The Family Gathering

  She watched as Neely signaled and Rob went to her, cloth in hand. She said something humorous, he said something back, they laughed together for a moment, then he fetched her sandwich and fries and took it to her. There were only three customers in the place so he went through the swinging door to the kitchen.

  Sid was waiting. “What did she say to you?”

  “She asked where the waitress was and I said, ‘What waitress? I just have the bartender until four o’clock.’ She asked for you by name and I said you were working in the kitchen for a little while but you’d be back in the bar soon. Then she asked if I was married and I said that I was, to a very jealous woman. She thought that was very funny. But she accused me of making it up.”

  “Because I bet she knows exactly who you are. She’s creepy. And there doesn’t seem to be any proof, but we’re pretty sure she’s been stalking Dakota. And she’s tried to alternately pick up Dakota and then accuse him of assaulting her. She’s making a mess for us.”

  “What the hell does she want?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Dakota, probably.”

  “Aw, Sid. What have you gotten yourself into? Are you sure he’s telling you the truth?”

  “Yes, of course I’m sure!” she insisted. “There are many inconsistencies surrounding that woman and not once have I been confused by Dakota!”

  “Were you confused by David?” he asked.

  “Not at all. I thought I was stuck with David!”

  There. She’d said it. Her brother just looked at her in shock.

  “I had a terrible marriage, all right? It wasn’t like your marriage with Julienne, young lovers so devoted to each other. Within a year I knew I’d made a terrible mistake but I’d made the promises. I did my best knowing all the time he didn’t love me, either. But I didn’t realize he was loving someone else—I thought he was loving his career. His plans. We didn’t fight, we got along all right. I thought maybe what we had was typical, and besides, I had things to do! It was my fault, don’t you see? Because I really didn’t care. So failing in that, I—Ach! We can’t do this now!”

  The kitchen had gone kind of quiet. Rob looked like he was in shock. “If it was lousy...if you didn’t love him and he didn’t love you...why...?”

  “Why would I have a nervous breakdown over it? Because he used me. Because he made a mockery of work that was important. Because I was hanging in there for him, and when he was done with me, he threw me away.”

  Sid’s phone chimed and, thinking it might be a text from Dakota, she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. “What super timing,” she said sourly. “Dr. Faraday, my old boss. Please find time to call me, he says. I really need your help, he says.”

  “I’ll take care of the bar if you want to go call him.”

  “Not now. He probably has some code problem and I’ll need my computer and some quiet. Besides, I should deal with psycho Neely. I’m telling you, she’s a little crazy and she’s making trouble everywhere. I have no idea what her goal is. If we knew her endgame, we’d know what to solve, wouldn’t we?”

  “I’ll take the bar...” he said.

  “No, I’ve got it.” She went through the swinging door just as Dakota was walking into the bar.

  Sid watched as he stopped short, recognizing the back of Neely’s head. He frowned and she thought, See! He’s not hiding anything! He hates her and might even be a little frightened of her. He walked all the way around the bar to the far corner, as far away from Neely as he could get.

  Sid slapped a napkin down in front of him. “What can I get you?”

  “I’d better have a cup of coffee. Looks like I’ll have to be alert.”

  “Sure, let me get that for you.” She turned around to pour from the pot, and when she turned back toward him with the coffee, all of a few short steps, Neely had moved to the chair beside Dakota’s. And he was wearing a black scowl.

  “Now see, I think we all need a do-over,” Neely said brightly, seeming to include Sid in her conversation. “I don’t know what happened but—”

  “What happened is that you told the police chief I assaulted you,” Dakota said, his voice gravelly and dark.

  “Is that what he said? That’s not exactly accurate. It was wrong of me to say anything at all that could be misinterpreted like that, but I didn’t say you assaulted me. I just said you kissed me. I admit, that was not the truth. I shouldn’t have done that. But I was just embarrassed. And I did apologize to you.”

  “And the boyfriend who was stalking you?” Dakota asked.

  “Apparently my imagination. I haven’t seen him around. So,” she said, grinning. “We can all be friends now.”

  “We can be polite,” Dakota said. “I think friendship between us is not in the cards.”

  “Well, that’s pretty rude,” she said indignantly. “I humble myself in front of you, take blame I shouldn’t really have to take, and that’s your response?”

  “I’m not going to be manipulated, Neely. That’s my response. I’d like to order an early dinner, if you’ll excuse me.”

  Neely sat there for a moment, shock etched on her beautiful face. Then she turned in a huff and walked out of the bar.

  Sid put the coffee down in front of Dakota. “And that’s at least the second dinner she hasn’t paid for. Maybe third. That’s quite a racket—get your feelings hurt and storm out. Without paying.”

  “Glad I parked under the light out front,” he said. “Your car. Where is it?”

  She chewed her lip. “I left it at Rob’s and walked to work. The boys are home. The sun will be up for another hour. All the neighbors are out on their porches and in their gardens. Surely everything will be all right?”

  “Her confidence is chilling,” he said. “She’s got a story for everything and then a story for every story. What the hell does she really want?”

  “You, I think.”

  “Nah, that’s too simple. With her looks and apparent money, she could find a guy who has a lot more to show for his life than I do.”

  “Oh, Dakota,” she said with a headshake and a smile, wondering when was the last time he looked in the mirror. “I’m not going to flatter you.”

  “Good, then could I have a club sandwich with chips and a cold beer?”

  “Yes, you can. And I told Rob a little about her. I told him it appeared she was stalking you but there didn’t seem to be proof.”

  “Any chance he’s going home to have dinner with his boys?”

  “I could ask,” she said.

  “You might want to tell him that I just pissed her off and to check on your car.”

  * * *

  As July passed, Tom and Lola planned a family gathering—Lola’s sons and parents and her sister’s family; Tom, his kids, his parents, brother and brother’s family. It was a very large group and there was a purpose. So they put out two grills and Lola made extralarge salads and a big pot of beans and got the families together. And made their announcement. They planned to combine their households in the fall.

  “Why the fall?” Tom’s mother asked.

  “Once all the kids are in school and we have a good fix on where everyone is headed for the year, we’re going to reconfigure bedrooms. Jackson is going to be living in an apartment in Denver, Cole is taking a dorm room at the university, Nikki is saving for a dorm suite with her girlfriends, Trace is starting at the community college and Brenda is entering her senior year of high school. We think we can combine households here without crowding too much,” Tom said.

  “Except it won’t be our house,” Trace muttered under his breath.

  Tom seemed to be the only one who heard him, but Tom was an expert and well practiced in hearing the mutterings of kids even in a noisy house. He heard Trace say he didn’t want to live in a big house with a ton of people and at some point maybe he’d go live with his da
d.

  Other than that, there seemed to be a real air of celebration. The families had known each other for years. They hadn’t been close exactly, but when you grow up in a small town, you tend to know at least a little bit about a lot of people. Tom’s parents and brother were delighted that at long last he was settling down with a woman he could actually share his life with. Lola’s parents were thrilled that after so many years of raising her sons on her own, working two jobs and managing her home, she would have a partner she could hopefully grow old with. Tom’s family liked and admired Lola; Lola’s family liked and admired Tom.

  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time; there was a great deal of laughter and a few stories were told about Tom and Lola growing up. When the guests had all departed, when the kids finished their chores and Cole and Trace had gone back home to Lola’s house, Lola and Tom finished the dishes that were left.

  “We have a small problem, I think,” Tom said.

  “Trace,” she replied.

  “So you know?” Tom asked.

  “There’s been a little grumbling. I can’t really explain it because I know he likes you. He doesn’t disapprove of us.”

  “Then let me handle this. Just let me try, and if I run into trouble I’ll back off.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure. I think he has some anxiety about a lot of things. Starting college. His brother leaving home. You giving up your house, which has always been his home base. Not just his home, but his security. He might be asking himself, what will happen if you give up your house, move in here and it doesn’t work out? Then what?”

  “I told him we’ve talked about that—that I’m not going to be without a home. That I’ll never be without a home. That we hope to buy and sell more homes, maybe keep my house as a rental. That when we combine households we combine everything and you would never leave me broke and homeless. And he asked me how I knew that and I said that I knew you. And sadly, I didn’t really know his father that well. I thought Trace was adjusting to the idea.”

  “Well, the kids come first,” Tom said. “Let me talk with Trace. Maybe I can put his mind at ease.”

  “I’m sorry, Tom,” she said.

  He put his arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Shh. You don’t have anything to be sorry about. Six kids, Lola.” He laughed. “If you think they’ll stop throwing us a curve now and then after we get married, you’re naive.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m surprised it wasn’t Brenda.”

  “Why Brenda?”

  “Oh, she’s the most like her mother and a little spoiled. Fortunately for us, Brenda’s dying to share space with Nikki. Nikki has great clothes. And Trace is a handsome kid. Great selling point.”

  “Oh God, what if—”

  “Don’t borrow trouble.”

  “I just had a shudder run through me,” she said, leaning against him again.

  “They’re fourteen to twenty-one. We’re going to shudder a lot for about ten more years. Then we get to start shuddering over the grandkids.”

  Make yourself necessary to somebody.

  —RALPH WALDO EMERSON

  15

  FOR A WEEK or two, Neely seemed to have disappeared. She didn’t come in the bar, didn’t bother either Sid or Dakota, wasn’t seen around town. Dakota wondered if all that had been required was for him to be very stern, very unapproachable. He did check around his cabin for signs of footprints, tire tracks or other disturbances, and he looked through his surveillance video. He looked quickly, but he looked.

  “She doesn’t live in Timberlake,” he said to Sid. “Maybe she’s wandered off to greener pastures.”

  “Didn’t she say she was invested in businesses around here?” Sid asked.

  “Yeah, she said that,” he answered, smiling. “So what? She said a lot of things.”

  “I’m going to look up business licenses in Timberlake,” Sid said.

  “Would that necessarily show you investment partners?”

  “I’m very good,” she said. “If there’s a record, I can find it.”

  “Let’s not obsess about this. I just want her to go away without leaving a trail of destruction.”

  “And I want to be ready, if she happens to come back. She hasn’t bothered your sister, has she?”

  “I’ve only seen Sierra twice since the Fourth. She was fighting off some stomach thing and said not to come near her in case she was contagious, but she’s fine now. You ask me? I think she’s exhausted. Sam is awesome but he’s a handful. He’s crawling. And waking up very early in the morning and not wanting to go to bed at night.”

  “We all need to get together,” she said. “Maybe on the weekend?”

  “Sure. But I have to tell you, I really like being in a routine with you. We can both work, see each other regularly, there haven’t been any surprises...”

  “It’s only been a little while.”

  “But it’s been good,” he said. “What would you say if I told you I don’t need much more than this to be completely happy for the rest of my life?”

  “I’d say, I’m not ready to talk like that,” she said.

  “All right. But can I talk like that?”

  “You said you weren’t ready to put down roots.”

  “I’m pretty surprised by how much I enjoy being around Cal and Maggie and Elizabeth as well as Sierra’s sudden family. I kind of feel like this place is peaceful enough to calm the inner beast. I could live and work here. I’d like to see this place in winter. Do you ski?”

  “Me?” She laughed. “You saw the leg, Dakota. I missed that stage.”

  “I could teach you. I bet Rob and the boys ski.”

  “You want to haul trash for the rest of your life?” she asked. “Because I don’t want to be a bartender forever.”

  “What do you want to be?” he asked.

  “I have a few other skills. In fact, my old boss called me. I’ve been trying to help him with a programming issue long-distance but I think I should go back to my old lab, work with him for a few days. It would be good in a number of ways. It would tell me some things about myself—like how over it am I? Do I really want to move on to something new? Am I fully healed from my bad experience and my awful divorce?”

  “Tell me the truth, Sid—do you need to find out if you should run away from me?”

  “Oh, Cody, no,” she said. “You’re the best guy I’ve ever had in my life! Not that there were many. I’m so crazy about you. It’s just that... Well, there’s just this one thing. I don’t want you to rescue me.” She put her palms on his cheeks. “I want to rescue myself.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I’m not sure I get it.”

  “I know,” she said. “I can’t really be with you until I’m sure of who I am. And who I am is more complicated than you realize.”

  “Try me,” he said. “I come from a wacko family, my sister is in the hospital on drugs to calm her frazzled head, I’ve been in military jail—you have no idea how much I can understand.”

  “Kind of a dramatic résumé, now that you mention it,” she said.

  “Sid, that has nothing to do with you and me...”

  “All right, take it easy,” she said, smiling. “I think it’s a good idea for me to go back to California and work with Dr. Faraday for a few days. Maybe a week. I should take a look at my old job, my past friends. I’ve talked with Rob. He’s trying to work it out with the other night manager. It won’t be for long and I will talk to you every day.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “In a week or two. When Rob has the schedule worked out. This is a good time—the kids aren’t in school and they’re helping out in the kitchen almost every day.”

  “The best piece of news in this is that I don’t think Rob can manage without you,” Dakota said. “That’s goo
d for me.”

  * * *

  It took a while for Tom and Lola to work out a time when Tom might catch Trace alone. July was already in its fourth week and it was hot, even in the higher elevations. It was steamy but the forest was brittle.

  Tom sat outside on Lola’s porch. Trace was due home from his job at Rob’s bar and had told his mother he was going to get together with a few friends that night to play baseball. It was his typical routine. If Trace worked days, he played ball at night, and if he worked nights, he played ball during the day. Whatever the schedule, he played ball. It made Tom smile.

  Trace came up the walk, shirttails hanging out and shoes unlaced. He’d generally graze from the fridge, drink some water, make a quick change, grab his glove and bat and head for the park. Tom stood.

  “You looking for my mom?” Trace asked.

  “No, she’s working at Home Depot tonight. I was waiting for you. I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes.”

  “Why?” Trace asked.

  “I got the idea we have one or two things to work out,” Tom said. “Come on, give a guy a break. Sit down here.” He lifted one of two bottled waters on the small outdoor table that separated two chairs. “Here. You look a little dry. Take a load off.”

  Trace, reluctantly, it seemed, sat down. Tom reclaimed his seat. “Let me start out by saying, I love your mom a lot but we’re not going to rush you. I can tell you’re pretty worried about us combining households. You’re probably wondering where you fit in if we turn into one big family. We don’t have to do that right away. We have lots of time. We want you to be ready.”

  “You said fall,” Trace said. “When school starts...”

  “That’s not carved in stone, Trace. If you’re not ready, we can wait.”

  “But you want to live together.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Tom said with a self-conscious laugh. “It’s amazing to love a woman like your mom and have her love me back. I never thought I could be this happy.”