“Everything’s going to be fine,” Tom said. “I kind of figured something like this would happen, didn’t you? I’m just surprised he’s tying it in to the Senate announcement.”
“He always likes to tie things together. You know, the sum of the parts is greater than each of the parts themselves.”
“Right, the credo of the modern publicist,” Tom laughed.
“Or the modern egomaniac,” I added.
“Greta didn’t look too happy,” Tom said.
“She doesn’t want him running for Senate,” I said.
“Yeah, I get it,” Tom said thoughtfully. “The press can be pretty tough on politicians and their families. But listen, Joe, we’re going to make the most of this trip, no matter what Robert and Larry have planned for you. And we’re going to do everything we can to find out what happened to your dad.”
“Okay,” I said, wanting to believe Tom.
“You don’t remember much Croatian, right?” Tom said.
“Hardly anything,” I said.
“Then we’re going to need someone to translate for us. Someone we can trust.”
thirteen
“Hana? You want Hana to come on the trip?” Greta said, surprised. “That seems a little odd. You haven’t seen her in how long?”
“I don’t know, since I was five or six, but she sends me a birthday card every year, and I bet she’d like to come. I know she’d like to come.”
“You do?” Robert asked.
Tom jumped in. “When Joe said he’d like Hana to come along, I suggested we call her first and see if she was available before coming to you.”
“And is she?” Greta asked.
“She is,” I said with zeal. We had called the night before. It had taken some convincing, because Hana would have to take time off from her regular job, but when I told her how important it was to me, she’d agreed.
We were sitting in the breakfast room, where hummingbirds and squirrels wouldn’t disturb Robert.
“It would be cheaper to hire someone there,” Greta said as she lightly buttered a piece of toast. She still seemed to be a reluctant participant in Robert’s run for the Senate. About the trip, however, she was excited; not only for me, but also for Guava, who would get to see where I was born.
“I’m sure you don’t remember this, Joe, but that woman was very difficult,” Robert said as Octavia placed a bowl of whole-grain cereal, covered with every type of berry known to man, in front of him.
“I thought she was quite helpful,” Greta said. She seemed to mean it, but she also might have been in one of her I’m going to contradict everything Robert says moods.
“She was very possessive of Joe, don’t you remember?” Robert said to Greta.
Greta took a bite of toast. “I remember I was glad she was there, especially during that first year.”
“Well, it always seemed like she thought she knew more than we did about raising him,” Robert said sourly.
No kidding. The fish in the koi pond knew more about raising me than Robert or Greta.
Tom got the conversation back on track. “We just thought that since Hana knows Joe and was there when he was adopted, he would feel more comfortable visiting some of the places that might bring back painful memories if she was with us.”
I felt a little uncomfortable with the words painful memories, but if they convinced Robert and Greta of Hana’s importance to me, I could deal.
“That’s very sensitive of you, Tom. Of course she should come along,” Greta said, not seeking agreement from Robert. “And it won’t cost us that much more. There’s room on the Gulfstream, so we’ll just have to pay for her hotel in Dubrovnik.”
“She says she can stay with her brother,” I piped up.
“Perfect,” Greta said.
Robert seemed content to let the issue rest.
“I’ll have Megan call her today to make arrangements.” Greta took a sip of grapefruit juice and smiled. “I’m delighted that Jessica will be coming with us, too. Maybe the two of you can get some time alone, and you might finally make a proposal.”
Tom’s usually sure hands fumbled with the shaker he was using to salt his eggs.
“You’re making Tom uncomfortable, Mom,” I said, coming to Tom’s aid.
“Well, someone’s got to.” Greta smirked. “Why not me? I talked to Jessica at the Fourth of July party and at Guava’s taping, and she says she wants to get married.”
Megan walked into the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said to Greta, “but your agent’s on the phone. She said it’s important.” She then looked at Robert. “And Larry wants you to call him at his office about some adjustments to the itinerary on the Dubrovnik trip.” Megan smiled at me at the mention of Dubrovnik.
“Thank you, Megan,” Greta said. “Tell Sandi I’ll be right there.”
Greta daintily dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin before standing up. “And Tom, I know a great jeweler who I use a lot. I can get you an amazing price on a ring.”
“Thanks, Greta…. I’ll think about it.”
“Really?” Greta said, delighted.
“Really.”
Greta left the room, obviously pleased with herself.
“Don’t let her push you into something you’re not ready to do,” Robert said once she was gone. “She can be quite a force when she makes her mind up about something.” He gave Tom a rueful smile and stood up. “I should get going, too. Tennis this afternoon?”
“Sure,” Tom said.
“Great. See you then.”
As soon as he left I said, “Sometimes he almost seems human.”
Tom laughed.
“Are you really going to propose to Jessica, or did you just say that to make Greta happy?” I asked.
“Actually, I am thinking about it,” Tom said, “but don’t you dare say anything to Jessica, okay?”
“Got it.”
“I don’t understand,” Jessica said while stirring the tomato sauce that was simmering in a pot on one of the stove’s front burners. On another burner, spaghetti was boiling. Robert and Greta had said I could eat at their house that evening. The heat from the cooking food combined with the heat of the day was making me sweat. “If Robert and Greta are coming along, how are you going to find out about Joe’s real dad without them knowing?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Tom said, looking in the refrigerator. “Where’s the salad dressing?”
“It’s already on the table with the salad,” Jessica replied. “Where is it you need to go?”
“Zagreb,” I said enthusiastically. “That’s where the Ministry of Defense is.”
“Can’t you just call?”
“Rusty tried—” Tom started to say.
“Rusty?” Jessica frowned.
“Yeah, I asked him to help out.”
“Are you paying him?” Jessica asked.
“A little bit.”
“Tom!”
“Well, that construction job got delayed for another week, and he actually found out a lot for me.”
“Like what?” Jessica said, still not convinced that Rusty could do anything helpful.
“First off, even though the war’s been over for a long time, there are lots of issues that are unresolved between the governments. There’s Croatians living in Serbia and Serbs living in Croatia. The Croatians and the Serbs both want to make sure their citizens aren’t persecuted for their beliefs or for retribution over what happened in the war. The same is true with the Bosnians and Serbs. Apparently, the governments have been reluctant to release information on MIAs. I guess they’re using it as leverage.”
“That’s horrible,” Jessica said, pouring the pasta and water through a colander. Steam escaped into the air, making the kitchen even hotter. “What else did Rusty find out?” she said, shaking the last strands of spaghetti out of the pot.
“Just that if we go to the Ministry of Defense in Zagreb, we might be able to get more information. Things they
don’t give out over the phone. Like what other soldiers served with Joe’s father, who might be alive. Exactly where he was last stationed. And names of military hospitals that might have records of soldiers.”
“We could go to those hospitals, right?” I said.
“Maybe,” Tom said.
Jessica began dishing the spaghetti into bowls; Tom covered each portion with sauce.
“I know you don’t want him involved, but couldn’t Robert make this all easier for you?” Jessica said. “He’s got friends in Washington. Can’t they put some pressure on the Serbian government?”
“He’d make it all about his campaign, and there’d be all these reporters asking me questions,” I protested. “And if we don’t find my father…it would just make everything worse,” I finished.
Tom nodded. “Let’s eat,” he said.
We picked up our bowls and went outside to the patio, where we sat down around the table with the umbrella in the middle. It was still light out, and much cooler than inside the house. The dogs ran up to us, hoping to get in on the food action.
Ever since Tom had said we should go to Croatia, I’d been running a movie in my head. In the movie, I’m at a special hospital for people who have suffered physical and emotional traumas. The hospital is located somewhere in the hills near my home in Dubrovnik. A doctor leads me out of the main building and onto peaceful grounds filled with beautiful flowers and trees. Patients sit on benches or on the grass with family members or hospital staff. A man is sitting on a stone bench by a fountain, alone. The doctor leads me to him.
“There is one man here who we’ve never been able to identify,” the doctor says to me.
We arrive at the bench by the fountain. The man looks up at me. He has blue eyes just like mine, only sadder and older.
“Joe?” Tom said to me.
“What?”
“I was asking you for the salad dressing. Where were you?”
I handed Tom the dressing. “Nowhere,” I said, shaking my head.
“What about Greta?” Jessica asked.
“What about her?” I said, twirling some spaghetti onto my fork.
“Can you tell her that you know about your dad being MIA?”
“She’ll just be upset that I never told her before. ‘How could you not tell me?’” I said dramatically, imitating Greta.
That made Tom and Jessica laugh.
“She’s not so bad,” Tom said, pouring out salad dressing.
“I think she likes you, Tom,” Jessica said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I think she has a little crush on you.”
“You’re crazy,” Tom said.
All I could think of was Greta telling Tom he needed to propose to Jessica and Tom telling me he was thinking about it. As if reading my mind, Tom gave me a quick don’t say a word glance.
The doorbell rang.
“Who could that be?” Jessica said, getting up from the table. A few minutes later, she returned to the patio. “It’s Martie. Toni just dropped her off with a suitcase.”
“What’s going on?” Tom said.
“Who’s Toni?” I asked. My stomach did a happy-nervous dance, knowing Martie was in the other room.
“My sister,” said Jessica.
“What did Toni say?” Tom asked.
“She said it was an emergency and asked if Martie could stay with us tonight.”
“What emergency?”
“A guy, of course. What else? She said she’d pick Martie up in the morning. What was I going to say? I’m going to help her settle in.” Jessica went back into the house.
“What’s wrong?” I asked Tom. He was squeezing his temples.
“Well, Martie’s mom has some problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
“Well, you know how Rusty is with gambling? How he can’t help himself?”
“So he joined Gamblers Anonymous,” I said.
“Exactly. Toni is kind of the same way except with bad boyfriends. She picks the worst guy she can find and then totally wraps her life around him until something goes wrong and they break up. It’s just tough on Martie, you know?”
“What about Martie’s dad?”
“He fit the mold. The last we heard, he was living in a trailer somewhere in the Northwest. He never writes or calls her.”
“I guess in a way Martie’s an orphan, too,” I said. “It’s lucky she has you guys.”
“Hello, Joe,” Martie said, coming onto the patio with Jessica. Her voice sounded like nothing was wrong, but I could tell she’d been crying. Jessica brought Martie a bowl of spaghetti, and we told her about our plans to go Dubrovnik.
“Maybe you can come, too,” I blurted out.
Tom and Jessica looked at each other.
To me it seemed like a great idea. Martie could get away from her mom, who might recover from the bad boyfriend by the time we got back.
Jessica said, “That’s nice of you, Joe, but I really don’t think that’s possible. You have things to do, right, Martie?”
“Not really,” Martie said. “My mom and I were going to go to Lake Tahoe for a couple of days, but I think that’s off now.” She looked a little embarrassed and disappointed.
Tom and Jessica looked at each other again.
“All right,” Tom said. “Let’s think about it. I’ll have to talk it over with Robert and Greta, but maybe we can make it happen.”
I hoped so.
fourteen
Having Martie join us on the trip was easy. Several nights later, we were all in the entertainment room after dinner, and Greta said to me, “Your friend is coming with us.” Robert was watching the news while Greta and Guava were sitting on the floor going over the artwork and photos for Guava’s upcoming CD. Having completed the first season of Flavors, Guava was now fully focused on preparing for the recording studio.
“What friend?” Guava asked.
“What’s her name, Joe?” Greta said. “Something with an M, right?”
“Martie,” I said, trying hard to keep the happiness out of my voice.
“I can’t believe that mother of hers,” Greta said, “abandoning her daughter so she can run off with some guy.”
“Tom says Martie’s mom has an addiction to bad boyfriends.”
“Smart fellow, that Tom,” Greta said, without looking up from Guava’s photos.
“Do I have to share my room with the girl who’s coming with us?” Guava asked.
“I told you, you and Megan are going to share a room.”
“Great move hiring Tom,” Robert said to Greta. “I sent John Handleman the sample chapters, and he was very happy with what he read. It’s exactly what I was hoping for. Tom just gets it.”
Wait until Robert, Greta, and John Handleman read what we’d really written.
“John says Tom has written some screenplays,” Robert continued. “I might have him take a look at that script for the remake of To Kill a Mockingbird I want to direct,” Robert continued.
“That’s the first I’ve heard about it,” Greta said, looking up from the CD artwork.
“I thought I told you,” Robert said, keeping his focus on the TV.
“You’re going to run for Senate and direct a movie?” Greta snapped.
“I’m also thinking of playing Atticus Finch.”
“This is wrong on so many levels,” Greta said, shaking her head and throwing her arms in the air, as if appealing to some higher court.
Guava and I exchanged an oh, boy, here it comes look.
“First of all, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest films of all time, and it should never, ever be remade,” Greta began. “Second, if you are going to ignore my advice and go into politics, I don’t see how you are going to direct and star in both a major motion picture and a Senate campaign at the same time.”
“Did you say star in a Senate campaign?” Robert interrupted. “This isn’t a lark, Greta.”
Greta ignored the interruption.
“And third,” she said, “if you think the public is going to vote for you because they think you are Atticus Finch, and not some ego-driven, megalomaniac actor from Red Hook, New York, then either you or they are stupider than I thought…. And you know, I have a lot of faith in the intelligence of the American public.”
“Are you through?” Robert asked calmly.
“For now,” Greta said.
“First of all, great films get remade all the time. It’s a business, in case you hadn’t noticed. A business that has been very good to our family.”
Oh, brother, he’s going to argue Greta point by point as if he’s in a political debate. He’s probably thinking this is good practice.
“Second,” Robert continued, “I haven’t ignored your advice, I simply don’t agree with you as far as my entering the Senate race is concerned. The movie will shoot in the fall and leave me a full year for the campaign. And third, no one in Hollywood ever lost money by overestimating the intelligence of the American public. People want simple stories and simple messages, and if they see me playing one of the greatest moral heroes of the last century, they will get the message that morality is what Robert Francis is all about.”
“Oh, my God, you’ve started referring to yourself in the third person. We’re in deeper trouble than I thought,” Greta said sarcastically.
“Daddy,” Guava said, “if you become a senator, do we have to move to Washington? What about my TV show?”
“We’ll still live here, honey, but we’ll also have a home in Washington,” Robert said.
“You’ll see your father even less than you do now, sweetie,” Greta said, stroking Guava’s hair.
“What do you think about this, Joe?” Robert asked, surprising me by asking my opinion.
Judging by the politicians I’d met, I figured Robert would be as good as any of them, maybe better. But my main concern was the trip to Dubrovnik, so I didn’t want to side with either him or Greta.
What would Tom say?
“I think you’re both right,” I said diplomatically. “It’s a big decision that will affect our family and maybe even our country.” I knew I was pouring it on a little too thick, but they seemed to be buying it. And I figured if you live with drama kings and queens, you sometimes have to use a bit of drama yourself.
Trophy Kid Page 9
