by Patricia Fry
“We’re both veterinarians,” Michael said.
“Tell me, where did the look-alike come from? I only remember one of you.”
Michael looked down. “Well, our parents decided to adopt one of us out. Keith grew up in Colorado and Mom and Dad raised me here.”
“Aunt Carol had twins? I never knew that. I wonder if Pops did.”
“Yes, he knew,” Michael said. “He told me about it when I was in high school.”
“Golly. Well, he sure could keep a secret, that man. He never breathed a word of it to me.” She faced Keith. “How does it feel to be a family secret?”
He shrugged. “Actually, I’ve known since I was quite young that I’m a twin and that I was adopted.”
“So you live here?” Michael asked her.
“Yeah. After I bombed out of college and failed at marriage, I guess Pops thought I needed something to keep me busy. So he left this to me in his will.” She shook her head. “Some days I thank him for the beautiful gift and others, I cuss him all to hell.” She looked beyond the men and noticed there were people sitting in the car. “Hey, bring your families and come in out of the cold. I’ll fix you a cup of tea or coffee.” She looked into Michael’s face, then Keith’s, and spoke more seriously, “I may have something you’ll want to see.”
Once they were inside the old farmhouse, Michael said, “Savannah, Holly, this is…” He squinted in the woman’s direction. “I’m guessing we’re cousins.”
“Yes, I’m Jeanine,” she said. “Jeanine Tilford. My father was your mother’s older brother. I took back my maiden name. Your mom was a Tilford, you know, until she married that no-good…oh…” she caught herself. “I’m sorry. He was your father. I’m afraid he wasn’t very well thought of in the family.”
“Is that why Michael never knew about any uncles or aunts or cousins?” Savannah asked.
Jeanine stared at her for a moment before saying, “Yeah, probably.” She put out her hand. “Anyways, I’m Jeanine and you are…?”
“Savannah. I’m Michael’s wife.” She motioned toward her sister-in-law. “This is Keith’s wife, Holly, and our children, Adam and Cassie.”
After acknowledging the women and the children, Jeanine walked into another room, soon reappearing with a book in her hands. “This is what I thought you boys might want to look at. I found it just a few months ago when I finally decided to tackle a room in the back of the house.” Jeanine cleared some things off an old wooden kitchen table, wiped it with a towel, and invited, “You can sit here. Tea water will be ready in a few minutes.” She looked at the children. “Would you kids like fresh milk? I milked Gloria just an hour ago, so it should still be warm.” She smiled. “I could put some chocolate syrup in it for you.”
Both children nodded. Adam said, “Thank you.”
“What is that?” Savannah asked as Michael and Keith sat down next to one another and opened the book.
“A picture album,” Keith said. After a while he looked up at Jeanine. “I wonder why some of the pictures are cut up. There’s a woman and whoever she’s with is cut out of the picture.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Jeanine said. “That’s your mom, of course, I don’t know who that might have been with her. I was a kid when your mother was doing her dating. Alls I know are rumors about her gallivanting with a variety of men.” She looked at the two brothers. “Probably all rumors, you know.”
“What’s this?” Keith asked, picking up an envelope that had dropped from the album. “May I open it?”
“Sure. It’s your family’s album.”
“Oh,” he said, frowning, “look at this, Michael. It’s from an old newspaper. There’s no date on it.”
“What is it?” Holly asked. She and Savannah walked up behind the men.
Keith glanced up from the clipping, a puzzled look on his face. “An engagement announcement for our mother and some guy named Scott Hanson. It shows a picture of her, but her fiancé is cut out of it. I wonder who he was.”
Michael looked at Jeanine. “Do you know?”
She shook her head slowly, then said, “I knew of some Hansons in your hometown. I think they were involved in politics. They were wealthy; I do remember that.” She looked at the brothers. “I didn’t know your mother was tied up with them, especially engaged to one of them. That’s a surprise, for sure.”
“Do you know where the Hansons lived?” Savannah asked.
Jeanine’s face lit up. “Yeah, I remember the Hanson palace. It was quite the showplace. I hope someone has kept it up. Here, let me try to draw you a map. Or maybe we can find it on the Internet.”
“Can Cassie and I look at the old pictures while you do that, Dad?” Adam asked.
“Sure, Son,” he said, handing the album to him.
The two women moved closer to the children and looked over their shoulders at the photos.
“Hey, there’s a kid posing with a big pig!” Adam exclaimed. “Is that you, Dad?”
“Probably, Son,” Michael said from the other end of the table where he, Keith, and Jeanine sat with Jeanine’s laptop.
“And there’s that kid with a horse,” Cassie said.
“Michael, it looks like you really enjoyed the farm life,” Holly noticed.
Savannah agreed. “Yeah, he’s smiling in almost every picture.”
Michael walked up next to Savannah and looked down at the photos. “Some of my happiest days were spent here.”
“Can we see the pigs and horses, Dad?” Adam asked.
“Yeah, I want to see pigs and horses,” Cassie chimed.
“Well, I don’t know…” Michael started.
Having finished giving directions to Keith, Jeanine closed the laptop and said, “Well, there’s not much left to see, but yeah, I can show you where the hogs were and I can introduce you to Gloria and my horses, Skylark and Toby.”
“Yay!” the children said in unison.
After they finished their beverages and took a quick tour of the farm, Michael said, “You know, we’d better let you get back to work and we should be on our way.”
“Yes, thank you for taking a break and showing us around,” Holly said.
“And for the warm tea,” Savannah added, shivering.
“Well, I’m awfully glad you stopped by.” Jeanine looked at Michael, then Keith. “Pops would be really pleased to see you boys now.”
“Thanks,” Keith said. “I wish I’d known him. He sounds like a good grandpa.”
“He was,” Michael confirmed. He hugged Jeanine and thanked her for the album.
“Don’t thank me. It belongs to you boys.”
Michael had driven about a mile when Holly asked, “Are we going to check out the Hanson place?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Michael said.
“Aren’t you curious? I am,” Savannah admitted.
“Me too,” Holly said.
Keith smiled. “Two birds of a feather.”
Michael nodded. “Actually, it’s getting late and the later it gets the colder it gets. Maybe we should go back to the condo and see what tummy-warming meal Gladys has put together for us.” He turned briefly and asked enthusiastically, “Anyone hungry?”
“I am,” Adam said. “And I’m kinda bored.”
“Me too,” Cassie echoed. “Hey, Adam, wanna play a board game when we get back there? I saw some in a closet.” She asked Holly, “It’s okay if we play with those, isn’t it?”
“Sure, if you put them back when you’re finished.”
Cassie asked Adam again, “So wanna play?”
“Yeah, I like board games. Which ones do you have?”
“I saw Monopoly, Hedbanz, Sorry…” She made a face. “There’s Totally Gross, but I don’t know if I want to play that one.”
“Oh that’s cool. Yeah, I want to play Totally Gross!” Adam said.
Holly and Savannah smiled at one another.
****
“So ho
w did it go, Mom?” Savannah asked when they arrived at the condo. She picked up Lily and hugged and kissed her. “Were you a good girl? Did you have fun playing with Bethany?”
Lily nodded and grabbed her mother around the neck, hugging her tightly.
“They were angels,” Gladys said, smiling. “We had a lovely time together. The children got along beautifully. They pretty much play separately, but they were good as gold.”
Holly let out a breath. “I’m glad you got Bethany on a good day.” When she saw the look on Gladys’s face, she chuckled. “She can be the perfect child,” she ran her hand over the toddler’s hair, “and then there’s the cranky Bethany.”
“Yeah,” Cassie said, “she has moods.”
“She’s moody?” Gladys asked.
“Like Jekyll and Hyde—or the little girl with the little curl.”
“Awww, Holly,” Keith said, picking up the child and kissing her cheek. “She’s a good girl.”
“Well, she sure is,” Gladys insisted. She then said, “Soup’s on, if anyone’s hungry.”
“What kind of soup?” Adam asked.
“Well, it’s not actually soup,” Gladys said, “it’s ham and beans.”
“Then why did you call it soup?” Adam wanted to know.
“It’s just a phrase—soup’s on means it’s time to eat.”
“Oh,” he said, looking confused.
“How’d Rags do today, Mom?” Savannah asked as everyone prepared to eat.
“Fine,” Gladys said. “He played nice with the children. He took a couple of naps. He seems comfortable here.”
“Good boy,” Savannah cooed when he walked up and rubbed against her. She petted him.
Michael gazed down at the cat. “Uh-oh.” When everyone looked at him, he said, “I just wonder what he’s resting up for.”
“Oh, Michael,” Savannah scolded, “he’s ready to relax like the rest of us are, that’s all. He’s in vacation mode.” She sat down and placed Lily on a cushion in the chair next to her so the child could reach the dining table.
“When’s his book signing?” Michael asked.
“Not until Friday when Auntie gets here.”
“I heard that he does book signings,” Holly said. “That is so cool. Keith brought the girls some of the books Rags is in. I guess you gave them to Keith when he visited.”
Savannah nodded.
Holly’s face brightened. “I hope we get to see him do a signing.” She addressed her children. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
The two of them nodded. Cassie scrutinized the cat for a few moments. “Yeah, I want to see him hold a pencil in his paws.” She looked at Savannah. “Do you have to tie it to him with a rubber band or something?”
Savannah chuckled. “No, he just puts his footprint on the page. Those books I sent home with your dad have a paw-print in them, don’t they?”
Cassie nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t know he actually did that.”
Savannah smiled, then turned to the others. “Okay, so what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
When Michael chuckled, everyone looked in his direction. “She always has to have a schedule,” he complained good-naturedly.
“A girl after my own heart,” Holly admitted. She sat straight up in her chair and exclaimed. “Hey, while you were setting the table, I went online and found the Hanson place. It’s some showplace. I can’t wait to see it.” She looked around at the others. “We’re going there tomorrow, right?”
Michael and Keith exchanged looks. “Sure,” Keith said, “we should check it out.” He asked Michael, “Do you remember the place when you were growing up here?”
Michael thought for a moment, then said, “Yeah, sort of. I mean, I knew about it, but I never paid much attention to it. It’s in an area of town I didn’t go to much—way on the outskirts.” He glanced around the table. “So who’s going tomorrow?”
“Count me in,” Savannah said.
Holly nodded. “Me, too.” She turned to Cassie and Adam. “Do you kids want another adventure?”
“Can we take Rags?” Adam asked.
“Yeah, can we?” Cassie begged.
Michael put his fork down and looked momentarily uncomfortable. “Oh, Son, I don’t know.”
“Sure, he might like to get out of the house for a while,” Savannah said. She chuckled, “For a California cat, he seems pretty comfortable in the snow, actually.” She turned to Gladys.
“Mom, do you want to join us for our excursion tomorrow?”
“No, honey. I think I’d rather do some reading and, if I may, I’d like to entertain the little girls again.” She frowned. “You don’t really want to drag them out in this cold air, do you?”
“If you may entertain them?” Holly repeated. She smiled at Gladys. “You are a dear, dear person, but I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”
“She really does love spending time with the littles, as Michael calls them,” Savannah explained.
“Not so much if they were hard to manage,” Gladys said. “But they’re such good little souls and fun to be with.” She frowned. “I don’t mind if you take your cat with you, though.”
“Why?” Savannah asked. “You said he was good today.”
“Yes, mostly. But we did have a few issues.”
“Like what?” Savannah asked. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh, nothing all that important, really.”
“What?” Savannah insisted.
“Well, he made Bethany cry a couple of times when he took her dolly’s shoe.”
“And my cookie!” the three-year-old said brightly.
Gladys chuckled. “Oh yes, he displayed some of his thieving ways.”
“Okay, that does it,” Savannah said. “We’ll take him with us. No problem.”
“Yay!” Adam and Cassie both said, bouncing up and down in their seats.
“Good lord,” Michael said under his breath.
Holly grinned and nodded toward Michael. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing,” Savannah said, trying to ignore her husband.
Keith smiled, then asked, “How’d he do on the plane?”
“Your cat rode on an airplane?” Cassie asked.
“Yes, he did well,” Savannah said.
Michael frowned. “I beg to differ.”
“What?” she challenged.
“He meowed and flopped around down there under the seat until you finally took him out of the carrier. Then he kept standing up and looking over the back of the seat, staring at the people behind us while they ate their lunch.”
Adam started to laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think they liked cats. They kept trying to shoo him away.” He looked at Keith, then Cassie, “Grammy and I sat across the aisle from them and we were laughing so hard.”
“Well, I wasn’t laughing,” Michael said.
“I know, Dad, especially when Rags reached out from under that blanket you had over him and grabbed the waitress’s skirt.”
Keith and Holly were both laughing by now.
“That was embarrassing,” Michael said. “I’m sure she thought it was me.”
Savannah chuckled. “Rags didn’t want to be hidden. He wanted to see what was going on.”
Michael let out a sigh.
“And he took a guy’s earphones off his head, didn’t he, Dad? …you know, the guy in front of you.”
“Yes,” Michael said disgustedly.
Holly poked Michael in the arm playfully. “It sounds like never a dull moment with Rags.”
He simply let out a deep sigh.
“Do you have pets?” Savannah asked Cassie, then added, “You mentioned cats. Any other animals?”
“Yes, two cats, a bunny, and a dog.”
“What’s your dog’s name?” Adam asked.
“Sam. And the cats are Spooky and Priss and the bunny is Rosie.”
Just then, Rags jumped up into Savannah�
��s lap. “Oh!”
“Don’t let him on the table,” Michael warned.
“I’m not.” She edged him gently toward the floor, but on the way down he grabbed at her placemat and it caught in his claw and slid off the table. “Darn it!” she said, looking down at the mess in her lap and watching it spill onto the floor. It wasn’t until Lily began to cry that Savannah noticed the toddler had been splashed with spilled water.
Holly, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, stood, picked up Lily, and began wiping her face with a napkin while speaking to her in a soothing tone. In the meantime, Savannah salvaged the parts of her meal that she could and carried it on the placemat to the kitchen counter. Gladys grabbed towels and began cleaning up the table, chair, and floor.
“Is everyone okay?” Gladys asked anxiously. “No one got burned, did they?”
“No,” Savannah said. “I was finished with my ham and beans. It’s mostly water that spilled and just enough bean juice to make a mess on my jeans. Darned cat!”
“So now you see, folks,” Michael said calmly, “why I hesitate taking him anyplace.” He motioned toward the women, who were still cleaning up the spill. “I rest my case.”
“Adam,” Cassie whispered, “let’s go play a game, okay?”
He looked around at the others before saying, “Yeah, good idea.”
“Where’d Rags go, anyway?” Cassie asked. She then pointed. “Oh, there he is in the corner.” She started to laugh. “He’s trying to lick himself dry.” She giggled. “Look, he has cornbread crumbs on his head.”
Keith quickly took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a few pictures of Rags. He then focused on Holly as she wiped a little soup broth from Lily’s hair, and took a few shots of Savannah trying to blot her jeans and oversized sweatshirt dry. “For our vacation album,” he said, chuckling.
****
The next morning the adventurers said goodbye to Gladys and the toddlers and took off on their planned excursion.
“Savannah got her way, huh?” Keith asked, bumping his brother playfully.
“Huh?” Michael asked.
“I see that she brought the cat.”