"I don't know why you encourage that friendship, Dad. It means you and Phyl spend too much time together."
"I never told you who you could be friends with David. I'd like you to respect your sister's choices."
"It wasn't Felicity I was worried about. Lydia's okay."
Cal felt his blood pressure rising. "You might want to consider your next words very carefully, David Malcolm Richardson."
David paused. Cal stayed silent and heard a sigh. "So, Dad, what are you two doing for March break?"
"The five of us are headed to Virginia and Washington to visit some museums and historical sites."
"Five of you?"
"Yes, the Schuylers are coming with us. Lydia's a real history buff like Felicity and Tim wants to see the space stuff at the aerospace museum."
David went silent for a bit. "I think you're making a huge mistake spending that much time with Phyl."
"I think you've made your position very clear. Was there something else you wanted, David?"
David belatedly recognized that it would be a very bad time to ask his father to invest more money in the company, "Nothing really. We should get together for supper soon."
"That would be nice. We see Judy and the kids when you're travelling but I'd love to have you come over and tell me about your latest research projects."
David swallowed his impulse to ask for money and looked in his calendar for an evening when everyone would be free.
Phyl and Cal brought up the rear as the kids ran on ahead to the church in Colonial Williamsburg. "Oh what a glorious day," she said as she inched closer to Cal.
The clouds had dissipated just before noon and the temperature had climbed to the high sixties. A few of the locals looked at them walking around in just their shirtsleeves and drew their sweaters closer. Cal said, "I thought I was going to split a gut back there."
Phyl said, "I must have missed something."
"When guide in the prison said, 'You can imagine what it would be like to spend the winter in here.' and Felicity asked, 'What is it like in winter?'"
"Right. I wondered why he said 'Well, it is winter,' so pointedly."
"Well, does this feel like winter, fellow pasty white northerner?" They entered the walled courtyard by the door of the church and spotted a bench in the sunshine with beds of flowers nearby.
Phyl said, "No, it feels like a beautiful warm spring day." She pointed at the bench. "Shall we sit?"
They sat in companionable silence, basking in the sun and admiring the flowers. After a time, Cal said, "We're back to winter in three days. How do you think it's gone so far?"
"I thought it was brilliant to leave us here in Williamsburg for a shopping day and to help out in the soapmaking class while you and Tim went to Newport News for a second day. I don't think he wants to join the Navy but he is fascinated with boats."
"It was fun to spend the day with him. Of course, I preferred the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and Nauticus and he preferred the Mariner's Museum. Tim loved all of the old paintings of the ships and naval battles. You should probably encourage his drawing."
"He's taken a couple of courses. I should ask if he wants to take another class. We pushed a little bit to get them to try some things at the beginner level. I was hoping one of them would have some musical talent, but I'm the only one who uses the piano."
"You have a lovely singing voice." Cal glanced over and caught the shy smile then made the mistake of looking into her eyes. She straightened up and so did he. Cal leaned forward and began to lower his head to capture her willing lips in his.
"Mum, Mr. Richardson, you have to see this." Tim came bounding up and broke the spell. Sighing, they both got up and allowed themselves to be dragged off to examine whatever it was that caught Tim's eye, knowing that it would be far less attractive than the other person.
Phyl sat brushing her hair on Sunday night and ran over her internal checklist for the morning. There was enough food for lunches, enough clean dry clothes to send the kids off to school and the prospect of a morning volunteering at the adult literacy program while Cal was helping to refinish the floor in one of the other rooms.
She thought back to the beautiful garden and the bench where she had almost kissed Cal. Another almost. She sighed and felt a contented frustration. Dear Lord, she thought, I'm falling in love with him. At the thought, she expected a wave of guilt to hit her, but it didn't. She looked at the picture of Harry on the dresser but there was no guilt, not even very much lingering sadness. You were a good man, Harry, a very good man, but I need another good man now.
She remembered how Rosalind called him stubborn. He probably thinks he's too old for me. She continued brushing out her hair while thinking about that then decided that she really didn't care how old he was. The vacation together was so relaxing. He didn't try to take control of the schedule, like Brenda or Harry would have. When something needed doing it was done without much arguing over who was responsible for it. And all the kids listened to both of them.
The only shadow was the time in the restaurant in D.C. when the waitress referred to her as Cal's daughter. Cal's mood vanished in a hurry. When she asked him why he only said he didn't want to be like Jack Littleton of WessexTech but he wouldn't say any more.
Curious, she padded downstairs to look up Jack Littleton on the Internet. The third hit was a link to a scanned news article from a business newspaper from seven years earlier that was part of a case study on corporate governance.
CEO fired for bad decision
Jack Littleton, CEO of WessexTech, was fired Tuesday for 'exhibiting poor decision making' according to the press release from WessexTech. Littleton, 48, has filed a wrongful dismissal suit claiming that the decision to let him go was based on his recent marriage to Brittany James, a 21 year old marketing specialist who was also working at WessexTech.
In the suit Littleton claims that his ex-wife inappropriately provided personal information to the board and that his business decisions had never been in question. He also claims that Miss James had nothing to do with the breakdown of his marriage after twenty-two years.
Sources at WessexTech point to the corporate code of conduct, issued under Littleton's signature, which requires executives to avoid any conduct that would bring negative attention to the company. Sources also say that the recent publicity surrounding the divorce, remarriage and extravagantly public lifestyle of Littleton and his young wife has been a distraction as WessexTech tries to position itself in the increasingly competitive smart weapons market.
Phyl then read through six more related articles and a dozen blog postings providing scathing commentary on Littleton's ethics and common sense. One of the articles defended the practice of taking a second wife if she offered something as a business partner and not just ego gratification, both of which Phyl thought were awful reasons to divorce. The last article contained a couple of sentences that gave Phyl more to think about. 'Littleton, a graduate of Royal Roads in 1977, served in the Engineering Branch of the Canadian Navy for several years before joining WessexTech as a research engineer.'
This was followed later in the article with: 'Brenda Richardson, a board member of the Canadian Centre for Corporate Governance and a longtime friend of the Littleton family, expressed her satisfaction that WessexTech had the courage to dismiss their CEO over his demonstrated poor ethics. "Leaders must show in their personal life, as well as their work life, that they have the ability to make and sustain commitments through good and bad times. A person who cannot do this will not be loyal to their company or the shareholders interests in the long run."'
A picture of Cal and Brenda as a very young married couple entertaining a fellow officer and his new bride came to mind. She knew from experience that Brenda was a very loyal friend but she had forgotten that Brenda worked for the CCCG. It was Brenda that had spearheaded the push for ethical standards for senior managers and codes of conduct as part of good corporate governance in the wake of the WorldCom and Enron sca
ndals.
She headed back upstairs, lost in thought. One of Cal's classmates and one of the few who would have served in Engineering with him. Phyl had a few situations over the years where she and Harry had been friends with both partners in a divorcing couple. Cal would have had to choose between Jack, his fellow officer, and Susan, the wronged party, and if the reports were correct it would have been an easy choice for Cal. He'd been very clear about his views on divorce. It was probably a factor in why he wasn't at all interested in any of the divorced soccer moms – he might be committing adultery if he married one of them.
She climbed into bed and gave a prayer of thanks for Cal and his principles. But she understood better why he was so reluctant to admit their mutual attraction.
Chapter Twelve – April
Jane Maloney nudged Phyl in the ribs and nodded her head toward Cal, who was at another table filling out Felicity's soccer registraton. "So what's he like?"
"Who? Cal?" Phyl looked in Cal's direction and tried not to let her feelings show too much.
"Of course Cal." Jane whispered conspiratorially. "So what's he like?"
Phyl looked at Jane in a puzzled way. "He's a been a great friend for years and very supportive of me and the kids since Harry died. That's a hard question to answer in a few words."
"No, silly. I meant in bed. He's pretty hot for his age, any age actually." Jane leered in Cal's direction.
Phyl said, icily, "I wouldn't know. He's just a friend."
Jane gave Phyl a knowing look and said, "No need to get huffy. It's just that you spend a lot of time together and you're both widowed..." Jane caught the look Phyl was giving her. "Hey, if you're not involved maybe I have a shot at comforting him a bit."
Phyl felt her anger rising along with a possessiveness that surprised her. "I don't think you'd get very far with him if that's all you're looking for. He's a good Christian man and I don't think he'd do anything like that except with his wife."
"I was just fantasizing. He was pretty polite when he told me he wasn't interested in me. But if you ask me, you're the only one of the single moms that has any chance with him anyway. I know I'd want to be sitting down if he ever looked at me the way he does at you." Jane seemed oblivious to Phyl's discomfort. "I mean I'd be so weak in the knees..." Jane fanned herself with a file folder to emphasize her point.
She's envious of me. Phyl was thunderstruck. In her heart of hearts she hoped that Cal really was attracted to her, but she'd never said anything for fear of embarrassing him. Phyl replayed the last couple of events she and Cal attended together. People they knew were looking at the two of them differently and there were whispers that stopped when they got close.
Many of the older single moms were still friendly with Cal, but the flirting had toned way down. So that's why Jane asked how he was in bed. Everyone thinks we're sleeping together. Fat lot they know. But her thoughts and eyes drifted over to the table where Cal was chatting with the coach about the elite squad tryouts. He saw her looking his way and held her gaze for a second as his face softened into a secret smile for a second.
Phyl looked demurely down at the paperwork in front of her and wondered what she was going to do with the revelation. Well, his mourning year was over in a few weeks. That was all the space she was prepared to give him. I'm a grown woman and I know what I want. She looked over again at Cal. I want him. Except for sharing a bedroom, we might as well be married, so that's what is going to happen.
Phyl began to plot her campaign. New clothes, she thought, and lots more flirting. She got a satisfied feeling as she thought about the decision.
Cal came over to ask when everything wrapped up and Phyl made sure that her flirting included a few touches here and there. The other moms raised their eyebrows when Cal flirted back.
"Dad, why do I have to go to this interview? My marks are good and we gave them the reference letter from Father Gary." Felicity was on the edge of mulish.
"The principal wants to meet you. He needs to know that you take your Christian faith seriously. It is a Christian high school. They have standards." He let the implication that the other high schools didn't hang in the air.
Felicity sighed. "I know that, Dad. John and Chantelle from church both go there and they think it's a pretty neat school. Lydia and I went to the grade eight day and Chantelle was one of our tour guides."
"So you'd know someone there besides Lydia. That would be nice."
"I'm a bit nervous about the interview, Dad. I mean, we did do the catechism classes with Father Paul for our confirmation and the Madisons do a great job making sure there's some Bible study at the youth group, but our church isn't as evangelical as some of churches the other students go to. John said that when he got there he went from being one of the most conservative kids in the school to one of the most liberal."
"I talked with the principal. He's very aware of our church and its Gospel mission. Just because we're a liturgical church doesn't mean we ignore evangelism or the Bible. I don't think you'll have any problems at all."
Cal took a seat in the waiting area while Felicity went in for her interview. While he couldn't hear what was being said, he knew that it was going well because Felicity's tone was interested and impassioned, the way she sounded when she was having a good conversation.
The principal came out to hand Felicity back to Cal. "You have a remarkably level headed daughter, Mr. Richardson, and a pretty passionate Christian, too. Please pass my compliments to Father Gary and Father Paul and the rest of the Sunday School team. I think Felicity is going to fit in very well here." The principal paused, "And I already reassured her that her best friend Lydia will also be offered a place in next year's grade nine class. Lydia was concerned that Felicity wouldn't be offered a place."
Cal thanked the principal and picked up the registration package that was waiting at the administration counter. John from church was headed to his next class and stopped briefly to say hi. A few of the boys gave Felicity admiring glances as they slowed down to see who John was talking to.
They climbed into the car. "So, what do you think?"
"It wasn't that scary after we got to talking. He wanted to know how often I prayed and if I had accepted Jesus as my Saviour, you know, the usual youth group stuff. Then he went over the school rules with me. You and Phyl are both more strict than the school, so that won't be a problem. The girls' uniforms aren't too dorky and you can even wear slacks. And I noticed that there's a girls' soccer team. I might try out for volleyball, too, but that's a sport for tall people like Lydia." She sat back and sighed.
"Well, they also have a badminton club and that's a sport for nimble beasts like you."
Felicity stuck out her tongue at her father. "Dad, I felt so short when we got caught in the class change. Well, I am a bit short. Okay, four foot ten is really short. Lydia's going to fit in right away, I mean she's tall and blonde, like half the girls in the school, but I only saw one other girl near my height."
"Well, Beast, I was told that most of the kids come from good Dutch Reform families. Even I felt a bit short at class change and I'm six foot. I wouldn't worry about it. I'll bet the girls will be jealous of you. Like your mom, you're petite and sweet and a lot of fun and they will feel big and clumsy next to you."
Felicity paused to think, for a change. "Yeah, I guess. Lydia sometimes complains about that and I tell her that it would be nice to be able to see the bus coming when I'm in a crowd."
"I'm sure God has his reasons for making us all different."
"Well, at least I can buy clothes off the rack, well petite sizes anyway. Lydia has to wear skirts most of the time now because they don't make pant legs long enough in her size."
"So, where do you want to go for lunch?"
Cal listened with amusement to Felicity run through about twenty choices before settling on Colonnade Pizza, like he expected, if they could share a lasagna and salad.
"David, I'd like to invite your Dad and Phyl and the kids for Easter dinne
r." Judy studied her husband's face.
"Dad and Felicity would be welcome. We haven't seen them in a couple of months." David tried to be non-committal.
"You mean you haven't seen them. Brenda and I went over last week to visit with them while you were in Richmond. Brenda loves hanging with her aunts."
David said, tightly, "Lydia Schuyler is not Brenda's aunt. They are not family."
"Oh lighten up, David. I know you don't like Phyl, but why not?"
"She was a stuck up bitch in high school and she's still a stuck up bitch. It's embarrassing that Dad's mooning over her."
"You know they've been friends for a long time, David. And she's always been helpful."
"Mark my words, she's going to be trouble for Dad."
Judy said, "Well, I like her and they don't have any other family in town since Harry's Dad retired last month and moved to Halifax to be near his wife's people. They will already be in the car with Cal after church. So I'm going to invite them. But if you're going to be this miserable about it, she probably won't accept. And don't be surprised if Cal decides to have Easter dinner with her rather than us."
David glared at Judy. "Do what you want to do. You will anyway." He stormed angrily out of the kitchen.
Judy stared at David's retreating form. There was something very strange going on with David. She hoped it wasn't about money again.
Easter service promised to be a joyous antidote to a prayer-filled and somber Lent. Phyl decided that the time for dark clothes was well past, so she went out to buy a new spring dress and bonnet for Easter. It felt a bit odd to be able to pamper herself after pinching pennies for so long. But her bank balance was very healthy so she left the kids with Cal on Saturday so she could also get her nails and hair done properly for the first time since Harry died.
A May-September Wedding Page 10