The Battered Heiress Blues (22 page)

“Sure. What?”

“I had asked Henry to get rid of Connor’s things, but I doubt he followed through on that. If the blankets and toys are left, will you bring them for Emma Grace?”

“Emma Grace?”

“It was good enough for Mom and Ms. Walker. She’ll have their same strength.”

“Mom would be thrilled. I love it, sis.”

“I’m glad.”

“Have you told Henry?” he timidly asked.

“No. I don’t plan to tell him either. The doctor wants me to keep my stress level to a bare minimum. Arguing with Henry would be counterproductive. I will tell him…at some point. I’m not ready.”

“What about John?”

“Father could care less, Tommy.”

“Don’t speak for him, Julia. He would want to know. Mom would want you to tell him.”

“Oh, God in heaven, spare me the turn the other cheek sermon at this late hour. Maybe you’re right. I’ll think about it. Now, you should get back to sleep.”

“You’re really okay then. You’ve told me everything?”

“Yes. Don’t be so paranoid.”

“Don’t be so you.”

“I’ll try. Love you.”

“Love you too. Goodnight.”

With that farewell, I decided to try some of the soup that had cooled off. No one could cook like Ms. Martin. As I finished, Gabe stopped by my room to tell me that he had called in for work. He was going to Tybee Island to pick up some of his mom’s belongings for the duration of her stay. I thanked him profusely for his friendship and with that I collapsed and fell asleep.

15

T
he morning had brought a bit more clarity regarding the battle ahead. In order to save Emma Grace, I would have to learn to love my bed. Christmas had snuck up on me and no preparations had been made. I hadn’t ordered a tree or bought the first present. This year would be spectacular, sharing it with the Martin family. The thought of seeing Mattie open his gifts, with his new found emotions, made me excited. It was quite possible that this would turn out to be the best Christmas ever.

There was one task ahead of me that I was dreading. Gabe had the right to know that Kate and Henry stopped by last evening. The shock and awe on their faces only solidified my inclination that our body language had sent a deceptive message to our visitors. I could hardly blame them for rushing to judgment. If the tables had been turned, I would have been less forgiving, ranting and raving before leaving, though I would never admit that to anyone. Their silence cut through me like a knife. They weren’t interested in discerning intent. They were sickened by what they saw and made haste to put as much distance between them and us as possible.

Mattie appeared in my doorway with Ms. Martin, helping to deliver blueberry pancakes. He was easily persuaded to stay and watch Saturday morning cartoons with me. Unless you rearranged his things, Mattie was the most peaceful person on the planet. His company had a calming effect. I could tell he was bored when he started rocking. Reaching into the night table drawer, I pulled out a satin bag full of treasures for him to play with. The bag was heavy, containing Tommy’s old marble collection. He stared at the bag for ten minutes before placing it in front of me- a sign that I should open it and divulge its contents. When they spilled out on my bed, he became engrossed at examining their colors and sizes. He was thrilled which made my heart beat joyfully. As he methodically categorized his new collection, Gabe walked through the door.

“Here you are. Is he keeping you up?”

“No. I’ve been confined to bed for four hours and I’m already bored.”

“Tough luck.” He sat down next to Mattie, smiling at his own humor, and began fiddling with the marbles. “What’s all this?”

“Tommy’s old marble collection.”

“Tommy may not want us to play with those, Mattie.”

“I gave them to him. Tommy is a grown man who will be having no children. He’d be thrilled to know that someone was getting some use out of his old things. Really.”

“Well let’s see what you’ve got there, Mattie.”

He separated all the blue marbles into a pile and spoke his new word for us again. I would never tire of hearing the word blue. It made me want to purchase every blue object I could get my hands on.

“We need to have a big person conversation,” I said, hesitantly.

“That sounds ominous.”

“Something happened last night.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there.”

“Not that. We had some visitors. Help me out onto the veranda so we don’t disturb Mattie’s cartoons.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“The doctor said limited walking. The veranda is only ten feet. Give me a break.”

“All right. Up you go.”

Gabe pulled me forward from my reclined position against the mountain of pillows under me and helped me stand. The sun was breaking through the clouds in visible beams of light, but the air remained crisp. The comforter he brought out was tightly wrapped around me. I felt like a burrito. My feet were swept up onto a pillow which he’d placed on the coffee table.

“I’m warm enough. Relax. You promised not to smother.”

“It’s December, Julia.”

“You’re in the South, Gabe. I’m used to brutal New York winters. This is nothing.”

“None the less…you’re warm. I’m happy. What’s up? Your talks are never good.”

“Why do people keep saying that?”

“History, doll.”

“Well, you may have a point. This isn’t pleasant news.”

“Spit it out. Be direct. I can take it.”

He sat down next to me, tossing his feet up next to mine. I had qualms about telling him, but he had a right to chase down Kate and set the story straight if he so chose. He nodded his head as if egging me on to spill the beans.

“We had visitors last night.”

“You said that already. Who?”

“Kate and Henry were here.”

“In this house?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I heard a noise and woke up to find your arm slung over my waist-”

“Yeah, sorry about that…”

“No matter, but when I looked toward the noise of the creaking door, Henry and Kate were standing there with an awful look on their faces, imagining that we were together, I suppose. I can’t blame them really, considering our close proximity to one another and the fact that we were in my bed.”

“Mattie was between us. What did they say?”

“It never came to that. I didn’t have much time to consider stopping them. Kate ran off immediately and Henry only lingered for a minute at most. I was torn. I didn’t want to startle Mattie.”

“That’s the real reason you didn’t go after them?” he inquired with skepticism in his voice.

“Okay. No. The truth is that I didn’t want Henry to know about the baby…not yet, but I realize now, that Kate must be thinking something dreadful about us…about me…and I think my decision has sealed your fate with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were on her way back to London today. We’re both runners.”

“I see. Well, if she cared enough to fight for me, she would have stayed and made her stand. She left. Like you said, she doesn’t care enough.”

“Oh God. Did I say that?”

“Before, when you were explaining why she went to New York when her brother beckoned.”

“I’m an idiot. That was a poor choice of words, Gabe. I saw the look in her eyes last night. She does care enough. The pain on her face was excruciating to witness. Don’t form any opinions based on the observations of someone with my inept senses. Perhaps, you need to find her and have it out. Let your heart be the judge.”

“I appreciate the back pedaling, Julia, but what would be the point? The bottom line is that she left. You don’t do that if you love someone… you stay and fight.”

“Not always. Some of us flee.”

“Fleeing is for cowards.”

“You won’t get an argument on that point from me. Even still, you’ll never have closure until you hash it out with Kate. You’ll always wonder.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it over Christmas.”

“Do that…give it some dedicated thought.”

“What’s on tap for today?” he inquired, intentionally closing the subject of Kate.

“Are you trying to be mean? Rub it in, why don’t you.”

“What?”

“I guess I’ll be holding down the bed today…and tomorrow…and the day after that…”

“Sorry.”

“You are sorry.”

“Have you thought about a Christmas tree? We’ll be the only family having a Charlie Brown Christmas if we don’t buy one soon.”

“I was just thinking about that this morning.”

“Mattie and I will go and pick one out,” he offered.

“Mr. Burney, down at Burney’s Nursery will deliver and set it up. I’ll call ahead.”

“I can afford to buy a tree, Julia.”

“I know. I know, but Mr. Burney and I do business every year and we have a system. He relies on my financial patronage every season. He’s probably waiting by the phone. He’ll send a crew over to wrap garland on the veranda railings and they’ll hang wreaths for me in the windows. You can buy a tree for the cottage if you’re dying to spend your own money.”

“Okay. Far be it for me to mess with tradition. We’ll be back in an hour. Do we need tree trimmings?”

“Heavens no. I have enough in the attic for this tree and the one you buy for the cottage.”

“Let’s go. Get up. Back to bed,” he insisted.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really. No.”

Gabe pulled me up and held the back of the comforter off the ground as we processed inside. He was starting to feel like my lady in waiting and it was only the first day of prison. He needed a new occupation. He needed Kate.

“There’s a wooden board in Tommy’s room that has holes for separating and displaying the marbles. Would you get it? It’s in his closet on the third shelf.”

Mattie had all of the marbles in a particular order and I knew that I would disturb them with my moving in the bed. The board would keep them separated, orderly, and portable. Gabe returned and sat down next to Mattie. I carefully picked up one marble and put it in one section, waiting to see if he would become angry. Of his own volition, he picked up another and placed it in a different holder. We patiently waited for him to find a spot for every last marble. Gabe stood, holding the board and offered it to Mattie. He followed him out of my room and downstairs so they could leave for the nursery.

Time passed more slowly with my confinement. I spent the better part of the hour thinking about Kate. After calling Mr. Burney to make arrangements for our Christmas decorations, I finally decided to call her, in an effort to smooth things over for Gabe. She didn’t answer her phone which was no great surprise. She was a lot like me. We were the sort that required a cooling off period. If pressured, nuclear fallout would occur. The sweetness of her tone on voicemail certainly didn’t match her current mood, after last evening. I plowed ahead, leaving a wandering message about what she thought she saw.

“Kate. It’s me, Jewels. About last night…what you thought you saw, you didn’t see. Mattie spends the nights with me when Gabe works late. That’s all. They crash in Tommy’s room. Last night, he must have sat down to watch television and ended up falling asleep next to us. There is nothing going on. If you would have stayed, you would have known that, but you left, jumping to conclusions…like always. Gabe’s a brother to me, despite what your wild imagination has been dreaming up. You’re too hasty….”

Beep. How dare that voice mail cut me off? Redial.

“I wasn’t done. Furthermore, your secret is safe. Gabe has no idea that you are a big coward about Mattie’s autism- a serious shortcoming on your part. Get over yourself. I mean, who gives a rip if people stare a little. You love attention. And by the way, I lied for you. That’s the kind of friend I am. I put your future happiness first in the hopes that you would stop being a stuck up Brit and come back to Gabe. The fact that you would think that I would ever be involved with a man that you had even the least bit of feelings for, makes you a mean bitch. You don’t deserve my friendship.”