Joint Venture

by Tey Holden

  “No, you didn’t. You are right on this matter. We are who we are, and we have our rights. Alex has to learn to live according to who she is and who we are. There are things that will be tough in her life, but I hope she will rise above all the people who would want to make her life miserable. She will be a better person for it. She will have an understanding of humanity that few people do. Don’t worry about it, baby. We’ll figure it out. As a matter of fact, I think that if they decide to expel us, we should take them to court. After we win and expose them for their discriminatory treatment, we will take Alex out of the school and place her somewhere else.” It was now Addy who appeared to be venting.

  Not getting any response from Karen, Addy looked down and realized that Karen had not heard a thing because she had fallen asleep. She combed Karen’s hair back. “I can only hope she finds someone as wonderful as you someday.” She kissed Karen on the cheek and Karen immediately responded finding her lips and giving her a delicious, sweet, wet kiss. It was so good, Addy’s insides churned and she chuckled, thinking of the many times Karen had claimed that she responded to her even when asleep. Look who’s responding now! Karen had also always claimed that she could find Addy’s lips in a pitch-dark room.

  ***

  Interestingly, Addy wasted no time to start preparing Alex in case the worst happened. Karen was reading sitting across from them and had to look up upon hearing the initial comment, then she could not take her attention from the conversation developing in front of her.

  “You know when I was growing up I went to more than ten schools.”

  Alex looked at her wide-eyed. “Why?”

  “Well, once we left our country, my parents moved a lot trying to find a good place to live.”

  “Did they find it?”

  Addy smiled. Alex always wanted more information. No wonder she was so smart. She was like a sponge absorbing everything around her. However, Alex’s question took the conversation out of context and she had to get the conversation back on track.

  “Yes, they did. But you know what? I think that even if I had lived all my life in the same place, I would have liked to have gone to more than one school.”

  “Why?”

  “To meet new people, see other things.”

  Karen listened attentively from the distance. She loved how Addy with her, often weird, arguments or reasoning was consistently able to convey her message and take Alex to the desired objective.

  When Alex heard Karen chuckle, she immediately looked to her. “What’s so funny, Mommy?”

  “This book.” Karen tried to correct her error when she saw Addy roll her eyes.

  “But that’s not a funny book, Mommy. It’s a book about the economy. I can see the title. What is funny about that?” Alex asked.

  “Baby girl, this economy is a joke!”

  Alex laughed. Then she turned to Addy and asked. “M’Addy, do you think I will get to go to other schools also?

  Bingo! Now it was Addy who chuckled. Karen looked like she had swallowed a fly.

  “Sweetie pie, I’m sure you will. You are young and life is long. There are a lot of good things ahead of you. But now we must go to bed.” Alex jumped to her feet, picked up her homework papers and began to walk upstairs followed by Addy. Before going up, Addy looked back to Karen and winked. Karen shook her head and smiled.

  ***

  Two days later the school board reconvened. “Ladies and gentleman, two nights ago we had a very animated conversation. I hope everyone is well rested and that serious consideration has been given to the matter. The decision you will make this afternoon, will be decisive to the school’s survival. I suggest that we immediately carry out a vote and accept the vote of the majority as final. If upon tallying the votes, the majority is in favor of expelling Ms. Marcos Larsen, I will call Ms. Larsen in the morning and communicate the news allowing her the time to make the necessary arrangements to make her child’s transition to another school adequately. If on the other hand, the majority votes to keep Ms. Marcos Larsen as our student, I move to immediately accept her into the gifted program and that we continue business as usual. I also move that the board extend apologies to the family for the inconvenience and stress caused.”

  When Mr. Bryer seconded the motion, Lord Chesney turned such a color of red that it looked as he could explode.

  “All in favor?”

  “Aye.”

  “Are you well, Lord Chesney? Would you like Ms. Jenkins to fetch you some water?”

  “Some Scotch is what I need!”

  “Would that be McGill Scotch you’d be having?” Mr. Bryer inquired with a smirk on his face.

  “Bloody not! Damn women! Or whatever they are!”

  “Now gentlemen, let’s proceed with order and keep our decorum,” Mr. Stetson suggested.

  “Very well, let’s proceed, by secret ballot. Those wanting to expel, will write expel. Those wanting to keep, will write keep. It’s a simple vote.” The board members proceeded to write down their votes. The votes were passed down. “I have in this envelope the ninth vote, as usual, I am acting as proxy.”

  “Yes, yes! Stetson, go on!” Lord Chesney couldn’t wait to get it over with. During the last two days, he had called all the board members and had lobbied for his position to expel. He claimed that the prestige of the school was at stake and that if they allowed one instance, even if due to special circumstances, others would come.

  Mr. Stetson proceeded to count the votes. Four were in favor of expelling, four in favor to keep.

  “Looks like the ninth vote will be the tie breaker.” All eyes were on Mr. Stetson when he opened the envelope.

  “It’s a letter addressed to the board,” Mr. Stetson remarked.

  “For God’s sake! Read it. What does he have to say?”

  “In all my years in Altee, I have never met more remarkable women than Karen Larsen and Adriana Marcos. I will not talk about their credentials of nobility, wealth or standing in the community. as you are all most likely aware of their position. So, I will speak about them as human beings. A few years ago, much before their little Alex was born, one of my patients a young boy of six years was very ill and needed an appendectomy. In the worst night ever seen around this part of the world, with snow to my knees, those two women answered my plea to drive the boy, his mother, and myself all the way to Edinburgh in blizzard conditions. Needless to say, we arrived there in time. The boy had an appendectomy and survived. Had it not been for the courage and generosity of those two women, that boy would be dead today.” Mr. Stetson continued to read.

  “I have also never seen anyone raise a child, with such love, care and dedication. In a custody battle that took place years ago, when Ms. Larsen’s ill-hearted relatives, pursued the child as a way to inherit the McGill estate. These women were willing to turn the entire estate over to these relatives in exchange for the custody of their child. Only the intervention of our beloved friend and barrister, Andrew Kimbell, with the entire town of Altee backing him up, were they able to stop that great injustice. “I attempt to do the same today.” Mr. Stetson paused to give some thoughts to the words he had just read and then he continued reading.

  “St. Claire would do itself a great favor by keeping young Alexandra as its student. I’d wager my entire estate that this particular young lady will one day make St. Claire’s proud. My vote is to keep her enrolled and to list both Ms. Adriana Marcos and Ms. Larsen as the child’s mothers. In addition, the failure to admit the child into the gifted program would be a travesty, as it is not often we have the opportunity to shape the heart and mind of someone so special. I also vote that this matter be put to rest today and that the shame of having carried out this vote never leave the walls of this conference room, for the sake and reputation of the school. We have no right to dictate what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of God. Who are we to judge our fellow men? And, for that matter, who are we to judge love? In the eyes of God, love is love, and that is what I see in this family.
This is my vote. Respectfully, Sir William Naylor, MD.”

  The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Mr. Stetson spoke. “The votes are five to four in favor of keeping. As agreed earlier, no more will be discussed on this subject. I will call Ms. Larsen tomorrow and present our apology. No one said a word and the matter was put to rest. Cheney left fuming, but resigned to his fate.

  Mr. Stetson called the Marcos-Larsen family immediately and offered apologies for having put them through such an ordeal. The women were overjoyed with the news. However, Karen was still concerned, and that night, again, they talked in the privacy of their room.

  “The vote was five to four. That was a close call, and I don’t like it. If Alex is to stay in that school, I really think we need to find a way to infiltrate the school board, Addy.” She looked at Addy as she undressed. Addy was already in bed. Karen turned off the light and cuddled to her, making her usual sounds of pleasure as she did every night while Addy responded with her usual chuckle.

  Part 6

  Alex’s school years were marked with many remarkable events. She was indeed an exceptional student. When she started first grade, at the age of six, she already read with the proficiency of a fifth grader. Because she was ahead of children her own age, her teacher suggested moving her to the next grade level. However, neither Addy nor Karen liked the idea of placing her ahead because, although she was academically advanced, she was still a six year old and she was not emotionally ready to deal with older kids. Consequently, Alex was under a special curriculum within the first graders.

  She was not only ahead academically, but she could hold conversations with adults that other children her age were incapable of understanding. The fact that Karen and Addy always included her in their conversations and explained everything to her as if she was an adult, gave her a very advanced level of comprehension for her young age. She also had the advantage of having two intellectual women as parents who took her to endless cultural activities, and culturally enriching trips.

  In addition to all the cultural activities, Alex was very active in sports, karate, swimming, soccer, and horseback riding were an integral part of her life. She knew a lot about raising and training horses. Every night after she finished her homework, she and Addy practiced her Spanish. With the years, Alex became very fluent in Spanish. As it turned out, not only did she acquire Addy’s love for reading, but she also inherited Karen’s love and understanding for numbers. She read endlessly and was very good at math.

  However, although she was exceptional in so many ways, her most distinguishable characteristic was her sweetness and humbleness. She was, indeed, Karen and Addy combined. Every Monday and Wednesday after school Alex went to Karate. On Tuesday and Thursdays, she stayed in school and practiced soccer. After school most of the days, she came to the stables and then went home to shower, eat and do her homework.

  Addy was always involved with the stables or the distillery social activities and Karen with her law firm, but when it was time to pick up Alex, both women dropped whatever they were doing and ran to their daughter. Whenever they both couldn’t go to an activity, they would alternate so that each would get a taste of the diverse activities. When there were soccer games or karate belt testing or demonstrations or any type of competition both moms were always present. They loved to be part of their daughter’s life.

  ***

  At school, there were always activities and presentations. Open houses, parent’s night, library week, historical celebrations, St. Valentines and Christmas pageants, or school plays. Since Alex had such a wonderful disposition, the teachers always involved her in anything that mattered. Most of the times, she played a major role, or one of the major ones if there were more than one. On this particular occasion, the event was literary week. The culmination of the week’s many activities was on Friday afternoon when each grade prepared a small part of a selected play from known authors.

  “Oh no! Another pageant?”

  “It’s not a pageant, it’s a play.”

  “My ears still hurt from the band recital from last week. Do we have to go to everything all the time?” Karen protested.

  “Sssh! She’s going to hear you! And yes, whenever she participates in anything, we have to go. We need to support and encourage her. She is the one with the most lines in the play. And this is her first play ever, so we need to be supportive”

  “I hope this is better than the band. That child has a deaf ear for music.”

  “Ker! She’s going to hear you!”

  “I think she knows. She’s a smart kid. Can’t those people use somebody else’s kid for a change? Why do they always have to pick her for everything?”

  “Maybe because she’s the only one who can memorize all those lines and do it well?”

  “Well, she can memorize, alright. But, I don’t know about the –.”

  They were in their room getting ready to go to the school play when Addy saw Alex about to enter their room.

  “Alex! You are here!”

  “Yes, and I hate this costume, M’Addy. It makes me look stupid!”

  Well the kid was smart enough to recognize the obvious! Karen thought.

  Alex had been chosen to perform Titania in the first grade’s performance of a section of Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream. Titania was the queen of the fairies and Alex was dressed as a fairy.

  “You look absolutely astonishingly beautiful!” Addy exclaimed.

  Karen looked at the little one and had to admit that she looked cute. “You look good, baby girl. Suck it up! Next time find out what the costume looks like before you volunteer for the part.”

  “I didn’t volunteer, they made me do it.”

  Both women looked at her. Karen asked. “How was that?”

  “Mommy, the play is a disaster. A lot of those kids can’t even read! And the ones who can read, don’t know what they are saying because it’s old English. So, bring your IPod to listen to because this will be worse than the band concert. At least there, no one needed to say anything.”

  “Well, Alexandra. What if everyone messes up and it turns out to be hilarious?”

  Alex rolled her eyes, making Karen laugh. Even Alex rolled her eyes to Addy’s silly proposition. “M’Addy! It’s not supposed to be hilarious.”

  “You’ll do well, baby. You’ll see,” Addy reassured her.

  “I’m not worried about me, M’Addy. It’s everyone else who doesn’t know their lines.”

  The women looked at each other, and it was Karen who gave the ultimate Advice. “Alex, you can only do so much. Worry about your part and improvise when someone else messes up. Remember, the play must go on!”

  As Alex predicted the play was a disaster. “Who in their right mind would have selected a Shakespeare play for first graders?” Karen commented on their way back home. Alex had been ranting in the car about how everyone forgot their lines. She was just like Karen with the ranting when she was mad or upset.

  “You were wonderful, baby,” Addy commented.

  “Thanks, M’Addy. I did what Mommy Karen said, I improvised.”

  “And you did a great job at it.” Karen proclaimed proudly having to hide her face not to laugh. So did Addy. Years later, they shared with Alex the fun they had that night listening to her.

  Alex had done a remarkable job with her lines, thus practically saving the play and its organizers from total embarrassment. Luckily, most people in the audience did not know or remembered the exact lines of a particular section of the play, but those who did must have recognized Alex’s audacity, talent and leadership. As it turned out, Alex knew her lines perfectly well but needing queues from the other characters to interject her own, and not finding them, she created her own new lines, for lack of any other, thus rewriting Shakespeare’s play to everyone’s delight. Had Shakespeare been present in that auditorium he would have given a standing ovation.

  ***

  Part of being a child involved being sick. It had not been unus
ual for Alex to have the recurrent typical teething fevers, ear infections, regulars cold, stomach virus, and even bronchitis. For Addy the experience of having had a previous child gave her an immense knowledge on how to deal with Alex’s ailments. However, for Karen this was a whole new experience.

  Every time Alex was sick, she was, of course taken to the doctor and the prescribed medications were immediately purchased. They’d come home and Karen would literally lie next to Alex until she showed some sign of recovery. If the fever had gone down with the Tylenol, it was an immediate celebration for Karen, but when at the end of three to four hours the effect of the medication wore off and the fever was back, Karen was again immersed in grief.

  Addy couldn’t remember how many times in Alex’s life she had repeated the same phrase to Karen. “Karen it’s just a fever, as soon as the antibiotic kicks in, she will be fine.” Nevertheless, nothing could remove the gloom on Karen’s face.

  Through all types of colds and ailments, both women mounted guard next to their little angel, until she showed signs of recovery. Karen had a whole section in the upper part of the kitchen cabinets dedicated to stock all sorts of over the counter medication to treat Alex when she was sick. And that was in addition to whatever was prescribed for her.

  Probably on account of Karen’s insistence for her to take this or that, Alex hated to take medications and when she was a baby she constantly spat them out. Even as a three year old, they had to hold her to medicate her. There was only one antibiotic taste that she tolerated so when the doctor prescribed anything, the women waited expectantly to make sure that it was the ‘good’ one. Her pediatrician always chose that one first, considering the circumstances, however sometimes the type of infection called for something stronger and the mood was dreadful from the moment they left the doctor’s office.

  Hearing them speak, one would have thought that they were preparing for battle. “This is going to be hell.”