Trouble's Brewing (13 page)
I put my arm around David, and he me. “Maria was a great lady, wasn’t she?” he asked.
I caught my breath. “The greatest.”
Nina patted my arm. “Come, let’s go tell the family.”
Together, we went into the waiting room where the family sat, their faces turned to us for news.
Nina spoke to them. “Mama got to say her good-byes to Vonnie and David. Now she’s gone home. She’s with Papa and Joe.”
The sounds of soft weeping began to fill the room. Donna stood and wrapped me in her arms. That’s when I totally broke down. Donna whispered, “Vonnie, I’m so, so sorry.”
I’m not sure how long we stood like that, but David finally encircled us with his arms and said, “The family is going to Maria’s house now. I’ve got the directions.”
Numbly, I wiped my eyes with a tissue and followed him, holding Donna’s hand as we made our way back to the parking lot.
The chill of evening nipped the breezy air, and I shivered. David opened the car door for me then handed me the sweater I’d left inside.
Donna helped me put it on before she climbed into the backseat. Silently, we got back on the freeway and drove to East L.A.
Donna asked David, “Do you know the way to the house?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ve driven those streets many times as a paramedic. Lots of knife and gunshot wounds in that old neighborhood.”
“It wasn’t like that three-plus decades ago,” I said.
“Thirty-five years of gangs changes things,” he replied.
When we pulled up to the house, I was surprised. Though its appearance was still neat and clean, the house was a lot smaller than I remembered. With the street already jammed with cars from Maria’s relatives, we had to park a couple of blocks away. David hopped out to open my door, but I hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
How could I explain all the things that were wrong—starting with my own Fred. If only he were here to go through this with Stirring Good-Bye me, to hold me in his arms. I needed him not to pull away but to pull closer, to hold me tighter.
I sniffed, then looked up at David, his brown eyes glittering in the moonlight. His resemblance to my dead husband almost overpowered me. Swirling with so many complicated emotions, I somehow managed to stammer a reason he could grasp. “It’s been so long, too long. I’m sure the family must hate me by now. I just don’t know if I can face them on this already very difficult night.”
I felt Donna pat my arm from behind. “Vonnie, David and I will be with you. If it gets too weird, we’ll take you back to the hotel.”
David reached for my hand. “We’re in this together,” he said.
Soon we were swept into the warmth of the house. The terracotta walls were painted in sherbet oranges and pineapple yellows. But even with these hues of cheerfulness, the house was darker and smaller than I remembered, though so familiar it made my heart hurt with longing. Nina, or her daughter, had lit the house with soft globes of candlelight that illuminated sudden memories of those happy days I’d waited, heavy with child, for my young husband to return from Vietnam. And the pictures in the hallway. So many of Maria and of Joe, I stopped, entranced. My eyes fastened on one of Joe, all of ten years old, opening a present beneath the Christmas tree while Maria, garbed in a housecoat, clapped her hands with joy; then there was Joe as a little tot, holding hands with Maria, who was a slim, dark-haired beauty. It must have been Easter, judging from the way the pair was dressed. My! Joe had been an adorable child with his big brown eyes and soft black curls. I stole a look at David, suddenly aware of all I had missed with him. I turned back, drawn to a photo of Joe in his uniform. David followed my gaze.
“Oh. That’s a younger version of me,” he said quietly.
I bit my lip and nodded, remembering the wonder of this man who had been my husband so many years ago.
We left the safety of the hallway and faced the family. I blinked against the memories I saw in their faces lined now with age, faces I remembered. The family was polite but distant, though very interested in David. I found myself introducing him and Donna repeatedly as I ate a slice of Nina’s Mexican cake, one of Maria’s heirloom recipes.
“Uncle Alberto, I’d like you to meet Joe’s son, David.”
Uncle Alberto looked up from his place on the couch. “Joe’s son? I thought Joe’s baby died.”
David took Uncle Alberto’s hand. “My death was greatly exaggerated, I’m afraid.”
Uncle Alberto reached for his cane, struggling to stand. He patted David on the back. “Sure looks that way!” The older man pulled his black-rimmed glasses from the pocket of his plaid shirt and put them on. “You look just like Joe, did you know?”
His wife, Reya, wasn’t as kind. She stood up from where she was sitting, livid. Her face pinched with both wrinkles and anger as her voice rose with indignation.
“Joe’s son?”
Aunt Reya looked frail but tough. I figured she had to be pushing eighty herself. “You’re Joe’s wife, Vonnie? You mean you let poor Maria think her grandson was dead all these years? Do you know how his death broke her heart?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. Donna answered for me. “She didn’t know her baby was alive. She’s only just met David herself.”
Aunt Reya put her hands on her hips. “Didn’t know her son was alive?”
Nina rushed to intervene as the family encircled the confrontation. “Aunt Reya, Vonnie was unconscious at the time. She was tricked. We all were. We all thought the baby had died.”
Reya’s eyes were cold. “Tricked? How could that be?” She walked over to the coffee table, where a photo of our wedding sat. She picked it up then waved the photo in my face. Despite her rage, my eyes couldn’t help but fasten on the framed couple so in love. There I was, my golden hair flowing as I held a bouquet of tiger lilies, with Joe in a polyester sky-blue suit, looking at me with so much love. Aunt Reya’s voice jolted me back to the present. “I knew you were trouble as soon as I laid eyes on you. To think how you ripped the Stirring Good-Bye heart out of this family. You betrayed Joe, you betrayed Maria, and you betrayed all of us.
Por qué
?”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, saying it more to the photo of Joe than to Aunt Reya. David jumped in, trying to redirect his aunt’s wrath. “Aunt Reya, are you
Abuelita’s
sister?”
She whirled back to him, then stopped her tirade, somehow melting under his resemblance to his father. Her tone took on a sudden spirit of graciousness as she pulled him away from me. “Yes, David, I’m your great-aunt.” She gave me a withering look then led him to the sofa. “Come and tell me about yourself.”
David looked back at me, and I tried to smile. “You go on. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
As the relatives turned back to their own conversations, I became aware of Donna hovering by my side. She crossed her arms and leaned toward me. “The nerve. Don’t they realize what you’ve been through? What it took for you to get here?”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “No, they don’t have a clue. But this isn’t your fight, dear. Let it go.”
“But you’re crying.”
I shrugged. “I’m old; I leak a bit,” I said, drying my eyes with my tissue. “Besides, the greatest woman I’ve ever met is gone. I’m allowed to cry.”
Nina gave me a hug. “Vonnie, if my mama forgave you for running away from us, then so do I.”
Nina and I sat together for a while, quietly remembering the woman we loved. When a relative whisked her away, I went out back to get some fresh air. Donna joined me on the patio with a glass of ice water. “Thank you, Donna.”
Donna gave me a consoling hug. “We’ll be leaving soon. I just told David this is all too much for you.”
“Dear, you didn’t need to do that …”
Donna sat down next to me. “I know, but Vonnie, it’s time to say your good-byes.”
“Do they know when the funeral will be?”
“The family had already gathered tonight to grieve. The rosary will be Saturday night and a private burial will be later.”
“Good, we’ll be able to make the rosary. Our flight doesn’t leave until Sunday morning.”
Soon David stuck his head out the back door. “I hear you two ladies are ready to go.”
Donna practically leaped from her aluminum chair. “Yes, we are.”
Despite dear old Aunt Reya, I hated to once again walk out of the place that had been such a loving home to me, but I could see Donna thought it best. Though, if I could’ve had my way, I’d still be part of the family. I’d never have left this loving sanctuary in the first place. I would have raised my child here.
Donna helped me gather my purse, and soon we were saying our good-byes and walking back to David’s car.
David put his arm across my shoulders as Donna tagged behind. I looked up at my handsome son and gave him a wistful smile. “I bet you never expected our visit would turn out like this.”
“I couldn’t have imagined. To think, I lost my grandmother tonight, a grandmother I never even knew I had.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t know, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
David gave my shoulders a squeeze. “I understand. I do. But still, it’s all hard to take in.”
I simply nodded.
Just as Donna climbed into the back of the car, her cell phone rang and she answered. “Hello? Goldie? Yeah, we made it okay, but it’s been a rough evening. Vonnie’s mother-in-law died while she was with her in the ICU … I know. Here, let me hand her the phone.”
She passed the phone to the front seat, and I placed it to my ear. “Goldie? It’s so good to hear from you.”
Godie’s voice sounded strained. “Oh, Vonnie, I’m so sorry to hear about Mrs. Jewel.”
“The poor dear was holding on just for me. To think I almost didn’t come.”
“But you did. It sounds like you got to say good-bye.”
“Yes. And David got to meet her.”
“How’s David holding up?”
I looked at my son as he pulled out of the parking spot. “He’s good. It’s been so nice to be with him tonight.”
“That’s wonderful, Vonnie.”
Godie paused, and I said, “Well, thanks for checking up on us.”
“That’s not the only reason I called. I’m afraid I have more bad news.”
“What happened?”
“Clay. He saw me at Apple’s.”
“Oh no!”
“I feel like such an idiot for not staying home. Do you forgive me?”
“Of course.”
“Vonnie, you are such a dear. I don’t deserve your friendship.” She sighed. “Nevertheless, I had to warn you. Your cover may have been blown. Clay’s got to know Donna and I tricked him today. That means you may have just been elevated to his number-one suspect.”
My mouth went dry. All I could think of was how mortified Fred would be to see the news that I was David’s birth mom splashed on the front page of the
Gold Rush News
. “Missing Jewel Is None Other Than Fred Westbrook’s Wife, Vonnie.”
Not that I was ashamed, not anymore, anyway. It was that Fred wasn’t ready to announce the news. We had a lot of healing to do before our marriage could be rocked by this kind of public scrutiny. I sighed. “Oh dear. Thanks for letting me know.”
We said good-bye, and I handed Donna the phone.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Clay. He saw Goldie.”
Donna sounded calm. “No worries, Vonnie. This calls for Plan B.”
David looked puzzled. “Plan B? What’s all this about?”
“We’ve had a press leak,” Donna explained.
“What? You’re still trying to cover up that you’re my mother?”
“Oh, David, no. It’s just Fred. He’s not ready to go public yet. I’ve got to respect that.”
David drove in silence for a while, then said, “I can’t wait to meet Fred. I guess that will have to wait till I move to town.”
“And what a time that will be,” Donna said.
After dinner, Clay decided to implement an exercise plan. Each day, beginning that evening, he’d walk all the way to the end of Main Street, cross over, then come back up until he reached the café. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
He dressed appropriately, then headed down the stairs leading to his apartment. When he reached the street below, he turned right. Within no more than a few steps he eyed the café across the street. He stopped, breathing in and out frosty air, trying to decide whether or not to just cross over now or go with his original plan.
A mental picture of Donna and Harris helped him to decide, and he kept going.
His brow furrowed a bit. There was something she needed to know … something he had to tell her. A stranger had come knocking earlier in the day, asking about Donna.
Clay, like all good reporters, had felt his sense of “danger” pique. It wasn’t, he surmised, his favorite way to feel.
“What is Plan B, exactly?” David asked from the front seat.
I eyed the back of his head. How could I say it without giving him the wrong idea? I managed a coy, “Patience, David. All will soon be revealed.”
David eyed me from his rearview mirror. I decided to distract him before he could protest. I pointed to a Burger King sign. “Let’s do a quick run-through,” I said. “I’m starving. I’ll tell you about it later.”
Just as I took a bite of my Double Whopper sandwich, my cell phone rang again. “Hello?”
A snide voice greeted me. “Donna, it’s Clay Whitefield. How’s your sick friend?”
I swallowed, then said, “She’s not sick anymore.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, she died.”
There was a long silence. “What, you and David have a fight?”
Bingo. I acted all innocent. “David?”
David spoke from the front seat. “Donna, who’s that?”
Clay sounded triumphant. “That’s Harris’s voice. You went to L.A. to be with David.”
I tried not to chuckle. Clay was making this all too easy. I feigned irritation. “Is that why you called, to check up on me?”
“Yes and no,” Clay admitted. “I wanted to warn you. Not that you deserve it, but I’m trying to do you a favor.” He cleared his throat, then spoke in hushed tones, like he was with the CIA or something. “A stranger in a suit came around looking for you today, at the café. Looked official, like, I don’t know, a detective or something.”
That got my attention. “What did he want?”
“I’m not sure, but I got bad vibes. He gave a phony story. Said he was a consultant doing an evaluation for the sheriff ’s department; didn’t even know your dad’s the top guy. He asked a lot of people a lot of questions about you.”
I felt my face grow hot. “What kind of questions?”
“Like the state of your mental health and how often you use your gun.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Afraid he got some pretty interesting answers, especially from Wade. But mainly he got an earful about your speeding ticket exploits. You got any high-powered enemies out there?”
I was silent. “I’m in law enforcement. Sometimes it seems like the public is my enemy.”
Clay laughed. “No, Donna, that’s who you’re paid to protect. Anyway, I just wanted you to know.” Sarcasm soured his voice. “My good deed is done. Good night, Donna. Enjoy your weekend with David.”
He hung up, and I was left wondering if Clay was on the level. I leaned back in the seat and reviewed what I knew about him. Clay was smart, smart enough to try to weasel his way into my confidence. But he was honest. What he said about the stranger had to be true. I sighed and rewrapped my burger and put it and my cell phone into my tote bag. My appetite was ruined.
“What did Clay say?” Vonnie asked.
“Nothing. He thinks I’m with David.”
David actually chuckled. “I love that idea. If that’s Plan B, I heartily approve.”
I bristled. “Whatever. Clay can think what he wants if it will buy us some time.”
I could see Vonnie bob her head in agreement. “That’s all we really need,” she said. “A little more time.”
When Vonnie and I finally slid the plastic card key into the lock of our hotel room, I was exhausted, but not as much as Vonnie.
“What a day,” I said, collapsing into the padded chair by the desk.
Vonnie only nodded and headed for the bathroom to wash her face before smothering it with cold cream. She slipped into a faded blue gown and topped her hairdo with a pink silk nightcap. I was left wondering if she held the secret identity of a space alien. She noticed my stare and shrugged. “Keeps my look fresh.”
“Is that what Fred says?”
She nodded and climbed into her side of the bed. “Mmmhmm.”
“Aren’t you going to call him?”
She answered sleepily. “Already did, at Maria’s. Just before I went to sit on the patio.”
“What did he say?” I waited for the answer, but got none. “Hello? Vonnie?”
I turned to discover she had already drifted into dreamland. I watched her chest rise and fall before climbing into my old black sweats, which, come to think of it, weren’t so different from my black tee and jeans I’d worn all day. When I finally crawled into bed, my mind was spinning. I’d never expected the day to be so emotional. What a list of troubles—first Clay, then Wade, then Vonnie, then David, then Maria’s death, and now this … a stranger nosing into my business, asking my neighbors about my so-called mental health.
I laid my head on my pillow and squeezed my eyes shut, determined to sleep. Yet, every time I peeked at the clock, the red digital numbers had advanced only ten more minutes. Great.
Finally, dreams swirled into dark, yellowed images that made my heart pound. It was
the
dream, all so familiar—the rainstorm, lavish Breakfast the canyon, the man who flagged me down, the woman in the submerged car … the baby.
I was once again beneath the roaring river, trying to hold the baby tight. I opened my eyes in the eerie underwater light. Before me were the wide eyes of the child staring back. The baby’s eyes held my own. This time, she spoke. “Mommy, please don’t kill me. Mommy?”
My baby!
“Donna, dear, wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” Vonnie said as she gently shook me. “David will be here soon to take us to breakfast.”
I blinked, then ran to the bathroom to wash the salty tracks from my face, hoping Vonnie hadn’t noticed. No sooner had I slipped into my blue jeans and peach tee than there was a knock on the door.
Vonnie, all dressed in her khaki slacks and pale green sweater, opened the door. “David, right on time.”
I was staring in the mirror, giving my blond curls a run-through with my fingers. “Where are you taking us for breakfast?”
I looked up, and David was grinning at me. “Donna, you’re letting your hair grow out. It looks good.”
So help me if I didn’t blush. “Ah, thanks.”
“To answer your question, we’re heading for the Hills, to 21st Place.”
“Sounds swanky,” I said. “But you’re in jeans, so it can’t be too over the top. Right?”
David merely grinned.
After a forty-minute car ride, I began to understand what David meant by “Hills” as he drove us into the heart of some fine old mansions in Beverly Hills.
“David, where are you taking us?” Vonnie asked.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we’re going to my house. I’ve prepared quite the spread.”
“So you do cook,” I said.
“You can be the judge of that.”
Donna David parked his Mazda in the driveway of what could only be described as his glorious mansion, complete with lovely grounds blooming with flowers. The manor had beveled glass windows and marble columns at the front door. It reminded me of Jed Clampett’s old place.
Vonnie sat stunned while I said, “Oo-la-la, David.”
I believe the man blushed as he helped Vonnie out of the car. He said, “I know. It is over the top, but it’s my inheritance from Harmony. In fact, I just moved out of my apartment downtown so I could take care of it. But it’s such a hassle. That’s one of the reasons I’m selling—I’m discovering I don’t own this place, it owns me.”
Vonnie nodded mutely as she followed him into the house.
When he pushed open the door, Vonnie and I entered a totally new dimension, at least new to a couple of high-country Colorado girls. The entryway came complete with a spiral staircase made of mahogany, brass, and marble.
But the thing that impressed me most and the very thing that made poor Vonnie mute was Harmony Harris’s framed movie posters surrounding us on the main living room walls. Of course, since Harmony was the musical movie queen of the late fifties and early sixties, there she was, dressed as a slave girl in
Song of Solomon
, then again dressed as a gypsy in
Gypsy Wedding Dance
, then again as a Victorian princess in
The Runaway Courtship
. She was displayed in all her glory, with all that long, golden hair. Her great figure poured into her incredible and very sexy costumes. It was all terribly impressive.
After viewing the posters then walking through several luxurious rooms, David finally guided us to the patio overlooking the pool. There, on a beautifully set table, were three crystal goblets filled with layered fruit and yogurt parfaits topped with granola and raisins.
Vonnie sat down woodenly. As I saw she was almost catatonic, I spoke for us both. “These look great, David. Did you make them yourself?”
He grinned. “Nothing’s too good for my ladies.”
I decided to let the comment slide. Vonnie and I ate in silence as David talked about delightful meals served here at 21st Place, with lavish Breakfast the likes of leading men and women like Dick Van Dyke, Marlon Brando, and Julie Andrews. Finally, he said, “I’ve got breakfast enchiladas too. I’ll slip into the kitchen and bring them out.”
As soon as he turned his back, I turned to Vonnie. “You going to be okay?”
She looked up. “What? Oh. Yes, I think.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
She looked around like a little girl lost on a field trip. “All of this, how can I ever compete?”
“Vonnie, it’s not a competition. Harmony is gone. David wants to get to know you, his birth mother.”
She shook her head. “But what do I have to offer him?”
“Look, he didn’t follow Harmony’s footsteps to become an actor. He’s a paramedic. That should tell you something.”
Before we could say more, David rounded the corner with a lovely silver serving dish filled with his breakfast enchiladas.
Vonnie looked a little more like herself. “That looks great, David. You’ll have to give me your recipe.”
Later when I was helping him with the coffee in his state-of-theart kitchen, he asked me, “Is Vonnie okay?”
“She will be. This Harmony Harris thing has got her a bit intimidated.”
David set the coffeepot down and took a step toward me. “Donna, I have to tell you, you’ve really impressed me this weekend, the way you’ve looked after my mom.”
I put my hand on my hip. “It’s hard for me to hear you call her that. In many ways, Vonnie is my mom. We’ve adopted one another.”
David looked amused, but he leaned back against a counter and crossed his arms. “Your mom?”
“You’ve grown up with Harmony. Why do you need Vonnie?”
“Vonnie is my roots. Harmony just played at motherhood. Actually, it was more of a photo op with her.”
That caught my attention. “Really?”
“Yeah, all the stars were adopting in those days, so as not to ruin their figures. Really, I was raised by a professional nanny, not to Donna mention the groundskeeper, a good man who spent a lot of time talking to me. Other than that, it was pretty lonely around here.”
I studied him. “For real?”
“’Fraid so. I’m a lot like you, I guess. I’ve never really had a mom either. And to see that fine woman out there, to see her character and her quality, it makes me wonder. What did I miss? And then I know—I missed Vonnie. I missed my mother.”
“She’s a great lady. You have no idea.”
“Maybe not. But I’d like to find out. And I hope there’s room in your heart for me to share her with you.”
I turned away and picked up the sugar bowl. “I don’t come with the Vonnie package, you know.”
“Well, I—”
“I’m not available.”
“Are you seeing someone?”
“That’s none of your business,” I said, turning back to the patio. “I’ll consider sharing Vonnie, but I’m off limits. I’m just not interested.”
The rest of our visit, through Maria’s rosary and our Sunday morning good-bye, I kept my distance from David. I wouldn’t get involved with him. I couldn’t. I just didn’t deserve a wonderful man like him.
When David dropped Vonnie and me off at LAX, he pulled our luggage from the trunk of his car, then gave Vonnie a hug. “I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed getting to know you and the Jewel family.”
“Are you still planning to move to Summit View?” she asked.
He reached for her hands and held them but directed his comments to me. “Wild horses nor feisty chicks couldn’t keep me away.” He winked in my direction. “Besides, I love a challenge.”
Vonnie turned my way and said with a chuckle, “Well, son, if you’ve set your cap for Donna, you’ve got more than a challenge in store for you.”
He turned back to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Well, you’re a woman of prayer. Put in a word for me.”
I hit David in the arm with my balled fist. “All the prayer in the world won’t help you when it comes to me, I’m afraid. I’m never getting married.”
David raised his eyebrows at my involuntary revelation, then suddenly wrapped his arms around me, sliding his rough cheek next to mine. He whispered in my ear, “Never say never, Donna.”
When he let go, I felt my cheeks burning from the intimacy of his embrace. And so help me if that man didn’t notice with a look of smug satisfaction.
I pulled out the handle of my rolling luggage and turned to help Vonnie with hers. “So long, David.”
Vonnie followed me dutifully into the airport, waving good-bye. “I’ll call you,” she said.
An hour after takeoff, our seat companion, an elderly gentleman, fell into a coma-like nap. Vonnie turned to me. “You okay?”
