The Perfect Family (30 page)

“In today’s modern society, many progressive Christians refuse to make sweeping, imperialistic claims about the superiority of Christianity and condemn our sisters and brothers of other traditions. Today, as Christians, we must simply follow Christ, and that means embracing everyone, welcoming everyone who follows his or her spiritual path, even if it’s different from our own. Christianity can be an inclusive and transforming faith. That’s my dream, that Christ will be our light. That Christ’s light shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness, in this church and in all churches.”

She left the pulpit, stepped down from the altar, and picked up her guitar. Placing the strap over her shoulder, she began to strum. The members of the congregation took an insert out of the bulletin. On it was “Christ Be Our Light,” the same hymn sung at Kenny Larson’s funeral.

As both Jamie and his mother sang along, he felt that God was with him. He rubbed the paper in his pocket again, grateful for a way to maybe help Luke. For now, this was enough.

Maggie was abruptly awakened by the phone ringing at six a.m. on Monday. She panicked. Both boys were home and Mike was sleeping next to her, but still… She snatched up the phone. “Hello.”

“Maggie? It’s Sara. I’m in Cornwall. Ma went to the hospital in an ambulance last night. Paul and I drove down about midnight.”

“Oh, no. What happened?”

“She couldn’t breathe. The doctor said it was the cigarettes and that botched vocal cord surgery. When she got here her throat was closing up. She had an emergency tracheotomy.”

“Oh, my Lord.”

Maggie felt a hand on her arm. “What is it?”

“My mother,” she told Mike.

“She can’t stay by herself after this, Mag. I’m bringing her back to Rochester as soon as she gets released from the hospital.”

“Oh, Sara. I’ll come over today to help out.”

A long pause. It took Maggie a minute to decipher it.

“She doesn’t want me there, does she?”

“She’s still upset about Caroline.” And probably blaming this latest trauma on Maggie. Then she remembered Caroline filling her in on Gertrude’s background, and her heart softened somewhat toward her mother.

“What
can
I do, Sara? I don’t want you to take care of all this alone.”

“Nothing, yet. Paul says the tracheotomy tube will need special care. We’ll have to hire a nurse. I don’t think I can clean it.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“You don’t have to do that.” When Sara didn’t respond, Maggie added, “I’ll help financially.”

“Her insurance covers the cost. And Paul will be there, of course.” Her sister’s voice got teary. “I…I’m just not sure I can handle her on a daily basis, Mags.”

“Oh, Sara. Couldn’t she go to a rehab facility up here? We could visit every day.”

“No! I will not put my mother in one of those places.”

At a loss, Maggie said, “All right. But I’ll be there for you and her, I promise.”

“If she lets you.” Sara’s tone of voice indicated she didn’t hold out much hope for that.

“We’ll work something out.”

“I’m going to call Jimmy now.”

Maggie sighed. “She wants to see him, of course.”

“Of course.”

Sara’s tone was lighter, and Maggie thought about how Paul and Mike joked that when Jimmy visited, it was like the pope coming to town.

“Please, keep me informed.”

“Sure. Oh, and could you call Caroline?”

At least Sara was thinking about their other sister, a good sign. “Sure.”

When she hung up, Maggie lay back down into the pillows and stared blindly at the ceiling.

“Honey?”

The endearment calmed her. Despite what was between them, she moved to his side, cuddled in, and told Mike what had happened. Their disagreements were once again forgotten in the wake of this newest development.

*

Later that week, Jimmy swung into town on his way back from Asia and stayed at Sara’s house to be near their mother. He called Maggie to come over the day after he arrived. This was the first time she’d see her mother with the tracheotomy, since Gertrude hadn’t allowed her to visit. Maggie went alone, not wanting to inflict more on the boys. Mike had protested that he should be with her for moral support, but he wasn’t doing well himself so Maggie declined his offer.

She’d gone straight from work and pulled her car into Sara’s driveway at about four in the afternoon. As she switched off the engine, the front door of the Bakers’ sprawling colonial opened and out jogged her baby brother. Emotion filled Maggie as she watched him, dressed in casual shorts and a golf shirt, come toward her. His dark hair was cut shorter than when she’d seen him last, accentuating his incredibly dark eyes. He was a few inches shorter than Mike, but muscular. She had a flash of him as a child with curls and long lashes, riding on the back of her bike and accompanying her to her summer job at the swimming pool in Cornwall.

Circling to the side of the car, he opened her door and dragged her out. And Maggie burst into tears. Jimmy encompassed her in his arms. She nestled in, vaguely aware of how she used to comfort him as a boy when he skinned his knee or their father yelled at him. Now his man’s strength was giving her the solace she needed. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ve been talking to Ma. She’s scared and vulnerable, so I don’t think she’s going to be on the offense with you, Mags.”

“It’s not just that.”

“The situation with Caroline will work out, too.”

She peered up at him. “How, Jimmy? Ma won’t even see her.”

“I have a plan.”

Of course he did. He was head of human resources at a multibillion-dollar company and negotiated contracts with six-figure employees and union bosses.

Her brother waited, then tipped her chin. “Something else happen?”

“Uh-huh.”

Drawing back, he checked his watch and took her hand. “Come on, let’s walk down to the park.” Which was only a block away.

“Okay.” She fished a tissue out of her purse and wiped her eyes. “I’m a mess.”

“You’re as beautiful as ever.”

They headed down the winding driveway and onto the tree-lined street. A soft breeze fluttered the leaves and the sun slanted through them. They strolled hand in hand for a while but Jimmy didn’t say anything more until they reached the small park and sat on a bench off to the side of the children’s play area.

“Is it the boys?”

Staring wistfully at the jungle gym and sandbox, Maggie nodded. “Jamie told us this spring he’s gay.”

“Wow.” Jimmy was thoughtful for a moment. “And it’s been hard for you.”

“For everybody, for different reasons.”

Again, he took her hand and squeezed it. “I wish you’d called me. I might have been able to help.”

“Jamie didn’t want anybody to
be told.
” She went on to explain his reasoning.

“Who else knows?”

“Caroline. We talked on the phone and she sensed something was wrong, so she came to Sherwood earlier than she’d planned. I haven’t told Sara yet, but I’ll have to before Brian’s graduation party.” When he gave no response, she said, “You’re still coming, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Tammy and the boys, too.” His pretty blond wife and two gorgeous kids. She envied their normalcy.

He didn’t comment on his feelings regarding Jamie’s disclosure.

“This must be really hard for you. You love those boys to pieces.”

“Uh-huh.” She hedged, waiting to discover where he was going to fall on the acceptance scale.
When
had she begun to see life that way?

“Mags, you know I couldn’t love Jamie more if he was my own kid. He is who he is—a creative, bright, interesting boy. His sexual orientation makes no difference to me. My concern here is that it’s caused problems for you and you’re worrying like a mother hen.”

Again, she burst into tears. Too much was happening and she felt weak and vulnerable, like her mother.

Jimmy tugged her close. “Aw, Mags. Don’t cry. This will be all right.”

Finally, she said, “There’s more.”

Dark brows furrowed. “What?”

The whole story of her conflict with Mike just tumbled out.

After she finished, Jimmy sighed heavily. He adored Mike, who’d played basketball with him when he was little, taught him to drive, and bought him his first suit for a job interview. They’d also sent him money when he was at Cornell and strapped for cash.

“This is serious.”

“I know.”

“I’ve always envied your relationship with Mike. It’s not a tragedy that Jamie’s gay. But it would be catastrophic if you and Mike lose what you have together.”

Put so starkly, Maggie realized Jimmy was right. “Oh, Jimmy, when did you get so smart?”

A chuckle. “I’ve got this terrific older sister who rubbed off on me.”

Jimmy’s unconditional support buoyed Maggie, but there was more to deal with today. “Okay, enough of this. What about Caroline? And Ma?”

“As I said, I have a plan.”

“What?”

“I called Caroline and asked her to come over, too. Ma’s had enough time to deal with the tracheotomy and so I thought I’d get us all together.”

“You can’t fix everything, honey.”

His brown eyes filled with confidence. “I can try.”

*

It was surreal, sitting at Sara’s table, across from Jimmy and between her sisters. All four of them had dark hair and eyes, but there were differences, too. Jimmy’s nose was sharper, Caroline and Sara had the same chin and shape of the jaw, but Sara was more slender than either Maggie or Caroline. Right now, the three older sisters were waiting to hear their little brother’s plan. Caroline couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him.

“What?” Jimmy asked boyishly. “Am I that ugly that you can’t stop staring?”

“I can’t believe you’re all grown up. And so accomplished. I bought you a cowboy hat right before I left and you were too small to wear it.”

“I wore it for years, though. Mags never let me forget where it came from.”

“Oh, how sweet.” Caroline touched Maggie’s hand.

Jimmy grinned. “She kept you alive for both of us, right, Sara?”

“Yes.” Sara gave a weak smile. “And I’m truly glad you’re back in our lives, Caroline.” Her face was so taut Maggie’s heart went out to her. Despite her earlier comment—
I don’t even remember her
—Maggie could tell she wanted to be part of this reunited family. “What are we going to do about Ma? I don’t mean to complain, but it’s been hard enough having her here. I can’t fathom dealing with her reaction to you coming into our lives again.”

“As I told Maggie, I think now is the best time to bring it up,” Jimmy put in. “Ma’s feeling vulnerable and insecure. Maybe she’ll be more open-minded.”

“I don’t know, Jimmy.” Sara shook her head. “I’m worried.”

“Hey, sis, I’ve always been able to sway her. I’m sure I can help this process along, too.”

“Your approval always means more to her than anyone,” Maggie said hopefully. “So it could work.”

Caroline sipped her coffee and Maggie noticed her hand shaking.

“Caro?”

“I want to do this. It’s just hard to imagine coming face-to-face with her after almost four decades.”

“She kicked you out, Caroline.” Jimmy the negotiator surfaced. “You have a right to be upset.”

“I know. I’ve worked on forgiving her. At understanding her.”

“What do you mean?” Sara asked.

“There’s a lot you two don’t know about Ma’s life.” Caroline recounted the same stories about her growing-up days she’d already told Maggie. She also talked about how she’d wrestled with the past and why she never contacted them before this. “I’m not sure how I’ll handle it if she rejects me again.”

The air was so solemn it hurt to breathe.

“We never knew.” Sara’s voice was hushed.

Jimmy frowned at the information.

And Maggie tried to let her family deal with their feelings without interfering.

Finally, Jimmy stood. “Let’s leave all that in the past and try to bring this family together now.”

With no small measure of reluctance, the girls pushed away from the table and stood.

“I’ll go first. Ladies, come right behind me.”

Cowardly though it was, all three Lorenzo women agreed to let their baby brother lead the way.

*

Maggie’s heart was beating so fast, she could almost hear it. She wanted this to go well, for Caroline mostly, but also for Sara and herself, too. She wanted a sane, normal extended family and wondered briefly if it was because her immediate one was falling apart.

Jimmy knocked on the spare room door and when their mother said, “I’m awake,” in a gravelly voice, he opened it.

From behind Jimmy in the hall, Maggie could see her mother, propped up in a mound of pillows, remote in one hand, listening to a cooking show. Gertrude’s smile bloomed when she saw her only son. Maggie noticed her gray hair was combed and she wore a pretty print bed jacket Sara probably bought for her. “There’s my boy.” She had to cover the tracheotomy hole while she talked. “Come sit with me. I don’t get to see you enough.”