Chapter Four
It had been four months since I had a chance to see Lindsey and Marie. Jean parked in Ashley's driveway and walked across the lot toward me. She was lugging two small cases which I assumed held clothes.
The girls hung back behind their mother. Jean spoke just before she reached me. "Go on girls, give your father a kiss and a hug. He hasn't been near you for a long time. Make him glad to see you."
I could have killed Jean. She was acting as if it was my fault I hadn't been a father to them, when all along it had been her that had kept us apart.
"Hi kids, my you have both grown. You've got prettier, too. Hey, we have a lot to talk about. Now before your mother leaves, do you have her phone number in case you want to call her? Lindsey you will be having a birthday while you are here and I'm giving a party for you. Would you like to invite your stepsister and two stepbrothers to your party?"
"No, Becky didn't let me go to hers and the boys are mean to us."
I looked at Jean, and she mouthed, "They are not." I wondered.
"You will come won't you Jean?" She played one type of game, but that wasn't mine.
"Thank you, Milo. Yes, I was hoping you would let me." She turned to the girls. "I'm leaving now. You be good and do what your father tells you. If you need me, call me. Now give me a hug and I'll see you on your birthday."
I think Jean wanted to stay around, but I wanted to get reacquainted with my two kids. "Okay guys, I bet you would like to see where you will be sleeping. Come up and see where I live and where you will be staying for the next month." I took the girls up to my apartment. Their eyes were going everywhere drinking in the sight of their temporary home.
"Did you make the stars, Daddy? They are pretty."
"Yes, some of them, but the lady that owns this place helped and she made the moons in the corner. Pretty neat, huh? Come see your bedroom. I decorated that all by myself because I knew you were coming and I wanted to make it as nice as possible."
"Daddy it is fabulous. Are the beds gold? They look like it."
"I wish they were, but they are brass and shine like gold. People like them because they go with all colors. Look at the wallpaper. See the little blue bells. Now look up at the ceiling. See the blue bells in the plaster?"
"But they aren't blue. How can you say they are blue bells?"
"Not yet. I didn't have time to have them colored. They will be by the time you go home."
"Goody, it will be awesome."
"Do you want to see my room? That one has roses in it."
"Sure, I guess."
Later I asked if they would like to see what I had planned for Mrs. Winslip's grotto."
"What is a grotto?" asked Marie.
"A grotto is a hidden place that is private. Sometimes there are statues encircling it. This one for Mrs. Winslip is going to have shrubs all around it and a gazebo right in the middle."
"What is a gazebo?"
"It is a little building usually in a garden or on a corner of the lawn. A lady can go there and think and sometimes if she has a lover, they meet and steal a kiss when no one is looking."
"Are you ever going to steal a kiss from Mrs. Winslip? Mom says she is awful homely, so I guess not, huh?"
"No I guess not, kiss her I mean. As far as what your mother says about her being homely, you remember Uncle Calvin? He fell in love with her and they got married. Then he died and she is very sad about that. Uncle Calvin was my very best friend and he saw her as beautiful and that is why he married her. I think she is beautiful too."
"If you think she is beautiful, then maybe you will marry her. It would make Mom awful mad though. She is mad you are even working for Mrs. Winslip. Why is that?"
"I don't know. You will have to ask your mother. Now, what am I going to feed you for lunch? Do you like sub sandwiches? For dinner tonight I'm making my world famous chop suey."
Lindsey said, "I like subs, but I am awful sick of chop suey. We have that all the time. The only time we have something good is when Mom gets the check from you. Then we eat good for about a week and then it is chop suey again."
"Can't you cook a roast beef like you used to do? I beg Mom to cook one, but she says it is too expensive to feed seven mouths on beef. Mom's husband has asked her too. She says she will if he will give her the money."
"Marie, don't you call Mr. Burgess Dad?"
"No, we don't want to and besides I heard him tell Mom we couldn't, because we weren't his kids." I let it drop and could understand now why the kids from two families had trouble coexisting.
It was nearing lunch time and we decided to walk down to the deli. We were just strolling along admiring the beautiful estates as we walked by. We were about halfway to the deli when an older lady (60s) came down the walk and waved her handkerchief at us. "Lindsey, go ask the lady what she wants."
Lindsey walked up and spoke for a minute and then came running back. "She wants to talk to you, Dad. Something about doing some work for her."
"Hello Ma'am."
"You're Mr. Burns aren't you?"
"Yes I am."
"I'm Mrs. Thomas Brown. Mrs. Hamlin over on Bellevue Avenue is a friend of mine. I was complaining about not being able to get anyone to prune my shrubs. She said, and I could see it myself, that you did a wonderful job on Mrs. Winslip's front yard. Would you consider doing mine for me?"
"Gee, my two girls are here for a month and I want to be with them as much as possible. I really don't have the time right now. I don't have anyone to leave them with if I did work."
"That is a problem. How about if I hired the girls to work for me in the house while you work outside? How long will it take to make my yard as neat as Mrs. Winslip's?"
"More than a day I'm afraid, and I wouldn't want to do it that way anyway. Say three half days. That way I can work and pick up the trash and get rid of it the same day and still have time to be with the girls. I'll work tomorrow afternoon and then come on Monday and Tuesday of next week. I have a gazebo being delivered this Friday a.m. and I want to put in some shrubs around it in the afternoon."
"That will be fine and you say the trash and clippings will all be picked up for the weekend. That will just be so great."
We got our sub sandwiches and Karen, the cashier, exclaimed over the girls just as I knew she would. When we came out Marie asked why everyone liked me. I told her I didn't know, maybe because I liked people back.
"Why doesn't Mom like you then?"
"I can't answer that. I thought she loved me and then she didn't. That happens sometimes. I do love her for one thing though, and that is she gave me two wonderful daughters that I love with all my heart."
"You won't wait so long to see us again will you Daddy? We missed you awfully."
"No sweetheart, I'm sure from now on I will be able to come and get you anytime I want. Now we have some grocery shopping to do. I promised roast beef and roast beef you're going to get."
When we returned from the grocery store I said, "Let's go find something to cook this in. I saw some kettles and pots downstairs in the storage area. It will be like a treasure hunt." We found what we needed and after cleaning a cast iron kettle of some surface rust, I seasoned it and then rewashed it again.
After the second seasoning I put the shoulder roast in and browned it with some real butter. Then I took two quarts of water and added some onion soup to it. When it started to boil I turned the fire under it down low and let it slow cook. "Some people like richer gravy than what this will make so they use less water the first time and let it boil out and brown down again. I don't."
"I like the way you make it, Daddy." Today I could do no wrong and it was a wonderful feeling.
When I was putting the potatoes, carrots and onions in the pot with the roast, I said, "Girls, would you go out where Mom parked her car and wait for the lady that parks in the driveway. When she gets out of her car just say, 'Mr
s. Winslip, the Burns family requests your presence at dinner.' If she gives you an excuse you can tell her that your Uncle Calvin would want her to come. She will have to come then."
"Is she a nice lady, Daddy?"
"The very best."
Ashley & Milo Page 7
