Cross of Ivy

by Roxi Bahar Hewertson

  “But you will, you will. Wait ‘til you see, it’s just ripe for the pickin’, Zach, and nobody can pick better than you.”

  “I’m honored you feel that way,” Zach said.

  “I do, yes sir, I do. You know, I still own a piece of the Dolphins. Those were the good ol’ days, right, Zach? We had some good times. Shit, I miss that. Well, this is even better; you can’t get better than this. Cross is a great place, and you are the man for my football team, Zach.” Stuart looked like a man who had just made his first million bucks. He was well beyond that, of course, but winning Zach as his prize was the next best thing. Stuart did not take losing lightly, and he rarely had to take it at all.

  They landed on the tiny airport strip aboard Stuart’s private plane. On the way up, Abby and Carol chatted about their children and Cross. Waiting for them inside the shoebox terminal was Chancellor Frederic “Fritz” Gaston and Eric Houston, the athletic director.

  “Welcome to Cross, Coach, Stuart, ladies,” the distinguished chancellor said with flawless clarity. He appeared young for a man in his position. Beneath his camel wool coat, he wore a well-tailored dark grey pinstriped suit. His bright hazel eyes smiled at them with that pasted-on sincerity look, like maybe he had smiled at too many people already that day.

  Eric Houston was genuine and warm, particularly to the wives. He introduced himself to Zach and Abby, “Please, call me Ric,” greeted the now familiar Leer family, and helped carry their bags. The show had begun.

  The next morning, Ric and his wife, Ginny, gave the Trudeaus the guided tour of Cross’s charming but small business district, breathtaking winter mountain views, the high-rent district, and the campus, beginning with the stadium and football offices. Even in winter, when everything is pale and raw, Cross’s beauty was undeniable.

  Ric and Zach took their leave while Ginny invited Abby to lunch at her favorite Mexican restaurant. Abby took note that the place hadn’t a clue about real Mexican food, but she kept her opinions to herself and played her part well. She smiled and chatted about her favorite topic, the children, and revealed none of her misgivings.

  Ginny Houston was charmed, but she wanted to know more.

  “This would be such a big move for your family, Abby. How would the children take it?”

  “Oh, Luke would be fine, he rolls with the punches, and Zoe, well, she’s not so sure, but given time, I imagine she’d get used to it. Maybe they could learn to ski. Now that’s a thought.”

  “And you?”

  “Me? Oh, well, what’s good for Zach is good for me. We’ve been pickin’ up and going for twenty years. He’s fixin’ to stay in one place for a while though. And that makes this decision a big one for all of us.”

  “So, do you like what you’ve seen so far? I mean it’s got to be so different here than what you’re used to.”

  “I do love being warm, but if I have to be in the cold, this is the prettiest darn place I have ever seen. What about you, Ginny? Do you like it here?” Abby asked.

  “It does get awful cold, that’s true, but Ric and I love it here. We love the town, we love winter sports, and we love a good, hot fire, so it’s been great, really, and a good place to bring up our children.”

  “Well, that’s important to me and Zach, of course. It’s his decision, really, and I’m sure he’ll make the right one; he always has,” Abby said with conviction that sounded so real, she almost believed it herself.

  The men were holed up in the chancellor’s office.

  “I have to say, gentlemen, you’ve made a fine offer, and I am honored, but I have to talk it over with my wife. We make all these decisions together, and she may have some questions,” Zach said, almost surprising himself. But he knew when he was over his head in stock options, real estate value and benefits. Abby took care of all that, and he had to admit, she’d done a damn good job all these years.

  “Fine, fine, Zach,” Fritz Gaston said. “I admire a man who consults his wife. Family is a serious matter at Cross, and we want your lovely wife to be as pleased to be here as we are to have her join us.”

  “Oh, she will be, Fritz,” Stuart said. “I personally guarantee it.”

  Ric Houston spoke up. “Zach, I just want to make sure you’ve really considered what a transition this will be, from the big time to the Ivy League. We’re very proud of our university, to be sure, but this isn’t the pros, and nothing like LSU, no scholarships, no rides, incredibly high academic requirements, and no bowls. We only compete with our own.”

  “Cross is no LSU, that’s right, but LSU is no Cross. They’re birds of a different feather, all right, but they both can fly. What Stuart says is the kids need a coach to raise ‘em up to a higher level, to set their sights, to teach ‘em how to win. Well, I do know how to win. I’m not sayin’ it’ll be easy now, but it’ll be fun.”

  “Well, then, let’s get you back to your lovely wife so we can move ahead, shall we?” Stuart asked with impatience.

  “Fine idea, Stuart,” Fritz said. “Now, Zach, take the contract and go over it with Abby and anyone else you want. Let’s get back in touch tomorrow, if that’s not too soon.”

  “I see grass doesn’t grow under your feet. I like that. I’ll be in touch tomorrow and let you know where I stand.”

  Abby and Zach spent the afternoon together driving around town, looking at neighborhoods. It was the first time in years they’d actually acted like Abby thought married people were supposed to act. They were having fun.

  “Oh, Zach, look at that big bird over on the side of the road. Look, another one, a whole family!” Abby said.

  “Turkey, wild turkey. Now you don’t see that in the city.”

  “True.”

  “Listen, Ab, I know I’ve been hard to live with lately, but we’ve come this far together, I think we should go for it and see what happens. I mean, I’m almost, well, I ain’t gettin’ any younger, and neither are you. I think if we come here, things will be better maybe, less pressure and all.”

  “I don’t know, Zach. Do you really think we could be happy here? Have we been happy anywhere?”

  “Sure. Miami was good, wasn’t it, and Atlanta wasn’t too bad, but still, this has got to be better, and I want to be a head coach. I’m sick of being second banana or third or worse. I want to be in charge.”

  “So that’s it. You want to be a big fish. Now I understand. Will it really make you happy, Zach?” Abby needed to know.

  “I want to be head coach. Yeah, that will make me happy,” Zach said.

  “It’s just so cold and strange and small, but I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve seen a prettier place.”

  “That’s my girl. What do you say we go back to the hotel and look over the contract?”

  “All right, Zach, all right,” Abby said.

  Zach closed the door to their suite as Abby took off her fur coat. He practically jumped to help her get it off, and then he breathed hot kisses on her neck. She stood still, as though she were dazed, and he unbuttoned her creamy silk blouse.

  “I’m gonna remind you why you married me,” he said.

  Abby said nothing and closed her eyes as he helped her slip under the clean sheets. Zach made love to his wife. For once, he didn’t use her body for his own instant gratification. He didn’t even roll off her when he was through. Zach kissed her and said he needed her. He didn’t fall asleep. As he spoke in hushed tones, Abby began to believe that she mattered, for the first time in years.

  A half hour later as she lay in his arms with the contract in her hands, she said, “The deal needs some work, but if we can get the faculty house for a full year and build, then we can manage it.”

  “You think so, huh?” he asked.

  “I want us to make it, Zach, for all our sakes. If you want it that much, then the children and I will be here with you.”

  “That’s my girl,” Zach said. He kissed her forehead and grinned to himself.

  “Zoe says she won’t come home, Mama. She said she’s gonna
live at Lisa’s, and she won’t go with us,” Luke said to his mother after he hung up the telephone.

  “I know that’s what she thinks, and I know she’s angry, but she’ll come ‘round if I leave her alone long enough, she always does,” a haggard Abby said to her son. “Now, you stay out of it, Luke, or she’ll take it out on you too, okay?”

  It had been as awful as she expected, and Zach was no help. He’d already gone, leaving the responsibility of dealing with Zoe, selling the house, packing and moving to her.

  “You can handle it, Suga’,” he’d said. “They need me up there. I gotta get right on the road and with no scholarship money to boot.”

  But the days before he left had been so good. Zach was a new man, his old funny, charming self, home for supper, throwing a big party, telling Zoe she was his best girl, making love to his wife the night before she put him on the plane.

  Abby wanted it to last. But now, he was gone.

  Reaching for that magic kept her sane, kept her moving forward when most days she just wanted to cry. But he needed her, he’d said, over and over again. They had to wait until school was out in May. Four months of Zoe, four months of saying goodbye to friends, and packing, and details, and strangers trouping through the house oohing and ahhing but not buying, and all the things that broke that were working before he left, and the loneliness of sleeping alone.

  Zoe came home after a week of temper tantrums. She walked in the back door to the kitchen and found Abby sorting through rows and rows of cupboards.

  “Daddy called last night, and he told me I had to come home and I had to cheer up and I had to remember it was only a year, and I could come back to Dallas to school if I wanted and he’d buy me a car and so here I am,” she said this without taking a breath.

  “I see,” Abby said. “A car, huh? Well, he must be feeling guilty.” Abby walked over to her daughter, who only a week ago had stormed out of the house yelling “I hate you!” and put her hands on Zoe’s slumped shoulders.

  “Zoe, it’s going to be all right. I promise. Somehow, it’ll work out and maybe even be better. We’re a family, and we have to stick together like we always have.”

  Zoe said nothing; she just started to cry.

  “I’m glad you’ve come home, honey.” Abby wrapped her arms around her daughter and let her sob while her own tears dripped down her face.

  “Shhh, now, shhh,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER 28

  There they are Zoe, look!” Abby felt the tears fill her eyes as her family descended the airplane stairs and walked across the pavement toward them. For the first time since the move to Cross, Abby felt good. Emmy, Mary and Joshua arrived at the tiny airport, just in time for supper.

  During that first year, Abby had watched over the building of their magnificent new home, and she had places to show her family that they had never seen. Much to her relief, Zach’s parents had begged off and simply sent Zoe and Luke checks for high school graduation.

  Mary looked exhausted but happy. “We made it! Dear God, what a trip. Oh Abby, you look wonderful, and Zoe, we are so proud of you !”

  Joshua grabbed Abby’s arm. “Your mother has been a jitterbug for days now, so excited about getting here. Y’all are a sight for this old man’s eyes.” Joshua was still a handsome man, his face wearing the same kindness Abby had grown to love so long ago. He still looked fit, and his mind remained razor sharp.

  “Oh, Ab!” Emmy gushed as she reached out her arms. “Zoe, Luke, come give Auntie Em a hug.” They all hugged and touched each other as if it had been years rather than months since their last visit.

  “I’m just so glad you’re here,” Abby said as she dabbed her eyes with her sleeve.

  The clean mountain air refreshed them as Abby gave the tour of the campus and town, winding her way through the brick paved streets, up the hill to the athletic facilities.

  “There it is,” Abby said. “King Stadium, King Hall, King Avenue, all named after Jackson King, the long dead and buried alum whose name will live forever in these hallowed halls, blah, blah, blah.”

  “It’s pretty, Abby, really it is,” said Mary. “Just think how many boys have played here and gone off to earn their fortunes on Wall Street or somewhere. I’m impressed with all these old buildings, very different from the South, more like what I remember of Boston. Reminds me of Harvard a little, with all the stone and brick and all. Is Zach’s office in there?”

  “Oh, yes. That’s where he lives mostly. The house is just for me and the kids and the parties,” Abby said flatly.

  “Mother, really. Daddy is home a lot more these days, and he even likes to putter in the yard. He says he might get a horse and build a barn.” Zoe always rose to Zach’s defense. She seemed to believe he was incapable of doing anything wrong. Her mother, on the other hand, was wrong most of the time; even Daddy said so.

  “It’s all talk, and you know it, Zoe,” Luke said. “It always is.”

  Mary, Joshua and Emmy exchanged glances. None of them liked Zach, they hated the way he treated Abby, and they hated that she let him. Emmy spoke first. “Ab, where is Zach, and when’s ZJ coming in?”

  “Playing golf, I think. He gets out there every sunny day when there isn’t snow. ZJ flies in tomorrow. He almost wasn’t going to make it. I had to get Zach to call his new boss and explain how important it was.”

  They began the ascent to the new house. The steep and deeply curved road up Shay Mountain provided a lovely view of the town between the tall top-heavy pine trees.

  “It’s breathtaking up here, Abby.” Joshua said as he stretched his neck to see down the valley. “And not too far from town, really.”

  “I do love it up here. It almost makes up for the winter. Wait ‘til you see the view from our deck.” Abby turned left into the drive. The same tall pines were scattered along both sides. And then the house came into full view.

  “Oh my God, it’s huge!” Emmy brought her hand to her mouth. “The pictures don’t do it justice, really. I can’t believe how gorgeous it is. You did this, Abby? You designed it and made it happen?”

  “Well, I worked with the architects, and I picked the spot, and well, yes, I guess it’s mostly what I wanted. Zach gave me his general requirements, but he was too busy to bother, so I did most of it.” She hit the button on her visor and the garage door lifted into the air. “We’re home.”

  After getting unloaded, Abby gave the grand tour. First to the deck so they could see the valley before dusk, then through the three levels of open air spaces, cathedral ceilings, field stone fireplaces, four bathrooms, and all five bedrooms. The kitchen was Mary’s favorite, it had its own view of the valley and sat comfortably between the formal dining room and the less formal family room with a fireplace, glass windows and wood beams majestically gracing every wall and ceiling.

  “It’s magnificent, truly a work of art, Abby,” Joshua said proudly and draped his arm around her shoulder.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a warm and beautiful home, even in the magazines,” beamed Mary. “I can see you everywhere, in the wallpaper, in the colors, in the kitchen. Are you happy here, darlin’?”

  “As much as I can be without y’all near me, I guess. I do find it peaceful and beautiful, and that pleases me.”

  “Hey, I’m starved!” Emmy said.

  “Where are my manners?” Abby asked no one in particular. “Mama, everybody, forgive me. Supper is in the oven and the microwave. I’ll get it ready right away.” Abby rushed off to the kitchen.

  “Hold on, little lady.” Joshua grabbed her arm as she ran by. “Since when are any of us helpless? You’re not the maid, and we can all lend you a hand gettin’ supper on the table.”

  “Oh, Joshua, you don’t have to do that. I want to do it. Anyway, I’m used to it. Just put your feet up, and I’ll get it all together in a minute.”

  Emmy and Mary piped in at the same time, “We’re family, remember?” They looked at each other and laughed, and each tried a c
ouple more times to talk. Finally, Emmy said, “Aunt Mary, you go first.”

  “Okay, I’m still your Mama, and I say, Emmy sets the table, Abby, heats the food, Joshua opens the wine, I put the food on the table. The children can clean up afterwards.”

  “Well done, Mother.” Joshua smiled. Just then, Zach walked through the door.

  “Well, hey, y’all. Welcome to Cross and my home.” He grinned and put his hand out to Joshua.

  “Thanks, Zach. It’s beautiful here. Abby and you did a fine job building this place.”

  Zoe ran up to her father and gave him a big hug. “Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad you’re home.”

  He looked at her and smiled. “Still Daddy’s little girl, aren’t you, sugar?”

  “Always, Daddy.”

  Zach turned to Joshua, “Yeah, it turned out pretty good. I got the best architects out of New York, and I sent Abby down there to pick out a few things. Turned out fine after all was said and done. Course, there are a few things I’d change if I was to do it over.”

  “Abby’s done a glorious job decorating,” piped in Mary.

  Zach just smiled his famous smile and said to Joshua. “I was just about to pour me a tall bourbon, join me?”

  “Maybe later, Zach, I promised the ladies I’d open the wine.”

  “Abby can do that. What kind of a hostess makes the guest open the wine? When’s supper, Abby?”

  “In a few minutes. Mama and Emmy and I are about to put it on.” Abby cringed at his tone, but she wasn’t about to let him spoil her good mood.

  “Well, these poor folks must be starvin’, and I’m famished. I was fixin’ to grab a bite before I got home, and then I remembered we had guests, so let’s get it goin’ shall we?” he glowered at Abby, as he would an errant child.

  “By the time you have your drink, we’ll be ready,” Abby said with no expression in her voice.

  An uncomfortable silence hung over the room. Emmy and Mary exchanged scowls.

  “So, Zach, how did recruiting go?” Joshua asked.

  Zach loved to talk about himself and his job while he dropped the names of all the famous alumni he could think of. He babbled on and on about the sorry state of affairs at Cross and how hard he would have to work to bring the program to a respectable level and how he had to shake hands with everybody who ever gave fifty bucks to the football program. “They should pay me twice what I’m makin’ to do this job.”