The House (10 page)

“She’s high maintenance,” Serine blurted. She pursed her lips. “Always whining. Nothing like Millicent.”

“Now wait a minute.” Theo flashed his hand. “Raising two kids is hard. Heather—”

“Like you would know,” Serine snapped. “Then again, Millicent isn’t as eager to be barefoot and pregnant as Heather—”

“That’s enough.” Anna felt like a referee.

Linda burst into the dining room, “Daddy’s fallen and bumped his head!”

Anna rushed upstairs. Theo, Serine, and Linda raced behind.

“
Edward.
What happened?” She entered the bedroom and joined Brad who was kneeling beside Edward.

“I was dizzy. I’ll be all right—” Edward moved to sit up.

“Let us help you.” Brad supported his back. Theo bent over to assist. Edward batted away their hands. “I told you I’m fine.”

Edward fell back upon Anna’s lap. Theo and Brad exchanged glances then looked to Anna.

“Perhaps we need to clear the room.” Linda said. She and Serine left. Theo and Brad helped Edward to the bed.

“I need to speak to David as soon as he reaches Santa Rosa,” Edwards murmured.

Theo nodded.

“We’ll be downstairs,” Brad said. He and Theo moved to leave.

Edward lay down. Anna drew the covers onto him. “Yesterday was tiring. You were up late last night.” Edward groaned.

“You need to rest,” she said.

“I’ll be fine.” Edward tried to sit up.

Anna noticed the frailness of his neck and arms. Silent worry coursed through her. It was happening.
Edward was beginning to slip away
.

“I’m calling Dr. Grimes.”

“And what is
he
going to do?” Edward caught her stare.

A slow burning sensation spread throughout Anna. “I’m calling him, and that’s that.” She hurried across the hall to Theo’s room and dialed the oncologist.

“I’ve been waiting for your call,” Dr. Grimes said when greeting her.

“He fell and hit his head. He was dizzy. It’s only been three weeks,” she said.

“How’s he now?”

“Fine, but he’s weak and tired. He’s lost a lot of weight.”

“That’s to be expected.”

“I thought you said we had three to six months.”

“Each case is different.”

“Is that how you see Edward, as another
case
?” Anna then recalled Grimes’ concern about her re-entering Edward’s life and caring for him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“None necessary,” Grimes said. “I can readmit him, but it sounds like you might need a hospice nurse.”

“He’s not bedridden. And, the kids are here.”

“The first sign of the disease taking over is exhibited by stumbling and falling. My guess is that Edward has been feeling weaker than he’s been letting on. While he hasn’t taken to sleeping a lot, he’s probably wanting to lay down more than he feels comfortable saying.”

“And what is the hospice nurse going to do? Make him take naps? Sit around and wait for him to keel over?”

“First off, she’s going to assess his energy level. Whether you know it or not, it’s easier for him to tell the nurse how he’s feeling than you. Edward doesn’t want to let you or the children down. He’s accustomed to you and them seeing him strong and independent. He’s shedding that demeanor.” Anna cringed at the word
shedding
. It made her think of a snake losing its skin.

“Anna, things are going to get messy. The Edward you know is changing.”

“And whose side are you on?”

“Edward’s ... and yours. It’s good that you’ve taken him home. Very few patients get that. But you and your children need to be prepared. My sense is that you are a large part of their preparation. Don’t squander your time freaking out when things start happening. Instead, be available to him.”

“Thanks, for the advice. I’ll call you if anything changes.” Anna wasn’t ready for hospice.?

Chapter 12

Anna left Edward’s room. Theo met her on the second floor landing. “What did the doctor say?”

“Your father’s sleeping,” Anna ignored his words. “Get everybody and let’s gather in the dining room.”

They all filed into the dining room and took their usual places. Anna sat at the end of the oblong table in the chair she had occupied the prior evening. She placed her palms upon the table and glanced at the empty seat on the other end where Edward always sat.

“Your father’s resting.” Those seated around the table remained somber. “I thought this was as good a time as any for us to talk.” As a way of grounding herself, Anna then repeated what she had said when she had called them about Edward’s illness. “Your father has cancer of the gallbladder. He was diagnosed last November. He underwent surgery then eight months of chemotherapy. The chemo failed. Now he’s dying. The doctor told me he had three to six months to live. Now this morning—” Anna felt herself about to break. Theo stood and caressed her shoulders. She reached back and patted his hand.

“I just want to ask,” Serine started, “did anyone know about this before Mom called? Or was that the first time you knew about Dad’s illness?” She looked to Anna then surveyed the faces around the table.

Brad lifted Linda’s hand then said, “Linda and I knew nothing until Anna called.” Linda nodded in agreement.

Serine aimed her attention to Theo who stood behind Anna.

“I knew nothing until Mom called.” His hands remained still on Anna’s shoulders.

“I find that hard to believe,” Serine said. “Everyone knows you and Mom talk all the time.” Serine threw Anna a sterner glance. “And what’s that got to do with Dad and his cancer?” Theo said. “You haven’t answered my question,” Serine fired again. “I didn’t give you the answer you wanted,” Theo said.

“I can tell when people are lying.”

“What is your point?” Anna asked.

Serine turned to Anna. “When did
you
find out Daddy was sick?”

“A few days before I called you.”

Serine hit her with another piercing stare. “And just
how
did you find out?”

“We’ve had about enough of this,” Theo intervened.

“No, let us finish.” Anna waved him back. “I learned your father was dying of cancer the day he agreed to the divorce.”

“And you didn’t know until then?” Serine asked.

“No. I didn’t,” Anna said. “He had the surgery last January. Bryce said he would be away for two months, that it was for business.” Anna had thought it was another stall tactic.

“And you never noticed him exhibiting any weakness from the chemo? Or were you so engaged in the battle of wanting to leave him that you never once noticed that he wasn’t looking well?” Anguished fury seared in Serine’s eyes, the same shade of light brown verging on amber like Edward’s. “Maybe your plans for moving to France obscured your vision.”

“What’s your point?” Theo started toward her. Again Anna flashed her palm. But Theo continued. “This is not some courtroom with hoodlums off the street and you the prosecutor putting them in jail. This is Mom, our mother, in case you’ve forgotten.
When
she found out about Dad’s illness has nothing to do with the situation at hand.”

“And that situation
being
?” Serine smirked.

“That you seem intent on taking out your frustrations on Mom because things aren’t going the way you want.”

Brad and Linda exchanged glances. Linda massaged her stomach. Something was amiss. Placing his hand upon Linda’s stomach, Brad looked to Anna. She felt powerless to say anything. So many times throughout her marriage she felt that her words didn’t matter, particularly during Linda’s adolescence. Perhaps Serine was right.

Again Anna met Brad’s gaze, contemplative much like his psychiatrist father. She considered her son-in-law’s words from yesterday afternoon when she had been cooking.
I wished you’d called more often. Linda was worried
. I’ve been callous and inattentive, Anna concluded.

Theo said, “I can’t believe all the other garbage that’s coming out of your mouth about Mom, and at a time like this. Then again, with what I know about you—”

Ignoring Theo’s last words, Anna said to Serine, “I can under stand that it was a shock for me to call with news that your father was dying.”

“Never mind the fact that I haven’t heard from you in months,” Serine railed.

“I claim responsibility for that,” Anna said.

“You’re to blame for what’s happening to Daddy right now.”

“I won’t accept that. I can’t.” Anna stood and flexed her fingers towards the table.

The tears and twists of frustration upon Serine’s face pulled at Anna. The pain of being Anna’s youngest child, the successful, twenty-seven-year-old prosecuting attorney who knew her trade lay hidden, but not quelled. Serine needed Anna to tell her that all would be well with Edward. Unable to do so, Anna felt as if she was betraying her youngest daughter.

Anna observed her left hand empty of the wedding band she had worn for over three decades.
I still love him
, she thought. But there were also the passionate nights Inman had given her. Why couldn’t I have shared that kind of passion with Edward?

“What’s going on in here?” Edward bellowed from the opposite end of the dining room. Everyone turned. He was wearing a bath robe with pajamas underneath.

“Daddy, should you be up?” Linda went to him. Brad joined her. Edward waved them back. He was using a cane to steady him self. Anna started toward him.

“I’m fine.” He gestured for her to stay back as he made his way. Reaching the table, he lowered himself onto the seat he had occupied last evening.

“Let me get something straight here.” Edward settled his attention on Serine, “No amount of bickering and bantering is going to take away what’s eating me up inside. I have cancer. I’m dying. You all had better get used to that.” He surveyed the faces around the table then stopped at Serine’s. “I’ve had to.”

Serine stood, pushed her chair under the table, and started to ward the door. Edward reached for and caught her arm. She pulled away and left. He fell back in his chair, his eyes searching and dazed.

Theo frowned and broke the silence. “She’s spoiled and wants her way.”

“It’s a little more than that,” Linda intervened.

“And what might that be?” Theo asked. “We’re all affected by this.” Theo nodded at Edward. “He’s our dad, too.”

Rubbing her stomach again, Linda turned to Brad for protection from some powerful force. A knowing passed between them. Last evening Serine had alluded to needing family nearby.
I like having family around, not being alone, unlike some people who don’t mind living away from those they claim to love.

Linda and Brad lived in Los Angeles along with Serine. They had always been attentive to Serine, as much as she would allow. Anna wanted to ask what secret they held about Serine. Yet Linda’s obsession with her stomach told Anna all she needed. Anna would not pry, but instead pray for the child she felt certain her eldest daughter was carrying.

“Will any of you let me know if David calls when he reaches Santa Rosa?” Anna said.

“He’s already there,” Linda said. “They’re burying Heather’s father tomorrow.”

With one hand upon the table, Edward pushed himself to stand. He lifted his cane.

“Are you alright?” Anna asked.

“Nothing that some extra lease on life wouldn’t fix.” He maneuvered away.?

Chapter 13

Anna rose early the next morning and went to the eight o’clock weekday mass at St. Maria’s down the hill from the house. She and Edward had attended the parish on and off throughout their marriage. The children went sparingly. Though attending public schools, all had received their first communion at the parish, but none had undergone confirmation.

Raised a Baptist, Edward had thought little of Catholicism. His disinterest had not interfered with Anna’s decision to have the children baptized as Catholics. Anna’s mother, Elena was a Catholic. She had converted to Protestantism upon marrying Elijah Chason, a young Baptist minister set on bringing souls to salvation before the flames of hell consumed them. Elena died seven days after Anna gave birth to Linda. The following year Anna had turned to her mother’s religion.

As Father Richard offered benediction toward the end of the quiet ceremony, Anna slipped out of the sanctuary and into the chapel at the back. There, before the Virgin Mary, she knelt and prayed for strength to see Edward through his death, and to regain the respect of her children, most particularly David and Serine. As for Theo and Linda, she prayed, “Don’t let me take Theo for granted, and please let me not forget Linda.”

She was out the door and down the steps when Father Richard called after her. “Anna, it’s good to see you. What brings you to mass early this morning?”

Surprised that he had noticed her, Anna turned and climbed back up the steps. The priest met her midway down the steps. Awash with various emotions, it pained Anna to consider how she appeared when Father Richard’s warm hand landed upon her shoulder.