Aftershock

by K. G. MacGregor

  “Don’t go dashing after Jonah the second you get in the door,” she told Anna.

  “Thanks for reminding me. I felt so bad when Hal said she was feeling neglected.”

  “It’s easy to do. Babies are irresistible, especially when they’re as cute as Jonah.”

  Kim greeted them at the door.

  “Hiya, sister,” Anna said, delivering a warm hug.

  Lily followed with one of her own and presented Kim with a gift bag of gourmet coffee. She couldn’t help but smile at Anna’s obvious struggle not to track down her nephew.

  “Hi, yourself. It’s good to see you guys again. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk on Saturday.” She turned back toward the kitchen with the coffee. “Hal’s got Jonah upstairs if you want to see him.”

  “We’ll see him later,” Anna said. “Something smells great.”

  “It’s Cornish hen. I got the recipe from one of the women I walk with.” Kim had become the quintessential stay-at-home mom since Jonah was born, putting her real estate career on hold. Anna said they were hoping to have another baby soon.

  Hal walked in with Jonah in his arms, fully expecting to give the little guy up to his aunt. “There’s your auntie, Jonah.”

  Lily intercepted the handoff and hurried off into the living room, out of earshot of Anna and Kim. “No, no. I get to play with Jonah tonight so Anna can talk with her sister.”

  “Kim will like that,” Hal said. “She’s been going nuts lately because I’ve been working late so much.”

  “I can relate to that. I’ve hardly seen Anna since George stepped down.” She paced the living room with a wide-eyed Jonah taking in every detail.

  “I’ve never seen anyone work like her, Lily. She’s on top of absolutely every detail. She knows my job, Brad’s job, Holly’s job . . . and I’m sure she could do anything in the garage.”

  “That’s because she loves it, Hal. Every bit of it.”

  “I can tell.” He took his squirming son from her arms and helped him stand. “Can you walk to Lily?”

  She got down on all fours to coax his lumbering steps. “Mom wanted to kidnap Jonah. Could you tell?”

  “Your mom’s such a sweetheart. I bet she wouldn’t mind one bit if you and Anna had a family.”

  Lily made a noise somewhere between a snort and a chuckle, but was saved from having to respond by a call to dinner. She followed Hal into the dining room, where he placed Jonah in a playpen on the floor beside his mother. Anna gestured for Lily to take the other seat next to the playpen, while she sat across from Hal.

  “Did Anna tell you we’re going to Maui on Friday night after work?”

  Kim shook a fork at Anna. “You better not be making my husband work overtime.”

  “I’m not. In fact, I was thinking when we got back, you and Hal could go while Lily and I kept Jonah.”

  “Oh, right. Which one of you is going to breast-feed?”

  Anna and Lily pointed at each other.

  “Hal and I don’t get to do fun stuff anymore. Jonah’s a full-time gig.”

  Hal had opened a bottle of chardonnay for dinner and began to pour for the table.

  “None for me,” Lily said, covering her wineglass. “I’ll just have the Perrier.”

  Anna gave her a curious look, as if noticing for the first time that she wasn’t drinking alcohol. In fact, Lily hadn’t had a drink since Tony’s wedding, when Anna had made such a big deal about it.

  Anna took a sip. “You should have some of this. It’s very nice.”

  Lily was confused. She thought for certain Anna would be pleased, but she was acting as if she didn’t care. “The . . . the water’s fine.”

  “You really ought to try this,” Anna said, passing her glass to Hal, who emptied the last of the bottle.

  Lily couldn’t help but feel that Anna was encouraging her, as if to acknowledge that she understood and accepted what Lily had said—that her drinking recently wasn’t anything to worry about. She sipped the wine. It was crisp and dry—just the way she liked her chardonnay—and she was glad Anna had pressed her into trying it. Still, she was self-conscious about drinking too much or too fast, enough that she deliberately paced herself through dinner, careful not to finish hers first.

  On the drive home, Anna seemed out of sorts. “Something wrong?”

  Anna drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and looked away. “Kim’s having a hard time.”

  “With Jonah?”

  “No, with Hal. Actually, with me, if you get right down to it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Just that I’ve been working him so much . . . and Kim’s been home by herself with Jonah. She said . . .” She pounded the wheel with her fist. “God, I feel like shit. She told me that for the first time in thirteen years of marriage, they’re actually fighting.”

  Lily knew exactly where Kim’s frustration was coming from, but Anna didn’t need a “me too” to go with the guilt she was already feeling. “You’ve both been working very hard, Anna. But it’s like you said. It won’t always be this busy.”

  “I’m not going to break up my sister’s marriage by turning her husband into an asshole who doesn’t come home from work. I’ll have to hire another accountant to help him out.”

  “That’ll make it easier on all of you, won’t it?”

  “Yeah, I guess. I can get somebody from Morty’s firm to lend a hand for a while.”

  Lily was tempted to teasingly suggest she find a temporary CEO to share her load, but Anna wasn’t in the mood for jokes tonight. When they reached their home, she offered to lock up so Anna could go on upstairs and get ready for bed.

  When Anna’s footsteps grew faint on the staircase, Lily walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She was glad to see she had remembered correctly, that the bottle of chardonnay they had opened almost two weeks ago was corked. Hurriedly, she opened it and poured the rest into a water glass. It wasn’t as crisp as the vintage Hal had served, but it hit the spot—just enough to polish off her meal.

  “Lily, I’m going on to bed. Will you be up soon?” Anna called from the top of the stairs. She always had trouble falling asleep if Lily was still up and wandering the house.

  Lily wanted a few minutes to unwind, and to finish her wine downstairs. “I need to look over the mail. I didn’t get a chance before we left.”

  “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

  “I guess.” Lily turned up the glass and drained it in three gulps. Then she detoured into the downstairs bathroom to touch a bit of toothpaste onto her tongue before heading upstairs to Anna.

  Anna sat in the conference room at Premier Motors, drumming her fingers as she reviewed the agenda, waiting for her senior staff to arrive. She smiled as her mind drifted back to the spontaneous lovemaking with Lily the night before. Their long weekend in Maui would change their lives forever. Of course, all of that hinged on Lily’s answer. Was she ready to take this step? It certainly seemed that way to Anna, but it was possible she might want a little more time. Lily had been hurt before by lovers who pulled the rug out from under her just as she began to feel they were ready for commitment.

  “I called the wholesaler this morning to come by for the two Hondas.” Brad startled her as he took a seat across from her at the conference table. One of the first changes she had implemented was to move the weekly senior staff meeting from Monday at eight thirty to Thursday at ten. By meeting later in the week, they could better plan for the weekend rush, she reasoned. The change to ten was to allow Holly to come in later, since she worked the lot until closing on Thursday nights.

  Hal walked in and took the chair next to Anna. Holly sat directly across from him. The seat at the head of the table had remained empty ever since George left. Even as new CEO, Anna felt funny about moving to that chair after all these years. Besides, her father had an open invitation to attend the senior staff meetings, and the way she saw it, that was still his chair.

  “Okay, we’re all her
e. The first bit of news I have for all of you is that I got a call from Walter this morning.” Walter was the attorney who was handling their offer for Sweeney Volkswagen. “Gordon Sweeney signed off on the deal, and he wants to close on Tuesday afternoon. Hal, if you have the offer ready for Ted Kimble—”

  Carmen, Premier’s receptionist, broke in over the room’s intercom. She rarely interrupted these meetings, but over the years she had developed a sense of which calls should be put through. “Anna, Bill Mueller’s on line one.”

  “Uh, oh,” Holly said. “I hope his new car’s okay.”

  “Me too, or I’ll never hear the end of it.” With a grin, Anna spun in her chair and picked up the blinking line. “Hi, Bill. What can I do for you?”

  It took her a moment to understand the purpose of his call.

  “Oh, dear God.”

  Lily leaned over and whispered her thoughts to Tony, her boss, who was in the midst of jury selection for a case involving an Asian man charged with trespassing because he refused to vacate his rented home to make room for a new Hispanic tenant. In her opinion, this potential juror had too much in common with the landlady at the center of the case.

  “Your honor, the defense would like to thank and excuse this juror, Mrs. Pedroso.” With his fourth peremptory strike, they were left with two possibilities, both of whom were acceptable for their case.

  “It’s a good mix,” she whispered. She loved it when her schedule allowed her to sit in with Tony, especially for jury selection.

  People had been coming and going in the courtroom all day as they readied for the trial, but something made Lily turn to see the latest arrival. She was startled to find Anna and Hal taking seats near the door. Meeting their eyes, a panic gripped her deep inside. Anna had never come to the courthouse to see her before. “Tony, I need a recess.”

  He looked down at her hand, which was digging into his forearm. Without hesitation, he stood. “Your honor, the plaintiff requests a short recess.”

  “Would counsel approach the bench?” Notorious for his no-nonsense demeanor, Judge Anston seemed to bristle at the request. “What’s going on, counsel?”

  As Tony explained the situation to the judge, Lily glanced back over her shoulder at Anna. Something was undeniably wrong, and it was all she could do not to bolt toward the door.

  The gavel pounded and Judge Anston addressed her directly. “Ms. Stewart, I don’t appreciate these disruptions.”

  “I understand, Your Honor. I won’t make a habit of it. And thank you.”

  Lily walked through the gate and followed Anna and Hal into the hallway. “What’s going on, Anna? Why are you here?” Their solemn faces terrified her.

  Anna took her hands and squeezed, obviously fighting tears. “Something awful has happened, Lily. It’s your mother.”

  “Mom?” Lily’s knees went weak and she gripped Anna tightly for support. “Then we need to go. I have to be with her.”

  Anna pulled her into a tight hug as Hal’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  Chapter 7

  Anna intertwined her fingers with Lily’s as they boarded the plane to San Jose. Lily was clearly in shock, nearly overwhelmed by the swarming crowd and the details that had become a staple of air travel. She guided Lily into her seat by the window in first class, and hoisted their suitcases into an overhead bin. Seeing her shiver in near-shock, Anna took a blanket and laid it across her lap. “Do you want anything else? A pillow?”

  Lily shook her head.

  Anna too was devastated by Eleanor’s unexpected death, but knew she would have to pull herself together in order to help Lily get through these next few days. As they had packed, she dutifully relayed the information she had gotten from Bill. When Eleanor failed to arrive at school that morning, the school secretary called her home. Getting no answer, she called Bill, knowing that the two were close. Bill agreed to stop by Eleanor’s house after his hospital rounds. He and Eleanor had exchanged keys for emergencies, so he let himself in after knocking for several minutes. He found her on the floor in the hallway upstairs. From his physician training, he surmised that she had died late last night of something catastrophic, such as a stroke or an aneurysm. Since she died alone, a coroner would conduct an autopsy, the results of which would be known sometime on Friday.

  Landing in San Jose one hour later, Anna collected their bags and guided Lily through the narrow concourse to the baggage claim area. Bill had arranged for one of Eleanor’s neighbors to pick the women up.

  “Lily!” A gray-haired woman of about sixty-five called out.

  “It’s Charlotte Beck. She lives next door,” Lily said. She stiffly acknowledged the woman with a nod as they pushed through the crowd of people fighting for their luggage. “Charlotte, hi. Thank you for coming.”

  The woman pulled Lily into a hug. “Your mother was such a friend to me, Lily. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you.” She turned and held out her arm to Anna. “This is my friend, Anna Kaklis.”

  “Charlotte,” Anna said, shaking her hand.

  The woman led them quickly to the parking garage where they piled into a small station wagon for the ride to Eleanor’s house. “Just to let you know, Ernie and I have Chester for the time being. We’ll keep him as long as you want.”

  Lily nodded absently then suddenly turned toward Anna in the backseat. “I need my car, Anna. I have to bring Chester home,” she said with urgency.

  Anna’s heart broke to see Lily’s brimming tears. “I know. I’ll take care of everything.” They had talked this out already, but it was clear Lily couldn’t keep her thoughts straight.

  When they reached the small Victorian home, Lily thanked Charlotte while Anna handled their bags. Lily stopped before opening the front door, no doubt dreading the sensory assault that awaited their entry. Once inside, Anna stood silently in the foyer as Lily slowly ascended the stairs. After a few moments, she followed, knowing the sight would break her heart. She found Lily crumpled in the hallway, sobbing as she ran her hands along the hardwood floor as though feeling for her mother’s touch.

  Anna had secured rooms for her family and their friends at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose, only a few blocks from Eleanor’s Naglee Park home. Sandy and Suzanne were the first to arrive, getting in early Friday evening.

  “Thanks for coming. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Lily to have you guys here.” Anna led them into Eleanor’s small sitting room.

  “How’s she holding up?” Sandy asked.

  “It’s hard for her. We got the results from the coroner this afternoon. It was an aortic aneurysm. He said it happened very quickly, and that was some comfort, I think.”

  Suzanne slumped onto the love seat. “Has she worked out the funeral arrangements?”

  Anna wasn’t surprised to see Suzanne near tears. Though she usually tried to come off as tough and emotionless, she had a sensitive side she couldn’t hide. “Eleanor made her own arrangements years ago. We’re holding the service on Sunday afternoon to give her old boss time to get here from Maryland.”

  “Eleanor really did everyone a big favor by taking care of all that herself,” Suzanne said.

  Anna nodded numbly. “There’s still a lot to do. Lily met with the funeral director first thing this morning and he gave her a list to go through . . . things like moving the utilities into her name until the house is sold, canceling credit cards . . . that sort of thing.”

  “I’m sure it’s overwhelming,” Sandy said. “Is there anything we can do?”

  She shook her head. “Lily will be glad you’re here, though. She was sleeping earlier, but I heard her moving around in the bathroom just a few minutes before you got here.”

  “I don’t want to get in her space, Anna.” As Lily’s best friend, Sandy was well aware of Lily’s penchant for trying to deal with difficult things alone. “Why don’t Suzanne and I go pick up something for dinner and bring it back?”

  “That’s a great idea. She mig
ht even eat a bit with you guys here.” Anna gave them directions to a nearby Chinese restaurant.

  When they left, she collapsed on the love seat, near exhaustion. She had lain awake with Lily most of the night, giving comfort as needed. With the help of a sleep aid delivered this morning by Bill Mueller, who also was grief-stricken, Lily had finally taken a much-needed nap. That gave Anna the opportunity to call her family and enlist their help. Hal volunteered to drive Lily’s car to San Jose tomorrow. Kim and Martine offered to watch over things in the kitchen, especially since people would probably start bringing food tomorrow. Anna had hesitantly asked her father to fill in for her at the dealership next week, and was genuinely touched to hear he had been on the lot since yesterday afternoon when Anna left.

  Tired though she was, she went back upstairs to check on Lily. Finding the guest room empty, she continued down the hall to Eleanor’s room. Lily was there, sitting in the bedside armchair, examining the contents of the nightstand. Anna leaned into the doorjamb, overwhelmed with sadness for Lily’s loss. The clock on the nightstand showed seven p.m., which meant their plane was leaving LAX for Maui without them. She wanted to tell Lily what she had planned, but it seemed out of place in the midst of their grief. Besides, she never wanted Lily to think her sentiments came from pity, or a need to comfort.

  Like Lily, her mother had been adopted as a child, but by an older couple who had died when Eleanor was in her twenties. That left Lily as her only surviving relative.

  She walked solemnly alongside Anna from the limo to the gravesite, thinking she knew now what it really meant to “go through the motions.” Over two hundred people had packed the small sanctuary for the funeral, including the entire staff of the elementary school where Eleanor had been principal, but only a few close friends had followed to the cemetery.

  For the next twenty minutes, the minister celebrated her mother’s too-short life, praising her as an adoptive parent, a lifelong educator and a friend to everyone who knew her. Then he came close to share a few private words, words Lily barely understood in a context so surreal. All she could comprehend was that she had lost the one person who had always been there for her, the only constant in her life.