
“I think that Leal and Trish wouldn’t be around if that was the case. He seems nice enough. I talked to him a little out by the pool yesterday. He doesn’t seem like the criminal type. But then my only experience with criminals is from watching them on TV.”
“You have lived a pretty sheltered life, Mom.” Her daughter laughed.
“What! No I haven’t.”
“Ok, so then you can tell me, let’s see…what is the hottest sitcom on TV right now?”
“Seanna, you know I hate those,” said Samantha with a frown.
“Who was the star of last year’s number one movie?” Seanna tried again.
“Was that the one we watched on DVD about the couple that meets at the beach?” asked Samantha.
“Yep,” said Seanna.
“Let me think…her name is Julie something…”
“Oh, give up Mom. You just don’t keep up with what’s going on in the world. But that is perfectly fine. I love you just the way you are. Old fashioned and ignorant.” Samantha pulled her pillow out from under her head and smacked Seanna with it.
“Ok, get out of here so your ignorant mother can get up.” With that she gave Seanna a shove and she fell out of bed laughing.
“Take your time. I am going to go have breakfast with the hottest guy in Montana.”
Samantha continued to chuckle as she got up and got ready. She felt rested for the first time in months. The no pressure atmosphere of being around virtual strangers was refreshing. She didn’t have to put on any kind of a show. Is that who I really am, someone who fakes her way through her day and her life? Was I ever myself around Richard? Or was I just who I thought he wanted me to be? Seanna knows the real me…doesn’t she? Samantha gave herself a shake and left her room determined to just be herself, the good, the bad and even the ugly. No more faking it.
Everyone was still in the kitchen lounging over cups of coffee and glasses of juice. Trish had set out some fruit and freshly baked banana muffins. Samantha poured herself a cup and sat in the empty seat across from Daffyd. Seanna was next to Bryce, of course. Trisha and Leal were seated across from the kids. Daffyd had been talking to Leal about the fireworks delivery and Trish was discus
sing plans for outside grilling. Today was the big day. They planned on hanging out in the pool, grilling out and fireworks after dark. Samantha was just getting ready to take a bite of her warm muffin when she noticed the shirt that Daffyd was wearing. It said ‘Beloved Uncle’.
She motioned to him with her muffin and said, “Nice shirt.” Everyone looked at Daffyd and he raised his arms so they could see the writing.
“My favorite Nephew gave it to me this morning,” said Daffyd.
“That’s what his name means. ‘Beloved.’ I am just reminding him of who he is. Plus I had to replace that other one I hated that said ‘Uncle Savage’,” declared Bryce.
“Oh!” Seanna blurted, and then quickly covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
“What’s the matter?” asked Samantha.
“Nothing…my um, coffee was too hot,” mumbled Seanna.
“That’s right. Daffyd or David means ‘beloved’. I talk about the meaning of names with my students. My name means ‘listener’ or ‘told by God’ my middle name is Anna and has the same meaning as Seanna’s and that is ‘God is gracious’,” said Samantha.
“I searched out the meaning of my name and it just means ‘freckled or dotted’…real glamorous,” said Bryce.
“And you don’t even have any, freckles or dots,” said Seanna smiling.
“Now I am going to have to look up our names, Leal, and see what they mean,” Trisha said.
“I already know. It means ‘faithful’. Mom said she purposely named me that so that unlike my father, I would grow up to be a faithful man.”
“So I am the only one who doesn’t know what my name means,” pouted Trisha.
“It probably means ‘little bossy woman’,” said Daffyd.
“I say ‘woman who can cook’,” volunteered Bryce.
“Actually it means ‘generous and likable’,” corrected Samantha. “I had a student named Trisha.”
“So true! That’s me!” said Trisha.
“Well, miss likable, can you be generous and hand me another of your banana muffins?” asked her husband.
“You are so faithful in your pursuit of good food,” said Daffyd.
Soon they were making puns out of all their names and their meanings. Nobody was in a hurry to leave the cheerful table. Once again Samantha laughed until her stomach hurt. Finally, they ran out of ideas and sat around chuckling.
“I better get out there and mow some brush down so we have a safe place to light up our fireworks tonight,” said Leal as he reluctantly got up.
“I’ll clean up this mess,” offered Samantha.
“Me too,” said Seanna.
“Didn’t you want to take Seanna out for a drive to see the country?” asked Daffyd.
“That would be great! I have wanted to take some pictures of the mountains,” exclaimed Seanna.
“I’ll help your mom in the kitchen. I think I remember how to do dishes,” said Daffyd shooing the kids out of the kitchen.
“Well, if you two can handle kitchen duty, I’ll go work in the flower beds,” Trisha said as she too left the table.
Bryce and Seanna took off into the back roads and mountains. It was a gorgeous day for a drive. They chatted and made small talk. Bryce acted as tour guide and told her what he knew about the area. Soon they decided to head to town for munchies. They popped into the local grocery store and stopped by a fruit stand and grabbed some fresh peaches. Bryce suggested taking them to the park and relaxing in the shade for a while. The park had several shady spots and the greenest grass Seanna had ever seen, even in rainy Washington and lush Wisconsin. Soon they were perched on a picnic table and the conversation switched from small talk to the kind that people use to really get to know one another.
“So Trish tells me that your dad passed away recently,” stated Bryce.
“Yep, a few months ago. Now it’s just me and mom.”
“Both of my parents were killed in a plane crash three months before I graduated high school. It’s been pretty hard. I am the only kid, so now it’s just me, my grandparents and Uncle Daffyd. My mother’s parents both passed away when I was younger. It’s funny how a family can just whittle down to just a few people,” explained Bryce.
“I never met my real dad. Dad, well Richard, was my step-dad. He was the only Dad I ever knew and he treated me like his own. Neither one of my parents had siblings, and I am an only child. I guess my birth father may have other kids, but it doesn’t really matter,” said Seanna.
“Do you ever wish that you had brothers or sister?” asked Bryce.
“Sometimes I used to…but most of the time it was nice getting all the attention. Money wise, things would have been harder if our family would have been bigger. Why, do you wish you had siblings?” she asked.
“Not any more. When I was little I did. My parents adopted me when I was eight, I was in foster care. I used to ask my parents to get me a little brother. But their being missionaries also meant money was short and it would have been harder with them being overseas.”
“What happened to your real parents?” she asked.
“I don’t consider my birth parents as real…my birth mom had drug issues and I never had a dad. I was five when I ended up in the foster care system. The best thing that ever happened to me was getting adopted. They started out as foster parents. I was their first placement and they decided they wanted to keep me. That was the beginning of our family and the end of their foster care.”
“What happened after your parents were in the accident?”
“I was living with my grandparents during my senior year of high school. They wanted me to get a regular diploma. When Mom and Dad were killed I stayed there until I finished high school. My parents will named Uncle Daffyd as my guardian. We were all pretty surprised…including him. Uncle Daffyd wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with us all. He was living his life so differently than we were. But he came to my graduation, what a circus that was…and I stayed with him until I started college in the fall. Now I visit whenever I can. He’s a great guy despite being stubborn and opinionated.”
“Can I ask you something about your Uncle?” asked Seanna.
“Sure…” said Bryce.
“Is he James Savage the rock star?” she asked.
“How did you find out?” Bryce asked with a worried look.
“Well…he’s super rich, he looked kind of familiar, but I guess I figured it out when you guys were talking about the ‘Uncle Savage’ t-shirt. I still wasn’t too sure. Right before I left, I asked Trisha if I could use her computer and I googled him. The article said he had pretty much gone into hiding. They were speculating everything from drug rehab to death. The pictures looked like him only with long blond hair. And just now, you said his coming to your graduation was a circus.”
“Does your mom know?” he asked.
“My mom doesn’t know anything about music other than Christian or Classical. She’s probably never heard of him. But she does think all rock stars are slimy drug addicts and Satan worshippers. So, no, I didn’t tell her. Obviously he isn’t any of those things.”
“No, he never did drugs, but he did allow everyone to think that. That’s one of the things that my he and my dad fought about. Dad didn’t understand why he would allow people to think he was someone that he wasn’t. He never got into the party and drug scene. The Tabloids had a hay day with him. Always trying to catch him with some groupie, or find some dirt to come up with. When they couldn’t and just started inventing stuff, he never said a word about it. Even his music lyrics implied a wild life style. He can sing and he can play just about any instrument. The rest of the family all believe that God gave him those talents to glorify Him. But Uncle Daffyd used them to get rich. He ended up wearing himself out and having terrible anxiety attacks. For awhile he couldn’t even leave the house. He hated being around strangers and in crowds, which is pretty hard in his line of work. That’s why I was so surprised that he asked you and your mom to stay.”
“Yeah,
I read some of the stuff they wrote about him, and that’s why I wasn’t completely sure that it was him. He just seems so opposite of all the junk they said,” said Seanna.
“Now he just hides out. He didn’t want anyone to know he was sick. He didn’t even tell my grandparents. He fired his agent and all of his road crew and staff. The only one he kept was Trisha. She was just his personal assistant before. Now he couldn’t make it without Trisha and Leal. His life has gone from bad to worse. I’m all he has. He never married and, as far as I know, never even had a serious relationship. The worst part of it all is that really he is hiding from God and he doesn’t even realize it,” explained Bryce.
“Have you tried to talk to him about it?” she asked.
“He refuses. It was either drop the subject or not come home. I love him and can’t leave him, so we don’t talk about it. I still get preachy sometimes,” he smiled, “but I am hoping that between Trisha, Leal and I we can love him back to God.”
“So how does he keep everyone around here from knowing who he is?”
“Well, some of the people know him as Daffyd Sayvage. That’s his real name. His stage name is actually his middle name, James, and the Americanized version of our welsh name, Savage. Those that do know who he is keep quiet because he does so much for the town. He built a whole children’s wing on the hospital where he gets his treatments. He brought in all this playground equipment for this park and the local school. He gives into the community and the city father’s know to keep everyone hushed up. I guess you could say that he ‘buys’ their silence. Quite the family secret, huh?”
“Wow, it’s all crazy. Do your friends know?”
“Nope. How many friends do you think I would have if they knew who my guardian was?” He said as he shook his head.
“Tons!” she laughed. “It’s kind of sad though. Don’t you think?”
“Such a waste of a life…” he answered. “So, how about you, is your big secret that your dad isn’t your dad?”
“Everyone who knows us knows that. Not a secret at all. I was old enough to remember their wedding and everything. The only family secret is that my Dad, my step-dad, not my real dad, might have been gay,” she stated.