by Leena Clover
“Does this mean we are camping out here tonight?” Junior asked.
That brought on a discussion on who could bear the cold and who couldn’t.
“That new down comforter you bought is pretty warm, Amanda,” Ted Junior remarked.
He was watching her face like a hawk.
Amanda stole a glance at Noah and shrugged.
“You can go up if you want to, Ted. I might keep our guests company.”
Ryan started talking about ghosts. That started the kids off. Scary stories were told. Urban legends were swapped. An eerie atmosphere stole over the group. Crystal had sidled up to Ryan who had an arm around her. Julie was plastered to his other side. Tony sat next to me on another couch, his arm around my shoulders. I should be shivering in fright but for the comfort of that arm.
I spotted Motee Ba chatting with Amanda. Noah sat next to her, their knees touching. Dad had dozed off in a corner. William Derry snored in a chair opposite him. Stan Miller was nowhere to be seen. I presumed he was sleeping in his room.
I edged away from Tony’s warm embrace and went to sit near Motee Ba. Amanda was asking questions about Sally. Any reservation I may have had about asking about her personal life flew out the window. I would show her who was a pro at ferreting information.
“How long have you been married?” I asked Amanda.
“Almost twenty five years,” she said reluctantly.
“Oh? You got a big anniversary coming up.”
Motee Ba’s eyes shone as she told Amanda about her own married life.
“Fifty five years and still going strong,” she beamed. “You must celebrate every little chance you get.”
Amanda looked a bit uncertain when Motee Ba asked about their anniversary plans. It was yet another indication she wasn’t really looking forward to it.
“How did you meet Mr. Ted?” I asked her. “Are you from Swan Creek?”
“We met in college,” she said reluctantly. “In New England.”
“Moving to Oklahoma must have been quite the adjustment.”
“It was,” she bobbed her head. “I came from a small town myself but it was so different. And I don’t come from money.”
“That doesn’t matter now,” Motee Ba smiled. “You’re the mistress of all this.”
“She’s a queen, isn’t she?” Noah asked, giving Amanda an admiring look.
Even in the dark, I could see puppy love in his eyes. But did Amanda reciprocate those feelings?
Julie had overheard us. She came over and sat down at her mother’s feet.
“Is Mom talking about how she and Dad met?” she squealed. “I love that story.”
Amanda tried to brush off our questions. Reluctantly, she told us about a few dates she and Ted Junior had been on.
“Do you still go out on dates?” I asked.
Amanda’s face turned sour.
“Teddy is so busy at the plant, he has no time to take me out anywhere. He hardly comes home for dinner.”
“Better keep an eye on him,” a voice spoke up from a dark corner.
A small figure leaned forward and I saw it was Sophia.
“You know history repeats itself.”
“What are you saying, Grandma?” Julie asked.
“I was so engrossed in running the house and raising Ted, I never realized when Theodore strayed.”
“What’s the point in raking up the past?” Amanda muttered.
“Learn from my mistakes. Keep an eye on your husband.”
“You’re talking to the wrong person, Grandma,” Ryan said bitterly. “Maybe you should warn Dad.”
Noah’s smile slipped for a second. Amanda had turned red.
“Weren’t you afraid, Grandma?” Julie asked. “It must have taken guts to give all this up.”
“I was in a rage,” Sophia recalled. “All I cared about was that I had been wronged. We were both young and foolish. Theodore thought I would come back after a while. But then it was too late.”
We all knew Sophia would never get back with her husband now.
“What if Dad has an affair?” Ryan asked Amanda. “Will you walk out on him?”
“Don’t be impertinent, Ryan!” Sophia scolded.
“I really want to know,” he pressed.
Amanda shrugged. A few drops of sweat had appeared on her forehead. Noah had sidled away from her sometime in the past few minutes. Their knees weren’t touching any more.
“Things are not always black and white, Ryan.”
“What if the tables are turned,” Julie asked.
Her eyes met Ryan’s and a silent message passed through them.
“Do you think Dad will walk out on you if he finds you cheating?” Ryan elaborated.
Amanda’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“That’s enough, kids,” Sophia ordered.
She looked at Amanda imperiously.
“Junior has never talked to me like that.”
“Are you talking about me, Mother?” Ted Junior appeared out of the darkness. “What’s going on here?”
“Dad!” Julie jumped up and hugged him. “Mom was telling us how you two met.”
A smile flitted across Ted Junior’s face. He put an arm around Julie and kissed her fondly.
“College is the time for new experiences, kiddo. Are you sure you haven’t met some handsome guy yet?”
Julie blushed and shook her head.
The talk turned to Julie’s college life and her new friends. Noah was leaning back on the couch, looking morose. Amanda was trying to make small talk with her husband. There was a love triangle right there in front of us. How could Ted Junior not pick up on the vibe?
The night had turned colder and the fire was dying. I picked up a rug off a couch and placed it over Pappa. He was shivering a bit in his sleep. Tony started placing fresh logs on the fire. The fire crackled and the room started feeling toasty again.
“We have a fireplace up in our room,” Amanda said to Motee Ba. “Why don’t you and Mr. Patel sleep there tonight?”
“Oh no! We are already imposing on you. I can’t take your bedroom.”
“The Franks are hospitable if nothing else,” Ted Junior boomed. “Come on, Mrs. Patel. We don’t want him catching a cold. Dad got pneumonia last year and it took him a long time to recover. He’s just getting better.”
He realized what he had said and sobered.
Tony and I picked up two lanterns and started for Ted Junior’s room.
“Why don’t I get the fire going for you first, Granny?” he asked. “We can come down and get you then.”
Motee Ba stifled a yawn. She was exhausted herself but was putting on a brave front.
“Is there a couch or day bed in your room?” she asked Amanda. “I think Sophia should come with us too.”
Henry and her sister chose to go up to their room. Henry boasted she wasn’t bothered by a bit of cold. I guess we would see how frozen she was in the morning.
Tony and I went up, eager to get the fire going. It was so cold the hair on my arm was standing up. Tony hugged me close as we reached the top landing.
“Let me warm you up a bit,” he whispered, pulling me into a hug.
I hugged him back, glad of the shroud of darkness around us. Someone coughed and we drew apart, startled. Madam Isadora stood in a doorway, holding a candle in front of her.
“You scared me!”
“Didn’t I say your aura is turning red?” she asked. “Love is in the air. I can feel it.”
“Is she walking in her sleep?” Tony whispered.
The woman looked only half awake, looming in front of us like some specter from a horror movie.
“I’m wide awake, young man,” she roared. “I can see what’s going on here.”
We giggled as we hurried down the hall, looking for Ted Junior’s room.
“What was all that about first dates?” Tony asked me. “Are you looking forward to our dinner that much?”
“I was trying to observe Amanda wi
th Noah.”
“Oh.”
Tony sounded disappointed.
“Of course I am thinking about our dinner,” I added in a softer tone. “And our trip to the city. That is, if we ever get out of this place.”
Tony rallied around. Then he wanted to know about Amanda and Noah. I gave him the brief version.
“Why would the kids lie?” Tony asked. “I can’t imagine spreading this kind of stuff about my mother.”
“That’s what we thought too. But we needed to check it out. The kids could just be acting out.”
“Did you find out anything?”
“There’s something between them alright. Count on it.”
“You think Ted Junior knows?”
It felt a bit disloyal, discussing the fate of a couple while standing in their bedroom. We went downstairs and escorted Motee Ba and Pappa up the stairs. Pappa was grumbling but he didn’t have much of a choice. I looked at his quaking jaw and crossed my fingers. I didn’t want him falling sick on Christmas.
Chapter 21
Tony and I went down to the living room. Dad and William Derry had each taken over a couch and were fast asleep. Ted Junior had apparently gone to this study. No one knew if he was catching some shut-eye or working. No one seemed to care.
Crystal was woozy from the pain killers Amanda had urged her to take. At least she wasn’t in a lot of pain.
“Let’s do something,” Julie said with the excitement typical of a teen. “How about a walk in the snow?”
I expected Amanda to strike down this crazy idea but she stayed quiet. Ultimately, Tony, Ryan, Julie and I stepped out. Amanda stayed behind to keep Crystal company. She also wasn’t too keen on getting her behind frozen. Noah stayed back too, of course.
We took a couple of flashlights with us, just in case. There was no need for any candles or flashlights outside. The sky was clear and inky blue, studded with stars. The surrounding darkness made them appear brighter. The snow sparkled and shone around us like a field of tiny diamonds. It was an awesome sight.
Tony took my hand in his and smiled down at me.
“Are you guys seeing each other?” Julie asked.
We just smiled at each other, choosing not to answer Julie. Ryan started talking about a hillock at the edge of their property.
“We should go there tomorrow morning. Try some sledding. It will be fun, dude.”
I asked if he had done it before with his friends. I wanted to steer the conversation around to what he did all day, the kind of people he hung out with.
“Ryan’s friends have a one track mind,” Julie scoffed. “All they think or talk about is music.”
“You’re serious about it then?”
Ryan told us they started out playing at parties and bar mitzvahs.
“Have you tried any clubs?”
“We played at the local pub, and a couple in the surrounding small towns. We need to get into the city clubs.”
“You must be good,” I praised, trying to butter him up.
Ryan smiled shyly. He didn’t seem to have an arrogant bone in him.
“We are starting to build a fan base. Some people really like us.”
“What do you play?” Tony asked.
“A little bit of everything. I focus on the vocals. I am the lead singer.”
“You should sing for us!” I exclaimed. “That’s it. You’re taking requests the moment we go inside.”
Ryan’s face fell.
“Dad doesn’t like it.”
“What is it with Dads?” I burst out.
I wasn’t acting this time.
“My brother Jeet had a band in high school and my Dad was totally against it.”
“Oh yeah!” Ryan smiled. “Jeet Patel. Of course he is your brother. He’s really great on the guitar.”
He asked me what Jeet was up to so I told him. We talked about music and Harvard, and why parents wanted something else for us.
“They want good prospects for their kids,” Tony preached. “Music doesn’t pay unless you hit it big. Let’s face it. How many garage bands end up at the Grammys?”
“It’s because they don’t have opportunities,” I argued.
“That’s not even a problem for me,” Ryan added. “We’ve got plenty of money. I don’t need to worry about where my next meal is coming from.”
“And they want to keep it that way,” Tony pointed out.
We gave Tony a hard time for being a pretentious jerk. A building loomed ahead of us and I realized we had reached the barn or garage or whatever they called it.
“We went in there before,” Tony told Ryan. “Is that your Ferrari?”
“My Dad’s,” Ryan laughed. “He won’t let me drive it.”
“You’ve never gone joyriding?” I challenged him. “How about a ride now?”
Ryan seemed scandalized. He didn’t look like someone used to bending the rules.
“Are you kidding? I’m in enough trouble already.”
“Why is that?”
“Dad and Grandpa want me to start working at the plant. They got an office ready for me, gave me a fancy title.”
“You know you’re lucky to have it handed to you on a platter, right?”
“But it’s not what I want.”
He asked me about the diner and why I had dropped out of college. What did I tell you about the Swan Creek grapevine? Even a rich kid like Ryan knew what the gossip was. How I wished I could talk to Sylvie right now. She would give me the skinny on Ryan alright.
“Like you said, you’re rich. Just go on a tour with your band.”
“That’s not how it works, Meera. I need to record a song first, take it around to clubs and build up a fan base. Then we can think about a tour.”
“Do it then…” Tony quipped.
“I don’t have the money.”
“You’re the heir to the Frank fortune, aren’t you?” I hedged. “You must have plenty of money.”
Ryan and Julie laughed at that.
“We can’t touch that money,” Julie said. “Grandpa gave us an allowance but he was stingy. And he had rules about what we could spend it on.”
“Surely he had no way to control that?”
Ryan gave me a queer look.
“This is a small town. No one dared to go against his will. So like, I could spend my allowance on throwing a party but I couldn’t buy a guitar with it.”
“Sounds tough.”
The kids regaled us with stories of how they managed to acquire the things they wanted.
“It’s all coming to you anyway,” I sympathized.
“After we turn thirty!” They both exclaimed at the same time. “We’ll be old by then.”
Turning thirty is like the death knell for a 20 year old. I was with them on that one.
“You could run away,” I kidded.
Ryan’s eyes flickered.
“You think I haven’t tried that. But I had to come home.”
“Why?”
“Mom sent Julie away. I wanted to be around for Dad.”
Ryan was a good kid. I told him that.
“I talked to Dad and Grandpa. We came to an agreement. I would go to the office Monday to Friday and spend Saturday jamming with my band. If I still felt like I wanted to do music after one year, they were going to consider it.”
“Didn’t you just hate them for it?”
“I was pretty mad at first,” Ryan nodded. “But they were right in a way. Uncle Noah doesn’t want to work. And it was high time Grandpa retired. Dad needed help.”
I played Devil’s Advocate.
“So you sold out.”
“I don’t see it that way. It’s my legacy. I need to protect it and make sure I have something left to inherit.”
Ryan didn’t sound immature. He certainly didn’t sound like some trigger happy slacker who would kill for no reason.
We had circled around the barn and were headed back to the big house. The cold seeped through my bones and froze my fingers.
“How about it Meera?” Ryan coaxed. “You up for making one of your special treats?”
“We don’t want to wake the others,” I wavered. “Actually, you’ve made me crave pizza now.”
We went inside and hung up our coats and stamped the snow off our boots. Crystal was fast asleep. Amanda and Noah were out of sight on a couch closer to the fireplace. We could see their heads together. None of us opted for a closer look.
Julie took a candle from a coffee table and led the way into the kitchen. The pantry yielded an assortment of stuff that seemed right for our pizza cravings. Half an hour later, we were biting into hot and cheesy pizza bites loaded with spicy Italian sausage.
“I’m sorry about your grandpa,” I said sincerely as we finished eating. “You are going to miss him.”
“I already do,” Julie said, tearing up.
“How come your Dad never got a place of his own?” I asked.
I live in a house with my Dad and my grandparents. It’s an Indian thing. But I know multigenerational families are not the norm in American culture.
“Have you seen the size of this place?” Ryan asked. “He built it for a large family. Unfortunately, Dad is an only child.”
There was Noah of course but he had come in later.
“He was lonely after Grandma walked out on him,” Julie observed. “I’m glad Dad didn’t move out and leave him alone here.”
“Must have been hard on your Mom though,” I fished.
“He let her have a free hand. He liked to be consulted in everything though. Mom knew that. I think she was pretty good at keeping him happy.”
“So they never fought?”
Julie shook her head.
“Grandpa said Dad was a good son and a good father. He wanted us to live by his example.”
“But…”
I mentioned how they had been bickering a lot at dinner the previous night.
“That didn’t mean anything,” Ryan laughed. “They were just debating over a business decision.”
“So your business isn’t in trouble then?”
“I’m not sure,” Ryan admitted. “We may be going through a slack period. But it evens out in the long run.”
“What happens if your business isn’t doing good?” I asked. I had thought of something. “Do your employees suffer in any way?”