Homecoming (13 page)

“You were?”

“Uh-huh. I saw your father this morning, and you’ve been on my mind ever since.”

“Where’d you see him? At the market?”

“No, he was driving down the road when I was at the post office. Do your folks know you’re coming?”

“No.” She thought about it for a moment. “I think I’ll just come for the day.”

“You know,” Janet said, her voice growing a little softer. “You can always stay with us if you’d like. We’ve got three bedrooms empty most nights.”

“Aww, that’s really nice of you. I’m not sure I can take you up on the offer, but it’s tempting.”

“Your mother wouldn’t need to know,” Janet reminded her.

“Thanks. I’ll definitely consider it. For next time. A friend’s having a birthday party tomorrow at noon, so I’ll probably drive home tonight. We’ll see how I’m feeling.”

“Great. We look forward to seeing you, Jill. It’s always a treat.”

“Thanks, Janet. You know I feel the same.”

She had to keep her speed down, due to the rain, but Jill pulled into the Davis drive well before lunch, wedging in next to the SUV that took up most of the space.

After dashing up to the front door, she knocked, surprised when a teenaged boy opened it. “Hi,” Jill said. “I’m here to see your grandparents.”

“Okay,” he said, turning to walk away. Jill laughed to herself and opened the door, hearing voices in the kitchen. She moved through the living and dining rooms, then pushed open the swinging door, finding Janet standing at the counter with Lisa, the monosyllabic door opener, and another kid. Jill stopped in her tracks, wishing she could turn tail and run.

“Jill,” Janet said, smiling as she moved across the room to hug her. “I was hoping you’d be here in time to meet the kids. They’re going to play baseball, and they stopped in to show me their new uniforms.” She put her hand on the taller kid’s shoulder. “This is Christian, and Joshua.”

“Hi, guys,” Jill said.

Neither one met her eyes, but they both muttered something.

“Hi, Lisa.”

“Hello, Jill.” She was trying to smile, but it seemed to take quite an effort. “What brings you down?”

“Just wanted to stop in and see Janet and Mike. This seemed like a good day.”

“Your father certainly took off early this morning,” Lisa said, a frown turning the corners of her mouth down. Jill noticed she’d begun to develop vertical lines along the sides of her chin, making her look uncomfortably like a marionette. “Where does he go early on a Saturday morning?”

“I have no idea,” Jill said. “I don’t…I don’t know.” She was going to say she didn’t feel the need to check up on him, but didn’t think that was a smart move. Poking Lisa was never going to be productive.

“He used to spend his nights at the Irish Rover in Brattleboro, but they don’t see him much any more. Does he have a
friend
somewhere else?”

“He’s a friendly guy,” Jill said, trying to control her voice.

“Oh, everyone knows how friendly Rich Henry is,” she said, a smarmy grin on her face.

“Lisa,” Janet said, her tone much sharper than usual. “You’d better get going if you don’t want to be late.”

After checking her watch, Lisa nodded, oblivious to the fact that her mother-in-law had just basically told her to knock it off and leave. “I guess we’d better go, boys. Kiss Grandma goodbye.”

They did as they were told, giving Janet the “I don’t want to do this” kind of kiss that teenaged boys were so skilled at.

“You two have fun today,” Janet said, as she hugged them both.

“Most of the grandparents come,” Lisa said, pointedly.

“Good for them!” Janet just smiled, an expression that meant she’d heard you but wasn’t going to do whatever it was you wanted. Janet had never been the type to be coerced into anything. Kind of like her youngest. Too bad Mark hadn’t inherited just a bit of that trait.

“The boys would like it too,” Lisa added. “Wouldn’t you boys?”

They were barely listening, but when Lisa repeated her question, they managed to shrug.

“I can see how much it means to them,” Janet said, smirking. “Maybe Jill and I will walk over.”

Lisa got behind the kids and guided them towards the door. “Oh, don’t bother. They won’t do more than goof around today.” As they exited, she called out, “See you.”

Janet gave Jill a puzzled look as she sat down at the big kitchen table. “What went on between you two to make her so…”

“Hateful?” Jill supplied. She sat down too, and folded her hands in front of her. “I truly don’t know. I can only guess it’s because I’m gay and my dad’s a cheater, but who cares about stuff like that?”

“Lisa does,” Janet said. “I swear she thinks she’s the only one stopping the moral decline of Southern Vermont.”

“The summer after I graduated from college, when I was living at home before starting grad school, I ran into her one day. Mark had obviously told her I’d come out as a lesbian, and she marched up to me and said she loved me as a child of God, but detested my lifestyle.”

“That’s Lisa.” Janet sighed. “I’m not sure if she honestly thinks she’s going to change people, or if she just likes being superior.”

“Hard to tell,” Jill said. “But I hate to see her raising three kids to have that same mindset.”

“I do too,” Janet said, looking a little glum. “Grace, their sixteen-year-old, already has more of it than I’d like. She’s always telling me about kids at school who don’t do things the way she thinks they should.”

“I was hoping Mark’s good nature would rub off.”

“It might, if he ever tried to push his point. But he’s not going to do that.” She rolled her eyes. “I love him. You know how much I love him. But he wouldn’t stand up to a strong wind. And the kids know it.”

“It’s sad,” Jill agreed. “He can’t be happy.”

“It’s hard to tell. I know he likes having Lisa in charge, but she’s probably more in charge than he wants.”

“I’m surprised they have three kids,” Jill said, shivering at the thought of how they got them.

Janet reached over and slapped her playfully. “Don’t start! I make it a habit to never think about my kids’ sex lives, but I’ll admit I’ve often wondered if they have any kind of chemistry.”

“Don’t look at me. I never understood what Mark saw in Lisa, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t ask himself the same thing every once in a while.”

Janet stood and went to the window. After peering out for a few seconds, she turned and smiled. “As soon as Lisa left, the sun peeked out. You won’t catch me saying there’s a correlation.”

“But I can catch you thinking it.”

She looked like she was about to laugh, but she turned and headed for the door. “Let’s go see the kids loaf around the ball-field. Neither of them likes to play, but all of their friends do, so they go along with the crowd.”

“Sounds like they take after their dad more than their mom.”

“Sounds like,” Janet agreed, taking Jill’s arm as they left the house.

They’d just started to walk when Jill said, “Is Mike resting?”

“No, he’s riding around in a golf cart.” Her smile grew as she spoke. “He’s on a new inhaler and it’s helped more than we’d hoped. He’s still using oxygen, but just when he sleeps. His mood has improved a hundred percent.”

“That’s fantastic! Is he able to play golf, or just ride?”

“He’s starting off slow. Today he’s going to ride along. Or so he says. Knowing him, he’ll be carrying his clubs and trying to get his pals to go for thirty-six.”

“That’s the Mike Davis I know,” Jill said, smiling at the thought of the younger, very energetic history teacher. “He used to run around our classroom like crazy, demonstrating one thing or another. He made school fun.”

“He was a good teacher. I know he misses it.”

“I’m surprised none of the boys went into teaching. They had such a good example.”

“None of them showed any interest,” Janet said. “Beth…Lizzie” she said, correcting herself, “thought about becoming a professor, but she didn’t want to stay on and get a Ph.D.” She laughed softly. “She’s such a practical kid. She said it wasn’t fair to even let kids study art history, since there aren’t any jobs in the field.”

Jill did a stutter-step as she took in this surprising information. “I didn’t know that was her major. I thought she would have gotten a business degree.”

“No, she’s always been into art and music. I’m not sure where she gets it, since we never took the whole brood anywhere!” She laughed. “The only museums that kid ever got to were on school trips, but she wound up working at one. A very good one.” She put her arm around Jill’s waist and gave her a hug. “She told me about cat-sitting for you. That was nice of you to hire her to do that. She’s always looking for ways to rustle up a little cash.”

“Uhm… I didn’t offer to pay her.” She slapped herself on the forehead. “Now I feel like a jerk!”

“Oh, please,” Janet said, waving her hand dismissively. “Lizzie doesn’t do a single thing she doesn’t want to do. Believe me, if she’d wanted money, she would have told you what she charged. The girl’s not shy.”

“I was treating her like a friend,” Jill admitted. “But I should have paid her, just like I do my usual cat-sitter.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up, honey. But I really meant what I said. If she’d wanted money, you’d know it.”

They reached the baseball field, but didn’t get very close. The rain had left puddles near the benches, which were filled with parents. “Let’s just make sure the kids see us, then keep going. I don’t want to listen to Lisa proclaiming they’re headed for the Hall of Fame.”

The boys waved back when Janet put her fingers into her mouth and let out a very loud whistle. “That’ll do,” she said. “Let’s go have lunch.”

They returned to the house to find Lizzie, sitting on the counter, drinking a soda. She wore her usual T-shirt and skinny jeans, but today they were tucked into hunter green rain boots. She shook her head mournfully when she met Jill’s gaze. “I could have had a ride down here?”

“I had no idea you were coming.”

“Neither did I,” Janet said, going over to stand between her legs and pull her down for a hug. “But I’m glad.”

“There wasn’t much going on, so I thought I’d come down and spread some cheer.” She gave Jill a pointed look, fierce yet clearly playful. “It only took me three hours on the train. Plus the time I spent waiting for Tim to come pick me up while a certain someone was monopolizing my mother’s time.” Her focus shifted back to her mother. “Where’s Dad?”

Janet had a very pleased look on her face when she said, “He’s out with Whitey, Chet and Wayne, playing golf or riding around in a cart. Either way, he was as pleased as punch when they came to pick him up.”

“Awesome!” Lizzie slid off the counter and slapped Jill on the back. “Give me a buzz next time you want to come down.” Her eyes narrowed, and her voice dropped. “Unless you’re trying to sneak ahead of me in the favorite daughter category.”

Jill laughed. “No, I’m not trying to compete. I honestly didn’t think to call you. Do you come down often?”

“
All
of the time,” Janet said, as she went to the refrigerator to pull out a few items. “She keeps a closer eye on Mike than I do. You know, I was pleased to hear she was staying in Burlington over Memorial Day, hoping she was going to do something with her friends. Then I found out she was cat-sitting for you.”

“It was like staying at a really nice hotel, Mom. Best vacation I’ve had in a couple of years.”

“I haven’t properly thanked you for doing it,” Jill said. “Put me on your calendar for dinner.”

“I’ve got to make you dinner too?” she asked, her mouth dropping open. Then she began to laugh. “You don’t have to do that, Jill. I enjoyed myself.”

“I might not have to, but I’m going to. Let’s have dinner at the restaurant at Hollyhock Hills. I’ve heard it’s great.”

“That’s way too expensive,” Lizzie protested.

“I’d like to go. I’ll come early, and you can give me a better tour.”

“Okay,” she said, grinning. “Maybe I can shake some dough out of you at the same time. We’re trying to restore the formal gardens.”

“You can give it your best shot. After a couple of glasses of wine, I might agree to anything.”

***

By seven o’clock, the sun was thinking about setting, but the temperatures were still warm enough to be in shirtsleeves. Mike stood about twenty feet from the 14th hole, and he flicked his wrist, letting the Frisbee sail towards the target. As Jill hung back from the basket, ready to catch an overthrow, she reflected on how damned happy she was. The first day of the year to actually feel like summer, all of her favorite Davises playing Frisbee golf, and Mike’s color and energy level so much better than they’d been during the winter. Days didn’t get much better than this.

Lizzie darted after the disk when it veered off in her direction. She grabbed it on the fly and flung it at Jill, not even pausing to set herself. “On your toes!” she said, laughing when it hit her in the chest.

“Give me a second!” She bent to pick up the disk, then took her turn, dropping it into the net with a degree of accuracy that surprised her. Whipping her hands in the air, she did a joyful victory dance. “I’ve still got the touch!”

“Winner buys the next round,” Lizzie announced, holding up an empty beer bottle. “Jill? Dad?”

“None for me,” Jill said. “I’m the designated driver.”

“I think I can have another,” Mike said. “As soon as we’re done, I’m going to plop down on my sofa. No driving until church tomorrow.”

Janet walked over and put her arm around Jill’s waist. “Thanks for taking our girl home. She would have had to leave already if she was taking the train.”

“I’m happy to have her.” She took in a breath, letting all of her favorite scents in. “Great night, isn’t it?”

“There’s nothing like a warm summer night,” Janet agreed. She took the disk from the basket. “I’m up.”

“Have at it.” Jill stuck her hands in her back pockets and took in the evening. It wasn’t like it had been when she was a child. Then you couldn’t be outside without at least ten other kids from the neighborhood coming to join the Davis gang. But it was peaceful, welcoming, nurturing. The very definition of home.